WorldWideScience

Sample records for biochem physiol part

  1. Acetylcholinesterase of the Sand Fly, Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli): Construction, Expression and Biochemical Properties of the G119S Orthologous Mutant

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-10

    C, Pasteur N, Philips A, Fort P, Raymond M: Insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors. Nature 2003, 423:136–137. 27. Weill W, Lutfalla G, Mogensen K...Chandre F, Berthomieu A, Berticat C, Pasteur N, Philips A, Fort P, Raymond M: Corrigendum:Insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors. Nature 2003...1 biochemical properties. Comp Biochem Physiol B 2008, 150:271–277. 46. Alout H, Labbé P, Berthomieu A, Pasteur N, Weill M: Multiple duplications of

  2. MINERAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS PARTS OF CISSUS QUADRANGULARIS LINN

    OpenAIRE

    Udayakumar, R.; Sundaran, M.; Krishna, Raghuram

    2004-01-01

    Ash, minerals and biochemical contents were determined in various parts of root, stem and leaf of Cissus quadrangularis. The maximum ash content was observed in the root. The maximum concentration of carbohydrate and protein in the root and phosphorus, iron, calcium and lipids in the stem were observed.

  3. Nig. J. Physiol. Sci.

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    olayemitoyin

    lasunigeria.org. Manuscript Accepted: May, 2011. INTRODUCTION. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is regulated by protein- protein interactions. Recently, we used real time measurement of basal NOS function by DAF assay in live endothelial cells ...

  4. WSSV

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SERVER

    2007-08-20

    Aug 20, 2007 ... 2Quality Assurance and Management Division, Central Institute of Fisheries .... The data obtained from the experiments were subjected to appro- ..... blue crab Calinectus sapidus glucose. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A.

  5. Assessment of compost for suppression of Fusarium oxysporum and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    2012-08-28

    Aug 28, 2012 ... Biological characteristics including compost inhabiting microbial ... A solid-liquid extraction was carried out then; pH was determined by using AS-501 pH ...... oxysporum in sweet basil. Crop Prot. ... Pesticide Biochem. Physiol.

  6. Effects of an inorganic insecticide (boric acid) against Blattella ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ufuoma

    2013-05-01

    May 1, 2013 ... Data on ovarian .... The overall data suggested an interference of boric acid with the ... solutions as baits for management of German cockroaches .... Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 135C:257-267. Tine S, Aribi N, Soltani N (2011).

  7. Developments in commercially produced microbials at Biochem Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    John Lublinkhof; Douglas H. Ross

    1985-01-01

    Biochem Products is part of a large industrial and scientific family - the Solvay Group. Solvay, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium is a multinational company with 46,000 employees worldwide. In the U.S., our working partners include a large polymer manufacturer, a peroxygen producer and a leading poultry and animal health products company. Biochem Products is a...

  8. note on variable incubation period within a clutch of eggs

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Compo Biochem. Physiol. 53A: 1-6. MENDELSOHN, 1. M., BIGOS, H. C. & LEDGER, 1. A. In press. The biology of the black-shouldered. NOTE ON VARIABLE. INCUBATION PERIOD WITHIN A. CLUTCH OF EGGS OF THE. LEOPARD TORTOISE. (GEOCHELONE P ARDALIS). (CHELONIA: CRYPTODIRA: TESTUDINIDAE).

  9. Monosodium Glutamate Toxicity

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Olaleye

    The brain is reportedly sensitive to monosodium glutamate (MSG) toxicity via oxidative stress. Sida acuta leaf ethanolic .... wherein the right hemisphere, was preserved for histology and fixed in 10% ... Biochemical Assays: The left hemisphere of the brain samples was ...... development in male and female rats. Exp Physiol.

  10. Local biochemical and morphological differences in human Achilles tendinopathy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pingel, Jessica; Fredberg, U.; Qvortrup, Klaus

    2012-01-01

    The incidence of Achilles tendinopathy is high and underlying etiology as well as biochemical and morphological pathology associated with the disease is largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to describe biochemical and morphological differences in chronic Achilles tendinopathy....... The expressions of growth factors, inflammatory mediators and tendon morphology were determined in both chronically diseased and healthy tendon parts....

  11. The Evolution of Biochemical Indices After Basal Cell Epithelioma Removal - Case Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gurgas L.

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper proposes new exposure data on etiopathogenesis basal cell epithelioma and present a clinical case investigated dermatoscopic, biochemically, treated surgically and guided to avoid relapses. The case presented is part of typical cases of pigmented basal cell carcinoma. Biochemical and haematological investigations performed one day before the excisional intervention (results 1 and 30 days (results 2 after the intervention: It is recommended to monitor biochemical investigations in which alterations were found, and ways for raising the immunological status.

  12. Characterization of biochemical traits of dog rose (Rosa canina L.) ecotypes in the central part of Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javanmard, Milad; Asadi-Gharneh, Hossein Ali; Nikneshan, Pejman

    2018-07-01

    Dog rose (Rosa canina L.) is a wild native species in Iran, with a significant genetic diversity. This plant serves as a rich source of vitamin C, anthocyanins, phenolic contents and carotenoids. Rose hips have been used in several food products, as well as perfumery and cosmetics industries. In this research, we investigate biochemical characteristics of five dog rose ecotypes (Kopehjamshid, Zarneh, Miyankish, Aghcheh and Sadeghiyeh), that were collected from the central part of Iran (Isfahan province). Amounts of vitamin C, total carotenoids, total phenolic contents, total anthocyanins, macro and micro minerals were measured. Seed oil are extracted by soxhlet method and analysed by gas chromatography. The macro and micro minerals levels in the fruit vary significantly among these regions. The results of this study demonstrate that dog rose have great diversity and can be used in breeding programmes in order to increase nutrient values as a food resource additive.

  13. River water quality model no. 1 (RWQM1): II. Biochemical process equations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reichert, P.; Borchardt, D.; Henze, Mogens

    2001-01-01

    In this paper, biochemical process equations are presented as a basis for water quality modelling in rivers under aerobic and anoxic conditions. These equations are not new, but they summarise parts of the development over the past 75 years. The primary goals of the presentation are to stimulate...... transformation processes. This paper is part of a series of three papers. In the first paper, the general modelling approach is described; in the present paper, the biochemical process equations of a complex model are presented; and in the third paper, recommendations are given for the selection of a reasonable...

  14. Biochemical toxicology of environmental agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruin, A. de

    1976-01-01

    A thorough and up-to-date account of the molecular-biological aspects of harmful agents - both chemical and physical - is given. This current treatise is principally intended to serve as an informative reference work for researchers in various areas of the field. In the pursuit of this aim, a devision of the entire field into 42 chapters has been made. Each chapter starts with a short introductory account dealing with the biochemical essentials of the particular subject. Radiation effects are discussed briefly at the end of each treatise. In order to make the treatise useful as a source book, a substantial collection of pertinent literature references is provided which are numbered in order of citation in the text. Initial chapters are devoted to the metabolic fate of the major classes of xenobiotic compounds. Peripheral topics, closely related to metabolism and dealing with modification of xenobiotic-metabolizing ability, as well as interaction phenomena follow (chs. 5-8). Subjects that draw heavily on the practical field of occupational hygiene are dealt with in chapters 9 and 10. The systematic treatment of how chemical and physical agents interact with the various biochemical and enzymatic systems they encounter during their passage through the organism occupies quantitatively the main part of the book (chs. 11-36). Finally, radiation biochemistry is discussed from the viewpoint of its high degree of scientific advancement, and secondly because the type of biochemical changes produced in vivo by X-rays closely parallel those evoked by chemical agents

  15. Identification of biochemical features of defective Coffea arabica L. beans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casas, María I; Vaughan, Michael J; Bonello, Pierluigi; McSpadden Gardener, Brian; Grotewold, Erich; Alonso, Ana P

    2017-05-01

    Coffee organoleptic properties are based in part on the quality and chemical composition of coffee beans. The presence of defective beans during processing and roasting contribute to off flavors and reduce overall cup quality. A multipronged approach was undertaken to identify specific biochemical markers for defective beans. To this end, beans were split into defective and non-defective fractions and biochemically profiled in both green and roasted states. A set of 17 compounds in green beans, including organic acids, amino acids and reducing sugars; and 35 compounds in roasted beans, dominated by volatile compounds, organic acids, sugars and sugar alcohols, were sufficient to separate the defective and non-defective fractions. Unsorted coffee was examined for the presence of the biochemical markers to test their utility in detecting defective beans. Although the green coffee marker compounds were found in all fractions, three of the roasted coffee marker compounds (1-methylpyrrole, 5-methyl- 2-furfurylfuran, and 2-methylfuran) were uniquely present in defective fractions. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Phosphine Toxicity: A Story of Disrupted Mitochondrial Metabolism

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-05-24

    Phosphine and selected metal phosphides. Environ. Health Criteria 73. 5. Reeve, I. 2014. Estimation of exposure to persons in Califor- nia ...Gill. 2011. Aluminum phosphide poisoning: an unsolved riddle. J. Appl. Toxicol. 31: 499– 505 . 9. Lam, W.W., R.F. Toia & J. Casida. 1991. Oxidatively...Trends Biochem. Sci. 35: 505 –513. 43. Turrens, J.F. 2003. Mitochondrial formation of reactive oxy- gen species. J. Physiol. 552: 335–344. 44. Fridovich

  17. Comparative Analyses of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Structure, Function, and Evolution in Marine Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-02-01

    function in early vertebrates: inducibility of cytochrome P450 1A in agnathan and elasmobranch fish . Comp Biochem Physiol C Pharmacol Toxicol Endocrinol 120...J.Y., A.G. McArthur and J.J. Stegeman. 2005b. Characterization of a cetacean aromatase (CYP19) and the phylogeny and functional conservation of... phylogeny of cetaceans prompts revision of morphological transformations. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10:328-334. Nei, M., P. Xu and G. Glazko

  18. An Inductive Logic Programming Approach to Validate Hexose Binding Biochemical Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nassif, Houssam; Al-Ali, Hassan; Khuri, Sawsan; Keirouz, Walid; Page, David

    2010-01-01

    Hexoses are simple sugars that play a key role in many cellular pathways, and in the regulation of development and disease mechanisms. Current protein-sugar computational models are based, at least partially, on prior biochemical findings and knowledge. They incorporate different parts of these findings in predictive black-box models. We investigate the empirical support for biochemical findings by comparing Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) induced rules to actual biochemical results. We mine the Protein Data Bank for a representative data set of hexose binding sites, non-hexose binding sites and surface grooves. We build an ILP model of hexose-binding sites and evaluate our results against several baseline machine learning classifiers. Our method achieves an accuracy similar to that of other black-box classifiers while providing insight into the discriminating process. In addition, it confirms wet-lab findings and reveals a previously unreported Trp-Glu amino acids dependency.

  19. Sub-acute toxicity and biochemical effects of extracts of Anaphe ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ataxia syndrome which is characterized by sudden onset of severe muscular tremor and gait ataxia has been shown to be associated with the consumption of the larvae of Anaphe venata in South Western part of Nigeria. In this report, the sub -acute toxicity and biochemical effects of polar and nonpolar extracts of Anaphe ...

  20. Polyphenol Oxidase as a Biochemical Seed Defense Mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Patrick Fuerst

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Seed dormancy and resistance to decay are fundamental survival strategies, which allow a population of seeds to germinate over long periods of time. Seeds have physical, chemical, and biological defense mechanisms that protect their food reserves from decay-inducing organisms and herbivores. Here, we hypothesize that seeds also possess enzyme-based biochemical defenses, based on induction of the plant defense enzyme, polyphenol oxidase (PPO, when wild oat (Avena fatua L. caryopses and seeds were challenged with seed-decaying Fusarium fungi. These studies suggest that dormant seeds are capable of mounting a defense response to pathogens. The pathogen-induced PPO activity from wild oat was attributed to a soluble isoform of the enzyme that appeared to result, at least in part, from proteolytic activation of a latent PPO isoform. PPO activity was also induced in wild oat hulls (lemma and palea, non-living tissues that cover and protect the caryopsis. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that seeds possess inducible enzyme-based biochemical defenses arrayed on the exterior of seeds and these defenses represent a fundamental mechanism of seed survival and longevity in the soil. Enzyme-based biochemical defenses may have broader implications since they may apply to other defense enzymes as well as to a diversity of plant species and ecosystems.

  1. BISEN: Biochemical simulation environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vanlier, J.; Wu, F.; Qi, F.; Vinnakota, K.C.; Han, Y.; Dash, R.K.; Yang, F.; Beard, D.A.

    2009-01-01

    The Biochemical Simulation Environment (BISEN) is a suite of tools for generating equations and associated computer programs for simulating biochemical systems in the MATLAB® computing environment. This is the first package that can generate appropriate systems of differential equations for

  2. Studies on the relationship between cyanide-resistant respi-ration and expression of alternative oxidase in mung bean using antibodies prepared by synthetic polypeptide

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LI; Chijun; (

    2001-01-01

    [1]Liang, Z., Liang, H. G., The respiratory metabolism of plants, in Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology (eds. Yu, S. W., Tang, Z. C.) (in Chinese), 2nd ed., Beijing: Science Press, 1998, 344-365.[2]Lü, C. S., Liang, H. G., Induced respiration in melon fruits, Scientia Sinica, 1963, 12(4): 616.[3]Liang, H. G., Lü, C. S., A comparative study of CN-resistant respiration in different cultures of tobacco callus, Plant Physiol., 1984, 75: 876.[4]Elthon, T. E., McIntosh, L., Identification of the alternative terminal oxidase of higher plant mitochondria, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1987, 84: 8399.[5]Elthon, T. E., Nickels, R. L., McIntosh, L., Monoclonal antibodies to the alternative oxidase of higher plant mitochondria, Plant Physiol., 1989, 89: 1311.[6]Liang, W. S., Liang, H. G., Progress of the alternative oxidase, Chinese Bulletin of Botany (in Chinese), 1997, 14(2): 9.[7]Liang, W. S., Liang, H. G., Induction of alternative oxidase expression by endogenous ethylene in aging potato slices, Acta Phytophysiol. Sin. (in Chinese), 1999, 25(2): 205.[8]He, J. X., Wei, Z. Q., Liang, H. G., Effects of water stress on development, and operation and gene expression of cyanide-resistant respiratory pathway in wheat, Science in China, Ser. C, 1999, 42(3): 300.[9]McIntosh, L., Molecular biology of the alternative oxidase, Plant Physiol., 1994, 105: 781.[10] Wang, J., Zhang, L. X., Liu, Z. L. et al., A possible calcium binding site in D1 protein: A fluorescence and FTIR study of the interaction between lanthanides and a synthetic peptide, Photosynthesis Research, 1995, 44: 297.[11] Li, X. P., Du, L. F., Liang, H. G. et al., Preparation and identification of antidodecapeptide of polypeptide D1 or photosys-tem II reaction center, Prog. Biochem. Biophys. (in Chinese), 1997, 24(3): 283.[12] Wen, J. Q., Liang, H. G., Studies on energy status and mitochondria respiration during growth and senescence of mung bean cotyledons, Physiol

  3. Dynamics of biochemical processes and redox conditions in geochemically linked landscapes of oligotrophic bogs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inisheva, L. I.; Szajdak, L.; Sergeeva, M. A.

    2016-04-01

    The biological activity in oligotrophic peatlands at the margins of the Vasyugan Mire has been studied. It is shown found that differently directed biochemical processes manifest themselves in the entire peat profile down to the underlying mineral substrate. Their activity is highly variable. It is argued that the notion about active and inert layers in peat soils is only applicable for the description of their water regime. The degree of the biochemical activity is specified by the physical soil properties. As a result of the biochemical processes, a micromosaic aerobic-anaerobic medium is developed under the surface waterlogged layer of peat deposits. This layer contains the gas phase, including oxygen. It is concluded that the organic and mineral parts of peat bogs represent a single functional system of a genetic peat profile with a clear record of the history of its development.

  4. Comparative biochemical analysis during the anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass from six morphological parts of Williams Cavendish banana (Triploid Musa AAA group) plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamdem, Irénée; Hiligsmann, Serge; Vanderghem, Caroline; Bilik, Igor; Paquot, Michel; Thonart, Philippe

    2013-12-01

    We studied banana lignocellulosic biomass (BALICEBIOM) that is abandoned after fruit harvesting, and assessed its biochemical methane potential, because of its potential as an energy source. We monitored biogas production from six morphological parts (MPs) of the "Williams Cavendish" banana cultivar using a modified operating procedure (KOP) using KOH. Volatile fatty acid (VFA) production was measured using high performance liquid chromatography. The bulbs, leaf sheaths, petioles-midribs, leaf blades, rachis stems, and floral stalks gave total biogas production of 256, 205, 198, 126, 253, and 221 ml g⁻¹ dry matter, respectively, and total biomethane production of 150, 141, 127, 98, 162, and 144 ml g⁻¹, respectively. The biogas production rates and yields depended on the biochemical composition of the BALICEBIOM and the ability of anaerobic microbes to access fermentable substrates. There were no significant differences between the biogas analysis results produced using KOP and gas chromatography. Acetate was the major VFA in all the MP sample culture media. The bioconversion yields for each MP were below 50 %, showing that these substrates were not fully biodegraded after 188 days. The estimated electricity that could be produced from biogas combustion after fermenting all of the BALICEBIOM produced annually by the Cameroon Development Corporation-Del Monte plantations for 188 days is approximately 10.5 × 10⁶ kW h (which would be worth 0.80-1.58 million euros in the current market). This bioenergy could serve the requirements of about 42,000 people in the region, although CH₄ productivity could be improved.

  5. Biochemical and molecular tools reveal two diverse Xanthomonas groups in bananas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adriko, John; Aritua, V.; Mortensen, Carmen Nieves

    2016-01-01

    Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm) causing the banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease has been the main xanthomonad associated with bananas in East and Central Africa based on phenotypic and biochemical characteristics. However, biochemical methods cannot effectively distinguish between...... pathogenic and non-pathogenic xanthomonads. In this study, gram-negative and yellow-pigmented mucoid bacteria were isolated from BXW symptomatic and symptomless bananas collected from different parts of Uganda. Biolog, Xcm-specific (GspDm), Xanthomonas vasicola species-specific (NZ085) and Xanthomonas genus......-specific (X1623) primers in PCR, and sequencing of ITS region were used to identify and characterize the isolates. Biolog tests revealed several isolates as xanthomonads. The GspDm and NZ085 primers accurately identified three isolates from diseased bananas as Xcm and these were pathogenic when re...

  6. Biochemical Network Stochastic Simulator (BioNetS: software for stochastic modeling of biochemical networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elston Timothy C

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Intrinsic fluctuations due to the stochastic nature of biochemical reactions can have large effects on the response of biochemical networks. This is particularly true for pathways that involve transcriptional regulation, where generally there are two copies of each gene and the number of messenger RNA (mRNA molecules can be small. Therefore, there is a need for computational tools for developing and investigating stochastic models of biochemical networks. Results We have developed the software package Biochemical Network Stochastic Simulator (BioNetS for efficientlyand accurately simulating stochastic models of biochemical networks. BioNetS has a graphical user interface that allows models to be entered in a straightforward manner, and allows the user to specify the type of random variable (discrete or continuous for each chemical species in the network. The discrete variables are simulated using an efficient implementation of the Gillespie algorithm. For the continuous random variables, BioNetS constructs and numerically solvesthe appropriate chemical Langevin equations. The software package has been developed to scale efficiently with network size, thereby allowing large systems to be studied. BioNetS runs as a BioSpice agent and can be downloaded from http://www.biospice.org. BioNetS also can be run as a stand alone package. All the required files are accessible from http://x.amath.unc.edu/BioNetS. Conclusions We have developed BioNetS to be a reliable tool for studying the stochastic dynamics of large biochemical networks. Important features of BioNetS are its ability to handle hybrid models that consist of both continuous and discrete random variables and its ability to model cell growth and division. We have verified the accuracy and efficiency of the numerical methods by considering several test systems.

  7. Biochemical parameters in Tubifex tubifex as an integral part of complex sediment toxicity assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smutna, M.; Hilscherova, K.; Paskova, V. [Masaryk Univ., Brno (CZ). RECETOX (Research Centre for Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology); Marsalek, B [Czech Academy of Science, Brno (Czech Republic). Centre for Cyanobacteria and their Toxins

    2008-06-15

    Background, aim, and scope Restoration of lakes and reservoirs with extensive cyanobacterial water bloom often requires evaluation of the sediment quality. Next to the chemical analysis of known pollutants, sediment bioassays should be employed to assess toxicity of the present contaminants and to make predictions of associated risk. Brno reservoir in the Czech Republic is a typical example of water bodies with long-term problems concerning cyanobacterial water blooms. Comprehensive assessment of reservoir sediment quality was conducted since successful reservoir restoration might require sediment removal. An important part of this survey focused on an examination of the utility of Tubifex tubifex and its sublethal biochemical markers for the assessment of direct sediment toxicity. Materials and methods This complex study included chemical analysis of contaminants (heavy metals, organic pollutants), ecotoxicity testing of sediment elutriates (tests with Daphnia magna, Pseudomonas putida, Sinapis alba, Scenedesmus subspicatus), and other parameters. We have tested in more detail the applicability of T. tubifex as a test organism for direct evaluation of contact sediment toxicity. Survival tests after 14 days of exposure were complemented by an assessment of parameters serving as biomarkers for sublethal effects [such as total glutathione content (GSH), activities of the enzymes glutathione transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR)]. The data matrix was subjected to multivariate analysis to interpret relationships between different parameters and possible differences among locations. Results The multivariate statistical techniques helped to clearly identify the more contaminated upstream sites and separate them from the less contaminated and reference samples. The data document closer relationships of the detected sediment contamination with results of direct sediment exposure in the T. tubifex test regarding mortality but namely

  8. CDIO Projects in DTU’s Chemical and Biochemical B.Eng. Study Program

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clement, Karsten; Harris, Pernille; Agersø, Yvonne

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to describe how the CDIO standards [1] have influenced the cross-disciplinary projects that are part of the study plan for the Chemical and Biochemical B.Eng. program. Four projects are described: The 1st semester design-build project on cleaning of waste water from a power...... plant, the 2nd semester laboratory project concerning antimicrobial resistant E. coli bacteria in retail meats, the 3rd semester project on unit operations in enzyme production, the 4th semester project on the fermentation and purification part of enzyme production....

  9. Electrocardiographic and hemato-biochemical effects of two balanced anesthetic protocols in dogs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anubhav Khurana

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare the electrocardiographic (ECG, hematological and clinico-biochemical effects of two balanced anesthetic protocols in dogs. Materials and Methods: A total of 20 clinical cases of dogs, randomly divided into two groups of 10 animals each were made part of study. All dogs were premedicated with injection atropine sulfate @ 0.04 mg/kg body weight (b. wt. subcutaneously followed 15 min later with injection butorphanol tartarate @ 0.2 mg/kg b. wt. intravenous (IV. Subsequently after 10 min premedicated with injection diazepam @ 0.5 mg/kg b. wt. IV (Group DP or injection acepromazine maleate @ 0.015 mg/kg b. wt. IV (Group AP followed by injection propofol “till effect” IV for induction of surgical anesthesia. The animals were immediately transferred to halothane in oxygen. Observations recorded in dogs included ECG recordings, hematological and clinico-biochemical observations at various time intervals. Results: No arrhythmia was observed in any animal pre-operatively and intra-operatively in any of the groups. Significant fall in packed cell volume (PCV and total erythrocyte count occurred in DP group in early phase, whereas only PCV decreased significantly in AP group. Biochemical parameters were non-significant in both the groups. Conclusion: Both diazepam-butorphanol-propofol-halothane and acepromazine-butorphanol-propofol-halothane are safe with respect to their ECG, hematological and biochemical effects in clinical cases.

  10. THE EVOLUTION OF SOME BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN THE HONEYBEES’ HAEMOLYMPH (A. M. CARPATHICA COLLECTED IN THE INACTIVE SEASON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AGRIPINA SAPCALIU

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available The biochemical analyses of the blood are largely used for the routine diagnosis and especially for the metabolic survey in farm animals. These facts conduct us to the idea that similar analyses, applied on honeybee hemolymph, could be used IN monitoring the healthy state of honeybee colonies. The present studies represent preliminary researches, which aimed to investigate the variability of the main biochemical parameters in the hemolymph of the healthy honeybees (Apis mellifera in inactive season. The researches were carried out on honeybee samples collected from 5 honeybee colonies belonging to a breeding apiary of the Institute for Beekeeping Research and Development from Bucharest. In order to perform the biochemical analyses, the honeybees samples, consisting in 50 individuals on sample (10 individuals/colony were randomly collected and their haemolimph collected, at different time intervals, in inactive season (fall-winter. Totally, there were collected 250 haemolyph samples in a 2 years interval and the following 21 biochemical parameters were analysed: GLU, HDL-c, ALP, T-cho, Tprot, Alb., BUN, LDH, CPK,, Mg, IP, GGT, GOT, GPT, Ca, Cre,, Amy, T–BIL, TG, UA.. The test was carried out after the collection and processing of the samples using the SPOTCHEM EZSP4430, equipment with dry kits, the slides technique, respectively .During the 2nd part of the inactive season, the values of most biochemical parameters increase in different proportions, their levels being maintained also in the first part of the active seasons (April, May, June.The values obtained for the main studied biochemical parameters in the haemolymph of the healthy honeybees collected from honeybee colonies kept in natural conditions show a highly variable evolution in the two consecutive years of experiments during the inactive season.

  11. Physiological and biochemical aspects of the effect of ionizing radiations on the lung parenchyma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasquier, Christian.

    1975-03-01

    Concerning the biochemical reactions of the lung parenchyma to irradiation the following points have been developed. Role of biochemically active substances (histamine, serotonin, kinins, catecholamines, prostaglandins) in the early reaction of the lung to irradiation, their common feature being their vascular impact point. Lung irradiation and lipids (fatty acids and lipid metabolism in general); irradiation, by raising the proportion of unsaturated at the expense of saturated fatty acids, may give rise to serious physiological respiratory disorders. Lung irradiation and blood fluidity (fibrinolytic activity, heparin, platelet factors). Pulmonary interstitium and irradiation (of the three interstitium components collagen plays a preferential part). Irradiation and immunological lung reaction (reasons behind the immunological theory, immunological assistance, immunological mechanism of pulmonary reactions towards pollutants). Enzymatic lung radiolesion indicators. Three kinds of physiological changes have been considered. Vascular physiology disturbances caused by the initial biochemical reactions; anomalies of physiological or functional trials, images of the lesion formed; disorders of the cell physiology of carcinogenesis [fr

  12. Oil bodies and their associated proteins, oleosin and caleosin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Gitte I.; Mundy, John; Tzen, Jason T. C.

    2001-01-01

    Oil bodies are lipid storage organelles which have been analyzed biochemically due to the economic importance of oil seeds. Although oil bodies are structurally simple, the mechanisms involved in their formation and degradation remain controversial. At present, only two proteins associated with oil....... (1999) Plant Cell Physiol 40: 1079-1086; Naested et al. (2000) Plant Mol Biol 44: 463-476]. Caleosin and caleosin-like proteins are not unique to oil bodies and are associated with an endoplasmatic reticulum subdomain in some cell types. Here we review the synthesis and degradation of oil bodies...

  13. RMBNToolbox: random models for biochemical networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niemi Jari

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is an increasing interest to model biochemical and cell biological networks, as well as to the computational analysis of these models. The development of analysis methodologies and related software is rapid in the field. However, the number of available models is still relatively small and the model sizes remain limited. The lack of kinetic information is usually the limiting factor for the construction of detailed simulation models. Results We present a computational toolbox for generating random biochemical network models which mimic real biochemical networks. The toolbox is called Random Models for Biochemical Networks. The toolbox works in the Matlab environment, and it makes it possible to generate various network structures, stoichiometries, kinetic laws for reactions, and parameters therein. The generation can be based on statistical rules and distributions, and more detailed information of real biochemical networks can be used in situations where it is known. The toolbox can be easily extended. The resulting network models can be exported in the format of Systems Biology Markup Language. Conclusion While more information is accumulating on biochemical networks, random networks can be used as an intermediate step towards their better understanding. Random networks make it possible to study the effects of various network characteristics to the overall behavior of the network. Moreover, the construction of artificial network models provides the ground truth data needed in the validation of various computational methods in the fields of parameter estimation and data analysis.

  14. Hormonal and biochemical profile in elite sportsmen during the preparation season

    OpenAIRE

    Fatemeh Islami; Abbas Ghanbar Niaki; Aliakbar Sharifiyan; Ramezanali Arabameri

    2018-01-01

    Concerns have been raised regarding the effects of short time intensive training on adolescent athletes. The aim of the present study was to investigate six weeks of volleyball training on hormonal and biochemical profile in elite high school male volleyball players in Golestan province (Iran) in preparation season to take part in global competitions of champion school in France. Subjects of training group consisted of 12 elite volleyball players in premier league students a...

  15. Nitric Oxide Deficit Is Part of the Maladaptive Paracrine-Autocrine Response of the Carotid Body to Intermittent Hypoxia in Sleep Apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fung, M L

    2015-01-01

    The carotid body functions to maintain the blood gas homeostasis, whereas anomalous carotid chemoreceptor activities could be pathogenic in patients with sleep apnea. Recent findings suggest an upregulation of renin-angiotensin system (Lam SY, Liu Y, Ng KM et al. Exp Physiol 99:220-231, 2014), which could lead to inflammation in the carotid body during intermittent hypoxia (Lam SY, Liu Y, Ng KM et al. Histochem Cell Biol 137:303-317, 2012). In addition, the level of nitric oxide detected in the carotid body was significantly decreased following intermittent hypoxia for days. These locally regulated mechanisms are proposed to be a significant part of the hypoxia-mediated maladaptive changes of the carotid body, which could play a role in the pathophysiological cascade of sleep apnea in patients with an overactivity of the chemoreflex.

  16. On the Adaptive Design Rules of Biochemical Networks in Evolution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bor-Sen Chen

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Biochemical networks are the backbones of physiological systems of organisms. Therefore, a biochemical network should be sufficiently robust (not sensitive to tolerate genetic mutations and environmental changes in the evolutionary process. In this study, based on the robustness and sensitivity criteria of biochemical networks, the adaptive design rules are developed for natural selection in the evolutionary process. This will provide insights into the robust adaptive mechanism of biochemical networks in the evolutionary process. We find that if a mutated biochemical network satisfies the robustness and sensitivity criteria of natural selection, there is a high probability for the biochemical network to prevail during natural selection in the evolutionary process. Since there are various mutated biochemical networks that can satisfy these criteria but have some differences in phenotype, the biochemical networks increase their diversities in the evolutionary process. The robustness of a biochemical network enables co-option so that new phenotypes can be generated in evolution. The proposed robust adaptive design rules of natural selection gain much insight into the evolutionary mechanism and provide a systematic robust biochemical circuit design method of biochemical networks for biotechnological and therapeutic purposes in the future.

  17. Improving Marine Ecosystem Models with Biochemical Tracers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pethybridge, Heidi R.; Choy, C. Anela; Polovina, Jeffrey J.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.

    2018-01-01

    Empirical data on food web dynamics and predator-prey interactions underpin ecosystem models, which are increasingly used to support strategic management of marine resources. These data have traditionally derived from stomach content analysis, but new and complementary forms of ecological data are increasingly available from biochemical tracer techniques. Extensive opportunities exist to improve the empirical robustness of ecosystem models through the incorporation of biochemical tracer data and derived indices, an area that is rapidly expanding because of advances in analytical developments and sophisticated statistical techniques. Here, we explore the trophic information required by ecosystem model frameworks (species, individual, and size based) and match them to the most commonly used biochemical tracers (bulk tissue and compound-specific stable isotopes, fatty acids, and trace elements). Key quantitative parameters derived from biochemical tracers include estimates of diet composition, niche width, and trophic position. Biochemical tracers also provide powerful insight into the spatial and temporal variability of food web structure and the characterization of dominant basal and microbial food web groups. A major challenge in incorporating biochemical tracer data into ecosystem models is scale and data type mismatches, which can be overcome with greater knowledge exchange and numerical approaches that transform, integrate, and visualize data.

  18. Raman spectroscopic biochemical mapping of tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Nicholas; Hart Prieto, Maria C.; Kendall, Catherine A.; Shetty, Geeta; Barr, Hugh

    2006-02-01

    Advances in technologies have brought us closer to routine spectroscopic diagnosis of early malignant disease. However, there is still a poor understanding of the carcinogenesis process. For example it is not known whether many cancers follow a logical sequence from dysplasia, to carcinoma in situ, to invasion. Biochemical tissue changes, triggered by genetic mutations, precede morphological and structural changes. These can be probed using Raman or FTIR microspectroscopy and the spectra analysed for biochemical constituents. Local microscopic distribution of various constituents can then be visualised. Raman mapping has been performed on a number of tissues including oesophagus, breast, bladder and prostate. The biochemical constituents have been calculated at each point using basis spectra and least squares analysis. The residual of the least squares fit indicates any unfit spectral components. The biochemical distribution will be compared with the defined histopathological boundaries. The distribution of nucleic acids, glycogen, actin, collagen I, III, IV, lipids and others appear to follow expected patterns.

  19. Simulation studies in biochemical signaling and enzyme reactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelatury, Sudarshan R.; Vagula, Mary C.

    2014-06-01

    Biochemical pathways characterize various biochemical reaction schemes that involve a set of species and the manner in which they are connected. Determination of schematics that represent these pathways is an important task in understanding metabolism and signal transduction. Examples of these Pathways are: DNA and protein synthesis, and production of several macro-molecules essential for cell survival. A sustained feedback mechanism arises in gene expression and production of mRNA that lead to protein synthesis if the protein so synthesized serves as a transcription factor and becomes a repressor of the gene expression. The cellular regulations are carried out through biochemical networks consisting of reactions and regulatory proteins. Systems biology is a relatively new area that attempts to describe the biochemical pathways analytically and develop reliable mathematical models for the pathways. A complete understanding of chemical reaction kinetics is prohibitively hard thanks to the nonlinear and highly complex mechanisms that regulate protein formation, but attempting to numerically solve some of the governing differential equations seems to offer significant insight about their biochemical picture. To validate these models, one can perform simple experiments in the lab. This paper introduces fundamental ideas in biochemical signaling and attempts to take first steps into the understanding of biochemical oscillations. Initially, the two-pool model of calcium is used to describe the dynamics behind the oscillations. Later we present some elementary results showing biochemical oscillations arising from solving differential equations of Elowitz and Leibler using MATLAB software.

  20. Biochemical Disincentives to Fertilizing Cellulosic Ethanol Crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, M. E.; Hockaday, W. C.; Snapp, S.; McSwiney, C.; Baldock, J.

    2010-12-01

    Corn grain biofuel crops produce the highest yields when the cropping ecosystem is not nitrogen (N)-limited, achieved by application of fertilizer. There are environmental consequences for excessive fertilizer application to crops, including greenhouse gas emissions, hypoxic “dead zones,” and health problems from N runoff into groundwater. The increase in corn acreage in response to demand for alternative fuels (i.e. ethanol) could exacerbate these problems, and divert food supplies to fuel production. A potential substitute for grain ethanol that could reduce some of these impacts is cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol feedstocks include grasses (switchgrass), hardwoods, and crop residues (e.g. corn stover, wheat straw). It has been assumed that these feedstocks will require similar N fertilization rates to grain biofuel crops to maximize yields, but carbohydrate yield versus N application has not previously been monitored. We report the biochemical stocks (carbohydrate, protein, and lignin in Mg ha-1) of a corn ecosystem grown under varying N levels. We measured biochemical yield in Mg ha-1 within the grain, leaf and stem, and reproductive parts of corn plants grown at seven N fertilization rates (0-202 kg N ha-1), to evaluate the quantity and quality of these feedstocks across a N fertilization gradient. The N fertilization rate study was performed at the Kellogg Biological Station-Long Term Ecological Research Site (KBS-LTER) in Michigan. Biochemical stocks were measured using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), combined with a molecular mixing model (Baldock et al. 2004). Carbohydrate and lignin are the main biochemicals of interest in ethanol production since carbohydrate is the ethanol feedstock, and lignin hinders the carbohydrate to ethanol conversion process. We show that corn residue carbohydrate yields respond only weakly to N fertilization compared to grain. Grain carbohydrate yields plateau in response to fertilization at

  1. Biochemical methane potential, biodegradability, alkali treatment and influence of chemical composition on methane yield of yard wastes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunaseelan, Victor Nallathambi

    2016-03-01

    In this study, the biochemical CH4 potential, rate, biodegradability, NaOH treatment and the influence of chemical composition on CH4 yield of yard wastes generated from seven trees were examined. All the plant parts were sampled for their chemical composition and subjected to the biochemical CH4 potential assay. The component parts exhibited significant variation in biochemical CH4 potential, which was reflected in their ultimate CH4 yields that ranged from 109 to 382 ml g(-1) volatile solids added and their rate constants that ranged from 0.042 to 0.173 d(-1). The biodegradability of the yard wastes ranged from 0.26 to 0.86. Variation in the biochemical CH4 potential of the yard wastes could be attributed to variation in the chemical composition of the different fractions. In the Thespesia yellow withered leaf, Tamarindus fruit pericarp and Albizia pod husk, NaOH treatment enhanced the ultimate CH4 yields by 17%, 77% and 63%, respectively, and biodegradability by 15%, 77% and 61%, respectively, compared with the untreated samples. The effectiveness of NaOH treatment varied for different yard wastes, depending on the amounts of acid detergent fibre content. Gliricidia petals, Prosopis leaf, inflorescence and immature pod, Tamarindus seeds, Albizia seeds, Cassia seeds and Delonix seeds exhibited CH4 yields higher than 300 ml g(-1) volatile solids added. Multiple linear regression models for predicting the ultimate CH4 yield and biodegradability of yard wastes were designed from the results of this work. © The Author(s) 2016.

  2. Biochemical Process Development and Integration | Bioenergy | NREL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biochemical Process Development and Integration Biochemical Process Development and Integration Our conversion and separation processes to pilot-scale integrated process development and scale up. We also Publications Accounting for all sugar produced during integrated production of ethanol from lignocellulosic

  3. Biochemical basis for the action of radioprotective drugs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romantsev, E.F.; Blokhina, V.D.; Zhulanova, Z.I.; Koshcheenko, N.N.; Filippovich, I.V.

    1977-01-01

    The hypothesis of complex biochemical mechanism of action of radioprotective drugs is described. Shortly after injection of radioprotective aminothiols into animals the inhibition of radiosensitive biochemical processes: DNA and RNA synthesis, protein synthesis and oxidative phosphorylation has been observed. The molecular mechanism of these phenomena consists of radioprotectors ability to form adsorption, thioester, amide, and disulphide bonds with appropriate enzymes. The curve reflecting the formation and breakdown of mixed disulphides between radioprotectors and proteins coincides well with that reflecting the radioprotective effect dependence on time. The radiobiological significance of molecular interactions observed may be interpreted as the diminution in ''spoiled'' molecules formation (inhibition of replication) and elevation in repartion rate. The inhibition of biochemical processes has the reversible nature and last for short time. The drugs acting according to so-called oxygen effect protect also by means of biochemical mechanisms. The molecular mechanism is mediated through their ability to bind to receptors, and biologically important molecules and macromolecules. As a result the inhibition of radiosensitive processes occurs, the ''spoiled'' molecules number is diminished and reparation takes place more easily. The idea on the complex biochemical mechanism of action of radioprotectors correlates with the proposal on complex biochemical mechanism responsible for interphase death occured after irradiation

  4. Biochemical reactions of the organism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fedorova, A.V.

    1984-01-01

    Effects of mercury, strontium chloride, GMDA, trichlorfon as well as some radionuclides ( 89 Sr, 137 Cs, 203 Hg) were studied on rats. Changes in biochemical parameters (histamine content, activity of cholinesterase and histaminase) are noted. Most noticeable changes were observed in enzymatic activity. Distortion of enzymatic systems and accumulation of intermediate exchange and decay products of tissues in excess quantities affecting other systems can be the reason for changes in the organism. The observed changes in biochemical parameters should be necessarily taken into account at hygienic regulations of harmful effects of enviroment

  5. Stochastic theory of nonequilibrium steady states. Part II: Applications in chemical biophysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ge Hao; Qian Min; Qian Hong

    2012-01-01

    The mathematical theory of nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) has a natural application in open biochemical systems which have sustained source(s) and sink(s) in terms of a difference in their chemical potentials. After a brief introduction in Section , in Part II of this review, we present the widely studied biochemical enzyme kinetics, the workhorse of biochemical dynamic modeling, in terms of the theory of NESS (Section ). We then show that several phenomena in enzyme kinetics, including a newly discovered activation–inhibition switching (Section ) and the well-known non-Michaelis–Menten-cooperativity (Section ) and kinetic proofreading (Section ), are all consequences of the NESS of driven biochemical systems with associated cycle fluxes. Section is focused on nonlinear and nonequilibrium systems of biochemical reactions. We use the phosphorylation–dephosphorylation cycle (PdPC), one of the most important biochemical signaling networks, as an example (Section ). It starts with a brief introduction of the Delbrück–Gillespie process approach to mesoscopic biochemical kinetics (Sections ). We shall discuss the zeroth-order ultrasensitivity of PdPC in terms of a new concept — the temporal cooperativity (Sections ), as well as PdPC with feedback which leads to biochemical nonlinear bistability (Section ). Also, both are nonequilibrium phenomena. PdPC with a nonlinear feedback is kinetically isomorphic to a self-regulating gene expression network, hence the theory of NESS discussed here could have wide applications to many other biochemical systems.

  6. Prevalence of biochemical and immunological abnormalities in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tile prevalence of biochemical and immunological abnormalities was studied in a group of 256 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (104 coloureds, 100 whites and 52 blacks). The most common biochemical abnormalities detected were a reduction in the serum creatinine value (43,4%), raised globulins (39,7%), raised serum ...

  7. [Biochemical diagnostics of fatal opium intoxication].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papyshev, I P; Astashkina, O G; Tuchik, E S; Nikolaev, B S; Cherniaev, A L

    2013-01-01

    Biochemical diagnostics of fatal opium intoxication remains a topical problem in forensic medical science and practice. We investigated materials obtained in the course of forensic medical expertise of the cases of fatal opium intoxication. The study revealed significant differences between myoglobin levels in blood, urine, myocardium, and skeletal muscles. The proposed approach to biochemical diagnostics of fatal opium intoxication enhances the accuracy and the level of evidence of expert conclusions.

  8. Computer-aided biochemical programming of synthetic microreactors as diagnostic devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courbet, Alexis; Amar, Patrick; Fages, François; Renard, Eric; Molina, Franck

    2018-04-26

    Biological systems have evolved efficient sensing and decision-making mechanisms to maximize fitness in changing molecular environments. Synthetic biologists have exploited these capabilities to engineer control on information and energy processing in living cells. While engineered organisms pose important technological and ethical challenges, de novo assembly of non-living biomolecular devices could offer promising avenues toward various real-world applications. However, assembling biochemical parts into functional information processing systems has remained challenging due to extensive multidimensional parameter spaces that must be sampled comprehensively in order to identify robust, specification compliant molecular implementations. We introduce a systematic methodology based on automated computational design and microfluidics enabling the programming of synthetic cell-like microreactors embedding biochemical logic circuits, or protosensors , to perform accurate biosensing and biocomputing operations in vitro according to temporal logic specifications. We show that proof-of-concept protosensors integrating diagnostic algorithms detect specific patterns of biomarkers in human clinical samples. Protosensors may enable novel approaches to medicine and represent a step toward autonomous micromachines capable of precise interfacing of human physiology or other complex biological environments, ecosystems, or industrial bioprocesses. © 2018 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.

  9. Advanced biochemical processes for geothermal brines FY 1998 annual operating plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-10-01

    As part of the overall Geothermal Energy Research which is aimed at the development of economical geothermal resources production systems, the aim of the Advanced Biochemical Processes for Geothermal Brines (ABPGB) effort is the development of economic and environmentally acceptable methods for disposal of geothermal wastes and conversion of by-products to useful forms. Methods are being developed for dissolution, separation and immobilization of geothermal wastes suitable for disposal, usable in inert construction materials, suitable for reinjection into the reservoir formation, or used for recovery of valuable metals.

  10. Biochemical and toxicological studies of aqueous extract of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biochemical and toxicological studies of aqueous extract of Syzigium ... tract diseases and also used as food spices), on some biochemical indices, such as ... liver functions and blood parameters were studied in adult albino rats of both sexes.

  11. eQuilibrator--the biochemical thermodynamics calculator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flamholz, Avi; Noor, Elad; Bar-Even, Arren; Milo, Ron

    2012-01-01

    The laws of thermodynamics constrain the action of biochemical systems. However, thermodynamic data on biochemical compounds can be difficult to find and is cumbersome to perform calculations with manually. Even simple thermodynamic questions like 'how much Gibbs energy is released by ATP hydrolysis at pH 5?' are complicated excessively by the search for accurate data. To address this problem, eQuilibrator couples a comprehensive and accurate database of thermodynamic properties of biochemical compounds and reactions with a simple and powerful online search and calculation interface. The web interface to eQuilibrator (http://equilibrator.weizmann.ac.il) enables easy calculation of Gibbs energies of compounds and reactions given arbitrary pH, ionic strength and metabolite concentrations. The eQuilibrator code is open-source and all thermodynamic source data are freely downloadable in standard formats. Here we describe the database characteristics and implementation and demonstrate its use.

  12. eQuilibrator—the biochemical thermodynamics calculator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flamholz, Avi; Noor, Elad; Bar-Even, Arren; Milo, Ron

    2012-01-01

    The laws of thermodynamics constrain the action of biochemical systems. However, thermodynamic data on biochemical compounds can be difficult to find and is cumbersome to perform calculations with manually. Even simple thermodynamic questions like ‘how much Gibbs energy is released by ATP hydrolysis at pH 5?’ are complicated excessively by the search for accurate data. To address this problem, eQuilibrator couples a comprehensive and accurate database of thermodynamic properties of biochemical compounds and reactions with a simple and powerful online search and calculation interface. The web interface to eQuilibrator (http://equilibrator.weizmann.ac.il) enables easy calculation of Gibbs energies of compounds and reactions given arbitrary pH, ionic strength and metabolite concentrations. The eQuilibrator code is open-source and all thermodynamic source data are freely downloadable in standard formats. Here we describe the database characteristics and implementation and demonstrate its use. PMID:22064852

  13. Combining phytoextraction and biochar addition improves soil biochemical properties in a soil contaminated with Cd.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Huanping; Li, Zhian; Fu, Shenglei; Méndez, Ana; Gascó, Gabriel; Paz-Ferreiro, Jorge

    2015-01-01

    The main goal of phytoremediation is to improve ecosystem functioning. Soil biochemical properties are considered as effective indicators of soil quality and are sensitive to various environmental stresses, including heavy metal contamination. The biochemical response in a soil contaminated with cadmium was tested after several treatments aimed to reduce heavy metal availability including liming, biochar addition and phytoextraction using Amaranthus tricolor L. Two biochars were added to the soil: eucalyptus pyrolysed at 600 °C (EB) and poultry litter at 400 °C (PLB). Two liming treatments were chosen with the aim of bringing soil pH to the same values as in the treatments EB and PLB. The properties studied included soil microbial biomass C, soil respiration and the activities of invertase, β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, urease and phosphomonoesterase. Both phytoremediation and biochar addition improved soil biochemical properties, although results were enzyme specific. For biochar addition these changes were partly, but not exclusively, mediated by alterations in soil pH. A careful choice of biochar must be undertaken to optimize the remediation process from the point of view of metal phytoextraction and soil biological activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Possible Biochemical Markers in Protein-Energy Malnutrition and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was carried out to determine possible biochemical markers in children suffering from Plasmodium falciparum malaria and Protein-Energy Malnutrition in a Hospital setting in Western Kenya. Spectrophotometric assays of selected biochemical parameters namely, albumin, total proteins, glucose, glutamate ...

  15. Possibilities and methods for biochemical assessment of radiation injury

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minkova, M [Meditsinska Akademiya, Sofia (Bulgaria). Nauchen Inst. po Rentgenologiya i Radiobiologiya

    1986-01-01

    An extensitive review (77 references) is made of the application of biochemical diagnostic methods for assessment of radiation diseases. A brief characteristics of several biochemical indicators is given: deoxycytidine, thymidine, rho-aminoisocarboxylic acid, DNA-ase, nucleic acids. Influence of such factors as age, sex, season etc. is studied by means of functional biochemical indicators as: creatine, triptophanic metabolites, 5-hydroxy-indolacetic acid, biogenic amines, serum proteins, enzymes, etc.

  16. Biochemical analysis of force-sensitive responses using a large-scale cell stretch device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renner, Derrick J; Ewald, Makena L; Kim, Timothy; Yamada, Soichiro

    2017-09-03

    Physical force has emerged as a key regulator of tissue homeostasis, and plays an important role in embryogenesis, tissue regeneration, and disease progression. Currently, the details of protein interactions under elevated physical stress are largely missing, therefore, preventing the fundamental, molecular understanding of mechano-transduction. This is in part due to the difficulty isolating large quantities of cell lysates exposed to force-bearing conditions for biochemical analysis. We designed a simple, easy-to-fabricate, large-scale cell stretch device for the analysis of force-sensitive cell responses. Using proximal biotinylation (BioID) analysis or phospho-specific antibodies, we detected force-sensitive biochemical changes in cells exposed to prolonged cyclic substrate stretch. For example, using promiscuous biotin ligase BirA* tagged α-catenin, the biotinylation of myosin IIA increased with stretch, suggesting the close proximity of myosin IIA to α-catenin under a force bearing condition. Furthermore, using phospho-specific antibodies, Akt phosphorylation was reduced upon stretch while Src phosphorylation was unchanged. Interestingly, phosphorylation of GSK3β, a downstream effector of Akt pathway, was also reduced with stretch, while the phosphorylation of other Akt effectors was unchanged. These data suggest that the Akt-GSK3β pathway is force-sensitive. This simple cell stretch device enables biochemical analysis of force-sensitive responses and has potential to uncover molecules underlying mechano-transduction.

  17. Dietary behaviour and health in Northern Ireland: an exploration of biochemical and haematological associations.

    OpenAIRE

    Barker, M E; McClean, S I; Strain, J J; Thompson, K A

    1992-01-01

    STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to determine the relationships between dietary behaviour and biochemical and haematological measures. DESIGN--This was a cross sectional population study. SETTING--The study took place in the general community within Northern Ireland. SUBJECTS--522 randomly selected adults aged 18-64 years took part (65% of the eligible sample). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS--Four dietary behaviours were identified using principal components analysis from 7 d weighed dietary recor...

  18. Haematological and blood biochemical indices of West African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Haematological and blood biochemical indices of West African dwarf goats vaccinated against Pestes des petit ruminants (PPR) ... blood biochemical indices of forty randomly selected West African dwarf (WAD) goats were studied. Packed cell volume ... neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and white blood cells (WBC) than females.

  19. BioNessie - a grid enabled biochemical networks simulation environment

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, X.; Jiang, J.; Ajayi, O.; Gu, X.; Gilbert, D.; Sinnott, R.O.

    2008-01-01

    The simulation of biochemical networks provides insight and understanding about the underlying biochemical processes and pathways used by cells and organisms. BioNessie is a biochemical network simulator which has been developed at the University of Glasgow. This paper describes the simulator and focuses in particular on how it has been extended to benefit from a wide variety of high performance compute resources across the UK through Grid technologies to support larger scale simulations.

  20. Definitions of biochemical failure in prostate cancer following radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Jeremy M.G.; Griffith, Kent A.; Sandler, Howard M.

    2001-01-01

    Purpose: The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) published a consensus panel definition of biochemical failure following radiation therapy for prostate cancer. In this paper, we develop a series of alternative definitions of biochemical failure. Using data from 688 patients, we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the various definitions, with respect to a defined 'clinically meaningful' outcome. Methods and Materials: The ASTRO definition of biochemical failure requires 3 consecutive rises in prostate-specific antigen (PSA). We considered several modifications to the standard definition: to require PSA rises of a certain magnitude, to consider 2 instead of 3 rises, to require the final PSA value to be greater than a fixed cutoff level, and to define biochemical failure based on the slope of PSA over 1, 1.5, or 2 years. A clinically meaningful failure is defined as local recurrence, distant metastases, initiation of unplanned hormonal therapy, unplanned radical prostatectomy, or a PSA>25 later than 6 months after radiation. Results: Requiring the final PSA in a series of consecutive rises to be larger than 1.5 ng/mL increased the specificity of biochemical failure. For a fixed specificity, defining biochemical failure based on 2 consecutive rises, or the slope over the last year, could increase the sensitivity by up to approximately 20%, compared to the ASTRO definition. Using a rule based on the slope over the previous year or 2 rises leads to a slightly earlier detection of biochemical failure than does the ASTRO definition. Even with the best rule, only approximately 20% of true failures are biochemically detected more than 1 year before the clinically meaningful event time. Conclusion: There is potential for improvement in the ASTRO consensus definition of biochemical failure. Further research is needed, in studies with long follow-up times, to evaluate the relationship between various definitions of biochemical failure and

  1. Biochemical changes in cuttings of Robinia pseudoacacia after treatment with naphthenate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SLAVKO KEVRESAN

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Naphthenic acids were isolated from gas oil fractions (distillation interval 168–290 °C of Vojvodina crude oil “Velebit”, characterized and their biological ac­tivity evaluated by the biochemical changes in cuttings of Robinia pseudoacacia after treatment with naphthenate. The activities of IAA peroxidase, total peroxi­da­ses and amylase, as well as the contents of reducing sugars and total proteins, were determined in the basal parts of soft wood cuttings of black locust after treat­ment with sodium naphthenate or the sodium salt of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA, con­­centration 10-7 mol dm-3 for 3 or 6 h. High activities of IAA oxidase and amy­lase, together with a low activity of peroxidase (which is known as being stimula­tory for the initiation and activation of primordia were obtained after the three-hour treatment with sodium naphthenate. Six-hour treatment had an inhibitory effect on the examined biochemical markers. The effects of three- and six-hour treatments with NAA were between those of the corresponding treatment with naphthenic acids.

