Photosynthetic and biochemical mechanisms of an EMS-mutagenized cowpea associated with its resistance to cowpea severe mosaic virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Pedro F N; Silva, Fredy D A; Carvalho, Fabricio E L; Silveira, Joaquim A G; Vasconcelos, Ilka M; Oliveira, Jose T A

2017-01-01

The seed treatment of a CPSMV-susceptible cowpea genotype with the mutagenic agent EMS generated mutagenized resistant plantlets that respond to the virus challenge by activating biochemical and physiological defense mechanisms. Cowpea is an important crop that makes major nutritional contributions particularly to the diet of the poor population worldwide. However, its production is low, because cowpea is naturally exposed to several abiotic and biotic stresses, including viral agents. Cowpea severe mosaic virus (CPSMV) drastically affects cowpea grain production. This study was conducted to compare photosynthetic and biochemical parameters of a CPSMV-susceptible cowpea (CE-31 genotype) and its derived ethyl methanesulfonate-mutagenized resistant plantlets, both challenged with CPSMV, to shed light on the mechanisms of virus resistance. CPSMV inoculation was done in the fully expanded secondary leaves, 15 days after planting. At 7 days post-inoculation, in vivo photosynthetic parameters were measured and leaves collected for biochemical analysis. CPSMV-inoculated mutagenized-resistant cowpea plantlets (MCPI) maintained higher photosynthesis index, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents in relation to the susceptible (CE-31) CPSMV-inoculated cowpea (CPI). Visually, the MCPI leaves did not exhibit any viral symptoms neither the presence of the virus as examined by RT-PCR. In addition, MCPI showed higher SOD, GPOX, chitinase, and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities, H 2 O 2 , phenolic contents, and cell wall lignifications, but lower CAT and APX activities in comparison to CPI. All together, these photosynthetic and biochemical changes might have contributed for the CPSMS resistance of MCPI. Contrarily, CPI plantlets showed CPSMV accumulation, severe disease symptoms, reduction in the photosynthesis-related parameters, chlorophyll, carotenoid, phenolic compound, and H 2 O 2 contents, in addition to increased β-1,3-glucanase, and catalase activities that might have

Identifying optimal models to represent biochemical systems.

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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.

Simulation studies in biochemical signaling and enzyme reactions

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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.

The balancing mechanism. How to ensure the power production-consumption balance in a market opened to competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmnd, Y.; Nebas-Hamoudia, C.; Larripa, B.; Neupont, B.

2005-01-01

As electricity is a non-storable product in large quantities, generation and consumption have to be balanced at all times. In France, this balancing was historically solely supplied by EDF. Recent legislative changes have opened balancing supplies, thus creating competition. RTE, the electricity transmission system operator, has developed, in consultation with the main market players, the balancing mechanism. This enables available capacities to be merged in order to guarantee this balance. It operates like a permanent bidding system open to producers, industrial consumers and foreign players. Bids submitted by players are selected by RTE depending on the system requirements, taking into account merit order criterion and technical constraints. Prices issued from the balancing mechanism are used to provide a legitimate reference price for the settlement of imbalances between supplies and consumptions of the different electricity market players. Transparency, a crucial element of this mechanism, is ensured by a comprehensive system of open data publication. Since its launch, the balancing mechanism has proven its operational strength. (author)

Biochemical Factors Modulating Cellular Neurotoxicity of Methylmercury

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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.

Modelling biochemical reaction systems by stochastic differential equations with reflection.

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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.

Perspectives of Security Ensuring within the Framework of Barcelona Process

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T N Kirabaev

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Barcelona process was aimed to become an important mechanism in the realization of ideas of peace, stability and security ensuring in the Mediterranean Sea region. Cooperation in the sphere of security ensuring means openness of the regional states, social and economic reforms, human rights protection. The article deals with the problem of security ensuring by nonmilitary means.

Biochemical Analysis Reveals the Multifactorial Mechanism of Histone H3 Clipping by Chicken Liver Histone H3 Protease

KAUST Repository

Chauhan, Sakshi

2016-09-02

Proteolytic clipping of histone H3 has been identified in many organisms. Despite several studies, the mechanism of clipping, the substrate specificity, and the significance of this poorly understood epigenetic mechanism are not clear. We have previously reported histone H3 specific proteolytic clipping and a protein inhibitor in chicken liver. However, the sites of clipping are still not known very well. In this study, we attempt to identify clipping sites in histone H3 and to determine the mechanism of inhibition by stefin B protein, a cysteine protease inhibitor. By employing site-directed mutagenesis and in vitro biochemical assays, we have identified three distinct clipping sites in recombinant human histone H3 and its variants (H3.1, H3.3, and H3t). However, post-translationally modified histones isolated from chicken liver and Saccharomyces cerevisiae wild-type cells showed different clipping patterns. Clipping of histone H3 N-terminal tail at three sites occurs in a sequential manner. We have further observed that clipping sites are regulated by the structure of the N-terminal tail as well as the globular domain of histone H3. We also have identified the QVVAG region of stefin B protein to be very crucial for inhibition of the protease activity. Altogether, our comprehensive biochemical studies have revealed three distinct clipping sites in histone H3 and their regulation by the structure of histone H3, histone modifications marks, and stefin B.

Biochemical mechanisms of signaling: perspectives in plants under arsenic stress.

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Islam, Ejazul; Khan, Muhammad Tahir; Irem, Samra

2015-04-01

Plants are the ultimate food source for humans, either directly or indirectly. Being sessile in nature, they are exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses because of changing climate that adversely effects their growth and development. Contamination of heavy metals is one of the major abiotic stresses because of anthropogenic as well as natural factors which lead to increased toxicity and accumulation in plants. Arsenic is a naturally occurring metalloid toxin present in the earth crust. Due to its presence in terrestrial and aquatic environments, it effects the growth of plants. Plants can tolerate arsenic using several mechanisms like phytochelation, vacuole sequestration and activation of antioxidant defense systems. Several signaling mechanisms have evolved in plants that involve the use of proteins, calcium ions, hormones, reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide as signaling molecules to cope with arsenic toxicity. These mechanisms facilitate plants to survive under metal stress by activating their defense systems. The pathways by which these stress signals are perceived and responded is an unexplored area of research and there are lots of gaps still to be filled. A good understanding of these signaling pathways can help in raising the plants which can perform better in arsenic contaminated soil and water. In order to increase the survival of plants in contaminated areas there is a strong need to identify suitable gene targets that can be modified according to needs of the stakeholders using various biotechnological techniques. This review focuses on the signaling mechanisms of plants grown under arsenic stress and will give an insight of the different sensory systems in plants. Furthermore, it provides the knowledge about several pathways that can be exploited to develop plant cultivars which are resistant to arsenic stress or can reduce its uptake to minimize the risk of arsenic toxicity through food chain thus ensuring food security. Copyright © 2015

Modelling the System of Ensuring the Investment Security

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Moroz Maxim O.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The article explores approaches to modelling the system of ensuring the investment security. Necessity of observance of investment security of Ukraine has been substantiated. The author’s own vision of the modelling essentials has been provided. The eligibility for consideration of the system of ensuring the investment security of Ukraine in the functional, structural, process, formative, and factor aspects has been proved. The target setting and tasks of a functional model of the system of ensuring the investment security have been defined. The functions, subjects, organizational-economic mechanisms of the system of ensuring the investment security of Ukraine have been characterized. A structural model of the system of ensuring the investment security has been presented. Special attention has been given to the definition of objects of direct and indirect influence, control and controlled subsystems, aggregate of indicators, safe levels, principles of formation of the investment security system. The process and formative models of the system of ensuring the investment security, as well as the algorithm of the complex assessment of the level of investment security, were analyzed in detail. Measures to ensure the investment security of Ukraine have been defined.

Characterizing multistationarity regimes in biochemical reaction networks.

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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.

Development of a pericardial acellular matrix biomaterial: biochemical and mechanical effects of cell extraction.

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Courtman, D W; Pereira, C A; Kashef, V; McComb, D; Lee, J M; Wilson, G J

1994-06-01

There is evidence to suggest that the cellular components of homografts and bioprosthetic xenografts may contribute to calcification or immunogenic reactions. A four-step detergent and enzymatic extraction process has been developed to remove cellular components from bovine pericardial tissue. The process results in an acellular matrix material consisting primarily of elastin, insoluble collagen, and tightly bound glycosaminoglycans. Light and electron microscopy confirmed that nearly all cellular constituents are removed without ultrastructural evidence of damage to fibrous components. Collagen denaturation temperatures remained unaltered. Biochemical analysis confirmed the retention of collagen and elastin and some differential extraction of glycosaminoglycans. Low strain rate fracture testing and high strain rate viscoelastic characterization showed that, with the exception of slightly increased stress relaxation, the mechanical properties of the fresh tissue were preserved in the pericardial acellular matrix. Crosslinking of the material in glutaraldehyde or poly(glycidyl ether) produced mechanical changes consistent with the same treatments of fresh tissue. The pericardial acellular matrix is a promising approach to the production of biomaterials for heart valve or cardiovascular patching applications.

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

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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

BIOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS OF MIXED EFFECT OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION AND LOW POSITIVE TEMPERATURE ON ANIMALS’ ORGANISM

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Litovchenko O.L.

2015-05-01

Full Text Available At present, biochemical mechanisms of mixed effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR and cold on the body are not adequately studied, so this problem is urgent for modern medicine. Purpose of study. Establishing pathognomonic criteria and biochemical mechanisms of adverse effect of EMR on the organism of laboratory animals in conditions of cold stress. Materials and methods. The laboratory subacute experiment was carried out on mature white male rats of WAG line, weighing 190-220 g for 1 month. The animals were divided into 4 groups of 10 animals in each group. The first group was subjected to the isolated action of electromagnetic radiation (frequency 70 kHz, tension 600 V/m at a comfortable air temperature of 25 ± 2 ° C. The second group was subjected to the mixed action of EMR and low temperature 4 ± 2°C. The third group served as a control with regard to the first group, and the fourth group - with regard to the second, at air temperature of 25 ± 2°C. Expositions were carried out 5 times a week (for 4:00 every day. To identify changes in biochemical parameters studied during the experiments, blood sampling was performed at the stages of 5, 15, 30 days and urine sampling – at the stages of 15, 30 days in dynamics. Blood serum was used as biomaterial. It was determined the content of malondialdehyde (MDA, conjugated diene, content of SH-groups, superoxide dismutase, ceruloplasmin, cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL, triglycerides, atherogenic index was determined, the level of urea, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, content of chlorides, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, total protein, glucose, and catalase activity. Renal function was studied by the content of creatinine, cholinesterase, urea, uric acid, chlorides, potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and glucose in urine. Results and discussion. The findings showed that the isolated action of EMR only led to a

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

BALL - biochemical algorithms library 1.3

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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.

Calcium specificity signaling mechanisms in abscisic acid signal transduction in Arabidopsis guard cells

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Benjamin; Munemasa, Shintaro; Wang, Cun; Nguyen, Desiree; Yong, Taiming; Yang, Paul G; Poretsky, Elly; Belknap, Thomas F; Waadt, Rainer; Alemán, Fernando; Schroeder, Julian I

2015-01-01

A central question is how specificity in cellular responses to the eukaryotic second messenger Ca2+ is achieved. Plant guard cells, that form stomatal pores for gas exchange, provide a powerful system for in depth investigation of Ca2+-signaling specificity in plants. In intact guard cells, abscisic acid (ABA) enhances (primes) the Ca2+-sensitivity of downstream signaling events that result in activation of S-type anion channels during stomatal closure, providing a specificity mechanism in Ca2+-signaling. However, the underlying genetic and biochemical mechanisms remain unknown. Here we show impairment of ABA signal transduction in stomata of calcium-dependent protein kinase quadruple mutant plants. Interestingly, protein phosphatase 2Cs prevent non-specific Ca2+-signaling. Moreover, we demonstrate an unexpected interdependence of the Ca2+-dependent and Ca2+-independent ABA-signaling branches and the in planta requirement of simultaneous phosphorylation at two key phosphorylation sites in SLAC1. We identify novel mechanisms ensuring specificity and robustness within stomatal Ca2+-signaling on a cellular, genetic, and biochemical level. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03599.001 PMID:26192964

Interlinked bistable mechanisms generate robust mitotic transitions.

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Hutter, Lukas H; Rata, Scott; Hochegger, Helfrid; Novák, Béla

2017-10-18

The transitions between phases of the cell cycle have evolved to be robust and switch-like, which ensures temporal separation of DNA replication, sister chromatid separation, and cell division. Mathematical models describing the biochemical interaction networks of cell cycle regulators attribute these properties to underlying bistable switches, which inherently generate robust, switch-like, and irreversible transitions between states. We have recently presented new mathematical models for two control systems that regulate crucial transitions in the cell cycle: mitotic entry and exit, 1 and the mitotic checkpoint. 2 Each of the two control systems is characterized by two interlinked bistable switches. In the case of mitotic checkpoint control, these switches are mutually activating, whereas in the case of the mitotic entry/exit network, the switches are mutually inhibiting. In this Perspective we describe the qualitative features of these regulatory motifs and show that having two interlinked bistable mechanisms further enhances robustness and irreversibility. We speculate that these network motifs also underlie other cell cycle transitions and cellular transitions between distinct biochemical states.

Climatic Controls on Leaf Nitrogen Content and Implications for Biochemical Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Tcherednichenko, I. A.; White, M.; Bastidas, L.

2007-12-01

Leaf nitrogen (N) content, expressed as percent total nitrogen per unit of leaf dry mass, is a widely used parameter in biochemical modeling, due mainly to its role as a potentially limiting factor for photosynthesis. The amount of nitrogen, however, does not occur in a fixed amount in every leaf, but rather varies continuously with the leaf life cycle, in constant response to soil-root-stem-leaf-climate interactions and demand for growth. Moreover, while broad data on leaf N has become available it is normally measured under ambient conditions with consequent difficulty for distinguishing between genetic and time specific environmental effects. In the present work we: 1) Investigate the theoretical variation of leaf mass, specific heat capacity and leaf thickness of full sun-expanded leaves as a regulatory mechanism to ensure thermal survival along with long-term climatic radiation/temperature gradient; and discuss nitrogen and carbon controls on leaf thickness. 2) Based on possible states of partition between nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous components of a leaf we further derive probability density functions (PDFs) of nitrogen and carbon content and assess the effect of water and nutrient uptake on the PDFs. 3) Translate the results to spatially explicit representation over the conterminous USA at 1 km spatial resolution by providing maximum potential values of leaf N of fully expanded leaf optimally suited for long term climatic averages values and soils conditions. Implications for potential presence of inherently slow/fast growing species are discussed along with suitability of results for use by biochemical models.

Structure-function relationships in soft tissue mechanics: Examining how the micro-scale architecture of biochemical constituents effects health

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, David Sheldon

Countless debilitating pathologies exhibit symptoms that result from altered mechanical behavior of soft tissue. Therefore, it is of clinical and economic importance to mechanically evaluate soft tissues and attribute degenerative changes to alterations in structural constituents. The studies presented here focus on the annulus fibrosus and the sclera. Failure in these tissues is common and catastrophic. The annulus fibrosus may fail, resulting in herniation and nerve impingement, or the disc may degenerate over time, resulting in reduced mobility and pain. Similarly, the sclera may degenerate over time with intraocular pressure spurring creep behavior that distends the eye beyond its ideal shape. This causes myopic vision and puts patients at risk of macular degeneration and retinal detachment. These two tissues share a common structural role as the outer wall of a pressure vessel. Also, they are made of strikingly similar constituents, primarily consisting of water, type I collagen, glycosaminoglycans and elastin. The microstructure of these tissues, however, is very different. The annulus fibrosus is representative of an anisotropic tissue. Its well-organized fibril structure was analyzed via polarization modulated second harmonic microscopy in order to characterize fibril architecture. Structurally relevant biochemical constituents were quantified with biochemical assays. Morphologically healthy annulus tended to have a more highly organized microstructure and tended to absorb more strain energy when subject to a tensile load cycle. Given the strong correlation between fibril organization and select mechanical properties, predictive models will likely benefit from a characterization of fibril continuity and orientation coherence. The sclera is representative of an isotropic tissue. Its less-organized fibril structure has evolved to sustain biaxial plane stress. In the sclera, collagen content and associated crosslinks were primary determinants of stiffness

Biochemical and Structural Insights into the Mechanism of DNA Recognition by Arabidopsis ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3.

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Jinghui Song

Full Text Available Gaseous hormone ethylene regulates numerous stress responses and developmental adaptations in plants by controlling gene expression via transcription factors ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3 (EIN3 and EIN3-Like1 (EIL1. However, our knowledge regarding to the accurate definition of DNA-binding domains (DBDs within EIN3 and also the mechanism of specific DNA recognition by EIN3 is limited. Here, we identify EIN3 82-352 and 174-306 as the optimal and core DBDs, respectively. Results from systematic biochemical analyses reveal that both the number of EIN3-binding sites (EBSs and the spacing length between two EBSs affect the binding affinity of EIN3; accordingly, a new DNA probe which has higher affinity with EIN3 than ERF1 is also designed. Furthermore, we show that palindromic repeat sequences in ERF1 promoter are not necessary for EIN3 binding. Finally, we provide, to our knowledge, the first crystal structure of EIN3 core DBD, which contains amino acid residues essential for DNA binding and signaling. Collectively, these data suggest the detailed mechanism of DNA recognition by EIN3 and provide an in-depth view at molecular level for the transcriptional regulation mediated by EIN3.

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

Histologic and biochemical alterations predict pulmonary mechanical dysfunction in aging mice with chronic lung inflammation.