  2. 40 CFR 158.2080 - Experimental use permit data requirements-biochemical pesticides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... requirements-biochemical pesticides. 158.2080 Section 158.2080 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES Biochemical Pesticides § 158.2080 Experimental use permit data requirements—biochemical pesticides. (a) Sections 158.2081...

  3. 77 FR 69627 - Findings of Research Misconduct

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of the Secretary Findings of Research Misconduct... Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH, grant R56 DK063025, and National... Physiol. 291(6):C1271-8, 2006 Am J. Physiol. Cell Physiol. 294(1):C295-305, 2008 J. Lipid Res. 42:1444...

  4. Accurate atom-mapping computation for biochemical reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latendresse, Mario; Malerich, Jeremiah P; Travers, Mike; Karp, Peter D

    2012-11-26

    The complete atom mapping of a chemical reaction is a bijection of the reactant atoms to the product atoms that specifies the terminus of each reactant atom. Atom mapping of biochemical reactions is useful for many applications of systems biology, in particular for metabolic engineering where synthesizing new biochemical pathways has to take into account for the number of carbon atoms from a source compound that are conserved in the synthesis of a target compound. Rapid, accurate computation of the atom mapping(s) of a biochemical reaction remains elusive despite significant work on this topic. In particular, past researchers did not validate the accuracy of mapping algorithms. We introduce a new method for computing atom mappings called the minimum weighted edit-distance (MWED) metric. The metric is based on bond propensity to react and computes biochemically valid atom mappings for a large percentage of biochemical reactions. MWED models can be formulated efficiently as Mixed-Integer Linear Programs (MILPs). We have demonstrated this approach on 7501 reactions of the MetaCyc database for which 87% of the models could be solved in less than 10 s. For 2.1% of the reactions, we found multiple optimal atom mappings. We show that the error rate is 0.9% (22 reactions) by comparing these atom mappings to 2446 atom mappings of the manually curated Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) RPAIR database. To our knowledge, our computational atom-mapping approach is the most accurate and among the fastest published to date. The atom-mapping data will be available in the MetaCyc database later in 2012; the atom-mapping software will be available within the Pathway Tools software later in 2012.

  5. Biochemical Removal of HAP Precursors From Coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olson, G.; Tucker, L.; Richards, J.

    1997-07-01

    This project addresses DOE`s interest in advanced concepts for controlling emissions of air toxics from coal-fired utility boilers. We are determining the feasibility of developing a biochemical process for the precombustion removal of substantial percentages of 13 inorganic hazardous air pollutant (HAP) precursors from coal. These HAP precursors are Sb, As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cl, Co, F, Pb, Hg, Mn, Ni, and Se. Although rapid physical coal cleaning is done routinely in preparation plants, biochemical processes for removal of HAP precursors from coal potentially offer advantages of deeper cleaning, more specificity, and less coal loss. Compared to chemical processes for coal cleaning, biochemical processes potentially offer lower costs and milder process conditions. Pyrite oxidizing bacteria, most notably Thiobacillusferrooxidans, are being evaluated in this project for their ability to remove HAP precursors from U.S. coals.

  6. Biochemical Removal of HAP Precursors From Coal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olson, G.; Tucker, L.; Richards, J.

    1997-07-01

    This project addresses DOE's interest in advanced concepts for controlling emissions of air toxics from coal-fired utility boilers. We are determining the feasibility of developing a biochemical process for the precombustion removal of substantial percentages of 13 inorganic hazardous air pollutant (HAP) precursors from coal. These HAP precursors are Sb, As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cl, Co, F, Pb, Hg, Mn, Ni, and Se. Although rapid physical coal cleaning is done routinely in preparation plants, biochemical processes for removal of HAP precursors from coal potentially offer advantages of deeper cleaning, more specificity, and less coal loss. Compared to chemical processes for coal cleaning, biochemical processes potentially offer lower costs and milder process conditions. Pyrite oxidizing bacteria, most notably Thiobacillusferrooxidans, are being evaluated in this project for their ability to remove HAP precursors from U.S. coals

  7. Craniometaphyseal dysplasia with obvious biochemical abnormality and rickets-like features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bo; Jiang, Yan; Wang, Ou; Li, Mei; Xing, Xiao-Ping; Xia, Wei-Bo

    2016-05-01

    Craniometaphyseal dysplasia (CMD) is a rare genetic disorder that is characterized by progressive sclerosis of the craniofacial bones and metaphyseal widening of long bones, and biochemical indexes were mostly normal. To further the understanding of the disease from a biochemical perspective, we reported a CMD case with obviously abnormal biochemical indexes. A 1-year-old boy was referred to our clinic. Biochemical test showed obviously increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and parathyroid hormone (PTH), mild hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia. Moreover, significant elevated receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) level, but normal β-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (β-CTX) concentration were revealed. He was initially suspected of rickets, because the radiological examination also showed broadened epiphysis in his long bones. Supplementation with calcium and calcitriol alleviated biochemical abnormality. However, the patient gradually developed osteosclerosis which was inconformity with rickets. Considering that he was also presented with facial paralysis and nasal obstruction symptom, the diagnosis of craniometaphyseal dysplasia was suspected, and then was confirmed by the mutation analysis of ANKH of the proband and his family, which showed a de novo heterozygous mutation (C1124-1126delCCT) on exon 9. Our study revealed that obvious biochemical abnormality and rickets-like features might present as uncommon characteristics in CMD patients, and the calcium and calcitriol supplementation could alleviate biochemical abnormalities. Furthermore, although early osteoclast differentiation factor was excited in CMD patient, activity of osteoclast was still inert. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  8. Kombucha tea fermentation: Microbial and biochemical dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakravorty, Somnath; Bhattacharya, Semantee; Chatzinotas, Antonis; Chakraborty, Writachit; Bhattacharya, Debanjana; Gachhui, Ratan

    2016-03-02

    Kombucha tea, a non-alcoholic beverage, is acquiring significant interest due to its claimed beneficial properties. The microbial community of Kombucha tea consists of bacteria and yeast which thrive in two mutually non-exclusive compartments: the soup or the beverage and the biofilm floating on it. The microbial community and the biochemical properties of the beverage have so far mostly been described in separate studies. This, however, may prevent understanding the causal links between the microbial communities and the beneficial properties of Kombucha tea. Moreover, an extensive study into the microbial and biochemical dynamics has also been missing. In this study, we thus explored the structure and dynamics of the microbial community along with the biochemical properties of Kombucha tea at different time points up to 21 days of fermentation. We hypothesized that several biochemical properties will change during the course of fermentation along with the shifts in the yeast and bacterial communities. The yeast community of the biofilm did not show much variation over time and was dominated by Candida sp. (73.5-83%). The soup however, showed a significant shift in dominance from Candida sp. to Lachancea sp. on the 7th day of fermentation. This is the first report showing Candida as the most dominating yeast genus during Kombucha fermentation. Komagateibacter was identified as the single largest bacterial genus present in both the biofilm and the soup (~50%). The bacterial diversity was higher in the soup than in the biofilm with a peak on the seventh day of fermentation. The biochemical properties changed with the progression of the fermentation, i.e., beneficial properties of the beverage such as the radical scavenging ability increased significantly with a maximum increase at day 7. We further observed a significantly higher D-saccharic acid-1,4-lactone content and caffeine degradation property compared to previously described Kombucha tea fermentations. Our

  9. Biochemical markers of bone turnover

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Deog Yoon

    1999-01-01

    Biochemical markers of bone turnover has received increasing attention over the past few years, because of the need for sensitivity and specific tool in the clinical investigation of osteoporosis. Bone markers should be unique to bone, reflect changes of bone less, and should be correlated with radiocalcium kinetics, histomorphometry, or changes in bone mass. The markers also should be useful in monitoring treatment efficacy. Although no bone marker has been established to meet all these criteria, currently osteocalcin and pyridinium crosslinks are the most efficient markers to assess the level of bone turnover in the menopausal and senile osteoporosis. Recently, N-terminal telopeptide (NTX), C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) and bone specific alkaline phosphatase are considered as new valid markers of bone turnover. Recent data suggest that CTX and free deoxypyridinoline could predict the subsequent risk of hip fracture of elderly women. Treatment of postmenopausal women with estrogen, calcitonin and bisphosphonates demonstrated rapid decrease of the levels of bone markers that correlated with the long-term increase of bone mass. Factors such as circadian rhythms, diet, age, sex, bone mass and renal function affect the results of biochemical markers and should be appropriately adjusted whenever possible. Each biochemical markers of bone turnover may have its own specific advantages and limitations. Recent advances in research will provide more sensitive and specific assays

  10. Measures of Biochemical Sociology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snell, Joel; Marsh, Mitchell

    2008-01-01

    In a previous article, the authors introduced a new sub field in sociology that we labeled "biochemical sociology." We introduced the definition of a sociology that encompasses sociological measures, psychological measures, and biological indicators Snell & Marsh (2003). In this article, we want to demonstrate a research strategy that would assess…

  11. Discovering Reliable Sources of Biochemical Thermodynamic Data to Aid Students' Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Me´ndez, Eduardo; Cerda´, María F.

    2016-01-01

    Students of physical chemistry in biochemical disciplines need biochemical examples to capture the need, not always understood, of a difficult area in their studies. The use of thermodynamic data in the chemical reference state may lead to incorrect interpretations in the analysis of biochemical examples when the analysis does not include relevant…

  12. 'BioNessie(G) - a grid enabled biochemical networks simulation environment

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, X; Jiang, J; Ajayi, O; Gu, X; Gilbert, D; Sinnott, R

    2008-01-01

    The simulation of biochemical networks provides insight and understanding about the underlying biochemical processes and pathways used by cells and organisms. BioNessie is a biochemical network simulator which has been developed at the University of Glasgow. This paper describes the simulator and focuses in particular on how it has been extended to benefit from a wide variety of high performance compute resources across the UK through Grid technologies to support larger scal...

  13. Exploring basic biochemical constituents in the body tissues of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Feeding regime did not influence susceptibility to mass loss during export. Animal age influenced the biochemical composition and export performance of abalone. Keywords: abalone; aquaculture; feeds; Haliotis midae; live export; mass loss; tissue biochemical constituents. African Journal of Marine Science 2010, 32(1): ...

  14. Haematological and biochemical reference values for healthy adults in the middle belt of Ghana.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David K Dosoo

    Full Text Available Reference values are very important in clinical management of patients, screening participants for enrollment into clinical trials and for monitoring the onset of adverse events during these trials. The aim of this was to establish gender-specific haematological and biochemical reference values for healthy adults in the central part of Ghana.A total of 691 adults between 18 and 59 years resident in the Kintampo North Municipality and South District in the central part of Ghana were randomly selected using the Kintampo Health and Demographic Surveillance System and enrolled in this cross-sectional survey. Out of these, 625 adults made up of 316 males and 309 females were assessed by a clinician to be healthy. Median values and nonparametric 95% reference values for 16 haematology and 22 biochemistry parameters were determined for this population based on the Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute guidelines. Values established in this study were compared with the Caucasian values being used currently by our laboratory as reference values and also with data from other African and western countries.REFERENCE VALUES ESTABLISHED INCLUDE: haemoglobin 113-164 g/L for males and 88-144 g/L for females; total white blood cell count 3.4-9.2 × 10(9/L; platelet count 88-352 × 10(9/L for males and 89-403 × 10(9/L for females; alanine aminotransferase 8-54 U/L for males and 6-51 U/L for females; creatinine 56-119 µmol/L for males and 53-106 µmol/L for females. Using the haematological reference values based on the package inserts would have screened out up to 53% of potential trial participants and up to 25% of the population using the biochemical parameters.We have established a panel of locally relevant reference parameters for commonly used haematological and biochemical tests. This is important as it will help in the interpretation of laboratory results both for clinical management of patients and safety monitoring during a trial.

  15. Biochemical Stimulus-Based Strategies for Meniscus Tissue Engineering and Regeneration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Mingxue; Guo, Weimin; Gao, Shunag; Hao, Chunxiang; Shen, Shi; Zhang, Zengzeng; Wang, Zhenyong; Wang, Zehao; Li, Xu; Jing, Xiaoguang; Zhang, Xueliang; Yuan, Zhiguo; Wang, Mingjie; Zhang, Yu; Peng, Jiang; Wang, Aiyuan; Wang, Yu; Sui, Xiang

    2018-01-01

    Meniscus injuries are very common and still pose a challenge for the orthopedic surgeon. Meniscus injuries in the inner two-thirds of the meniscus remain incurable. Tissue-engineered meniscus strategies seem to offer a new approach for treating meniscus injuries with a combination of seed cells, scaffolds, and biochemical or biomechanical stimulation. Cell- or scaffold-based strategies play a pivotal role in meniscus regeneration. Similarly, biochemical and biomechanical stimulation are also important. Seed cells and scaffolds can be used to construct a tissue-engineered tissue; however, stimulation to enhance tissue maturation and remodeling is still needed. Such stimulation can be biomechanical or biochemical, but this review focuses only on biochemical stimulation. Growth factors (GFs) are one of the most important forms of biochemical stimulation. Frequently used GFs always play a critical role in normal limb development and growth. Further understanding of the functional mechanism of GFs will help scientists to design the best therapy strategies. In this review, we summarize some of the most important GFs in tissue-engineered menisci, as well as other types of biological stimulation. PMID:29581987

  16. Thermodynamically consistent Bayesian analysis of closed biochemical reaction systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goutsias John

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Estimating the rate constants of a biochemical reaction system with known stoichiometry from noisy time series measurements of molecular concentrations is an important step for building predictive models of cellular function. Inference techniques currently available in the literature may produce rate constant values that defy necessary constraints imposed by the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. As a result, these techniques may lead to biochemical reaction systems whose concentration dynamics could not possibly occur in nature. Therefore, development of a thermodynamically consistent approach for estimating the rate constants of a biochemical reaction system is highly desirable. Results We introduce a Bayesian analysis approach for computing thermodynamically consistent estimates of the rate constants of a closed biochemical reaction system with known stoichiometry given experimental data. Our method employs an appropriately designed prior probability density function that effectively integrates fundamental biophysical and thermodynamic knowledge into the inference problem. Moreover, it takes into account experimental strategies for collecting informative observations of molecular concentrations through perturbations. The proposed method employs a maximization-expectation-maximization algorithm that provides thermodynamically feasible estimates of the rate constant values and computes appropriate measures of estimation accuracy. We demonstrate various aspects of the proposed method on synthetic data obtained by simulating a subset of a well-known model of the EGF/ERK signaling pathway, and examine its robustness under conditions that violate key assumptions. Software, coded in MATLAB®, which implements all Bayesian analysis techniques discussed in this paper, is available free of charge at http://www.cis.jhu.edu/~goutsias/CSS%20lab/software.html. Conclusions Our approach provides an attractive statistical methodology for

  17. Enzyme and biochemical producing fungi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lübeck, Peter Stephensen; Lübeck, Mette; Nilsson, Lena

    2010-01-01

    factories for sustainable production of important molecules. For developing fungi into efficient cell factories, the project includes identification of important factors that control the flux through the pathways using metabolic flux analysis and metabolic engineering of biochemical pathways....

  18. Removal of ammonia nitrogen from leachate of Muribeca municipal solid waste landfill, Pernambuco, Brazil, using natural zeolite as part of a biochemical system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lins, Cecilia Maria M S; Alves, Maria Cristina M; Campos, Juacyara C; Silva, Fabrícia Maria S; Jucá, José Fernando T; Lins, Eduardo Antonio M

    2015-01-01

    The inadequate disposal of leachate is one of the key factors in the environmental impact of urban solid waste landfills in Brazil. Among the compounds present in the leachates from Brazilian landfills, ammonia nitrogen is notable for its high concentrations. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficiency of a permeable reactive barrier filled with a natural zeolite, which is part of a biochemical system for the tertiary treatment of the leachate from Muribeca Municipal Solid Waste Landfill in Pernambuco, Brazil, to reduce its ammonia nitrogen concentration. This investigation initially consisted of kinetic studies and batch equilibrium tests on the natural zeolite to construct the sorption isotherms, which showed a high sorption capacity, with an average of 12.4 mg NH4+.L(-1), a value close to the sorption rates found for the aqueous ammonium chloride solution. A permeable reactive barrier consisting of natural zeolite, as simulated by the column test, was efficient in removing the ammonia nitrogen present in the leachate pretreated with calcium hydroxide. Nevertheless, the regenerated zeolite did not satisfactorily maintain the sorption properties of the natural zeolite, and an analysis of their cation-exchange properties showed a reduced capacity of 54 meq per 100 g for the regenerated zeolite compared to 150 meq per 100 g for the natural zeolite.

  19. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis of biochemical reaction systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hong-Xuan; Dempsey, William P; Goutsias, John

    2009-09-07

    Sensitivity analysis is an indispensable tool for studying the robustness and fragility properties of biochemical reaction systems as well as for designing optimal approaches for selective perturbation and intervention. Deterministic sensitivity analysis techniques, using derivatives of the system response, have been extensively used in the literature. However, these techniques suffer from several drawbacks, which must be carefully considered before using them in problems of systems biology. We develop here a probabilistic approach to sensitivity analysis of biochemical reaction systems. The proposed technique employs a biophysically derived model for parameter fluctuations and, by using a recently suggested variance-based approach to sensitivity analysis [Saltelli et al., Chem. Rev. (Washington, D.C.) 105, 2811 (2005)], it leads to a powerful sensitivity analysis methodology for biochemical reaction systems. The approach presented in this paper addresses many problems associated with derivative-based sensitivity analysis techniques. Most importantly, it produces thermodynamically consistent sensitivity analysis results, can easily accommodate appreciable parameter variations, and allows for systematic investigation of high-order interaction effects. By employing a computational model of the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling cascade, we demonstrate that our approach is well suited for sensitivity analysis of biochemical reaction systems and can produce a wealth of information about the sensitivity properties of such systems. The price to be paid, however, is a substantial increase in computational complexity over derivative-based techniques, which must be effectively addressed in order to make the proposed approach to sensitivity analysis more practical.

  20. Characterizing multistationarity regimes in biochemical reaction networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irene Otero-Muras

    Full Text Available Switch like responses appear as common strategies in the regulation of cellular systems. Here we present a method to characterize bistable regimes in biochemical reaction networks that can be of use to both direct and reverse engineering of biological switches. In the design of a synthetic biological switch, it is important to study the capability for bistability of the underlying biochemical network structure. Chemical Reaction Network Theory (CRNT may help at this level to decide whether a given network has the capacity for multiple positive equilibria, based on their structural properties. However, in order to build a working switch, we also need to ensure that the bistability property is robust, by studying the conditions leading to the existence of two different steady states. In the reverse engineering of biological switches, knowledge collected about the bistable regimes of the underlying potential model structures can contribute at the model identification stage to a drastic reduction of the feasible region in the parameter space of search. In this work, we make use and extend previous results of the CRNT, aiming not only to discriminate whether a biochemical reaction network can exhibit multiple steady states, but also to determine the regions within the whole space of parameters capable of producing multistationarity. To that purpose we present and justify a condition on the parameters of biochemical networks for the appearance of multistationarity, and propose an efficient and reliable computational method to check its satisfaction through the parameter space.

  1. SABIO-RK: A data warehouse for biochemical reactions and their kinetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krebs Olga

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Systems biology is an emerging field that aims at obtaining a system-level understanding of biological processes. The modelling and simulation of networks of biochemical reactions have great and promising application potential but require reliable kinetic data. In order to support the systems biology community with such data we have developed SABIO-RK (System for the Analysis of Biochemical Pathways - Reaction Kinetics, a curated database with information about biochemical reactions and their kinetic properties, which allows researchers to obtain and compare kinetic data and to integrate them into models of biochemical networks. SABIO-RK is freely available for academic use at http://sabio.villa-bosch.de/SABIORK/.

  2. Foraging dives by post-breeding northern pintails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Michael R.

    1983-01-01

    Dabbling ducks (Anatini), including Northern Pintails (Anas acuta), typically feed by “tipping-up” (Bellrose, Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1976) in shallow water. Pintails are not as adapted for diving as members of Aythyini or Oxyurini (Catlett and Johnston, Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 47A:925-931, 1974); however, incidents of foraging dives by small numbers of pintails have been reported (Chapman et al., Br. Birds 52:60, 1959; Bourget and Chapdelaine, Wildfowl 26:55-57, 1975). This paper reports on forage diving by a flock of several hundred pintails. Ecological explanations are suggested to account for the behavior and comparisons with tip-up feeding are presented.

  3. Pin count-aware biochemical application compilation for mVLSI biochips

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lander Raagaard, Michael; Pop, Paul

    2015-01-01

    Microfluidic biochips are replacing the conventional biochemical analyzers and are able to integrate the necessary functions for biochemical analysis on-chip. In this paper we are interested in flow-based biochips, in which the fluidic flow manipulated using integrated microvalves, which are cont...... a biochemical application. We focus on the compilation task, where the strategy is to delay operations, without missing their deadlines, such that the sharing of control signals is maximized. The evaluation shows a significant reduction in the number of control pins required....

  4. Development of a new first-aid biochemical detector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jingfei; Liao, Haiyang; Su, Shilin; Ding, Hao; Liu, Suquan

    2016-10-01

    The traditional biochemical detector exhibits poor adaptability, inconvenient carrying and slow detection, which can't meet the needs of first-aid under field condition like natural or man-made disasters etc. Therefore a scheme of first-aid biochemical detector based on MOMES Micro Spectrometer, UV LED and Photodiode was proposed. An optical detection structure combined continuous spectrum sweep with fixed wavelength measurement was designed, which adopted mobile detection optical path consisting of Micro Spectrometer and Halogen Lamp to detect Chloride (Cl-), Creatinine (Cre), Glucose (Glu), Hemoglobin (Hb). The UV LED and Photodiode were designed to detect Potassium (K-), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Sodium (Na+). According to the field diagnosis and treatment requirements, we designed the embedded control hardware circuit and software system, the prototype of first-aid biochemical detector was developed and the clinical trials were conducted. Experimental results show that the sample's absorbance repeatability is less than 2%, the max coefficient of variation (CV) in the batch repeatability test of all 7 biochemical parameters in blood samples is 4.68%, less than the clinical requirements 10%, the correlation coefficient (R2) in the clinical contrast test with AU5800 is almost greater than 0.97. To sum up, the prototype meets the requirements of clinical application.

  5. Biochemical failure after radical external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomoto, Satoshi; Imada, Hajime; Kato, Fumio; Yahara, Katsuya; Morioka, Tomoaki; Ohguri, Takayuki; Nakano, Keita; Korogi, Yukunori

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate biochemical failures after radical external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer. A total of 143 patients with prostate cancer (5 cases in stage A2, 95 in stage B and 43 in stage C; 18 in low risk group, 37 in intermediate risk group, 67 in high risk group and 21 in unknown group) were included in this study. Patients of stage A2 and B underwent external irradiation of 46 Gy to the prostate gland and seminal vesicle and additional 20 Gy to the prostate gland, while patients of stage C underwent external irradiation of 66 Gy to the prostate gland and seminal vesicle including 46 Gy to the pelvis. Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy was done in 66 cases, and long-term hormonal therapy in 75 cases; two cases were treated with radiation therapy alone. The 3-year relapse free survival rates by stage A2, B and C were 100%, 96.7% and 88.1%, respectively. The 3-year relapse free survival rates by low, intermediate and high risk groups were 100%, 92.3% and 89.7%, respectively. Biochemical failure was noted in nine cases during the average observation term of 32.2 months; in this group the median of prostate specific antigen (PSA) value was 2.6 ng/ml, the doubling time was 8.6 months, and the term of biochemical failure was 33.2 months. Six of eight cases with biochemical failure were the neoadjuvant hormonal therapy group, but biochemical no evidence of disease (bNED) curve showed no significant difference between neoadjuvant and long-term hormonal groups. It is supposed that unnecessary hormonal therapies were performed based on the nonspecific diagnosis of biochemical failure after radical radiotherapy in our group of patients. A precise criterion of biochemical failure after radical radiotherapy for prostate cancer is necessary. (author)

  6. Multidimensional biochemical information processing of dynamical patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasegawa, Yoshihiko

    2018-02-01

    Cells receive signaling molecules by receptors and relay information via sensory networks so that they can respond properly depending on the type of signal. Recent studies have shown that cells can extract multidimensional information from dynamical concentration patterns of signaling molecules. We herein study how biochemical systems can process multidimensional information embedded in dynamical patterns. We model the decoding networks by linear response functions, and optimize the functions with the calculus of variations to maximize the mutual information between patterns and output. We find that, when the noise intensity is lower, decoders with different linear response functions, i.e., distinct decoders, can extract much information. However, when the noise intensity is higher, distinct decoders do not provide the maximum amount of information. This indicates that, when transmitting information by dynamical patterns, embedding information in multiple patterns is not optimal when the noise intensity is very large. Furthermore, we explore the biochemical implementations of these decoders using control theory and demonstrate that these decoders can be implemented biochemically through the modification of cascade-type networks, which are prevalent in actual signaling pathways.

  7. SBOLme: a Repository of SBOL Parts for Metabolic Engineering

    KAUST Repository

    Kuwahara, Hiroyuki

    2017-01-12

    The Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) is a community-driven open language to promote standardization in synthetic biology. To support the use of SBOL in metabolic engineering, we developed SBOLme, the first open-access repository of SBOL 2-compliant biochemical parts for a wide range of metabolic engineering applications. The URL of our repository is http://www.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/sbolme.

  8. A comparison of different Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta) parts in biochemical characteristics, protoplast formation and regeneration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhongxia; Sui, Zhenghong; Hu, Yiyi; Zhang, Si; Pan, Yulong; Ju, Hongri

    2014-08-01

    Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is a commercially exploited alga. Its filaceous thallus can be divided into three parts, holdfast, middle segment and tip. The growth and branch forming trend and agar content of these three parts were analyzed, respectively, in this study. The results showed that the tip had the highest growth rate and branched most, although it was the last part with branch forming ability. The holdfast formed branches earliest but slowly. Holdfast had the highest agar content. We also assessed the difference in protoplast formation and regeneration among three parts. The middle segment displayed the shortest enzymolysis time and the highest protoplast yield; whereas the tip had the strongest vitality of protoplasts formation. Juvenile plants were only obtained from the protoplasts generated from the tip. These results suggested that the differentiation and function of G. lemaneiformis was different.

  9. Lack of seasonal variation in bone mass and biochemical estimates of bone turnover

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Overgaard, K.; Nilas, L.; Johansen, J.S.; Christiansen, C.

    1988-01-01

    Three previous studies have indicated a seasonal variation in bone mineral content, with values during the summer being 1.7% to 7.5% higher than during the winter. We have examined the seasonal influence on both bone mass, biochemical estimates of bone turnover and vitamin D metabolites in 86 healthy women, aged 29-53 years. All participants were followed up for 2 years with examinations every 6 weeks or 3 months. Bone mineral content in the proximal and distal part of the forearm (single photon absorptiometry) did not reveal any significant seasonal variation, whereas bone mineral density of the lumbar spine (dual photon absorptiometry) indicated that the highest values occurred in winter. None of the biochemical parameters showed any statistically significant cyclical changes. Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 showed a highly significant seasonal variation, whereas the serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentration was virtually unchanged. We conclude that seasonal variation in bone mineral content and bone turnover should not be taken into account when interpreting data from longitudinal studies of healthy pre- and postmenopausal women on a sufficient vitamin D nutriture

  10. Biochemical markers in the follow-up of medullary thyroid cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, Jan Willem B.; Kema, Ido P.; Breukelman, Henk; van der Veer, Eveline; Wiggers, Theo; Plukker, John T. M.; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.; Links, Thera P.

    2006-01-01

    Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) shares biochemical features with other neuroendocrine tumors but the particular characteristics are largely unexplored. We investigated the biochemical neuroendocrine profile of MTC and whether specific markers could be useful in follow-up. In addition to the standard

  11. Biochemical evaluation of phenylketonuria (PKU: from diagnosis to treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leticia Belmont-Martínez

    2014-07-01

    Besides periodical Phe and Tyr testing, biochemical follow-up includes the measurement of necessary elements that guarantee normal physical and intellectual development such as selenium, zinc, B12 vitamin, folates, iron and long chain fatty acids. Clinical context is as important as biochemical status so periodic evaluation of nutritional, medical, social and psychological aspects should be included.

  12. An improved solution of first order kinetics for biochemical oxygen ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper evaluated selected Biochemical Oxygen Demand first order kinetics methods. Domesticinstitutional wastewaters were collected twice in a month for three months from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife waste stabilization ponds. Biochemical Oxygen Demand concentrations at different days were determined ...

  13. The effects of Islamic fasting on blood hematological-biochemical parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad Reza Sedaghat

    2017-06-01

    Conclusion:This study on healthy subjects suggests that fasting could affect some hematological-biochemical parameters but not all of them. Also, these changes in hematological-biochemical parameters were within the normal range and Ramadan fasting seems to be safe for healthy subjects.

  14. Salvage conformal radiotherapy for biochemical recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos R. Monti

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Assess the results of salvage conformal radiotherapy in patients with biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy and identify prognostic factors for biochemical recurrence and toxicity of the treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 1998 to November 2001, 35 patients were submitted to conformal radiotherapy for PSA > 0.2 ng/mL in progression after radical prostatectomy and were retrospectively analyzed. The mean dose of radiation in prostatic bed was of 77.4 Gy (68-81. Variables related to the treatment and to tumor were assessed to identify prognostic factors for biochemical recurrence after salvage radiotherapy. RESULTS: The median follow-up was of 55 months (17-83. The actuarial survival rates free of biochemical recurrence and free of metastasis at a distance of 5 years were 79.7% e 84.7%, respectively. The actuarial global survival rate in 5 years was 96.1%.The actuarial survival rate free of biochemical recurrence in 5 years was 83.3% with PSA pre-radiotherapy 1 and 2 (p = 0.023. Dose > 70 Gy in 30% of the bladder volume implied in more acute urinary toxicity (p = 0.035. The mean time for the development of late urinary toxicity was 21 months (12-51. Dose > 55 Gy in 50% bladder volume implied in more late urinary toxicity (p = 0.018. A patient presented late rectal toxicity of 2nd grade. CONCLUSIONS: Conformal radiotherapy showed to be effective for the control of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Patients with pre-therapy PSA < 2 ng/mL have more biochemical control.

  15. Factors in Maximal Power Production and in Exercise Endurance Relative to Maximal Power

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-10-13

    Mechanical efficiency of fast -and slow - twitch muscle fibers in mnan during cycling. J. ADLi Physiol.:Reespirat. Environ. Exercise Physiol. 47: 263- 267...R.S. Hikida, and F.C. Hagerman. Myofibrillar ATPase activity in hu-man muscle fast - twitch subtypes. Histochem. 78: 405-408, 1983. 31. Suzuki, Y...capacity and muscle fibre composition in mnan. J. Physiol (London) 354: 73P, 1984. 21. Margaria, R., P. Aghemo, and E. Rovelli. Measurement of muscular

  16. Circadian Clocks: Unexpected Biochemical Cogs

    OpenAIRE

    Mori, Tetsuya; Mchaourab, Hassane; Johnson, Carl Hirschie

    2015-01-01

    A circadian oscillation can be reconstituted in vitro from three proteins that cycles with a period of ~24 h. Two recent studies provide surprising biochemical answers to why this remarkable oscillator has such a long time constant and how it can switch effortlessly between alternating enzymatic modes.

  17. Biochemical correlates in an animal model of depression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, J.O.

    1986-01-01

    A valid animal model of depression was used to explore specific adrenergic receptor differences between rats exhibiting aberrant behavior and control groups. Preliminary experiments revealed a distinct upregulation of hippocampal beta-receptors (as compared to other brain regions) in those animals acquiring a response deficit as a result of exposure to inescapable footshock. Concurrent studies using standard receptor binding techniques showed no large changes in the density of alpha-adrenergic, serotonergic, or dopaminergic receptor densities. This led to the hypothesis that the hippocampal beta-receptor in responses deficient animals could be correlated with the behavioral changes seen after exposure to the aversive stimulus. Normalization of the behavior through the administration of antidepressants could be expected to reverse the biochemical changes if these are related to the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs. This study makes three important points: (1) there is a relevant biochemical change in the hippocampus of response deficient rats which occurs in parallel to a well-defined behavior, (2) the biochemical and behavioral changes are normalized by antidepressant treatments exhibiting both serotonergic and adrenergic mechanisms of action, and (3) the mode of action of antidepressants in this model is probably a combination of serotonergic and adrenergic influences modulating the hippocampal beta-receptor. These results are discussed in relation to anatomical and biochemical aspects of antidepressant action

  18. Clinical and pathologic factors predictive of biochemical control following post-prostatectomy irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stromberg, Jannifer S.; Ziaja, Ellen L.; Horwitz, Eric M.; Vicini, Frank A.; Brabbins, Donald S.; Dmuchowski, Carl F.; Gonzalez, Jose; Martinez, Alvaro A.

    1996-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: Indications for post-prostatectomy radiation therapy are not well defined. We reviewed our experience treating post-prostatectomy patients with external beam irradiation to assess clinical and pathologic factors predictive of biochemical control. Materials and Methods: Between 1/87 and 3/93, 61 patients received post-operative tumor bed irradiation with a median dose of 59.4 Gy (50.4 - 68 Gy). Median follow-up was 4.1 years (7.6 months - 8.3 years) from irradiation. Patients were treated for the following reasons: 1) adjuvantly, within 6 months of surgery for extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle involvement, or positive surgical margins (n=38); 2) persistently elevated PSA post-operatively (n=2); 3) rising PSA >6 months after surgery (n=9); and 4) biopsy proven local recurrence (n=12). No patients had known nodal or metastatic disease. All patients had post-radiation PSA data available. Biochemical control was the endpoint studied using Kaplan-Meier life table analysis. Biochemical control was defined as the ability to maintain an undetectable PSA ( 4 and ≤1 0, >10 and ≤20, and > 20 ng/ml. The 3 year actuarial rates of biochemical control were 100% for group 1, 66.7% for group 2, 61.5% for group 3, and 28.6% for group 4. Pre-RT PSA values were also evaluated. Univariate Cox models indicated lower presurgical and pre-RT PSA values were predictive of biochemical control (p=0.017, p 6 months after surgery (group 3), the 3 year actuarial rate of biochemical control was 55.6%. The 3 year actuarial rate of biochemical control for patients treated for a biopsy proven recurrence (group 4) was 8.3%. By pair-wise log rank test, the rates of biochemical control were significantly different between groups 1 and 3 (p=0.036), groups 1 and 4 (p<0.001), and groups 3 and 4 (p=0.009). Conclusion: Biochemical control was achieved in approximately half of the patients treated with post-operative prostatic fossa irradiation. Elevated presurgical and pre

  19. Biochemical studies on some zooplankton off the west coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Goswami, S.C.; Rao, T.S.S.; Matondkar, S.G.P.

    Proximate biochemical analyses on twelve zooplankton species showed that protein was the predominant biochemical component followed by lipid. Carbohydrate content was very low especially in species with high water content or calcareous shell...

  20. Salvage conformal radiotherapy for biochemical recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monti, Carlos R.; Nakamura, Ricardo A.; Ferrigno, Robson; Rossi Junior, Aristides; Kawakami, Neusa S.; Trevisan, Felipe A.

    2006-01-01

    Objective: Assess the results of salvage conformal radiotherapy in patients with biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy and identify prognostic factors for biochemical recurrence and toxicity of the treatment. Materials and methods: From June 1998 to November 2001, 35 patients were submitted to conformal radiotherapy for PSA ≥ 0.2 ng/mL in progression after radical prostatectomy and were retrospectively analyzed. The mean dose of radiation in prostatic bed was of 77.4 Gy (68-81). Variables related to the treatment and to tumor were assessed to identify prognostic factors for biochemical recurrence after salvage radiotherapy. Results: The median follow-up was of 55 months (17-83). The actuarial survival rates free of biochemical recurrence and free of metastasis at a distance of 5 years were 79.7% e 84.7%, respectively. The actuarial global survival rate in 5 years was 96.1%.The actuarial survival rate free of biochemical recurrence in 5 years was 83.3% with PSA pre-radiotherapy ≤ 1, 100% when > 1 and ≤ 2, and 57.1% when > 2 (p = 0.023). Dose > 70 Gy in 30% of the bladder volume implied in more acute urinary toxicity (p = 0.035). The mean time for the development of late urinary toxicity was 21 months (12-51). Dose > 55 Gy in 50% bladder volume implied in more late urinary toxicity (p = 0.018). A patient presented late rectal toxicity of second grade. Conclusions: Conformal radiotherapy showed to be effective for the control of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Patients with pre-therapy PSA < 2 ng/mL have more biochemical control. (author)

  1. Sublethal microcystin exposure and biochemical outcomes among hemodialysis patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth D Hilborn

    Full Text Available Cyanobacteria are commonly-occurring contaminants of surface waters worldwide. Microcystins, potent hepatotoxins, are among the best characterized cyanotoxins. During November, 2001, a group of 44 hemodialysis patients were exposed to microcystins via contaminated dialysate. Serum microcystin concentrations were quantified with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay which measures free serum microcystin LR equivalents (ME. We describe serum ME concentrations and biochemical outcomes among a subset of patients during 8 weeks following exposure. Thirteen patients were included; 6 were males, patients' median age was 45 years (range 16-80, one was seropositive for hepatitis B surface antigen. The median serum ME concentration was 0.33 ng/mL (range: <0.16-0.96. One hundred thirty nine blood samples were collected following exposure. Patients' biochemical outcomes varied, but overall indicated a mixed liver injury. Linear regression evaluated each patient's weekly mean biochemical outcome with their maximum serum ME concentration; a measure of the extrinsic pathway of clotting function, prothrombin time, was negatively and significantly associated with serum ME concentrations. This group of exposed patients' biochemical outcomes display evidence of a mixed liver injury temporally associated with microcystin exposure. Interpretation of biochemical outcomes are complicated by the study population's underlying chronic disease status. It is clear that dialysis patients are a distinct 'at risk' group for cyanotoxin exposures due to direct intravenous exposure to dialysate prepared from surface drinking water supplies. Careful monitoring and treatment of water supplies used to prepare dialysate is required to prevent future cyanotoxin exposure events.

  2. Biochemical activity of fullerenes and related derivatives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huczko, A.; Lange, H.; Calko, E.

    1999-01-01

    An astonishing scientific interest, embodied in over 15000 research articles so far, has been encountered since 1985 when fullerenes were discovered. From new superconductors to a rich electrochemistry and reaction chemistry, fullerene nanostructures continue to excite the scientific world, and new findings continue at record pace. This review presents many examples of the biochemical activities of fullerenes and derivatives, e. g. cytotoxic activity, selective DNA cleavage and antiviral activity against HIV. We also present some results of our testing which show that, despite its chemical and biochemical activity, fullerene matter does not present any health hazard directly related to skin irritation and allergic risks. (author)

  3. Regulation of renal function and structure by the signaling Na/K-ATPase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jeffrey X; Li, Xin; Xie, Zijian

    2013-12-01

    The Na/K-ATPase as an essential ion pump was discovered more than 50 years ago (Skou (1989) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1000, 439-446; Feraille and Doucet (2001) Physiol. Rev. 81, 345-418). The signaling function of Na/K-ATPase has been gradually appreciated over the last 20 years, first from the studies of regulatory effects of ouabain on cardiac cell growth. Several reviews on this topic have been written during the last few years (Schoner and Scheiner-Bobis (2007) Am. J. Physiol. Cell. Physiol. 293, C509-C536; Xie and Cai (2003) Mol. Interv. 3, 157 - 168; Bagrov et al. (2009) Pharmacol. Rev. 61, 9-38; Tian and Xie (2008) Physiology 23, 205-211; Fontana et al. (2013) FEBS J. 280, 5450-5455; Blanco and Wallace (2013) Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 305, F797-F812). This article will focus on the molecular mechanism of Na/K-ATPase-mediated signal transduction and its potential regulatory role in renal physiology and diseases. © 2013 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

  4. Diagnosing and quantification of acute alcohol intoxication. Comparison of dual-energy CT with biochemical analysis. Initial experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korkusuz, H.; Abbas Raschidi, B.; Keese, D.; Kromen, W.; Bauer, R.W.; Vogl, T.J.; Namgaladze, D.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To quantify the correlation between fat content of an acute alcohol intoxication and the difference of computer tomography attenuation value in dual-energy CT in comparison to biochemical triglyceride analysis and to evaluate qualitatively the value of DECT in the diagnosis of fatty liver caused by ethanol-dosage in rats. Materials and Methods: DECT at 140 kV and 80 kV was performed on 20 rats before and two days after the administration of 3 ml of 50 % ethanol. The CT attenuation value in the livers at 140 kV, 80 kV and the differences between them in Hounsfield units (ΔH) were collected. Parts of the liver (100 mg) were measured in biochemical triglyceride analysis as the reference standard. A blood sample was also taken to measure specific liver enzymes. Results: Linear correlation between biochemical triglyceride analysis and CT density of ΔH was found (r = 0.949). 140 kV attenuation data were between 44 HU and 61.3 HU, 80 kV attenuation data were between 58.4 HU and 64.7 HU, and ΔH data were between 3.4 HU and 14.4 HU (p ≤ 0.037). The biochemical triglyceride analysis data were between 7.1 mg/g and 41.1 mg/g. The hepatic enzymes serum aspartate (ASAT) aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) were elevated in all rats. ASAT correlated directly with ΔHU (r = -0.86). Conclusion: DECT provides a non-invasive method to determine and evaluate hepatic fat content after acute alcohol intoxication. It provides the possibility to detect and quantify the hepatic fat content of liver graft. (orig.)

  5. Physiological and biochemical responses of Ricinus communis seedlings to different temperatures: a metabolomics approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Paulo Roberto; Fernandez, Luzimar Gonzaga; de Castro, Renato Delmondez; Ligterink, Wilco; Hilhorst, Henk W M

    2014-08-12

    Compared with major crops, growth and development of Ricinus communis is still poorly understood. A better understanding of the biochemical and physiological aspects of germination and seedling growth is crucial for the breeding of high yielding varieties adapted to various growing environments. In this context, we analysed the effect of temperature on growth of young R. communis seedlings and we measured primary and secondary metabolites in roots and cotyledons. Three genotypes, recommended to small family farms as cash crop, were used in this study. Seedling biomass was strongly affected by the temperature, with the lowest total biomass observed at 20°C. The response in terms of biomass production for the genotype MPA11 was clearly different from the other two genotypes: genotype MPA11 produced heavier seedlings at all temperatures but the root biomass of this genotype decreased with increasing temperature, reaching the lowest value at 35°C. In contrast, root biomass of genotypes MPB01 and IAC80 was not affected by temperature, suggesting that the roots of these genotypes are less sensitive to changes in temperature. In addition, an increasing temperature decreased the root to shoot ratio, which suggests that biomass allocation between below- and above ground parts of the plants was strongly affected by the temperature. Carbohydrate contents were reduced in response to increasing temperature in both roots and cotyledons, whereas amino acids accumulated to higher contents. Our results show that a specific balance between amino acids, carbohydrates and organic acids in the cotyledons and roots seems to be an important trait for faster and more efficient growth of genotype MPA11. An increase in temperature triggers the mobilization of carbohydrates to support the preferred growth of the aerial parts, at the expense of the roots. A shift in the carbon-nitrogen metabolism towards the accumulation of nitrogen-containing compounds seems to be the main biochemical

  6. Causal correlation of foliar biochemical concentrations with AVIRIS spectra using forced entry linear regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Terence P.; Curran, Paul J.; Kupiec, John A.

    1995-01-01

    A major goal of airborne imaging spectrometry is to estimate the biochemical composition of vegetation canopies from reflectance spectra. Remotely-sensed estimates of foliar biochemical concentrations of forests would provide valuable indicators of ecosystem function at regional and eventually global scales. Empirical research has shown a relationship exists between the amount of radiation reflected from absorption features and the concentration of given biochemicals in leaves and canopies (Matson et al., 1994, Johnson et al., 1994). A technique commonly used to determine which wavelengths have the strongest correlation with the biochemical of interest is unguided (stepwise) multiple regression. Wavelengths are entered into a multivariate regression equation, in their order of importance, each contributing to the reduction of the variance in the measured biochemical concentration. A significant problem with the use of stepwise regression for determining the correlation between biochemical concentration and spectra is that of 'overfitting' as there are significantly more wavebands than biochemical measurements. This could result in the selection of wavebands which may be more accurately attributable to noise or canopy effects. In addition, there is a real problem of collinearity in that the individual biochemical concentrations may covary. A strong correlation between the reflectance at a given wavelength and the concentration of a biochemical of interest, therefore, may be due to the effect of another biochemical which is closely related. Furthermore, it is not always possible to account for potentially suitable waveband omissions in the stepwise selection procedure. This concern about the suitability of stepwise regression has been identified and acknowledged in a number of recent studies (Wessman et al., 1988, Curran, 1989, Curran et al., 1992, Peterson and Hubbard, 1992, Martine and Aber, 1994, Kupiec, 1994). These studies have pointed to the lack of a physical

  7. Role of Sida cordifolia L. leaves on biochemical and antioxidant profile during myocardial injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubavat, J B; Asdaq, S M B

    2009-07-06

    The Sida cordifolia L. (Family: Malvaceae) is a widely allocated herb by folk tribes of Gujarat state of India for the treatment of coronary manifestations. However, no published data relevant to use of the plant is available. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant and biochemical profile of hydroalcoholic extract of Sida cordifolia L. (HESC) leaves against myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. Albino rats were administered HESC (100 and 500 mg/kg) and propranolol (10 mg/kg) once daily orally for 30 days. At the end of treatment period, MI was induced by administering isoproterenol (ISO) or by subjecting heart to ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). Endogenous biomarkers (LDH and CK-MB) and antioxidants (SOD and catalase) were estimated in serum/perfusate and heart tissue homogenate (HTH). The LDH and CK-MB activities were elevated in HTH and depleted in serum/perfusate of HESC and propranolol groups when compared to ISO/IRI control. Further, it was found that both doses significantly increased endogenous antioxidants in HTH. Moreover, biochemical findings were supported by histopathological observations. The result confirm, at least in part, for the use of Sida cordifolia in folk medicine to treat MI.

  8. Physiological and molecular biochemical mechanisms of bile formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reshetnyak, Vasiliy Ivanovich

    2013-01-01

    This review considers the physiological and molecular biochemical mechanisms of bile formation. The composition of bile and structure of a bile canaliculus, biosynthesis and conjugation of bile acids, bile phospholipids, formation of bile micellar structures, and enterohepatic circulation of bile acids are described. In general, the review focuses on the molecular physiology of the transporting systems of the hepatocyte sinusoidal and apical membranes. Knowledge of physiological and biochemical basis of bile formation has implications for understanding the mechanisms of development of pathological processes, associated with diseases of the liver and biliary tract. PMID:24259965

  9. Optimal Information Processing in Biochemical Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiggins, Chris

    2012-02-01

    A variety of experimental results over the past decades provide examples of near-optimal information processing in biological networks, including in biochemical and transcriptional regulatory networks. Computing information-theoretic quantities requires first choosing or computing the joint probability distribution describing multiple nodes in such a network --- for example, representing the probability distribution of finding an integer copy number of each of two interacting reactants or gene products while respecting the `intrinsic' small copy number noise constraining information transmission at the scale of the cell. I'll given an overview of some recent analytic and numerical work facilitating calculation of such joint distributions and the associated information, which in turn makes possible numerical optimization of information flow in models of noisy regulatory and biochemical networks. Illustrating cases include quantification of form-function relations, ideal design of regulatory cascades, and response to oscillatory driving.

  10. Optical Slot-Waveguide Based Biochemical Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Angulo Barrios

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Slot-waveguides allow light to be guided and strongly confined inside a nanometer-scale region of low refractive index. Thus stronger light-analyte interaction can be obtained as compared to that achievable by a conventional waveguide, in which the propagating beam is confined to the high-refractive-index core of the waveguide. In addition, slot-waveguides can be fabricated by employing CMOS compatible materials and technology, enabling miniaturization, integration with electronic, photonic and fluidic components in a chip, and mass production. These advantages have made the use of slot-waveguides for highly sensitive biochemical optical integrated sensors an emerging field. In this paper, recent achievements in slot-waveguide based biochemical sensing will be reviewed. These include slot-waveguide ring resonator based refractometric label-free biosensors, label-based optical sensing, and nano-opto-mechanical sensors.

  11. Designing Epigenome Editors: Considerations of Biochemical and Locus Specificities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, Dilara; Keung, Albert J

    2018-01-01

    The advent of locus-specific protein recruitment technologies has enabled a new class of studies in chromatin biology. Epigenome editors enable biochemical modifications of chromatin at almost any specific endogenous locus. Their locus specificity unlocks unique information including the functional roles of distinct modifications at specific genomic loci. Given the growing interest in using these tools for biological and translational studies, there are many specific design considerations depending on the scientific question or clinical need. Here we present and discuss important design considerations and challenges regarding the biochemical and locus specificities of epigenome editors. These include how to account for the complex biochemical diversity of chromatin; control for potential interdependency of epigenome editors and their resultant modifications; avoid sequestration effects; quantify the locus specificity of epigenome editors; and improve locus specificity by considering concentration, affinity, avidity, and sequestration effects.

  12. Biochemical profile of oyster Crassostrea madrasensis and its nutritional attributes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.K. Asha

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Oysters are highly esteemed sea food and considered a delicacy throughout the world. Yet this resource is not optimally utilised in several parts of the world. The aim of this study is to highlight its nutritional importance. Biochemical composition and nutritional attributes of oyster meat are discussed. Proximate composition, fatty acid and amino acid profiles and mineral content were determined in oysters (Crassostrea madrasensis. Moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate and ash contents in the oyster were 82.64%, 9.41%, 3.25% 3.2% and 1.01%, respectively and it was rich in macro-minerals and trace elements especially selenium. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA were highest of the total lipids among which eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and linoleic acid were the prominent fatty acids. The n-3/n-6 index was high indicating a predominance of n-3 fatty acids in the species. Total amino acid content was 99.33 g/100 g crude protein, of which, essential amino acid lysine was the most abundant. Valine had the lowest essential amino acid score (EAAS (0.17 while threonine had the highest EAAS of 3.62. Chemical score was 17% and the lowest limiting amino acid was valine. Protein efficiency ratio, essential amino acid index and biological value of oyster were 3.92, 120.2 and 174.0, respectively which indicates that the protein is of superior quality. Data on biochemical composition, nutritional attributes and quality indices of C. madrasensis protein may prove important for future policies regarding exploitation of this species and for inducing favourable changes in consumer preferences.

  13. The Effects of 17 Weeks of Ballet Training on the Autonomic Modulation, Hormonal and General Biochemical Profile of Female Adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    da Silva Carla Cristiane

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to examine the alterations in physiological and biochemical markers, after 17 weeks of ballet training in high level ballet dancers. Twenty four female ballet dancers from 12 to 15 years old took part in the study. The study followed 17 weeks of ballet training and analyzed changes in body composition, the autonomic nervous system and biochemical variables before and after (post training. The internal training load was obtained using the session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE method, calculated as the mean weekly session-RPE, monotony and strain. After 17 weeks of training there were significant increases in body mass, height, lean body mass, total protein, urea, hemoglobin concentration, testosterone and thyroxine. During this period, decreases in relative body fat, uric acid, red blood cells, C-reactive protein, and ferritin were also found. After the training period, the autonomic modulation demonstrated significant positive alterations, such as increases in parasympathetic related indices. Based on the results obtained we concluded that ballet training led to improvements in body composition and autonomic modulation. In general hematological and biochemical variables demonstrated that the training did not have adverse effects on the health state of the adolescents.

  14. Biochem-Env, a plateform of environmental biochemistry for research

    OpenAIRE

    GRONDIN, VIRGINIE; Nelieu, Sylvie; Crouzet, Olivier; Hedde, Mickaël; Mougin, Christian

    2016-01-01

    As a service of the research infrastructure AnaEE-France (http://www.anaee-france.fr/fr/), the platform Biochem-Env (http://www.biochemenv.fr) offers skills and innovative analytical tools for biochemical characterizations of soils, sediments, and micro-macro-organisms living in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The platform provides methods validated according to Quality Guidelines, i.e. to measure global soil enzymatic activities. Our robot-supported protocols allow great number of enzyme...

  15. Biochemical Factors Modulating Cellular Neurotoxicity of Methylmercury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parvinder Kaur

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Methylmercury (MeHg, an environmental toxicant primarily found in fish and seafood, poses a dilemma to both consumers and regulatory authorities, given the nutritional benefits of fish consumption versus the possible adverse neurological damage. Several studies have shown that MeHg toxicity is influenced by a number of biochemical factors, such as glutathione (GSH, fatty acids, vitamins, and essential elements, but the cellular mechanisms underlying these complex interactions have not yet been fully elucidated. The objective of this paper is to outline the cellular response to dietary nutrients, as well as to describe the neurotoxic exposures to MeHg. In order to determine the cellular mechanism(s of toxicity, the effect of pretreatment with biochemical factors (e.g., N-acetyl cysteine, (NAC; diethyl maleate, (DEM; docosahexaenoic acid, (DHA; selenomethionine, SeM; Trolox and MeHg treatment on intercellular antioxidant status, MeHg content, and other endpoints was evaluated. This paper emphasizes that the protection against oxidative stress offered by these biochemical factors is among one of the major mechanisms responsible for conferring neuroprotection. It is therefore critical to ascertain the cellular mechanisms associated with various dietary nutrients as well as to determine the potential effects of neurotoxic exposures for accurately assessing the risks and benefits associated with fish consumption.

  16. Circadian Clocks: Unexpected Biochemical Cogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mori, Tetsuya; Mchaourab, Hassane; Johnson, Carl Hirschie

    2015-10-05

    A circadian oscillation can be reconstituted in vitro from three proteins that cycles with a period of ∼ 24 h. Two recent studies provide surprising biochemical answers to why this remarkable oscillator has such a long time constant and how it can switch effortlessly between alternating enzymatic modes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Autonomous bio-chemical decontaminator (ABCD) against weapons of mass destruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyacinthe, Berg P.

    2006-05-01

    The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the use of such elements pose an eminent asymmetric threat with disastrous consequences to the national security of any nation. In particular, the use of biochemical warfare agents against civilians and unprotected troops in international conflicts or by terrorists against civilians is considered as a very peculiar threat. Accordingly, taking a quarantine-before-inhalation approach to biochemical warfare, the author introduces the notion of autonomous biochemical decontamination against WMD. In the unfortunate event of a biochemical attack, the apparatus proposed herein is intended to automatically detect, identify, and more importantly neutralize a biochemical threat. Along with warnings concerning a cyber-WMD nexus, various sections cover discussions on human senses and computer sensors, corroborating evidence related to detection and neutralization of chemical toxins, and cyber-assisted olfaction in stand alone, peer-to-peer, and network settings. In essence, the apparatus can be used in aviation and mass transit security to initiate mass decontamination by dispersing a decontaminant aerosol or to protect the public water supply against a potential bioterrorist attack. Future effort may involve a system-on-chip (SoC) embodiment of this apparatus that allows a safer environment for the emerging phenomenon of cyber-assisted olfaction and morph cell phones into ubiquitous sensors/decontaminators. Although this paper covers mechanisms and protocols to avail a neutralizing substance, further research will need to explore the substance's various pharmacological profiles and potential side effects.

  18. Biochemical characteristics of four marine fish skins in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Jae-Kwon; Jin, Young-Guk; Rha, Sung-Ju; Kim, Seon-Jae; Hwang, Jae-Ho

    2014-09-15

    In this study, we investigated the biochemical characteristics of the fish skins of four industrial species: olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli), sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus) and red sea bream (Pagrus major). There is high domestic demand in Korea for farming of these fish for human consumption. Crude protein contents in the skin of these fish ranged from 73% to 94% by dry weight; this was in part due to a high content of the structural protein, collagen. Among the four species, olive flounder had the thickest dermal and epidermal layers in the dorsal skin. This species was also associated with the highest extraction ratio of acid-soluble collagen. We also examined whether fish skin could be a cost-effective alternative to current fish meal sources. Our analysis indicates that, when supplemented with additional fish oils and essential amino acids, fish skin is a viable alternative for fish meal formulations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Summary of the mechanism of U-induced renal damage and its biochemical studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Rusong

    1994-05-01

    In China studies on the toxicology of uranium were systematically conducted from the 1960's. Among them the studies of the change of biochemical indicators of U-induced renal damage were involved. On the basis of summarizing the relevant information of our country and the study progress of biochemical methods in recent years, the mechanism of U-induced renal damage and its biochemical basis, the behavior of uranium in kidney and the recent progress to detect renal damage with several biochemical indexes (such as α 1 -or β 2 -microglobulin, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and alanine aminopeptidase etc.) are introduced respectively. Finally, the evaluation on the biochemical basis for acquired tolerance to U in kidney is performed. It should be noted that from the clinical viewpoint the tolerance cannot be considered as a practical measure of protection

  20. Effect of Modifying Factors on Radiosensitive Biochemical Reactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romantsev, E. F.; Filippovich, I. V.; Zhulanova, Z. I.; Blokhina, V. D.; Trebenok, Z. A.; Kolesnikov, E. E.; Sheremetyevskaya, T. N.; Nikolsky, A. V.; Zymaleva, O. G. [Institute of Biophysics, USSR Ministry of Health, Moscow, USSR (Russian Federation)

    1971-03-15

    Some of the radioprotective aminothiols are now routine pharmacopoeial drugs and are used in clinics to decrease the radiation reaction which appears as a side effect during the radiotherapy of cancer. The action of effective modifying agents on radiosensitive biochemical reactions in the organisms of mammals, in principle, cannot be different from the same effects of the protectors on biochemical systems of the human organism. The effect of modifying agents is mediated by biochemical systems. The administration of radioprotective doses of MEA to rats before irradiation results in a significant normalization of the excretion in urine of degradation products of nucleic acids (so-called Dische-positive compounds), the excretion of which sharply rises after irradiation. The curve of the radioprotective effect of MEA (survival rate after administration of radioprotectors at different intervals of time) completely corresponds to curves of the accumulation of MEA which is bound (by mixed disulphide links) to the proteins of liver mitochondria, to proteins of the nuclear-sap, to the hyaloplasm of rat thymus and to the nuclear ribosomes of the spleen. After MEA administration the curve of the biosynthesis of deoxycytidine represents a mirror reflection of the curve of MEA bound to proteins of the thymus hyaloplasm by means of mixed disulphide links. The mechanism of action of such modifying factors as MEA in experiments on mammals is mediated to a great degree through the temporary formation of mixed disulphide links between the aminothiol and the protein component of enzymes in different biochemical systems. (author)

  1. Principal component analysis of tomato genotypes based on some morphological and biochemical quality indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glogovac Svetlana

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates variability of tomato genotypes based on morphological and biochemical fruit traits. Experimental material is a part of tomato genetic collection from Institute of Filed and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia. Genotypes were analyzed for fruit mass, locule number, index of fruit shape, fruit colour, dry matter content, total sugars, total acidity, lycopene and vitamin C. Minimum, maximum and average values and main indicators of variability (CV and σ were calculated. Principal component analysis was performed to determinate variability source structure. Four principal components, which contribute 93.75% of the total variability, were selected for analysis. The first principal component is defined by vitamin C, locule number and index of fruit shape. The second component is determined by dry matter content, and total acidity, the third by lycopene, fruit mass and fruit colour. Total sugars had the greatest part in the fourth component.

  2. Thermoregulatory Responses to Intermittent Exercise Are Influenced by Knit Structure of Underwear

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-01-01

    determined at 120 min, when Swo,(K3) and Swt(K4) were lower compared to both Sw,,(K2) and Swot (K5) 400 (Fig. 3). 300 Skin wettednessEE The knit...dew Pugh LGC (1966) Clothing insulation and accidential hypo- point temperature sensor. J Appl Physiol 52: 1658- 1660 thermia in youth. Nature 209: 1281...insulation. J Appl Physiol 8:539-545 cise and thermal stress. Physiol Rev 54:75-159 Hardy JI), )uBois EF (1938) Basal metabolism, radiation, Saltin B

  3. 2009 Biochemical Conversion Platform Review Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferrell, John [Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Washington, DC (United States)

    2009-12-01

    This document summarizes the recommendations and evaluations provided by an independent external panel of experts at the U.S. Department of Energy Biomass Program’s Biochemical Conversion platform review meeting, held on April 14-16, 2009, at the Sheraton Denver Downtown, Denver, Colorado.

  4. Biochemical characterization of Tunisian grapevine varieties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferjani Ben Abdallah

    1998-03-01

    The study of GPI, PGM, AAT and peroxydase isozyme banding patterns in combination with berry colour has led to establish a classification of the 61 autochton varieties into 37 groups including 26 varieties definitely differentiated through the results of this biochemical study.

  5. Diagnosis Of Inherited Neurometabolic Disorders : A Biochemical Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher R

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The past two decades have witnessed a rapid increase in the knowledge of the inherited neurometabolic disorders. The precise diagnosis of these disorders which is a challenge to the physician can be best accomplished by biochemical methods. Screening of clinically selected patients with simple chemical urine tests and routine blood chemistry investigations followed by measurement of specific metabolites and assay of the relevant enzymes confirms the diagnosis in most cases. Biochemical diagnosis of inherited neurometabolic disorders although expensive is rapid and confirmatory and therefore aids in treatment and further prevention of these rare disorders.

  6. Changes in Biochemical Properties of the Blood in Winter Swimmers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teleglow, Aneta; Marchewka, Jakub; Marchewka, Anna; Kulpa, Jan

    The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of winter swimming on biochemical indicators of the blood. The subjects - winter swimmers - belonged to the Krakow Walrus Club "Kaloryfer" - "The Heater". The study group consisted of 11 men, aged 30-50 years, 'walrusing' throughout the whole season from November to March. Statistically significant changes throughout the 'walrusing' season were observed for the following biochemical parameters: a decrease in sodium (mmol/1), chloride (mmol/1), alpha-2 globulin(g/1), gamma globulin (g/1), IgG (g/1), and an increase in albumin (g/1), indicator A/G, IgA (g/l ), Herpes simplex virus IgM. Seasonal effort of winter swimmers has a positive influence on biochemical blood parameters.

  7. A Program on Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    San, Ka-Yiu; McIntire, Larry V.

    1989-01-01

    Presents an introduction to the Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering program at Rice University. Describes the development of the academic and enhancement programs, including organizational structure and research project titles. (YP)

  8. Biochemical Hypermedia: Galactose Metabolism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.K. Sugai

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Animations of biochemical processes and virtual laboratory environments lead to true molecular simulations. The use of interactive software’s in education can improve cognitive capacity, better learning and, mainly, it makes information acquisition easier. Material and Methods: This work presents the development of a biochemical hypermedia to understanding of the galactose metabolism. It was developed with the help of concept maps, ISIS Draw, ADOBE Photoshop and FLASH MX Program. Results and Discussion: A step by step animation process shows the enzymatic reactions of galactose conversion to glucose-1-phosphate (to glycogen synthesis, glucose-6-phosphate (glycolysis intermediary, UDP-galactose (substrate to mucopolysaccharides synthesis and collagen’s glycosylation. There are navigation guide that allow scrolling the mouse over the names of the components of enzymatic reactions of via the metabolism of galactose. Thus, explanatory text box, chemical structures and animation of the actions of enzymes appear to navigator. Upon completion of the module, the user’s response to the proposed exercise can be checked immediately through text box with interactive content of the answer. Conclusion: This hypermedia was presented for undergraduate students (UFSC who revealed that it was extremely effective in promoting the understanding of the theme.

  9. Comparison of two biochemical methods for identifying Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis isolated from sheep and goats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huerta, Belén; Gómez-Gascón, Lidia; Vela, Ana I; Fernández-Garayzábal, José F; Casamayor, Almudena; Tarradas, Carmen; Maldonado, Alfonso

    2013-06-01

    The biochemical pattern of Cowan and Steel (BPCS) was compared with a commercial biochemical strip for the identification of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis isolated from small ruminants. On 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 40/78 coryneform isolates from the lymph nodes of sheep and goats with lesions resembling caseous lymphadenitis were identified as C. pseudotuberculosis. The sensitivities of the BPCS and the commercial biochemical strip relative to 16S rRNA sequencing were 80% and 85%, and their specificities were 92.1% and 94.7%, respectively; the level of agreement between the BPCS and the commercial biochemical strip was high (κ=0.82). Likelihood ratios for positive and negative results were 10.0 and 0.22 for the BPCS, and 16.0 and 0.16 for the commercial biochemical strip, respectively. These results indicate that the BPCS and the commercial biochemical strip are both useful for identifying C. pseudotuberculosis in veterinary microbiology laboratories. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. An Integrated Qualitative and Quantitative Biochemical Model Learning Framework Using Evolutionary Strategy and Simulated Annealing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zujian; Pang, Wei; Coghill, George M

    2015-01-01

    Both qualitative and quantitative model learning frameworks for biochemical systems have been studied in computational systems biology. In this research, after introducing two forms of pre-defined component patterns to represent biochemical models, we propose an integrative qualitative and quantitative modelling framework for inferring biochemical systems. In the proposed framework, interactions between reactants in the candidate models for a target biochemical system are evolved and eventually identified by the application of a qualitative model learning approach with an evolution strategy. Kinetic rates of the models generated from qualitative model learning are then further optimised by employing a quantitative approach with simulated annealing. Experimental results indicate that our proposed integrative framework is feasible to learn the relationships between biochemical reactants qualitatively and to make the model replicate the behaviours of the target system by optimising the kinetic rates quantitatively. Moreover, potential reactants of a target biochemical system can be discovered by hypothesising complex reactants in the synthetic models. Based on the biochemical models learned from the proposed framework, biologists can further perform experimental study in wet laboratory. In this way, natural biochemical systems can be better understood.

  11. From chemical or biochemical microsensors to fast detection systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pistre, J.; Dejous, C.; Rebiere, D.

    2011-01-01

    The market of chemical and biochemical sensors is increasing and represents a large opportunity. The problem of chemical and biochemicaldetection involves the use of one/several transducing layer/interface. Several types of detection exist. Among them, acoustic wave devices present many advantages. The paper deals with surface acoustic waves devices and their implementation. The role and properties of the sensing layer are discussed for chemical sensors and biochemical sensors as well. Examples of realizations are presented taking into account the microfluidic approach.

  12. Trace element deficiency and its diagnosis by biochemical criteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirchgessner, M.; Grassmann, E.; Roth, H.P.; Spoerl, R.; Schnegg, A.

    1976-01-01

    The effect of trace element deficiency on growth of rats and dairy cows is demonstrated using zinc and nickel. The effect of copper deficiency on reproductive performance is shown to be associated with increased death rates of pregnant animals and their foetuses. For the diagnosis of suboptimum states of trace element supply, biochemical criteria are needed. The mere analysis of the trace element content of various body tissues may lead to falase diagnoses because of the often slow response to varying intake and because of interactions with other dietary ingredients affecting absorption and metabolic efficiency of utilization. Thus copper deficiency is associated with a decrease in the serum level of both copper and iron, despite adequate iron intake, and simultaneously with an accumulation of iron in the liver of the animal. Enzymes and hormones containing the essential trace element as an integral constituent may serve as biochemical criteria. A sensitive response to zinc intake is exhibited by the activity of the alkaline phosphatase of serum or bones, and by the activity of the pancreatic carboxypeptidase A, all of which show a significant reaction to deficient intake within two to four days, and perhaps by the biopotency of insulin. Ceruloplasmin responds to the supply of copper. Its biosynthesis in the liver is possible only from copper available for this purpose. Thus, the determination of ceruloplasmin may take account of at least part of the copper available to the body for metabolic functions. Among various criteria, the catalase activity in blood may provide additional information on the state of iron supply. Malate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase respond to nickel-deficient intake. Nickel deficiency also involves anaemia due to disorders in iron absorption

  13. Comparing equivalent thermal, high pressure and pulsed electric field processes for mild pasteurization of orange juice: Part II: Impact on specific chemical and biochemical quality parameters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vervoort, L.; Plancken, van der I.; Grauwet, T.; Timmermans, R.A.H.; Mastwijk, H.C.; Matser, A.M.; Hendrickx, M.E.; Loey, van A.

    2011-01-01

    The impact of thermal, high pressure (HP) and pulsed electric field (PEF) processing for mild pasteurization of orange juice was compared on a fair basis, using processing conditions leading to an equivalent degree of microbial inactivation. Examining the effect on specific chemical and biochemical

  14. [The biochemical carcinogenesis of selected heavy metals in bladder cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rorbach-Dolata, Anna; Marchewka, Zofia; Piwowar, Agnieszka

    2015-01-01

    Bladder cancer takes the second place in the classification of morbidity of urinary system cancers. Many chemical factors take part in cancerogenesis. It is suggested that exposure to heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, nickel and cadmium as well as its metabolites may trigger the bladder cancer through inducing excessive reactive oxygen species production and oxidative stress formation which are responsible for DNA damage. In patients with bladder cancer is observed the disorder of processes regulated by p-53, including apoptosis. There are many patients with bladder cancer with confirmed absence of retinoblastoma protein, which is responsible of holding on the process of coming up the cells with mutation into synthesis, where the replication process undergoes. It is mentioned that excessive expression of proto-oncogenes may also cause the bladder cancer. The article concerns biochemical effects of exposure to chosen heavy metals and their potential role in bladder cancer progression.

  15. Explorations into Chemical Reactions and Biochemical Pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasteiger, Johann

    2016-12-01

    A brief overview of the work in the research group of the present author on extracting knowledge from chemical reaction data is presented. Methods have been developed to calculate physicochemical effects at the reaction site. It is shown that these physicochemical effects can quite favourably be used to derive equations for the calculation of data on gas phase reactions and on reactions in solution such as aqueous acidity of alcohols or carboxylic acids or the hydrolysis of amides. Furthermore, it is shown that these physicochemical effects are quite effective for assigning reactions into reaction classes that correspond to chemical knowledge. Biochemical reactions constitute a particularly interesting and challenging task for increasing our understanding of living species. The BioPath.Database is a rich source of information on biochemical reactions and has been used for a variety of applications of chemical, biological, or medicinal interests. Thus, it was shown that biochemical reactions can be assigned by the physicochemical effects into classes that correspond to the classification of enzymes by the EC numbers. Furthermore, 3D models of reaction intermediates can be used for searching for novel enzyme inhibitors. It was shown in a combined application of chemoinformatics and bioinformatics that essential pathways of diseases can be uncovered. Furthermore, a study showed that bacterial flavor-forming pathways can be discovered. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Biochemical applications of FT-IR spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pistorius, A.M.A.

    1996-01-01

    This thesis describes the use of (FT-)IR spectroscopy in general biochemical research. In chapter 3, IR spectroscopy is used in the quantitation of residual detergent after reconstitution of an integral membrane protein in a pre-defined lipid matrix. This chapter discusses the choice of the

  17. Discerning the biochemical stability of pyrogenic C in soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    De la Rosa, José M.; Paneque, Marina; Contreras-Bernal, Lidia; Miller, Ana Z.; Knicker, Heike

    2016-04-01

    The soil organic matter (SOM) constitutes approximately 2/3 of the global terrestrial C pool, which corresponds to estimated 4000 Pg to a depth of 3 m [1] and therefore, the dynamics of organic carbon (OC) in soils control a large part of the terrestrial C cycle. The term Pyrogenic Carbon (PyC) comprises the whole range of pyrogenic organic materials, from partly charred material through charcoal to soot produced during fire, as well as technical chars (biochars) produced by pyrolysis of biomass. The previously common assumption of PyC being inert has long been proven wrong [2]. In theory, the pyrogenic process confers these materials a longer mean residence time in the soils than their precursors, thus the application of PyC in general and particularly biochar to soil is proposed as a valid approach to establish a significant, long-term sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide in terrestrial ecosystems [3]. Nevertheless, the knowledge concerning the biochemical recalcitrance of PyOM in soils is still limited. This study combines the analysis by 13C solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (13C NMR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS) and CO2 emissions in incubated pots of burned and unburned soils as well as in biochar amended and un-amended soils. By using this integrated approach we achieved a more complete understanding of the stability of different forms of PyC in the soil and the chemical changes occurring during aging. Significant differences are found between the stability of PyC. They depend on the nature of the source material, surficial properties of PyC, the pyrolysis process and the soil conditions during aging. Acknowledgements: The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (PCIG12-GA-2012-333784-Biocharisma project and PIEF-GA-2012-328689-DECAVE project), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (project PCGL2012-37041) are thanked for the financial support of the present study

  18. Morphological, physiological and biochemical studies on Pyricularia ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SARAH

    2014-02-28

    Feb 28, 2014 ... compounds seem to reflect inherent biochemical and physiological differences among P. grisea isolates .... solutions for imaging and microscopy, soft image system .... characteristics among 12 P. grisea isolates from rice were.

  19. Short Report Biochemical derangements prior to emergency ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    MMJ VOL 29 (1): March 2017. Biochemical derangements prior to emergency laparotomy at QECH 55. Malawi Medical Journal 29 (1): March 2017 ... Venepuncture was performed preoperatively for urgent cases, defined as those requiring.

  20. Seasonal variation in haematological and biochemical variables in free-ranging subadult brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Græsli, Anne Randi; Evans, Alina L; Fahlman, Åsa; Bertelsen, Mads F; Blanc, Stéphane; Arnemo, Jon M

    2015-12-08

    Free-ranging brown bears exhibit highly contrasting physiological states throughout the year. They hibernate 6 months of the year, experiencing a decrease in body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and metabolism. An increase in food consumption and the resulting weight gain (mostly through fat storage) prior to hibernation are also part of the brown bear's annual cycle. Due to these physiological changes, haematological and biochemical variables vary dramatically throughout the year. Seasonal changes in 12 haematological and 34 biochemical variables were evaluated in blood samples collected from 40 free-ranging subadult brown bears (22 females, 18 males) immobilised in Sweden in winter (February-March), spring (April-May), and summer (June). Higher levels of haemoglobin, haematocrit and red blood cell count, and a lower white blood cell count and mean cell volume was found during hibernation than in spring and summer. Lower values of the enzymes; aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GD) and amylase, and increased values of β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HBA) and blood lipids; triglycerides, cholesterol and free fatty acids, were present during hibernation compared to spring and summer. This study documents significant shifts in haematological and biochemical variables in samples collected from brown bears anaesthetised in winter (February-March) compared to in spring and summer (April-June), reflecting the lowered metabolic, renal and hepatic activity during hibernation. Lower values of enzymes and higher values of blood lipids during hibernation, likely reflect a lipid-based metabolism.

  1. Reconstructing biochemical pathways from time course data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srividhya, Jeyaraman; Crampin, Edmund J; McSharry, Patrick E; Schnell, Santiago

    2007-03-01

    Time series data on biochemical reactions reveal transient behavior, away from chemical equilibrium, and contain information on the dynamic interactions among reacting components. However, this information can be difficult to extract using conventional analysis techniques. We present a new method to infer biochemical pathway mechanisms from time course data using a global nonlinear modeling technique to identify the elementary reaction steps which constitute the pathway. The method involves the generation of a complete dictionary of polynomial basis functions based on the law of mass action. Using these basis functions, there are two approaches to model construction, namely the general to specific and the specific to general approach. We demonstrate that our new methodology reconstructs the chemical reaction steps and connectivity of the glycolytic pathway of Lactococcus lactis from time course experimental data.

  2. Genetic and Biochemical Diversity of Paenibacillus larvae Isolated from Tunisian Infected Honey Bee Broods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chadlia Hamdi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Paenibacillus larvae is the causative agent of American foulbrood (AFB, a virulent disease of honeybee (Apis mellifera larvae. In Tunisia, AFB has been detected in many beekeeping areas, where it causes important economic losses, but nothing is known about the diversity of the causing agent. Seventy-five isolates of P. larvae, identified by biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, were obtained from fifteen contaminated broods showing typical AFB symptoms, collected in different locations in the northern part of the country. Using BOX-PCR, a distinct profile of P. larvae with respect to related Paenibacillus species was detected which may be useful for its identification. Some P. larvae-specific bands represented novel potential molecular markers for the species. BOX-PCR fingerprints indicated a relatively high intraspecific diversity among the isolates not described previously with several molecular polymorphisms identifying six genotypes on polyacrylamide gel. Polymorphisms were also detected in several biochemical characters (indol production, nitrate reduction, and methyl red and oxidase tests. Contrary to the relatively high intraspecies molecular and phenotypic diversity, the in vivo virulence of three selected P. larvae genotypes did not differ significantly, suggesting that the genotypic/phenotypic differences are neutral or related to ecological aspects other than virulence.

  3. A second-order, unconditionally positive, mass-conserving integration scheme for biochemical systems.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F.J. Bruggeman (Frank); H. Burchard; B. Kooi; B.P. Sommeijer (Ben)

    2006-01-01

    textabstractBiochemical systems are bound by two mathematically-relevant restrictions. First, state variables in such systems represent non-negative quantities, such as concentrations of chemical compounds. Second, biochemical systems conserve mass and energy. Both properties must be reflected in

  4. Biochemical and kinetic characterization of geranylgeraniol 18 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Suchart

    2015-07-22

    Jul 22, 2015 ... biochemical characterization of GGOH 18-hydroxylase activity in the microsomal fraction from C. .... method as previously described (Chanama et al., 2009). Briefly, 30 g of frozen ..... Catalytic properties of the plant cytochrome.

  5. BALL - biochemical algorithms library 1.3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stöckel Daniel

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Biochemical Algorithms Library (BALL is a comprehensive rapid application development framework for structural bioinformatics. It provides an extensive C++ class library of data structures and algorithms for molecular modeling and structural bioinformatics. Using BALL as a programming toolbox does not only allow to greatly reduce application development times but also helps in ensuring stability and correctness by avoiding the error-prone reimplementation of complex algorithms and replacing them with calls into the library that has been well-tested by a large number of developers. In the ten years since its original publication, BALL has seen a substantial increase in functionality and numerous other improvements. Results Here, we discuss BALL's current functionality and highlight the key additions and improvements: support for additional file formats, molecular edit-functionality, new molecular mechanics force fields, novel energy minimization techniques, docking algorithms, and support for cheminformatics. Conclusions BALL is available for all major operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and MacOS X. It is available free of charge under the Lesser GNU Public License (LPGL. Parts of the code are distributed under the GNU Public License (GPL. BALL is available as source code and binary packages from the project web site at http://www.ball-project.org. Recently, it has been accepted into the debian project; integration into further distributions is currently pursued.

  6. Biochemical Changes in the Serum and Liver of albino rats exposed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biochemical changes in the serum and liver of albino rats chronically exposed to rats administered 5gk-1 , 7.5gk-1 and 15gk-1 of gasoline , kerosine and crude petroleum(bonny light) respectively were studied. The petroleum samples were administered intraperitoneally and the biochemical changes in the rat serum and the ...

  7. Does the orientation of Norway spruce (Picea abies /L./ Karst.) branches within sunlit crown part influence the heterogeneity of biochemical, structural and spectral characteristics of needles?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lhotáková, Z.; Albrechtová, J.; Malenovsky, Z.; Rock, B.N.; Polák, T.; Cudlín, P.

    2007-01-01

    The goal of this study was to determine if selected biochemical, structural and spectral properties of Norway spruce needles are influenced by the azimuth orientation of the branch. Three youngest needle age classes from 20 mature (100 years old or older) Norway spruce trees were sampled from upper

  8. Particulate matter effect on biometric and biochemical attributes of fruiting plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    U. Younis

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Dust accumulation capacity of Ficus carica L. and Psidium guajava L. was investigated from eight different sites of Multan, Pakistan.  Leaves of both plants were used for analyzing biometric (leaf area, fresh and dry weights and biochemical attributes (chlorophyll contents, carotenoids and ascorbic acid.  Maximum dust accumulation was occurred in the plants growing near road sites, while, minimum dust accumulation occurred in the plants of Bahauddin Zakariya University.  Most of the biometric and biochemical attributes of F. carica showed significant response towards dust but it had not significant influence on some attributes of P. guajava.  Biochemical traits of P. guajava appeared to be more prone than foliage ones. A positive correlation was foundbetween dust accumulation and foliage attributes in F. carica. On the other hand,in P. guajava opposite was observed, however, the reverse was true for leaf biomass.Biochemical contents had shown an inconsistency as chlorophylls (a, b & total, carotenoid contents declined but ascorbic acid increased with an increase in dust accumulation in both species.

  9. Industrial dust sulphate and its effects on biochemical and morphological characteristics of Morus (Morus alba) plant in NCR Delhi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Gyan Prakash; Singh, Sudha; Kumar, Bablu; Kulshrestha, U C

    2015-03-01

    Abundance of CaCO3 rich soil dust is a typical feature of atmospheric environment in the Indian region. During prevailing dry weather conditions, dustfall is deposited onto the foliar surfaces of plant affecting their morphology, stomata and the levels of biochemical constituents. This study reports the chemical characteristics of dustfall, its effect on foliar morphology and biochemical constituents of a medicinal plant (Morus alba) at two sites which are differentiated on the basis of landuse pattern, viz., (i) residential, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and (ii) industrial, Sahibabad (SB), located in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. Dustfall was characterized for major anions (F(-), Cl(-), NO3 (-) and SO4 (--)) and cations (Na(+), NH4 (+), K(+), Mg(++) and Ca(++)). Biochemical parameters such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid, proline and ascorbic acid were determined in foliar samples. The results showed that the dustfall fluxes of all the major ions were found to be higher at the industrial site (SB) as compared to the residential site (JNU). Foliar analysis revealed that the levels of biochemical parameters were more affected at SB site due to higher levels of dust SO4 (--) contributed by various anthropogenic sources resulting in more stressful conditions affecting the biochemistry of the plant. The possible entry pathways for dust SO4 (--) into foliar cells are also discussed in the paper. It was noticed that the deposition of urban dust was responsible for the damage of trichome, epidermis, cuticle and stomatal guard cells significantly affecting foliar morphology. SB exhibited more damage to these morphological parts suggesting that industrial dust is harmful to the plants.

  10. Optimization of waste to energy routes through biochemical and thermochemical treatment options of municipal solid waste in Hyderabad, Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korai, Muhammad Safar; Mahar, Rasool Bux; Uqaili, Muhammad Aslam

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Existing practice of municipal solid waste management of Hyderabad city, Pakistan have been analyzed. • Development of scenarios on basis of nature of waste components for optimizing waste to energy route. • Analyzing the biochemical and thermochemical potential of MSW through various scenarios. • Evaluation of various treatment technologies under scenarios to optimize waste to energy route. - Abstract: Improper disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) has created many environmental problems in Pakistan and the country is facing energy shortages as well. The present study evaluates the biochemical and thermochemical treatment options of MSW in order to address both the endemic environmental challenges and in part the energy shortage. According to the nature of waste components, a number of scenarios were developed to optimize the waste to energy (WTE) routes. The evaluation of treatment options has been performed by mathematical equations using the special characteristics of MSW. The power generation potential (PGP) of biochemical (anaerobic digestion) has been observed in the range of 5.9–11.3 kW/ton day under various scenarios. The PGP of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), Mass Burn Incinerator (MBI), Gasification/Pyrolysis (Gasi./Pyro.) and Plasma Arc Gasification (PAG) have been found to be in the range of 2.7–118.6 kW/ton day, 3.8–164.7 kW/ton day, 4.2–184.5 kW/ton day and 5.2–224 kW/ton day, respectively. The highest values of biochemical and all thermochemical technologies have been obtained through the use of scenarios including the putrescible components (PCs) of MSW such as food and yard wastes, and the non-biodegradable components (NBCs) of MSW such as plastic, rubber, leather, textile and wood respectively. Therefore, routes which include these components are the optimized WTE routes for maximum PGP by biochemical and thermochemical treatments of MSW. The findings of study lead to recommend that socio-economic and environmental

  11. Growth and Biochemical performance of Cassava-Manihot ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    MICHAEL HORSFALL

    the crude oil polluted soil improved the growth and biochemical performance of cassava. For the qualitative .... delay in the rate of soil recovery and a decrease in crop yield ... enhances biodegradation of polluted soil presumably by removing ...

  12. Biochemical changes in blood caused by radioisotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapol'skaya, N.A.; Fedorova, A.V.

    1975-01-01

    The changes were studied occurring in some biochemical indicators in blood at chronic peroral administration of strontium-90, cesium-137 and iodine-131 in amounts resulting in accumulation of commensurable doses in critical organs corresponding to each isotope

  13. Synthesis of Biochemical Applications on Flow-Based Microfluidic Biochips using Constraint Programming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Minhass, Wajid Hassan; Pop, Paul; Madsen, Jan

    2012-01-01

    Microfluidic biochips are replacing the conventional biochemical analyzers and are able to integrate the necessary functions for biochemical analysis on-chip. In this paper we are interested in flow-based biochips, in which the flow of liquid is manipulated using integrated microvalves. By combin...

  14. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS OF SALINITY TOLERANCE IN PLANTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa YILDIZ

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Salt stress limits plant productivity in arid and semi arid regions. Salt stress causes decrease in plant growth by adversely affecting physiological processes, especially photosynthesis. Salinity tolerance is defined as the ability of plant to maintain normal rowth and development under salt conditions. Salt stress results in accumulation of low molecular weight compounds, termed compatible solutes, which do not interfere with the normal biochemical reactions. These compatible solutes such as carbohydrates, polyols, amino acids and amides, quaternary ammonium compounds, polyamines andsoluble proteins may play a crucial role in osmotic adjustment, protection of macromolecules, maintenance of cellular pH and detoxification of free radicals. On the other hand, plants subjected to environmental stresses such as salinity produce reactive oxygen species (ROS and these ROS are efficiently eliminated by antioxidant enzyme systems. In plant breeding studies, the use of some physiological and biochemical markers for improving the salt tolerance in plants is crucial. In this review, the possibility of using some physiological and biochemical markers as selection criteria for salt tolerance is discussed.

  15. [Circulating miR-152 helps early prediction of postoperative biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jun-Feng; Liao, Yu-Feng; Ma, Jian-Bo; Mao, Qi-Feng; Jia, Guang-Cheng; Dong, Xue-Jun

    2017-07-01

    To investigate the value of circulating miR-152 in the early prediction of postoperative biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. Sixty-six cases of prostate cancer were included in this study, 35 with and 31 without biochemical recurrence within two years postoperatively, and another 31 healthy individuals were enrolled as normal controls. The relative expression levels of circulating miR-152 in the serum of the subjects were detected by qRT-PCR, its value in the early diagnosis of postoperative biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer was assessed by ROC curve analysis, and the correlation of its expression level with the clinicopathological parameters of the patients were analyzed. The expression of circulating miR-152 was significantly lower in the serum of the prostate cancer patients than in the normal controls (t = -5.212, P = 0.001), and so was it in the patients with than in those without postoperative biochemical recurrence (t = -5.727, P = 0.001). The ROC curve for the value of miR-152 in the early prediction of postoperative biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer showed the area under the curve (AUC) to be 0.906 (95% CI: 0.809-0.964), with a sensitivity of 91.4% and a specificity of 80.6%. The expression level of miR-152 was correlated with the Gleason score, clinical stage of prostate cancer, biochemical recurrence, and bone metastasis (P 0.05). The expression level of circulating miR-152 is significantly reduced in prostate cancer patients with biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy and could be a biomarker in the early prediction of postoperative biochemical recurrence of the malignancy.

  16. Role of 5-hydroxytryptamine mechanisms in mediating the effects of small intestinal glucose on blood pressure and antropyloroduodenal motility in older subjects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gentilcore, Diana; Little, Tanya J.; Feinle-Bisset, Christine; Samsom, Melvin; Smout, Andre J. P. M.; Horowitz, Michael; Jones, Karen L.

    2007-01-01

    5-hydroxytryptamine mechanisms in mediating the effects of small intestinal glucose on blood pressure and antropyloroduodenal motility in older subjects. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 293: G692-G698, 2007. First published August 9, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00199.2007.-Postprandial

  17. Spironolactone ameliorates transplant vasculopathy in renal chronic transplant dysfunction in rats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Waanders, Femke; Rienstra, Heleen; Boer, Mark Walther; Zandvoort, Andre; Rozing, Jan; Navis, Gerjan; van Goor, Harry; Hillebrands, Jan-Luuk

    Waanders F, Rienstra H, Walther Boer M, Zandvoort A, Rozing J, Navis G, van Goor H, Hillebrands JL. Spironolactone ameliorates transplant vasculopathy in renal chronic transplant dysfunction in rats. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F1072-F1079, 2009. First published February 25, 2009;

  18. Characterization of connective tissue growth factor expression in primary cultures of human tubular epithelial cells: modulation by hypoxia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kroening, Sven; Neubauer, Emily; Wullich, Bernd; Aten, Jan; Goppelt-Struebe, Margarete

    2010-01-01

    Kroening S, Neubauer E, Wullich B, Aten J, Goppelt-Struebe M. Characterization of connective tissue growth factor expression in primary cultures of human tubular epithelial cells: modulation by hypoxia. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 298:F796-F806, 2010. First published December 23, 2009;

  19. Endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction in patients with progressive chronic kidney disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krenning, Guido; Dankers, Patricia Y. W.; Drouven, Johannes W.; Waanders, Femke; Franssen, Casper F. M.; van Luyn, Marja J. A.; Harmsen, Martin C.; Popa, Eliane R.

    Krenning G, Dankers PY, Drouven JW, Waanders F, Franssen CF, van Luyn MJ, Harmsen MC, Popa ER. Endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction in patients with progressive chronic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F1314-F1322, 2009. First published April 1, 2009; doi:

  20. Download this PDF file

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Olaleye

    of regional blood flow regulation and cardiovascular function in health and disease states. ... The PSS was bubbled throughout with 95% O2 - 5% CO2 gas mixture with the ..... transport of Mg2+ . Am. J Physiol Heart Cir Physiol. 300: H486-H492.

  1. Biochemical Markers for Assessing Aquatic Contamination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zdeňka Svobodová

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Biochemical markers, specifically enzymes of the first phase of xenobiotic transformation - cytochrome P450 and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD - were used to determine the quantities of persistent organic pollutants (POPs in fish muscle (PCB, HCB, HCH, OCS, DDT. Eight rivers were monitored (Orlice, Chrudimka, Cidlina, Jizera, Vltava, Ohře and Bílina; and the River Blanice was used as a control. The indicator species selected was the chub (Leuciscus cephalus L.. There were no significant differences in cytochrome P450 content between the locations monitored. The highest concentration of cytochrome P450 in fish liver was in the Vltava (0.241 nmol mg-1 protein, and the lowest was in the Orlice (0.120 nmol mg-1 protein. Analysis of EROD activity showed a significant difference between the Blanice and the Vltava (P< 0.05, and also between the Orlice and the Vltava (P< 0.01, the Orlice and the Bílina (P< 0.01, and the Orlice and the Ohře (P< 0.05. The highest EROD activity in fish liver was in the Vltava (576.4 pmol min-1 mg-1 protein, and the lowest was in the Orlice (63.05 pmol min-1 mg-1 protein. In individual locations, results of chemical monitoring and values of biochemical markers were compared. A significant correlation (P< 0.05 was found between biochemical markers and OCS, and PCB. Among the tributaries studied those that contaminated the Elbe most were the Vltava and the Bílina. These tributaries should not be considered the main sources of industrial contamination of the River Elbe, because the most important contamination sources were along the river Elbe itself.

  2. Opium and heroin alter biochemical parameters of human's serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kouros, Divsalar; Tahereh, Haghpanah; Mohammadreza, Afarinesh; Minoo, Mahmoudi Zarandi

    2010-05-01

    Iran is a significant consumer of opium, and, generally, of opioids, in the world. Addiction is one of the important issues of the 21st century and is an imperative issue in Iran. Long-term consumption of opioids affects homeostasis. To determine the effects of opium and heroin consumption on serum biochemical parameters. In a cross-sectional study, subjects who had consumed heroin (n = 35) or opium (n = 42) for more than two years and 35 nonaddict volunteers as the control group were compared in regard to various biochemical parameters such as fasting blood sugar (FBS), Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid (UA), triglyceride (TG), cholesterol, creatinine, and total protein. Chromatography was used to confirm opioid consumption, and the concentration of biochemical parameters was determined by laboratory diagnostic tests on serum. No significant differences were found in Na(+), Ca(2+), BUN, UA, TG, creatinine, and total protein concentrations among the three groups. FBS, K(+), and UA levels were significantly lower in opium addicts compared to the control group. Serum Ca(2+) concentration of heroin addicts showed a significant decrease compared to that of the control group. Both addict groups showed a significant decrease in serum cholesterol levels. Chronic use of opium and heroin can change serum FBS, K(+), Ca(2+), UA, and cholesterol. This study, one of few on the effects of opium on serum biochemical parameters in human subjects, has the potential to contribute to the investigation of new approaches for further basic studies.

  3. INVESTIGATIONS ON BIOCHEMICAL PURIFICATION OF GROUND WATER FROM HYDROGEN SULFIDE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. P. Sedlukho

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers problems and features of biochemical removal of hydrogen sulfide from ground water. The analysis of existing methods for purification of ground water from hydrogen sulfide has been given in the paper. The paper has established shortcomings of physical and chemical purification of ground water. While using aeration methods for removal of hydrogen sulfide formation of colloidal sulfur that gives muddiness and opalescence to water occurs due to partial chemical air oxidation. In addition to this violation of sulfide-carbonate equilibrium taking place in the process of aeration due to desorption of H2S and CO2, often leads to clogging of degasifier nozzles with formed CaCO3 that causes serious operational problems. Chemical methods require relatively large flow of complex reagent facilities, storage facilities and transportation costs.In terms of hydrogen sulfide ground water purification the greatest interest is given to the biochemical method. Factors deterring widespread application of the biochemical method is its insufficient previous investigation and necessity to execute special research in order to determine optimal process parameters while purifying groundwater of a particular water supply source. Biochemical methods for oxidation of sulfur compounds are based on natural biological processes that ensure natural sulfur cycle. S. Vinogradsky has established a two-stage mechanism for oxidation of hydrogen sulfide with sulfur bacteria (Beggiatoa. The first stage presupposes oxidation of hydrogen sulphide to elemental sulfur which is accumulating in the cytoplasm in the form of globules. During the second stage sulfur bacteria begin to oxidize intracellular sulfur to sulfuric acid due to shortage of hydrogen sulfide.The paper provides the results of technological tests of large-scale pilot plants for biochemical purification of groundwater from hydrogen sulfide in semi-industrial conditions. Dependences of water quality

  4. Aspects on the Physiological and Biochemical Foundations of Neurocritical Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carl-Henrik Nordström

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Neurocritical care (NCC is a branch of intensive care medicine characterized by specific physiological and biochemical monitoring techniques necessary for identifying cerebral adverse events and for evaluating specific therapies. Information is primarily obtained from physiological variables related to intracranial pressure (ICP and cerebral blood flow (CBF and from physiological and biochemical variables related to cerebral energy metabolism. Non-surgical therapies developed for treating increased ICP are based on knowledge regarding transport of water across the intact and injured blood–brain barrier (BBB and the regulation of CBF. Brain volume is strictly controlled as the BBB permeability to crystalloids is very low restricting net transport of water across the capillary wall. Cerebral pressure autoregulation prevents changes in intracranial blood volume and intracapillary hydrostatic pressure at variations in arterial blood pressure. Information regarding cerebral oxidative metabolism is obtained from measurements of brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2 and biochemical data obtained from intracerebral microdialysis. As interstitial lactate/pyruvate (LP ratio instantaneously reflects shifts in intracellular cytoplasmatic redox state, it is an important indicator of compromised cerebral oxidative metabolism. The combined information obtained from PbtO2, LP ratio, and the pattern of biochemical variables reveals whether impaired oxidative metabolism is due to insufficient perfusion (ischemia or mitochondrial dysfunction. Intracerebral microdialysis and PbtO2 give information from a very small volume of tissue. Accordingly, clinical interpretation of the data must be based on information of the probe location in relation to focal brain damage. Attempts to evaluate global cerebral energy state from microdialysis of intraventricular fluid and from the LP ratio of the draining venous blood have recently been presented. To be of clinical relevance

  5. Some hematological and biochemical parameters in smokeless ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AJB SERVER

    2007-01-04

    Jan 4, 2007 ... The effect of Jharda powder (smokeless tobacco) on some hematological and biochemical parameters in consumers was investigated. Hematological parameters including hemoglobin content and white blood cell and leukocyte counts were higher in jharda powder consumers, while monocytes and.

  6. Biochemical Manifestation of HIV Lipodystrophy Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ihenetu, Kenneth; Mason, Darius

    2012-01-01

    Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), including protease inhibitors (PI) have led to dramatic improvements in the quality and quantity of life in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, a significant number of AIDS patients on HAART develop characteristic changes in body fat redistribution referred to as lipodystrophy syndrome (LDS). Features of LDS include hypertrophy in the neck fat pad (buffalo hump), increased fat in the abdominal region (protease paunch), gynecomastia and loss of fat in the mid-face and extremities. The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge regarding this syndrome. This article reviews the published investigations on biochemical manifestation of HIV lipodystrophy syndrome. It is estimated that approximately 64% of patients treated with PI will experience this syndrome. Biochemically, these patients have increased triglycerides (Trig), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and extremely low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). It is hoped that awareness of this syndrome would aid in early diagnosis and better patient management, possibly leading to a lower incidence of cardiovascular complications among these patients.

  7. Variations in biochemical values for common laboratory tests: a comparison among multi-ethnic Israeli women cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birk, Ruth; Heifetz, Eliyahu M

    2018-04-28

    Biochemical laboratory values are an essential tool in medical diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up; however, they are known to vary between populations. Establishment of ethnicity-adjusted reference values is recommended by health organizations. To investigate the ethnicity element in biochemical lab values studying women of different ethnic groups. Biochemical lab values (n = 27) of 503 adult Israeli women of three ethnicities (Jewish Ashkenazi, Jewish Sephardic, and Bedouin Arab) attending a single medical center were analyzed. Biochemical data were extracted from medical center records. Ethnic differences of laboratory biochemicals were studied using ANCOVA to analyze the center of the distribution as well as quartile regression analysis to analyze the upper and lower limits, both done with an adjustment for age. Significant ethnic differences were found in almost half (n = 12) of the biochemical laboratory tests. Ashkenazi Jews exhibited significantly higher mean values compared to Bedouins in most of the biochemical tests, including albumin, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, cholesterol, cholesterol LDL and HDL, cholesterol LDL calc., folic acid, globulin, and iron saturation, while the Bedouins exhibited the highest mean values in the creatinine and triglycerides. For most of these tests, Sephardic Jews exhibited biochemical mean levels in between the two other groups. Compared to Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews had a significant shift to lower values in cholesterol LDL. Ethnic subpopulations have distinct distributions in biochemical laboratory test values, which should be taken into consideration in medical practice enabling precision medicine.

  8. Responses of physiological and biochemical components in Gossypium hirsutum L. to mutagens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muthusamy, A.; Vasanth, K.; Jayabalan, N.

    2003-01-01

    The two tetraploid varieties of cotton were exposed to gamma rays, EMS and SA. Chlorophyll, carotenoids, sugar, starch, free amino acids, protein, lipids, DNA and RNA were estimated quantitatively. All the physiological and biochemical components were increased in lower dose/concentration of the mutagenic treatments and they were decreased in higher dose/concentrations. The stimulation of the biochemical contents was a dose/concentration dependent response. Among the two varieties, MCU 11 was found to be responsive to mutagens than MCU 5. Based on the study the lower dose/concentration of the mutagenic treatments could enhance the biochemical components which is used for improved economic characters of cotton. (author)

  9. Real-time biochemical sensor based on Raman scattering with CMOS contact imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muyun Cao; Yuhua Li; Yadid-Pecht, Orly

    2015-08-01

    This work presents a biochemical sensor based on Raman scattering with Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) contact imaging. This biochemical optical sensor is designed for detecting the concentration of solutions. The system is built with a laser diode, an optical filter, a sample holder and a commercial CMOS sensor. The output of the system is analyzed by an image processing program. The system provides instant measurements with a resolution of 0.2 to 0.4 Mol. This low cost and easy-operated small scale system is useful in chemical, biomedical and environmental labs for quantitative bio-chemical concentration detection with results reported comparable to a highly cost commercial spectrometer.

  10. Some hematological and biochemical parameters in smokeless ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effect of Jharda powder (smokeless tobacco) on some hematological and biochemical parameters in consumers was investigated. Hematological parameters including hemoglobin content and white blood cell and leukocyte counts were higher in jharda powder consumers, while monocytes and basophiles counts were ...

  11. Evaluation of Haematological and Biochemical Parameters of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    Evaluation of Haematological and Biochemical Parameters of Juvenile Oreochromis niloticus after Exposure to Water Soluble Fractions of ... niloticus were evaluated. After a preliminary determination of the 96 h-LC50 of ... evaporation, dissolution, emulsion, photolysis and biodegradation which generate a water soluble.

  12. Biochemical changes during aging of soybean seed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Balešević-Tubić Svetlana

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Biochemical changes that occur in the seed as a result of ageing are very significant for seed quality and longevity. Because of its characteristic composition, processes occurring in the seed of oil crops during storage will be typical as well. Six soybean varieties developed in Institute of field and vegetable crops Novi Sad, submitted to accelerated and natural aging, under controlled and conventional storage conditions were used in these trials. The content of malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities were studied. The biochemical processes i.e. lipid peroxidation, as well as the decrease in supeoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities (especially pronounced by applied accelerated aging were caused by both type of aging. The degree of seed damage and the ability of seed to resist the negative consequences of aging were influenced, beside duration of aging period, by type of storage and characteristics of soybean varieties. .

  13. Integration of electrochemistry in micro-total analysis systems for biochemical assays: recent developments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xiaoli; Zhang, Song; Chen, Hui; Kong, Jilie

    2009-11-15

    Micro-total analysis systems (microTAS) integrate different analytical operations like sample preparation, separation and detection into a single microfabricated device. With the outstanding advantages of low cost, satisfactory analytical efficiency and flexibility in design, highly integrated and miniaturized devices from the concept of microTAS have gained widespread applications, especially in biochemical assays. Electrochemistry is shown to be quite compatible with microanalytical systems for biochemical assays, because of its attractive merits such as simplicity, rapidity, high sensitivity, reduced power consumption, and sample/reagent economy. This review presents recent developments in the integration of electrochemistry in microdevices for biochemical assays. Ingenious microelectrode design and fabrication methods, and versatility of electrochemical techniques are involved. Practical applications of such integrated microsystem in biochemical assays are focused on in situ analysis, point-of-care testing and portable devices. Electrochemical techniques are apparently suited to microsystems, since easy microfabrication of electrochemical elements and a high degree of integration with multi-analytical functions can be achieved at low cost. Such integrated microsystems will play an increasingly important role for analysis of small volume biochemical samples. Work is in progress toward new microdevice design and applications.

  14. Considerations on the biochemical composition of some freshwater zooplankton species.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicoletta RICCARDI

    1999-02-01

    Full Text Available The mean elemental (C, H, N and biochemical composition (lipids, carbohydrates and proteins of some abundant crustacean zooplankton species of Italian insubric lakes has been estimated by the analysis of samples collected at different seasons from various environments (Lake Maggiore, Lake Varese, Lake Comabbio, Lake Monate. From each sample an adequate number of specimens of each abundant species was sorted and analyzed by a CHN elemental analyzer. The percentage of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins and the calorific content were calculated from the elemental composition according to Gnaiger & Bitterlich (1984. Inter- and intraspecific variability of biochemical composition was quite high, while elemental composition and calorific content were less variable. An estimate of the mean elemental and biochemical composition of each species was obtained by pooling the data. These mean values have been used to estimate the pools of elements and compounds in the crustacean zooplankton of Lake Comabbio to provide an example of the importance of a multiple approach in zooplankton studies.

  15. Label-Free Imaging and Biochemical Characterization of Bovine Sperm Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrara, Maria Antonietta; Di Caprio, Giuseppe; Managò, Stefano; De Angelis, Annalisa; Sirleto, Luigi; Coppola, Giuseppe; De Luca, Anna Chiara

    2015-01-01

    A full label-free morphological and biochemical characterization is desirable to select spermatozoa during preparation for artificial insemination. In order to study these fundamental parameters, we take advantage of two attractive techniques: digital holography (DH) and Raman spectroscopy (RS). DH presents new opportunities for studying morphological aspect of cells and tissues non-invasively, quantitatively and without the need for staining or tagging, while RS is a very specific technique allowing the biochemical analysis of cellular components with a spatial resolution in the sub-micrometer range. In this paper, morphological and biochemical bovine sperm cell alterations were studied using these techniques. In addition, a complementary DH and RS study was performed to identify X- and Y-chromosome-bearing sperm cells. We demonstrate that the two techniques together are a powerful and highly efficient tool elucidating some important criterions for sperm morphological selection and sex-identification, overcoming many of the limitations associated with existing protocols. PMID:25836358

  16. The impact of atrazine on several biochemical properties of chernozem soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LJ. RADIVOJEVIC

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available The impact of the pesticide atrazine on biochemical processes in soil was investigated. Atrazine loadings of 8.0, 40.0 and 80.0 mg/kg soil were laboratory tested in an experiment set up on a clay loam soil. Dehydrogenase activity, change in biomass carbon, soil respiration and metabolic coefficient were examined. The samples were collected for analysis 1, 7, 14, 21, 30 and 60 days after atrazine application. The acquired data indicated that the effect of atrazine on the biochemical activity of the soil depended on its application rate and duration of activity, and the effect was either stimulating or inhibiting. However, the detected changes were found to be transient, indicating that there is no real risk of the compound disrupting the balance of biochemical processes in soil.

  17. 2011 Biomass Program Platform Peer Review: Biochemical Conversion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pezzullo, Leslie [Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Washington, DC (United States)

    2012-02-01

    This document summarizes the recommendations and evaluations provided by an independent external panel of experts at the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Biomass Program’s Biochemical Conversion Platform Review meeting.

  18. Diagnostic utility of clinical and biochemical parameters in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Diagnostic utility of clinical and biochemical parameters in pancreatic head malignancy ... Department of Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, ..... technical review on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and.

  19. Slot-waveguide biochemical sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrios, Carlos A; Gylfason, Kristinn B; Sánchez, Benito; Griol, Amadeu; Sohlström, H; Holgado, M; Casquel, R

    2007-11-01

    We report an experimental demonstration of an integrated biochemical sensor based on a slot-waveguide microring resonator. The microresonator is fabricated on a Si3N4-SiO2 platform and operates at a wavelength of 1.3 microm. The transmission spectrum of the sensor is measured with different ambient refractive indices ranging from n=1.33 to 1.42. A linear shift of the resonant wavelength with increasing ambient refractive index of 212 nm/refractive index units (RIU) is observed. The sensor detects a minimal refractive index variation of 2x10(-4) RIU.

  20. DMPD: The oxidation of lipoproteins by monocytes-macrophages. Biochemical andbiological mechanisms. [Dynamic Macrophage Pathway CSML Database

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 10473535 The oxidation of lipoproteins by monocytes-macrophages. Biochemical andbio.... (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show The oxidation of lipoproteins by monocytes-macrophages. Biochemical and...onocytes-macrophages. Biochemical andbiological mechanisms. Authors Chisolm GM 3rd, Hazen SL, Fox PL, Cathca

  1. Biochemical and secondary metabolites changes under moisture ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study showed the importance of carbohydrate and nitrogen cycle related metabolites in mediating tolerance in cassava by affecting their phenotypic expression in the plant. Keywords: Hydrothermal stress, bio-chemicals, pigments, secondary metabolites, cassava. African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(31) 3173-3186 ...

  2. Efficacy of topical honey therapy against silver sulphadiazine treatment in burns: A biochemical study

    OpenAIRE

    Nagane, N. S.; Ganu, J. V.; Bhagwat, V. R.; Subramanium, M.

    2004-01-01

    Thermal injury is associated with biochemical changes. The present study was undertaken to investigate relation of oxidative free radical generation and related biochemical parameters in burn trauma. The specific aim was to compare the levels of serum lipid peroxide, Ceruloplasmin and Uric Acid in burn patients during treatment with Silver Sulfadiazine Cream and honey therapy. It is a single blind prospective controlled study involving comparison of biochemical changes after treatment with si...