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Christopher B Massa

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Both aging and chronic inflammation produce complex structural and biochemical alterations to the lung known to impact work of breathing. Mice deficient in surfactant protein D (Sftpd develop progressive age-related lung pathology characterized by tissue destruction/remodeling, accumulation of foamy macrophages and alteration in surfactant composition. This study proposes to relate changes in tissue structure seen in normal aging and in chronic inflammation to altered lung mechanics using a computational model. Alterations in lung function in aging and Sftpd -/- mice have been inferred from fitting simple mechanical models to respiratory impedance data (Zrs, however interpretation has been confounded by the simultaneous presence of multiple coexisting pathophysiologic processes. In contrast to the inverse modeling approach, this study uses simulation from experimental measurements to recapitulate how aging and inflammation alter Zrs. Histologic and mechanical measurements were made in C57BL6/J mice and congenic Sftpd-/- mice at 8, 27 and 80 weeks of age (n = 8/group. An anatomic computational model based on published airway morphometry was developed and Zrs was simulated between 0.5 and 20 Hz. End expiratory pressure dependent changes in airway caliber and recruitment were estimated from mechanical measurements. Tissue elements were simulated using the constant phase model of viscoelasticity. Baseline elastance distribution was estimated in 8-week-old wild type mice, and stochastically varied for each condition based on experimentally measured alteration in elastic fiber composition, alveolar geometry and surfactant composition. Weighing reduction in model error against increasing model complexity allowed for identification of essential features underlying mechanical pathology and their contribution to Zrs. Using a maximum likelihood approach, alteration in lung recruitment and diminished elastic fiber density were shown predictive of mechanical

Histologic and biochemical alterations predict pulmonary mechanical dysfunction in aging mice with chronic lung inflammation.

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, Christopher B; Groves, Angela M; Jaggernauth, Smita U; Laskin, Debra L; Gow, Andrew J

2017-08-01

Both aging and chronic inflammation produce complex structural and biochemical alterations to the lung known to impact work of breathing. Mice deficient in surfactant protein D (Sftpd) develop progressive age-related lung pathology characterized by tissue destruction/remodeling, accumulation of foamy macrophages and alteration in surfactant composition. This study proposes to relate changes in tissue structure seen in normal aging and in chronic inflammation to altered lung mechanics using a computational model. Alterations in lung function in aging and Sftpd -/- mice have been inferred from fitting simple mechanical models to respiratory impedance data (Zrs), however interpretation has been confounded by the simultaneous presence of multiple coexisting pathophysiologic processes. In contrast to the inverse modeling approach, this study uses simulation from experimental measurements to recapitulate how aging and inflammation alter Zrs. Histologic and mechanical measurements were made in C57BL6/J mice and congenic Sftpd-/- mice at 8, 27 and 80 weeks of age (n = 8/group). An anatomic computational model based on published airway morphometry was developed and Zrs was simulated between 0.5 and 20 Hz. End expiratory pressure dependent changes in airway caliber and recruitment were estimated from mechanical measurements. Tissue elements were simulated using the constant phase model of viscoelasticity. Baseline elastance distribution was estimated in 8-week-old wild type mice, and stochastically varied for each condition based on experimentally measured alteration in elastic fiber composition, alveolar geometry and surfactant composition. Weighing reduction in model error against increasing model complexity allowed for identification of essential features underlying mechanical pathology and their contribution to Zrs. Using a maximum likelihood approach, alteration in lung recruitment and diminished elastic fiber density were shown predictive of mechanical alteration at

Bacterial Cell Mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Auer, George K; Weibel, Douglas B

2017-07-25

Cellular mechanical properties play an integral role in bacterial survival and adaptation. Historically, the bacterial cell wall and, in particular, the layer of polymeric material called the peptidoglycan were the elements to which cell mechanics could be primarily attributed. Disrupting the biochemical machinery that assembles the peptidoglycan (e.g., using the β-lactam family of antibiotics) alters the structure of this material, leads to mechanical defects, and results in cell lysis. Decades after the discovery of peptidoglycan-synthesizing enzymes, the mechanisms that underlie their positioning and regulation are still not entirely understood. In addition, recent evidence suggests a diverse group of other biochemical elements influence bacterial cell mechanics, may be regulated by new cellular mechanisms, and may be triggered in different environmental contexts to enable cell adaptation and survival. This review summarizes the contributions that different biomolecular components of the cell wall (e.g., lipopolysaccharides, wall and lipoteichoic acids, lipid bilayers, peptidoglycan, and proteins) make to Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial cell mechanics. We discuss the contribution of individual proteins and macromolecular complexes in cell mechanics and the tools that make it possible to quantitatively decipher the biochemical machinery that contributes to bacterial cell mechanics. Advances in this area may provide insight into new biology and influence the development of antibacterial chemotherapies.

Good laboratory practices for biochemical genetic testing and newborn screening for inherited metabolic disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-06

Biochemical genetic testing and newborn screening are essential laboratory services for the screening, detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of inborn errors of metabolism or inherited metabolic disorders. Under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations, laboratory testing is categorized on the basis of the level of testing complexity as either waived (i.e., from routine regulatory oversight) or nonwaived testing (which includes tests of moderate and high complexity). Laboratories that perform biochemical genetic testing are required by CLIA regulations to meet the general quality systems requirements for nonwaived testing and the personnel requirements for high-complexity testing. Laboratories that perform public health newborn screening are subject to the same CLIA regulations and applicable state requirements. As the number of inherited metabolic diseases that are included in state-based newborn screening programs continues to increase, ensuring the quality of performance and delivery of testing services remains a continuous challenge not only for public health laboratories and other newborn screening facilities but also for biochemical genetic testing laboratories. To help ensure the quality of laboratory testing, CDC collaborated with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to develop guidelines for laboratories to meet CLIA requirements and apply additional quality assurance measures for these areas of genetic testing. This report provides recommendations for good laboratory practices that were developed based on recommendations from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee, with additional input from the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society; the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children; and representatives of newborn

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.

Accelerating rejection-based simulation of biochemical reactions with bounded acceptance probability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thanh, Vo Hong, E-mail: vo@cosbi.eu [The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto 38068 (Italy); Priami, Corrado, E-mail: priami@cosbi.eu [The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto 38068 (Italy); Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Trento (Italy); Zunino, Roberto, E-mail: roberto.zunino@unitn.it [Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Trento (Italy)

2016-06-14

Stochastic simulation of large biochemical reaction networks is often computationally expensive due to the disparate reaction rates and high variability of population of chemical species. An approach to accelerate the simulation is to allow multiple reaction firings before performing update by assuming that reaction propensities are changing of a negligible amount during a time interval. Species with small population in the firings of fast reactions significantly affect both performance and accuracy of this simulation approach. It is even worse when these small population species are involved in a large number of reactions. We present in this paper a new approximate algorithm to cope with this problem. It is based on bounding the acceptance probability of a reaction selected by the exact rejection-based simulation algorithm, which employs propensity bounds of reactions and the rejection-based mechanism to select next reaction firings. The reaction is ensured to be selected to fire with an acceptance rate greater than a predefined probability in which the selection becomes exact if the probability is set to one. Our new algorithm improves the computational cost for selecting the next reaction firing and reduces the updating the propensities of reactions.

Beneficial effect of low ethanol intake on the cardiovascular system: possible biochemical mechanisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudesh Vasdev

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Sudesh Vasdev1, Vicki Gill1, Pawan K Singal21Discipline of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; 2Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaAbstract: Low ethanol intake is known to have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease. In cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance leads to altered glucose and lipid metabolism resulting in an increased production of aldehydes, including methylglyoxal. Aldehydes react non-enzymatically with sulfhydryl and amino groups of proteins forming advanced glycation end products (AGEs, altering protein structure and function. These alterations cause endothelial dysfunction with increased cytosolic free calcium, peripheral vascular resistance, and blood pressure. AGEs produce atherogenic effects including oxidative stress, platelet adhesion, inflammation, smooth muscle cell proliferation and modification of lipoproteins. Low ethanol intake attenuates hypertension and atherosclerosis but the mechanism of this effect is not clear. Ethanol at low concentrations is metabolized by low Km alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase, both reactions resulting in the production of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH. This creates a reductive environment, decreasing oxidative stress and secondary production of aldehydes through lipid peroxidation. NADH may also increase the tissue levels of the antioxidants cysteine and glutathione, which bind aldehydes and stimulate methylglyoxal catabolism. Low ethanol improves insulin resistance, increases high-density lipoprotein and stimulates activity of the antioxidant enzyme, paraoxonase. In conclusion, we suggest that chronic low ethanol intake confers its beneficial effect mainly through its ability to increase antioxidant capacity and lower AGEs.Keywords: low ethanol, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, biochemical

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 ...

Investigation of the Biochemical Mechanism for Cell-Substrate Mechanical Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Ricotta, Vincent Anthony

Advancements in stem cell biology and materials science have enabled the development of new treatments for tissue repair. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), which are highly proliferative and can be induced to differentiate along several mesenchymal cell lineages, offer the possibility for pulpal regeneration and treatment of injured dentition. Polybutadiene (PB) may be used as a substrate for these cells. This elastomer can be spun casted into films of different thicknesses with different moduli. DPSCs grown on PB films, which are relatively hard (less than 1500 A thick), biomineralize depositing crystalline calcium phosphate without a requirement for the typical induction factor, dexamethasone (Dex). The moduli of cells track with the moduli of the surface suggesting that mechanics controls mineralization. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the major effect of Dex on biomineralization is the result of its ability to alter cell mechanics or its ability to induce osteogenesis/odontogenesis. DPSCs sense substrate mechanics through the focal adhesions, whose function is in part regulated by the Ras homolog gene (Rho) and its downstream effectors Rho associated kinases (ROCKs). ROCKs control actin filament polymerization and interactions with myosin light chain. Because cells sense substrate mechanics through focal adhesion proteins whose function is regulated by ROCKs, the impact of a ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632, was monitored. Blocking this pathway with Y-27632 suppressed the ability of DPSCs to sense the PB substrate. The cell modulus, plasma membrane stiffness, and cytosol stiffness were all lowered and biomineralization was suppressed in all cultures independent of substrate modulus or the presence of Dex. In other words, the inability of DPSCs to sense mechanical cues suppressed their ability to promote mineralization. On the other hand the expression of osteogenic/odontogenic markers (alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin) was enhanced, perhaps due to Y

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.

Mechanisms of radioprotection - a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Copeland, E.S.

1978-01-01

Theories of radiation protection can be considered at both the molecular and biochemical-physiological levels. Four molecular level protection hypotheses, radical scavenging, hydrogen transfer reactions, the mixed disulfide hypothesis and the endogenous non-protein sulfhydryl hypothesis, probably describe different aspects of the actual protection mechanism, although each has inconsistencies. At the biochemical-physiological level, hypothermia induction and biochemical shock may be involved in protection of the organism against radiation induced damage and death. It is most likely that no single mechanism can account for the protection offered by a radioprotective drug. Certain compounds may operate primarily by means of physiological effects resulting in hypoxia or hypothermia in critical tissues. Others may operate primarily by influencing the intrinsic radiosensitivity of target molecules by causing localized radical scavenging or by donating a hydrogen atom. Metabolic effects such as biochemical shock, release of endogenous non-protein sulfhydryls, induction of structural changes in target molecules or delay in DNA synthesis and cell division are also possible mechanisms for radioprotection. (author)

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.

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.

Advances in Application of Mechanical Stimuli in Bioreactors for Cartilage Tissue Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ke; Zhang, Chunqiu; Qiu, Lulu; Gao, Lilan; Zhang, Xizheng

2017-08-01

Articular cartilage (AC) is the weight-bearing tissue in diarthroses. It lacks the capacity for self-healing once there are injuries or diseases due to its avascularity. With the development of tissue engineering, repairing cartilage defects through transplantation of engineered cartilage that closely matches properties of native cartilage has become a new option for curing cartilage diseases. The main hurdle for clinical application of engineered cartilage is how to develop functional cartilage constructs for mass production in a credible way. Recently, impressive hyaline cartilage that may have the potential to provide capabilities for treating large cartilage lesions in the future has been produced in laboratories. The key to functional cartilage construction in vitro is to identify appropriate mechanical stimuli. First, they should ensure the function of metabolism because mechanical stimuli play the role of blood vessels in the metabolism of AC, for example, acquiring nutrition and removing wastes. Second, they should mimic the movement of synovial joints and produce phenotypically correct tissues to achieve the adaptive development between the micro- and macrostructure and function. In this article, we divide mechanical stimuli into three types according to forces transmitted by different media in bioreactors, namely forces transmitted through the liquid medium, solid medium, or other media, then we review and summarize the research status of bioreactors for cartilage tissue engineering (CTE), mainly focusing on the effects of diverse mechanical stimuli on engineered cartilage. Based on current researches, there are several motion patterns in knee joints; but compression, tension, shear, fluid shear, or hydrostatic pressure each only partially reflects the mechanical condition in vivo. In this study, we propose that rolling-sliding-compression load consists of various stimuli that will represent better mechanical environment in CTE. In addition, engineers

Biochemical investigations of the mechanism of action of small molecules ZL006 and IC87201 as potential inhibitors of the nNOS-PDZ/PSD-95-PDZ interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bach, Anders

2015-01-01

ZL006 and IC87201 have been presented as efficient inhibitors of the nNOS/PSD-95 protein-protein interaction and shown great promise in cellular experiments and animal models of ischemic stroke and pain. Here, we investigate the proposed mechanism of action of ZL006 and IC87201 using biochemical...... by interacting with the β-finger of nNOS-PDZ. Our findings have implications for further medicinal chemistry efforts of ZL006, IC87201 and analogues, and challenge the general and widespread view on their mechanism of action....

Assessment of biochemical mechanisms of tolerance to chlorpyrifos in ancient and contemporary Daphnia pulicaria genotypes.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Adam M; Jeyasingh, Punidan D; Belden, Jason B

2017-12-01

The evolution of tolerance to environmental contaminants in non-target taxa has been largely studied by comparing extant populations experiencing contrasting exposure. Previous research has demonstrated that "resurrected" genotypes from a population of Daphnia pulicaria express temporal variation in sensitivity to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Ancient genotypes (1301-1646AD.) were on average more sensitive to this chemical compared to the contemporary genotypes (1967-1977AD.). To determine the physiological mechanisms of tolerance, a series of biochemical assays was performed on three ancient and three contemporary genotypes; these six genotypes exhibited the most sensitive and most tolerant phenotypes within the population, respectively. Metabolic tolerance mechanisms were evaluated using acute toxicity testing, while target-site tolerance was assessed via in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE) assays. Acute toxicity tests were conducted using i) the toxic metabolite chlorpyrifos-oxon (CPF-oxon) and ii) CPF-oxon co-applied with piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a known Phase-I metabolic inhibitor. Both series of toxicity tests reduced the mean variation in sensitivity between tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Exposure to CPF-O reduced the disparity from a 4.7-fold to 1.6-fold difference in sensitivity. The addition of PBO further reduced the variation to a 1.2-fold difference in sensitivity. In vitro acetylcholinesterase assays yielded no significant differences in constitutive activity or target-site sensitivity. These findings suggest that pathways involving Phase-I detoxification and/or bioactivation of chlorpyrifos play a significant role in dictating the microevolutionary trajectories of tolerance in this population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biophysical and biochemical constraints imposed by salt stress:Learning from halophyte

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Bernardo eDuarte

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Soil salinization is one of the most important factors impacting plant productivity. About 3.6 billion of the world’s 5.2 billion ha of agricultural dryland have already suffered erosion, degradation and salinization. Halophytes typically are considered as plants able to complete their life cycle in environments where the salt concentration is 200 mM NaCl or higher. Different strategies are known to overcome salt stress, as adaptation mechanisms from this type of plants. Salinity adjustment is a complex phenomenon characterized by both biochemical and biophysical adaptations. As photosynthesis is a prerequisite for biomass production, halophytes adapted their electronic transduction pathways and the entire energetic metabolism to overcome the salt excess. The maintenance of ionic homeostasis is in the basis of all cellular stress in particular in terms of redox potential and energy transduction. In the present work the biophysical mechanisms underlying energy capture and transduction in halophytes are discussed alongside with their relation to biochemical mechanisms, integrating data from photosystem light harvesting complexes, electronic transport chains to the quinone pools, carbon harvesting and energy dissipation metabolism.

Development of enhanced radioprotectors - Biochemical and molecular genetical approaches on the radioprotective mechanism of natural products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jeong Hee; Lee, Eun Ju; Hong, Jung A [Kyunghee University, Seoul (Korea)

2000-04-01

To identify radio-protective agent candidate among medicinal plants and to elucidate the mechanism of action of the candidate material by using modern biochemical and molecular biological methods, we screened radio-protective activity among 48 medicinal plants. Seven samples showed above 20% protective activities against oxidative cell damage: Euryale ferox, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Eucomia ulmoides, Paeonia suffruticosa, Spirodela polyrrhiza, and Nelumbo nucifera. We also screened for oxidative stress sensitizing activity among other 51 medicinal plants. Among those samples, 11 samples showed good sensitizing effect; Melia azedarach, Agastache rugosa, Catalpa ovata, Prunus persica, Sinomenium acutum, Pulsatilla koreana, Oldenlandia diffusa, Anthriscus sylvestris, Schizandra chinensis, Gleditsia sinensis, and Cridium officinale. We also reported the radio-protective effect of DTT. The treatment of DTT increased cell survival after gamma-irradiation, decreased in the frequencies of micronucleus, and reduction in DNA fragmentation and apoptotic cells. Induction of apoptosis after UV-C irradiation was revealed by the changes in the relative cell death, increase in the relative amount of apoptotic cells, and the induction of DNA fragmentation. 165 refs., 9 figs., 8 tabs. (Author)

[Resistance risk, cross-resistance and biochemical resistance mechanism of Laodelphax striatellus to buprofezin].