  3. Exposure of precision-cut rat liver slices to ethanol accelerates fibrogenesis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaffert, Courtney S.; Duryee, Michael J.; Bennett, Robert G.; DeVeney, Amy L.; Tuma, Dean J.; Olinga, Peter; Easterling, Karen C.; Thiele, Geoffrey M.; Klassen, Lynell W.

    Schaffert CS, Duryee MJ, Bennett RG, DeVeney AL, Tuma DJ, Olinga P, Easterling KC, Thiele GM, Klassen LW. Exposure of precision-cut rat liver slices to ethanol accelerates fibrogenesis. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 299: G661-G668, 2010. First published July 1, 2010; doi:

  4. Circulating microRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tijsen, Anke J.; Pinto, Yigal M.; Creemers, Esther E.

    2012-01-01

    Tijsen AJ, Pinto YM, Creemers EE. Circulating microRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 303: H1085-H1095, 2012. First published August 31, 2012; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00191.2012.-One of the major challenges in cardiovascular disease is the

  5. L-NIL prevents renal microvascular hypoxia and increase of renal oxygen consumption after ischemia-reperfusion in rats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Legrand, Matthieu; Almac, Emre; Mik, Egbert G.; Johannes, Tanja; Kandil, Asli; Bezemer, Rick; Payen, Didier; Ince, Can

    2009-01-01

    Legrand M, Almac E, Mik EG, Johannes T, Kandil A, Bezemer R, Payen D, Ince C. L-NIL prevents renal microvascular hypoxia and increase of renal oxygen consumption after ischemia-reperfusion in rats. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F1109-F1117, 2009. First published February 18, 2009;

  6. haematological parameters and serum biochemical indices of pre

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    mrmrsolayiwola

    2012-05-01

    BWSFM) on haematological and serum biochemical parameters in rabbit were studied. Thirty-two (32) cross-bred. (New Zealand-white X Chinchilla) male weaner rabbits aged between 6 and 9 weeks were randomly.

  7. Biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy: what does it mean?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tourinho-Barbosa, Rafael; Srougi, Victor; Nunes-Silva, Igor; Baghdadi, Mohammed; Rembeyo, Gregory; Eiffel, Sophie S.; Barret, Eric; Rozet, Francois; Galiano, Marc; Cathelineau, Xavier; Sanchez-Salas, Rafael

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background Radical prostatectomy (RP) has been used as the main primary treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) for many years with excellent oncologic results. However, approximately 20-40% of those patients has failed to RP and presented biochemical recurrence (BCR). Prostatic specific antigen (PSA) has been the pivotal tool for recurrence diagnosis, but there is no consensus about the best PSA threshold to define BCR until this moment. The natural history of BCR after surgical procedure is highly variable, but it is important to distinguish biochemical and clinical recurrence and to find the correct timing to start multimodal treatment strategy. Also, it is important to understand the role of each clinical and pathological feature of prostate cancer in BCR, progression to metastatic disease and cancer specific mortality (CSM). Review design A simple review was made in Medline for articles written in English language about biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Objective To provide an updated assessment of BCR definition, its meaning, PCa natural history after BCR and the weight of each clinical/pathological feature and risk group classifications in BCR, metastatic disease and CSM. PMID:29039897

  8. Improved biochemical preservation of lung slices during cold storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bull, D A; Connors, R C; Reid, B B; Albanil, A; Stringham, J C; Karwande, S V

    2000-05-15

    Development of lung preservation solutions typically requires whole-organ models which are animal and labor intensive. These models rely on physiologic rather than biochemical endpoints, making accurate comparison of the relative efficacy of individual solution components difficult. We hypothesized that lung slices could be used to assess preservation of biochemical function during cold storage. Whole rat lungs were precision cut into slices with a thickness of 500 microm and preserved at 4 degrees C in the following solutions: University of Wisconsin (UW), Euro-Collins (EC), low-potassium-dextran (LPD), Kyoto (K), normal saline (NS), or a novel lung preservation solution (NPS) developed using this model. Lung biochemical function was assessed by ATP content (etamol ATP/mg wet wt) and capacity for protein synthesis (cpm/mg protein) immediately following slicing (0 h) and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 h of cold storage. Six slices were assayed at each time point for each solution. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance and are presented as means +/- SD. ATP content was significantly higher in the lung slices stored in NPS compared with all other solutions at each time point (P cold storage. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

  9. Biochemical comparison of osteoarthritic knees with and without effusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Several symptom-relieving interventions have been shown to be efficacious among osteoarthritis (OA) patients with knee effusion; however, not every symptomatic knee OA patient has clinical effusion. Results may be over-generalized since it is unclear if effused knees represent a unique pathological condition or subset compared to knees without effusion. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if biochemical differences existed between OA knees with and without effusion. Methods The present cross-sectional study consisted of 22 volunteers (11 with knee effusion, 11 without knee effusion) with confirmed late-stage radiographic knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence score ≥ 3). Synovial fluid samples were collected and analyzed using a custom multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine eight specific biomarker concentrations (e.g., catabolic, anabolic). Results Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, tissue inhibitor of MMPs (TIMP)-1, TIMP-2, and interleukin-10 were significantly higher in the knees with effusion than in the knees without effusion. Conclusions The biochemical differences that existed between knees with and without effusion provide support that OA subsets may exist, characterized by distinct biochemical characteristics and clinical findings (e.g., effusion). PMID:22122951

  10. Fluorescent diagnostics of epithelial neoplasms of different colon parts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korneva, Yulia S; Dorosevich, Alexander E; Maryakhina, Valeriya S

    2017-10-01

    Changes in the biochemical composition of the tissue during colon cancer progression usually precede morphological changes registered by light microscopy. These changes are very sensitive and may be used for diagnostics in difficult cases, when it is impossible to obtain sufficient amount of material during colonoscopy. The aim of the study is analysis of spectral characteristics of sporadic adenomas and tumors in different parts of colon for improving tumors diagnostics in disputable cases. The spectra of fluorescence excitation of histological sections from 78 patients with colon cancer (adenocarcinoma) and colonic adenomas of different localizations were measured. The spectra of fluorescence excitation of all types of adenomas as well as adenocarcinoma have two maxima at 260/270 nm and at 330/340 nm. The first maximum is primarily defined by tryptophan and phenylalanin containing peptides, one of them is glucagon. The second maximum is mainly defined by collagen in stroma. Progression of precancer lesions to advanced cancer leads to increase of NADH concentration impacting on the second maximum of spectra. However, spectra of all types of the investigated lesions have peculiarities depending on localization. At odds to the previous data about similarities between distal colon and rectum, our results demonstrate similar spectra for proximal colon and rectum due to some similarities in morphological and, as a consequence, biochemical composition. Tumor can be detected by spectral techniques on histological slides even if the specimen contains very few tumorous cells in stroma. Biochemical changes and their similarities for precancer lesions and advanced colon cancer have described. Peculiarities of spectral data for different parts of colon may change the previous opinion about similar mechanisms of cancerogenesis for distal colon and rectum. Moreover, investigation of tissue specimen obtained for histological examination and containing lack of malignant

  11. Biochemical and Cellular Assessment of Acetabular Chondral Flaps Identified During Hip Arthroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hariri, Sanaz; Truntzer, Jeremy; Smith, Robert Lane; Safran, Marc R

    2015-06-01

    To analyze chondral flaps debrided during hip arthroscopy to determine their biochemical and cellular composition. Thirty-one full-thickness acetabular chondral flaps were collected during hip arthroscopy. Biochemical analysis was undertaken in 21 flaps from 20 patients, and cellular viability was determined in 10 flaps from 10 patients. Biochemical analysis included concentrations of (1) DNA (an indicator of chondrocyte content), (2) hydroxyproline (an indicator of collagen content), and (3) glycosaminoglycan (an indicator of chondrocyte biosynthesis). Higher values for these parameters indicated more healthy tissue. The flaps were examined to determine the percentage of viable chondrocytes. The percentage of acetabular chondral flap specimens that had concentrations within 1 SD of the mean values reported in previous normal cartilage studies was 38% for DNA, 0% for glycosaminoglycan, and 43% for hydroxyproline. The average cellular viability of our acetabular chondral flap specimens was 39% (SD, 14%). Only 2 of the 10 specimens had more than half the cells still viable. There was no correlation between (1) the gross examination of the joint or knowledge of the patient's demographic characteristics and symptoms and (2) biochemical properties and cell viability of the flap, with one exception: a degenerative appearance of the surrounding cartilage correlated with a higher hydroxyproline concentration. Although full-thickness acetabular chondral flaps can appear normal grossly, the biochemical properties and percentage of live chondrocytes in full-thickness chondral flaps encountered in hip arthroscopy show that this tissue is not normal. There has been recent interest in repairing chondral flaps encountered during hip arthroscopy. These data suggest that acetabular chondral flaps are not biochemically and cellularly normal. Although these flaps may still be valuable mechanically and/or as a scaffold in some conductive or inductive capacity, further study is

  12. Evaluation of biochemical changes in unstimulated salivary, calcium ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    TORNADO

    2012-01-26

    Jan 26, 2012 ... salivary, calcium, phosphorous and total protein during ... teins in saliva are important components and any chan- ... Sialochemical analysis .... quantities of protein utilizing the principal of protein-dye binding. Anal biochem.

  13. Biochemical composition of muscle tissue of penaeid prawns

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Achuthankutty, C.T.; Parulekar, A.H.

    Biochemical composition of muscle tissue of females belonging to four species of penaeid prawns, viz. Metapenaeus affinis, M. dobsoni, Penaeus merguiensis and Parapenaeopsis stylifera, inhabiting the coastal waters of Goa, India, was estimated...

  14. Psoriatic arthritis: An assessment of clinical, biochemical and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    , epidemiological, clinical and radiological studies of South African (SA) patients are scarce. Objectives. To assess clinical, biochemical and radiological features in a single-centre SA cohort. Methods. We conducted a prospective assessment ...

  15. Metabonomics and medicine: the Biochemical Oracle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Steve; Holmes, Elaine; Carmichael, Paul

    2002-10-01

    Occasionally, a new idea emerges that has the potential to revolutionize an entire field of scientific endeavour. It is now within our grasp to be able to detect subtle perturbations within the phenomenally complex biochemical matrix of living organisms. The discipline of metabonomics promises an all-encompassing approach to understanding total, yet fundamental, changes occurring in disease processes, drug toxicity and cell function.

  16. Biochemical and microstructural characteristics of meat samples ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was conducted to compare the efficiency of different plant proteases for changing biochemical and microstructural characteristics in muscle foods. The meat samples from chicken, giant catfish, pork and beef were treated with four types of proteolytic enzymes: Calotropis procera latex proteases, papaya latex ...

  17. Feasibility of biochemical verification in a web-based smoking cessation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cha, Sarah; Ganz, Ollie; Cohn, Amy M; Ehlke, Sarah J; Graham, Amanda L

    2017-10-01

    Cogent arguments have been made against the need for biochemical verification in population-based studies with low-demand characteristics. Despite this fact, studies involving digital interventions (low-demand) are often required in peer review to report biochemically verified abstinence. To address this discrepancy, we examined the feasibility and costs of biochemical verification in a web-based study conducted with a national sample. Participants were 600U.S. adult current smokers who registered on a web-based smoking cessation program and completed surveys at baseline and 3months. Saliva sampling kits were sent to participants who reported 7-day abstinence at 3months, and analyzed for cotinine. The response rate at 3-months was 41.2% (n=247): 93 participants reported 7-day abstinence (38%) and were mailed a saliva kit (71% returned). The discordance rate was 36.4%. Participants with discordant responses were more likely to report 3-month use of nicotine replacement therapy or e-cigarettes than those with concordant responses (79.2% vs. 45.2%, p=0.007). The total cost of saliva sampling was $8280 ($125/sample). Biochemical verification was both time- and cost-intensive, and yielded a relatively small number of samples due to low response rates and use of other nicotine products during the follow-up period. There was a high rate of discordance of self-reported abstinence and saliva testing. Costs for data collection may be prohibitive for studies with large sample sizes or limited budgets. Our findings echo previous statements that biochemical verification is not necessary in population-based studies, and add evidence specific to technology-based studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Biochemical effects of commercial feedstuffs on the fry of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and its impact on Swiss albino mice as an animal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munshi, Mita; Tumu, Khairun Nafiz; Hasan, Md Nazmul; Amin, Md Ziaul

    2018-01-01

    This study assesses the biochemical effects of commercially available fish feedstuffs on the fry of climbing perch ( Anabas testudineus ). Subsequently, its impact on experimental animal, Swiss albino mice, is also examined. In order to access the impact of commercial fish feed and feed consumption fish on the experimental animal, the proximate, biochemical and histopathological analyses were done using standard methods. The proximate composition as well as the concentrations of Pb, Ni, Mn, As, Zn, and Cd in the fish feed, different parts of the A. testudineus fish and different parts of the A. testudineus fish-treated experimental mice liver, were all determined using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) Spectrometry. The highest levels of Cr, Pb and As were observed in the liver of Swiss albino mice treated with FFT2 and FFBB2 and their concentrations were 0.156, 0.491, 0.172 μg/g and 0.166, 0.771, 0.157 μg/g respectively. No significant changes of protein, fat, crude fiber, moisture and ash contents were observed after proximate composition analysis of fish feeds, A. testudineus and A. testudineus treated experimental mice. Significant amounts of heavy metals (Cr, Mn, Zn Cu, Ni) were found in fish feed, different parts of A. testudineus fish and in the experimental mice. However, remarkably high amounts were observed in the A. testudineus fish's head and bone with body parts. Biochemical analysis of blood samples of A. testudineus fish treated experimental mice indicated that the cholesterol, TG, LDL and glucose levels were significantly higher. Yet no significant alteration in the HDL level was observed when compared to the control. In histopathological analysis, a remarkable degeneration was observed in the liver and kidney of A. testudineus treated mice. It can therefore be concluded that although A. testudineus has nutritional benefits the quality of this fish may be compromised as a consequence of contamination through various anthropogenic

  19. Reduction of proteinuria in adriamycin-induced nephropathy is associated with reduction of renal kidney injury molecule (Kim-1) over time

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kramer, Andrea B.; van Timmeren, Mirjan M.; Schuurs, Theo A.; Vaidya, Vishal S.; Bonventre, Joseph V.; van Goor, Harry; Navis, Gerjan

    Kramer AB, van Timmeren MM, Schuurs TA, Vaidya VS, Bonventre JV, van Goor H, Navis G. Reduction of proteinuria in adriamycin-induced nephropathy is associated with reduction of renal kidney injury molecule (Kim-1) over time. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F1136-F1145, 2009. First published February

  20. Differential effects of NF-kappa B and p38 MAPK inhibitors and combinations thereof on TNF-alpha- and IL-1 beta-induced proinflammatory status of endothelial cells in vitro

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuldo, JM; Westra, J; Asgeirsdottir, SA; Kok, RJ; Oosterhuis, K; Rots, MG; Schouten, JP; Limburg, PC; Molema, G

    Differential effects of NF- kappa B and p38 MAPK inhibitors and combinations thereof on TNF-alpha- and IL- 1 beta- induced proinflammatory status of endothelial cells in vitro. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 289: C1229 - C1239, 2005. First published June 22, 2005; doi: 10.1152/ ajpcell. 00620.2004.

  1. Classification and fingerprinting of different berries based on biochemical profiling and antioxidant capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasminka Milivojević

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to evaluate the biochemical composition of six berry types belonging to Fragaria, Rubus, Vaccinium and Ribes genus. Fruit samples were collected in triplicate (50 fruit each from 18 different species or cultivars of the mentioned genera, during three years (2008 to 2010. Content of individual sugars, organic acids, flavonols, and phenolic acids were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC analysis, while total phenolics (TPC and total antioxidant capacity (TAC, by using spectrophotometry. Principal component analysis (PCA and hierarchical cluster analysis (CA were performed to evaluate the differences in fruit biochemical profile. The highest contents of bioactive components were found in Ribes nigrum and in Fragaria vesca, Rubus plicatus, and Vaccinium myrtillus. PCA and CA were able to partially discriminate between berries on the basis of their biochemical composition. Individual and total sugars, myricetin, ellagic acid, TPC and TAC showed the highest impact on biochemical composition of the berry fruits. CA separated blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry as isolate groups, while classification of strawberry, black and red currant in a specific group has not occurred. There is a large variability both between and within the different types of berries. Metabolite fingerprinting of the evaluated berries showed unique biochemical profiles and specific combination of bioactive compound contents.

  2. BioCluster: Tool for Identification and Clustering of Enterobacteriaceae Based on Biochemical Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed Abdullah

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Presumptive identification of different Enterobacteriaceae species is routinely achieved based on biochemical properties. Traditional practice includes manual comparison of each biochemical property of the unknown sample with known reference samples and inference of its identity based on the maximum similarity pattern with the known samples. This process is labor-intensive, time-consuming, error-prone, and subjective. Therefore, automation of sorting and similarity in calculation would be advantageous. Here we present a MATLAB-based graphical user interface (GUI tool named BioCluster. This tool was designed for automated clustering and identification of Enterobacteriaceae based on biochemical test results. In this tool, we used two types of algorithms, i.e., traditional hierarchical clustering (HC and the Improved Hierarchical Clustering (IHC, a modified algorithm that was developed specifically for the clustering and identification of Enterobacteriaceae species. IHC takes into account the variability in result of 1–47 biochemical tests within this Enterobacteriaceae family. This tool also provides different options to optimize the clustering in a user-friendly way. Using computer-generated synthetic data and some real data, we have demonstrated that BioCluster has high accuracy in clustering and identifying enterobacterial species based on biochemical test data. This tool can be freely downloaded at http://microbialgen.du.ac.bd/biocluster/.

  3. [Biochemical principles of early saturnism recognition].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsimakuridze, M P; Mansuradze, E A; Zurashvili, D G; Tsimakuridze, M P

    2009-03-01

    The aim of the work is to determine the major sensitive criteria of biochemical indicators that allow timely discovery of negative influence of lead on organism and assist in early diagnosis of primary stages of saturnism. The workers of Georgian typographies, performing technological processes of letterpress printing were observed. Professional groups having contact with lead aerosols (main group of 66 people) and the workers of the same typography not being in touch with the poison (control group of 24 people) were studied. It was distinguished that, protracted professional contact with lead causes moderate increase of lead, coproporphyrin and DALA in daily urine in most cases; it is more clearly evidenced in the professional groups of lead smelters and lino operators and less clearly among typesetter and printers. Upon the checkup of people, having a direct contact with lead, biochemical analysis of urine should be given a preference, especially the determination of quantitative content of lead and coproporphyrin in urine with the aim of revealing the lead carrier, which is one of the first signals for occupational lookout and medical monitoring of the similar contingent.

  4. Pheochromocytoma-paraganglioma: Biochemical and genetic diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cano Megías, Marta; Rodriguez Puyol, Diego; Fernández Rodríguez, Loreto; Sención Martinez, Gloria Lisette; Martínez Miguel, Patricia

    Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are tumours derived from neural crest cells, which can be diagnosed by biochemical measurement of metanephrine and methoxytyramine. Advances in genetic research have identified many genes involved in the pathogenesis of these tumours, suggesting that up to 35-45% may have an underlying germline mutation. These genes have a singular transcriptional signature and can be grouped into 2 clusters (or groups): cluster 1 (VHL and SHDx), involved in angiogenesis and hypoxia pathways; and cluster 2 (MEN2 and NF1), linked to the kinase signalling pathway. In turn, these genes are associated with a characteristic biochemical phenotype (noradrenergic and adrenergic), and clinical features (location, biological behaviour, age of presentation, etc.) in a large number of cases. Early diagnosis of these tumours, accompanied by a correct genetic diagnosis, should eventually become a priority to enable better treatment, early detection of complications, proper screening of family members and related tumours, as well as an improvement in the overall prognosis of these patients. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Nefrología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  5. Family history and biochemical diagnosis in 1948 kidney stone formers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco R. Spivacow

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The presence of family history of nephrolithiasis is associated with an increased risk of renal lithiasis. Different epidemiological studies have shown a family component in the incidence of it, which is independent of dietary and environmental factors. The role of heredity is evident in monogenic diseases such as cystinuria, Dent’s disease or primary hyperoxaluria, while a polygenic inheritance has been proposed to explain the tendency to form calcium oxalate stones. Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the family history of patients with renal lithiasis and the correlation of family history with its corresponding biochemical alteration, considering only those with a single metabolic alteration. Methods: a prospective and retrospective observational and analytical study that included 1948 adults over 17 years of age and a normal control group of 165 individuals, all evaluated according to an ambulatory protocol to obtain a biochemical diagnosis. They were asked about their family history of nephrolithiasis and classified into five groups according to the degree of kinship and the number of people affected in the family. Results: a positive family history of nephrolithiasis was found in 27.4% of renal stone formers, predominantly in women, compared to 15.2% of normal controls. The family history of nephrolithiasis was observed especially in 31.4% of patients with hypomagnesuria and in 29.6% of hypercalciuric patients. The rest of the biochemical alterations had a positive family history between 28.6% in hyperoxaluria and 21.9% in hypocitraturia. The highest percentage of family history of nephrolithiasis was found in cystinuria (75% although there were few patients with this diagnosis. Conclusions: the inheritance has a clear impact on urolithiasis independently of the present biochemical alteration. Family history of nephrolithiasis of the first and second degree was observed between 21 and 32% of patients with renal

  6. Survey of Biochemical Education in Japanese Universities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kagawa, Yasuo

    1995-01-01

    Reports findings of questionnaires sent to faculty in charge of biochemical education in medical schools and other programs from dentistry to agriculture. Total class hours have declined since 1984. New trends include bioethics and computer-assisted learning. Tables show trends in lecture hours, lecture content, laboratory hours, core subject…

  7. Discordant results between biochemical and molecular transthyretin

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Discordant results between biochemical and molecular transthyretin assays: lessons learned from a unique testing algorithm at the Mayo Clinic. Honey V. Reddi Brittany C. Thomas Kurt S. Willkomm Matthew J. Ferber Kandelaria M. Rumilla Kimiyo M. Raymond John F. O'Brien W. Edward Highsmith. Research Note Volume ...

  8. The Comparison of Biochemical and Sequencing 16S rDNA Gene Methods to Identify Nontuberculous Mycobacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shafipour1, M.

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The identification of Mycobacteria in the species level has great medical importance. Biochemical tests are laborious and time-consuming, so new techniques could be used to identify the species. This research aimed to the comparison of biochemical and sequencing 16S rDNA gene methods to identify nontuberculous Mycobacteria in patients suspected to tuberculosis in Golestan province which is the most prevalent region of tuberculosis in Iran. Among 3336 patients suspected to tuberculosis referred to hospitals and health care centres in Golestan province during 2010-2011, 319 (9.56% culture positive cases were collected. Identification of species by using biochemical tests was done. On the samples recognized as nontuberculous Mycobacteria, after DNA extraction by boiling, 16S rDNA PCR was done and their sequencing were identified by NCBI BLAST. Of the 319 positive samples in Golestan Province, 300 cases were M.tuberculosis and 19 cases (5.01% were identified as nontuberculous Mycobacteria by biochemical tests. 15 out of 19 nontuberculous Mycobacteria were identified by PCR and sequencing method as similar by biochemical methods (similarity rate: 78.9%. But after PCR, 1 case known as M.simiae by biochemical test was identified as M. lentiflavum and 3 other cases were identified as Nocardia. Biochemical methods corresponded to the 16S rDNA PCR and sequencing in 78.9% of cases. However, in identification of M. lentiflavum and Nocaria sp. the molecular method is better than biochemical methods.

  9. Biochemical constituents of seaweeds along the Maharashtra coast

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Dhargalkar, V.K.; Jagtap, T.G.; Untawale, A.G.

    Protein, carbohydrate and organic carbon were estimated in 43 marine algal species from different stations along the Maharashtra Coast in India These species showed variation in their biochemical contents Protein varied from 10 to 33% Chlorophyceae...

  10. Anthropometric and Biochemical Profiles of Black South African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rev Dr Olaleye

    Anthropometric and biochemical profiles were determined according to standard methods. From the ... Email: bejufemi@yahoo.co.uk ... 995 plots, Pahameng 1 711, Joe Slovo 1 359, and. Botchabela 2 ...... York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Steyn K ...

  11. Biochemical characterization of cholesterol-reducing Eubacterium.

    OpenAIRE

    Mott, G E; Brinkley, A W; Mersinger, C L

    1980-01-01

    We characterized two isolates of cholesterol-reducing Eubacterium by conducting conventional biochemical tests and by testing various sterols and glycerolipids as potential growth factors. In media containing cholesterol and plasmenylethanolamine, the tests for nitrate reduction, indole production, and gelatin and starch hydrolyses were negative, and no acid was produced from any of 22 carbohydrates. Both isolates hydrolyzed esculin to esculetin, indicating beta-glycosidase activity. In addit...

  12. Role of Spironolactone Chalcone in the Prevention of Peritoneal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Results: Spironolactone chalcone treatment at a dose of 30 mg/kg body ... fibrosis in PD patients using various drugs and ... Rockville, Maryland, USA) cultures in a brain– ... mL blood samples were collected from the vena .... The transport barrier in intraperitoneal therapy. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 2005; 288: F433-. 442.

  13. Strain-dependent susceptibility for hypertension in mice resides in the natural killer gene complex

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taherzadeh, Zhila; VanBavel, Ed; de Vos, Judith; Matlung, Hanke L.; van Montfrans, Gert; Brewster, Lizzy M.; Seghers, Leonard; Quax, Paul H. A.; Bakker, Erik N. T. P.

    2010-01-01

    Taherzadeh Z, VanBavel E, de Vos J, Matlung HL, van Montfrans G, Brewster LM, Seghers L, Quax PH, Bakker EN. Strain-dependent susceptibility for hypertension in mice resides in the natural killer gene complex. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 298: H1273-H1282, 2010. First published February 12, 2010;

  14. Biochemical and biomedical applications of multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Shih-Hung; Juang, Ruey-Shin

    2011-01-01

    Nanotechnology offers tremendous potential for future medical diagnosis and therapy. Various types of nanoparticles have been extensively studied for numerous biochemical and biomedical applications. Magnetic nanoparticles are well-established nanomaterials that offer controlled size, ability to be manipulated by an external magnetic field, and enhancement of contrast in magnetic resonance imaging. As a result, these nanoparticles could have many applications including bacterial detection, protein purification, enzyme immobilization, contamination decorporation, drug delivery, hyperthermia, etc. All these biochemical and biomedical applications require that these nanoparticles should satisfy some prerequisites including high magnetization, good stability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Because of the potential benefits of multimodal functionality in biomedical applications, in this account highlights some general strategies to generate magnetic nanoparticle-based multifunctional nanostructures. After these magnetic nanoparticles are conjugated with proper ligands (e.g., nitrilotriacetate), polymers (e.g., polyacrylic acid, chitosan, temperature- and pH-sensitive polymers), antibodies, enzymes, and inorganic metals (e.g., gold), such biofunctional magnetic nanoparticles exhibit many advantages in biomedical applications. In addition, the multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles have been widely applied in biochemical fields including enzyme immobilization and protein purification.

  15. Haematological And Biochemical Effects Of Sulphadimidine In ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Haematological and biochemical efects of sulphadmidine were studied in Nigerian mongrel dogs. Five Nigerian mongrel dogs of either sex weighing between 7 and 12 kg were used for the study. The pretreatment blood and serum samples were collected and the weight of animals taken before the administraton of 100 ...

  16. Haematological and biochemical responses of starter broiler ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A study was conducted to investigate the haematological and biochemical responses of starter broiler chickens fed copper and probiotics supplemented diets. A total of 180-day old Marshal broiler chicks were randomly allotted to six treatment groups of 30 birds each. The treatments were divided into three replicates of ten ...

  17. Biochemical and Kinetic Characterization of Geranylgeraniol 18 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This enzyme and its gene are an attractive target for development of plaunotol production and its detailed biochemical properties need to be understood. Recently, even though the gene (CYP97C27) coding for GGOH 18-hydroxylase has been identified, cloned, and expressed in Escherichia coli system, the enzyme activity ...

  18. Complement Levels and Haemate-Biochemical Parameters as ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Complement levels and haemato-biochemical parameters in West African Dwarf (WAD) and Borno White (BW) goats experimentally infected with Trypanosoma congolense were investigated. Parasitaemia was established in both breeds of goats by day 7 post-infection. Peak parasitaemia of 7.5 x 103/µL for WAD goats was ...

  19. Clinico-haematological and serum biochemical alterations in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An increase in serum CRE and BUN values were recorded in all cases of pyometra which reduced to lower levels during both treatments in follow-ups. All the haemato-biochemical parameters were comparable to their respective reference values after either medicinal treatment or ovariohysterectomy of dogs. Thus the dogs ...

  20. MATLAB-Based Teaching Modules in Biochemical Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kilho; Comolli, Noelle K.; Kelly, William J.; Huang, Zuyi

    2015-01-01

    Mathematical models play an important role in biochemical engineering. For example, the models developed in the field of systems biology have been used to identify drug targets to treat pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa in biofilms. In addition, competitive binding models for chromatography processes have been developed to predict expanded…

  1. Structural and biochemical alterations of human diabetic dermis studied by 3H-lysine incorporation and microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moczar, M.; Allard, R.; Ouzilou, J.; Robert, L.; Pieraggi, M.-T.; Bouissou, H.; Julian, M.

    1976-01-01

    The alteration of the structural organization of dermal connective tissue was studied by light and electron microscopy and by biochemical techniques in normal human and in diabetic patients using skin biopsies. Part of the tissue was used for light and electron microscopy, the rest was incubated in the presence of 3 H-lysine for four hours. The 3 H-lysine labelled biopsies were submitted to a sequential extraction procedure in order to obtain representative macromolecular fractions containing the matrix macromolecules. The extracts were analyzed for their chemical composition and radioactivity. Electron microscopy revealed microstructural modifications of the fibroblasts, of the collagen and elastic fibers in the diabetic dermis. The incorporation pattern of 3 H-lysine into the macromolecular fractions was different in the normal and diabetic skin biopsies. The percentage of total radioactivity incorporated increased significantly in the 1M CaCl 2 extractable fraction and in the 6M urea extractable fraction and decreased significantly in the collagenase and elastase extracts in diabetic skin biopsy. These results demonstrate the existence of morphological and biochemical alterations in diabetic connective tissue (dermis) reflecting alterations in the relative rates of synthesis and/or degradation of the intercellular matrix macromolecules as well as of their microarchitectural arrangement

  2. Seroprevalence of brucellosis and associated hemato-biochemical changes in pakistani horses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gul, S.T.; Khan, A.; Ahmad, M.

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and hemato-biochemical manifestations of brucellosis in horses. Serum samples were screened for Brucella antibodies by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and serum agglutination test (SAT). Blood samples were evaluated for hemato-biochemical parameters following standard procedures. Results indicated seroprevalence of brucellosis 20.13 and 16.23% in horses by RBPT and SAT, respectively. Brucellosis does not lead to any significant change in hematological and biochemical parameters in relation to age, sex, body condition and lactation except few parameters. The values of erythrocyte sedimentation rate, neutrophil, basophil and alkaline phosphatase significantly decreased in brucellosis positive animals as compared to healthy animals whereas lymphocytes and alanine aminotransferase were in opposite order. It was concluded from the results that prevalence of brucellosis in horse population is of concern; therefore, control measures should be opted so that its zoonotic threat is curtailed. (author)

  3. Haematological and serum biochemical profiles of broiler chickens ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    MOLM) on the haematological and serum biochemical profile of broiler chickens. Fresh Moringa leaves (FML) were shade-dried for four days and milled into meal. A total of two hundred broilers unsexed chickens (Anak strain) were randomly ...

  4. Clinical, biochemical and ultrasonographic features of infertile women with polycystic ovarian syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haq, F.; Rizvi, J.

    2007-01-01

    To evaluate and compare the clinical, biochemical and ultrasonic features of infertile women with PCOS from the two infertility centers of Karachi, The Aga Khan University Hospital and Concept Fertility Centre. Patients attending the Infertility Clinics of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi and Concept Fertility Centre, Karachi, were evaluated for their clinical features. Complete biochemical evaluation was performed by day 2 FSH, LH, serum prolactin, serum testosterone and fasting serum insulin determination. These results were recorded on the data collection form. Ultrasonic evaluation was performed with transvaginal ultrasound to check the morphological appearance of ovaries. A total of 508 patients were evaluated for epidemiological features of PCOS. Frequency of PCOS in the infertility clinic was 17.6% with high rate of obesity (68.5%) and hyperinsulinemia (59%). The highest rate of abnormal clinical, biochemical features were seen above BMI of 30. High rates of obesity, hyperinsulinemia and impaired glycemic control were seen in this series. It was demonstrated that high BMI had an association and correlation with abnormal clinical and biochemical features. Obese women with PCOS need more attention for their appropriate management. (author)

  5. Relationship between obesity and biochemical markers in Brazilian adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Romero

    2014-03-01

    The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of biochemical markers and associate with obesity in Brazilian adolescents enrolled in public schools in a rural area. The sample consisted of 199 adolescents between 10 to 14 years old from Piracicaba, Brazil. The obesity was measured by body mass index (BMI and according to the World Health Organization curves. We collected blood for biochemical markers analysis (total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triacylglycerol, insulin and glycemia. Mann Whitney test was used to compare continuous variables between sexes. Chi-square test was used to compare proportions. To investigate the association between the independent variables and biochemical markers a multiple logistic regression model was performed. Among 199 adolescents, 23.1% was obese and 65.8% were insufficiently active. A high prevalence of dyslipidemia (71.4% was observed, whereas the low levels of high density lipoprotein (40.7% were the most prevalent. An association between obesity and undesirable values for high density lipoprotein, triacylglycerol and insulin resistance was found. Obese adolescents were less likely to present a desirable value for high density lipoprotein. It is understood that obesity is detrimental to metabolic profile and should be prevented and treated even in adolescence.

  6. Improved biochemical preservation of heart slices during cold storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bull, D A; Reid, B B; Connors, R C; Albanil, A; Stringham, J C; Karwande, S V

    2000-01-01

    Development of myocardial preservation solutions requires the use of whole organ models which are animal and labor intensive. These models rely on physiologic rather than biochemical endpoints, making accurate comparison of the relative efficacy of individual solution components difficult. We hypothesized that myocardial slices could be used to assess preservation of biochemical function during cold storage. Whole rat hearts were precision cut into slices with a thickness of 200 microm and preserved at 4 degrees C in one of the following solutions: Columbia University (CU), University of Wisconsin (UW), D5 0.2% normal saline with 20 meq/l KCL (QNS), normal saline (NS), or a novel cardiac preservation solution (NPS) developed using this model. Myocardial biochemical function was assessed by ATP content (etamoles ATP/mg wet weight) and capacity for protein synthesis (counts per minute (cpm)/mg protein) immediately following slicing (0 hours), and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours of cold storage. Six slices were assayed at each time point for each solution. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance and are presented as the mean +/- standard deviation. ATP content was higher in the heart slices stored in the NPS compared to all other solutions at 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours of cold storage (p cold storage (p cold storage.

  7. Studies on some biochemical parameters in viral hepatitis patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Sherbiny, E.M.

    2002-01-01

    The present investigation deals with studying liver amino transferases (ALT. AST). Cholesterol and triglycerides. As well as testosterone and protection hormones in blood of Egyptian men infected with hepatitis C virus.hepatitis B virus and mixed B and C viruses. These biochemical parameters were evaluated to be used in diagnosis and prognosis of viral hepatitis. Which considered the most important health problem in Egypt and developing countries. Biochemical analysis were performed using spectrophotometric and radioimmunoassay techniques. All data will be subjected to statistical analysis in order to detect the most suitable biochemical analysis that can be used as specific tests for early diagnosis of viral hepatitis and to detect the parameters that show abnormalities among the different groups of infected patients. The data revealed that AST and ALT levels were increased in all patient groups. Concerning the level of triglycerides, it was increased only in the group of mixed viral hepatitis B and C, while cholesterol showed non-significant changes in all viral hepatitis groups. The sex hormone testosterone was decreased in all infected patients while the prolactin level was increased only in case of patients infected with mixed B and C viruses. However, these abnormal values in such sex hormones play a serious role in male sterility

  8. Study on color difference estimation method of medicine biochemical analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chunhong; Zhou, Yue; Zhao, Hongxia; Sun, Jiashi; Zhou, Fengkun

    2006-01-01

    The biochemical analysis in medicine is an important inspection and diagnosis method in hospital clinic. The biochemical analysis of urine is one important item. The Urine test paper shows corresponding color with different detection project or different illness degree. The color difference between the standard threshold and the test paper color of urine can be used to judge the illness degree, so that further analysis and diagnosis to urine is gotten. The color is a three-dimensional physical variable concerning psychology, while reflectance is one-dimensional variable; therefore, the estimation method of color difference in urine test can have better precision and facility than the conventional test method with one-dimensional reflectance, it can make an accurate diagnose. The digital camera is easy to take an image of urine test paper and is used to carry out the urine biochemical analysis conveniently. On the experiment, the color image of urine test paper is taken by popular color digital camera and saved in the computer which installs a simple color space conversion (RGB -> XYZ -> L *a *b *)and the calculation software. Test sample is graded according to intelligent detection of quantitative color. The images taken every time were saved in computer, and the whole illness process will be monitored. This method can also use in other medicine biochemical analyses that have relation with color. Experiment result shows that this test method is quick and accurate; it can be used in hospital, calibrating organization and family, so its application prospect is extensive.

  9. The Effect of Exercise Training on Skeletal Muscle Glucose Transorter Isoform GLUT4 Concentration in the Obese Zucker Rat

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-05-01

    Kinesiology as part of an interdisciplinary program with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry . The thesis serves to fulfill the requirements for the...degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry . I’d like to thank my fellow graduate students in the Exercise Metabolism...epitrochlearis muscle. Am. J. Physiol. 249:C226-C232, 1985. Newsholme, E.A. & Leech, A.R. Biochemistry for the medical sciences. John Wiley & Sons

  10. Structure and biochemical characterization of proliferating cellular nuclear antigen from a parasitic protozoon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cardona-Felix, Cesar S.; Lara-Gonzalez, Samuel; Brieba, Luis G. (LNLS)

    2012-02-08

    Proliferating cellular nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a toroidal-shaped protein that is involved in cell-cycle control, DNA replication and DNA repair. Parasitic protozoa are early-diverged eukaryotes that are responsible for neglected diseases. In this work, a PCNA from a parasitic protozoon was identified, cloned and biochemically characterized and its crystal structure was determined. Structural and biochemical studies demonstrate that PCNA from Entamoeba histolytica assembles as a homotrimer that is able to interact with and stimulate the activity of a PCNA-interacting peptide-motif protein from E. histolytica, EhDNAligI. The data indicate a conservation of the biochemical mechanisms of PCNA-mediated interactions between metazoa, yeast and parasitic protozoa.

  11. Biochemical and serological characterization of Escherichia coli ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was designed to determine the isolation rate, serotypes and biochemical profiles of E. coli from colibacillosis and dead-in-shell embryos in Zaria, Northern-Nigeria. The isolation rate of E. coli from hatcheries studied were 4.67% and 7.50% from farms of Simtu Agricultural Company and National Animal Production ...

  12. ENZYMOCHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE LIVER OF RATS INDUCED BY FURFURAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragana Veličković

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available In today's industrial expansion of the chemical products, the liver is becoming increasingly important. Furfural (C4C3OCHO is a colorless liquid with pleasant aroma and it is partially soluble in water (8, 3% of weight. The elimination of furfural is done slowly through the kidneys and lungs, while the liver oxidizes it into pyromucic acid (C4C3OCOOH. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD is a multi-component system of gluconeogenesis. Biochemical parameters (AST, ALT, glucose, γ-GT and alkaline phosphatase are important markers of liver damage.The aim of our study was to analyze the function of hepatocytes using biochemical parameters and to show the dynamics and topography in the development of changes in enzyme activity.The experiment was conducted on Wistar rats aged 6 weeks. The animals were divided into three groups. The control group received pure drinking water, the second group received a 50 mg/kg body weight (BW dose of furfural for seven days and in the third group the dose was progressively increased after which the animals were sacrificed. Biochemical methods were used to determine the parameters of liver damage. Enzyme-histochemical tests were performed on 8nm WKF 1150 cryostat cross sections which were stained according to Pearse (1968. The results are presented tables and graphs.The amount of enzymes and biochemical parameters in the control group were normal. In the group treated for 7 days, the activity of the enzymes was diffusely decreased while the biochemical parameters were increased. In the group of rats treated for 90 days, the periportal G6PD was constantly preserved. Biochemical parameters were different. The differences in all parameters were statistically significant (p<0.05 both in the group treated for 7 days and the group treated for 90 days. The same goes for the control group and the group treated for 7 days.Acute treatment with furfural causes damage to liver functions. The synthetic liver function is

  13. Biochemical composition and methane production correlations

    OpenAIRE

    Charnier, Cyrille; Latrille, Eric; Moscoviz, Roman; Miroux, Jérémie; Steyer, Jean-Philippe

    2016-01-01

    Substrates for anaerobic digestion are composed of heterogeneous and complex organic matter. General parameters of the organic matter can be used to describe its composition such as sugar, protein and lipid contents, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) and kinetic of methane production. These parameters are required for the monitoring of digesters but their characterization are time consuming and expensive; thus, these parameters are rarely assessed all together....

  14. Some biochemical studies on thyroid immunity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shoush, M.A.M.

    1980-01-01

    The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of induced immunological environment on: a - Carbohydrate metabolism as reflected by immunoreactive insulin and blood sugar levels. b - Biochemical parameters, namely total protein, albumin, globulin, alkaline phosphatase and transaminases, reflecting liver function. c - Radioimmunological tests reflecting thyroid function. The study comprised 36 male rabbits, boscate strain of six months age assigned randomly to : control, albumin immunized and thyroglobulin immunized groups

  15. Electrotonic vascular signal conduction and nephron synchronization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marsh, D.J.; Toma, I.; Sosnovtseva, Olga

    2009-01-01

    Marsh DJ, Toma I, Sosnovtseva OV, Peti-Peterdi J, Holstein-Rathlou NH. Electrotonic vascular signal conduction and nephron synchronization. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F751-F761, 2009. First published December 30, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.90669.2008.-Tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) and the ......Marsh DJ, Toma I, Sosnovtseva OV, Peti-Peterdi J, Holstein-Rathlou NH. Electrotonic vascular signal conduction and nephron synchronization. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F751-F761, 2009. First published December 30, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.90669.2008.-Tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF......) and the myogenic mechanism control afferent arteriolar diameter in each nephron and regulate blood flow. Both mechanisms generate self-sustained oscillations, the oscillations interact, TGF modulates the frequency and amplitude of the myogenic oscillation, and the oscillations synchronize; a 5: 1 frequency ratio...... is the most frequent. TGF oscillations synchronize in nephron pairs supplied from a common cortical radial artery, as do myogenic oscillations. We propose that electrotonic vascular signal propagation from one juxtaglomerular apparatus interacts with similar signals from other nephrons to produce...

  16. Localized Modeling of Biochemical and Flow Interactions during Cancer Cell Adhesion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julie Behr

    Full Text Available This work focuses on one component of a larger research effort to develop a simulation tool to model populations of flowing cells. Specifically, in this study a local model of the biochemical interactions between circulating melanoma tumor cells (TC and substrate adherent polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN is developed. This model provides realistic three-dimensional distributions of bond formation and attendant attraction and repulsion forces that are consistent with the time dependent Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD framework of the full system model which accounts local pressure, shear and repulsion forces. The resulting full dynamics model enables exploration of TC adhesion to adherent PMNs, which is a known participating mechanism in melanoma cell metastasis. The model defines the adhesion molecules present on the TC and PMN cell surfaces, and calculates their interactions as the melanoma cell flows past the PMN. Biochemical rates of reactions between individual molecules are determined based on their local properties. The melanoma cell in the model expresses ICAM-1 molecules on its surface, and the PMN expresses the β-2 integrins LFA-1 and Mac-1. In this work the PMN is fixed to the substrate and is assumed fully rigid and of a prescribed shear-rate dependent shape obtained from micro-PIV experiments. The melanoma cell is transported with full six-degrees-of-freedom dynamics. Adhesion models, which represent the ability of molecules to bond and adhere the cells to each other, and repulsion models, which represent the various physical mechanisms of cellular repulsion, are incorporated with the CFD solver. All models are general enough to allow for future extensions, including arbitrary adhesion molecule types, and the ability to redefine the values of parameters to represent various cell types. The model presented in this study will be part of a clinical tool for development of personalized medical treatment programs.

  17. Localized Modeling of Biochemical and Flow Interactions during Cancer Cell Adhesion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behr, Julie; Gaskin, Byron; Fu, Changliang; Dong, Cheng; Kunz, Robert

    2015-01-01

    This work focuses on one component of a larger research effort to develop a simulation tool to model populations of flowing cells. Specifically, in this study a local model of the biochemical interactions between circulating melanoma tumor cells (TC) and substrate adherent polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) is developed. This model provides realistic three-dimensional distributions of bond formation and attendant attraction and repulsion forces that are consistent with the time dependent Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) framework of the full system model which accounts local pressure, shear and repulsion forces. The resulting full dynamics model enables exploration of TC adhesion to adherent PMNs, which is a known participating mechanism in melanoma cell metastasis. The model defines the adhesion molecules present on the TC and PMN cell surfaces, and calculates their interactions as the melanoma cell flows past the PMN. Biochemical rates of reactions between individual molecules are determined based on their local properties. The melanoma cell in the model expresses ICAM-1 molecules on its surface, and the PMN expresses the β-2 integrins LFA-1 and Mac-1. In this work the PMN is fixed to the substrate and is assumed fully rigid and of a prescribed shear-rate dependent shape obtained from micro-PIV experiments. The melanoma cell is transported with full six-degrees-of-freedom dynamics. Adhesion models, which represent the ability of molecules to bond and adhere the cells to each other, and repulsion models, which represent the various physical mechanisms of cellular repulsion, are incorporated with the CFD solver. All models are general enough to allow for future extensions, including arbitrary adhesion molecule types, and the ability to redefine the values of parameters to represent various cell types. The model presented in this study will be part of a clinical tool for development of personalized medical treatment programs.

  18. Haematological and Serum Bio-Chemical Parameters of West ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Haematological and Serum Bio-Chemical Parameters of West African Dwarf and Kalahari Red Goats in the Humid Tropics. ... Haematological results showed that white blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin ...

  19. Biochemical and Heamatological Indices of Broiler Chickens fed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SH

    investigate the implications of feeding broiler chickens with mucuna bean processed by simple domestic methods on performance, haematological and biochemical parameters. Materials and Methods. Sample preparation: The raw Mucuna pruriens beans used in this study were purchased from International Institute of.

  20. Biochemical methane potential (BMP) of solid organic materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raposo, Francisco; Fernández-Cegrí, V.; De la Rubia, M.A.

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the results obtained for different participating research groups in an interlaboratory study related to the biochemical methane potential (BMP). In this research work, the full experimental conditions influencing the test such as inoculum, substrate characteristics and experi...

  1. Radiation preservation of foods of plant origin. Part 1. Potatoes and other tuber crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, P.

    1984-01-01

    In Part 1 of a planned series of articles on preservation of foods of plant origin by gamma irradiation, the current state of research on the technological, nutritional, and biochemical aspects of sprout inhibition of potatoes and other tuber crops are reviewed. These include varietal responses, dose effects, time of irradiation, pre- and postirradiation storage, and handling requirements; postirradiation changes in carbohydrates, ascorbic acid, amino acids, and other nutrients; respiration; biochemical mechanisms involved in sprout inhibition; wound healing and microbial infection during storage; formation of wound and light-induced glycoalkaloids and identification of irradiated potatoes. The culinary and processing qualities with particular reference to darkening of boiled and processed potatoes are discussed. The prospects of irradiation on an industrial scale as an alternative to chemical sprout inhibitors or mechanical refrigeration are considered

  2. Chemical and biochemical tools to assess pollution exposure in cultured fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandes, Denise; Zanuy, Silvia; Bebianno, Maria Joao; Porte, Cinta

    2008-01-01

    There is little information regarding pollutant levels in farmed fish, and the risks associated to consumption. This study was designed to assess levels of exposure to metals, organochlorinated compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylphenols (APEs) in farmed sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax from five aquacultures located in Southern Europe. Additionally, several biochemical responses (metallothionein, 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, vitellogenin) were determined as complementary tools. The obtained data indicate that pollutants exposure in farmed fish is similar to the levels reported in wild specimens from the area. Nonetheless, some biochemical responses were observed in the studied organisms, viz. metallothionein induction in Cu exposed organisms, and 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and vitellogenin induction in PAHs and APEs exposed ones. The study further supports the usefulness of the biomarker approach as a first screening method to discriminate between basal and high levels of exposure in cultured fish. - Pollution assessment in cultured fish: chemical and biochemical tools

  3. Assessing the variability of outcome for patients treated with localized prostate irradiation using different definitions of biochemical control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horwitz, Eric; Ziaja, Ellen; Vicini, Frank; Dmuchowski, Carl; Gonzalez, Jose; Stromberg, Jannifer; Brabbins, Donald; Hollander, Jay; Chen, Peter; Martinez, Alvaro

    1995-01-01

    Purpose: Biochemical control is rapidly becoming the standard to assess treatment outcome of clinically localized prostate cancer. However, no standardized definition of biochemical control has been established. We reviewed our experience treating patients with localized prostate cancer and applied 3 different commonly used definitions to estimate the variability in rates of biochemical control. Materials and Methods: Between (1(87)) and (12(91)), 480 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer received uniform treatment with external beam irradiation (RT) using localized prostate fields at William Beaumont Hospital. The median dose to the prostate was 66.6 Gy (range 58 to 70.4 Gy) through a 4 field technique. A total of 14 patients received pelvic nodal RT (median dose 45 Gy). Four hundred seventy patients had post-treatment (posttx) PSA values and 414 patients had pre-treatment (pretx) PSA values. Three different definitions of biochemical control were used: 1) Biochemical control was defined as posttx PSA nadir < 1 ng/ml within 1 year. After achieving nadir, if there were 2 consecutive increases, the patient was scored a failure at the time of the first increase; 2) Biochemical control was defined as posttx PSA nadir < 1.5 ng/ml within 1 year. After achieving nadir, if there were 2 consecutive increases, the patient was scored a failure at the time of the first increase; 3) Posttx PSA nadir < 4 ng/ml without a time limit. Once the nadir was achieved, and it did not rise above normal, the patient was considered controlled. Clinical local control was defined as no palpable prostate nodularity beyond 18 months, no new prostate nodularity, or a negative biopsy. If hormonal therapy was started, the patient was censored for biochemical failure at that time. Results: Median follow-up is 48 months (range 3 to 112 months). Pre-treatment PSA values were correlated with biochemical response using the 3 definitions of biochemical control as well as clinical local

  4. Study of features of the biochemical composition of red vine leaves of autochthonous varieties in Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oganesyants Lev

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the fields of processing industries’ activities is the use of secondary resources. The use the vegetative parts of grape plants may become an important component in solving this task. Such vegetative parts, first of all, include red grape leaves, which provide a large reserve of antioxidants and other biologically useful substances. The Russian Research Institute of Brewing and Wine Industry has carried out the detailed study of the features of the biochemical composition of red vine leaves of autochthonous varieties cultivated in the Rostov region of Russia. Cold winters are considered to be the major stress for the grape plants. Under these conditions, leaves accumulate large amount of biologically active substances, including trans-resveratrol, which provide significant advantage compared with the harvest from grapes cultivated in areas where the plants are not protected during winter. Comparative studies on the biochemical composition of red vine leaves of autochthonous and European varieties were conducted, including on the use of bioassay systems in vitro. It was found that extracts of red vine leaves of autochthonous varieties have a marked effect on the rate of glutathione reductase and pyruvate kinase reactions that are demonstrating their angioprotective and energizing properties. The increase in the rate of the catalase reaction indicates the manifestation of antioxidant properties. The technology of CO2 – and highly concentrated hydrophilic extracts production from red vine leaves that preserves biologically active compounds to the maximum extent possible. The extracts are used for the manufacture of soft drinks that have the venomotor action and may be applied in the process of the manufacture of fat products with extended shelf life, as well as the main raw material for the preparations with the pronounced angioprotective effect.

  5. Exercise-induced biochemical changes and their potential influence on cancer: a scientific review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Robert James; Kenfield, Stacey A; Jimenez, Alfonso

    2017-01-01

    Aim To review and discuss the available international literature regarding the indirect and direct biochemical mechanisms that occur after exercise, which could positively, or negatively, influence oncogenic pathways. Methods The PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane libraries were searched for papers up to July 2016 addressing biochemical changes after exercise with a particular reference to cancer. The three authors independently assessed their appropriateness for inclusion in this review based on their scientific quality and relevance. Results 168 papers were selected and categorised into indirect and direct biochemical pathways. The indirect effects included changes in vitamin D, weight reduction, sunlight exposure and improved mood. The direct effects included insulin-like growth factor, epigenetic effects on gene expression and DNA repair, vasoactive intestinal peptide, oxidative stress and antioxidant pathways, heat shock proteins, testosterone, irisin, immunity, chronic inflammation and prostaglandins, energy metabolism and insulin resistance. Summary Exercise is one of several lifestyle factors known to lower the risk of developing cancer and is associated with lower relapse rates and better survival. This review highlights the numerous biochemical processes, which explain these potential anticancer benefits. PMID:27993842

  6. Linear analysis near a steady-state of biochemical networks: control analysis, correlation metrics and circuit theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian Hong

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background: Several approaches, including metabolic control analysis (MCA, flux balance analysis (FBA, correlation metric construction (CMC, and biochemical circuit theory (BCT, have been developed for the quantitative analysis of complex biochemical networks. Here, we present a comprehensive theory of linear analysis for nonequilibrium steady-state (NESS biochemical reaction networks that unites these disparate approaches in a common mathematical framework and thermodynamic basis. Results: In this theory a number of relationships between key matrices are introduced: the matrix A obtained in the standard, linear-dynamic-stability analysis of the steady-state can be decomposed as A = SRT where R and S are directly related to the elasticity-coefficient matrix for the fluxes and chemical potentials in MCA, respectively; the control-coefficients for the fluxes and chemical potentials can be written in terms of RT BS and ST BS respectively where matrix B is the inverse of A; the matrix S is precisely the stoichiometric matrix in FBA; and the matrix eAt plays a central role in CMC. Conclusion: One key finding that emerges from this analysis is that the well-known summation theorems in MCA take different forms depending on whether metabolic steady-state is maintained by flux injection or concentration clamping. We demonstrate that if rate-limiting steps exist in a biochemical pathway, they are the steps with smallest biochemical conductances and largest flux control-coefficients. We hypothesize that biochemical networks for cellular signaling have a different strategy for minimizing energy waste and being efficient than do biochemical networks for biosynthesis. We also discuss the intimate relationship between MCA and biochemical systems analysis (BSA.

  7. Chapter A7. Section 7.0. Five-Day Biochemical Oxygen Demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delzer, Gregory C.; McKenzie, Stuart W.

    1999-01-01

    The presence of a sufficient concentration of dissolved oxygen is critical to maintaining the aquatic life and aesthetic quality of streams and lakes. Determinng how organic matter affects the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) in a stream or lake is integral to water-quality management. The decay of organic matter in water is measured as biochemical or chemical oxygen demand. This report describes the field protocols used by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel to determine the five-day test for biochemical oxygen demand.

  8. Hierarchical thinking in network biology: the unbiased modularization of biochemical networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papin, Jason A; Reed, Jennifer L; Palsson, Bernhard O

    2004-12-01

    As reconstructed biochemical reaction networks continue to grow in size and scope, there is a growing need to describe the functional modules within them. Such modules facilitate the study of biological processes by deconstructing complex biological networks into conceptually simple entities. The definition of network modules is often based on intuitive reasoning. As an alternative, methods are being developed for defining biochemical network modules in an unbiased fashion. These unbiased network modules are mathematically derived from the structure of the whole network under consideration.

  9. Homocystein: A new biochemical marker in livestock sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suleyman Kozat

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The livestock sector is making great contributions to the world economy. Many different diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, kidney and mineral substance insufficiency, cause huge losses in yield and production in the livestock sector. Early diagnosis is essential to combat these diseases. Today, homocysteine levels are used as biochemical markers in the diagnosis of the functions and diseases of many different organs in human medicine. Homocysteine is an amino acid that occurs in the process of methionine metabolism and does not enter the primary structure of proteins. Homocysteine is a biochemical marker used in the assessment of cardiovascular and renal diseases as well as other organ functions. In this review, homocysteine determination methods and detailed information about which organ and system diseases can be used in livestock sector will be given. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2017; 4(4.000: 319-332

  10. Seasonal changes in meat weight and biochemical composition in the Black Clam Villorita cyprinoides (Grey)

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ansari, Z.A.; Parulekar, A.H.; Matondkar, S.G.P.

    Seasonal changes in meat weight and biochemical composition are associated with reproduction, storage and utilization of reserves. The main period of increase in biochemical constituents corresponds to gametogenesis and maturation of gonads just...

  11. Biochemical Indicators of Radiation Injury in Man. Proceedings of a Scientific Meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1971-01-01

    After an organism has suffered a radiation insult, knowledge of the dose and localization of the exposure is of the greatest importance for the treatment of any radiation damage. Supplementary to the information obtained from physical dosimetry, data obtained by biochemical indicators can, on the basis of metabolic changes in the irradiated organism, help in making early diagnosis, in assessing the extent of the radiation injury, and making a prognosis. Biochemical tests under optimal conditions would not depend on the quality and distribution of the dose in the body and would also reflect the sensitivity of the individual organisms. The International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization convened a joint scientific meeting on Biochemical Indicators of Radiation Injury in Man in Paris-Le Vésinet, France, from 22 to 26 June 1970. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss recent problems in determining which biochemical and metabolic changes occurring in irradiated organisms could be used as indicators of radiation injury and its extent, and could thus be of help in planning the proper treatment of the injured persons. During the meeting the results obtained with various biochemical indicators, and experimental techniques and laboratory methods used in this field, were evaluated and compared. Both research workers and clinicians were invited to participate at the meeting. They discussed the possible value of several tests, used successfully in experimental animals, for clinical application; ways of standardizing suitable tests; and mutual collaboration between laboratories and clinics. The outcome of their discussions is summarized in the conclusions and recommendations which are included in these Proceedings together with the papers presented

  12. The Effect of Tumor-Prostate Ratio on Biochemical Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung Yong Cho

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Prostate tumor volume calculated after surgery using pathologic tissue has been shown to be an independent risk factor for biochemical recurrence. Nonetheless, prostate size varies among individuals, regardless of the presence or absence of cancer. We assumed to be lower margin positive rate in the surgical operation, when the prostate volume is larger and the tumor lesion is same. Thus, we defined the tumor-prostate ratio in the ratio of tumor volume to prostate volume. In order to compensate the prostate tumor volume, the effect of tumor-prostate ratio on biochemical recurrence was examined. Materials and Methods: This study included 251 patients who underwent open retropubic radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer in a single hospital. We analyzed the effects of tumor volume and tumor-prostate ratio, as well as the effects of known risk factors for biochemical recurrence, on the duration of disease-free survival. Results: In the univariate analysis, the risk factors that significantly impacted disease-free survival time were found to be a prostate-specific antigen level ≥10 ng/mL, a tumor volume ≥5 mL, tumor-prostate ratio ≥10%, tumor capsular invasion, lymph node invasion, positive surgical margins, and seminal vesicle invasion. In the multivariate analysis performed to evaluate the risk factors found to be significant in the univariate analysis, positive surgical margins (hazard ratio=3.066 and a tumor density ≥10% (hazard ratio=1.991 were shown to be significant risk factors for biochemical recurrence. Conclusions: Tumor-prostate ratio, rather than tumor volume, should be regarded as a significant risk factor for biochemical recurrence.

  13. Light Manipulation in Inhomogeneous Liquid Flow and Its Application in Biochemical Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunfeng Zuo

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Light manipulation has always been the fundamental subject in the field of optics since centuries ago. Traditional optical devices are usually designed using glasses and other materials, such as semiconductors and metals. Optofluidics is the combination of microfluidics and optics, which brings a host of new advantages to conventional solid systems. The capabilities of light manipulation and biochemical sensing are inherent alongside the emergence of optofluidics. This new research area promotes advancements in optics, biology, and chemistry. The development of fast, accurate, low-cost, and small-sized biochemical micro-sensors is an urgent demand for real-time monitoring. However, the fluid flow in the on-chip sensor is usually non-uniformed, which is a new and emerging challenge for the accuracy of optical detection. It is significant to reveal the principle of light propagation in an inhomogeneous liquid flow and the interaction between biochemical samples and light in flowing liquids. In this review, we summarize the current state of optofluidic lab-on-a-chip techniques from the perspective of light modulation by the unique dynamic properties of fluid in heterogeneous media, such as diffusion, heat transfer, and centrifugation etc. Furthermore, this review introduces several novel photonic phenomena in an inhomogeneous liquid flow and demonstrates their application in biochemical sensing.

  14. Follicular fluid content and oocyte quality: from single biochemical markers to metabolomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massobrio Marco

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The assessment of oocyte quality in human in vitro fertilization (IVF is getting increasing attention from embryologists. Oocyte selection and the identification of the best oocytes, in fact, would help to limit embryo overproduction and to improve the results of oocyte cryostorage programs. Follicular fluid (FF is easily available during oocyte pick-up and theorically represents an optimal source on non-invasive biochemical predictors of oocyte quality. Unfortunately, however, the studies aiming to find a good molecular predictor of oocyte quality in FF were not able to identify substances that could be used as reliable markers of oocyte competence to fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy. In the last years, a well definite trend toward passing from the research of single molecular markers to more complex techniques that study all metabolites of FF has been observed. The metabolomic approach is a powerful tool to study biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, but its application in this area is still at the beginning. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge about the biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, describing both the results coming from studies on single biochemical markers and those deriving from the most recent studies of metabolomics

  15. Connecting Biochemical Photosynthesis Models with Crop Models to Support Crop Improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Alex; Song, Youhong; van Oosterom, Erik J; Hammer, Graeme L

    2016-01-01

    The next advance in field crop productivity will likely need to come from improving crop use efficiency of resources (e.g., light, water, and nitrogen), aspects of which are closely linked with overall crop photosynthetic efficiency. Progress in genetic manipulation of photosynthesis is confounded by uncertainties of consequences at crop level because of difficulties connecting across scales. Crop growth and development simulation models that integrate across biological levels of organization and use a gene-to-phenotype modeling approach may present a way forward. There has been a long history of development of crop models capable of simulating dynamics of crop physiological attributes. Many crop models incorporate canopy photosynthesis (source) as a key driver for crop growth, while others derive crop growth from the balance between source- and sink-limitations. Modeling leaf photosynthesis has progressed from empirical modeling via light response curves to a more mechanistic basis, having clearer links to the underlying biochemical processes of photosynthesis. Cross-scale modeling that connects models at the biochemical and crop levels and utilizes developments in upscaling leaf-level models to canopy models has the potential to bridge the gap between photosynthetic manipulation at the biochemical level and its consequences on crop productivity. Here we review approaches to this emerging cross-scale modeling framework and reinforce the need for connections across levels of modeling. Further, we propose strategies for connecting biochemical models of photosynthesis into the cross-scale modeling framework to support crop improvement through photosynthetic manipulation.

  16. Connecting Biochemical Photosynthesis Models with Crop Models to Support Crop Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Alex; Song, Youhong; van Oosterom, Erik J.; Hammer, Graeme L.

    2016-01-01

    The next advance in field crop productivity will likely need to come from improving crop use efficiency of resources (e.g., light, water, and nitrogen), aspects of which are closely linked with overall crop photosynthetic efficiency. Progress in genetic manipulation of photosynthesis is confounded by uncertainties of consequences at crop level because of difficulties connecting across scales. Crop growth and development simulation models that integrate across biological levels of organization and use a gene-to-phenotype modeling approach may present a way forward. There has been a long history of development of crop models capable of simulating dynamics of crop physiological attributes. Many crop models incorporate canopy photosynthesis (source) as a key driver for crop growth, while others derive crop growth from the balance between source- and sink-limitations. Modeling leaf photosynthesis has progressed from empirical modeling via light response curves to a more mechanistic basis, having clearer links to the underlying biochemical processes of photosynthesis. Cross-scale modeling that connects models at the biochemical and crop levels and utilizes developments in upscaling leaf-level models to canopy models has the potential to bridge the gap between photosynthetic manipulation at the biochemical level and its consequences on crop productivity. Here we review approaches to this emerging cross-scale modeling framework and reinforce the need for connections across levels of modeling. Further, we propose strategies for connecting biochemical models of photosynthesis into the cross-scale modeling framework to support crop improvement through photosynthetic manipulation. PMID:27790232

  17. Characterization of some Brucella species from Zimbabwe by biochemical profiling and AMOS-PCR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Skjerve Eystein

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Bovine brucellosis caused by Brucella abortus is endemic in most large commercial and smallholder cattle farms of Zimbabwe, while brucellosis in other domestic animals is rare. The diagnosis of brucellosis is mainly accomplished using serological tests. However, some Brucella spp. have been isolated from clinical cases in the field and kept in culture collection but their biochemical profiles were not documented. We report biochemical profiling and AMOS-PCR characterization of some of these field isolates of Brucella originating from both commercial and smallholder cattle farming sectors of Zimbabwe. Findings Fourteen isolates of Brucella from culture collection were typed using biochemical profiles, agglutination by monospecific antisera, susceptibility to Brucella-specific bacteriophages and by AMOS-PCR that amplifies species- specific IS711. The results of the biochemical profiles for B. abortus biovar 1 (11 isolates and biovar 2 (2 isolates were consistent with those of reference strains. A single isolate from a goat originating from a smallholder mixed animal farm was identified as B. melitensis biovar 1. The AMOS-PCR produced DNA products of sizes 498 bp and 731 bp for B. abortus (biovar 1 and 2 and B. melitensis biovar 1, respectively. Conclusion We concluded that the biochemical profiles and AMOS-PCR characterization were consistent with their respective species and biovars. B. abortus biovar 1 is likely to be the predominant cause of brucellosis in both commercial and smallholder cattle farms in Zimbabwe.

  18. Article Neurotransmitters – A biochemical view | Shalayel | Sudan ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The neurotransmission at most if not all synapses is chemical and is of great biochemical, physiological and pharmacological importance. Neurons communicate with each other at synapses by a process called synaptic transmission in which the release of small quantities of chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters ...

  19. Some Biochemical and Haematological Studies on the Prevalence ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr J. T. Ekanem

    Printed in Nigeria. Some Biochemical and Haematological Studies on the Prevalence of Congenital Malaria in. Ilorin, Nigeria. Olatunji M. KOLAWOLE. 1 ... appropriate information filled such as maternal age, parity, past clinical history of malaria, anti malaria drug (such as chloroquine, amodiaquine in combination with.

  20. Evaluation of haematological and plasma biochemical effects of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    TAYO AJIBADE

    2012-11-01

    Nov 1, 2012 ... African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(88), pp. ... biochemical values revealed significant increase in total protein, albumin and aspartate amino transferase. However ... functions and damages to cellular membrane normally leads to the .... way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for statistical significance was.

  1. Polycystic ovaries and associated clinical and biochemical features ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of polycystic ovaries (PCO) and associated clinical and biochemical features among women with infertility attending gynaecological outpatient department (GOPD) at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. All women with infertility attending the ...

  2. Anthropometric and biochemical profiles of black south african women

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... with the urban diet composed of more refined carbohydrates and fatty food. ... A significant association was found between insulin sensitivity and BMI and ... anthropometric indicators, biochemical parameters, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus ...

  3. Reachability in Biochemical Dynamical Systems by Quantitative Discrete Approximation (extended abstract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Brim

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel computational technique for finite discrete approximation of continuous dynamical systems suitable for a significant class of biochemical dynamical systems is introduced. The method is parameterized in order to affect the imposed level of approximation provided that with increasing parameter value the approximation converges to the original continuous system. By employing this approximation technique, we present algorithms solving the reachability problem for biochemical dynamical systems. The presented method and algorithms are evaluated on several exemplary biological models and on a real case study.

  4. Leaf optical properties with explicit description of its biochemical composition: direct and inverse problems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fourty, T. [INRA, Avignon (France); Baret, F.; Jacquemoud, S.; Schmuck, G.; Verdebout, J.

    1996-05-15

    This study presents a methodology to estimate the leaf biochemical compounds specific absorption coefficients and to use them to predict leaf biochemistry. A wide range of leaves was collected including variations in species and leaf status. All the leaves were dried out. The biochemical composition was measured using classical wet chemistry techniques to determine lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, starch, and protein contents. Concurrently, leaf reflectance and transmittance were measured with a high spectral resolution spectrophotometer in the 800–2500 nm range with approximately 1 nm spectral resolution and sampling interval. In addition, infinite reflectance achieved by stacking leaves was also measured. The PROSPECT leaf optical properties model was first inverted over a selection of wavebands in the 800–2400 nm domain to provide estimates of the scattering characteristics using leaf reflectance, transmittance, and infinite reflectance data. Then, the model was inverted again over all the wavelengths to estimate the global absorption coefficient, using the previously estimated scattering properties. The global absorption coefficient was eventually explained using the measured biochemical composition by fitting the corresponding specific absorption coefficients after substraction of the measured contribution of the residual structural water absorption. Results show that the derived specific absorption coefficients are quite robustly estimated. Further, they are in good agreement with known absorption features of each biochemical compound. The average contribution of each biochemical compound to leaf absorption feature is also evaluated. Sugar, cellulose, and hemicellulose are the main compounds that contribute to absorption. Results demonstrate the possibility of modeling leaf optical properties of dry leaves with explicit description of leaf biochemistry. Estimates of the detailed biochemical composition obtained by model inversion over the 1300–2400 nm

  5. Enzyme-linked immunoassay for plasma-free metanephrines in the biochemical diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma in adults is not ideal.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    2012-02-01

    Abstract Background: The aim of the study was to define the analytical and diagnostic performance of the Labor Diagnostica Nord (LDN) 2-Met plasma ELISA assay for fractionated plasma metanephrines in the biochemical diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma. Methods: The stated manufacturer\\'s performance characteristics were assessed. Clinical utility was evaluated against liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS\\/MS) using bias, sensitivity and specificity outcomes. Samples (n=73) were collected from patients in whom phaeochromocytoma had been excluded (n=60) based on low probability of disease, repeat negative testing for urinary fractionated catecholamines and metanephrines, lack of radiological and histological evidence of a tumour and from a group (n=13) in whom the tumour had been histologically confirmed. Blood collected into k(2)EDTA tubes was processed within 30 min. Separated plasma was aliquoted (x2) and frozen at -40 degrees C prior to analyses. One aliquot was analysed for plasma metanephrines using the LDN 2-Met ELISA and the other by LC-MS\\/MS. Results: The mean bias of -32% for normetanephrine (ELISA) when compared to the reference method (LC-MS\\/MS) makes under-diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma likely. The sensitivity of the assay (100%) was equal to the reference method, but specificity (88.3%) lower than the reference method (95%), making it less than optimum for the biochemical diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma. Conclusions: Plasma-free metanephrines as measured by Labor Diagnostica Nord (LDN) 2-Met ELISA do not display test characteristics that would support their introduction or continuation as part of a screening protocol for the biochemical detection of phaeochromocytoma unless the calibration problem identified is corrected and other more accurate and analytically specific methods remain unavailable.

  6. Accelerated maximum likelihood parameter estimation for stochastic biochemical systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daigle Bernie J

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A prerequisite for the mechanistic simulation of a biochemical system is detailed knowledge of its kinetic parameters. Despite recent experimental advances, the estimation of unknown parameter values from observed data is still a bottleneck for obtaining accurate simulation results. Many methods exist for parameter estimation in deterministic biochemical systems; methods for discrete stochastic systems are less well developed. Given the probabilistic nature of stochastic biochemical models, a natural approach is to choose parameter values that maximize the probability of the observed data with respect to the unknown parameters, a.k.a. the maximum likelihood parameter estimates (MLEs. MLE computation for all but the simplest models requires the simulation of many system trajectories that are consistent with experimental data. For models with unknown parameters, this presents a computational challenge, as the generation of consistent trajectories can be an extremely rare occurrence. Results We have developed Monte Carlo Expectation-Maximization with Modified Cross-Entropy Method (MCEM2: an accelerated method for calculating MLEs that combines advances in rare event simulation with a computationally efficient version of the Monte Carlo expectation-maximization (MCEM algorithm. Our method requires no prior knowledge regarding parameter values, and it automatically provides a multivariate parameter uncertainty estimate. We applied the method to five stochastic systems of increasing complexity, progressing from an analytically tractable pure-birth model to a computationally demanding model of yeast-polarization. Our results demonstrate that MCEM2 substantially accelerates MLE computation on all tested models when compared to a stand-alone version of MCEM. Additionally, we show how our method identifies parameter values for certain classes of models more accurately than two recently proposed computationally efficient methods

  7. Haemato-biochemical and endocrine profiling of north western ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study was aimed to provide baseline data regarding haemato-biochemical and endocrine profiling of Gaddi sheep found in north western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh, India. Each random sample was collected from 45 Gaddi sheep reared in government sheep breeding farm Tal, Hamirpur, India, during ...

  8. Haematological and serum biochemical parameters of West African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study was conducted to evaluate the haematological and serum biochemical parameters of West African dwarf goats fed ensiled cassava leaves with molasses and caged layer waste. Eighteen West African dwarf goats were randomly assigned to three experimental diets consisting of cassava leaves ensiled alone ...

  9. Biological and biochemical evaluation of some prepared high ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biological and biochemical evaluation of some prepared high antioxidant fruit beverages as functional foods. W A El-Malky ... The beverage which contain mango, red grape, carrot and tomato was the best prepared beverages according to the sensory evaluation, chemical composition and antioxidant activity. The high ...

  10. A coupled mechano-biochemical model for bone adaptation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Klika, Václav; Pérez, M. A.; García-Aznar, J. M.; Maršík, F.; Doblaré, M.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 69, 6-7 (2014), s. 1383-1429 ISSN 0303-6812 Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : mechano-biochemical model * bone remodelling * BMU Subject RIV: BJ - Thermodynamics Impact factor: 1.846, year: 2014 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00285-013-0736-9

  11. Diagnostic utility of clinical and biochemical parameters in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Diagnostic utility of clinical and biochemical parameters in pancreatic head malignancy patients with normal carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels. Xiaoli Jin1, Yulian Wu2. 1. Department of Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 3 Qingchun. Road East, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province ...

  12. Biomphalaria prona (Gastropoda: Planorbidae: a morphological and biochemical study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Lobato Paraense

    1992-06-01

    Full Text Available Two samples of Biomphalaria prona (Martens, 1873 from Lake Valencia (type locality and seven from other Venezuelan localities were studied morphologically (shell and reproductive system and biochemically (allozyme electrophoresis. In spite of marked differences in shell characters, all of them proved indistinguishable under the anatomic and biochemical criteria. So far B. prona has been considered an endemic species, restricted to Lake Valencia. It is now demonstrated that the extralacustrine populations refered to Biomphalaria havanensis (Pfeiffer, 1839 by several authors correspond in shell characters to an extreme variant of B. prona from the Lake and really belong to the last*mentioned species. They may be regarded as the result of a process of directional selection favoring a shell phenotype other than those making up the modal class in the Lake.

  13. Seasonal changes in biochemical composition of Holothuria leucospilota (Echinodermata)

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Jayasree, V.; Parulekar, A.H.; Wahidullah, S.; Kamat, S.Y.

    Biochemical composition of body wall and gonads of Holothuria leucospilota was analysed for protein, carbohydrate, lipid, ash, dry weight and calorific values and was discussed in relation to its spawning activities. Lipids constituted the major...

  14. Biochemical and Haematological Indices of Weanly Albino Rats Fed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    acer

    ABSTRACT: Malnutrition is a public health problem in Nigeria accounting for more than 50% of ... weanly albino rats using nutritional, biochemical ... groundnut (16%), soy beans (16%), crayfish ... consumption was observed in rats on PC and.

  15. Thermodynamic analysis of biochemical systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan, Y.; Fan, L.T.; Shieh, J.H.

    1989-01-01

    Introduction of the concepts of the availability (or exergy), datum level materials, and the dead state has been regarded as some of the most significant recent developments in classical thermodynamics. Not only the available energy balance but also the material and energy balances of a biological system may be established in reference to the datum level materials in the dead state or environment. In this paper these concepts are illustrated with two examples of fermentation and are shown to be useful in identifying sources of thermodynamic inefficiency, thereby leading naturally to the rational definition of thermodynamic efficiency of a biochemical process

  16. Strategy-Driven Exploration for Rule-Based Models of Biochemical Systems with Porgy

    OpenAIRE

    Andrei , Oana; Fernández , Maribel; Kirchner , Hélène; Pinaud , Bruno

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents Porgy – an interactive visual environment for rule-based modelling of biochemical systems. We model molecules and molecule interactions as port graphs and port graph rewrite rules, respectively. We use rewriting strategies to control which rules to apply, and where and when to apply them. Our main contributions to rule-based modelling of biochemical systems lie in the strategy language and the associated visual and interactive features offered by Porgy. These features faci...

  17. A variational principle for computing nonequilibrium fluxes and potentials in genome-scale biochemical networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, R M T; Maes, C M; Saunders, M A; Ye, Y; Palsson, B Ø

    2012-01-07

    We derive a convex optimization problem on a steady-state nonequilibrium network of biochemical reactions, with the property that energy conservation and the second law of thermodynamics both hold at the problem solution. This suggests a new variational principle for biochemical networks that can be implemented in a computationally tractable manner. We derive the Lagrange dual of the optimization problem and use strong duality to demonstrate that a biochemical analogue of Tellegen's theorem holds at optimality. Each optimal flux is dependent on a free parameter that we relate to an elementary kinetic parameter when mass action kinetics is assumed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Effect of Resveratrol on Hematological and Biochemical Alterations in Rats Exposed to Fluoride

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurgül Atmaca

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the protective effects of resveratrol on hematological and biochemical changes induced by fluoride in rats. A total of 28 rats were divided into 4 groups: control, resveratrol, fluoride, and fluoride/resveratrol (n=7 each, for a total of 21 days of treatment. Blood samples were taken and hematological and biochemical parameters were measured. Compared to the control group, the fluoride-treated group showed significant differences in several hematological parameters, including decreases in WBC, RBC, and PLT counts and neutrophil ratio. The group that received resveratrol alone showed a decrease in WBC count compared to the control group. Furthermore, in comparison to the control group, the fluoride group showed significantly increased ALT enzyme activity and decreased inorganic phosphorus level. The hematological and biochemical parameters in the fluoride + resveratrol treated group were similar to control group. In the fluoride + resveratrol group, resveratrol restored the changes observed following fluoride treatment, including decreased counts of WBC, RBC, and PLT, decreased neutrophil ratio and inorganic phosphorus levels, and elevated ALT enzyme activity. The present study showed that fluoride caused adverse effects in rats and that resveratrol reduced hematological and biochemical alterations produced by fluoride exposure.

  19. Biochemical and Biophysical Cues in Matrix Design for Chronic and Diabetic Wound Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Yun; Ahadian, Samad; Radisic, Milica

    2017-02-01

    Progress in biomaterial science and engineering and increasing knowledge in cell biology have enabled us to develop functional biomaterials providing appropriate biochemical and biophysical cues for tissue regeneration applications. Tissue regeneration is particularly important to treat chronic wounds of people with diabetes. Understanding and controlling the cellular microenvironment of the wound tissue are important to improve the wound healing process. In this study, we review different biochemical (e.g., growth factors, peptides, DNA, and RNA) and biophysical (e.g., topographical guidance, pressure, electrical stimulation, and pulsed electromagnetic field) cues providing a functional and instructive acellular matrix to heal diabetic chronic wounds. The biochemical and biophysical signals generally regulate cell-matrix interactions and cell behavior and function inducing the tissue regeneration for chronic wounds. Some technologies and devices have already been developed and used in the clinic employing biochemical and biophysical cues for wound healing applications. These technologies can be integrated with smart biomaterials to deliver therapeutic agents to the wound tissue in a precise and controllable manner. This review provides useful guidance in understanding molecular mechanisms and signals in the healing of diabetic chronic wounds and in designing instructive biomaterials to treat them.

  20. A comparative biochemical profile of some cyprinids fish in Dukan Lake, Kurdistan-Iraq

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azeez, Darya Mohammed; Mohammed, Sarbaz Ibrahim

    2017-09-01

    The present study was carried out to demonstrate the baseline values for some serum biochemical parameters for 64 adult freshwater fish including seven species belong to family Cyprinidae, have been collected in Dukan Lake, Kurdistan region-Iraq. Fishes were weighed, measured, and collect blood for blood chemistry. Serum biochemical analyses were determined using (Cobas C 311) full automatic chemical analyzer. The result of comparative study of serum biochemical parameters of all Cyprinidae species showed that serum glucose was (459.10±106.99 mg/dl) and direct bilirubin was (0.056±0.021mg/dl) in Barbus grypus, serum total protein (3.511± 0.0484gm/dl) and HDL (133.11±0.4231mg/dl) in Cyprinus carpio, serum cholesterol (338.33±43.923 mg/dl) and LDL (86.11±11.871mg/dl) in Carassius carassius, serum triglyceride (420.0±28.8mg/dl) and ALK (113.93±20.65U/L) in Chondrostoma regium, serum AST and serum ALT in Capoeta trutta, were significantly higher when compared to other species. In a conclusion there is variation in biochemical values among species of same family.

  1. Biochemical and Haematological Blood Parameters at Different Stages of Lactation in Cows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian Ovidiu COROIAN

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The health status of cows is evaluated and depending on haematological and biochemical profile of blood. Nutrition is the main technological factor that can produce profound changes in the metabolic profile in animals (Dhiman et al., 1991; Khaled et al., 1999; Ingvartsen, 2006. Blood parameters analyze can lead to identify if there are errors in nutrition of lactating cows (Payne et al., 1970. The aim of this study was the evaluation of metabolic and biochemical changes that occur during colostrum period and in terms of number of lactations in cows. The biological material was represented by a total of 60 heads of dairy cows from a family farm from Sălaj County, Romania. The cows are all from Holstein breed and presented no clinical signs of any specific pathology. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of each cow and analyzed. 10 individuals from each of the six lactations have been randomly selected. Haematological and biochemical parameters showed variations depending on factors analyzed here. In lactation 1 Hb was 7.55±3.05 (g/dl, while in lactation 6 the value was 12.5±2.10 (g/dl. RBC ranged as follows: in lactation 1 - 28.50±2.05 and in lactation 6 - 30.02±2.05. Lymphocytes varied within very wide limits under the influence of lactation: in lactation 1 - 2.8±1.56 and in lactation 6 - 7.55±1.80. The number of lactations and lactation rank have influenced blood biochemical and hematological parameters in dairy cows. Biochemical parameters are influenced by post-partum day, showing the lowest values in the early days of colostral period and the highest in the last few days of the same period.

  2. Biochemical changes in diabetic retinopathy triggered by hyperglycaemia: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Solani D. Mathebula

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM is now a global health problem which will lead to increasing incidence of macrovascular and microvascular complications that contribute to morbidity, mortality and premature deaths. Diabetic retinopathy (DR is a serious complication of DM, and its prevalence is increasing worldwide. Diabetes mellitus is one of the fastest growing causes of visual impairment and blindness in the working-age population. Aim: The aim of this paper was to introduce the multiple interconnecting biochemical pathways that have been proposed and tested as key contributors in how the diabetic eye loses vision. Method: An extensive literature search was performed using the Medline database from 1970 to present. The search subjects included diabetes and eye, diabetic retinopathy and diabetic complications in the eye. The search was limited to the literature pertaining to humans and to English language. Preference was given to recent published papers. Results: Results were limited to human participants with publications in English. References of all included papers were also scrutinized to identify additional studies. Studies were selected for inclusion in the review if they met the following criteria: subjects with diabetes, pathophysiology of diabetic retinopathy. Conclusion: Although the biochemical pathways involved in DR have been researched, to date the exact mechanism involved in the onset and progression of the disease is uncertain, which makes therapeutic interventions challenging. The aim of this review is to discuss the possible biochemical pathways and clinical and anatomical changes that occur during the onset and progression of DR that link hyperglycaemia with retinal tissue damage. An understanding of the biochemical and molecular changes may lead to health care practitioners advising patients with DR on events that lead to possible complications of the diseases.

  3. Outcome after PSMA PET/CT based radiotherapy in patients with biochemical persistence or recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt-Hegemann, Nina-Sophie; Fendler, Wolfgang Peter; Ilhan, Harun; Herlemann, Annika; Buchner, Alexander; Stief, Christian; Eze, Chukwuka; Rogowski, Paul; Li, Minglun; Bartenstein, Peter; Ganswindt, Ute; Belka, Claus

    2018-03-02

    PSMA PET/CT visualises prostate cancer residual disease or recurrence at lower PSA levels compared to conventional imaging and results in a change of treatment in a remarkable high number of patients. Radiotherapy with dose escalation to the former prostate bed has been associated with improved biochemical recurrence-free survival. Thus, it can be hypothesised that PSMA PET/CT-based radiotherapy might improve the prognosis of these patients. One hundred twenty-nine patients underwent PSMA PET/CT due to biochemical persistence (52%) or recurrence (48%) after radical prostatectomy without evidence of distant metastases (February 2014-May 2017) and received PSMA PET/CT-based radiotherapy. Biochemical recurrence free survival (PSA ≤ 0.2 ng/ml) was defined as the study endpoint. Patients with biochemical persistence were significantly more often high-risk patients with significantly shorter time interval before PSMA PET/CT than patients with biochemical recurrence. Patients with biochemical recurrence had significantly more often no evidence of disease or local recurrence only in PSMA PET/CT, whereas patients with biochemical persistence had significantly more often lymph node involvement. Seventy-three patients were started on antiandrogen therapy prior to radiotherapy due to macroscopic disease in PSMA PET/CT. Cumulatively, 70 (66-70.6) Gy was delivered to local macroscopic tumor, 66 (63-66) Gy to the prostate fossa, 61.6 (53.2-66) Gy to PET-positive lymph nodes and 50.4 (45-52.3) Gy to lymphatic pathways. Median PSA after radiotherapy was 0.07 ng/ml with 74% of patients having a PSA ≤ 0.1 ng/ml. After a median follow-up of 20 months, median PSA was 0.07 ng/ml with ongoing antiandrogen therapy in 30 patients. PET-positive patients without antiandrogen therapy at last follow-up (45 patients) had a median PSA of 0.05 ng/ml with 89% of all patients, 94% of patients with biochemical recurrence and 82% of patients with biochemical persistence having a

  4. Biochemical and pathological studies in rats following dietary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biochemical and pathological studies in rats following dietary supplementation with high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E. ... Furthermore, high dietary supplementation of vitamin E showed no deleterious effects on rats and no pathological changes in the liver, kidney and heart tissues were observed in the ...

  5. Pattern Of Biochemical Derangements Seen In Chronic Renal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: To study the pattern of biochemical derangements in advanced renal failure patients. Subjects and Methods: Ninety adult patients [54 males and 36 females] were recruited from the renal clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu over a period of one year. History and physical ...

  6. Toxicological Effects of Cigarette Smoke on Some Biochemical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It is believed that while normal people may suffer complications of active and passive cigarette smoking, diabetes patients may suffer more. This study therefore aimed at investigating the toxicological effects of cigarette smoke on some biochemical parameters of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Adult male Wistar rats (n ...

  7. Molecular and biochemical diagnosis of Salmonella in wastewater ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study aimed to employ biochemical and molecular assays to detect and diagnose Salmonella in wastewater. For this reason, two water samples were collected from Alexandria wastewater treatment plant (S1) and septic tank of a hospital at Alexandria governorate (S2). Selective culture media specific for Salmonella ...

  8. Fragrance analysis using molecular and biochemical methods in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    For molecular and biochemical analysis of aroma, a mapping population comprising 208 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a diverse cross between CSR10 and Taraori Basmati through Single seed descent (SSD) method was used. RILs are among the best mapping populations, which provide a novel material ...

  9. Biochemical research elucidating metabolic pathways in Pneumocystis*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaneshiro E.S.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Advances in sequencing the Pneumocystis carinii genome have helped identify potential metabolic pathways operative in the organism. Also, data from characterizing the biochemical and physiological nature of these organisms now allow elucidation of metabolic pathways as well as pose new challenges and questions that require additional experiments. These experiments are being performed despite the difficulty in doing experiments directly on this pathogen that has yet to be subcultured indefinitely and produce mass numbers of cells in vitro. This article reviews biochemical approaches that have provided insights into several Pneumocystis metabolic pathways. It focuses on 1 S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet; SAM, which is a ubiquitous participant in numerous cellular reactions; 2 sterols: focusing on oxidosqualene cyclase that forms lanosterol in P. carinii; SAM:sterol C-24 methyltransferase that adds methyl groups at the C-24 position of the sterol side chain; and sterol 14α-demethylase that removes a methyl group at the C-14 position of the sterol nucleus; and 3 synthesis of ubiquinone homologs, which play a pivotal role in mitochondrial inner membrane and other cellular membrane electron transport.

  10. Mathematical treatment of isotopologue and isotopomer speciation and fractionation in biochemical kinetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maggi, Federico; Riley, William J.

    2010-03-01

    We present a mathematical treatment of the kinetic equations that describe isotopologue and isotopomer speciation and fractionation during enzyme-catalyzed biochemical reactions. These equations, presented here with the name GEBIK (general equations for biochemical isotope kinetics) and GEBIF (general equations for biochemical isotope fractionation), take into account microbial biomass and enzyme dynamics, reaction stoichiometry, isotope substitution number, and isotope location within each isotopologue and isotopomer. In addition to solving the complete GEBIK and GEBIF, we also present and discuss two approximations to the full solutions under the assumption of biomass-free and enzyme steady-state, and under the quasi-steady-state assumption as applied to the complexation rate. The complete and approximate approaches are applied to observations of biological denitrification in soils. Our analysis highlights that the full GEBIK and GEBIF provide a more accurate description of concentrations and isotopic compositions of substrates and products throughout the reaction than do the approximate forms. We demonstrate that the isotopic effects of a biochemical reaction depend, in the most general case, on substrate and complex concentrations and, therefore, the fractionation factor is a function of time. We also demonstrate that inverse isotopic effects can occur for values of the fractionation factor smaller than 1, and that reactions that do not discriminate isotopes do not necessarily imply a fractionation factor equal to 1.

  11. Biochemical and Histological effects of Aqueous extract of Cyperus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    Biochemical and Histological effects of Triton Wr-1339 and Aqueous extract. 674. INNIH, SO; UBHENIN, AE; ... fatty liver, chronic hepatitis, and cirrhosis is not giving much ..... Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Southern Iran: A Population Based ...

  12. Appraisal of biochemical and genetic diversity of mango cultivars ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Appraisal of biochemical and genetic diversity of mango cultivars using molecular markers. ... Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the oldest fruit crops and is broadly cultivated worldwide. To determine the level of ... HOW TO USE AJOL.

  13. Synthesis of Biochemical Applications on Digital Microfluidic Biochips with Operation Execution Time Variability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alistar, Mirela; Pop, Paul

    2015-01-01

    that each biochemical operation in an application is characterized by a worst-case execution time (wcet). However, during the execution of the application, due to variability and randomness in biochemical reactions, operations may finish earlier than their wcetswcets, resulting in unexploited slack...... in the schedule. In this paper, we first propose an online synthesis strategy that re-synthesizes the application at runtime when operations experience variability in their execution time, exploiting thus the slack to obtain shorter application completion times. We also propose a quasi-static synthesis strategy...... approaches have been proposed for the synthesis of digital microfluidic biochips, which, starting from a biochemical application and a given biochip architecture, determine the allocation, resource binding, scheduling, placement and routing of the operations in the application. Researchers have assumed...

  14. Prediction of bakery products nutritive value based on mathematical modeling of biochemical reactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. I. Ponomareva

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Researches are devoted to identifying changes in the chemical composition of whole-grain wheat bread during baking and to forecasting of food value of bakery products by mathematical modeling of biochemical transformations. The received model represents the invariant composition, considering speed of biochemical reactions at a batch of bakery products, and allowing conduct virtual experiments to develop new types of bread for various categories of the population, including athletes. The offered way of modeling of biochemical transformations at a stage of heat treatment allows to predict food value of bakery products, without spending funds for raw materials and large volume of experiment that will provide possibility of economy of material resources at a stage of development of new types of bakery products and possibility of production efficiency increase.

  15. Systematic methods for synthesis and design of sustainable chemical and biochemical processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gani, Rafiqul

    Chemical and biochemical process design consists of designing the process that can sustainably manufacture an identified chemical product through a chemical or biochemical route. The chemical product tree is potentially very large; starting from a set of basic raw materials (such as petroleum...... for process intensification, sustainable process design, identification of optimal biorefinery models as well as integrated process-control design, and chemical product design. The lecture will present the main concepts, the decomposition based solution approach, the developed methods and tools together...

  16. EVALUATION OF HEMATOLOGY AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF FREE-LIVING EUROPEAN BROWN HARE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miriam Trusinová

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of our study was to determine blood hematological and serum chemistry values for a population of free-living European brown hares and to investigate differences related to age. The European brown hare (Lepus europaeus is a species of hare naturally occurring in northern, central and western parts of Europe and southwestern Asia. The blood samples were collected from 25 hares (15 adults and 10 juveniles shot during regular hunting seasons in 4 hunting grounds located in Danube lowland. Following parameters were analyzed: WBC, LYM, GRA, RBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC on blood samples, and glucose, total proteins, urea, bilirubin, cholesterol, Ca, P, Na, K, Cl on serum. WBC count was higher in adults (2.86.109.l-1 than in young hares (2.71.109.l-1. RBC count and HGB concentration were higher in young hares (RBC=8.94.1012.l-1, HGB=184.43 g.l-1 than in adults (RBC=8.38.1012.l-1, HGB=177.59 g.l-1. No significant differences were found in other hematology parameters. Biochemical indicators of age were evaluated and an increased content of glucose in adult individuals was found (a = 9.39 mmol.l-1, j = 8.48 mmol.l-1. The increased level of urea in blood serum was observed as almost significant in juvenile individuals (a = 6.11 mmol.l-1, j = 6.94 mmol.l-1, but also reduction of bilirubin was observed (a = 5.19 mmol.l-1, j = 4.23 mmol.l-1. Other monitored biochemical parameters were fairly balanced. All evaluated hematology and serum chemistry parameters of brown hares were within the physiological range with relatively low differences.

  17. Laying performance, haematology and serum biochemical profile of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study was carried out to compare the effects of unfermented and fermented African locust bean on laying performance, haematology and serum biochemical profile of hens in a twelve week feeding trial. The unfermented African locust bean (UALB) contained seeds that were dehulled and boiled in water, without going ...

  18. Biochemical characterization of blood plasma of coronary artery ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    This study aimed to investigate the biochemical profile of blood plasma of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and angiographically normal subjects (controls) to determine biomarkers for their differentiation. In this double blind study, 5 mL venous blood was drawn before angiography from CAD patients (n=60) and ...

  19. haematological parameters and serum biochemical indices of pre

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    mrmrsolayiwola

    2012-05-01

    May 1, 2012 ... pubertal male rabbits fed with graded level of blood- ... The effects of feeding graded levels of blood wild sunflower forage meal ... and serum biochemical parameters in rabbit were studied. ... (Cheeke et al., 1986), high in protein, low in cholesterol ..... assay of nutritional anaemia (dietary deficiency of iron,.

  20. Perineural invasion on prostate needle biopsy does not predict biochemical failure following brachytherapy for prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weight, Christopher J.; Ciezki, Jay P.; Reddy, Chandana A.; Zhou Ming; Klein, Eric A.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To determine if the presence of perineural invasion (PNI) predicts biochemical recurrence in patients who underwent low-dose-rate brachytherapy for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: A retrospective case control matching study was performed. The records of 651 patients treated with brachytherapy between 1996 and 2003 were reviewed. Sixty-three of these patients developed biochemical failure. These sixty-three patients were then matched in a one-to-one ratio to patients without biochemical failure, controlling for biopsy Gleason score, clinical stage, initial prostate-specific antigen, age, and the use of androgen deprivation. The pathology of the entire cohort was then reviewed for evidence of perineural invasion on initial prostate biopsy specimens. The biochemical relapse free survival rates for these two groups were compared. Results: Cases and controls were well matched, and there were no significant differences between the two groups in age, Gleason grade, clinical stage, initial prostate-specific antigen, and the use of androgen deprivation. PNI was found in 19 (17%) patients. There was no significant difference in the rates of PNI between cases and controls, 19.6% and 14.3% respectively (p 0.45). PNI did not correlate with biochemical relapse free survival (p 0.40). Conclusion: Perineural invasion is not a significant predictor of biochemical recurrence in patients undergoing brachytherapy for prostate cancer

  1. Effects of photobiomodulation therapy and topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug on skeletal muscle injury induced by contusion in rats-part 2: biochemical aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomazoni, Shaiane Silva; Frigo, Lúcio; Dos Reis Ferreira, Tereza Cristina; Casalechi, Heliodora Leão; Teixeira, Simone; de Almeida, Patrícia; Muscara, Marcelo Nicolas; Marcos, Rodrigo Labat; Serra, Andrey Jorge; de Carvalho, Paulo de Tarso Camillo; Leal-Junior, Ernesto Cesar Pinto

    2017-11-01

    Muscle injuries trigger an inflammatory process, releasing important biochemical markers for tissue regeneration. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is the treatment of choice to promote pain relief due to muscle injury. NSAIDs exhibit several adverse effects and their efficacy is questionable. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) has been demonstrated to effectively modulate inflammation induced from musculoskeletal disorders and may be used as an alternative to NSAIDs. Here, we assessed and compared the effects of different doses of PBMT and topical NSAIDs on biochemical parameters during an acute inflammatory process triggered by a controlled model of contusion-induced musculoskeletal injury in rats. Muscle injury was induced by trauma to the anterior tibial muscle of rats. After 1 h, rats were treated with PBMT (830 nm, continuous mode, 100 mW of power, 35.71 W/cm 2 ; 1, 3, and 9 J; 10, 30, and 90 s) or diclofenac sodium (1 g). Our results demonstrated that PBMT, 1 J (35.7 J/cm 2 ), 3 J (107.1 J/cm 2 ), and 9 J (321.4 J/cm 2 ) reduced the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) genes at all assessed times as compared to the injury and diclofenac groups (p levels of COX-2 only in relation to the injury group (p levels of cytokines TNF-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 at all assessed times as compared to the injury and diclofenac groups (p topical NSAIDs in the modulation of the inflammatory process caused by muscle contusion injuries.

  2. Emergence of switch-like behavior in a large family of simple biochemical networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Siegal-Gaskins

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Bistability plays a central role in the gene regulatory networks (GRNs controlling many essential biological functions, including cellular differentiation and cell cycle control. However, establishing the network topologies that can exhibit bistability remains a challenge, in part due to the exceedingly large variety of GRNs that exist for even a small number of components. We begin to address this problem by employing chemical reaction network theory in a comprehensive in silico survey to determine the capacity for bistability of more than 40,000 simple networks that can be formed by two transcription factor-coding genes and their associated proteins (assuming only the most elementary biochemical processes. We find that there exist reaction rate constants leading to bistability in ∼90% of these GRN models, including several circuits that do not contain any of the TF cooperativity commonly associated with bistable systems, and the majority of which could only be identified as bistable through an original subnetwork-based analysis. A topological sorting of the two-gene family of networks based on the presence or absence of biochemical reactions reveals eleven minimal bistable networks (i.e., bistable networks that do not contain within them a smaller bistable subnetwork. The large number of previously unknown bistable network topologies suggests that the capacity for switch-like behavior in GRNs arises with relative ease and is not easily lost through network evolution. To highlight the relevance of the systematic application of CRNT to bistable network identification in real biological systems, we integrated publicly available protein-protein interaction, protein-DNA interaction, and gene expression data from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and identified several GRNs predicted to behave in a bistable fashion.

  3. Decoupling of Growth from Production of Biochemicals and Proteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Songyuan

    With increasing awareness of sustainability in our current society, alternative approaches to produce fuels and petro-derived chemicals are required. Biofuels and biochemicals produced from microbial cell factories provide an alternative to current fossil based chemicals. Meanwhile, microbial cell...

  4. Fragrance analysis using molecular and biochemical methods in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    admin

    Biochemical analysis of aroma was performed with the 1.7% KOH solution and molecular analysis of aroma was carried out with microsatellite markers present on chromosome 8 (BAD2, BADEX7-5, SCUSSR1) to determine the extent of association between trait, marker and chromosome 8. Among these markers, BAD2 ...

  5. Haematological profile and serum biochemical indices of weaned ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was carried out to determine the haematological profile and serum biochemical indices of rabbits fed pawpaw (Carica papaya) leaves as feed supplement to a corn – soybean mealbasal diet. The study involved thirty six (36) cross bred (New Zealand White X Chinchilla) mixed sex weaned rabbits of five - six ...

  6. Serum Biochemical Changes Associated With The Digestibility Of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Serum Biochemical Changes Associated With The Digestibility Of Raw And Heat Processed Cajanus cajan Seeds In Rats. ... The level of anti-nutritive food toxicants in exotic breed of Cajanus cajan L. (pigeon pea) was evaluated in this study using an animal model experiment in which animals were fed with raw and heat ...

  7. Molecular and biochemical studies of some yeast strains

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    2011-02-21

    Feb 21, 2011 ... Kluyveromyces lactis (Y.9) and Pichia jadinii (Y.10) contained almost double the amount of total amino ... Differences between ... biochemical analysis (total protein profile and total amino acids) were used as tools to select the best yeast strains in Saudi Arabia and Egypt as a rich source of animal protein.

  8. Effect of genotype on haematology and biochemical parameters of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Frizzle n = 33, Naked neck, n= 33 and Normal n = 33) were generated from 36 matured local chickens and used for the study to determine the effect of genotype on hematological and biochemical parameters of local chicken in the humid ...

  9. A MULTILAYER BIOCHEMICAL DRY DEPOSITION MODEL 1. MODEL FORMULATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    A multilayer biochemical dry deposition model has been developed based on the NOAA Multilayer Model (MLM) to study gaseous exchanges between the soil, plants, and the atmosphere. Most of the parameterizations and submodels have been updated or replaced. The numerical integration ...

  10. A Simple Approach to Study Designs in Complex Biochemical ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Somdatta Sinha

    Protein sequences. • Biochemical & Genetic information. REVERSE ENGINEERING. LARGE NETWORKS. FORWARD ENGINEERING. All designs that are not physically forbidden are realizable, but not all realizable designs are functionally effective. (in relation to context and constraints of the system and environment).

  11. Hybrid Nanogenerator for Concurrently Harvesting Biomechanical and Biochemical Energy

    KAUST Repository

    Hansen, Benjamin J.; Liu, Ying; Yang, Rusen; Wang, Zhong Lin

    2010-01-01

    the beat of a heart, and a flexible enzymatic biofuel cell for harvesting the biochemical (glucose/O2) energy in biofluid, which are two types of energy available in vivo. The two energy harvesting approaches can work simultaneously or individually, thereby

  12. Biochemical and hematological profile of different breeds of goat ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    shthomas

    index of transportation stress (Ambore et al., 2009). The biochemical ... conditions were typical of the Arabian desert, temperature was high. (up to 52°C) ..... Int. J. Food Agric. Vet. Sci. .... Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, release 10.0.

  13. Biochemical Post-Irradiation Changes and Radiation Indicators: A Review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Streffer, G. [Radiologisches Institut, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Federal Republic of Germany (Germany)

    1971-03-15

    In a number of mammalian tissues a breakdown of the biological macromolecules, as nucleic acids and proteins, is observed after irradiation. This degradation appears in lymphatic tissues even after a radiation exposure less than 100 R and proceeds with increasing exposure to about 600 R. On the other hand, other biochemical effects are found after the whole-body irradiation of mammals which seem to have some relation to the functional status of the organs and the organisms. It appears therefore useful to classify the biochemical effects of radiation into two groups: (1) Observations which are a consequence of the degradation processes; (2) observations which are a consequence of functional changes. Most investigations in the field of biochemical indicators after irradiation have been concerned with the first class of reactions. The excretion of deoxycytidine, thymidine and pseudouridine have been extensively investigated in animals during recent years. However, in humans the normal deoxycytidine excretion is very low, as this substance is metabolized to a higher degree in humans than in other species. {beta}-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), a metabolite of thymine, was also investigated in this connection. Besides nucleic acids, proteins are broken down in these radiosensitive organs. This leads to an increased content of amino acids for instance in the lymphatic tissues and to an increase in urinary excretion of amino acids. There are two amino acids which play a special role for this discussion: cysteine and tryptophan. Taurine, a metabolite of cysteine, is excreted in the urine to an increased extent after the irradiation of mice, rats and man. Again the enhancement is proportional to the radiation exposure between 100 and 300 R. Another substance which has been extensively studied is creatine. It has been shown that there is a good relationship between radiation exposure (up to about 600 R) and the increased excretion of creatine/creatinine in the urine of rats

  14. Implantable biochemical fuel cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richter, G; Rao, J R

    1978-01-05

    Implantable biochemical fuel cells for the operation of heart pacemakers or artificial hearts convert oxidisable body substances such as glucose on the anode side and reduce the oxygen contained in body fluids at the cathode. The anode and cathode are separated by membranes which are impermeable to albumen and blood corpuscles in body fluids. A chemical shortcircuit cannot occur in practice if, according to the invention, one or more selective oxygen electrodes with carbon as catalyst are arranged so that the mixture which diffuses into the cell from body fluids during operation reaches the fuel cell electrode through the porous oxygen electrode. The membranes used must be permeable to water. Cellulose, polymerised polyvinyl alcohol or an ion exchanger with a buffering capacity between pH5 and 8 act as permeable materials.

  15. The dynamics of blood biochemical parameters in cosmonauts during long-term space flights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markin, Andrei; Strogonova, Lubov; Balashov, Oleg; Polyakov, Valery; Tigner, Timoty

    Most of the previously obtained data on cosmonauts' metabolic state concerned certain stages of the postflight period. In this connection, all conclusions, as to metabolism peculiarities during the space flight, were to a large extent probabilistic. The purpose of this work was study of metabolism characteristics in cosmonauts directly during long-term space flights. In the capillary blood samples taken from a finger, by "Reflotron IV" biochemical analyzer, "Boehringer Mannheim" GmbH, Germany, adapted to weightlessness environments, the activity of GOT, GPT, CK, gamma-GT, total and pancreatic amylase, as well as concentration of hemoglobin, glucose, total bilirubin, uric acid, urea, creatinine, total, HDL- and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides had been determined. HDL/LDL-cholesterol ratio also was computed. The crewmembers of 6 main missions to the "Mir" orbital station, a total of 17 cosmonauts, were examined. Biochemical tests were carryed out 30-60 days before lounch, and in the flights different stages between the 25-th and the 423-rd days of flights. In cosmonauts during space flight had been found tendency to increase, in compare with basal level, GOT, GPT, total amylase activity, glucose and total cholesterol concentration, and tendency to decrease of CK activity, hemoglobin, HDL-cholesterol concentration, and HDL/LDL — cholesterol ratio. Some definite trends in variations of other determined biochemical parameters had not been found. The same trends of mentioned biochemical parameters alterations observed in majority of tested cosmonauts, allows to suppose existence of connection between noted metabolic alterations with influence of space flight conditions upon cosmonaut's body. Variations of other studied blood biochemical parameters depends on, probably, pure individual causes.

  16. Effect of Probiotics on Serum Biochemical and Blood Constituents in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King ... enzyme activities, and hematological and biochemical indices of broiler chickens challenged with ..... Brancaster and Enteritidis from humans and broiler.

  17. Biochemical Abnormalities in Batten's Syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Jytte Lene; Nielsen, Gunnar Gissel; Jensen, Gunde Egeskov

    1978-01-01

    The present data indicate that a group of ten patients with Batten's syndrome showed reduced activity of erythrocyte glutathione (GSH) peroxidase (Px) (glutathione: H2O2 oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.9.) using H2O2 as peroxide donor. Assay of erythrocyte GSHPx using H2O2, cumene hydroperoxide and t......-butyl hydroperoxide as donors also makes it possible biochemically to divide Batten's syndrome into two types: (1) one type with decreased values when H2O2 and cumene hydroperoxide are used, and (2) one type with increased values when t-butyl hydroperoxide is used. Furthermore an increased content of palmitic, oleic...