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Xu-lian; Liu, Jin; Li, Xu-ke; Chi, Jia-jia; Liu, Yong-jie

2016-01-01

In order to investigate the resistance development law and biochemical resistance mechanism of Laodelphax striatellus to buprofezin, spraying rice seedlings was used to continuously screen resistant strains of L. striatellus and dipping rice seedlings was applied to determine the toxicity and cross-resistance of L. striatellus to insecticides. After 32-generation screening with buprofezin, L. striatellus developed 168.49 folds resistance and its reality heritability (h2) was 0.11. If the killing rate was 80%-90%, L. striatellus was expected to develop 10-fold resistance to buprofezin only after 5 to 6 generations breeding. Because the actual reality heritability of field populations was usually lower than that of the resistant strains, the production of field populations increasing with 10-fold resistance would need much longer time. The results of cross-resistance showed that resistant strain had high level cross-resistance with thiamethoxam and imidacloprid, low level cross-resistance with acetamiprid, and no cross-resistance with pymetrozine and chlorpyrifos. The activity of detoxification enzymes of different strains and the syergism of synergist were measured. The results showed that cytochrome P450 monooxygenase played a major role in the resistance of L. striatellus to buprofezin, the esterase played a minor role and the GSH-S-transferase had no effect. Therefore, L. striatellus would have high risk to develop resistance to buprofezin when used in the field and might be delayed by using pymetrozine and chlorpyrifos.

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.

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...

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.

Clinical importance of achieving biochemical control with medical therapy in adult patients with acromegaly

Science.gov (United States)

Christofides, Elena A

2016-01-01

In acromegaly, achieving biochemical control (growth hormone [GH] level acromegaly is challenging because it is rooted in observing subtle clinical manifestations, and it is typical for acromegaly to evolve for up to 10 years before it is recognized. This results in chronic exposure to elevated levels of GH and IGF-1 and delay in patients receiving appropriate treatment, which consequently increases mortality risk. In this review, the clinical impact of elevated GH and IGF-1 levels, the effectiveness of current therapies, and the potential role of novel treatments for acromegaly will be discussed. Clinical burden of acromegaly and benefits associated with management of GH and IGF-1 levels will be reviewed. Major treatment paradigms in acromegaly include surgery, medical therapy, and radiotherapy. With medical therapies, such as somatostatin analogs, dopamine agonists, and GH receptor antagonists, a substantial proportion of patients achieve reduced GH and normalized IGF-1 levels. In addition, signs and symptoms, quality of life, and comorbidities have also been reported to improve to varying degrees in patients who achieve biochemical control. Currently, there are several innovative therapies in development to improve patient outcomes, patient use, and access. Timely biochemical control of acromegaly ensures that the patient can ultimately improve morbidity and mortality from this disease and its extensive consequences. PMID:27471378

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

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)

Model of Formation of the Enterprise Business Portfolio in the Context of Ensuring Strategic Flexibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shatilova Olena V.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers urgent problems of enterprise management under conditions of external environment instability, studies problems of the enterprise strategic flexibility management. It shows that one of the efficient mechanisms of ensuring strategic flexibility is restructuring of the enterprise business portfolio in accordance with the change of the situation in the target market of enterprise functioning. The goal of the article is development of a model of formation of enterprise business portfolio in the context of ensuring strategic flexibility. The main method of optimisation of the enterprise business portfolio in the context of ensuring strategic flexibility is the use of modification of the Markowitz model of investment portfolio formation. The offered model of the enterprise business portfolio formation allows taking into account changes of external and internal environments and conducting portfolio restructuring in the event of the change of the enterprise target market situation. Prospects of further studies in this direction are detailed elaboration and formalisation of the organisational and economic mechanism of realisation of strategic flexibility at an enterprise.

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

Internal factors influencing the knowledge continuity ensuring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hana Urbancová

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the systematic ensuring of knowledge continuity is the continuity of an organisation’s development, the quality of managerial positions and the continuity of decision-making. By ensuring knowledge continuity, organisations may gain a performance-enhancing factor. The objective of the article is to identify the level of impact of decisive internal factors determining knowledge continuity ensuring and contributing to the efficiency of the organisations. Knowledge continuity ensuring as an internal force, however, can together with the right employees, help adapt more quickly to external conditions that organisations can hardly control. Monitoring and ensuring knowledge continuity can contribute to a higher quality of processes in general, in particular processes exploiting knowledge, and thus help improve the level of management. The first part of the article presents theoretical views on the aspects of knowledge continuity ensuring in organisations while the second part analyses the findings of the surveys carried out among managers in organisations in the Czech Republic. Based on the summary of the outcomes obtained it is possible to say that internal factors influence knowledge continuity ensuring in organisations, however, the level of impact of individual factors is determined by their size. The findings regarding the impact of each of the factors show that the most significant barriers to knowledge continuity ensuring are those associated with the human factor.

HSimulator: Hybrid Stochastic/Deterministic Simulation of Biochemical Reaction Networks

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Luca Marchetti

2017-01-01

Full Text Available HSimulator is a multithread simulator for mass-action biochemical reaction systems placed in a well-mixed environment. HSimulator provides optimized implementation of a set of widespread state-of-the-art stochastic, deterministic, and hybrid simulation strategies including the first publicly available implementation of the Hybrid Rejection-based Stochastic Simulation Algorithm (HRSSA. HRSSA, the fastest hybrid algorithm to date, allows for an efficient simulation of the models while ensuring the exact simulation of a subset of the reaction network modeling slow reactions. Benchmarks show that HSimulator is often considerably faster than the other considered simulators. The software, running on Java v6.0 or higher, offers a simulation GUI for modeling and visually exploring biological processes and a Javadoc-documented Java library to support the development of custom applications. HSimulator is released under the COSBI Shared Source license agreement (COSBI-SSLA.

Mechanisms of adaptation to intensive loads of 400 meters’ hurdles runners at stage of initial basic training

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A.S. Rovniy

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose: is study of adaptation mechanisms of 400 meter’ hurdles-runners to intensive physical loads. Material: in the research 13 - 400 meters’ hurdles-runners and 13 - 400 meters’ runners participated. Results: it was found that physiological cost of sportsmen’s special workability has fragmentary character. We presented results of physiological and bio-chemical adaptation mechanisms to dozed work. The received results have no confident distinctions and can not objectively characterize mechanisms of sportsmen’s special workability. We did not detect definite differences in indicators of mechanisms, ensuring sportsmen’s special workability under dozed loads. We found, that level of anaerobic glycolysis is an objective criterion of 400 meter’ hurdles-runners’ special workability. It was shown that for determination of functional potentials for such kind of functioning it is necessary to apply special loads. Conclusions: the received results deepen information about mechanisms of adaptation to specific competition functioning. Correct approaches to processing and analysis of the research’s results permit to more specifically determine sportsmen’s functional potentials in different kinds of competition functioning.

Experimental Evolution of Diverse Strains as a Method for the Determination of Biochemical Mechanisms of Action for Novel Pyrrolizidinone Antibiotics.

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Beabout, Kathryn; McCurry, Megan D; Mehta, Heer; Shah, Akshay A; Pulukuri, Kiran Kumar; Rigol, Stephan; Wang, Yanping; Nicolaou, K C; Shamoo, Yousif

2017-11-10

The continuing rise of multidrug resistant pathogens has made it clear that in the absence of new antibiotics we are moving toward a "postantibiotic" world, in which even routine infections will become increasingly untreatable. There is a clear need for the development of new antibiotics with truly novel mechanisms of action to combat multidrug resistant pathogens. Experimental evolution to resistance can be a useful tactic for the characterization of the biochemical mechanism of action for antibiotics of interest. Herein, we demonstrate that the use of a diverse panel of strains with well-annotated reference genomes improves the success of using experimental evolution to characterize the mechanism of action of a novel pyrrolizidinone antibiotic analog. Importantly, we used experimental evolution under conditions that favor strongly polymorphic populations to adapt a panel of three substantially different Gram-positive species (lab strain Bacillus subtilis and clinical strains methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA131 and Enterococcus faecalis S613) to produce a sufficiently diverse set of evolutionary outcomes. Comparative whole genome sequencing (WGS) between the susceptible starting strain and the resistant strains was then used to identify the genetic changes within each species in response to the pyrrolizidinone. Taken together, the adaptive response across a range of organisms allowed us to develop a readily testable hypothesis for the mechanism of action of the CJ-16 264 analog. In conjunction with mitochondrial inhibition studies, we were able to elucidate that this novel pyrrolizidinone antibiotic is an electron transport chain (ETC) inhibitor. By studying evolution to resistance in a panel of different species of bacteria, we have developed an enhanced method for the characterization of new lead compounds for the discovery of new mechanisms of action.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Biochemical process of low level radioactive liquid simulation waste containing detergent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundari, Noor Anis; Putra, Sugili; Mukaromah, Umi

2015-01-01

Research of biochemical process of low level radioactive liquid waste containing detergent has been done. Thse organic liquid wastes are generated in nuclear facilities such as from laundry. The wastes that are cotegorized as hazard and poison materials are also radioactive. It must be treated properly by detoxification of the hazard and decontamination of the radionuclides to ensure that the disposal of the waste meets the requirement of standard quality of water. This research was intended to determine decontamination factor and separation efficiensies, its kinetics law, and to produce a supernatant that ensured the environmental quality standard. The radioactive element in the waste was thorium with activity of 5.10 −5 Ci/m 3 . The radioactive liquid waste which were generated in simulation plant contains detergents that was further processed by aerobic biochemical process using SGB 103 bacteria in a batch reactor equipped with aerators. Two different concentration of samples were processed and analyzed for 212 hours and 183 hours respectively at a room temperature. The product of this process is a liquid phase called as supernatant and solid phase material called sludge. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solid (SS), and its alpha activity were analyzed. The results show that the decontamination factor and the separation efficiency of the lower concentration samples are higher compared to the samples with high concentration. Regarding the decontamination factor, the result for 212 hours processing of waste with detergent concentration of 1.496 g/L was 3.496 times, whereas at the detergent concentration of 0.748 g/L was 15.305 times for 183 hours processing. In case of the separation efficiency, the results for both samples were 71.396% and 93.465% respectively. The Bacterial growth kinetics equation follow Monod’s model and the decreasing of COD and BOD were first order with the rate constant of 0.01 hour −1

Biochemical process of low level radioactive liquid simulation waste containing detergent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kundari, Noor Anis, E-mail: nooranis@batan.go.id; Putra, Sugili; Mukaromah, Umi [Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Nuklir – Badan Tenaga Nuklir Nasional Jl. Babarsari P.O. BOX 6101 YKBB Yogyakarta 55281 Telp : (0274) 48085, 489716, Fax : (0274) 489715 (Indonesia)

2015-12-29

Research of biochemical process of low level radioactive liquid waste containing detergent has been done. Thse organic liquid wastes are generated in nuclear facilities such as from laundry. The wastes that are cotegorized as hazard and poison materials are also radioactive. It must be treated properly by detoxification of the hazard and decontamination of the radionuclides to ensure that the disposal of the waste meets the requirement of standard quality of water. This research was intended to determine decontamination factor and separation efficiensies, its kinetics law, and to produce a supernatant that ensured the environmental quality standard. The radioactive element in the waste was thorium with activity of 5.10{sup −5} Ci/m{sup 3}. The radioactive liquid waste which were generated in simulation plant contains detergents that was further processed by aerobic biochemical process using SGB 103 bacteria in a batch reactor equipped with aerators. Two different concentration of samples were processed and analyzed for 212 hours and 183 hours respectively at a room temperature. The product of this process is a liquid phase called as supernatant and solid phase material called sludge. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solid (SS), and its alpha activity were analyzed. The results show that the decontamination factor and the separation efficiency of the lower concentration samples are higher compared to the samples with high concentration. Regarding the decontamination factor, the result for 212 hours processing of waste with detergent concentration of 1.496 g/L was 3.496 times, whereas at the detergent concentration of 0.748 g/L was 15.305 times for 183 hours processing. In case of the separation efficiency, the results for both samples were 71.396% and 93.465% respectively. The Bacterial growth kinetics equation follow Monod’s model and the decreasing of COD and BOD were first order with the rate constant of 0

Biochemical process of low level radioactive liquid simulation waste containing detergent

Science.gov (United States)

Kundari, Noor Anis; Putra, Sugili; Mukaromah, Umi

2015-12-01

Research of biochemical process of low level radioactive liquid waste containing detergent has been done. Thse organic liquid wastes are generated in nuclear facilities such as from laundry. The wastes that are cotegorized as hazard and poison materials are also radioactive. It must be treated properly by detoxification of the hazard and decontamination of the radionuclides to ensure that the disposal of the waste meets the requirement of standard quality of water. This research was intended to determine decontamination factor and separation efficiensies, its kinetics law, and to produce a supernatant that ensured the environmental quality standard. The radioactive element in the waste was thorium with activity of 5.10-5 Ci/m3. The radioactive liquid waste which were generated in simulation plant contains detergents that was further processed by aerobic biochemical process using SGB 103 bacteria in a batch reactor equipped with aerators. Two different concentration of samples were processed and analyzed for 212 hours and 183 hours respectively at a room temperature. The product of this process is a liquid phase called as supernatant and solid phase material called sludge. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solid (SS), and its alpha activity were analyzed. The results show that the decontamination factor and the separation efficiency of the lower concentration samples are higher compared to the samples with high concentration. Regarding the decontamination factor, the result for 212 hours processing of waste with detergent concentration of 1.496 g/L was 3.496 times, whereas at the detergent concentration of 0.748 g/L was 15.305 times for 183 hours processing. In case of the separation efficiency, the results for both samples were 71.396% and 93.465% respectively. The Bacterial growth kinetics equation follow Monod's model and the decreasing of COD and BOD were first order with the rate constant of 0.01 hour-1.

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.

Biochemical and physiological characterization of oil palm interspecific hybrids (elaeis oleifera x elaeis guineensis) grown in hydroponics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivera Mendez, Yurany Dayanna; Moreno Chacon, Andres Leonardo; Romero, Hernan Mauricio

2013-01-01

The interspecific hybrid, Elaeis oleifera x Elaeis guineensis (OxG) is an alternative for improving the competitiveness and sustainability of the Latin American oil palm agro-industry, because of its partial resistance to some lethal diseases and also because of the high quality of its oil. A comparative characterization was conducted of the physiological and biochemical performance of seedlings of six OxG hybrids grown in hydroponics. Gas exchange, vegetative growth, protein, sugar and photosynthetic pigment content, and antioxidant system activity were determined. With the exception of gas exchange, the other variables showed significant differences between materials. The U1273 and U1737 materials showed greater vegetative growth with no expression of biochemical traits, while the U1914 and U1990 materials showed high levels of reducing and total sugars, photosynthetic pigments, and antioxidant system activities, characteristics that could confer them adaptation to stress conditions. With the standardized hydroponics technique, the optimal conditions for the growth of seedlings were ensured, the differences between materials were established, and so those with promising features from the physiological and biochemical standpoint were identified. Finally, it could be used to study in a simple, fast, clean and inexpensive way, the effect of levels and sources of mineral nutrients on the growth and development of oil palm.

THE ROLE OF MORTGAGE CREDIT IN ENSURING ECONOMIC GROWTH

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Z. L. Garipova

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The decision of the important social task - ensuring the availability of housing for the mass of the population of the country, on the one hand, allowed to launch investment, savings, financial and credit mechanisms for ensuring economic growth of the Russian economy on the other. Despite the high degree of sophistication in the scientific literature of the organization of mortgage lending system, a study of its impact on economic growth factors in the scientific literature clearly insufficient. The original article was the theory of economic growth, which allowed on the basis of research of interaction of demand for residential property, it deals with the housing mortgage credit to justify a conclusion about its importance not only for solution of social tasks, availability of housing, but also a significant impact on the demand and supply on the residential property market. Based on the analysis of statistical data for the period from 2006 to 2012, and their correlation analysis carried out research of factors of development of housing markets and mortgage lending, namely incomes, housing prices, interest rates on loans, «channel lending conditions, the terms of banking mortgage.Purchase on Elibrary.ru > Buy now

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

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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

Prediction of the preeclampsia: a view of biochemical markers

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Mehmet Sühha Bostancı

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Preeclampsia is a diverse, multiorgan group of related disease processes that occurs in up to 5%-8% of pregnancies after 20 weeks’ gestation and it is one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Many molecular mechanisms are contributed to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Although it is unknown whether the mechanisms act independently or have synergistic effects. This review describes review of primary papers investigating blood based biomarker such as PAP-A, Inhibin A, sFlt1, and PP13 in general and first trimester biochemical markers and combinations of them specifically for preeclampsia.http://dx.doi.org/10.7175/rhc.v4i4.699

Collective behaviours: from biochemical kinetics to electronic circuits

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Agliari, Elena; Barra, Adriano; Burioni, Raffaella; di Biasio, Aldo; Uguzzoni, Guido

2013-12-01

In this work we aim to highlight a close analogy between cooperative behaviors in chemical kinetics and cybernetics; this is realized by using a common language for their description, that is mean-field statistical mechanics. First, we perform a one-to-one mapping between paradigmatic behaviors in chemical kinetics (i.e., non-cooperative, cooperative, ultra-sensitive, anti-cooperative) and in mean-field statistical mechanics (i.e., paramagnetic, high and low temperature ferromagnetic, anti-ferromagnetic). Interestingly, the statistical mechanics approach allows a unified, broad theory for all scenarios and, in particular, Michaelis-Menten, Hill and Adair equations are consistently recovered. This framework is then tested against experimental biological data with an overall excellent agreement. One step forward, we consistently read the whole mapping from a cybernetic perspective, highlighting deep structural analogies between the above-mentioned kinetics and fundamental bricks in electronics (i.e. operational amplifiers, flashes, flip-flops), so to build a clear bridge linking biochemical kinetics and cybernetics.