  18. The NREL Biochemical and Thermochemical Ethanol Conversion Processes: Financial and Environmental Analysis Comparison

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesse Sky Daystar

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The financial and environmental performance of the National Renewable Energy Lab’s (NREL thermochemical and biochemical biofuel conversion processes are examined herein with pine, eucalyptus, unmanaged hardwood, switchgrass, and sweet sorghum. The environmental impacts of the process scenarios were determined by quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG emissions and TRACI impacts. Integrated financial and environmental performance metrics were introduced and used to examine the biofuel production scenarios. The thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes produced the highest financial performance and lowest environmental impacts when paired with pine and sweet sorghum, respectively. The high ash content of switchgrass and high lignin content of loblolly pine lowered conversion yields, resulting in the highest environmental impacts and lowest financial performance for the thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes, respectively. Biofuel produced using the thermochemical conversion process resulted in lower TRACI single score impacts and somewhat lower GHG emissions per megajoule (MJ of fuel than using the biochemical conversion pathway. The cost of carbon mitigation resulting from biofuel production and corresponding government subsidies was determined to be higher than the expected market carbon price. In some scenarios, the cost of carbon mitigation was several times higher than the market carbon price, indicating that there may be other more cost-effective methods of reducing carbon emissions.

  19. Biochemical changes in ginger after gamma irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kausar, T.; Salahuddin; Pervaiz, K.; Niazi, A.H.K.

    2001-01-01

    Ginger (Zingiber officinate) was irradiated with gamma rays (0.1Kgy, 1.0Kgy). Biochemical changes during storage at room temperature (23-28 degree centigrade), in sand (23-28 degree centigrade) and at cold (8 degree centigrade) temperature were observed. Changes in starch, soluble protein, fixed oil and volatile oil contents showed that treatment of ginger at 0.1Kgy radiation level was most appropriate for storage upto 45 days

  20. Biochemical disease-free survival following I-125 prostate implantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beyer, David C.; Priestley, Joseph B.

    1995-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: To assess the five-year clinical and biochemical results of ultrasound-guided permanent I-125 brachytherapy in early prostate cancer. Biochemical disease-free survival (BDFS) is reported, using PSA follow-up and is compared to the surgical and radiation therapy literature. Materials and Methods: From 12/88 through 12/93, ultrasound-guided brachytherapy was preplanned with I-125 and delivered 16,000 cGy as the sole treatment in 499 patients. All were clinically staged as T1 or T2 - N0M0 adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Within the first year, 19 patients were lost to follow-up and have been excluded from further study. The remaining 480 patients form the basis of this report. Clinical status and PSA values were systematically recorded before and after treatment. Results: With a median follow-up of 35 months (3-70) the actuarial clinical local control is 83%. Both stage and grade are shown to predict for this endpoint. Actuarial BDFS is also correlated with stage, grade, and PSA at presentation. Biochemical disease-free survival at five years is 94% for T1, 70% for unilateral T2, and 34% for T2c tumors. Grade is also predictive, ranging from 85% in low-grade tumors to 30% in high-grade tumors. In a multivariate analysis, the pretreatment PSA is most highly correlated (p 10 had a BDFS of 40%. Complications have been few, with severe urinary urgency or dysuria in 4% and both incontinence and proctitis seen in 1%. Conclusion: While biochemical disease-free survival reports in the literature are immature and have short follow-up, our data compares favorably with studies following radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy. Further follow-up of this cohort is required. The complication rate is low and patient acceptance excellent. Permanent implantation of I-125 as the sole treatment for early prostate cancer is a viable alternative for patients with early stage and low- to moderate-grade cancers. The PSA provides significant prognostic information and

  1. Biochemical disease-free survival following I-125 prostate implantation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beyer, David C; Priestley, Joseph B

    1995-07-01

    Purpose/Objective: To assess the five-year clinical and biochemical results of ultrasound-guided permanent I-125 brachytherapy in early prostate cancer. Biochemical disease-free survival (BDFS) is reported, using PSA follow-up and is compared to the surgical and radiation therapy literature. Materials and Methods: From 12/88 through 12/93, ultrasound-guided brachytherapy was preplanned with I-125 and delivered 16,000 cGy as the sole treatment in 499 patients. All were clinically staged as T1 or T2 - N0M0 adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Within the first year, 19 patients were lost to follow-up and have been excluded from further study. The remaining 480 patients form the basis of this report. Clinical status and PSA values were systematically recorded before and after treatment. Results: With a median follow-up of 35 months (3-70) the actuarial clinical local control is 83%. Both stage and grade are shown to predict for this endpoint. Actuarial BDFS is also correlated with stage, grade, and PSA at presentation. Biochemical disease-free survival at five years is 94% for T1, 70% for unilateral T2, and 34% for T2c tumors. Grade is also predictive, ranging from 85% in low-grade tumors to 30% in high-grade tumors. In a multivariate analysis, the pretreatment PSA is most highly correlated (p < 0.0001). Patients with a normal pretreatment PSA enjoyed 93% BDFS, while those presenting with PSA > 10 had a BDFS of 40%. Complications have been few, with severe urinary urgency or dysuria in 4% and both incontinence and proctitis seen in 1%. Conclusion: While biochemical disease-free survival reports in the literature are immature and have short follow-up, our data compares favorably with studies following radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy. Further follow-up of this cohort is required. The complication rate is low and patient acceptance excellent. Permanent implantation of I-125 as the sole treatment for early prostate cancer is a viable alternative for patients with

  2. Effect Of Chromium- Picolinat On Biochemical And Histopathological ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Chromium III tris (picolinate) [Cr(pic)3]is a popular nutritional supplement; however its safety has been questioned, especially with regard to its ability to act as a clastogen. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the biochemical and morphological changes in the liver following oral administration of Cr-picolinate and ...

  3. Physiological and biochemical responses to low temperature stress ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cuttings of three hybrid clones of P. ussuriensis × P. deltoides were exposed to different low temperatures (cold and freezing) for 24 h, or consecutive low temperatures (5°C, 0 to 120 h), to determine physiological and biochemical responses to cold stress in these woody plants. Soluble sugar and protein contents increased ...

  4. Recent Advances on the Use of Biochemical Extracts as Filaricidal Agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nazeh M. Al-Abd

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic infection that causes a devastating public health and socioeconomic burden with an estimated infection of over 120 million individuals worldwide. The infection is caused by three closely related nematode parasites, namely, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and B. timori, which are transmitted to human through mosquitoes of Anopheles, Culex, and Aedes genera. The species have many ecological variants and are diversified in terms of their genetic fingerprint. The rapid spread of the disease and the genetic diversification cause the lymphatic filarial parasites to respond differently to diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. This in turn prompts the current challenge encountered in its management. Furthermore, most of the chemical medications used are characterized by adverse side effects. These complications urgently warrant intense prospecting on bio-chemicals that have potent efficacy against either the filarial worms or thier vector. In lieu of this, we presented a review on recent literature that reported the efficacy of filaricidal biochemicals and those employed as vector control agents. In addition, methods used for biochemical extraction, screening procedures, and structure of the bioactive compounds were also presented.

  5. Clinical, haematological and biochemical responses of sheep undergoing autologous blood transfusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sousa Rejane

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study aimed to evaluate the clinical, haematological and biochemical responses to autologous blood transfusion and the feasibility of this practice in sheep. Thus, we used eight male, 8 months old sheep, weighing on average 30 kg, from which 15 mL/kg of whole blood was collected and stored in CPDA-1 bags. Blood samples were refrigerated for 8 days and subsequently re-infused. The clinical, haematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated before blood collection and reinfusion, after 10 minutes of collection and reinfusion, after 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96 and 192 hours after collection and reinfusion. Results With respect to clinical parameters, we observed a decrease in heart rate after 24, 48 and 196 hours from reinfusion compared to basal values (p p p p  Conclusion Autologous transfusion in sheep slightly altered the physiological, biochemical and haematological responses of sheep, indicating that the technique proposed is safe and can be applied in the clinical practice of this species. The 8 d period was not sufficient for complete recovery of the haematological parameters after blood collection.

  6. biochemical and haematological findings in alcohol consumers in Ile

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Administrator

    Effect of drinking patterns on biochemical and haematological parameters was conducted on ... disease depends on a variety of factors, including genetic ... by cirrhosis, cancer and violent deaths. .... (1985) stated that the marked influence of alcohol ... The relationship between alcohol consumption, health indicators and.

  7. A MULTILAYER BIOCHEMICAL DRY DEPOSITION MODEL 2. MODEL EVALUATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    The multilayer biochemical dry deposition model (MLBC) described in the accompanying paper was tested against half-hourly eddy correlation data from six field sites under a wide range of climate conditions with various plant types. Modeled CO2, O3, SO2<...

  8. Genetic and biochemical evidences reveal novel insights into the ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Biosciences; Volume 41; Issue 4. Genetic and biochemical evidences reveal novel insights into the mechanism underlying Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sae2-mediated abrogation of DNA replication stress. INDRAJEET GHODKE K MUNIYAPPA. ARTICLE Volume 41 Issue 4 December 2016 pp ...

  9. Seasonal variation in the biochemical composition of red seaweed

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. The biochemical composition of red seaweeds,Catenella repens was investigated in this present study along with subsequent analysis of relevant physico-chemical variables.In this study, the relationship between the nutritive components of this species and the ambient environmental parameters was established.

  10. Serum PSA Evaluations during salvage radiotherapy for post-prostatectomy biochemical failures as prognosticators for treatment outcomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Do, Tri; Dave, Giatri; Parker, Robert; Kagan, A. Robert

    2001-01-01

    Introduction: Serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels have proved to be sensitive markers for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. In addition, PSA levels are useful for detecting and monitoring prostate cancer progression after radiotherapy. Serum PSA evaluations during radiotherapy, however, have not been well documented. In this study, we investigate the prognostic value of PSA evaluations during salvage radiotherapy for prostatectomy failures. Methods: Forty-one patients with biochemical failures after prostatectomy treated with salvage radiotherapy consented to have their serum PSA levels evaluated at 30 Gy and 45 Gy of irradiation. All 41 patients had negative metastatic workup and pathologically uninvolved pelvic lymph nodes at the time of referral for salvage radiotherapy. Radiation therapy was delivered with 10-25 MV photons, with doses of 59.4-66.6 Gy. No patients received hormonal ablation therapy before irradiation. Results: The mean follow-up for all patients was 30.9 months. At last follow-up, 28/41 patients (68.3%) were free from biochemical failure, with 20 of 41 patients (48.8%) expressing undetectable PSA levels. Serum PSA evaluations at 30 Gy did not significantly predict for either biochemical (p=0.0917) or clinical (p=0.106) disease-free outcome. However, serum PSA evaluations at 45 Gy significantly predicted for both biochemical (p=0.0043) and clinical (p=0.0244) disease-free outcomes, with PSA elevations at 45 Gy significantly associated with poor outcomes. On univariate analysis of prognosticators for biochemical failures, the following were significant: an elevation in serum PSA levels at 45 Gy, detectable serum PSA immediately after prostatectomy, Gleason score 7-10, and serum PSA level >1 ng/ml before salvage radiotherapy. Conclusion: Evaluation of serum PSA level at 45 Gy of salvage radiotherapy for biochemical relapses after prostatectomy may serve as a significant prognosticator for both biochemical and clinical disease-free outcomes

  11. Fractionation of sulfur isotopes in the chemical and biochemical oxidation of sulfide to sulfate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maass, I.; Wetzel, K.; Weise, G.; Heyer, J.

    1983-01-01

    The behaviour of sulfur isotopes in the chemical and biochemical oxidation of marcasite (FeS 2 ) to sulfate has been investigated in rest and shaker cultures at 30 0 C. The microbiological oxidation was carried out using a mixed culture of Thiobacillus. The results show a considerably faster formation of sulfate in the biochemical oxidation in comparison with the chemical oxidation. Isotope analyses of the formed sulfates indicate no or only very small isotope fractionations depending on experimental conditions. The highest enrichment of 32 S in the sulfate is 1.7 per mille. In accordance with the results of other authors it is concluded that in both chemical and biochemical weathering of sedimentary sulfides resulting in the formation of sulfates isotope effects are not of importance. (author)

  12. Intraseasonal patterns in coastal plankton biomass off central Chile derived from satellite observations and a biochemical model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Fabian A.; Spitz, Yvette H.; Batchelder, Harold P.; Correa-Ramirez, Marco A.

    2017-10-01

    Subseasonal (5-130 days) environmental variability can strongly affect plankton dynamics, but is often overlooked in marine ecology studies. We documented the main subseasonal patterns of plankton biomass in the coastal upwelling system off central Chile, the southern part of the Humboldt System. Subseasonal variability was extracted from temporal patterns in satellite data of wind stress, sea surface temperature, and chlorophyll from the period 2003-2011, and from a realistically forced eddy-resolving physical-biochemical model from 2003 to 2008. Although most of the wind variability occurs at submonthly frequencies (< 30 days), we found that the dominant subseasonal pattern of phytoplankton biomass is within the intraseasonal band (30-90 days). The strongest intraseasonal coupling between wind and plankton is in spring-summer, when increased solar radiation enhances the phytoplankton response to upwelling. Biochemical model outputs show intraseasonal shifts in plankton community structure, mainly associated with the large fluctuations in diatom biomass. Diatom biomass peaks near surface during strong upwelling, whereas small phytoplankton biomass peaks at subsurface depths during relaxation or downwelling periods. Strong intraseasonally forced changes in biomass and species composition could strongly impact trophodynamics connections in the ecosystem, including the recruitment of commercially important fish species such as common sardine and anchovy. The wind-driven variability of chlorophyll concentration was connected to mid- and high-latitude atmospheric anomalies, which resemble disturbances with frequencies similar to the tropical Madden-Julian Oscillation.

  13. Modelling biochemical reaction systems by stochastic differential equations with reflection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Yuanling; Burrage, Kevin; Chen, Luonan

    2016-05-07

    In this paper, we gave a new framework for modelling and simulating biochemical reaction systems by stochastic differential equations with reflection not in a heuristic way but in a mathematical way. The model is computationally efficient compared with the discrete-state Markov chain approach, and it ensures that both analytic and numerical solutions remain in a biologically plausible region. Specifically, our model mathematically ensures that species numbers lie in the domain D, which is a physical constraint for biochemical reactions, in contrast to the previous models. The domain D is actually obtained according to the structure of the corresponding chemical Langevin equations, i.e., the boundary is inherent in the biochemical reaction system. A variant of projection method was employed to solve the reflected stochastic differential equation model, and it includes three simple steps, i.e., Euler-Maruyama method was applied to the equations first, and then check whether or not the point lies within the domain D, and if not perform an orthogonal projection. It is found that the projection onto the closure D¯ is the solution to a convex quadratic programming problem. Thus, existing methods for the convex quadratic programming problem can be employed for the orthogonal projection map. Numerical tests on several important problems in biological systems confirmed the efficiency and accuracy of this approach. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. BIOCHEMICAL NUTRITIONAL PROFILE OF LIVER CIRRHOSIS PATIENTS WITH HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Zanatta PORT

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Context Liver cirrhosis patients with hepatocellular carcinoma present nutritional alterations and metabolic disorders that negatively impact the prognosis. Objective The objective is to identify alterations in the metabolism of macro and micronutrients among liver cirrhosis patients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma and their relation to the Child-Turcote-Pugh score and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging. Methods Analytical transversal study, with 31 hepatocellular carcinoma patients and 48 liver cirrhosis patients. Laboratorial exams were carried out. The existence of an association between the biochemical parameters and the disease severity as well as the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma was assessed. Results The metabolic-nutritional profile of liver cirrhosis patients caused by the hepatitis C virus and hepatocellular carcinoma showed alterations, specifically the lipid (total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides, protein (albumin, creatinine and uric acid, iron (transferrin, iron and ferritin saturation, hematocrit and hemoglobin, zinc and B12 vitamin profiles. There is a relation between nutritional biochemical markers and the Child-Turcote-Pugh, as well as Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging. Conclusions Considering the existence of alterations in the metabolism of nutrients in liver cirrhosis patients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma, and also that conventional nutritional assessment methods present limitations for this population, the biochemical laboratorial exams are valid to complement the diagnosis of the nutritional state in a quick and practical manner.

  15. on the biochemical indicators of lead poisoning in

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    N. Sadi

    1 sept. 2017 ... ABSTRACT. This study is conducted to examine the effect of the oral administration of pectin of dates on perturbation of the biochemical parameters induced by lead. Male rats were exposed to lead acetate at 350mg/Kg for one month, after this period, rats treated during one month with the pectin of date at ...

  16. Pharmaceutical research at the AAEC Part I: Ligand synthesis and biological studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, J G [Australian Atomic Energy Commission Research Establishment, Lucas Heights

    1982-09-01

    Work on the synthesis of ligands capable of forming chelate complexes with technetium-99m as part of a search for tumour-localising radiopharmaceuticals is described. An account of the biological evaluation of a range of these compounds, in particular, benzimidazoles, sulphanilamides and acridines, and of the investigation of certain biochemical and biological properties affecting the clinical application of both ligands and radiopharmaceuticals is given. Interactions between therapeutic drugs and diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals are considered. The toxicological evaluation of a prospective hepatobiliary imaging agent, dimethyl-BIMIDA, is described.

  17. Conservation Laws in Biochemical Reaction Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mahdi, Adam; Ferragut, Antoni; Valls, Claudia

    2017-01-01

    We study the existence of linear and nonlinear conservation laws in biochemical reaction networks with mass-action kinetics. It is straightforward to compute the linear conservation laws as they are related to the left null-space of the stoichiometry matrix. The nonlinear conservation laws...... are difficult to identify and have rarely been considered in the context of mass-action reaction networks. Here, using the Darboux theory of integrability, we provide necessary structural (i.e., parameterindependent) conditions on a reaction network to guarantee the existence of nonlinear conservation laws...

  18. Vitamin b 12 supplementation: effects on some biochemical and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Phenytoin is known to have some toxicological implications. Vitamin B12 supplementation during phenytoin administration was investigated to assess the benefits and risks of single vitamin supplementation. This study evaluated the biochemical and haematological effects of vitamin B12 on phenytoin toxicity. Twenty-four ...

  19. Biochemical and histological evidences for the antitumor potential of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biochemical and histological evidences for the antitumor potential of Teucrium Oliverianum and Rhazya stricta in chemically-induced hepatocellular carcinoma. ... Photomicrograph of liver tissue sections of rats in HCC revealed hepatic parenchyma with foci of anaplastic hepatocellular carcinoma as well as other foci of ...

  20. Blood biochemical of nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ) in Kano ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigates serum biochemistry of Nile crocodile from Kano Zoological Garden, Kano, Nigeria. Six (6) adult Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) were captured from crocodile pond. Blood was collected from post occipital sinus of the physically restrain crocodile and used for serum biochemical parameters.

  1. Biochemical and biomechanical characterisation of equine cervical facet joint cartilage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Leary, S A; White, J L; Hu, J C; Athanasiou, K A

    2018-04-15

    The equine cervical facet joint is a site of significant pathology. Located bilaterally on the dorsal spine, these diarthrodial joints work in conjunction with the intervertebral disc to facilitate appropriate spinal motion. Despite the high prevalence of pathology in this joint, the facet joint is understudied and thus lacking in viable treatment options. The goal of this study was to characterise equine facet joint cartilage and provide a comprehensive database describing the morphological, histological, biochemical and biomechanical properties of this tissue. Descriptive cadaver studies. A total of 132 facet joint surfaces were harvested from the cervical spines of six skeletally mature horses (11 surfaces per animal) for compiling biomechanical and biochemical properties of hyaline cartilage of the equine cervical facet joints. Gross morphometric measurements and histological staining were performed on facet joint cartilage. Creep indentation and uniaxial strain-to-failure testing were used to determine the biomechanical compressive and tensile properties. Biochemical assays included quantification of total collagen, sulfated glycosaminoglycan and DNA content. The facet joint surfaces were ovoid in shape with a flat articular surface. Histological analyses highlighted structures akin to articular cartilage of other synovial joints. In general, biomechanical and biochemical properties did not differ significantly between the inferior and superior joint surfaces as well as among spinal levels. Interestingly, compressive and tensile properties of cervical facet articular cartilage were lower than those of articular cartilage from other previously characterised equine joints. Removal of the superficial zone reduced the tissue's tensile strength, suggesting that this zone is important for the tensile integrity of the tissue. Facet surfaces were sampled at a single, central location and do not capture the potential topographic variation in cartilage properties. This

  2. Biochemical evaluation of Gmelina arborea fruit meal as a swine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr. J. T. Ekanem

    Division of Nutritional Biochemistry, Department of Animal Production,. University of Ilorin ... certain biochemical parameters including blood enzyme profile of wean pigs. 16-piglets ..... 1992) who reported similar results in guinea fowls fed test ...

  3. Pulmonary Stress Induced by Hyperthermia: Role of Airway Sensory Nerves

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Myers AC, Kajekar R, Undem BJ. Allergic inflammation-induced neuropeptide production in rapidly adapting afferent nerves in guinea pig airways. Am J...induced neuro- peptide production in rapidly adapting afferent nerves in guinea pig airways. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 282, L775–L781...co-localization of transient receptor po- tential vanilloid (trpv)1 and sensory neuropeptides in the guinea - pig respiratory system. Neuroscience

  4. Biochemical Markers in Neurocritical Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omidvar Rezae

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available During the past two decades, a variety of serum or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF biochemical markers in daily clinical practice have been recommended to diagnose and monitor diverse diseases or pathologic situations. It will be essential to develop a panel of biomarkers, to be suitable for evaluation of treatment efficacy, representing distinct phases of injury and recovery and consider the temporal profile of those. Among the possible and different biochemical markers, S100b appeared to fulfill many of optimized criteria of an ideal marker. S100b, a cytosolic low molecular weight dimeric calciumbinding protein from chromosome 21, synthesized in glial cells throughout the CNS, an homodimeric diffusible, belongs to a family of closely related protein, predominantly expressed by astrocytes and Schwann cells and a classic immunohistochemical marker for these cells, is implicated in brain development and neurophysiology. Of the 3 isoforms of S-100, the BB subunit (S100B is present in high concentrations in central and peripheral glial and Schwann cells, Langerhans and anterior pituitary cells, fat, muscle, and bone marrow tissues. The biomarker has shown to be a sensitive marker of clinical and subclinical cerebral damage, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. Increasing evidence suggests that the biomarker plays a double function as an intracellular regulator and an extracellular signal of the CNS. S100b is found in the cytoplasm in a soluble form and also is associated with intracellular membranes, centrosomes, microtubules, and type III intermediate filaments. Their genomic organization now is known, and many of their target proteins have been identified, although the mechanisms of regulating S100b secretion are not completely understood and appear to be related to many factors, such as the proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a, interleukin (IL-1b, and metabolic stress. 

  5. CHANGING OF THE BIOCHEMICAL INDICES ON REGENERATION OF EXPERIMENTAL DEFECT OF THE MANDIBLE BONE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Borysenko

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Summary. The results of an experimental biochemical investigation on the influence of the proposed drug composition for the experimental mandible bone defect regeneration in rats were presented. The high efficiency and osteoregenerative properties of this paste were shown. The experimental investigations showed that the proposed drug composition exerts a considerable normalization influence upon the biochemical indicators of bone mineral metabolism, comparable to Collapan influence.

  6. RxnFinder: biochemical reaction search engines using molecular structures, molecular fragments and reaction similarity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Qian-Nan; Deng, Zhe; Hu, Huanan; Cao, Dong-Sheng; Liang, Yi-Zeng

    2011-09-01

    Biochemical reactions play a key role to help sustain life and allow cells to grow. RxnFinder was developed to search biochemical reactions from KEGG reaction database using three search criteria: molecular structures, molecular fragments and reaction similarity. RxnFinder is helpful to get reference reactions for biosynthesis and xenobiotics metabolism. RxnFinder is freely available via: http://sdd.whu.edu.cn/rxnfinder. qnhu@whu.edu.cn.

  7. Biochemical Effects of Xylazine, Propofol, and Ketamine in West African Dwarf Goats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ukwueze Celestine Okwudili

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Anaesthesia was induced in West African Dwarf (WAD goats using different combinations of propofol (P, xylazine (X, and ketamine (K, and the biochemical effect of the drugs determined. Twenty male (WAD goats were randomly assigned to five treatment groups viz. Control (C (2.5 mL IV normal saline; group K + X (5 mg/kg IV ketamine + 0.05 mg/kg IV xylazine, group P + X (5 mg/kg IV propofol + 0.05 mg/kg IV xylazine, group P + K (propofol 5 mg/kg IV + ketamine 5 mg/kg IV, and group P + K + X (propofol 2.5 mg/kg IV + ketamine 2.5 mg/kg IV + xylazine 0.05 mg/kg IV, respectively. There was increase (P0.05 in serum creatinine. These biochemical changes were transient. P + K + X would be the best drug combinations considering the biochemical parameter measured. However, data on blood glucose, ALT, BUN, and cortisol levels in an anaesthsized goat should be interpreted with caution in order to avoid erroneous interpretation in these animals.

  8. Development of 77Ge/77As parent-daughter system for periodic removal of 77As for environmental sanitation and biochemical purposes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olah, Zita; Doczi, Rita; Szuecs, Zoltan; Varga, Zoltan

    2015-01-01

    A simple method was developed for the separation of radioactive 77 As from neutron irradiated natural GeO 2 samples for environmental and biochemical studies. The method is based on the volatility of GeCl 4 . The GeCl 4 was co-evaporated from the reaction mixture with an azeotropic mixture of HCl and water, and immediately condensed into a separate finger part of the special glass apparatus which was cooled by liquid nitrogen. By inverting the room temperature and the deep frozen parts of the glass equipment after three half-lives of the 77 Ge the separation process can be repetitive, getting a special type of 77 Ge/ 77 As parent-daughter system. The radionuclidic purity of the remaining As fraction was found to be 99.95%. Its yield, however, drastically decreased in the second and subsequent separations.

  9. Assessing the variability of outcome for patients treated with localized prostate irradiation using different definitions of biochemical control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horwitz, Eric M.; Vicini, Frank A.; Ziaja, Ellen L.; Gonzalez, Jose; Dmuchowski, Carl F.; Stromberg, Jannifer S.; Brabbins, Donald S.; Hollander, Jay; Chen, Peter Y.; Martinez, Alvaro A.

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: Biochemical control using serial posttreatment serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels is being increasingly used to assess treatment efficacy for localized prostate cancer. However, no standardized definition of biochemical control has been established. We reviewed our experience treating patients with localized prostate cancer and applied three different commonly used definitions of biochemical control to determine if differences in therapeutic outcome would be observed. Methods and Materials: Between January 1987 and December 1991, 480 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer received external beam irradiation (RT) using localized prostate fields at William Beaumont Hospital. The median dose to the prostate was 66.6 Gy (range 58-70.4) using a four-field or arc technique. Pretreatment and posttreatment serum PSA levels were recorded. Over 86% (414 of 480) of patients had a pretreatment PSA level available. Three different definitions of biochemical control were used: (a) PSA nadir 20), and 5-year actuarial rates of biochemical control were calculated using the three biochemical control and one clinical local control definitions. For Group 1, 5-year actuarial rates of biochemical control were 84%, 90%, and 96% for Definitions 1-3 and clinical local control, respectively. For Group 2, 5-year actuarial control rates were 45%, 54%, 74%, and 92% for the four definitions, respectively. For Group 3, 5-year actuarial control rates were 26%, 31%, 63%, and 100% for the four definitions, respectively. For Group 4, 5-year actuarial control rates were 24%, 24%, 50%, and 100% for the four definitions, respectively. Finally, for Group 5, 5-year actuarial control rates were 5%, 14%, 15%, and 89% for the four definitions, respectively. Depending on the definition used, statistically significant differences overall in outcome rates were observed. Differences between all four definitions for all pairwise comparisons ranged from 5 to 53% (p < 0

  10. Criteria for the Evaluation and Selection of Radiation-Induced Metabolic Changes as Biochemical Indicators of Radiation Damage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Altman, K. I. [Departments of Experimental Radiology, Radiation Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry, University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY (United States)

    1971-03-15

    There are several reasons which prompt a search for suitable biochemical indicators of radiation damage in man. Perhaps the most compelling of these reasons is the urgent need for estimates of exposure doses in cases of accidental exposures of human subjects to ionizing radiations under conditions which preclude a reliable assessment of the exposure dose by the usual physical means. At worst, a biochemical estimate of the dose would provide an independent means of obtaining information otherwise based solely on physical considerations and assumptions. In addition, a biochemical estimate of radiation injury may also, under ideal circumstances, serve as a guide to the attending physician in chosing the type of therapy most efficacious and least likely to lead to complications in the near as well as more distant future. The availability of biochemical indicators capable of revealing with some degree of accuracy the impairment of function of a particular organ would be a helpful adjunct in making decisions concerning the therapeutic approach to be adopted. The latter aspect would be of considerable interest in acute, accidental radiation exposures since under these circumstances radiation exposures are frequently of the partial-body type. An estimate of radiation injury by means of biochemical indicators should also prove useful in cases of protracted or chronic exposures to radiation, the source of which may be either external or internal. The use of biochemical indicators under these conditions of radiation exposure may, in general, aid 'case-finding' efforts and, in a more specific way, may help in pin-pointing discrete organ dysfunctions. In evaluating the suitability of radiation-induced metabolic changes for application as biochemical indicators of radiation damage, the following general criteria may be set forth: (1) the biochemical response to irradiation must be dose-dependent within a certain, sufficiently wide range in order to be useful; (2) the sensitivity

  11. Biochemical component identification by plasmonic improved whispering gallery mode optical resonance based sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saetchnikov, Vladimir A.; Tcherniavskaia, Elina A.; Saetchnikov, Anton V.; Schweiger, Gustav; Ostendorf, Andreas

    2014-05-01

    Experimental data on detection and identification of variety of biochemical agents, such as proteins, microelements, antibiotic of different generation etc. in both single and multi component solutions under varied in wide range concentration analyzed on the light scattering parameters of whispering gallery mode optical resonance based sensor are represented. Multiplexing on parameters and components has been realized using developed fluidic sensor cell with fixed in adhesive layer dielectric microspheres and data processing. Biochemical component identification has been performed by developed network analysis techniques. Developed approach is demonstrated to be applicable both for single agent and for multi component biochemical analysis. Novel technique based on optical resonance on microring structures, plasmon resonance and identification tools has been developed. To improve a sensitivity of microring structures microspheres fixed by adhesive had been treated previously by gold nanoparticle solution. Another technique used thin film gold layers deposited on the substrate below adhesive. Both biomolecule and nanoparticle injections caused considerable changes of optical resonance spectra. Plasmonic gold layers under optimized thickness also improve parameters of optical resonance spectra. Biochemical component identification has been also performed by developed network analysis techniques both for single and for multi component solution. So advantages of plasmon enhancing optical microcavity resonance with multiparameter identification tools is used for development of a new platform for ultra sensitive label-free biomedical sensor.

  12. Biochemical response of ouda sheep to water contaminated with ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Also, biochemical examinations of fasting blood glucose(FBGL), total serum protein(TSP), serum albumin(S.ALB), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), serum creatinine(S.CREAT.), serum phosphate(S.PO4), aspartate ... hours of the experiment following standard procedures. The result showed that all the parameters measured were ...

  13. Biochemical and genetic diagnosis of Smith-Lemli- Opitz syndrome ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The clinical spectrum of manifestations is broad, ... delay as well as selfinjurious behaviour and autism are reported. ... recessive disorder that is more common than other defects in cholesterol biosynthesis. ... To perform biochemical and genetic workups in four South African families of European ancestry with suspected ...

  14. Evaluation of biogas production rate and biochemical changes in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The rate of biogas generation and biochemical changes in pig dung used in a simple mobile biogas digester designed and constructed at the Department of Environmental Technology, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria were evaluated. Measurable gas production started 4 days after feeding the digester with ...

  15. 40 CFR 798.5195 - Mouse biochemical specific locus test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ...-induced variants are bred to determine the genetic nature of the change. (f) Data and reports—(1... SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT (CONTINUED) HEALTH EFFECTS TESTING GUIDELINES Genetic Toxicity § 798.5195 Mouse...) A biochemical specific locus mutation is a genetic change resulting from a DNA lesion causing...

  16. The biochemical, physiological and therapeutic roles of ascorbic acid

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ascorbic acid is an important micronutrient necessary for a significant number of metabolic reactions in humans and other primates. It is a strong reducing agent involved in reduction reaction and it is structurally related to glucose. Experimental and epidemiological studies have documented the biochemical, physiological ...

  17. Long-term treatment outcomes of acromegaly patients presenting biochemically-uncontrolled at a tertiary pituitary center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmichael, John D; Broder, Michael S; Cherepanov, Dasha; Chang, Eunice; Mamelak, Adam; Said, Qayyim; Neary, Maureen P; Bonert, Vivien

    2017-08-04

    Acromegaly is a rare, slowly progressive disorder resulting from excessive growth hormone (GH) production by a pituitary somatotroph tumor. The objective of this study was to examine acromegaly treatment outcomes during long-term care at a specialized pituitary center in patients presenting with lack of biochemical control. Data came from an acromegaly registry at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Pituitary Center (center). Acromegaly patients included in this study were those who presented biochemically-uncontrolled for care at the center. Biochemical control status, based on serum insulin-like growth factor-1 values, was determined at presentation and at study end. Patient characteristics and acromegaly treatments were reported before and after presentation by presenting treatment status and final biochemical control status. Data on long-term follow-up were recorded from 1985 through June 2013. Seventy-four patients presented uncontrolled: 40 untreated (54.1%) and 34 (45.9%) previously-treated. Mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 43.2 (14.7); 32 (43.2%) were female patients. Of 65 patients with tumor size information, 59 (90.8%) had macroadenomas. Prior treatments among the 34 previously-treated patients were pituitary surgery alone (47.1%), surgery and medication (41.2%), and medication alone (11.8%). Of the 40 patients without prior treatment, 82.5% achieved control by study end. Of the 34 with prior treatment, 50% achieved control by study end. This observational study shows that treatment outcomes of biochemically-uncontrolled acromegaly patients improve with directed care, particularly for those that initially present untreated. Patients often require multiple modalities of treatment, many of which are offered with the highest quality at specialized pituitary centers. Despite specialized care, some patients were not able to achieve biochemical control with methods of treatment that were available at the time of their treatment, showing the need for additional

  18. Coarse-graining stochastic biochemical networks: adiabaticity and fast simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nemenman, Ilya [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Sinitsyn, Nikolai [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hengartner, Nick [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2008-01-01

    We propose a universal approach for analysis and fast simulations of stiff stochastic biochemical kinetics networks, which rests on elimination of fast chemical species without a loss of information about mesoscoplc, non-Poissonian fluctuations of the slow ones. Our approach, which is similar to the Born-Oppenhelmer approximation in quantum mechanics, follows from the stochastic path Integral representation of the cumulant generating function of reaction events. In applications with a small number of chemIcal reactions, It produces analytical expressions for cumulants of chemical fluxes between the slow variables. This allows for a low-dimensional, Interpretable representation and can be used for coarse-grained numerical simulation schemes with a small computational complexity and yet high accuracy. As an example, we derive the coarse-grained description for a chain of biochemical reactions, and show that the coarse-grained and the microscopic simulations are in an agreement, but the coarse-gralned simulations are three orders of magnitude faster.

  19. BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES IN CHERNOZEM SOIL UNDER DIFFERENT FERTILIZATION SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ecaterina Emnova

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the evaluation of the intensity of certain soil biochemical processes (e.g. soil organic C mineralization at Organic and mixed Mineral+Organic fertilization of typical chernozem in crop rotation dynamics (for 6 years by use of eco-physiological indicators of biological soil quality: microbial biomass carbon, basal soil respiration, as well as, microbial and metabolic quotients. Soil sampling was performed from a long-term field crop experiment, which has been established in 1971 at the Balti steppe (Northern Moldova. The crop types had a more considerable impact on the soil microbial biomass accumulation and community biochemical activity compared to long-term Organic or mixed Mineral + Organic fertilizers amendments. The Org fertilization system doesn’t make it possible to avoid the loss of organic C in arable typical chernozem. The organic fertilizer (cattle manure is able to mitigate the negative consequences of long-term mineral fertilization.

  20. Involvement of immunologic and biochemical mechanisms in the pathogenesis of Tourette's syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landau, Yuval Eliahu; Steinberg, Tamar; Richmand, Brian; Leckman, James Frederick; Apter, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Tourette's syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder clinically characterized by multiple motor and phonic tics. It is likely that a neurobiological susceptibility to the disorder is established during development by the interaction of genetic, biochemical, immunological, and environmental factors. This study sought to investigate the possible correlation of several immunological and biochemical markers with Tourette's syndrome. Children with Tourette's syndrome attending a tertiary pediatric medical center from May 2008 to April 2010, and healthy age-matched control subjects underwent a comprehensive biochemical and immunological work-up. Demographic data were abstracted from the medical records. Findings were compared between the groups and analyzed statistically. Sixty-eight children with Tourette's syndrome (58 males, 85.3%) and 36 healthy children (25 males, 69.4%) were recruited. Compared with the control group, the Tourette's syndrome group had significantly higher levels of ferritin (p = 0.01) and hemoglobin (p = 0.02), a lower level of zinc (p = 0.05), and a lower percentage of non-ceruloplasmin copper (p = 0.01). Analysis of the immunological markers revealed no significant between-group differences in IgA, IgM or IgG; however, IgE and IgG-4 levels were significantly higher in the Tourette's syndrome group (p = 0.04 and p = 0.02, respectively). Children with Tourette's syndrome have high levels of biochemical indices of oxidative stress and the quantitative immunoglobulins. These findings add to the still-limited knowledge on the pathogenesis of Tourette's syndrome and may have implications for the development of novel therapeutic modalities. PMID:22139323

  1. Muscle fiber population and biochemical properties of whole body muscles in Thoroughbred horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Minako; Minami, Yoshio; Sayama, Yukiko; Kuwano, Atsutoshi; Hiraga, Atsushi; Miyata, Hirofumi

    2009-10-01

    We examine the muscle fiber population and metabolic properties of skeletal muscles from the whole body in Thoroughbred horses. Postmortem samples were taken from 46 sites in six Thoroughbred horses aged between 3 and 6 years. Fiber type population was determined on muscle fibers stained with monoclonal antibody to each myosin heavy chain isoform and metabolic enzyme activities were determined spectrophotometrically. Histochemical analysis demonstrated that most of the muscles had a high percentage of Type IIa fibers. In terms of the muscle characteristic in several parts of the horse body, the forelimb muscles had a higher percentage of Type IIa fiber and a significantly lower percentage of Type IIx fiber than the hindlimb muscles. The muscle fiber type populations in the thoracic and trunk portion were similar to those in the hindlimb portion. Biochemical analysis indicated high succinate dehydrogenase activity in respiratory-related muscle and high phosphofructokinase activity in hindlimbs. We suggested that the higher percentage of Type IIa fibers in Thoroughbred racehorses is attributed to training effects. To consider further the physiological significance of each part of the body, data for the recruitment pattern of each muscle fiber type during exercise are needed. The muscle fiber properties in this study combined with the recruitment data would provide fundamental information for physiological and pathological studies in Thoroughbred horses.

  2. Preirradiation PSA predicts biochemical disease-free survival in patients treated with postprostatectomy external beam irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crane, Christopher H.; Rich, Tyvin A.; Read, Paul W.; Sanfilippo, Nicholas J.; Gillenwater, Jay Y.; Kelly, Maria D.

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the clinical outcome and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and to determine prognostic factors for biochemical disease-free survival in patients treated with external beam radiotherapy following radical prostatectomy without hormonal therapy. Methods and Materials: Forty-eight patients were treated after prostatectomy with radiotherapy between March, 1988 and December, 1993. Seven patients had undetectable PSA ( 2.7. Five-year actuarial biochemical disease-free survival values were 71, 48, and 0%, respectively, for the three groups. Biochemical disease-free survival was not affected by preoperative PSA level, clinical stage, Gleason's score, pathologic stage, surgical margins, presence of undetectable PSA after surgery, surgery to radiation interval, total dose, or presence of clinically suspicious local disease. Based on digital rectal exam, there were no local failures. Conclusion: Biochemical disease-free survival after postprostatectomy radiation is predicted by the PSA at the time of irradiation. Clinical local control is excellent, but distant failure remains a significant problem in this population. The addition of concomitant systemic therapy should be investigated in patients with PSA >2.7

  3. Structural, biochemical, cellular, and functional changes in skeletal muscle extracellular matrix with aging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kragstrup, T W; Kjaer, M; Mackey, A L

    2011-01-01

    The extracellular matrix (ECM) of skeletal muscle is critical for force transmission and for the passive elastic response of skeletal muscle. Structural, biochemical, cellular, and functional changes in skeletal muscle ECM contribute to the deterioration in muscle mechanical properties with aging....... Structural changes include an increase in the collagen concentration, a change in the elastic fiber system, and an increase in fat infiltration of skeletal muscle. Biochemical changes include a decreased turnover of collagen with potential accumulation of enzymatically mediated collagen cross...

  4. Hereditary rickets. How genetic alterations explain the biochemical and clinical phenotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadopoulou, Anna; Gole, Evaggelia; Nicolaidou, Polyxeni

    2013-12-01

    The reemergence of vitamin D deficiency in the industrialized countries resurrects the "threat" of nutritional rickets, especially among pediatric populations, a fact that may lead to underdiagnosis of hereditary rickets. Today, hereditary rickets may be subdivided into two main groups according to their biochemical profile: the one associated with defects in vitamin D synthesis and action and the second associated with abnormal phosphorus metabolism. The classification of the patients in a particular group of hereditary rickets is determinative of the treatment to follow. This review, through the recent advances on vitamin D and P metabolism, discusses the molecular and biochemical defects associated to each group of inherited rickets, as well as the clinical phenotypes and the recommended therapeutic approaches.

  5. Biochemical profile of cuttings used for in vitro organogenesis of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biochemical profile of cuttings used for in vitro organogenesis of Prunus africana: An endangered species in Cameroon. JG Nzweundji, N Niemenak, O Oumar, JJ Tsafack, K Konan, L Nyochembeng, C Noumi, DT Nehemie, DO Ndoumou ...

  6. Haematological and Serum Biochemical Variables in rats Treated ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The haematology and serum biochemical effects of oral administration of the ethanolic extract of the root of Moringa oleifera at 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg were investigated in 30 mated female Wistar rats. The rats were assigned into five groups of six rats each. Group A was given 50mg/kg of the extract; group B, 100mg/kg; ...

  7. Iodine-125 safety procedures in a biochemical laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    Radioactive isotopes of iodine are of considerable importance in biochemical research and this 14 minute videotape is designed to give workers an introduction to the radiation safety aspects of their use. It deals with I-125, which is now generally used in preference to I-131, but the principles of safe working practice are the same for both isotopes. (author)

  8. Erythrocyte indices and serum biochemical constituents of broiler ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    One hundred and twenty (120) four weeks old Ross breed broiler finisher birds were used to study the effect of feeding maggot meal as a replacement for fish meal on erythrocyte indices and serum biochemical constituents. The birds were divided into 5 treatment groups identified as T1, T2, T3 , T4 and T5 with 24 birds per ...

  9. The effect of menstruation on chosen physiological and biochemical reactions caused by the physical effort with the submaximal intensity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P Zieliński

    2003-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to determine the influence of the menstruation phase on changes of respective indicators of the gas exchange and on biochemical parameters of blood during physical efforts with the sub-maximal intensity. Fifteen female students of the Academy of Physical Education took part in the study. Girls were aged from 19 to 22 years old and did not practice sports. The effort tests were conducted in the follicular and luteal phase of two succeeding menstrual cycles. As far the aerobic capacity determination is concerned, one cyclo-ergometric test with graded effort was conducted and it was performed till the “refusal”. It allowed to mark a threshold (TDMA and a maximal level of physiological and biochemical indicators. Basing on the results of the graded test individual loads were determined for every next effort trial (repeated 4 times in every phase of the two succeeding menstrual cycles. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the reaction of women’s constitution on work with the sub-maximal intensity. The above trial consisted on two 10 min efforts divided with the 2 min pause (the first effort with the intensity of 80% of the TDMA threshold, second with the intensity bigger about 30-40% of difference between TDMA and a maximal load established by the graded test. The research did not reveal statistically significant differentiation as considering effort changes of basic physiological and biochemical indicators, determining reaction of women’s organisms on work with the sub- and over- threshold intensity (TDMA. It showed that menstruation has not significant effect on the level of changes of analysed parameters caused by the physical effort with the sub-maximal intensity.

  10. Proteomic and biochemical analyses of short-tailed pit viper (Gloydius brevicaudus) venom: age-related variation and composition-activity correlation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jian-Fang; Wang, Jin; He, Ying; Qu, Yan-Fu; Lin, Long-Hui; Ma, Xiao-Mei; Ji, Xiang

    2014-06-13

    We conducted an in-depth analysis of the proteomic and biochemical profiles of the venom of neonate and adult short-tailed pit vipers (Gloydius brevicaudus). Identified proteins were assigned to a few main toxin families. Disintegrin, phospholipase A2 (PLA2), serine proteinase, cysteine-rich secretory protein, C-type lectin-like protein, l-amino acid oxidase and snake venom metalloproteinase (SVMP) were detected in both venoms, while 5'-nucleotidase was detected only in the adult venom. SVMP was the predominant protein family in both venoms (neonate: 65.7%; adult: 64.4%), followed by PLA2 (neonate: 13.4%; adult: 25.0%). Antivenomic analysis revealed that commercial G. brevicaudus antivenom almost neutralized the chromatographic peaks with medium and high molecular masses in both venoms, but did not completely recognize peaks with low molecular mass. Toxicological and enzymatic activities show remarkable age-related variation in G. brevicaudus venom, probably resulting from variation in venom composition. Our data demonstrate age-related variation across venomics, antivenomics and biochemical profiles of G. brevicaudus venom, and have implications for the management of G. brevicaudus bites, including improving antivenom preparation by combining both venoms. This study investigates the composition and biochemical activity of neonate and adult Gloydius brevicaudus venoms. We found remarkable age-related variation in venom biological activity, likely the result of variation in venom composition. Antivenomics analysis was used to explore difference in neonate and adult G. brevicaudus venoms. Our findings have implications for the diagnosis and clinical management of G. brevicaudus bites, and the design of venom mixtures that will increase the efficacy of commercial antivenom. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Proteomics of non-model organisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Hemato-biochemical responses to packing in donkeys administered ascorbic acid during the harmattan season

    OpenAIRE

    OLAIFA, Folashade; AYO, Joseph Olusegun; AMBALI, Suleiman Folorunsho; REKWOT, Peter Ibrahim

    2012-01-01

    Experiments were performed to investigate the effect of ascorbic acid (AA) in reducing hemato-biochemical changes in pack donkeys during the cold-dry (harmattan) season. Six experimental donkeys administered orally AA (200 mg/kg) and six control donkeys not administered ascorbic acid were subjected to packing. Blood samples were collected from all donkeys for hematological and biochemical analyses. In the control donkeys, packed cell volume (PCV), erythrocyte count and hemoglobin concentratio...

  12. Meta-stochastic simulation of biochemical models for systems and synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanassy, Daven; Widera, Paweł; Krasnogor, Natalio

    2015-01-16

    Stochastic simulation algorithms (SSAs) are used to trace realistic trajectories of biochemical systems at low species concentrations. As the complexity of modeled biosystems increases, it is important to select the best performing SSA. Numerous improvements to SSAs have been introduced but they each only tend to apply to a certain class of models. This makes it difficult for a systems or synthetic biologist to decide which algorithm to employ when confronted with a new model that requires simulation. In this paper, we demonstrate that it is possible to determine which algorithm is best suited to simulate a particular model and that this can be predicted a priori to algorithm execution. We present a Web based tool ssapredict that allows scientists to upload a biochemical model and obtain a prediction of the best performing SSA. Furthermore, ssapredict gives the user the option to download our high performance simulator ngss preconfigured to perform the simulation of the queried biochemical model with the predicted fastest algorithm as the simulation engine. The ssapredict Web application is available at http://ssapredict.ico2s.org. It is free software and its source code is distributed under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License.

  13. Efficient simulation of intrinsic, extrinsic and external noise in biochemical systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pischel, Dennis; Sundmacher, Kai; Flassig, Robert J.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Motivation: Biological cells operate in a noisy regime influenced by intrinsic, extrinsic and external noise, which leads to large differences of individual cell states. Stochastic effects must be taken into account to characterize biochemical kinetics accurately. Since the exact solution of the chemical master equation, which governs the underlying stochastic process, cannot be derived for most biochemical systems, approximate methods are used to obtain a solution. Results: In this study, a method to efficiently simulate the various sources of noise simultaneously is proposed and benchmarked on several examples. The method relies on the combination of the sigma point approach to describe extrinsic and external variability and the τ-leaping algorithm to account for the stochasticity due to probabilistic reactions. The comparison of our method to extensive Monte Carlo calculations demonstrates an immense computational advantage while losing an acceptable amount of accuracy. Additionally, the application to parameter optimization problems in stochastic biochemical reaction networks is shown, which is rarely applied due to its huge computational burden. To give further insight, a MATLAB script is provided including the proposed method applied to a simple toy example of gene expression. Availability and implementation: MATLAB code is available at Bioinformatics online. Contact: flassig@mpi-magdeburg.mpg.de Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:28881987

  14. Estimating Biochemical Parameters of Tea (camellia Sinensis (L.)) Using Hyperspectral Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bian, M.; Skidmore, A. K.; Schlerf, M.; Liu, Y.; Wang, T.

    2012-07-01

    Tea (Camellia Sinensis (L.)) is an important economic crop and the market price of tea depends largely on its quality. This research aims to explore the potential of hyperspectral remote sensing on predicting the concentration of biochemical components, namely total tea polyphenols, as indicators of tea quality at canopy scale. Experiments were carried out for tea plants growing in the field and greenhouse. Partial least squares regression (PLSR), which has proven to be the one of the most successful empirical approach, was performed to establish the relationship between reflectance and biochemical concentration across six tea varieties in the field. Moreover, a novel integrated approach involving successive projections algorithms as band selection method and neural networks was developed and applied to detect the concentration of total tea polyphenols for one tea variety, in order to explore and model complex nonlinearity relationships between independent (wavebands) and dependent (biochemicals) variables. The good prediction accuracies (r2 > 0.8 and relative RMSEP < 10 %) achieved for tea plants using both linear (partial lease squares regress) and nonlinear (artificial neural networks) modelling approaches in this study demonstrates the feasibility of using airborne and spaceborne sensors to cover wide areas of tea plantation for in situ monitoring of tea quality cheaply and rapidly.

  15. Xanthine, hypoxanthine and muscle pain. Histochemical and biochemical observations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isaacs, H; Badenhorst, M; Pickering, A [University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa). Department of Physiology; Heffron, J J.A. [University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa). Department of Physiological Chemistry; Berman, L

    1975-06-21

    A suspected case of xanthine oxidase deficiency has been further investigated. The patient complained of arthralgia and myalgia. Further studies included histochemical and ultramicroscopic analysis of muscle sarcoplasmic recticulum, and biochemical studies. High levels of xanthine and hypoxanthine were found, while uric acid was absent in the muscle extracts.

  16. Study on the alteration of bubaline blood biochemical composition ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Bubaline blood biochemistry as affected by slaughter was the agenda for this work. Blood samples were collected from 30 buffaloes from abattoirs before and at slaughter. After biochemical and statistical analysis (mean was compared with t-test), it was observed that the albumin, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase ...

  17. Modulation of key biochemical markers relevant to stroke by Antiaris ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Modulation of key biochemical markers relevant to stroke by Antiaris africana leaf extract following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Omotayo B. Ilesanmi, Afolabi C. Akinmoladun, Olanrewaju Sam Olayeriju, Ibrahim Olabayode Saliu, M. Tolulope Olaleye, Afolabi A. Akindahunsi ...

  18. an improved solution of first order kinetics for biochemical oxygen ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    Accuracies of these methods were evaluated using relative error, Akaike ... Keywords: Wastewater, Environmental Engineering, Biochemical Oxygen Demand Kinetic Parameters,. Statistical ... evaluating organic pollution level and quality of wastewaters. ... compounds ...... method can be applied on electronic devices, and.

  19. Relationship between two year PSA nadir and biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer patients treated with iodine-125 brachytherapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Antônio da Silva Franca

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective To evaluate the relationship between two year PSA nadir (PSAn after brachytherapy and biochemical recurrence rates in prostate cancer patients. Materials and Methods In the period from January 1998 to August 2007, 120 patients were treated with iodine-125 brachytherapy alone. The results analysis was based on the definition of biochemical recurrence according to the Phoenix Consensus. Results Biochemical control was observed in 86 patients (71.7%, and biochemical recurrence, in 34 (28.3%. Mean PSAn was 0.53 ng/ml. The mean follow-up was 98 months. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1, with two year PSAn < 0.5 ng/ml after brachytherapy (74 patients; 61.7%, and group 2, with two year PSAn ≥ 0.5 ng/ml after brachytherapy (46 patients; 38.3%. Group 1 presented biochemical recurrence in 15 patients (20.3%, and group 2, in 19 patients (43.2% (p < 0.02. The analysis of biochemical disease-free survival at seven years, stratified by the two groups, showed values of 80% and 64% (p < 0.02, respectively. Conclusion Levels of two year PSAn ≥ 0.5 ng/ml after brachytherapy are strongly correlated with a poor prognosis. This fact may help to identify patients at risk for disease recurrence.

  20. A Review of the Biochemical and Haematological Effects of Caffeine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A Review of the Biochemical and Haematological Effects of Caffeine. ... be found in different food and drinks which includes; coffee, tea, chocolate, beverages, ... when taken in excess over a period of time can result in adverse health hazards.