Deterrence and transmission as mechanisms ensuring reliability of gossip.

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Giardini, Francesca

2012-10-01

Spreading information about the members of one's group is one of the most universal human behaviors. Thanks to gossip, individuals can acquire the information about their peers without sustaining the burden of costly interactions with cheaters, but they can also create and revise social bonds. Gossip has also several positive functions at the group level, promoting cohesion and norm compliance. However, gossip can be unreliable, and can be used to damage others' reputation or to circulate false information, thus becoming detrimental to people involved and useless for the group. In this work, we propose a theoretical model in which reliability of gossip depends on the joint functioning of two distinct mechanisms. Thanks to the first, i.e., deterrence, individuals tend to avoid informational cheating because they fear punishment and the disruption of social bonds. On the other hand, transmission provides humans with the opportunity of reducing the consequences of cheating through a manipulation of the source of gossip.

A novel approach using metabolomics coupled with hematological and biochemical parameters to explain the enriching-blood effect and mechanism of unprocessed Angelica sinensis and its 4 kinds of processed products.

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Ji, Peng; Wei, Yanming; Hua, Yongli; Zhang, Xiaosong; Yao, Wanling; Ma, Qi; Yuan, Ziwen; Wen, Yanqiao; Yang, Chaoxue

2018-01-30

Angelica sinensis (AS), root of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, an important kind of Chinese traditional herbal medicine, has been used for women to enrich the blood for thousands of years. It is mainly distributed in Gansu province of China. According to Traditional Chinese medicine usage, unprocessed AS (UAS) and its 4 kinds of processed products (ASs) are all used to treat different diseases or syndromes. The difference among the enriching-blood effects of ASs is unclear. And their exact mechanisms of enriching the blood are not fully understood. In this study, our aim is to compare the enriching-blood effect and explain the related mechanism of ASs, to lay the foundation for the blood deficiency diagnosis and the rational use of ASs in the clinic. ASs were used to intervene the blood deficiency syndrome model mice induced by acetyl phenylhydrazine (APH) and cyclophosphamide (CTX). A novel approach using metabolomics coupled with hematological and biochemical parameters to explain the enriching-blood effect and mechanism of ASs was established. The blood routine examination, ATPase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, methemoglobin, glutathion peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and erythropoietin were measured. Two biofluids (plasma and urine) obtained from mice were analyzed with GC-MS. Distinct changes in metabolite patterns of the two biofluids after mice were induced by APH and CTX, and mice were intervened with ASs were analyzed using partial least squares-discriminant analysis. Potential biomarkers were found using a novel method including variable importance in the projection (VIP) >1.0, volcano plot analysis, and significance analysis of microarray. The results of hematological, biochemical parameters and the integrated metabolomics all showed the blood deficiency syndrome model was built successfully, ASs exhibited different degree of enriching-blood effect, and AS pached with alcohol (AAS) exhibited the best enriching-blood effect. 16 metabolites in

[Effects of Two Placement Ways for Storage of Blood Bag on Biochemical Indexes of Leukodepleted Red Blood Cells].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rui-Jun; Duan, Bing-Zheng; Ju, Chun-Mei; Sui, Su-Qin; Bai, Yan; Cao, Huan

2016-04-01

To investigate the effects of 2 different ways of storage bag placement on some biochemical indexes of leukodepleted red blood cells (LD-RBC) to as to ensure the efficacy and safety of clinical blood transfusion. The whole blood samples of 20 donors (400 ml/donor) were selected for preparating the LP-RBC, which were divided evenly into 10 bags. The 10 bags were randomly divided into 2 groups; the bags in 1 group were placed uprightly, while the bags in another group were placed horizontally. The bags of 2 groups were stored in the same conditions. One storage bag from each group was taken randomly on day 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 respectively, and then the biochemical indexes of samples were detected and analyzed. The values of K(+) and LAC on day 14, the value of LDH on day 28 in the uprightly placed group were higher than those in the horizontally placed group (P value of Na(+) on day 28, and the value of Glu on day 35 in the uprightly placed group were lower than those in horizontally placed group (P 0.05). The storage bags placed by different ways during the storage show different influence on some biochemical indexes of LD-RBC in the storage period.

RMBNToolbox: random models for biochemical networks

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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.

DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMAL CAPITAL INVESTMENTS TO ENSURE THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY

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O. I. Kharchenko

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Every year more attention is paid for the theoretical and practical issue of sustainable development of railway transport. But today the mechanisms of financial support of this development are poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this article is to determine the optimal investment allocation to ensure sustainable development of the railway transport on the example of State Enterprise «Prydniprovsk Railway» and the creation of preconditions for the mathematical model development. Methodology. The ensuring task for sustainable development of railway transport is solved on the basis of the integral indicator of sustainable development effectiveness and defined as the maximization of this criterion. The optimization of measures technological and technical characters are proposed to carry out for increasing values of the integral performance measure components. To the optimization activities of technological nature that enhance the performance criteria belongs: optimization of the number of train and shunting locomotives, optimization of power handling mechanisms at the stations, optimization of routes of train flows. The activities related to the technical nature include: modernization of railways in the direction of their electrification and modernization of the running gear and coupler drawbars of rolling stock, as well as means of separators mechanization at stations to reduce noise impacts on the environment. Findings. The work resulted in the optimal allocation of investments to ensure the sustainable development of railway transportation of State Enterprise «Prydniprovsk Railway». This allows providing such kind of railway development when functioning of State Enterprise «Prydniprovsk Railway» is characterized by a maximum value of the integral indicator of efficiency. Originality. The work was reviewed and the new approach was proposed to determine the optimal allocation of capital investments to ensure sustainable

The clean development mechanisms. Ensuring its climate and development benefits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salter, L.; Volpi, L.

2000-01-01

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) potentially offers a major opportunity for catalysing technology leapfrogging in the South. A CDM which delivers genuine incentives for investment in clean energy technologies and innovative energy solutions could become the first step in shifting towards a development model based on the delivery of sustainable energy services. Conversely, according to a recent analysis for WWF, a CDM regime which allows easy credits for conventional technologies will merely serve to reinforce the current trend towards increased carbon dependency in the South, at the same time as it allows industrialised countries to continue to increase greenhouse gas emissions at home

Biochemical reasoning for radiation protection and screening methods for radiation sensitivity and potential carcinogenicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riklis, Emanuel; Emerit, Ingrid

1994-01-01

Cells of different genetic characteristics respond differently to agents that modify radiation effects. When the modification is a result of chemical repair, reduction of the amount of damage by radical scavenging, production of hypoxia, or any other such mechanism, then the modification of the response will be the same for all types of cells, but not the same when biological or biochemical parameters are involved, because the differences between the cells affect the final outcome, and the genetic traits obviously become affected by chemical modifying agents. Some of these agents directly affect the repair of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by mechanisms not yet understood. Another agent nicotinamide (NA), is directly linked to a repair pathway. Thus, a system that uses NA as a precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) + , and uses NAD + to produce the polymer polyadenosine diphosphate ribose (PADPR) appears to be an interesting and important factor in the biochemical events that may be linked to improved radioprotection. (author). 36 refs., 5 figs

Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics Modeling of Enzymatic Processes: Caveats and Breakthroughs.

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Quesne, Matthew G; Borowski, Tomasz; de Visser, Sam P

2016-02-18

Nature has developed large groups of enzymatic catalysts with the aim to transfer substrates into useful products, which enables biosystems to perform all their natural functions. As such, all biochemical processes in our body (we drink, we eat, we breath, we sleep, etc.) are governed by enzymes. One of the problems associated with research on biocatalysts is that they react so fast that details of their reaction mechanisms cannot be obtained with experimental work. In recent years, major advances in computational hardware and software have been made and now large (bio)chemical systems can be studied using accurate computational techniques. One such technique is the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) technique, which has gained major momentum in recent years. Unfortunately, it is not a black-box method that is easily applied, but requires careful set-up procedures. In this work we give an overview on the technical difficulties and caveats of QM/MM and discuss work-protocols developed in our groups for running successful QM/MM calculations. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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

Biochemical mechanism of radiation-induced dormancy in potatoes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, P.M.; Ussuf, K.K.; Janave, M.T.; Satyanarayana, V.; Pendharkar, M.B.

1983-01-01

The studies described here will show that after gamma irradiation the dormant bud tissue of potato exhibits a transient metabolic activation. During this period of active metabolic state, the tissue is capable of synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein. Apart from this there is increased utilization of carbohydrate for the production of the energy source ATP, to meet the demand for these processes. The site of active protein synthesis during this transient phase of activation has been recognized as nuclei of the bud tissue and the synthesis of new proteins of the nuclei takes place within one to two hours after irradiation. The synthesis of nuclear acidic proteins was increased to about 3 to 5 fold during the activation period compared to unirradiated bud tissue. The increase in acidic protein synthesis lasted for 4.5 hr. During the time there was no synthesis of histones. The synthesis of histones started only 7 hr after irradiation showing about 10 fold increase over the control bud tissue. The increase in the concentration of non-histone protein prior to active RNA synthetic phase (2 hr) is suggestive of their involvement in the metabolic activation ensured after gamma irradiation. Gamma irradiation adversely affected the IAA synthesising system and the production of IAA. Treatment with low concentrations of IAA within 6 hr after irradiation could restore the IAA synthesising capacity as well as reversal of sprout inhibition. (author)

Curcumin Stimulates Biochemical Mechanisms of Apis Mellifera Resistance and Extends the Apian Life-Span

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Strachecka Aneta J.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available We examined the influence of curcumin-supplemented feeding on worker lifespan, Nosema resistance, key enzyme activities, metabolic compound concentrations and percentage of the global DNA methylation. Two worker groups (Apis mellifera were set up: 1 control group; workers were fed ad libitum with sucrose syrup; 2 workers were fed with the syrup with the addition of curcumin. Dead workers were removed every two days and the Nosema spp. infection levels were assessed. Hemolymph was taken from living workers for biochemical analyses. The global DNA methylation level was analysed using DNA from worker heads and thoraces. The bees that consumed curcumin lived longer and were less infested with Nosema spp. The curcumin-treated workers had higher concentrations of proteins, non-enzymatic biomarkers (triglycerides, glucose, cholesterol, Mg2+ and Ca2+, uric acid and creatinine, as well as elevated activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD , GPx, CAT , GST , neutral proteases, protease inhibitors, enzymatic biomarkers (AST , ALT , ALP . The concentrations of albumin and urea, and the activities of acidic and alkaline proteases were higher in the control group. Curcumin decreased global DNA methylation levels especially in older bees in which the natural, age-related level increase was observed. Most of the parameters increased over the apian youth and adulthood, and decreased in older bees. The decrease was markedly delayed in the bees fed with curcumin. Curcumin appeared to be an unexpectedly effective natural bio-stimulator, improving apian health and vitality. This multifactorial effect is caused by the activation of many biochemical processes involved in the formation of apian resistance.

Towards ensuring gender equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, A

1996-01-01

All people should participate in the development process. Many, however, remain excluded from the benefits of development. For example, women are privy to only a small share of developmental opportunities. The goals of equality, development, and peace were stated during the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995. The author considers whether women truly have equitable access to literacy, education, food, nutrition, health, employment, and the political and economic decision making process. She stresses that the goals pronounced at the Fourth World Conference on Women must be backed up with the necessary resources, including institutions established at the local, state, and national levels to ensure that the objectives are implemented and the implementation is monitored. The author further argues that in order for women to achieve equality with men, all girls must have access to primary and secondary schools; basic literacy is inadequate. Moreover, gender stereotyping must be avoided and gender sensitization ensured at all levels.

Physiological, Biochemical, Epigenetic and Molecular Analyses of Wheat (Triticum aestivum Genotypes with Contrasting Salt Tolerance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suresh Kumar

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Abiotic stress exerts significant impact on plant’s growth, development, and productivity. Productivity of crop plants under salt stress is lagging behind because of our limited knowledge about physiological, biochemical, epigenetic, and molecular mechanisms of salt tolerance in plants. This study aimed to investigate physio-biochemical, molecular indices and defense responses of selected wheat cultivars to identify the most contrasting salt-responsive genotypes and the mechanisms associated with their differential responses. Physio-biochemical traits specifically membrane stability index, antioxidant potential, osmoprotectants and chlorophyll contents, measured at vegetative stage, were used for multivariate analysis to identify the most contrasting genotypes. Genetic and epigenetic analyses indicated the possible mechanisms associated with differential response of the wheat genotypes under salt stress. Better antioxidant potential, membrane stability, increased accumulation of osmolytes/phytophenolics, and higher K+/Na+ ratio under 200 mM NaCl stress identified Kharchia-65 to be the most salt-tolerant cultivar. By contrast, increased MDA level, reduced soluble sugar, proline, total chlorophyll, total phenolics contents, and lower antioxidant potential in HD-2329 marked it to be sensitive to the stress. Genetic and bioinformatics analyses of HKT1;4 of contrasting genotypes (Kharchia-65 and HD-2329 revealed deletions, transitions, and transversions resulting into altered structure, loss of conserved motifs (Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly and Gly-Arg and function in salt-sensitive (HD-2329 genotype. Expression analysis of HKTs rationalized the observed responses. Epigenetic variations in cytosine methylation explained tissue- and genotype-specific differential expression of HKT2;1 and HKT2;3.

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.

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.

A biochemical basis for induction of retina regeneration by antioxidants.

Science.gov (United States)

Echeverri-Ruiz, Nancy; Haynes, Tracy; Landers, Joseph; Woods, Justin; Gemma, Michael J; Hughes, Michael; Del Rio-Tsonis, Katia

2018-01-15

The use of antioxidants in tissue regeneration has been studied, but their mechanism of action is not well understood. Here, we analyze the role of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in retina regeneration. Embryonic chicks are able to regenerate their retina after its complete removal from retinal stem/progenitor cells present in the ciliary margin (CM) of the eye only if a source of exogenous factors, such as FGF2, is present. This study shows that NAC modifies the redox status of the CM, initiates self-renewal of the stem/progenitor cells, and induces regeneration in the absence of FGF2. NAC works as an antioxidant by scavenging free radicals either independently or through the synthesis of glutathione (GSH), and/or by reducing oxidized proteins through a thiol disulfide exchange activity. We dissected the mechanism used by NAC to induce regeneration through the use of inhibitors of GSH synthesis and the use of other antioxidants with different biochemical structures and modes of action, and found that NAC induces regeneration through its thiol disulfide exchange activity. Thus, our results provide, for the first time, a biochemical basis for induction of retina regeneration. Furthermore, NAC induction was independent of FGF receptor signaling, but dependent on the MAPK (pErk1/2) pathway. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biochemical changes in diabetic retinopathy triggered by hyperglycaemia: A review

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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.

Accessible methods for the dynamic time-scale decomposition of biochemical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Surovtsova, Irina; Simus, Natalia; Lorenz, Thomas; König, Artjom; Sahle, Sven; Kummer, Ursula

2009-11-01

The growing complexity of biochemical models asks for means to rationally dissect the networks into meaningful and rather independent subnetworks. Such foregoing should ensure an understanding of the system without any heuristics employed. Important for the success of such an approach is its accessibility and the clarity of the presentation of the results. In order to achieve this goal, we developed a method which is a modification of the classical approach of time-scale separation. This modified method as well as the more classical approach have been implemented for time-dependent application within the widely used software COPASI. The implementation includes different possibilities for the representation of the results including 3D-visualization. The methods are included in COPASI which is free for academic use and available at www.copasi.org. irina.surovtsova@bioquant.uni-heidelberg.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Proteomic Assessment of Biochemical Pathways That Are Critical to Nickel-Induced Toxicity Responses in Human Epithelial Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Yue; Bruno, Maribel; Haykal-Coates, Najwa; Wallace, Kathleen; Andrews, Debora; Swank, Adam; Winnik, Witold; Ross, Jeffrey A.

2016-01-01

Understanding the mechanisms underlying toxicity initiated by nickel, a ubiquitous environmental contaminant and known human carcinogen is necessary for proper assessment of its risks to human and environment. Among a variety of toxic mechanisms, disruption of protein responses and protein response-based biochemical pathways represents a key mechanism through which nickel induces cytotoxicity and carcinogenesis. To identify protein responses and biochemical pathways that are critical to nickel-induced toxicity responses, we measured cytotoxicity and changes in expression and phosphorylation status of 14 critical biochemical pathway regulators in human BEAS-2B cells exposed to four concentrations of nickel using an integrated proteomic approach. A subset of the pathway regulators, including interleukin-6, and JNK, were found to be linearly correlated with cell viability, and may function as molecular determinants of cytotoxic responses of BEAS-2B cells to nickel exposures. In addition, 128 differentially expressed proteins were identified by two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analyses, and ingenuity signaling pathway analysis (IPA) identified putative nickel toxicity pathways. Some of the proteins and pathways identified have not previously been linked to nickel toxicity. Based on the consistent results obtained from both ELISA and 2-DE proteomic analysis, we propose a core signaling pathway regulating cytotoxic responses of human BEAS-2B cells to nickel exposures, which integrates a small set of proteins involved in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis pathways, apoptosis, protein degradation, and stress responses including inflammation and oxidative stress. PMID:27626938

[An overview on the physiological and ecological adaptation mechanisms of the overwinter ticks].

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Zhi-jun; Yang, Xiao-long; Chen, Jie; Liu, Jing-ze

2014-10-01

The current paper introduces the recent research and development on the cryobiology of ticks, based on their overwinter behavior strategy and biochemical and physiological adaptation mechanisms, and provides detail information on the cold hardiness, biochemical and physiological mechanisms, the relationship between cold hardiness and diapause, which will give theoretical clues for subsequent research on the molecular regulation of cold hardiness of ticks.

ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM OF ENSURING FOOD SECURITY

OpenAIRE

Lalayan G. G.

2013-01-01

In this article we have revealed the essence of the problem of ensuring food security in detail. The components of economic safety at macroeconomic level are described, defining conditions of ensuring national food security are shown

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.

Characterization of physical and biochemical changes in plasma treated spinach seed during germination

Science.gov (United States)

Hye Ji, Sang; Ki, Se Hoon; Kang, Min Ho; Choi, Jin Sung; Park, Yeunsoo; Oh, Jaesung; Kim, Seong Bong; Yoo, Suk Jae; Choi, Eun Ha; Park, Gyungsoon

2018-04-01

Despite the accumulating data on the effect of plasma on seed germination, mechanisms of plasma action need more extensive research. In a previous study, we observed that high voltage nanosecond pulsed plasma enhanced the germination of spinach seeds and subsequent seedling growth. As a follow-up study, we investigated the physico-chemical, biochemical, and molecular changes in seed after plasma treatment, focusing on the early germination stage, to elucidate mechanism(s) for the stimulating effects of plasma on seed germination. The primary radicle protruded from seeds exposed to high voltage nanosecond pulsed plasma (one shot) slightly faster than the control seeds. The hydrophilicity of the seed surface significantly increased after treatment with high voltage nanosecond pulsed plasma (one shot). However, a very subtle increase in water uptake by plasma treated seeds was observed. Raman and FTIR spectroscopy analyses on chloroform extract of seed coats demonstrated no significant chemical etching on the surface of plasma treated seeds. This may be related to no dramatic increase in water absorption by seeds. The level of GA hormone and starch hydrolysis inside the plasma treated seeds was significantly elevated within 24 h. Taken together, our results suggest that high voltage nanosecond pulsed plasma may not only enhance hydrophilicity of the seed surface but also stimulate biochemical and molecular processes inside seed, leading to enhanced embryonic development.

Biochemical Responses of Peach Leaves Infected with Taphrina Deformans Berk/Tul.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lyubka Koleva-Valkova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The phytopathogenic fungus Taphrina deformans causing the so called “leaf curl disease” in peach trees leads to severe yield losses due to the development of leaf hypertrophy and subsequent necrosis and scission. Because of its economic importance, the molecular mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of the disease are of considerable interest to the agricultural science. In this study various biochemical parameters, including the activities of the antioxidant enzymes guaiacol peroxidase, syringaldazine peroxidase and catalase, total polyphenols and anthocyanin content, concentration of free proline, antiradical activity and quantity of plastid pigments, were characterized. All these were measured in both leaves with clear symptoms and distally situated leaves from the same plant that show no signs of the infection. The results demonstrate that the pathogen induces considerable biochemical changes concerning enzymatic and non‑enzymatic elements of the plant defense and antioxidant systems. Moreover, it seems that the fungus provokes a systemic response detectable even in the tissues without observable symptoms.

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

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the physiological and biochemical properties of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seedlings

Science.gov (United States)

İşlek, Cemil; Murat Altuner, Ergin; Alpas, Hami

2015-10-01

High hydrostatic pressure is a non-thermal food processing technology, which also has several successful applications in different areas besides food processing. In this study, Capsicum annuum L. (pepper) seeds are subjected to 50, 100, 200 and 300 MPa pressure for 5 min at 25°C and the seedlings of HHP processed seeds are used to compare percentage of seed germination and biochemical properties such as chlorophyll a, b and a/b, proline content, total protein, carotenoid, malondialdehyde, glucose, fructose and phenolic compounds concentrations. As a result of the study, it was observed that there are remarkable changes in terms of biochemical properties especially for seedlings, whose seeds were pressurized at 200 and 300 MPa. More detailed studies are needed to put forward the mechanism behind the changes in biochemical properties.

Ensuring effective project management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, J.N.

1980-01-01

A brief description is given of the organisation methods employed by the Bechtel Power Corporation, in their contract with Mississippi Power and Light Company for the design, construction and procurement activities for the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station. The aim is to ensure effective management, and good communications at all stages of construction, between the project team and the client. (U.K.)

Ensuring Software IP Cleanliness

OpenAIRE

Mahshad Koohgoli; Richard Mayer

2007-01-01

At many points in the life of a software enterprise, determination of intellectual property (IP) cleanliness becomes critical. The value of an enterprise that develops and sells software may depend on how clean the software is from the IP perspective. This article examines various methods of ensuring software IP cleanliness and discusses some of the benefits and shortcomings of current solutions.

Mechanisms of Resistance to Neurotoxins

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schubert, David

2002-01-01

.... During all of these events, some groups of nerve cells are spared relative to others. It is therefore likely that biochemical mechanisms exist which lead to increased resistance to oxidative stress and other forms of cytotoxicity...

Ensuring services to the poor : learning from LLPMS

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

fajardojp

necessary steps to delivery services to ensure providing basic facilities but poverty remains central ... services, technological transfer, imparting training, input supply within reasonable ... Providing education, ensuring health facility, safe ..... a workshop organised to get feedback on the methodology of LLPMS the officials of.

Ensuring Software IP Cleanliness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahshad Koohgoli

2007-12-01

Full Text Available At many points in the life of a software enterprise, determination of intellectual property (IP cleanliness becomes critical. The value of an enterprise that develops and sells software may depend on how clean the software is from the IP perspective. This article examines various methods of ensuring software IP cleanliness and discusses some of the benefits and shortcomings of current solutions.

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. 

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

The Influence of Biochemical Modification on the Properties of Adhesive Compounds

OpenAIRE

Anna Rudawska; Izabela Haniecka; Magdalena Jaszek; Monika Osińska-Jaroszuk

2016-01-01

The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of biochemical modification of epoxy adhesive compounds on the mechanical properties of a cured adhesive exposed to various climatic factors. The epoxy adhesive was modified by lyophilized fungal metabolites and prepared by three methods. Additionally, the adhesive compound specimens were seasoned for two months at a temperature of 50 °C and 50% humidity in a climate test chamber, Espec SH 661. The tensile strength tests of the adh...

Research Progress on the use of Plant Allelopathy in Agriculture and the Physiological and Ecological Mechanisms of Allelopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Fang; Cheng, Zhihui

2015-01-01

Allelopathy is a common biological phenomenon by which one organism produces biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, development, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and have beneficial or detrimental effects on target organisms. Plant allelopathy is one of the modes of interaction between receptor and donor plants and may exert either positive effects (e.g., for agricultural management, such as weed control, crop protection, or crop re-establishment) or negative effects (e.g., autotoxicity, soil sickness, or biological invasion). To ensure sustainable agricultural development, it is important to exploit cultivation systems that take advantage of the stimulatory/inhibitory influence of allelopathic plants to regulate plant growth and development and to avoid allelopathic autotoxicity. Allelochemicals can potentially be used as growth regulators, herbicides, insecticides, and antimicrobial crop protection products. Here, we reviewed the plant allelopathy management practices applied in agriculture and the underlying allelopathic mechanisms described in the literature. The major points addressed are as follows: (1) Description of management practices related to allelopathy and allelochemicals in agriculture. (2) Discussion of the progress regarding the mode of action of allelochemicals and the physiological mechanisms of allelopathy, consisting of the influence on cell micro- and ultra-structure, cell division and elongation, membrane permeability, oxidative and antioxidant systems, growth regulation systems, respiration, enzyme synthesis and metabolism, photosynthesis, mineral ion uptake, protein and nucleic acid synthesis. (3) Evaluation of the effect of ecological mechanisms exerted by allelopathy on microorganisms and the ecological environment. (4) Discussion of existing problems and proposal for future research directions in this field to provide a useful reference for future studies on plant

Research progress on the use of plant allelopathy in agriculture and the physiological and ecological mechanisms of allelopathy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang eCheng

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Allelopathy is a common biological phenomenon by which one organism produces biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, development, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and have beneficial or detrimental effects on target organisms. Plant allelopathy is one of the modes of interaction between receptor and donor plants and may exert either positive effects (e.g., for agricultural management, such as weed control, crop protection, or crop re-establishment or negative effects (e.g., autotoxicity, soil sickness, or biological invasion. To ensure sustainable agricultural development, it is important to exploit cultivation systems that take advantage of the stimulatory / inhibitory influence of allelopathic plants to regulate plant growth and development and to avoid allelopathic autotoxicity. Allelochemicals can potentially be used as growth regulators, herbicides, insecticides and antimicrobial crop protection products. Here, we reviewed the plant allelopathy management practices applied in agriculture and the underlying allelopathic mechanisms described in the literature. The major points addressed are as follows: (1 Description of management practices related to allelopathy and allelochemicals in agriculture. (2 Discussion of the progress regarding the mode of action of allelochemicals and the physiological mechanisms of allelopathy, consisting of the influence on cell micro- and ultra-structure, cell division and elongation, membrane permeability, oxidative and antioxidant systems, growth regulation systems, respiration, enzyme synthesis and metabolism, photosynthesis, mineral ion uptake, protein and nucleic acid synthesis. (3 Evaluation of the effect of ecological mechanisms exerted by allelopathy on microorganisms and the ecological environment. (4 Discussion of existing problems and proposal for future research directions in this field to provide a useful reference for future studies on

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 ...

[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.

Advances in citric acid fermentation by Aspergillus niger: biochemical aspects, membrane transport and modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Papagianni, Maria

2007-01-01

Citric acid is regarded as a metabolite of energy metabolism, of which the concentration will rise to appreciable amounts only under conditions of substantive metabolic imbalances. Citric acid fermentation conditions were established during the 1930s and 1940s, when the effects of various medium components were evaluated. The biochemical mechanism by which Aspergillus niger accumulates citric acid has continued to attract interest even though its commercial production by fermentation has been established for decades. Although extensive basic biochemical research has been carried out with A. niger, the understanding of the events relevant for citric acid accumulation is not completely understood. This review is focused on citric acid fermentation by A. niger. Emphasis is given to aspects of fermentation biochemistry, membrane transport in A. niger and modeling of the production process.

Prions: the danger of biochemical weapons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Almeida Xavier

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The knowledge of biotechnology increases the risk of using biochemical weapons for mass destruction. Prions are unprecedented infectious pathogens that cause a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases by a novel mechanism. They are transmissible particles that are devoid of nucleic acid. Due to their singular characteristics, Prions emerge as potential danger since they can be used in the development of such weapons. Prions cause fatal infectious diseases, and to date there is no therapeutic or prophylactic approach against these diseases. Furthermore, Prions are resistant to food-preparation treatments such as high heat and can find their way from the digestive system into the nervous system; recombinant Prions are infectious either bound to soil particles or in aerosols. Therefore, lethal Prions can be developed by malicious researchers who could use it to attack political enemies since such weapons cause diseases that could be above suspicion.

Mechanisms of Resistance to Neurotoxins (Addendum)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schubert, David

2003-01-01

.... During all of these events, some groups of nerve cells are spared relative to others. It is therefore likely that biochemical mechanisms exist which lead to increased resistance to oxidative stress and other forms of cytotoxicity...

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.

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.

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

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.

Duality ensures modular covariance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Miao; Yu Ming

1989-11-01

We show that the modular transformations for one point functions on the torus, S(n), satisfy the polynomial equations derived by Moore and Seiberg, provided the duality property of the model is ensured. The formula for S(n) is derived by us previously and should be valid for any conformal field theory. As a consequence, the full consistency conditions for modular invariance at higher genus are completely guaranteed by duality of the theory on the sphere. (orig.)

Standards for Radiation Effects Testing: Ensuring Scientific Rigor in the Face of Budget Realities and Modern Device Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Lauenstein, J M.

2015-01-01

An overview is presented of the space radiation environment and its effects on electrical, electronic, and electromechanical parts. Relevant test standards and guidelines are listed. Test standards and guidelines are necessary to ensure best practices, minimize and bound systematic and random errors, and to ensure comparable results from different testers and vendors. Test standards are by their nature static but exist in a dynamic environment of advancing technology and radiation effects research. New technologies, failure mechanisms, and advancement in our understanding of known failure mechanisms drive the revision or development of test standards. Changes to standards must be weighed against their impact on cost and existing part qualifications. There must be consensus on new best practices. The complexity of some new technologies exceeds the scope of existing test standards and may require development of a guideline specific to the technology. Examples are given to illuminate the value and limitations of key radiation test standards as well as the challenges in keeping these standards up to date.

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 ...

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.

Selection for chlorpyrifos resistance in Liriomyza sativae Blanchard: Cross-resistance patterns, stability and biochemical mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Askari-Saryazdi, Ghasem; Hejazi, Mir Jalil; Ferguson, J Scott; Rashidi, Mohammad-Reza

2015-10-01

The vegetable leafminer (VLM), Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is a serious pest of vegetable crops and ornamentals worldwide. In cropping systems with inappropriate management strategies, development of resistance to insecticides in leafminers is probable. Chlorpyrifos is a commonly used pesticide for controlling leafminers in Iran, but resistance to this insecticide in leafminers has not been characterized. In order to develop strategies to minimize resistance in the field and greenhouse, a laboratory selected chlorpyrifos resistant strain of L. sativae was used to characterize resistance and determine the rate of development and stability of resistance. Selecting for resistance in the laboratory after 23 generations yielded a chlorpyrifos resistant selected strain (CRSS) with a resistance ratio of 40.34, determined on the larval stage. CRSS exhibited no cross-resistance to other tested insecticides except for diazinon. Synergism and biochemical assays indicated that esterases (EST) had a key role in metabolic resistance to chlorpyrifos, but glutathione S-transferase (GST) and mixed function oxidase (MFO) were not mediators in this resistance. In CRSS acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was more active than the susceptible strain, Sharif (SH). AChE in CRSS was also less sensitive to inhibition by propoxur. The kinetics parameters (Km and Vmax) of AChE indicated that affinities and hydrolyzing efficiencies of this enzyme in CRSS were higher than SH. Susceptibility to chlorpyrifos in L. sativae was re-gained in the absence of insecticide pressure. Synergism, biochemical and cross-resistance assays revealed that overactivity of metabolic enzymes and reduction in target site sensitivity are probably joint factors in chlorpyrifos resistance. An effective insecticide resistance management program is necessary to prevent fast resistance development in crop systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular Mechanisms of Neuroplasticity: An Expanding Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulyaeva, N V

2017-03-01

Biochemical processes in synapses and other neuronal compartments underlie neuroplasticity (functional and structural alterations in the brain enabling adaptation to the environment, learning, memory, as well as rehabilitation after brain injury). This basic molecular level of brain plasticity covers numerous specific proteins (enzymes, receptors, structural proteins, etc.) participating in many coordinated and interacting signal and metabolic processes, their modulation forming a molecular basis for brain plasticity. The articles in this issue are focused on different "hot points" in the research area of biochemical mechanisms supporting neuroplasticity.

Interactions of Cannabinoids With Biochemical Substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian F Thomas

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Recent decades have seen much progress in the identification and characterization of cannabinoid receptors and the elucidation of the mechanisms by which derivatives of the Cannabis sativa plant bind to receptors and produce their physiological and psychological effects. The information generated in this process has enabled better understanding of the fundamental physiological and psychological processes controlled by the central and peripheral nervous systems and has fostered the development of natural and synthetic cannabinoids as therapeutic agents. A negative aspect of this decades-long effort is the proliferation of clandestinely synthesized analogs as recreational street drugs with dangerous effects. Currently, the interactions of cannabinoids with their biochemical substrates are extensively but inadequately understood, and the clinical application of derived and synthetic receptor ligands remains quite limited. The wide anatomical distribution and functional complexity of the cannabinoid system continue to indicate potential for both therapeutic and side effects, which offers challenges and opportunities for medicinal chemists involved in drug discovery and development.

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.

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.

The mechanism of selecting priority options and sequence of solutions to ensure the safety of towing caravan navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brazhnyy A. I.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The paper considers navigational safety movement of the towed object and tugboat. Some methods of alternatives choice of decision-maker persons (DMP to manage the safety of towing a caravan have been presented. Examples of navigation safety conditions, their operational relationship, critical and emergency character with respect to the predetermined position of the band have been given; the sequence of forming actions of the algorithm based on an assessment of possible losses for the sustainability of the towing operation has been proposed. The aim is to research and develop a sequence of logical conclusions for forming some mechanism to take corrective action when navigating the composition of the output of the towing caravan of navigation stable security situation for its return to the original settings of sustainable movement. To assess the risks of navigation functions the risk analysis method has been used, with further selection of management synthesized for towing process, taking into account the possible reaction of the "human element". For estimations well-known in the probability theory and mathematical statistics methods have been used. An iterative mathematical model of the tow caravan considering the posterior distribution of parameters caravan phase coordinates for the given cases has been built. The possibility of resource losses when choosing the optimal alternative has been investigated. It has been established that while selecting and adopting a single decision under risk, including alternatives to the losses, one can always find such an alternative which is able to ensure the management of the caravan navigational safety decreasing the probability of large losses. When operating the navigation state of towing caravan one should choose the optimal alternative that minimizes the possibility of the maximum cost, and then based on it to choose (with incomplete awareness of decision-makers optimal sequence of controls which in turn

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

The physiological and biochemical mechanism of nitrate-nitrogen removal by water hyacinth from agriculture eutrophic wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WU Wenwei

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Large amount of agriculturl wastewater containing high level nitrate-nitrogen (NO3 --N is produced from modern intensive agricultural production management due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and livestock scale farming. The hydroponic experiment of water hyacinth was conducted for analyzing the content of NO3 --N, soluble sugar content, N-transported the amino acid content and growth change in water hyacinth to explore its purification ability to remove NO3 --N from agriculture eutrophic wastewater and physiological and biochemical mechanism of this plant to remove NO3 --N. The results showed that the water hyacinth could effectively utilize the NO3 --N from agriculture eutrophic wastewater. Compared with the control, the contents of NO3 -change to NO3 --N in the root, leaf petiole and leaf blade of water hyacinth after treatment in the wastewater for a week was significantly higher than that in the control plants treated with tap water, and also the biomass of water hyacinth increased significantly, indicating that the accumulation of biomass due to the rapid growth of water hyacinth could transfer some amount of NO3 --N.13C-NMR analysis confirmed that water hyacinth would convert the part nitrogen absorbed from agriculture eutrophic wastewater to ammonia nitrogen, which increased the content of aspartic acid and glutamic acid, decreased the content of soluble sugar, sucrose and fructose and the content of N-storaged asparagine and glutamine, lead to enhance the synthesis of plant amino acids and promote the growth of plants. These results indicate that the nitrate in agriculture eutrophic wastewater can be utilized by water hyacinth as nitrogen nutrition, and can promote plant growth by using soluble sugar and amide to synthesis amino acids and protein.