  1. A clinical and biochemical profile of biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khurram, M.; Mushraf, M.

    2007-01-01

    To describe clinical and biochemical features of patients with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Fifty patients of either and of all ages were included, who had ultrasound evidence of fatty liver, deranged liver enzymes, and negative history of alcohol uptake. Serological/biochemical tests/markers of other liver diseases were negative. Each subject underwent liver biopsy reported by a single histopathologist. Clinical (symptoms, hypertension, hepatomegaly, and obesity) and biochemical evaluation (for diabetes, lipid abnormalities, and aspartate to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT)) of each subject was done. Chi-square and t-tests were used for p-value calculation for finding significant difference between fatty liver and non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis groups. Thirty three (66%) patients were female and 34% were male. Mean age was 45.50+-11.50 years. Histopathologically, 62% subjects had fatty liver alone, while 38% had nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Fatigue (100%), hypertriglyceridemia (80%), hepatomegaly (72%), AST/ALT ratio <1 (72%), and obesity/overweight (54%) were common NAFLD-related features. Except for hypertriglycedemia (p-value 0.008), no statistically significant association was noted between these features and histopathological subtypes of NAFLD. NAFLD-related clinical and biochemical features included fatigue, obesity, hepatomegaly, AST/ALT ratio <1, and hypertriglycedemia. Significant relationship existed between hypertriglyceridemia and NASH. (author)

  2. [INVITED] Tilted fiber grating mechanical and biochemical sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Tuan; Liu, Fu; Guan, Bai-Ou; Albert, Jacques

    2016-04-01

    The tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) is a new kind of fiber-optic sensor that possesses all the advantages of well-established Bragg grating technology in addition to being able to excite cladding modes resonantly. This device opens up a multitude of opportunities for single-point sensing in hard-to-reach spaces with very controllable cross-sensitivities, absolute and relative measurements of various parameters, and an extreme sensitivity to materials external to the fiber without requiring the fiber to be etched or tapered. Over the past five years, our research group has been developing multimodal fiber-optic sensors based on TFBG in various shapes and forms, always keeping the device itself simple to fabricate and compatible with low-cost manufacturing. This paper presents a brief review of the principle, fabrication, characterization, and implementation of TFBGs, followed by our progress in TFBG sensors for mechanical and biochemical applications, including one-dimensional TFBG vibroscopes, accelerometers and micro-displacement sensors; two-dimensional TFBG vector vibroscopes and vector rotation sensors; reflective TFBG refractometers with in-fiber and fiber-to-fiber configurations; polarimetric and plasmonic TFBG biochemical sensors for in-situ detection of cell, protein and glucose.

  3. CADLIVE toolbox for MATLAB: automatic dynamic modeling of biochemical networks with comprehensive system analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Kentaro; Maeda, Kazuhiro; Miyabe, Takaaki; Matsuoka, Yu; Kurata, Hiroyuki

    2014-09-01

    Mathematical modeling has become a standard technique to understand the dynamics of complex biochemical systems. To promote the modeling, we had developed the CADLIVE dynamic simulator that automatically converted a biochemical map into its associated mathematical model, simulated its dynamic behaviors and analyzed its robustness. To enhance the feasibility by CADLIVE and extend its functions, we propose the CADLIVE toolbox available for MATLAB, which implements not only the existing functions of the CADLIVE dynamic simulator, but also the latest tools including global parameter search methods with robustness analysis. The seamless, bottom-up processes consisting of biochemical network construction, automatic construction of its dynamic model, simulation, optimization, and S-system analysis greatly facilitate dynamic modeling, contributing to the research of systems biology and synthetic biology. This application can be freely downloaded from http://www.cadlive.jp/CADLIVE_MATLAB/ together with an instruction.

  4. Dynamic changes in biochemical markers of renal function with ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Thyroid dysfunction is known to cause significant changes in glomerular filtration rate. The present cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the changes in biochemical markers of renal function in hypothyroid subjects before and after treatment. Thyroid function tests (T3, T4 and TSH levels) were assayed in 385 ...

  5. Impact of parathion exposure on some biochemical parameters in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nagat Aly

    2014-09-16

    Sep 16, 2014 ... developing field aims to reveal environmental threats before obvious toxic effects such as ... followed by the Student–Newman–Keuls test to determine sig- nificance between ..... open-field activity in chicks. Toxicol Lett 2007 ... ical and serum biochemical changes in mice and protective effect · of vitamin C. J ...

  6. Altered biochemical specificity of G-quadruplexes with mutated tetrads

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Švehlová, Kateřina; Lawrence, M. S.; Bednárová, Lucie; Curtis, Edward A.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 44, č. 22 (2016), s. 10789-10803 ISSN 0305-1048 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : G-quadruplex * G motif GTP aptamer * peroxidase deoxyribozyme Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 10.162, year: 2016 https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/44/22/10789/2333933/Altered-biochemical-specificity-of-G-quadruplexes

  7. Insulin-mimetic activity of stevioside on diabetic rats: biochemical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biochemical, molecular and histopathological studies have been done to evaluate the therapeutic effect of stevioside on minimizing levels of glucose and its ... For mRNA expression, stevioside up-regulated the expressions of PK and IRS-1 genes, which are down-regulated in diabetic rats, and was very effective in the ...

  8. Biochemical and cytological analysis of five cultivars of Cicer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SAM

    2014-03-12

    Mar 12, 2014 ... variability and relatedness, seed storage protein analysis represents a valid alternative to ... Indian Institute of Pulse Research, Kanpur (U.P.) India. During the present study, five accessions were used for biochemical and cytological analysis. The details of five ... using pestle and mortar. 500 ml of protein ...

  9. Association of Biochemical Markers, Hepatitis C Virus and Diabetes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To investigate the association between Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection and diabetes mellitus (DM), and the effects of these pathological conditions on some biochemical markers in Pakistanis. Methods: A total number of 4717 chronic HCV patients were enrolled in this study out of which 4250 were positive with ...

  10. Haematological and biochemical evaluation of the n -hexane extract ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study undertook to evaluate the sub-chronic toxicological profile of the seed of Ricinus communis var. minor (RICOM-1013-J), widely used as anticonceptive agent among Bassa people of Plateau State, Nigeria, on haematological and biochemical parameters in adult rats. Thirty-six (36) adult female rats were divided ...

  11. [Biochemical quality assessment of broiler production using a hydrogen bacteria biomass in the diet].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trubachev, I N; Okladnikov, Iu N; Barashkov, V A; Kalacheva, G S; Tabakov, N A

    1985-01-01

    The authors studied the biochemical composition of the meat of broilers, eggs, liver and muscles of laying hens of 3 generations on a 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100% (broilers), 10 and 20% (laying hens) replacement of the animal protein quota in the diet by protein obtained from the hydrogen bacteria Alcaligenes eutrophus L-1. No deterioration of the quality of the produce was found from the standpoint of the main biochemical parameters.

  12. Biochemical composition of seston in two upwelling sites within the Humboldt Current System (21°S to 23°S): Summer conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isla, Enrique; Homs, Patricia; Sañé, Elisabet; Escribano, Rubén; Claramunt, Gabriel; Teixidó, Nuria

    2010-07-01

    The biochemical composition of seston within the Humboldt Current System (HCS) in two bays off northern Chile (21°S-23°S) was assessed to estimate its chemical quality as potential food supply for benthic communities, large zooplankton and fish larvae. As part of the CENSOR project, in the summer of 2006 physical and biochemical variables were analyzed in Chipana and Mejillones Bays during one week at four depths determined by the occurrence of the upper boundary of the oxygen minimum zone and fluorescence peaks. The depth of the oxy- and pycnoclines controlled the distribution of biochemical variables in both bays. There were significant differences in the concentration of protein (PRT), lipid (LPD) and carbohydrates (CHO) among depths in both bays. The differences were also found in the PRT and LPD contribution to the biopolymeric carbon (BPC) among bays and among depths in the case of CHO. However, the concentration of suspended particulate matter and biogenic silica (bSi) were similar in both bays. PRT, LPD and CHO showed the highest concentrations in the upper meters of the water column and small peaks close to the seabed related to sediment resuspension and/or lateral transport. In Chipana Bay, the high nutritive quality of seston occurring near the seabed suggests a rapid sinking of diatom aggregates and a reduced respiration of the particulate organic matter. PRT, LPD and CHO varied between 0.05 and 0.47 mg l - 1 , 0.06 and 0.39 mg l - 1 and 0.07 and 0.51 mg l - 1 , respectively. LPD were the most important contributors to the BPC in both bays. The seston in these bays presented a high PRT and LPD content in comparison to a number of settings of different latitudes and oceanographic characteristics. The high quantity and biochemical quality of the particulate matter in both bays may reflect the high productivity of this zone and partially explain their condition as spawning areas within the HCS.

  13. Biochemical Evaluation of Withania somnifera Root Powder on Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis in Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahaboobkhan Rasool

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the biochemical effect of Withania somnifera Linn. Solanaceae, commonly known as ashwagandha on adjuvant induced arthritic rats. Results were compared to Indomethacin, a non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Arthritis was induced by an intra dermal injection of Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (0.1 ml into the right hind paw of Wistar albino rats. Withania somnifera root powder (1000 mg/kg/day and Indomethacin (3 mg/kg/day were orally administered for 8 days (from 11th to 18th day after adjuvant injection. After the experimental period, all the animals were sacrificed and serum, liver and spleen samples were collected for further biochemical analysis. A significant increase in the activities of gluconeogenic enzymes, tissue marker enzymes, blood glucose level, WBC, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and acute phase proteins (hyaluronic acid, fibrinogen and ceruloplasmin was observed in adjuvant-induced arthritic rats, whereas the activities of glycolytic enzymes, body weight, levels of hemoglobin, RBC count, and packed cell volume were found to be decreased. These biochemical alterations observed in arthritic animals were ameliorated significantly after the administration of Withania somnifera root powder (1000 mg/kg/b.wt and Indomethacin (3 mg/kg/b.wt. Our results suggest that Withania somnifera root powder is capable of rectifying the above biochemical changes in adjuvant arthritis and it may prove to be useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

  14. Blood gas and serum biochemical RIs for healthy newborn Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santana, André M; Silva, Daniela G; Clemente, Virna; Pizauro, Lucas J L; Bernardes, Priscila A; Santana, Clarissa H; Eckersall, Peter D; Fagliari, José J

    2018-03-01

    There is a lack of published work on RIs for newborn buffaloes. Establishing blood gas and serum biochemical RIs for newborn buffaloes is important for monitoring health. This study establishes blood gas and serum biochemical RIs of newborn buffaloes. Twenty-eight newborn buffaloes, 10-30 days old, were selected. Thirty blood biochemical variables were analyzed. The Anderson-Darling test was used to assess the normality of the distribution. The Dixon test and the Tukey test were used to identify outliers. The RI and 90% CI were determined using standard and robust methods and the Box-Cox transformation. A total of 30 RIs for healthy buffalo calves have been reported in this study. RIs for blood gas variables were reported for pH, partial pressure of oxygen (pO 2 ), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO 2 ), saturation of O 2 (SO 2 ), bicarbonate (cHCO 3 - ), base excess (BE), total carbon dioxide (ctCO 2 ), and anion gap (AG). RIs for serum biochemical variables were reported for glucose (GLU), direct bilirubin (DB), total bilirubin (TB), AST, ALP, GGT, CK, LDH, creatinine (CREA), urea, cholesterol (CHOL), triglycerides (TG), Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, iCa, Cl, iron, total protein (TP), and albumin (ALB). This is the first reported study covering complete serum chemistry and blood gas RIs for healthy 1-month-old Murrah buffaloes. © 2018 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

  15. Biochemical markers predictive for bone marrow involvement in systemic mastocytosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Donker, Marjolein L.; van Doormaal, Jasper J.; van Doormaal, Frederiek F.; Kluin, Philip M.; van der Veer, Eveline; de Monchy, Jan G. R.; Kema, Ido P.; Kluin-Nelemans, Hanneke C.

    Systemic mastocytosis is characterized by bone marrow involvement, which requires a bone marrow biopsy for diagnostic work-up. We questioned whether bone marrow involvement could be predicted using biochemical markers. We selected patients with various symptoms suggestive of indolent systemic

  16. Varenicline in Autism: Theory and Case Report of Clinical and Biochemical Changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mostafavi, Mojdeh; Hardy, Paul; Arnold, L Eugene

    2016-11-01

    To explore the potential benefits of varenicline (CHANTIX ® ), a highly specific partial agonist of neuronal α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), for autistic symptoms, and present resulting biochemical changes in light of dopamine-related genotype. The clinical and biochemical changes exhibited by a 19-year-old severely autistic man following the use of low-dose varenicline in an ABA experiment of nature, and his genotype, were extracted from chart review. Clinical outcome was measured by the Ohio Autism Clinical Impression Scale and 12 relevant urine and saliva metabolites were measured by Neuroscience Laboratory. With varenicline, this patient improved clinically and autonomic biochemical indicators in saliva and urine normalized, including dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), epinephrine, norepinephrine, taurine, and histamine levels. In addition, with varenicline, the dopamine D1 receptor (DRD1) antibody titer as well as the percent of baseline calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM KII) activity dropped significantly. When varenicline stopped, he deteriorated; when it was resumed, he again improved. Doses of 0.5, 1, and 2 mg daily were tried before settling on a dose of 1.5 mg daily. He has remained on varenicline for over a year with no noticeable side effects. This report is, to the best of our knowledge, only the second to demonstrate positive effects of varenicline in autism, the first to show it in a severe case, and the first to show normalization of biochemical parameters related to genotype. As with the previous report, these encouraging results warrant further controlled research before clinical recommendations can be made.

  17. Self-organizing ontology of biochemically relevant small molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chepelev, Leonid L; Hastings, Janna; Ennis, Marcus; Steinbeck, Christoph; Dumontier, Michel

    2012-01-06

    The advent of high-throughput experimentation in biochemistry has led to the generation of vast amounts of chemical data, necessitating the development of novel analysis, characterization, and cataloguing techniques and tools. Recently, a movement to publically release such data has advanced biochemical structure-activity relationship research, while providing new challenges, the biggest being the curation, annotation, and classification of this information to facilitate useful biochemical pattern analysis. Unfortunately, the human resources currently employed by the organizations supporting these efforts (e.g. ChEBI) are expanding linearly, while new useful scientific information is being released in a seemingly exponential fashion. Compounding this, currently existing chemical classification and annotation systems are not amenable to automated classification, formal and transparent chemical class definition axiomatization, facile class redefinition, or novel class integration, thus further limiting chemical ontology growth by necessitating human involvement in curation. Clearly, there is a need for the automation of this process, especially for novel chemical entities of biological interest. To address this, we present a formal framework based on Semantic Web technologies for the automatic design of chemical ontology which can be used for automated classification of novel entities. We demonstrate the automatic self-assembly of a structure-based chemical ontology based on 60 MeSH and 40 ChEBI chemical classes. This ontology is then used to classify 200 compounds with an accuracy of 92.7%. We extend these structure-based classes with molecular feature information and demonstrate the utility of our framework for classification of functionally relevant chemicals. Finally, we discuss an iterative approach that we envision for future biochemical ontology development. We conclude that the proposed methodology can ease the burden of chemical data annotators and

  18. Self-organizing ontology of biochemically relevant small molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background The advent of high-throughput experimentation in biochemistry has led to the generation of vast amounts of chemical data, necessitating the development of novel analysis, characterization, and cataloguing techniques and tools. Recently, a movement to publically release such data has advanced biochemical structure-activity relationship research, while providing new challenges, the biggest being the curation, annotation, and classification of this information to facilitate useful biochemical pattern analysis. Unfortunately, the human resources currently employed by the organizations supporting these efforts (e.g. ChEBI) are expanding linearly, while new useful scientific information is being released in a seemingly exponential fashion. Compounding this, currently existing chemical classification and annotation systems are not amenable to automated classification, formal and transparent chemical class definition axiomatization, facile class redefinition, or novel class integration, thus further limiting chemical ontology growth by necessitating human involvement in curation. Clearly, there is a need for the automation of this process, especially for novel chemical entities of biological interest. Results To address this, we present a formal framework based on Semantic Web technologies for the automatic design of chemical ontology which can be used for automated classification of novel entities. We demonstrate the automatic self-assembly of a structure-based chemical ontology based on 60 MeSH and 40 ChEBI chemical classes. This ontology is then used to classify 200 compounds with an accuracy of 92.7%. We extend these structure-based classes with molecular feature information and demonstrate the utility of our framework for classification of functionally relevant chemicals. Finally, we discuss an iterative approach that we envision for future biochemical ontology development. Conclusions We conclude that the proposed methodology can ease the burden of

  19. Self-organizing ontology of biochemically relevant small molecules

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chepelev Leonid L

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The advent of high-throughput experimentation in biochemistry has led to the generation of vast amounts of chemical data, necessitating the development of novel analysis, characterization, and cataloguing techniques and tools. Recently, a movement to publically release such data has advanced biochemical structure-activity relationship research, while providing new challenges, the biggest being the curation, annotation, and classification of this information to facilitate useful biochemical pattern analysis. Unfortunately, the human resources currently employed by the organizations supporting these efforts (e.g. ChEBI are expanding linearly, while new useful scientific information is being released in a seemingly exponential fashion. Compounding this, currently existing chemical classification and annotation systems are not amenable to automated classification, formal and transparent chemical class definition axiomatization, facile class redefinition, or novel class integration, thus further limiting chemical ontology growth by necessitating human involvement in curation. Clearly, there is a need for the automation of this process, especially for novel chemical entities of biological interest. Results To address this, we present a formal framework based on Semantic Web technologies for the automatic design of chemical ontology which can be used for automated classification of novel entities. We demonstrate the automatic self-assembly of a structure-based chemical ontology based on 60 MeSH and 40 ChEBI chemical classes. This ontology is then used to classify 200 compounds with an accuracy of 92.7%. We extend these structure-based classes with molecular feature information and demonstrate the utility of our framework for classification of functionally relevant chemicals. Finally, we discuss an iterative approach that we envision for future biochemical ontology development. Conclusions We conclude that the proposed methodology

  20. Radiation treatment of drugs, biochemicals and vaccines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nordheim, W.; Braeuniger, S.; Kirsch, B.; Kotowski, H.; Teupel, D.

    1984-12-01

    The concise and tabulated review reports experimental results on the effects of radiation treatment on drugs, vaccines, biochemicals and adjuvants including enzymes as well. Irradiation was mostly performed by γ-radiation using 60 Co and to a lesser extent by 137 Cs, 182 Ta, X-rays and accelerators. Ionizing radiation proved to be a useful tool for sterilization and inactivation in producing drugs, vaccines, and bioactive agents and will contribute to realize procedures difficultly solvable as to engineering and economy, respectively. 124 refs

  1. Lipoprotein (a) and biochemical parameters in elderly

    OpenAIRE

    Yuttana Sudjaroen

    2016-01-01

    Background: Lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] is an low-density lipoprotein like particle and is an important independent risk factor for coronary artery diseases (CAD). Few studies on Lp(a) level in Thai elderly to screening risk of CAD may concerned. Aims: To study the relation of Lp(a) level and routine biochemical parameters including lipid profiles and fasting blood glucose in elderly and to determine risk of subclinical symptoms by using Lp(a) levels as early risk predictor. Settings and Design: ...

  2. Study regarding magnetospirillum griphyswaldenses bacteria biochemical changes using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mihai, C.; Institute of Biology, Bucharest; Mihaela, M.; Ioan, A.; Ovidius University, Constanta

    2011-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. Spectroscopy using Fourier transform and Raman spectroscopy can be used to enlighten functional groups that belong to different biomolecules that are specific to cells (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids), thus obtaining valuable information regarding bacteria's biochemical composition. Since microorganisms react very promptly to the culture medium changes, the apparition of a stress agent produces a modification of the cellular enzymatic print in order to compensate for the effect of those factors, thus the bacteria self adapting to those changes. These methods can be used to highlight the metabolically modifications in cells which respond to stress factors. The biochemical modification are important in bioremediation processes like biosorption of metal contaminated waste water from metallurgical baths or even from irradiator pool, heavy water from nuclear power plant. The main targets are to analyze the biochemical modification appeared in presence or absence of two metals, Fe and Co. The presence of Fe is benefit for bacteria because she can absorb iron and deposit as magnetic inside the cell. The presence of Co determines changes in metabolism with the loss of many polar bindings but the growth was not inhibited even in concentration like 100 mM.

  3. Tolerance and biochemical effects from intravenous injection of ioxaglate in healthy volunteers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, P.E.; Aspelin, P.; Nyman, U.; Hedner, U.; Malmoe Allmaenna Sjukhus

    1984-01-01

    The influence of intravenous injection of ioxaglate (Hexabrix, 320 mg I/ml) on various biochemical, coagulation and fibrinolytic parameters, fractionated plasma proteins, precordial ECG and blood pressure was prospectively and sequentially studied in 9 healthy volunteers. One ml/kg body weight of the contrast medium was injected within one minute into an antecubital vein. Small, but statistically significant, changes in some of the biochemical parameters were found during the observation period, 2 to 4 days. All values of the biochemical parameters were, however, within the normal reference range for each parameter. No significant alterations were seen in the coagulation parameters. Increased fibrinolysis was recorded in some subjects both before and after the injection. No fibrinolytic degradation products were found indicating that the fibrinolysis was nominal. No significant changes were observed in the fractionated plasma proteins. The heart rate decreased significantly 15 seconds after commencing the injection. No significant changes in blood pressure were recorded. Two participants became nauseated and one of them vomited during the injection. Apart from this, no adverse effects were noted. No clinically significant changes following the injections were found. (orig.)

  4. [On necessity to modify biochemical methods for detecting organophosphorus componds in chemical weapons extinction objects (review of literature)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prokofieva, D S; Shmurak, V I; Sadovnikov, S V; Gontcharov, N V

    2015-01-01

    The article covers problems of biochemical methods assessing organophosphorus toxic compounds in objects of chemical weapons extinction. The authors present results of works developing new, more specific and selective biochemical methods.

  5. studies on blood and plasma biochemical characteristics of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    A study to determine the blood parameters and plasma biochemical values of ... highest in animals at the 4th month state (9.75g/dl) and lowest at the 12th ... study is indicative of satisfactory physiological, nutritional and pathological ... domestication and integration into the micro-livestock farming system is ..... Principles and.

  6. Serum biochemical indices of Finisher Broiler Chickens fed diets ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A 4 week feeding trial was conducted using 180 five-week old Hubbard broiler chickens to determine the effect of feeding variously processed roselle(Hibiscus sabdariffa) seeds on serum biochemical indices with a view to determining the potential of roselle seed as an alternative to soybeans. Five broiler finisher diets were ...

  7. Differential response of biochemical parameters to EMS and MMS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    (1964) and biochemical estimations from the liver was done by the method of Sinha (1972) for catalase, Van der Vies (1954) for glycogen and Uchiyama and Mihara (1978) for MDA. Results: The study has revealed that EMS and MMS induced a dose dependent increase in chromosomal aberrations of chromatid type in the ...

  8. Silicon mediated biochemical changes in wheat under salinized and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Silicon (Si) can alleviate salinity damage, a major threat to agriculture that causes instability in wheat production. We report on the effects of silicon (150 mg L-1) on the morphological, physiological and biochemical traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars (salt sensitive; Auqab-2000 and salt tolerant; SARC-5) differing ...

  9. Plasma Atrial Natriuretic Peptide as a non-invasive biochemical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plasma Atrial Natriuretic Peptide as a non-invasive biochemical marker of dyspnoea in congestive heart failure patients. ... University of Mauritius Research Journal ... score assessed by a 10 graded visual analogue scale in the control group (mean score = 1) and an increased from 1.6 to 6.4 in the heart failure patients.

  10. The predictive value of 2-year posttreatment biopsy after prostate cancer radiotherapy for eventual biochemical outcome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vance, Waseet; Tucker, Susan L.; Crevoisier, Renaud de; Kuban, Deborah A.; Cheung, M. Rex

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: To determine the value of a 2-year post-radiotherapy (RT) prostate biopsy for predicting eventual biochemical failure in patients who were treated for localized prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: This study comprised 164 patients who underwent a planned 2-year post-RT prostate biopsy. The independent prognostic value of the biopsy results for forecasting eventual biochemical outcome and overall survival was tested with other factors (the Gleason score, 1992 American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor stage, pretreatment prostate-specific antigen level, risk group, and RT dose) in a multivariate analysis. The current nadir + 2 (CN + 2) definition of biochemical failure was used. Patients with rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or suspicious digital rectal examination before the biopsy were excluded. Results: The biopsy results were normal in 78 patients, scant atypical and malignant cells in 30, carcinoma with treatment effect in 43, and carcinoma without treatment effect in 13. Using the CN + 2 definition, we found a significant association between biopsy results and eventual biochemical failure. We also found that the biopsy status provides predictive information independent of the PSA status at the time of biopsy. Conclusion: A 2-year post-RT prostate biopsy may be useful for forecasting CN + 2 biochemical failure. Posttreatment prostate biopsy may be useful for identifying patients for aggressive salvage therapy

  11. Stoichiometric estimates of the biochemical conversion efficiencies in tsetse metabolism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Custer Adrian V

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The time varying flows of biomass and energy in tsetse (Glossina can be examined through the construction of a dynamic mass-energy budget specific to these flies but such a budget depends on efficiencies of metabolic conversion which are unknown. These efficiencies of conversion determine the overall yields when food or storage tissue is converted into body tissue or into metabolic energy. A biochemical approach to the estimation of these efficiencies uses stoichiometry and a simplified description of tsetse metabolism to derive estimates of the yields, for a given amount of each substrate, of conversion product, by-products, and exchanged gases. This biochemical approach improves on estimates obtained through calorimetry because the stoichiometric calculations explicitly include the inefficiencies and costs of the reactions of conversion. However, the biochemical approach still overestimates the actual conversion efficiency because the approach ignores all the biological inefficiencies and costs such as the inefficiencies of leaky membranes and the costs of molecular transport, enzyme production, and cell growth. Results This paper presents estimates of the net amounts of ATP, fat, or protein obtained by tsetse from a starting milligram of blood, and provides estimates of the net amounts of ATP formed from the catabolism of a milligram of fat along two separate pathways, one used for resting metabolism and one for flight. These estimates are derived from stoichiometric calculations constructed based on a detailed quantification of the composition of food and body tissue and on a description of the major metabolic pathways in tsetse simplified to single reaction sequences between substrates and products. The estimates include the expected amounts of uric acid formed, oxygen required, and carbon dioxide released during each conversion. The calculated estimates of uric acid egestion and of oxygen use compare favorably to

  12. The prostate health index PHI predicts oncological outcome and biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy - analysis in 437 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxeiner, Andreas; Kilic, Ergin; Matalon, Julia; Friedersdorff, Frank; Miller, Kurt; Jung, Klaus; Stephan, Carsten; Busch, Jonas

    2017-10-03

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the Prostate-Health-Index (PHI) for pathological outcome prediction following radical prostatectomy and also for biochemical recurrence prediction in comparison to established parameters such as Gleason-score, pathological tumor stage, resection status (R0/1) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Out of a cohort of 460 cases with preoperative PHI-measurements (World Health Organization calibration: Beckman Coulter Access-2-Immunoassay) between 2001 and 2014, 437 patients with complete follow up data were included. From these 437 patients, 87 (19.9%) developed a biochemical recurrence. Patient characteristics were compared by using chi-square test. Predictors were analyzed by multivariate adjusted logistic and Cox regression. The median follow up for a biochemical recurrence was 65 (range 3-161) months. PHI, PSA, [-2]proPSA, PHI- and PSA-density performed as significant variables (p PHI, PSA, %fPSA, [-2]proPSA, PHI- and PSA-density significantly discriminated between stages PHI. In biochemical recurrence prediction PHI, PSA, [-2]proPSA, PHI- and PSA-density were the strongest predictors. In conclusion, due to heterogeneity of time spans to biochemical recurrence, longer follow up periods are crucial. This study with a median follow up of more than 5 years, confirmed a clinical value for PHI as an independent biomarker essential for biochemical recurrence prediction.

  13. Effect of natural growth promoters on immunity, and biochemical and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    biochemical and haematological parameters of broiler chickens. Syed Muddassar ... acids, phytobiotics, and their combinations) as feed additives in poultry feed. Methods: Different feed ... by nutrition, season, climate change, age, sex, type of birds and ... glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low ...

  14. Physicochemical and biochemical characterization of biosurfactants released by Lactobacillus strains

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Velraeds, MMC; vanderMei, HC; Reid, G; Busscher, HJ

    1996-01-01

    Biosurfactants from Lactobacillus casei subsp. rhamnosus 36 and ATCC 7469, Lactobacillus fermentum B54 and Lactobacillus acidophilus RC14 were isolated from bacteria in their mid-exponential (4-5 h) and stationary growth phases (18 h) and physicochemical and biochemical properties of the

  15. Biofertilizing efficiency of Sargassum polycystum extract on growth and biochemical composition of Vigna radiata and Vigna mungo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B Bharath

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the effect of marine brown alga Sargassum polycystum extract on growth and biochemical parameters of Vigna radiata and Vigna mungo.Methods: Different concentrations of algal extracts (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 3.0%, 4.0%, and 5.0% were prepared and applied to the crops at every 10-day intervals under natural conditions. After 30 d, the plants were harvested to evaluate the growth and biochemical parameters.Results: Seaweed liquid fertilizers treated seedlings showed maximum growth in 3.0% concentration when compared to the untreated seedlings. Similarly, biochemical parameters such as photosynthetic pigments, protein, reducing sugar, total sugar and amino acids exhibited increases in 3.0% concentration seaweed extract. Decreases in growth and biochemical parameters were noticed in concentrations higher than 3.0%.Conclusions: Presence of micronutrients and growth regulating substances in the liquid extract help healthier and faster productivity of the crop.

  16. Pollutant exclusion experiments on spruce at the Edelmannshof site. Results of physiological and biochemical investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arndt; Bauer; Bourgois

    1993-01-01

    From 1987-1992 within the framework of a multidisciplinary approach extensive studies of physiological and biochemical parameters of spruce trees (Picea abies L. Karst.) growing on natural site in a forest decline area (Schwaebisch-Fraenkischer Wald) north-west of the conurbation Stuttgart were carried out. This pollutant-exclusion experiment was a further part of a threepart research program including field observations and defined pollutant experiments with young forest trees in modelecosystems. The results show, that also low concentrations of air pollutants cause effects in plant metabolism before the occurence of visible symptoms. The pollutant effects caused specially by ozone have to be linked to climatic factors such as drought which occured in the last years. In a final view some factors influencing the long-term project Edelmannshof are shown. Ultimately possible key-reactions for bioindication methods on the synecological level are presented. (orig.) [de

  17. Validation of artificial neural network models for predicting biochemical markers associated with male infertility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vickram, A S; Kamini, A Rao; Das, Raja; Pathy, M Ramesh; Parameswari, R; Archana, K; Sridharan, T B

    2016-08-01

    Seminal fluid is the secretion from many glands comprised of several organic and inorganic compounds including free amino acids, proteins, fructose, glucosidase, zinc, and other scavenging elements like Mg(2+), Ca(2+), K(+), and Na(+). Therefore, in the view of development of novel approaches and proper diagnosis to male infertility, overall understanding of the biochemical and molecular composition and its role in regulation of sperm quality is highly desirable. Perhaps this can be achieved through artificial intelligence. This study was aimed to elucidate and predict various biochemical markers present in human seminal plasma with three different neural network models. A total of 177 semen samples were collected for this research (both fertile and infertile samples) and immediately processed to prepare a semen analysis report, based on the protocol of the World Health Organization (WHO [2010]). The semen samples were then categorized into oligoasthenospermia (n=35), asthenospermia (n=35), azoospermia (n=22), normospermia (n=34), oligospermia (n=34), and control (n=17). The major biochemical parameters like total protein content, fructose, glucosidase, and zinc content were elucidated by standard protocols. All the biochemical markers were predicted by using three different artificial neural network (ANN) models with semen parameters as inputs. Of the three models, the back propagation neural network model (BPNN) yielded the best results with mean absolute error 0.025, -0.080, 0.166, and -0.057 for protein, fructose, glucosidase, and zinc, respectively. This suggests that BPNN can be used to predict biochemical parameters for the proper diagnosis of male infertility in assisted reproductive technology (ART) centres. AAS: absorption spectroscopy; AI: artificial intelligence; ANN: artificial neural networks; ART: assisted reproductive technology; BPNN: back propagation neural network model; DT: decision tress; MLP: multilayer perceptron; PESA: percutaneous

  18. DMPD: Innate immunity minireview series: making biochemical sense of nucleic acidsensors that trigger antiviral innate immunity. [Dynamic Macrophage Pathway CSML Database

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 17395579 Innate immunity minireview series: making biochemical sense of nucleic aci...007 Mar 29. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show Innate immunity minireview series: making biochemical sense o...itle Innate immunity minireview series: making biochemical sense of nucleic acidsensors that trigger antivir

  19. Clinico-hemato-biochemical profile of dogs with liver cirrhosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Elhiblu

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the relevant tools in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in dogs. Material and Methods: A total of 140 dogs presented at Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, showing clinical signs of hepatic insufficiency were subjected to clinico-hemato biochemical, urological, ultrasonographic (USG, and USG guided fine-needle biopsy examinations by standard methods. On the basis of these results, 6 dogs out of 140 dogs were found to be suffering from liver cirrhosis. Six clinically healthy dogs constituted the control group. Results: The dogs suffering from liver cirrhosis manifested inappetence, halitosis, abdominal distension, weight loss, melena, icterus, anemia, and neutrophilic leukocytosis with the left shift. Levels of hemoglobin, lymphocytes, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular Hb (MCH, and platelet count were significantly lower in liver cirrhosis group than control group while total leukocyte count, neutrophils, and MCH concentration were significantly higher. Glucose, total protein, albumin, A/G ratio, and fibrinogen were significantly lower, and creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, prothrombin time, and APTT were significantly higher than the control values. Ultrasound revealed diffuse increase in echogenicity with rounded and irregular liver margins. Cytological examination of the ascitic fluid and fine-needle aspiration biopsy of liver was not fruitful in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Conclusions: Liver cirrhosis causes clinical and hemo-biochemical alterations, which require special consideration when treating diseased animals. USG, diffuse increase in echogenicity of liver, rounding and irregularity of liver margins and microhepatica were the consistent findings. It is suggested that USG along with hemo-biochemical alterations may be used as a diagnostic tool for

  20. Elevation of PSA after prostate radiotherapy: Rebound or biochemical recurrence?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toledano, A.; Kanoui, A.; Chiche, R.; Lamallem, H.; Beley, S.; Thibault, F.; Sebe, P.

    2008-01-01

    The fact that external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy are now considered to be curative techniques has led to major review of the modalities of follow-up after radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The problem concerns both the diagnosis of recurrence, rapidly announced by elevation of prostatic-specific antigen (PSA), usually at a subclinical stage, and the validity of criteria of biochemical recurrence to allow comparison of various study. Physicians involved in follow-up should be aware of the potential of bounce in PSA follow-up after external beam radiotherapy or brachytherapy. The PSA bounce phenomenon was defined by a rise of PSA values (+ 0.1 -0.8 ng/ml) with a subsequent fall. Biochemical failure after external beam radiotherapy or brachytherapy (with or without hormonotherapy) was defined by Phoenix criteria by a rise of 2 ng/ml above an initial PSA nadir. This definition was more correlated to PSA bounce phenomenon. (authors)

  1. Effect of toxoplasmosis and brucellosis on some biochemical parameters in ewes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. A. J. Al- Hussary

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of infection of ewes with toxoplasmosis and/or brucellosis on someserum biochemical parameters. Ninety six samples of blood were collected from aborted ewes at different stages of gestation,suspected to be infected with toxoplasmosis and /or brucellosis from different regions in Nineveh governorate. The percentageof toxoplasma and brucella infection depending on Latex Agglutination Test (LAT and Rose Bengal Test were 21.88% and23.96% respectively. The results of biochemical analysis showed that infection with toxoplasma caused significant elevation ofserum activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST, alanine aminotransferase (ALT and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH. Aswell as the concentrations of glucose, total protein and copper. Where as the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP and theconcentration of calcium and zinc were reduced. Infection with brucellosis caused a significant increased in serum AST, ALTand LDH, ALP and creatin phosphokinase (CPK activities, and glucose, zinc and cholesterol concentrations. While serumcalcium and total protein concentration were decreased. Association of toxoplasma and brucella infection induced significantelevation of serum AST, ALT and LDH and CPK activities and the concentrations of glucose and copper with significant reduction in serum ALP activity and both calcium and zinc concentrations. It was concluded from this study that infection ofewes with toxoplasma and/or brucella caused changes in some biochemical parameters in the serum.

  2. Haemato-biochemical profiles of indigenous goats (Capra hircus at Chittagong, Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Hossan Shaikat

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Aim: A 6 month long study was undertaken to determine various hemato-biochemical profiles of indigenous goats (Caprahircus in Bangladesh.Materials and methods: Blood samples were collected from goats of different ages of 5 Upazilla of Chittagong. Atotal of 120goats (60 Black Bengal and 60 Jamnapari having > 6 months of age were included. The whole blood was analyzed forhematology, and plasma and serum samples for biochemical analysis.Results: The study found higher number of RBC (million/cumm and PCV% in the goats of age 48 months and above (18.23± 1.89 and 28 ± 3.2 respectively. Besides, total protein was found higher (78.9 ± 14.5g/L in the goats of 6-24 months of age.Significant increase (p<0.01 of the number of WBC (thousand/cumm, RBC (million/cumm, PCV% was observed in BlackBengal over Jamnapari goat. In contrast, WBC, lymphocytes, RBC, PCV, ALT, and ASTwere significantly (p<0.01 higher inBlack Bengal than Jamnapari goat; whereas, monocyte, TP, Albumin, and Urea levels were significantly (p<0.01 higher inJamnapari than Black Bengal goats.Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrate the normal haemato-biochemical values of two local goat breeds.Present results stated some significant variation of parameters between two goats whereas some shows no significant variationat all.

  3. Biochemical processes of oligotrophic peat deposits of Vasyugan Mire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inisheva, L. I.; Sergeeva, M. A.

    2009-04-01

    The problem of peat and mire ecosystems functioning and their rational use is the main problem of biosphere study. This problem also refers to forecasting of biosphere changes results which are global and anthropogenic. According to many scientists' research the portion of mires in earth carbon balance is about 15% of world's stock. The aim of this study is to investigate biochemical processes in oligotrophic deposits in North-eastern part of Vasyugan Mire. The investigations were made on the territory of scientific-research ground (56˚ 03´ and 56˚ 57´ NL, 82˚ 22´ and 82˚ 42´ EL). It is situated between two rivers Bakchar and Iksa (in outskirts of the village Polynyanka, Bakchar region, Tomsk oblast). Evolution of investigated mire massif began with the domination of eutrophic phytocenosis - Filicinae, then sedge. Later transfer into oligotrophic phase was accompanied by formation of meter high-moor peat deposit. The age of three-meter peat deposit reaches four thousand years. Biochemical processes of carbon cycle cover the whole peat deposit, but the process activity and its direction in different layers are defined by genesis and duration of peat formation. So, the number of cellulose-fermenting aerobes in researched peat deposits ranges from 16.8 to 75.5 million CFU/g, and anaerobic bacteria from 9.6 to 48.6 million CFU/g. The high number of aerobes is characteristic for high water levels, organizing by raised bog peats. Their number decreases along the profile in 1.7 - 2 times. The number of microflora in peat deposit is defined by the position in the landscape profile (different geneses), by the depth, by hydrothermic conditions of years and individual months. But microflora activity shows along all depth of peat deposit. We found the same in the process of studying of micromycete complex structure. There was revealed either active component micromycete complex - mycelium, or inert one - spores in a meter layer of peat deposit. If mushrooms

  4. The emergence of mass spectrometry in biochemical research

    OpenAIRE

    1995-01-01

    The initial steps toward routinely applying mass spectrometry in the biochemical laboratory have been achieved. In the past, mass spectrometry was confined to the realm of small, relatively stable molecules; large or thermally labile molecules did not survive the desorption and ionization processes intact. Electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry allow for the analysis of both small and large biomolecules through "mild" desorption...

  5. Intermittency route to chaos in a biochemical system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De la Fuente, I M; Martinez, L; Veguillas, J

    1996-01-01

    The numerical analysis of a glycolytic model performed through the construction of a system of three differential-delay equations reveals a phenomenon of intermittency route to chaos. In our biochemical system, the consideration of delay time variations under constant input flux as well as frequency variations of the periodic substrate input flux allows us, in both cases, to observe a type of transition to chaos different from the 'Feigenbaum route'.

  6. Scalable rule-based modelling of allosteric proteins and biochemical networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julien F Ollivier

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Much of the complexity of biochemical networks comes from the information-processing abilities of allosteric proteins, be they receptors, ion-channels, signalling molecules or transcription factors. An allosteric protein can be uniquely regulated by each combination of input molecules that it binds. This "regulatory complexity" causes a combinatorial increase in the number of parameters required to fit experimental data as the number of protein interactions increases. It therefore challenges the creation, updating, and re-use of biochemical models. Here, we propose a rule-based modelling framework that exploits the intrinsic modularity of protein structure to address regulatory complexity. Rather than treating proteins as "black boxes", we model their hierarchical structure and, as conformational changes, internal dynamics. By modelling the regulation of allosteric proteins through these conformational changes, we often decrease the number of parameters required to fit data, and so reduce over-fitting and improve the predictive power of a model. Our method is thermodynamically grounded, imposes detailed balance, and also includes molecular cross-talk and the background activity of enzymes. We use our Allosteric Network Compiler to examine how allostery can facilitate macromolecular assembly and how competitive ligands can change the observed cooperativity of an allosteric protein. We also develop a parsimonious model of G protein-coupled receptors that explains functional selectivity and can predict the rank order of potency of agonists acting through a receptor. Our methodology should provide a basis for scalable, modular and executable modelling of biochemical networks in systems and synthetic biology.

  7. Biochemical components and dry matter of lemon and mandarin hybrids under salt stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco V. da S. Sá

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objective was to study the biochemical changes and dry matter content in lemon and mandarin hybrids under salt stress during rootstock formation. For this, a study was conducted in randomized complete block, using a 2 x 5 factorial scheme, with two salinity levels (0.3 and 4.0 dS m-1 applied in five citrus rootstock genotypes (1. TSKC x CTARG - 019; 2. LRF; 3. TSKC x (LCR x TR - 040; 4. LCRSTC and 5. LVK, with three replicates and four plants per plot. At 90 days after sowing, saline treatments started to be applied and continued until 120 days after sowing, the moment in which the plants were collected for evaluation of biochemical characteristics and phytomass accumulation. The increase in water salinity negatively affected the biochemical components and dry matter accumulation of citrus genotypes. The genotypes TSKC x (LCR x TR - 040, LCRSTC and LVK were the least affected by salt stress, standing out as the materials most tolerant to salinity.

  8. Development of class model based on blood biochemical parameters as a diagnostic tool of PSE meat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Daofeng; Zhou, Xu; Yang, Feng; Tian, Shiyi; Zhang, Xiaojun; Ma, Lin; Han, Jianzhong

    2017-06-01

    A fast, sensitive and effective method based on the blood biochemical parameters for the detection of PSE meat was developed in this study. A total of 200 pigs were slaughtered in the same slaughterhouse. Meat quality was evaluated by measuring pH, electrical conductivity and color at 45min, 2h and 24h after slaughtering in M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LD). Blood biochemical parameters were determined in blood samples collected during carcass bleeding. Principal component analysis (PCA) biplot showed that high levels of exsanguination Creatine Kinase, Lactate Dehydrogenase, Aspertate aminotransferase, blood glucose and lactate were associated with the PSE meat, and the five biochemical parameters were found to be good indicators of PSE meat Discriminant function analysis (DFA) was able to clearly identify PSE meat using the five biochemical parameters as input data, and the class model is an effective diagnostic tool in pigs which can be used to detect the PSE meat and reduce economic loss for the company. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Exercise Performance of Sea-Level Residents at 4300 m After 6 Days at 2200 m

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-11-01

    commercially available energy bars and fruit juice (food composition 5 510 kcal, 14 gm fat, 65 gm carbohydrate, 32 gm protein) at 1 to 2 h prior to the...Intermittent altitude exposures improve muscular performance at 4300 m . J Appl Physiol 2003 ; 95 : 1824 – 32 . 3. Beidleman BA, Muza SR...in volumes of blood, plasma and red cell in dehydration . J Appl Physiol 1974 ; 37 : 247 – 8 . 8. Evans WO, Robinson SM, Horstman DH

  10. Physical Activity, Aging, and Physiological Function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harridge, Stephen D R; Lazarus, Norman R

    2017-03-01

    Human evolution suggests that the default position for health is to be physically active. Inactivity, by contrast, has serious negative effects on health across the lifespan. Therefore, only in physically active people can the inherent aging process proceed unaffected by disuse complications. In such individuals, although the relationship between age and physiological function remains complex, function is generally superior with health, well being, and the aging process optimized. ©2017 Int. Union Physiol. Sci./Am. Physiol. Soc.

  11. Effects of Simulated Pathophysiology on the Performance of a Decision Support Medical Monitoring System for Early Detection of Hemodynamic Decompensation in Humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-02-01

    Physiol 97: 1272-1280, 2012. 554 44. Serrador JM, Picot PA, Rutt BK, Shoemaker JK, and Bondar RL. MRI measures of middle 555 cerebral artery diameter in...artery diameter during hypocapnia and 567 hypercapnia in humans using ultra high-field MRI . J Appl Physiol 117: 1084-1089, 2014. PMID: 25190741. 568...in chronically instrumented rats. Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology 21: 829-833, 1993. 26. Leonetti P, Audat F, Girard A, Laude D, Lefrère F

  12. Biochemical response of normal albino rats to the addition of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Experiments were conducted to determine the biochemical effect of Hibiscus cannabinus and Murraya koenigii extracts on normal albino rats using standard methods. Analyses carried out indicated that the aqueous leaf extract of H. cannabinus and M. koenigii exhibited significant hypolipideamic activity in normal rats.

  13. Biochemical changes induced by five pathogenic fungi on seeds of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Different biochemical analysis were carried out to determine the changes induced by some fungi inoculated on Hibiscus sabdariffa linn seed for 14days. The inoculated fungi are Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem, Aspergillus flavus Link Ex fr, Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht, Penicillium chrysogenum Thom and Penicillium ...

  14. An evaluation of solutions to moment method of biochemical oxygen ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper evaluated selected solutions of moment method in respect to Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) kinetics with the aim of ascertain error free solution. Domestic - institutional wastewaters were collected two - weekly for three months from waste - stabilization ponds in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile - Ife.

  15. 40 CFR 158.2070 - Biochemical pesticides product performance data requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Biochemical pesticides product performance data requirements. 158.2070 Section 158.2070 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... efficacy data unless the pesticide product bears a claim to control public health pests, such as pest...

  16. Biochemical characterization of bovine plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Valnickova, Zuzana; Thaysen-Andersen, Morten; Højrup, Peter

    2009-01-01

    -activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI), and recombinant human TAFI have recently been solved. In light of these recent advances, we have characterized authentic bovine TAFI biochemically and compared it to human TAFI. RESULTS: The four N-linked glycosylation sequons within the activation peptide were all occupied...

  17. Influences of biomass heat and biochemical energy storages on the land surface fluxes and radiative temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Lianhong; Meyers, Tilden; Pallardy, Stephen G.; Hanson, Paul J.; Yang, Bai; Heuer, Mark; Hosman, Kevin P.; Liu, Qing; Riggs, Jeffery S.; Sluss, Dan; Wullschleger, Stan D.

    2007-01-01

    biomass energy storages act to dampen the diurnal temperature range. From these simulation results, we concluded that biomass heat and biochemical energy storages are an integral and substantial part of the surface energy budget and play a role in modulating land surface temperatures and must be considered in studies of land-atmosphere interactions and climate modeling.

  18. Studies on blood and plasma biochemical characteristics of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The rats were fed on commercial grower mash and water provided ad libitum. Two separate blood samples were collected from the jugular veins of eight rats at 4th, 8th and 12th month stages of the experiment. One group of the samples was used for haematological studies and the other for biochemical tests. Data collected

  19. Relation between dose of bendrofluazide, antihypertensive effect, and adverse biochemical effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsen, J E; Køber, L; Torp-Pedersen, C

    1990-01-01

    OBJECTIVE--To determine the relevant dose of bendrofluazide for treating mild to moderate hypertension. DESIGN--Double blind parallel group trial of patients who were given placebo for six weeks and then randomly allocated to various doses of bendrofluazide (1.25, 2.5, 5, or 10 mg daily) or place...... of bendrofluazide to treat mild to moderate hypertension is 1.25-2.5 mg a day. Higher doses caused more pronounced adverse biochemical effects including adverse lipid effects. Previous trials with bendrofluazide have used too high doses....... relations between dose and effect were shown for potassium, urate, glucose, total cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B concentrations. The 1.25 mg dose increased only urate concentrations, whereas the 10 mg dose affected all the above biochemical variables. CONCLUSION--The relevant range of doses...

  20. Cross-resistance of bisultap resistant strain of Nilaparvata lugens and its biochemical mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Shanfeng; Zhang, Runjie

    2011-02-01

    The resistant (R) strain of the planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) selected for bisultap resistance displayed 7.7-fold resistance to bisultap and also had cross-resistance to nereistoxin (monosultap, thiocyclam, and cartap), chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, and malathion but no cross-resistance to buprofezin, imidacloprid, and fipronil. To find out the biochemical mechanism of resistance to bisultap, biochemical assay was done. The results showed that cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450) activity in R strain was 2.71-fold that in susceptible strain (S strain), in which the changed activity for general esterase (EST) was 1.91 and for glutathione S-transferases only 1.32. Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) could significantly inhibit P450 activity (percentage of inhibition [PI]: 37.31%) in the R strain, with ESTs PI = 16.04% by triphenyl phosphate (TPP). The results also demonstrated that diethyl maleate had no synergism with bisultap. However, PBO displayed significant synergism in three different strains, and the synergism increased with resistance (S strain 1.42, Lab strain, 2.24 and R strain, 3.23). TPP also showed synergism for three strains, especially in R strain (synergistic ratio = 2.47). An in vitro biochemical study and in vivo synergistic study indicated that P450 might be play important role in the biochemical mechanism of bisultap resistance and that esterase might be the important factor of bisultap resistance. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) insensitivity play important role in bisultap resistance. We suggest that buprofezin, imidacloprid, and fipronil could be used in resistance management programs for N. lugens via alternation and rotation with bisultap.

  1. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production: Biochemical Versus Thermochemical Conversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mu, Dongyan; Seager, Thomas; Rao, P. Suresh; Zhao, Fu

    2010-10-01

    Lignocellulosic biomass can be converted into ethanol through either biochemical or thermochemical conversion processes. Biochemical conversion involves hydrolysis and fermentation while thermochemical conversion involves gasification and catalytic synthesis. Even though these routes produce comparable amounts of ethanol and have similar energy efficiency at the plant level, little is known about their relative environmental performance from a life cycle perspective. Especially, the indirect impacts, i.e. emissions and resource consumption associated with the production of various process inputs, are largely neglected in previous studies. This article compiles material and energy flow data from process simulation models to develop life cycle inventory and compares the fossil fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and water consumption of both biomass-to-ethanol production processes. The results are presented in terms of contributions from feedstock, direct, indirect, and co-product credits for four representative biomass feedstocks i.e., wood chips, corn stover, waste paper, and wheat straw. To explore the potentials of the two conversion pathways, different technological scenarios are modeled, including current, 2012 and 2020 technology targets, as well as different production/co-production configurations. The modeling results suggest that biochemical conversion has slightly better performance on greenhouse gas emission and fossil fuel consumption, but that thermochemical conversion has significantly less direct, indirect, and life cycle water consumption. Also, if the thermochemical plant operates as a biorefinery with mixed alcohol co-products separated for chemicals, it has the potential to achieve better performance than biochemical pathway across all environmental impact categories considered due to higher co-product credits associated with chemicals being displaced. The results from this work serve as a starting point for developing full life cycle

  2. Mercury Induced Biochemical Alterations As Oxidative Stress In Mugil Cephalus In Short Term Toxicity Test

    OpenAIRE

    J.S.I Rajkumar; Samuel Tennyson

    2013-01-01

    Mugil cephalus juveniles of size 2.5 ±0.6cm were exposed to mercury in short term chronic toxicity test through static renewal bioassay to detect the possible biochemical agent as biomarkers in aquatic pollution and in estuarine contamination as specific. Lipid peroxidation levels, glutathione S -transferase, catalase, reduced glutathione and acetylcholinesterase were studied as biochemical parameters. Increased thio-barbituric acid reactive substances levels were observed under exposur...

  3. Factors affecting biochemical composition of seston in an eutrophic reservoir (Pampulha Reservoir, Belo Horizonte, MG

    OpenAIRE

    BOËCHAT, I. G.; GIANI, A.

    2000-01-01

    Sestonic biochemical composition (lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) may change with varying environmental fluctuations. These changes and the effects in the nutritional status of algae consists of an actual increasing source of interest. The aims of this work were to establish the relationship between biochemical composition of seston and 1) a range of physical, chemical and climatological factors, and 2) the natural fluctuation in the species composition in phytoplankton assemblages of the...

  4. Biochemical nature of Russell Bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mossuto, Maria Francesca; Ami, Diletta; Anelli, Tiziana; Fagioli, Claudio; Doglia, Silvia Maria; Sitia, Roberto

    2015-07-30

    Professional secretory cells produce and release abundant proteins. Particularly in case of mutations and/or insufficient chaperoning, these can aggregate and become toxic within or amongst cells. Immunoglobulins (Ig) are no exception. In the extracellular space, certain Ig-L chains form fibrils causing systemic amyloidosis. On the other hand, Ig variants lacking the first constant domain condense in dilated cisternae of the early secretory compartment, called Russell Bodies (RB), frequently observed in plasma cell dyscrasias, autoimmune diseases and chronic infections. RB biogenesis can be recapitulated in lymphoid and non-lymphoid cells by expressing mutant Ig-μ, providing powerful models to investigate the pathophysiology of endoplasmic reticulum storage disorders. Here we analyze the aggregation propensity and the biochemical features of the intra- and extra-cellular Ig deposits in human cells, revealing β-aggregated features for RB.