Actin dynamics, architecture, and mechanics in cell motility.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchoin, Laurent; Boujemaa-Paterski, Rajaa; Sykes, Cécile; Plastino, Julie

2014-01-01

Tight coupling between biochemical and mechanical properties of the actin cytoskeleton drives a large range of cellular processes including polarity establishment, morphogenesis, and motility. This is possible because actin filaments are semi-flexible polymers that, in conjunction with the molecular motor myosin, can act as biological active springs or "dashpots" (in laymen's terms, shock absorbers or fluidizers) able to exert or resist against force in a cellular environment. To modulate their mechanical properties, actin filaments can organize into a variety of architectures generating a diversity of cellular organizations including branched or crosslinked networks in the lamellipodium, parallel bundles in filopodia, and antiparallel structures in contractile fibers. In this review we describe the feedback loop between biochemical and mechanical properties of actin organization at the molecular level in vitro, then we integrate this knowledge into our current understanding of cellular actin organization and its physiological roles.

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...

34 CFR 602.18 - Ensuring consistency in decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ensuring consistency in decision-making. 602.18 Section... relies on for making accrediting decisions is accurate; and (e) Provides the institution or program with... Criteria for Recognition Required Standards and Their Application § 602.18 Ensuring consistency in decision...

Kaiser Permanente Creatinine Safety Program: A Mechanism to Ensure Widespread Detection and Care for Chronic Kidney Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Sim, John J; Rutkowski, Mark P; Selevan, David C; Batech, Michael; Timmins, Royann; Slezak, Jeff M; Jacobsen, Steven J; Kanter, Michael H

2015-11-01

Chronic kidney disease is highly prevalent but is challenging to diagnose because of the need to establish chronicity. Within the current healthcare environment, a single abnormal creatinine measurement often can go without a follow-up, which can lead to missed diagnoses or diagnostic errors. The Kaiser Permanente Southern California creatinine safety program (the Creatinine SureNet) was created to help ensure that all single abnormal creatinine results had a follow-up evaluation. In the period February 1, 2010, to March 1, 2014, the electronic health records were used to capture individuals with single abnormal creatinine results that went >90 days without a repeat measurement. A coordinated effort among a centralized regional nurse and providers was used to communicate with patients and order a repeat creatinine measurement. A total of 12,396 individuals were identified (84% ambulatory care encounters). A total of 6981 individuals (52%) followed up with a repeat measurement. Female patients, non-Hispanic whites, and older individuals were more likely to obtain a repeat measurement. Subsequently, 3668 individuals had chronic kidney disease confirmed. Within 6 months, 1550 patients had chart documentation of their chronic kidney disease and 336 patients had a nephrology consultation. The ambulatory care environment, given its high volume and various prioritizations, is an under-recognized area where diagnostic errors are not uncommon and failure to follow up on abnormal test results can occur routinely. The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Creatinine SureNet program leverages the electronic health records and its multidisciplinary resources in an effort to ensure that patients with potential chronic kidney disease are identified and managed properly. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

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.

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

Elastin-like protein-hyaluronic acid (ELP-HA) hydrogels with decoupled mechanical and biochemical cues for cartilage regeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Danqing; Wang, Huiyuan; Trinh, Pavin; Heilshorn, Sarah C; Yang, Fan

2017-05-01

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a major component of cartilage extracellular matrix and is an attractive material for use as 3D injectable matrices for cartilage regeneration. While previous studies have shown the promise of HA-based hydrogels to support cell-based cartilage formation, varying HA concentration generally led to simultaneous changes in both biochemical cues and stiffness. How cells respond to the change of biochemical content of HA remains largely unknown. Here we report an adaptable elastin-like protein-hyaluronic acid (ELP-HA) hydrogel platform using dynamic covalent chemistry, which allows variation of HA concentration without affecting matrix stiffness. ELP-HA hydrogels were created through dynamic hydrazone bonds via the reaction between hydrazine-modified ELP (ELP-HYD) and aldehyde-modified HA (HA-ALD). By tuning the stoichiometric ratio of aldehyde groups to hydrazine groups while maintaining ELP-HYD concentration constant, hydrogels with variable HA concentration (1.5%, 3%, or 5%) (w/v) were fabricated with comparable stiffness. To evaluate the effects of HA concentration on cell-based cartilage regeneration, chondrocytes were encapsulated within ELP-HA hydrogels with varying HA concentration. Increasing HA concentration led to a dose-dependent increase in cartilage-marker gene expression and enhanced sGAG deposition while minimizing undesirable fibrocartilage phenotype. The use of adaptable protein hydrogels formed via dynamic covalent chemistry may be broadly applicable as 3D scaffolds with decoupled niche properties to guide other desirable cell fates and tissue repair. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The biochemical anatomy of cortical inhibitory synapses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth A Heller

Full Text Available Classical electron microscopic studies of the mammalian brain revealed two major classes of synapses, distinguished by the presence of a large postsynaptic density (PSD exclusively at type 1, excitatory synapses. Biochemical studies of the PSD have established the paradigm of the synapse as a complex signal-processing machine that controls synaptic plasticity. We report here the results of a proteomic analysis of type 2, inhibitory synaptic complexes isolated by affinity purification from the cerebral cortex. We show that these synaptic complexes contain a variety of neurotransmitter receptors, neural cell-scaffolding and adhesion molecules, but that they are entirely lacking in cell signaling proteins. This fundamental distinction between the functions of type 1 and type 2 synapses in the nervous system has far reaching implications for models of synaptic plasticity, rapid adaptations in neural circuits, and homeostatic mechanisms controlling the balance of excitation and inhibition in the mature brain.

Creative payment strategy helps ensure a future for teaching hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Vancil, D R; Shroyer, A L

1998-11-01

The Colorado Medicaid Program in years past relied on disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payment programs to increase access to hospital care for Colorado citizens, ensure the future financial viability of key safety-net hospitals, and partially offset the state's cost of funding the Medicaid program. The options to finance Medicaid care using DSH payments, however, recently have been severely limited by legislative and regulatory changes. Between 1991 and 1997, a creative Medicaid refinancing strategy called the major teaching hospital (MTH) payment program enabled $131 million in net payments to be distributed to the two major teaching hospitals in Colorado to provide enhanced funding related to their teaching programs and to address the ever-expanding healthcare needs of their low-income patients. This new Medicaid payment mechanism brought the state $69.5 million in Federal funding that otherwise would not have been received.

Study of microbiological, physico-chemical and biochemical a fourth range salad irradiated for people immunosuppressed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayadi, Nadia

2013-01-01

We are interested in this work to immunocompromised patients in the National Transplant Center Bone Marrow of Tunis, that's why a raw salad IV range was irradiated and chosen as auxiliary dish. Following a series of microbiological analysis carried out on samples treated with different doses : 0 (control) , 1, 2 , 3, 3.5 and 4 kGy. 4 kGy dose was the most suitable for this type of dish ensuring good bacterial quality below the limits prescribed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for 9 days of refrigerated storage. The physico-chemical and biochemical parameters showed no significant effect on the gamma radiation on nutrients such as proteins , trace elements and vitamin E. The raw salads IV range perfectly packaged and irradiated can be a good way to stimulate the immune system in immunocompromised patients and improve their health.

25 CFR 39.409 - How does the OIEP Director ensure accountability?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How does the OIEP Director ensure accountability? 39.409... EQUALIZATION PROGRAM Accountability § 39.409 How does the OIEP Director ensure accountability? (a) The Director of OIEP must ensure accountability in student counts and student transportation by doing all of the...

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.

BIOCHEMICAL MECHANISM OF AUTOLYTIC PROCESSES OF MUSCULAR TISSUE OF FISHES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. V. Antipova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The conducted researches allowed to establish that intensive disintegration of a muscular glycogen leads to sharp decrease in size рН muscular tissue in the sour party that in turn affects a chemical composition and physic-colloidal structure of proteins therefore: resistance of meat of fish to action of putrefactive microorganisms increases; solubility of muscle proteins, level of their hydration which is water connecting abilities decreases; there is a swelling of collagen of connecting fabric; activity of the cathepsin (an optimum рН 5,3 causing hydrolysis of proteins at later stages of an autolysis increases; the bicarbonate system of muscular tissue with release of carbon dioxide collapses; predecessors of taste and aroma of meat are formed; process of oxidation of lipids becomes more active. As a result of accumulation dairy, phosphoric and other acids in meat of fish concentration of hydrogen ions of that decrease рН is result increases. Sharply shown sour environment and availability of inorganic phosphorus is considered the reason of disintegration of an actin-myosin complex on actin and a myosin which begins after 8 hours of storage, i.e. there comes the period of relaxation of muscle fibers and the period of permission of an numbness, and then the last stage of maturing of meat – deep autolysis. Thus, on the basis of classical ideas of biochemical changes of meat of land animals and summarizing the obtained data on posthumous changes in muscular tissue of fishes, it is possible to draw a conclusion that they have similar nature of regularity in comparison with muscular tissue of land animals, but their main difference is higher speed of course of autolytic transformations. It in turn leads to faster change of FTS of meat of fishes who are the defining indicators when developing assortment groups of products taking into account stages of an autolysis in meat.

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...

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

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

Understanding the mechanisms of lung mechanical stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.S.N.B. Garcia

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Physical forces affect both the function and phenotype of cells in the lung. Bronchial, alveolar, and other parenchymal cells, as well as fibroblasts and macrophages, are normally subjected to a variety of passive and active mechanical forces associated with lung inflation and vascular perfusion as a result of the dynamic nature of lung function. These forces include changes in stress (force per unit area or strain (any forced change in length in relation to the initial length and shear stress (the stress component parallel to a given surface. The responses of cells to mechanical forces are the result of the cell's ability to sense and transduce these stimuli into intracellular signaling pathways able to communicate the information to its interior. This review will focus on the modulation of intracellular pathways by lung mechanical forces and the intercellular signaling. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which lung cells transduce physical forces into biochemical and biological signals is of key importance for identifying targets for the treatment and prevention of physical force-related disorders.

Analysis of the Romanian Insurance Market Based on Ensuring and Exercising Consumers` Right to Claim

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Armeanu

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In the financial market of insurance, consumer protection represents an important component contributing to the stability, discipline and efficiency of the market. In this respect, the activity of educating and informing insurance consumers on ensuring and exercising their right to claim plays a leading role in the mechanism of consumer protection. This study aims to improve the decision-making capacity of the financial services consumers from the Romanian insurance market through better information on ensuring and exercising their right to claim under the legislation. Thus, by applying three data analysis techniques – principal components analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis – to the data regarding the petitions that were registered by the 41 insurance companies which operated in the Romanian market in 2012, a classification that assesses the insurance market transparency is achieved, resulting in a better information for consumers and, hence, the improvement of their protection through reducing the level of transactions that are harmful to consumers

The coupled bio-chemo-electro-mechanical behavior of glucose exposed arterial elastin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yanhang; Li, Jiangyu; Boutis, Gregory S

2017-01-01

Elastin, the principle protein component of the elastic fiber, is a critical extracellular matrix (ECM) component of the arterial wall providing structural resilience and biological signaling essential in vascular morphogenesis and maintenance of mechanical homeostasis. Pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases have been associated with alterations of elastin. As a long-lived ECM protein that is deposited and organized before adulthood, elastic fibers can suffer from cumulative effects of biochemical exposure encountered during aging and/or disease, which greatly compromise their mechanical function. This review article covers findings from recent studies of the mechanical and structural contribution of elastin to vascular function, and the effects of biochemical degradation. Results from diverse experimental methods including tissue-level mechanical characterization, fiber-level nonlinear optical imaging, piezoelectric force microscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance are reviewed. The intriguing coupled bio-chemo-electro-mechanical behavior of elastin calls for a multi-scale and multi-physical understanding of ECM mechanics and mechanobiology in vascular remodeling. (topical review)

The coupled bio-chemo-electro-mechanical behavior of glucose exposed arterial elastin

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yanhang; Li, Jiangyu; Boutis, Gregory S.

2017-04-01

Elastin, the principle protein component of the elastic fiber, is a critical extracellular matrix (ECM) component of the arterial wall providing structural resilience and biological signaling essential in vascular morphogenesis and maintenance of mechanical homeostasis. Pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases have been associated with alterations of elastin. As a long-lived ECM protein that is deposited and organized before adulthood, elastic fibers can suffer from cumulative effects of biochemical exposure encountered during aging and/or disease, which greatly compromise their mechanical function. This review article covers findings from recent studies of the mechanical and structural contribution of elastin to vascular function, and the effects of biochemical degradation. Results from diverse experimental methods including tissue-level mechanical characterization, fiber-level nonlinear optical imaging, piezoelectric force microscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance are reviewed. The intriguing coupled bio-chemo-electro-mechanical behavior of elastin calls for a multi-scale and multi-physical understanding of ECM mechanics and mechanobiology in vascular remodeling.

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…

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…

Integrated physiological, biochemical and molecular analysis identifies important traits and mechanisms associated with differential response of rice genotypes to elevated temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boghireddy eSailaja

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In changing climate, heat stress caused by high temperature poses a serious threat to rice cultivation. A multiple organizational analysis at physiological, biochemical and molecular level is required to fully understand the impact of elevated temperature in rice. This study was aimed at deciphering the elevated temperature response in eleven popular and mega rice cultivars widely grown in India. Physiological and biochemical traits specifically membrane thermostability (MTS, antioxidants, and photosynthesis were studied at vegetative and reproductive phases which were used to establish a correlation with grain yield under stress. Several useful traits in different genotypes were identified which will be important resource to develop high temperature tolerant rice cultivars. Interestingly, Nagina22 emerged as best performer in terms of yield as well as expression of physiological and biochemical traits at elevated temperature. It showed lesser relative injury, lesser reduction in chlorophyll content, increased super oxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase activity, lesser reduction in net photosynthetic rate (PN, high transpiration rate (E and other photosynthetic/ fluorescence parameters contributing to least reduction in spikelet fertility and grain yield at elevated temperature. Further, expression of 14 genes including heat shock transcription factors and heat shock proteins was analyzed in Nagina22 (tolerant and Vandana (susceptible at flowering phase, strengthening the fact that N22 performs better at molecular level also during elevated temperature. This study shows that elevated temperature response is complex and involves multiple biological processes which are needed to be characterized to address the challenges of future climate extreme conditions.

'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...

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): ...

Biochemical and genetic analysis of the role of the viral polymerase in enterovirus recombination.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodman, Andrew; Arnold, Jamie J; Cameron, Craig E; Evans, David J

2016-08-19

Genetic recombination in single-strand, positive-sense RNA viruses is a poorly understand mechanism responsible for generating extensive genetic change and novel phenotypes. By moving a critical cis-acting replication element (CRE) from the polyprotein coding region to the 3' non-coding region we have further developed a cell-based assay (the 3'CRE-REP assay) to yield recombinants throughout the non-structural coding region of poliovirus from dually transfected cells. We have additionally developed a defined biochemical assay in which the only protein present is the poliovirus RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which recapitulates the strand transfer events of the recombination process. We have used both assays to investigate the role of the polymerase fidelity and nucleotide turnover rates in recombination. Our results, of both poliovirus intertypic and intratypic recombination in the CRE-REP assay and using a range of polymerase variants in the biochemical assay, demonstrate that RdRp fidelity is a fundamental determinant of recombination frequency. High fidelity polymerases exhibit reduced recombination and low fidelity polymerases exhibit increased recombination in both assays. These studies provide the basis for the analysis of poliovirus recombination throughout the non-structural region of the virus genome and provide a defined biochemical assay to further dissect this important evolutionary process. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Ensuring a Safe Technological Revolution

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

much lower, and the performance gained can dramatically reduce life -cycle costs. Validated cost data are scarce, and accurate AM cost models need to be...reduce costs, minimize obsolescence issues and improve both capability and readi- ness across the entire life cycle of naval systems—including both the...of naval weapon systems. The Navy is actively engaging its various communi- ties to align needs and ensure that AM can be safely acceler- ated and

Structural and Biochemical Studies of LysM Proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wong, Mei Mei Jaslyn Elizabeth

2017-01-01

. Most of the signalling components in the Nod factor signalling pathway have been identified through genetic approaches. The current symbiosis signalling model, however, lacks components that could link Nod factor perception at the plasma membrane to downstream responses, such as calcium influx and perinuclear calcium...... involved in peptidoglycan hydrolysis; the Cell Wall Lytic enzyme associated with cell Separation (CwlS) from Bacillus subtilis, and P60_Tth from Thermus thermopiles. Biochemical studies conducted on purified CwlS showed that multiple LysM modules function cooperatively to bind N-acetylglucosamine (NAG......-induced intermolecular dimerization was observed in the co-crystal structure of P60_2LysM and NAG6. Until today, this is the only structural evidence illustrating intermolecular dimerization of LysM proteins. Intermolecular dimerization of plant LysM receptor kinases (RK) has been proposed as a mechanism...

Biochemical studies on the ocular lens in relation to cataractogenesis. Final report, July 1, 1968--December 31, 1978J

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinsey, V.E.; Reddy, V.N.

1978-01-01

As indicated in the scope and purpose of this program, the broad aim of these investigations was to provide an understanding of the mechanisms by which various inorganic ions and a number of organic substances, particularly amino acids, enter and leave the ocular lens and to assay the role of these mechanisms in the physiological and pathological conditions of the eye. The studies also dealt with the mechanisms of glutathione in the lens and its relationship to amino acid transport, the effect of x-ray on the protein aggregation mechanism as well as the studies of the biochemical changes associated with the development of the experimentally induced galactose cataract

Thermodynamically consistent Bayesian analysis of closed biochemical reaction systems

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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

Proline Precursors and Collagen Synthesis: Biochemical Challenges of Nutrient Supplementation and Wound Healing.

Science.gov (United States)

Albaugh, Vance L; Mukherjee, Kaushik; Barbul, Adrian

2017-11-01

Wound healing is a complex process marked by highly coordinated immune fluxes into an area of tissue injury; these are required for re-establishment of normal tissue integrity. Along with this cascade of cellular players, wound healing also requires coordinated flux through a number of biochemical pathways, leading to synthesis of collagen and recycling or removal of damaged tissues. The availability of nutrients, especially amino acids, is critical for wound healing, and enteral supplementation has been intensely studied as a potential mechanism to augment wound healing-either by increasing tensile strength, decreasing healing time, or both. From a practical standpoint, although enteral nutrient supplementation may seem like a reasonable strategy to augment healing, a number of biochemical and physiologic barriers exist that limit this strategy. In this critical review, the physiology of enteral amino acid metabolism and supplementation and challenges therein are discussed in the context of splanchnic physiology and biochemistry. Additionally, a review of studies examining various methods of amino acid supplementation and the associated effects on wound outcomes are discussed. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

Failure assessment techniques to ensure shipping container integrity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McConnell, P.

1986-02-01

This report discusses several methodologies which may be used to ensure the structural integrity of containment systems to be used for the transport and storage of high-level radioactive substances. For economic reasons, shipping containers constructed of ferritic materials are being considered for manufacture by vendors in the US and Europe. Ferritic show an inherent transition from a ductile, high energy failure mode to a brittle, low energy fracture mode with decreasing temperature. Therefore, formal consideration of means by which to avoid unstable brittle fracture is necessary prior to the licensing of ferritic casks. It is suggested that failure of a shipping container wall be defined as occurring when a flaw extends through the outer wall of the containment system. Crack initiation which may lead to unstable brittle crack growth should therefore be prevented. It is suggested that a fundamental linear elastic fracture mechanics (lefm) approach be adopted on a case-by-case basis, applied perhaps by means of appropriate modifications to ASMA Section III or Section XI. A lefm analysis requires information concerning service temperatures, loading rates, flaw sizes, and applied stresses. Tentative judgments regarding these parameters for typical shipping containers have been made

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

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....

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.

Plants modify biological processes to ensure survival following carbon depletion: a Lolium perenne model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia M Lee

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Plants, due to their immobility, have evolved mechanisms allowing them to adapt to multiple environmental and management conditions. Short-term undesirable conditions (e.g. moisture deficit, cold temperatures generally reduce photosynthetic carbon supply while increasing soluble carbohydrate accumulation. It is not known, however, what strategies plants may use in the long-term to adapt to situations resulting in net carbon depletion (i.e. reduced photosynthetic carbon supply and carbohydrate accumulation. In addition, many transcriptomic experiments have typically been undertaken under laboratory conditions; therefore, long-term acclimation strategies that plants use in natural environments are not well understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. was used as a model plant to define whether plants adapt to repetitive carbon depletion and to further elucidate their long-term acclimation mechanisms. Transcriptome changes in both lamina and stubble tissues of field-grown plants with depleted carbon reserves were characterised using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR. The RT-qPCR data for select key genes indicated that plants reduced fructan degradation, and increased photosynthesis and fructan synthesis capacities following carbon depletion. This acclimatory response was not sufficient to prevent a reduction (P<0.001 in net biomass accumulation, but ensured that the plant survived. CONCLUSIONS: Adaptations of plants with depleted carbon reserves resulted in reduced post-defoliation carbon mobilization and earlier replenishment of carbon reserves, thereby ensuring survival and continued growth. These findings will help pave the way to improve plant biomass production, for either grazing livestock or biofuel purposes.

Flow Type Bio-Chemical Calorimeter with Micro Differential Thermopile Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Masataka; Nakabeppu, Osamu

2015-04-01

Bio-chemical calorimeters with a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) thermopile sensor have been studied for monitoring detailed processes of the biochemical reactions of a minute sample with a high temporal resolution. The bio-calorimeters are generally divided into a batch-type and a flow-type. We developed a highly sensitive batch-type calorimeter which can detect a 100 nW level thermal reaction. However it shows a long settling time of 2 hours because of the heat capacity of a whole calorimeter. Thus, the flow-type calorimeters in passive and active mode have been studied for measuring the thermal reactions in an early stage after starting an analysis. The flow-type calorimeter consists of the MEMS differential thermopile sensor, a pair of micro channel reactor in a PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) sheet in a three-fold thermostat chamber. The calorimeter in the passive mode was tested with dilution reactions of ethanol to water and NaCl aqueous solution to water. It was shown that the calorimeter detects exo- and endothermic reaction over 250 nW at solution flow rate of 0.05 ~ 1 µl/min with a settling time of about 4 minutes. In the active mode, a response test was conducted by using heat removal by water flow from the reactor channel. The active calorimetry enhances the response time about three to four times faster.

(indigenous) education ensure effective gender mainstreaming in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Leaving no one behind: can (indigenous) education ensure effective gender ... in the distribution of socio-economic and political benefits, depict that additional ... of gender equality and equity and explores in different ways the relationships ...

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/.

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....

γ-Glutamyltranspeptidases: sequence, structure, biochemical properties, and biotechnological applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Castellano, Immacolata; Merlino, Antonello

2012-10-01

γ-Glutamyltranspeptidases (γ-GTs) are ubiquitous enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of γ-glutamyl bonds in glutathione and glutamine and the transfer of the released γ-glutamyl group to amino acids or short peptides. These enzymes are involved in glutathione metabolism and play critical roles in antioxidant defense, detoxification, and inflammation processes. Moreover, γ-GTs have been recently found to be involved in many physiological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes. In this review, the main biochemical and structural properties of γ-GTs isolated from different sources, as well as their conformational stability and mechanism of catalysis, are described and examined with the aim of contributing to the discussion on their structure-function relationships. Possible applications of γ-glutamyltranspeptidases in different fields of biotechnology and medicine are also discussed.

Modeling of uncertainties in biochemical reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mišković, Ljubiša; Hatzimanikatis, Vassily

2011-02-01

Mathematical modeling is an indispensable tool for research and development in biotechnology and bioengineering. The formulation of kinetic models of biochemical networks depends on knowledge of the kinetic properties of the enzymes of the individual reactions. However, kinetic data acquired from experimental observations bring along uncertainties due to various experimental conditions and measurement methods. In this contribution, we propose a novel way to model the uncertainty in the enzyme kinetics and to predict quantitatively the responses of metabolic reactions to the changes in enzyme activities under uncertainty. The proposed methodology accounts explicitly for mechanistic properties of enzymes and physico-chemical and thermodynamic constraints, and is based on formalism from systems theory and metabolic control analysis. We achieve this by observing that kinetic responses of metabolic reactions depend: (i) on the distribution of the enzymes among their free form and all reactive states; (ii) on the equilibrium displacements of the overall reaction and that of the individual enzymatic steps; and (iii) on the net fluxes through the enzyme. Relying on this observation, we develop a novel, efficient Monte Carlo sampling procedure to generate all states within a metabolic reaction that satisfy imposed constrains. Thus, we derive the statistics of the expected responses of the metabolic reactions to changes in enzyme levels and activities, in the levels of metabolites, and in the values of the kinetic parameters. We present aspects of the proposed framework through an example of the fundamental three-step reversible enzymatic reaction mechanism. We demonstrate that the equilibrium displacements of the individual enzymatic steps have an important influence on kinetic responses of the enzyme. Furthermore, we derive the conditions that must be satisfied by a reversible three-step enzymatic reaction operating far away from the equilibrium in order to respond to

Biochemical and cellular mechanisms of low-dose effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feinendegen, L.E.; Booz, J.; Muehlensiepen, H.

1988-01-01

The question of health effects from small radiation doses remains open. Individual cells, when being hit by single elemental doses - in low-dose irradiation - react acutely and temporarily by altering control of enzyme activity, as is demonstrated for the case of thymidine kinase. This response is not constant in that it provides a temporary protection of enzyme activity against a second irradiation, by a mechanism likely to be via improved detoxification of intracellular radicals. It must be considered that in the low-dose region radiation may also exert protection against other challenges involving radicals, causing a net beneficial effect by temporarily shielding the hit cell against radicals produced by metabolism. Since molecular alterations leading to late effects are considered a consequence of the initial cellular response, late effects from small radiation doses do not necessarily adhere to a linear dose-effect relationship. The reality of the linear relationship between the risk of late effects from high doses to small doses is an assumption, for setting dose limits, but it must not be taken for predicting health detriment from low doses. (author)

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.

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)

An evaluation of adequacy of water policy stipulation in ensuring ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An evaluation of adequacy of water policy stipulation in ensuring water security in the context of climate change. ... Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management ... The aim of the study was to establish how responsive the Water Policy (2010) is to ensure water security in the context of climate change.

The Glymphatic Hypothesis of Glaucoma: A Unifying Concept Incorporating Vascular, Biomechanical, and Biochemical Aspects of the Disease

OpenAIRE

Wostyn, Peter; De Groot, Veva; Van Dam, Debby; Audenaert, Kurt; Killer, Hanspeter Esriel; De Deyn, Peter Paul

2017-01-01

Abstract: The pathophysiology of primary open-angle glaucoma is still largely unknown, although a joint contribution of vascular, biomechanical, and biochemical factors is widely acknowledged. Since glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, exploring its underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is extremely important and challenging. Evidence from recent studies appears supportive of the hypothesis that a "glymphatic system" exists in the eye and optic nerve, analogous ...

Assessment of changes in clinical and biochemical indicators of saliva at caries according to monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albitskaya J.N.

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The research goal was to determine the variability in the salivary characteristics, depending on the season, identifying the most important indicators of the salivary characteristics at different degrees of intensity of caries process and the establishment of a correlation between these indicators. Structural characteristics of salivary pools of the students of stomatological faculty have been invented. Object of research. The salivary pools were collected at 8-9 a.m. within 1-1.5 hours after tooth cleaning. The investigation of oral cavity and the biochemical rates were marked twice: in autumn and spring. Results. The tests show, that biochemical characteristics of saliva depend on the caries involvement. It was detected, that caries involvement depends on the region, food characteristics and oral hygiene. It was proved, that saliva has buffers characteristics. Conclusion. These results can be used for explaining the molecular mechanisms of homeostasis disorders in the oral cavity and evaluating the efficiency of preventive and therapeutic measures at early stages of caries.

Epigenetic Regulatory Mechanisms Induced by Resveratrol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guilherme Felipe Santos Fernandes

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Resveratrol (RVT is one of the main natural compounds studied worldwide due to its potential therapeutic use in the treatment of many diseases, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic disorders. Nevertheless, the mechanism of action of RVT in all of these conditions is not completely understood, as it can modify not only biochemical pathways but also epigenetic mechanisms. In this paper, we analyze the biological activities exhibited by RVT with a focus on the epigenetic mechanisms, especially those related to DNA methyltransferase (DNMT, histone deacetylase (HDAC and lysine-specific demethylase-1 (LSD1.

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.

Conseptual framework of ensuring food security in the Ural federal district

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandr Samvelovich Beletskiy

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the risks and threats to food security of the Ural Federal District which can significantly reduce its the level. The most significant risks are grouped according to the following classification: macroeconomic, technological, climatic, agro-ecological and foreign trade risks. The main directions of economic policy of the Ural Federal District in the area of food security are defined. Particular attention is paid to the improvement of economic and physical availability of food for all groups of population and to the problems of formation of the state material reserves and food safety. Strategic development priorities in the field of agricultural and fishery products, raw materials and food, sustainable development of rural areas in the field of foreign policy are formulated. Conceptual bases for the implementation mechanism of economic policies to ensure food security in the region are suggested.

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

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.

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 ...

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.

Biochemical Changes in Erythrocytes as a Molecular Marker of Cell Damage during Long-Term Simvastatin Treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikashinovich, Z I; Belousova, E S

2016-08-01

Long-term administration of simvastatin to rats, irrespective of the baseline cholesterol levels, induced biochemical changes in erythrocytes attesting to hypoxic damage (accumulation of lactate and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate), disturbances in ATP-dependent mechanisms of ion homeostasis regulation (decrease in total ATPase and Ca(2+)-ATPase activities), and antioxidant enzymes system imbalance. These changes can be considered as a sensitive indicator and molecular basis of cell damage during long-term administration of statins.

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.

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.

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.

Methods for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements: regulators and operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleischmann, A.W.

1989-01-01

Some of the methods of ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements contained in various radiation protection documents such as Regulations, ICRP Recommendations etc. are considered. These include radiation safety officers and radiation safety committees, personnel monitoring services, dissemination of information, inspection services and legislative power of enforcement. Difficulties in ensuring compliance include outmoded legislation, financial and personnel constraints

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.

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....

Morphological and biochemical mechanisms of changes in buccal epithelocytes and erythrocytes in children suffering psycho-emotional stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Z. Gan

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The article provides experimental data on the impact of psychoemotional stress on cytological, morphometric, immunological and biochemical indicators in 7–11 year old children. We examined 100 children of primary school age, who were divided into the main group (50 children who had been resettled from the war zone in Eastern Ukraine and the control group (50 children, who live in Ivano-Frankivs’k. We used morphological (light-optical and electromicroscopic and mor phometric analysis of buccal epithelium and peripheral blood erythrocytes, biochemical methods for identifying the products of peroxidation of lipids, ceruloplasmin and ferritin according to widely used methods. Morphological methods revealed that under psychoemotional stress, the size of the nuclei and buccal epithelial cells significantly decreases, and their nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio changes towards increase in the share of cytoplasm, and the indicators of coefficient of buccal epithelial cell shape indicate significant deformation of those cells. Similar changes were observed in the erythrocytes of peripheral blood. In the blood, we observed an increase in the CD95+ concentration of lymphocytes. Clearly manifested changes in morphological and morphometric indicators of buccal epithelium and erythrocytes when there is an increase in the CD95+ level of lymphocytes indicate the development of a systematic apoptosis reaction of the studied cells in the condition of psychoemotional stress. Also we observed clearly manifested changes in the coefficient of erythrocytes’ shape, their size and perimeter, increase in the number of reversibly and irreversibly changed cells, which with increase in free radical oxidation, indicates disorders in the organism’s antioxidant protection system in general and requires a pathogenically grounded programme of treating complications related to psychoemotional stress among 7–11 year old children who were resettled fom the combat zone in Eastern

Neuroprotective influence of taurine on fluoride-induced biochemical and behavioral deficits in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Adedara, Isaac A; Abolaji, Amos O; Idris, Umar F; Olabiyi, Bolanle F; Onibiyo, Esther M; Ojuade, TeminiJesu D; Farombi, Ebenezer O

2017-01-05

Epidemiological and experimental studies have demonstrated that excessive exposure to fluoride induced neurodevelopmental toxicity both in humans and animals. Taurine is a free intracellular β-amino acid with antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. The present study investigated the neuroprotective mechanism of taurine by evaluating the biochemical and behavioral characteristics in rats exposed to sodium fluoride (NaF) singly in drinking water at 15 mg/L alone or orally co-administered by gavage with taurine at 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight for 45 consecutive days. Locomotor behavior was assessed using video-tracking software during a 10-min trial in a novel environment while the brain structures namely the hypothalamus, cerebrum and cerebellum of the rats were processed for biochemical determinations. Results showed that taurine administration prevented NaF-induced locomotor and motor deficits namely decrease in total distance travelled, total body rotation, maximum speed, absolute turn angle along with weak forelimb grip, increased incidence of fecal pellets and time of grooming, immobility and negative geotaxis. The taurine mediated enhancement of the exploratory profiles of NaF-exposed rats was supported by track and occupancy plot analyses. Moreover, taurine prevented NaF-induced increase in hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation levels but increased acetylcholinesterase and the antioxidant enzymes activities in the hypothalamus, cerebrum and cerebellum of the rats. Collectively, taurine protected against NaF-induced neurotoxicity via mechanisms involving the restoration of acetylcholinesterase activity and antioxidant status with concomitant inhibition of lipid peroxidation in the brain of rats. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hybrid Nanogenerator for Concurrently Harvesting Biomechanical and Biochemical Energy

KAUST Repository

Hansen, Benjamin J.

2010-07-27

Harvesting energy from multiple sources available in our personal and daily environments is highly desirable, not only for powering personal electronics, but also for future implantable sensor-transmitter devices for biomedical and healthcare applications. Here we present a hybrid energy scavenging device for potential in vivo applications. The hybrid device consists of a piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofiber nanogenerator for harvesting mechanical energy, such as from breathing or from 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 boosting output and lifetime. Using the hybrid device, we demonstrate a "self-powered" nanosystem by powering a ZnO nanowire UV light sensor. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

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

Biochemical studies on the ocular lens in relation to cataractogenesis. Final report, July 1, 1968--December 31, 1978J. [X radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kinsey, V.E.; Reddy, V.N.