  5. Efficient Parallel Statistical Model Checking of Biochemical Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo Ballarini

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available We consider the problem of verifying stochastic models of biochemical networks against behavioral properties expressed in temporal logic terms. Exact probabilistic verification approaches such as, for example, CSL/PCTL model checking, are undermined by a huge computational demand which rule them out for most real case studies. Less demanding approaches, such as statistical model checking, estimate the likelihood that a property is satisfied by sampling executions out of the stochastic model. We propose a methodology for efficiently estimating the likelihood that a LTL property P holds of a stochastic model of a biochemical network. As with other statistical verification techniques, the methodology we propose uses a stochastic simulation algorithm for generating execution samples, however there are three key aspects that improve the efficiency: first, the sample generation is driven by on-the-fly verification of P which results in optimal overall simulation time. Second, the confidence interval estimation for the probability of P to hold is based on an efficient variant of the Wilson method which ensures a faster convergence. Third, the whole methodology is designed according to a parallel fashion and a prototype software tool has been implemented that performs the sampling/verification process in parallel over an HPC architecture.

  6. Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I.M. de O. Abrantes

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available Nematologists need correct species identification to carry out research, teaching, extension and other activities. Therefore, nematode taxonomy must be pursued diligently at all levels. The identification of plant-parasitic nematodes is not always easy and that of some species is especially difficult. Most of the information that nematologists use when characterizing and identifying specimens is based on morphological and morphometrical characters. Although these characters are of primary importance, in the last three decades they have been supplemented by biochemical/ molecular characters. Biochemical approaches include the separation of proteins (general proteins and isozymes by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and sodium dodecyl sulphate-capillary gel electrophoresis. Serology has also been found effective in the identification and quantification of nematodes, monoclonal antibodies being a more useful immunological tool than polyclonal antibodies. Identification based on the direct examination of DNA is potentially a more powerful method to characterize inter- and intra-specific variability. The development of techniques such as the polymerase chain reaction, restriction fragment length polymorphism, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, and amplified fragment length polymorphism has increased the accuracy and speed of nematode characterization/identification. Progress continues to be made and more and more nematologists are using molecular techniques for diagnostic purposes and to assess genetic variation.

  7. Identifying optimal models to represent biochemical systems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mochamad Apri

    Full Text Available Biochemical systems involving a high number of components with intricate interactions often lead to complex models containing a large number of parameters. Although a large model could describe in detail the mechanisms that underlie the system, its very large size may hinder us in understanding the key elements of the system. Also in terms of parameter identification, large models are often problematic. Therefore, a reduced model may be preferred to represent the system. Yet, in order to efficaciously replace the large model, the reduced model should have the same ability as the large model to produce reliable predictions for a broad set of testable experimental conditions. We present a novel method to extract an "optimal" reduced model from a large model to represent biochemical systems by combining a reduction method and a model discrimination method. The former assures that the reduced model contains only those components that are important to produce the dynamics observed in given experiments, whereas the latter ensures that the reduced model gives a good prediction for any feasible experimental conditions that are relevant to answer questions at hand. These two techniques are applied iteratively. The method reveals the biological core of a model mathematically, indicating the processes that are likely to be responsible for certain behavior. We demonstrate the algorithm on two realistic model examples. We show that in both cases the core is substantially smaller than the full model.

  8. Influences of the amount of ligand on the biochemical properties of 153Sm-HEDTMP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yuqing; Luo Shunzhong; Wang Guanquan; He Jiaheng; Pu Manfei; Bing Wenzeng

    2002-01-01

    The Effect of the amount of ligand HEDTMP on biochemical properties of 153 Sm-HEDTMP is studied. The biochemical properties include partition coefficient of 153 Sm-HEDTMP in n-octanol-water which is measured by shake-flask method, combination characteristic with BSA (bovine serum albumin) which is measured through precipitation by TCA (trichloroacetic acid) and adsorption characteristic on HA (hydroxyapatite) which is measured with the same method used in 153 Sm-EDTMP. It is found that, with the increasing in the amount of ligand, partition coefficient of 153 Sm-HEDTMP. It is found that, with the increase in the amount of ligand, partition coefficient of 153 Sm-HEDTMP in n-octanol-water decreases, so does combination percentage with BSA, but the adsorption percentage on HA shows a little and unremarkable decrease. Considering the relationships between these three biochemical properties and in vivo metabolism of 153 Sm-HEDTMP this study supports the view that an appropriate high amount of ligand should be applied in practical use

  9. Modeling biochemical transformation processes and information processing with Narrator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandel, Johannes J; Fuss, Hendrik; Palfreyman, Niall M; Dubitzky, Werner

    2007-03-27

    Software tools that model and simulate the dynamics of biological processes and systems are becoming increasingly important. Some of these tools offer sophisticated graphical user interfaces (GUIs), which greatly enhance their acceptance by users. Such GUIs are based on symbolic or graphical notations used to describe, interact and communicate the developed models. Typically, these graphical notations are geared towards conventional biochemical pathway diagrams. They permit the user to represent the transport and transformation of chemical species and to define inhibitory and stimulatory dependencies. A critical weakness of existing tools is their lack of supporting an integrative representation of transport, transformation as well as biological information processing. Narrator is a software tool facilitating the development and simulation of biological systems as Co-dependence models. The Co-dependence Methodology complements the representation of species transport and transformation together with an explicit mechanism to express biological information processing. Thus, Co-dependence models explicitly capture, for instance, signal processing structures and the influence of exogenous factors or events affecting certain parts of a biological system or process. This combined set of features provides the system biologist with a powerful tool to describe and explore the dynamics of life phenomena. Narrator's GUI is based on an expressive graphical notation which forms an integral part of the Co-dependence Methodology. Behind the user-friendly GUI, Narrator hides a flexible feature which makes it relatively easy to map models defined via the graphical notation to mathematical formalisms and languages such as ordinary differential equations, the Systems Biology Markup Language or Gillespie's direct method. This powerful feature facilitates reuse, interoperability and conceptual model development. Narrator is a flexible and intuitive systems biology tool. It is

  10. Biochemical response and host-pathogen relation of stalk rot fungi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Stalk rot is a destructive disease in maize caused by Fusarium and Macrophomina species. A study was carried out to understand the mode of infection, host biochemical response and comparison of inoculation techniques in Fusarium verticillioides and Macrophomina phaseolina in maize. In seed inoculation experiment, ...

  11. Effect of Probiotics on Serum Biochemical and Blood Constituents in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To examine the effects of two commercial probiotics (Toyocerin and CloSTAT) on serum enzyme activities, and hematological and biochemical indices of broiler chickens challenged with Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium (ST). Methods: The chicks received one of the following treatments at 0 day of age: ...

  12. Effects of Pineal Proteins on Biochemical, Enzyme Profile and Non ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Effects of Pineal Proteins on Biochemical, Enzyme Profile and Non-Specific Immune Response of Indian Goats under Thermal Stress. ... Total precipitated pineal proteins successfully and significantly relieved the animals from adverse effects of heat stress and metyrapone treatment. There is evidence that most of the ...

  13. Improved methods for the mathematically controlled comparison of biochemical systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schwacke John H

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The method of mathematically controlled comparison provides a structured approach for the comparison of alternative biochemical pathways with respect to selected functional effectiveness measures. Under this approach, alternative implementations of a biochemical pathway are modeled mathematically, forced to be equivalent through the application of selected constraints, and compared with respect to selected functional effectiveness measures. While the method has been applied successfully in a variety of studies, we offer recommendations for improvements to the method that (1 relax requirements for definition of constraints sufficient to remove all degrees of freedom in forming the equivalent alternative, (2 facilitate generalization of the results thus avoiding the need to condition those findings on the selected constraints, and (3 provide additional insights into the effect of selected constraints on the functional effectiveness measures. We present improvements to the method and related statistical models, apply the method to a previously conducted comparison of network regulation in the immune system, and compare our results to those previously reported.

  14. Biochemical method for fast affinity diagnosis in grape-vine transplantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lilov, D.

    1977-01-01

    Long term experiments have proved the affinity of cv. Mavroud in transplantations on various root stocks. Best affinity was observed in the combination cv. Mavroud X Riparia tomanteau, followed, in a descending order, by the combinations Mavroud X Mavroud (autotransplantation), Mavroud X Berlandieri X Riparia Kobber SBB and Mavroud X Riparia 33 EM. In view to establish indices for predicting the transplantation affinity a great number of physiological-biochemical and morphological-anatomical studies were carried out. The results obtained showed that a most clearly expressed positive, statistically significant correlation exists between the amount of 15 N transported from the root stock to the scions, shoots and leaves. As a result, a biochemical method for fast affinity diagnosis in grape-vine transplantation has been developed. The reliability of the method has been checked up also with other cultivars. Up to the present no such method was known in grape-vine science and practice. (author)

  15. Energy analysis of biochemical conversion processes of biomass to bioethanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bakari, M.; Ngadi, M.; Bergthorson, T. [McGill Univ., Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, PQ (Canada). Dept. of Bioresource Engineering

    2010-07-01

    Bioethanol is among the most promising of biofuels that can be produced from different biomass such as agricultural products, waste and byproducts. This paper reported on a study that examined the energy conversion of different groups of biomass to bioethanol, including lignocelluloses, starches and sugar. Biochemical conversion generally involves the breakdown of biomass to simple sugars using different pretreatment methods. The energy needed for the conversion steps was calculated in order to obtain mass and energy efficiencies for the conversions. Mass conversion ratios of corn, molasses and rice straw were calculated as 0.3396, 0.2300 and 0.2296 kg of bioethanol per kg of biomass, respectively. The energy efficiency of biochemical conversion of corn, molasses and rice straw was calculated as 28.57, 28.21 and 31.33 per cent, respectively. The results demonstrated that lignocelluloses can be efficiently converted with specific microorganisms such as Mucor indicus, Rhizopus oryzae using the Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) methods.

  16. Biochemical and cytological effects of sulphur dioxide on plant metabolism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malhotra, S S; Hocking, D

    1976-01-01

    Biochemical effects of sulfur dioxide arise from its unique ability to act as an oxidizing or a reducing agent. Among some of the important metabolic effects are direct interference with photosynthetic CO/sub 2/ fixation (competitive inhibiton of ribulose diphosphate carbosylase by SO/sub 3/) and with energy metabolism (inhibition of mitochondrial ATP production by SO/sub 3//sup =/). Many indirect effects result from formation of sulfites and organic sulfonates with other cell constituents. These compounds can cause inhibition of a variety of metabolic enzyme systems. All these factors are probably instrumental in the gross disruption of chloroplast and mitochondrial ultrastructure. Injurious effects result when sulfur dioxide is taken up in excess of the capacity of the tissue to incorporate sulfur into the normal metabolic activities. The ubiquitous presence of small amounts of SO/sub 2/ and the subtle and varied nature of its biochemical effects suggest that crop losses to SO/sub 2/ pollution may be more widespread and serious than is generally suspected.

  17. Biochemical genetics in marine fisheries management and conservation

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Menezes, M.R.

    - 403004 NBDBlDBTSponsored Training on Taxonomy, GOIdia turd Gme Bturking o/Coastal and Marine Bloresources, CIFE, Mumbal BIOCHEMICAL GENETICS IN MARINE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION Maria R. Menezes Introduction . Species of fish, like most... population structure may have evolved and been maintained in species of fish ofeconomic interest has led to the concept of 'stock'. The stock concept dominates much of marine fisheries management, theory and practice because the identification of discrete...

  18. Serum and urinary biochemical markers for knee and hip-osteoarthritis: a systematic review applying the consensus BIPED criteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spil, W.E. van; Groot, J. de; Lems, W.F.; Oostveen, J.C.M.; Lafeber, F.P.J.G.

    2010-01-01

    Context: Molecules that are released into biological fluids during matrix metabolism of articular cartilage, subchondral bone, and synovial tissue could serve as biochemical markers of the process of osteoarthritis (OA). Unfortunately, actual breakthroughs in the biochemical OA marker field are

  19. [Role of angiotensin II receptor type 2 in predicting biochemical recurrence in the treatment of prostate cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chibichyan, M B; Kogan, M I; Chernogubova, E A; Pavlenko, I A; Matishov, D G

    2016-12-01

    To identify markers for predicting aggressive forms of prostate cancer. The study retrospectively evaluated expression of angiotensin II type 2 receptors (AT2-R) in prostate needle biopsy tissue from patients with and without biochemical recurrence after combined hormone and radiation therapy. The study findings showed that low expression of AT2-R in prostate tissue was associated with a high risk of biochemical recurrence. The data on the nature of AT2-R expression in prostate tissue of prostate cancer patients may be considered as a tool for predicting biochemical recurrence after combined hormone and radiation therapy. The test has a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 85.71%.

  20. Biochemical fingerprinting of Vibrio parahaemolyticus by the PhenePlate system: comparison between pandemic and non-pandemic serotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Mokhlasur; Bhuiyan, N A; Kuhn, I; Ramamurthy, T; Rahman, M; Mollby, R; Nair, G Balakrish

    2006-10-01

    During recent years a pandemic clone of Vibrio parahaemolyticus has emerged. Isolates of this clone are distributed among several serotypes, but are genotypically related. In the present study, a phenotyping method (biochemical fingerprinting) was used to characterize pandemic and non-pandemic isolates belonging to V. parahaemolyticus. It was found that the pandemic isolates showed a high level of phenotypic homogeneity and a majority of the pandemic isolates belonged to the same biochemical phenotype, whereas non-pandemic V. parahemolyticus isolates were more heterogeneous. In conclusion, biochemical fingerprinting of V. parahaemolyticus can be used as a first screening method to differentiate between pandemic and non-pandemic isolates of V. parahaemolyticus.

  1. Cushing's syndrome: update on signs, symptoms and biochemical screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieman, Lynnette K

    2015-10-01

    Endogenous pathologic hypercortisolism, or Cushing's syndrome, is associated with poor quality of life, morbidity, and increased mortality. Early diagnosis may mitigate against this natural history of the disorder. The clinical presentation of Cushing's syndrome varies, in part related to the extent and duration of cortisol excess. When hypercortisolism is severe, its signs and symptoms are unmistakable. However, most of the signs and symptoms of Cushing's syndrome are common in the general population (e.g., hypertension and weight gain) and not all are present in every patient. In addition to classical features of glucocorticoid excess, such as proximal muscle weakness and wide purple striae, patients may present with the associated comorbidities that are caused by hypercortisolism. These include cardiovascular disease, thromboembolic disease, psychiatric and cognitive deficits, and infections. As a result, internists and generalists must consider Cushing's syndrome as a cause, and endocrinologists should search for and treat these comorbidities. Recommended tests to screen for Cushing's syndrome include 1  mg dexamethasone suppression, urine free cortisol, and late night salivary cortisol. These may be slightly elevated in patients with physiologic hypercortisolism, which should be excluded, along with exogenous glucocorticoid use. Each screening test has caveats and the choice of tests should be individualized based on each patient's characteristics and lifestyle. The objective of this review is to update the readership on the clinical and biochemical features of Cushing's syndrome that are useful when evaluating patients for this diagnosis. © 2015 European Society of Endocrinology.

  2. Biochemical evaluation of Gmelina arborea fruit meal as a swine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of Gmelina arborea fruits (GAF) meal on haematology and certain biochemical parameters including blood ... regards to blood urea nitrogen, creatinine in blood and urine and uric acids) though not significantly as the dietary inclusion level of raw GAF meal increased.

  3. Egg quality parameters and blood biochemical profile of six strains ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Six different poultry strains (Indigenous chicken, Broiler, Turkey, Geese, Duck and Guinea fowl) were studied under extensive system of management to investigate the effect of rearing system on their egg quality and the blood biochemical profile, respectively. Birds used for the study were obtained from four different ...

  4. Biochemical response and host-pathogen relation of stalk rot fungi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr. nirupma

    photosynthesis, which are the vital processes taking place inside the plant, leading to wide fluctuations in sugars (Klement ... The suspension spray was prepared by taking. 200 ml of ..... biochemical factors due to cell response that is, defence .... by Fusarium moniliforme on corn growth and cellular morphology. Plant Dis.

  5. Enhanced protein and biochemical production using CRISPRi-based growth switches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Songyuan; Jendresen, Christian Bille; Grünberger, Alexander

    2016-01-01

    functionality of the growth switches. Decoupling of growth from production of biochemicals was demonstrated for mevalonate, a precursor for isoprenoid compounds. Mass yield of mevalonate was increased by 41%, and production was maintained for more than 45 h after activation of the pyrF-based growth switch...

  6. Sex Hormones And Biochemical Profiles Of Male Gossypol Users In ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of gossypol administration on sex hormones and biochemical parameters of male subjects. Twelve male subjects receiving 20mg daily gossypol at the family planning clinic of University College Hospital, Ibadan were studied. Blood samples collected from the subjects ...

  7. Evolutionary Medicine: The Ongoing Evolution of Human Physiology and Metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rühli, Frank; van Schaik, Katherine; Henneberg, Maciej

    2016-11-01

    The field of evolutionary medicine uses evolutionary principles to understand changes in human anatomy and physiology that have occurred over time in response to environmental changes. Through this evolutionary-based approach, we can understand disease as a consequence of anatomical and physiological "trade-offs" that develop to facilitate survival and reproduction. We demonstrate how diachronic study of human anatomy and physiology is fundamental for an increased understanding of human health and disease. ©2016 Int. Union Physiol. Sci./Am. Physiol. Soc.

  8. Colon luminal content and epithelial cell morphology are markedly modified in rats fed with a high-protein diet

    OpenAIRE

    Andriamihaja, Mireille; Davila-Gay, Anne-Marie; Eklou, Mamy; Petit, Nathalie; Delpal, Serge; Allek, Fadhila; Blais, Anne; Delteil, Corine; Tomé, Daniel; Blachier, Francois

    2010-01-01

    Andriamihaja M, Davila A, Eklou-Lawson M, Petit N, Delpal S, Allek F, Blais A, Delteil C, Tome D, Blachier F. Colon luminal content and epithelial cell morphology are markedly modified in rats fed with a high-protein diet. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 299: G1030-G1037, 2010. First published August 5, 2010; doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00149.2010.-Hyperproteic diets are used in human nutrition to obtain body weight reduction. Although increased protein ingestion results in an increased transf...

  9. Biochemical systems identification by a random drift particle swarm optimization approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Finding an efficient method to solve the parameter estimation problem (inverse problem) for nonlinear biochemical dynamical systems could help promote the functional understanding at the system level for signalling pathways. The problem is stated as a data-driven nonlinear regression problem, which is converted into a nonlinear programming problem with many nonlinear differential and algebraic constraints. Due to the typical ill conditioning and multimodality nature of the problem, it is in general difficult for gradient-based local optimization methods to obtain satisfactory solutions. To surmount this limitation, many stochastic optimization methods have been employed to find the global solution of the problem. Results This paper presents an effective search strategy for a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm that enhances the ability of the algorithm for estimating the parameters of complex dynamic biochemical pathways. The proposed algorithm is a new variant of random drift particle swarm optimization (RDPSO), which is used to solve the above mentioned inverse problem and compared with other well known stochastic optimization methods. Two case studies on estimating the parameters of two nonlinear biochemical dynamic models have been taken as benchmarks, under both the noise-free and noisy simulation data scenarios. Conclusions The experimental results show that the novel variant of RDPSO algorithm is able to successfully solve the problem and obtain solutions of better quality than other global optimization methods used for finding the solution to the inverse problems in this study. PMID:25078435

  10. Biochemical parameters in chronic renal failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hakim, R M; Lazarus, J M

    1988-03-01

    We analyzed biochemical data derived from 911 patients with renal insufficiency observed at our institution for periods up to 7 years. During early renal failure (RF) (creatinine less than 5 mg/dL), the rate of change of hematocrit, total CO2 (tCO2) and urea per unit change of creatinine was significantly higher than during moderate (creatinine between 5 and 10 mg/dL) or advanced (creatinine greater than 10 mg/dL) RF. For example, the rate of change of hematocrit (%, volume/volume [v/v]) was (mean +/- SEM) -2.15 +/- 0.15% for each 1 mg/dL increase in creatinine in the range of creatinine less than 5 mg/dL, whereas for the range of creatinine greater than 10 mg/dL, the rate of change was only -0.48 +/- 0.06% (P less than 0.001). Similarly, the rate of change of tCO2 was -1.68 +/- 0.09 mEq/L for each 1 mg/dL increment in creatinine concentration during early RF, and -0.19 +/- 0.09 mEq/L per unit increase in creatinine during advanced RF (P less than 0.001). Chloride concentration initially increased as a function of creatinine in early RF, but decreased in advanced RF, whereas the anion gap increased throughout the course of RF. Mean serum phosphate concentration also increased steadily, but remained below the upper range of normal (4.7 mg/dL) during early RF without the use of phosphate binders. These data suggest that different biochemical parameters change at different rates as a function of the severity of renal dysfunction, and that although phosphate retention may occur, hyperphosphatemia is not a hallmark of early RF.

  11. Systematic, efficient and consistent LCA calculations for chemical and biochemical processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petchkaewkul, Kaesinee; Malakul, Pomthong; Gani, Rafiqul

    2016-01-01

    that allow a wider coverage of chemical and biochemical processes. Improvements of LCIA calculations and eco-efficiency evaluation are introduced. Also, a new model for photochemical ozone formation has been developed and implemented. Performance of LCSoft in terms of accuracy and reliability is compared......Life Cycle Assessment or LCA is a technique, which is applied for the study and evaluation of quantitative environmental impacts through the entire life cycle of products, processes or services in order to improve and/or evaluate the design of existing as well as new processes. The LCA factors can...... with another well-known LCA-software, SimaPro for a biochemical process – the production of bioethanol from cassava rhizome. The results show a very good match of new added impact categories. Also, the results from a new feature in LCSoft, which is eco-efficiency evaluation, are presented....

  12. Sero-epidemiology and hemato-biochemical study of bovine leptospirosis in flood affected zone of Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ijaz, Muhammad; Abbas, Syed Nazar; Farooqi, Shahid Hussain; Aqib, Amjad Islam; Anwar, Ghulam Ali; Rehman, Abdul; Ali, Muhammad Muddassir; Mehmood, Khalid; Khan, Amjad

    2018-01-01

    The bovine leptospirosis is an economically important zoonotic disease of flood affected areas worldwide, but scarce information is available about its epidemiology in Pakistan. This is a first study on sero-epidemiology of bovine leptospirosis in Pakistan. The objectives of this study were to investigate the sero-prevalence and associated risk factors of bovine leptospirosis in flood affected zone of Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 385 serum samples were randomly collected from four tehsils of district Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. The serum samples were subjected to indirect ELISA for the detection of anti-leptospira antibodies. The overall sero-prevalence of leptospirosis was 30.39%. The prevalence was significantly higher (p0.05) difference among TLC values among sero-positive and sero-negative animals. The serum biochemical profile revealed significant differences (pPakistan, and the disease needs to be explored comprehensively in other parts of the country to sort out solid strategies for its control and eradication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Biochemical and hematological findings of Khorasan veterans 23 years after sulfur mustard exposure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Reza Keramati

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Sulfur mustard (SM is an incapacitating chemical warfare agent, which has been widely employed in particular regions including Iran. We investigated and reported delayed biochemical and hematological complications of SM in severely toxic Iranian veterans 23 years after exposure. Materials and Methods : Forty-two Iranian veterans, residents of Khorasan Razavi, poisoned by SM, and suffering from clinical complications were investigated. A total of 30 healthy male volunteers were also selected as a control group. Biochemical and hematological variables were measured for the case and control groups. Data were analyzed using a Student′s t-test by InStat software (GraphPad Inc., San Diego, CA to determine significant differences between the data from the two groups. Results: The percentages of reticulocytes were significantly higher in patients (0.82 ± 0.04, P < 0.05. Total protein and albumin levels were significantly lower in veterans (total protein: 7.58 ± 0.07 g/dL, albumin: 4.97 ± 0.04 g/dL, P < 0.01. In addition, we observed a significant increase in serum cholesterol (226.74 ± 5.23 mg/dL, P < 0.01, triglyceride (173.53 ± 17.05 mg/dL, P < 0.05, and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GTT activity of the patients (44.04 ± 3.35 IU/L, P < 0.05. Conclusion: Results showed that SM can cause long-term effects on some biochemical factors of veterans. As many of the functional tests of liver and kidney between two groups were statistically unchanged, it seems that the observed biochemical changes may be secondary to delayed respiratory complications of the patients.

  14. Seasonal variations in biochemical composition of some seaweeds from Goa coast

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Sumitra-Vijayaraghavan; Rajagopal, M.D.; Wafar, M.V.M.

    high in H. musciformis, whereas P. tetrastromatica, C. media and U. fasciata were rich in protein. The biochemical constituents in general did not show marked seasonal variations and it was attributed to the reproductive pattern of the algae studied...

  15. Added ingredients affect the microbiota and biochemical characteristics of durum wheat type-I sourdough.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minervini, Fabio; Celano, Giuseppe; Lattanzi, Anna; De Angelis, Maria; Gobbetti, Marco

    2016-12-01

    This study aimed at understanding the effect of additional ingredients (baker's yeast, macerated pears, grape must, honey, or water from macerated pears) on the microbiota and biochemical characteristics of durum wheat-based sourdough. One dough prepared using only flour was used as the control (control-dough). Compared to the control-dough, doughs containing additional ingredients showed higher (P  0.7, P < 0.05) with several biochemical characteristics of the sourdoughs (e.g., free amino acids and their derivatives). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus, L.) green attack affects foliar reflectance and biochemical properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdullah, Haidi; Darvishzadeh, Roshanak; Skidmore, Andrew K.; Groen, Thomas A.; Heurich, Marco

    2018-02-01

    The European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus, L. (hereafter bark beetle), causes major economic loss to the forest industry in Europe, especially in Norway Spruce (Picea abies). To minimise economic loss and preclude a mass outbreak, early detection of bark beetle infestation (so-called ;green attack; stage - a period at which trees are yet to show visual signs of infestation stress) is, therefore, a crucial step in the management of Norway spruce stands. It is expected that a bark beetle infestation at the green attack stage affects a tree's physiological and chemical status. However, the concurrent effect on key foliar biochemical such as foliar nitrogen and chlorophyll as well as spectral responses are not well documented in the literature. Therefore, in this study, the early detection of bark beetle green attacks is investigated by examining foliar biochemical and spectral properties (400-2000 nm). We also assessed whether bark beetle infestation affects the estimation accuracy of foliar biochemicals. An extensive field survey was conducted in the Bavarian Forest National Park (BFNP), Germany, in the early summer of 2015 to collect leaf samples from 120 healthy and green attacked trees. The spectra of the leaf samples were measured using an ASD FieldSpec3 equipped with an integrating sphere. Significant differences (p < 0.05) between healthy and infested needle samples were found in the mean reflectance spectra, with the most pronounced differences being observed in the NIR and SWIR regions between 730 and 1370 nm. Furthermore, significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in the biochemical compositions (chlorophyll and nitrogen concentration) of healthy versus green attacked samples. Our results further demonstrate that the estimation accuracy of foliar chlorophyll and nitrogen concentrations, utilising partial least square regression model, was lower for the infested compared to the healthy trees. We show that early stage of infestation reduces not only

  17. Biochemical Basis of Sestrin Physiological Activities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ho, Allison; Cho, Chun-Seok; Namkoong, Sim; Cho, Uhn-Soo; Lee, Jun Hee (Michigan)

    2016-05-10

    Excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and chronic activation of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) are well-characterized promoters of aging and age-associated degenerative pathologies. Sestrins, a family of highly conserved stress-inducible proteins, are important negative regulators of both ROS and mTORC1 signaling pathways; however, the mechanistic basis of how Sestrins suppress these pathways remains elusive. In the past couple of years, breakthrough discoveries about Sestrin signaling and its molecular nature have markedly increased our biochemical understanding of Sestrin function. These discoveries have also uncovered new potential therapeutic strategies that may eventually enable us to attenuate aging and age-associated diseases.

  18. Haematological and biochemical values of 10 green iguanas (Iguana iguana).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Divers, S J; Redmayne, G; Aves, E K

    1996-03-02

    Ten clinically healthy green iguanas (Iguana iguana) imported from South America were examined, and haematological and biochemical measurements were made on samples of blood. This paper describes the methods of blood sampling, handling and laboratory analysis, and presents the results as a set of normal blood ranges for the green iguana.

  19. Serum biochemical and liver enzymes changes in dogs with single ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The serum biochemical changes that occur in dogs with single and conjunct experimental infections of Trypanosoma brucei and Ancylostoma caninum were studied. Four groups (GPI, GPII, GPIII and GPIV) of five dogs each were used for this study. GPI was the uninfected control while GPII, GPIII and GPIV were infected ...

  20. pH measurements of FET-based (bio)chemical sensors using portable measurement system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voitsekhivska, T; Zorgiebel, F; Suthau, E; Wolter, K-J; Bock, K; Cuniberti, G

    2015-01-01

    In this study we demonstrate the sensing capabilities of a portable multiplex measurement system for FET-based (bio)chemical sensors with an integrated microfluidic interface. We therefore conducted pH measurements with Silicon Nanoribbon FET-based Sensors using different measurement procedures that are suitable for various applications. We have shown multiplexed measurements in aqueous medium for three different modes that are mutually specialized in fast data acquisition (constant drain current), calibration-less sensing (constant gate voltage) and in providing full information content (sweeping mode). Our system therefore allows surface charge sensing for a wide range of applications and is easily adaptable for multiplexed sensing with novel FET-based (bio)chemical sensors.

  1. In vivo Raman spectroscopy for biochemical monitoring of the human cervix throughout pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Christine M; Vargis, Elizabeth; Rudin, Amy; Slaughter, James C; Thomas, Giju; Newton, J Michael; Reese, Jeff; Bennett, Kelly A; Mahadevan-Jansen, Anita

    2018-05-01

    The cervix must undergo significant biochemical remodeling to allow for successful parturition. This process is not fully understood, especially in instances of spontaneous preterm birth. In vivo Raman spectroscopy is an optical technique that can be used to investigate the biochemical composition of tissue longitudinally and noninvasively in human beings, and has been utilized to measure physiology and disease states in a variety of medical applications. The purpose of this study is to measure in vivo Raman spectra of the cervix throughout pregnancy in women, and to identify biochemical markers that change with the preparation for delivery and postpartum repair. In all, 68 healthy pregnant women were recruited. Raman spectra were measured from the cervix of each patient monthly in the first and second trimesters, weekly in the third trimester, and at the 6-week postpartum visit. Raman spectra were measured using an in vivo Raman system with an optical fiber probe to excite the tissue with 785 nm light. A spectral model was developed to highlight spectral regions that undergo the most changes throughout pregnancy, which were subsequently used for identifying Raman peaks for further analysis. These peaks were analyzed longitudinally to determine if they underwent significant changes over the course of pregnancy (P Raman peaks indicative of extracellular matrix proteins (1248 and 1254 cm -1 ) significantly decreased (P Raman spectroscopy was successfully used to biochemically monitor cervical remodeling in pregnant women during prenatal visits. This foundational study has demonstrated sensitivity to known biochemical dynamics that occur during cervical remodeling, and identified patient variables that have significant effects on Raman spectra throughout pregnancy. Raman spectroscopy has the potential to improve our understanding of cervical maturation, and be used as a noninvasive preterm birth risk assessment tool to reduce the incidence, morbidity, and mortality

  2. Baccaurea angulata fruit juice ameliorates altered hematological and biochemical biomarkers in diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Idris Adewale; Mikail, Maryam Abimbola; Ibrahim, Muhammad

    2017-06-01

    Hypercholesterolemia is an important risk factor linked to the alteration of blood hematology and clinical chemistry associated with the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Previous studies have demonstrated the safety and potential health benefits of Baccaurea angulata (BA) fruit. We hypothesized that the oral administration of BA fruit juice could ameliorate the alteration in the hematological and biochemical biomarkers of diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rabbits. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different doses of BA juice on the hematological and biochemical biomarkers in normo- and hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Thirty-five healthy adult New Zealand White rabbits were assigned to seven different groups for 90days of diet intervention. Four atherogenic groups were fed a 1% cholesterol diet and 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5mL of BA juice per kg of rabbit daily. The other three normal groups were fed a commercial rabbit pellet diet and 0, 0.5, and 1.0mL of BA juice per kg of rabbit daily. Baseline and final blood samples after 90days of repeated administration BA juice were analyzed for hematological parameters while serum, aortic and hepatic lysates were analyzed for lipid profiles and other biochemical biomarkers. The alteration of the hemopoietic system, physiological changes in serum and tissues lipid profiles and other biochemicals resulting from the consumption of a high-cholesterol diet were significantly (Pjuice. Improvements of the biomarkers in rabbits were dose-dependent, markedly enhanced at the highest dose of juice (1.5mL/kg/day). The results suggest potential health benefits of the antioxidant-rich BA fruit juice against hypercholesterolemia-associated hematological and biochemical alterations in the rabbit. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Biochemical Markers of Physical Exercise on Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Camilla Steen; Hasselbalch, Steen Gregers; Waldemar, Gunhild

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The cognitive effects of physical exercise in patients with dementia disorders or mild cognitive impairment have been examined in various studies; however the biochemical effects of exercise from intervention studies are largely unknown. The objective of this systematic review...

  4. Biochemical parameters in the blood of grass snakes (Natrix natrix in ecosystems under varying degrees of anthropogenic influence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Y. Gasso

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The grass snake Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758 is a partly hygrophilous species, distributed throughoutUkraine. This snake may be considered as a test object for environmental biomonitoring. Modern biochemical methods make it possible to obtain new scientific data on the effects of anthropogenic pressure on reptiles. Blood is a sensitive and informative indicator of the condition of an organism as it responds quickly to most changes in exogenous and endogenous factors, and reflects negative influences on both individual and, indirectly, populations. Changes in biochemical parameters may be used as biomarkers of the state of health of reptiles in ecosystems under varying degrees of anthropogenic pressure. Due the increase in anthropogenic influence the development and introduction of new methods of perceptual research, collection of up-to-date information and development of a database of reptile biochemical parameters have become an urgent priority. We collected mature individuals of the grass snake in floodplain ecosystems on the right bank of the Dnieper River in Dnipropetrovsk city. Grass snakes from floodplain habitats on the left bank of theSamaraRiver (O.L. Belgard Prysamarskii International Biosphere Station, Novomoskovsk district, Dnipropetrovsk province were studied as the control specimens. Our study demonstrated statistically significant differences between snakes from the study sites in the amount of albumin, urea and urea nitrogen, and inorganic phosphorus, as well as in alanine aminotransferase (ALT and alkaline phosphatise (AP activity. The amount of albumin in the blood serum of specimens from the anthropogenically transformed areas was significantly lower (by 25% than in that of the snakes caught in the control habitats. Decrease of the albumin concentration usually indicates abnormal processes in the kidneys and liver. According to the changes observed in the concentration of albumin, a corresponding increase in the albumin to

  5. Assessment of Abdominal Fat Using High-field Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Anthropometric and Biochemical Parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Radaideh, Ali; Tayyem, Reema; Al-Fayomi, Kholoud; Nimer, Nisreen; Malkawi, Amer; Al-Zu Bi, Rana; Agraib, Lana; Athamneh, Imad; Hijjawi, Nawal

    2016-12-01

    To measure the abdominal subcutaneous fat (SF) and visceral fat (VF) volumes using high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to investigate their association with selected anthropometric and biochemical parameters among obese and nonobese apparently healthy participants. A cross-sectional study was conducted by recruiting 167 healthy participants. Abdominal scans were acquired at 3T MRI, and the SF and VF were segmented and their volumes were calculated. Selected anthropometric and biochemical measurements were also determined. A significant difference (P abdominal fat volumes, leptin, resistin, adiponectin and waist circumference. Waist circumferences were measured by tape and MRI. Findings revealed that MRI-measured fat volumes were different between males and females and had a significant (P fat volumes were found to correlate moderately with interleukin-6 and weakly with cholesterol, serum triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein. Except for cholesterol, all measured biochemical variables and abdominal fat volumes in the current study were significantly associated with body mass index. All anthropometric and biochemical parameters showed weak-to-strong associations with the MRI-measured fat volumes. Abdominal fat distribution was different between males and females and their correlations with some lipid profiles were found to be sex dependent. These findings revealed that MRI can be used as an alternative tool for obesity assessment. Copyright © 2016 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. The human sunburn reaction: histologic and biochemical studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilchrest, B.A.; Soter, N.A.; Stoff, J.S.; Mihm, M.C. Jr.

    1981-01-01

    The ultraviolet-induced erythema reaction was investigated histologically and biochemically in four subjects, utilizing suction blister aspirates, analyzed for histamine and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and Epon-embedded 1-mu skin biopsy sections from control skin and from irradiated skin at intervals for 72 hours after exposure to a Hanovia lamp. Major histologic alterations in the epidermis included dyskeratotic and vacuolated keratinocytes (sunburn cells), and disappearance of Langerhans cells. In the dermis the major changes were vascular, involving both the superficial and deep venular plexuses. Endothelial cell enlargement was first apparent within 30 minutes of irradiation, peaked at 24 hours, and persisted throughout the 72-hour study period. Mast cell degranulation and associated perivenular edema were first apparent at 1 hour and striking at the onset of erythema, 3 to 4 hours postirradiation; edema was absent and mast cells were again normal in number and granule content at 24 hours. Histamine levels rose approximately fourfold above control values immediately after the onset of erythema and returned to baseline within 24 hours. PGE2 levels were statistically elevated even before the onset of erythema and reached approximately 150% of the control value at 24 hours. These data provide the first evidence that histamine may mediate the early phase of the human sunburn reaction and increase our understanding of its complex histologic and biochemical sequelae

  7. Biochemical changes in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma submitted to PDT using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima, Cassio A.; Goulart, Viviane P.; de Castro, Pedro A. A.; Correa, Luciana; Benetti, Carolina; Zezell, Denise M.

    2015-06-01

    Nonmelanoma skin cancers are the most common form of malignancy in humans. Between the traditional treatment ways, the photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising alternative which is minimally invasive and do not requires surgical intervention or exposure to ionizing radiation. The understanding of the cascade of effects playing role in PDT is not fully understood, so that define and understand the biochemical events caused by photodynamic effect will hopefully result in designing better PDT protocols. In this study we investigated the potential of the FTIR spectroscopy to assess the biochemical changes caused by photodynamic therapy after 10 and 20 days of treatment using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) as precursor of the photosensitizer photoporphyrin IX (PpIX). The amplitude values of second derivative from vibrational modes obtained with FTIR spectroscopy showed similar behavior with the morphological features observed in histopathological analysis, which showed active lesions even 20 days after PDT. Thus, the technique has the potential to be used to complement the investigation of the main biochemical changes that photodynamic therapy promotes in tissue.

  8. Role of Rosemary leaves extract against radiation-induced hematological and biochemical alterations in mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Acharya Garima S.

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The present paper is a study of the modulatory effect of Rosmarinus officinalis leaves extract on radiation-induced hematological and biochemical changes in Swiss albino mice. The dose reduction factor for the Rosemary extract against gamma rays was calculated 1.53 from LD50/30 values. The Rosemary extract was administered orally for 5 consecutive days prior to radiation exposure. The hematological and biochemical parameters were assessed from day 1 to 30 post-irradiation intervals. The total erythrocyte count, total leucocytes count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit values in the experimental group were found to be elevated as compared to the control group of mice. Furthermore, the Rosemary extract treatment enhanced reduced glutathione content in the liver and blood against radiation-induced depletion. Treatment with the plant extract brought a significant fall in the lipid peroxidation level, suggesting rosemary's role in protection against radiation-induced membrane and cellular damage. The results from the present study suggest a radio-protective effect of the Rosemary extract against radiation-induced hematological and biochemical alterations in mice.

  9. Design and Fabrication of Piezoresistive Based Encapsulated Poly-Si Cantilevers for Bio/chemical Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishna, N. P. Vamsi; Murthy, T. R. Srinivasa; Reddy, K. Jayaprakash; Sangeeth, K.; Hegde, G. M.

    Cantilever-based sensing is a growing research field not only within micro regime but also in nano technology. The technology offers a method for rapid, on-line and in-situ monitoring of specific bio/chemical substances by detecting the nanomechanical responses of a cantilever sensor. Cantilever with piezoresistive based detection scheme is more attractive because of its electronics compatibility. Majority of commercially available micromachined piezoresistive sensors are bulk micromachined devices and are fabricated using single crystal silicon wafers. As substrate properties are not important in surface micromachining, the expensive silicon wafers can be replaced by cheaper substrates, such as poly-silicon, glass or plastic. Here we have designed SU-8 based bio/chemical compatible micro electro mechanical device that includes an encapsulated polysilicon piezoresistor for bio/chemical sensing. In this paper we report the design, fabrication and analysis of the encapsulated poly-Si cantilevers. Design and theoretical analysis are carried out using Finite Element Analysis software. For fabrication of poly-silicon piezoresistive cantilevers we followed the surface micromachining process steps. Preliminary characterization of the cantilevers is presented.

  10. Biochemical attributes of Hens Fed Irradiated Aflatoxin B1 Contamination Diet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farag, M.D.E.H.; Abdul Azeem, A.M.; Abdalla, E.A.; Ahmed, N.A.H.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of feeding diet artificially contaminated with aflatoxin B 1(AFB1) at level 0.2 mg kg"-"1 AFB1, and gamma (γ) irradiated (10, 20, and 30 kGy) on reducing the deleterious effects of laying hens Golden Montaza (GM) biochemical attributes. These include liver weight, AFB1 liver residue content, AST, ALT, ALP, creatinine, total proteins, albumin and globulin, as well as, the levels of T3, T4, TSH, FSH, LH, progesterone hormone and hepatic histology. At 38 week of age, groups of laying hens were fed on a normal non-contaminated diet (G1), aflatoxin-contaminated diet (G2), and irradiated contaminated diets (G3, G4 and G5) for 3 weeks, as a duration period. When the hens reached 42 weeks of age, they were fed on normal diet for 3 weeks, as a recovery period. Results showed that AST, ALT, ALP, and creatinine significantly increased in AFs treated groups in comparison with those received AFs-containing diet and irradiated up to 30 kGy. Layers fed contaminated diet of AFB1 suffered from a lower level of total proteins, albumin and globulin. Meanwhile, the results showed that the level of serum T4 was lower, but conversely the levels of FSH were higher for those fed on diets contaminated with AFB1 compared to those fed irradiated contaminated diets with AFB1, no significant change occurred in serum blood T3, TSH, LH and progesterone in all tested groups. Treated contaminated diets with γ-irradiation at 30 kGy reduced the incidence and severity of hepatic histology. The 30 kGy radiation dose was more effective, in this respect, in all biochemical indices. For recovery period diets non-contaminated with AFB1, the results showed improvements in all biochemical indices and recovered the hepatic structure with increasing the recovery period especially for those fed on irradiated diets through the experimental duration. In conclusion, feeding of diets contaminated with AFB1 altered the blood profiles, and damaged the liver

  11. Plasma biochemical reference values in clinically healthy captive bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) and the effects of sex and season.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamukai, Kenichi; Takami, Yoshinori; Akabane, Yoshihito; Kanazawa, Yuko; Une, Yumi

    2011-09-01

    Bearded dragons are one of the most popular pet lizard species, and biochemical reference values are useful for health management of these reptiles. The objectives of this study were to measure plasma biochemical values in healthy captive bearded dragons, determine reference values, and evaluate the effects of sex and season on the results. Blood samples were collected from 100 captive healthy bearded dragons in Tokyo during the summer and winter. Plasma biochemical measurements were performed using a dry-slide automated biochemical analyzer. The data were then compared based on sex and season using 2-way ANOVA. Globulin, cholesterol, and calcium concentrations of females were higher in both summer and winter compared with the values obtained for males. Both males and females had higher uric acid concentrations in winter than in summer. When compared with males, females had a higher chloride concentration in summer and a higher total protein concentration and aspartate aminotransferase activity in winter. Potassium concentration in males was lower in winter than in summer, whereas in females cholesterol concentration was lower in winter than in summer. Biochemical values that differed based on sex and season in bearded dragons were similar to those in other lizards. These differences reflect physiologic differences in reproductive status in females and seasonal changes in temperature and hydration status. Plasma biochemical values established for bearded dragons in this study will be useful in the diagnostic assessment of captive animals. ©2011 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

  12. Correlation of radiographic and MRI parameters to morphological and biochemical assessment of intervertebral disc degeneration

    OpenAIRE

    Benneker, Lorin M.; Heini, Paul F.; Anderson, Suzanne E.; Alini, Mauro; Ito, Keita

    2004-01-01

    Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a common finding in MRI scans and X-rays. However, their correlation to morphological and biochemical changes is not well established. In this study, radiological and MRI parameters of DDD were assessed and compared with morphological and biochemical findings of disc degeneration. Thirty-nine human lumbar discs (L1–S1), age 19–86 years, were harvested from eight cadavers. Within 48 h postmortem, MRIs in various spin-echo sequences and biplanar radiographs of...

  13. Interfacial stress affects rat alveolar type II cell signaling and gene expression

    OpenAIRE

    Hobi, Nina; Ravasio, Andrea; Haller, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    Previous work from our group (Ravasio A, Hobi N, Bertocchi C, Jesacher A, Dietl P, Haller T. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 300: C1456–C1465, 2011.) showed that contact of alveolar epithelial type II cells with an air-liquid interface (IAL) leads to a paradoxical situation. It is a potential threat that can cause cell injury, but also a Ca2+-dependent stimulus for surfactant secretion. Both events can be explained by the impact of interfacial tensile forces on cellular structures. Here, the streng...

  14. Hematologic and plasma biochemical reference values in Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samour, Jaime; Naldo, Jesus; Rahman, Habeeb; Sakkir, Mohammed

    2010-06-01

    Blood samples were collected from captive, adult, clinically normal Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) for hematologic and plasma biochemical analyses. Hematologic parameters investigated were total red blood cell count, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, fibrinogen, mean cell volume, mean cell hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentration, total white blood cell count, differential white blood cell count, and thrombocyte count. Plasma biochemical parameters investigated were alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, amylase, aspartate aminotransferase, bile acids, total bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, calcium, cholesterol, creatinine, creatine kinase, gamma glutamyltransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose, iron, phosphorus, and uric acid, as well as plasma protein electrophoresis. Results were compared with values from studies done in houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata), kori bustards (Ardeotis kori), stone curlews (Burhinus oedicnemus), and taxonomically related species, including ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa), Kashmir native fowl (Kashmirfavorella), and Bangladesh native, Fayoumi, and Assil fowl (Gallus domesticus).

  15. Possible Roles of Fluoride and Carbonate in Biochemical Carbonated Apatite Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meouch, Orysia; Omelon, Sidney

    2016-04-01

    Marine phosphorites are predominantly composed of carbonated fluorapatite (CFA = Ca10-a-b-cNaaMgb(PO4)6-x(CO3)x-y-z(CO3.F)y(SO4)zF2, where x=y+a+2c, and c represents the number of Ca vacancies, with a P2O5 content that ranges from 18-40 %. Sulphur-oxidizing bacteria of the Beggiatoa genus concentration phosphorous as intracellular polyphosphate ((PO3-)n) which is depolymerized into inorganic orthophosphate (Pi). Consequently, an increase in pore water Pi concentration favours carbonated apatite precipitation. The carbonate and fluoride that is characteristic of phosphorite CFA is also located in the vertebrate skeleton. This similarity suggests a biochemical pathway for CFA precipitation. Preliminary Raman spectroscopy and powder x-ray diffraction results that suggest a role for fluoride, and possibly carbonate, in the biochemical depolymerisation of polyphosphates with alkaline phosphatase will be presented.

  16. Restless legs syndrome in Parkinson's disease: clinical characteristics and biochemical correlations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiago Machado Guerreiro

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Restless legs syndrome (RLS is a neurological disorder that responds to dopaminergic drugs, indicating a common pathophysiology with Parkinson's disease (PD. The prevalence of RLS was estimated in a group of PD patients and its clinical and biochemical characteristics were analysed. Forty-eight patients with PD were evaluated into two groups, with and without RLS. Clinical characteristics assessed in both groups were age, gender, duration of PD, Hoehn and Yahr, and Schwab and England scales. Laboratory variables such as hemoglobin, s-iron, s-ferritin and creatinine were obtained. The prevalence of RLS was 18.75%. No significant differences regarding clinical variables and biochemical parameters were observed. The high prevalence of RLS found in PD patients suggests the concept of a common etiological link and it seems that secondary causes did not play a central role in the pathophysiology of RLS in this group of parkinsonian patients.

  17. Graded levels of sugar syrup in broiler rations and its effect on growth performance and blood biochemical parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed S. Hussein

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Dietary energy for chickens normally includes cereal grains and fat. This innovative study investigated the effect of replacing part of the corn and fat in broiler chicken rations with graded levels of sugar syrup on growth performance and biochemical parameters. Experimental treatments consisted of feeding a corn-soy basal diet alone, or with graded levels of sugar syrup in increments of 5%, 10% and 15%. All starter diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric. Body weight gain and efficiency of feed utilization of chicks fed the control diet alone were not significantly (P < 0.05 different from chicks fed diets supplemented with either 5% or 15% sugar syrup. Supplementation of sugar syrup to broiler diets had no significant effect on blood glucose, creatinine, total protein, or liver enzymes. Adding 5% sugar syrup to broiler rations significantly decreased blood cholesterol and triglycerides in chickens fed the sugar syrup diet compared with birds fed the control diet. In conclusion, the results shows sugar syrup can be used in poultry ration to replace part of the corn as a source of energy. These results allowed the authors to recommend the safe usage of sugar syrup in broiler rations.

  18. Modeling the relationships between quality and biochemical composition of fatty liver in mule ducks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theron, L; Cullere, M; Bouillier-Oudot, M; Manse, H; Dalle Zotte, A; Molette, C; Fernandez, X; Vitezica, Z G

    2012-09-01

    The fatty liver of mule ducks (i.e., French "foie gras") is the most valuable product in duck production systems. Its quality is measured by the technological yield, which is the opposite of the fat loss during cooking. The purpose of this study was to determine whether biochemical measures of fatty liver could be used to accurately predict the technological yield (TY). Ninety-one male mule ducks were bred, overfed, and slaughtered under commercial conditions. Fatty liver weight (FLW) and biochemical variables, such as DM, lipid (LIP), and protein content (PROT), were collected. To evaluate evidence for nonlinear fat loss during cooking, we compared regression models describing linear and nonlinear relations between biochemical measures and TY. We detected significantly greater (P = 0.02) linear relation between DM and TY. Our results indicate that LIP and PROT follow a different pattern (linear) than DM and showed that LIP and PROT are nonexclusive contributing factors to TY. Other components, such as carbohydrates, other than those measured in this study, could contribute to DM. Stepwise regression for TY was performed. The traditional model with FLW was tested. The results showed that the weight of the liver is of limited value in the determination of fat loss during cooking (R(2) = 0.14). The most accurate TY prediction equation included DM (in linear and quadratic terms), FLW, and PROT (R(2) = 0.43). Biochemical measures in the fatty liver were more accurate predictors of TY than FLW. The model is useful in commercial conditions because DM, PROT, and FLW are noninvasive measures.

  19. Hepatic lipidosis in anorectic, lactating holstein cattle: a retrospective study of serum biochemical abnormalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cebra, C K; Garry, F B; Getzy, D M; Fettman, M J

    1997-01-01

    The association between hepatic lipidosis (HL) and disease in 59 anorectic, ketotic, lactating Holstein heifers and cows was investigated. Severe HL, as determined by histologic evaluation of liver tissue, was present in 46 animals; only half of these animals required intensive treatment for ketosis, and only half had serum biochemical evidence of liver disease, as determined by the presence of a last value of 2-fold or greater than the upper limit of the reference ranges for at least 2 of the 4 serum tests: gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and sorbitol dehydrogenase activities and bile acid concentrations. Most cattle with biochemical evidence of liver disease and severe HL had been lactating for 14 or more days. Cows that required intensive treatment inconsistently had serum biochemical evidence of liver disease. Although cattle with severe HL had significantly higher serum bilirubin concentrations and aspartate aminotransferase and sorbitol dehydrogenase activities than cattle with less severe lipidosis, the specificity of abnormally high serum sorbitol dehydrogenase activity or bilirubin concentration for severe lipidosis was only 8%. Abnormally high serum aspartate aminotransferase activity was 83% sensitive and 62% specific for severe lipidosis. Serum glucose and total carbon dioxide concentrations were significantly lower in cattle with severe lipidosis than in those with mild or moderate lipidosis, and low serum glucose or total carbon dioxide concentrations were rare in cattle without severe lipidosis. From these data, we conclude that the use of a single biochemical or histopathologic criterion to define severity of disease or degree of liver compromise in anorectic, ketotic cows results in the misidentification of many animals.

  20. Metabologenomics of Phaeochromocytoma and Paraganglioma: An Integrated Approach for Personalised Biochemical and Genetic Testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenhofer, Graeme; Klink, Barbara; Richter, Susan; Lenders, Jacques Wm; Robledo, Mercedes

    2017-04-01

    The tremendous advances over the past two decades in both clinical genetics and biochemical testing of chromaffin cell tumours have led to new considerations about how these aspects of laboratory medicine can be integrated to improve diagnosis and management of affected patients. With germline mutations in 15 genes now identified to be responsible for over a third of all cases of phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas, these tumours are recognised to have one of the richest hereditary backgrounds among all neoplasms. Depending on the mutation, tumours show distinct differences in metabolic pathways that relate to or even directly impact clinical presentation. At the same time, there has been improved understanding about how catecholamines are synthesised, stored, secreted and metabolised by chromaffin cell tumours. Although the tumours may not always secrete catecholamines it has become clear that almost all continuously produce and metabolise catecholamines. This has not only fuelled changes in laboratory medicine, but has also assisted in recognition of genotype-biochemical phenotype relationships important for diagnostics and clinical care. In particular, differences in catecholamine and energy pathway metabolomes can guide genetic testing, assist with test interpretation and provide predictions about the nature, behaviour and imaging characteristics of the tumours. Conversely, results of genetic testing are important for guiding how routine biochemical testing should be employed and interpreted in surveillance programmes for at-risk patients. In these ways there are emerging needs for modern laboratory medicine to seamlessly integrate biochemical and genetic testing into the diagnosis and management of patients with chromaffin cell tumours.