1978-01-01

As indicated in the scope and purpose of this program, the broad aim of these investigations was to provide an understanding of the mechanisms by which various inorganic ions and a number of organic substances, particularly amino acids, enter and leave the ocular lens and to assay the role of these mechanisms in the physiological and pathological conditions of the eye. The studies also dealt with the mechanisms of glutathione in the lens and its relationship to amino acid transport, the effect of x-ray on the protein aggregation mechanism as well as the studies of the biochemical changes associated with the development of the experimentally induced galactose cataract.

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...

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)

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.

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)

Biochemical characteristics of mutant lines of currant tomato

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorbatenko, I.Yu.; Khrustaleva, V.V.; Shcherbakov, V.K.

1988-01-01

The currant tomato is used in breeding for fruit quality. It contains up to 50 mg% ascorbic acid, a large quantity of sugar and 8-10% of dry matter. The weight of the fruit, however, does not exceed 1.2-1.5 g. The plants have long, spreading and very branchy stems. Gamma ray induced mutants of currant tomato were used, as initial material in breeding for fruit quality in varieties suitable for mechanized harvesting. The research was carried out mainly at the Department of Vegetable Growing Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Irrigation Farming. The regional variety Lebyazhinskij (suitable for mechanized harvesting) was adopted as the standard. Its fruits contain: 5.6% dry matter, 2.7% sugars, 0.543% titrated acidity, 26.6 mg/100 g ascorbic acid, 0.425 mg% carotene and 0.35% cellulose. The biochemical characteristics of the tomato mutants are shown. In terms of fruit dry matter, all mutants surpassed the standard. The acidity and the ascorbic acid content varied considerably. Most noteworthy in terms of carotene were the lines GP-5, GP-9 and GP-12. An important factor in the production of tomato paste is the fruit cellulose content. The lowest cellulose content is found in mutant GP-3. As shown, all of the mutants were early ripening. The mutants surpassed the standard in simultaneous fruit ripening. Mutant lines GP-3, GP-6, GP-9 and GP-12 will be used in the breeding programme for improving fruit quality of varieties suitable for mechanized harvesting

Advancing Evidence Based Policymaking and Regulation to Ensure ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Advancing Evidence Based Policymaking and Regulation to Ensure Greater ... which is Communications Policy Research South (CPRsouth), a yearly conference that ... policy intellectuals through tutorials for young scholars and internships.

Ensuring long-term availability of TELEPERM XS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bock, H.-W.; Richter, S.

1998-01-01

With putting in operation the first digital TELEPERM XS I and C systems for functions important to safety in nuclear power plants, ensuring long-term availability and reliable operation of TELEPERM XS systems gains increasing importance. On the one hand, the modular structure of TELEPERM XS has already been optimized during system development such that the application-specific functions are independent of the version of hardware components and system software. On the other hand, hardware-independent, tool-based engineering procedures ensure that the application software of installed I and C systems can be flexibly adapted to modified plant requirements while at the same time the very high software quality is retained. Quality-assured procedures and an actively organized configuration management guarantee that the functionality and the availability of the I and C systems keep their qualified standard. This paper discusses aspects of the configuration management for TELEPERM XS I and C systems. (author)

Toward Ensuring Health Equity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petkovic, Jennifer; Epstein, Jonathan; Buchbinder, Rachelle

2015-01-01

, the Evaluative Linguistic Framework for Questionnaires, developed to assess text quality of questionnaires. We also considered a study assessing cross-cultural adaptation with/without back-translation and/or expert committee. The results of this preconference work were presented to the equity working group......OBJECTIVE: The goal of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) 12 (2014) equity working group was to determine whether and how comprehensibility of patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) should be assessed, to ensure suitability for people with low literacy and differing cultures. METHODS......: The English, Dutch, French, and Turkish Health Assessment Questionnaires and English and French Osteoarthritis Knee and Hip Quality of Life questionnaires were evaluated by applying 3 readability formulas: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid grade level, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook; and a new tool...

A moment-convergence method for stochastic analysis of biochemical reaction networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jiajun; Nie, Qing; Zhou, Tianshou

2016-05-21

Traditional moment-closure methods need to assume that high-order cumulants of a probability distribution approximate to zero. However, this strong assumption is not satisfied for many biochemical reaction networks. Here, we introduce convergent moments (defined in mathematics as the coefficients in the Taylor expansion of the probability-generating function at some point) to overcome this drawback of the moment-closure methods. As such, we develop a new analysis method for stochastic chemical kinetics. This method provides an accurate approximation for the master probability equation (MPE). In particular, the connection between low-order convergent moments and rate constants can be more easily derived in terms of explicit and analytical forms, allowing insights that would be difficult to obtain through direct simulation or manipulation of the MPE. In addition, it provides an accurate and efficient way to compute steady-state or transient probability distribution, avoiding the algorithmic difficulty associated with stiffness of the MPE due to large differences in sizes of rate constants. Applications of the method to several systems reveal nontrivial stochastic mechanisms of gene expression dynamics, e.g., intrinsic fluctuations can induce transient bimodality and amplify transient signals, and slow switching between promoter states can increase fluctuations in spatially heterogeneous signals. The overall approach has broad applications in modeling, analysis, and computation of complex biochemical networks with intrinsic noise.

A moment-convergence method for stochastic analysis of biochemical reaction networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jiajun [School of Mathematics and Computational Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Nie, Qing [Department of Mathematics, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California 92697 (United States); Zhou, Tianshou, E-mail: mcszhtsh@mail.sysu.edu.cn [School of Mathematics and Computational Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Computational Science and School of Mathematics and Computational Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China)

2016-05-21

Traditional moment-closure methods need to assume that high-order cumulants of a probability distribution approximate to zero. However, this strong assumption is not satisfied for many biochemical reaction networks. Here, we introduce convergent moments (defined in mathematics as the coefficients in the Taylor expansion of the probability-generating function at some point) to overcome this drawback of the moment-closure methods. As such, we develop a new analysis method for stochastic chemical kinetics. This method provides an accurate approximation for the master probability equation (MPE). In particular, the connection between low-order convergent moments and rate constants can be more easily derived in terms of explicit and analytical forms, allowing insights that would be difficult to obtain through direct simulation or manipulation of the MPE. In addition, it provides an accurate and efficient way to compute steady-state or transient probability distribution, avoiding the algorithmic difficulty associated with stiffness of the MPE due to large differences in sizes of rate constants. Applications of the method to several systems reveal nontrivial stochastic mechanisms of gene expression dynamics, e.g., intrinsic fluctuations can induce transient bimodality and amplify transient signals, and slow switching between promoter states can increase fluctuations in spatially heterogeneous signals. The overall approach has broad applications in modeling, analysis, and computation of complex biochemical networks with intrinsic noise.

Do Biochemical Markers and Apa I Polymorphism in IGF-II Gene Play a Role in the Association of Birth Weight and Later BMI?

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Junqing; Ren, Jingchao; Li, Yuyan; Wu, Yinjie; Gao, Ersheng

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to explore the mechanisms underlying the association of birth weight with later body mass index (BMI) from the biochemical markers related to metabolism and the Apa I polymorphism in IGF-II gene. A total of 300 children were selected randomly from the Macrosomia Birth Cohort in Wuxi, China. The height and weight were measured and blood samples were collected. Plasma concentrations of 8 biochemical markers were detected. Apa I polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Biochemical markers were detected for 296 subjects and 271 subjects were genotyped for the Apa I polymorphism. No association was found between birth weight and 8 biochemical markers. In boys, the BMIs of AA, AG and GG genotypes were 16.10 ± 2.24 kg/m(2), 17.40 ± 3.20 kg/m(2), 17.65 ± 2.66 kg/m(2). And there was statistical difference among the three genotypes. But in girls, there was no statistical difference. The birth weights of AA, AG and GG genotypes were 3751.13 ± 492.43 g, 3734.00 ± 456.88 g, 3782.00 ± 461.78 g. And there was no statistical difference among the three genotypes. Biochemical markers are not associated with birth weight. Apa I polymorphism may be related to childhood BMI, but it may be not associated with birth weight. Therefore, biochemical markers and Apa I polymorphism might not play a role in the association of birth weight and BMI.

Microbiological and biochemical survey on the transition of fermentative processes in Fukuyama pot vinegar brewing.

Science.gov (United States)

Okazaki, Sachiko; Furukawa, Soichi; Ogihara, Hirokazu; Kawarai, Taketo; Kitada, Chika; Komenou, Akiko; Yamasaki, Makari

2010-06-01

Traditional brewing of Fukuyama pot vinegar is a process that has been continued in Fukuyama, Kagoshima, Japan, for almost 200 years. The entire process proceeds from raw materials, including steamed rice, rice koji (steamed rice grown with a fungus, Aspergillus oryzae) and water, to produce vinegar in roughly capped large pots laid in the open air. No special fermentative manipulation is required, except for scattering dried rice koji (called furi-koji) on the surface of the mash to form a cap-like mat on the surface at the start of brewing. As the biochemical mechanism of the natural transition of the fermentative processes during brewing has not been fully explained, we conducted a microbiological and biochemical study on the transition. First, a distinct biochemical change was observed in the brewing of spring preparation; that is, a sharp decline in pH from 6.5 to 3.5 within the first 5 days of brewing was observed due to lactic acid fermentation. Alcoholic fermentation also proceeded with a sharp increase to 4.5% ethanol within the first 5 days under the acidic conditions, suggesting that saccharification and both fermentations proceed in parallel. Acidic conditions and ethanol accumulation restricted the growth of most microorganisms in the mash, and in turn provided a favorable growth condition for acetic acid bacteria which are acid resistant and "ethanol-philic." Acetic acid was detected from day 16 and gradually increased in concentration, reaching a maximum of 7% at day 70 that was maintained thereafter. Empirically furi-koji naturally sinks into the mash after around day 40 by an unknown mechanism, allowing acetic acid bacteria to easily form pellicles on the mash surface and promoting efficient acetic acid fermentation. Dominant microbial species involved in the three fermentations were identified by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis using PCR-amplified defined-regions of small rDNA from microorganisms in the brewing mash or colony

Structure and elevator mechanism of the Na+-citrate transporter CitS.

Science.gov (United States)

Lolkema, Juke S; Slotboom, Dirk Jan

2017-08-01

The recently determined crystal structure of the bacterial Na + -citrate symporter CitS provides unexpected structural and mechanistic insights. The protein has a fold that has not been seen in other proteins, but the oligomeric state, domain organization and proposed transport mechanism strongly resemble those of the sodium-dicarboxylate symporter vcINDY, and the putative exporters YdaH and MtrF, thus hinting at convergence in structure and function. CitS and the related proteins are predicted to translocate their substrates by an elevator-like mechanism, in which a compact transport domain slides up and down through the membrane while the dimerization domain is stably anchored. Here we review the large body of available biochemical data on CitS in the light of the new crystal structure. We show that the biochemical data are fully consistent with the proposed elevator mechanism, but also demonstrate that the current structural data cannot explain how strict coupling of citrate and Na + transport is achieved. We propose a testable model for the coupling mechanism. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Communication skills to ensure patient satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Shendurnikar, Niranjan; Thakkar, Pareshkumar A

2013-11-01

Every pediatrician would want to satisfy their patients and their parents to sustain good practice, earn name and fame and simultaneously to avoid litigation in this era of consumer protection act. This can be achieved only by use of good communication skills. Today the patients demand time, information and want their questions to be answered. They expect politeness, empathy and human touch from doctors. Time constraints, arrogance, telephone calls, language barriers and cultural insensitivity are the important barriers to good communication. Research has shown that doctor, who undergoes training to acquire good communication skills, can better satisfy his patients. Good communication skill is an art which can be acquired or improved by putting conscious efforts in day to day practice. Such skills should also be incorporated as part of medical teaching curriculum. Asking open ended questions, effective listening, appropriate praise, providing enough information as part of advice and finally checking their understanding, are the key areas of communication during medical interview. During this process pediatrician should ensure to address the parental concerns, should empathize with parents and involve parents in decision making. This will not only ensure satisfaction of parents but also their adherence to the therapy and to the pediatrician.

Mechanical engineering

CERN Document Server

Darbyshire, Alan

2010-01-01

Alan Darbyshire's best-selling text book provides five-star high quality content to a potential audience of 13,000 engineering students. It explains the most popular specialist units of the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering and Operations & Maintenance Engineering pathways of the new 2010 BTEC National Engineering syllabus. This challenging textbook also features contributions from specialist lecturers, ensuring that no stone is left unturned.

The effect of mechanical loads on the degradation of aliphatic biodegradable polyesters.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ying; Chu, Zhaowei; Li, Xiaoming; Ding, Xili; Guo, Meng; Zhao, Haoran; Yao, Jie; Wang, Lizhen; Cai, Qiang; Fan, Yubo

2017-06-01

Aliphatic biodegradable polyesters have been the most widely used synthetic polymers for developing biodegradable devices as alternatives for the currently used permanent medical devices. The performances during biodegradation process play crucial roles for final realization of their functions. Because physiological and biochemical environment in vivo significantly affects biodegradation process, large numbers of studies on effects of mechanical loads on the degradation of aliphatic biodegradable polyesters have been launched during last decades. In this review article, we discussed the mechanism of biodegradation and several different mechanical loads that have been reported to affect the biodegradation process. Other physiological and biochemical factors related to mechanical loads were also discussed. The mechanical load could change the conformational strain energy and morphology to weaken the stability of the polymer. Besides, the load and pattern could accelerate the loss of intrinsic mechanical properties of polymers. This indicated that investigations into effects of mechanical loads on the degradation should be indispensable. More combination condition of mechanical loads and multiple factors should be considered in order to keep the degradation rate controllable and evaluate the degradation process in vivo accurately. Only then can the degradable devise achieve the desired effects and further expand the special applications of aliphatic biodegradable polyesters.

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.

Ensuring Sustainable Development through Urban Planning in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Qasim

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Urban planning includes land use management and environmental change. It makes arrangement for community facilities and services. Since, sustainable development has been included as a vital end product of all planning goals it also provides for balanced use of land, housing and transportation and better quality of life. Present urban planning in Pakistan is not ensuring sustainable development in Pakistan. This is tested through the case study of master planning in Rawalpindi and its implementation through housing schemes in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Large portions of provisions of master plans are not implemented. This paper explains how the urban planning will be made enabled to ensure sustainable development in Pakistan. Six numbers of housing schemes and two squatter settlements have been surveyed through questionnaires, secondary data, the opinions of the experts from related fields and site observations. Amenities and social services at far distance, very less green area, Less quantity and bad quality of water, absence of comprehensive solid waste management and sewage disposal system and nontreatment of solid waste, effluent and sewage, prevalent unhygienic conditions and air and water pollution are the existing factors effecting the sustainability. There is a need to revisit the urban planning and a comprehensive Urban and Environment Planning Law at national level and at provincial level is recommended to enable the urban planning to ensure the sustainable development in Pakistan

Ensuring sustainable development through urban planing in pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qasim, M.; Zaidi, S.S.U.

2013-01-01

Urban planning includes land use management and environmental change. It makes arrangement for community facilities and services. Since, sustainable development has been included as a vital end product of all planning goals it also provides for balanced use of land, housing and transportation and better quality of life. Present urban planning in Pakistan is not ensuring sustainable development in Pakistan. This is tested through the case study of master planning in Rawalpindi and its implementation through housing schemes in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Large portions of provisions of master plans are not implemented. This paper explains how the urban planning will be made enabled to ensure sustainable development in Pakistan. Six numbers of housing schemes and two squatter settlements have been surveyed through questionnaires, secondary data, the opinions of the experts from related fields and site observations. Amenities and social services at far distance, very less green area, Less quantity and bad quality of water, absence of comprehensive solid waste management and sewage disposal system and non- treatment of solid waste, effluent and sewage, prevalent unhygienic conditions and air and water pollution are the existing factors effecting the sustainability. There is a need to revisit the urban planning and a comprehensive Urban and Environment Planning Law at national level and at provincial level is recommended to enable the urban planning to ensure the sustainable development in Pakistan. (author)

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.

INTERNAL CONTROLS IN ENSURING GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

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KOSMAS NJANIKE

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper assessed factors that influence the internal controls in ensuring good corporate governance in financial institutions in developing economies with special reference to Zimbabwe. The research paper assessed how lack of internal controls affected good corporate governance and aimed to bring out elements of good corporate governance. It emerged that failure to effectively implement internal controls contributed significantly to poor corporate governance. The study discovered that internal control system overrides and the issue of “fact cat” directors also contributed to poor corporate governance. The study recommended that there is need for the board of directors to guarantee an organizational structure that clearly defines management responsibilities, authority and reporting relationships. There is also need to ensure that delegated responsibilities are effectively carried out to ensure compliance with internal controls of the financial institution concerned.

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...

Ensuring Peace and Reconciliation while Holding Leaders ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

need to be adopted to ensure that both organizations fulfil their mandate to address impunity on the ... international law; international relations and political studies. ...... 'not any other consideration', which was an attempt to assuage any fears that she ... system, which should play into the hands of the AU – in theory. Yet this.

Ensuring food security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeriy Valentinovich Patsiorkovskiy

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is devoted to the questions of further development of agricultural and food policy in the Russian Federation. The subject of in-depth consideration is the problem related to ensuring food safety. A critical review and analysis of major regulations in the field of food safety is made, including in the implementation of sanitary and epidemiological surveillance. The necessity of the expansion of measures to improve the statistics of food poisoning is grounded. The basic reasons for the spread of management practices of production and sale of food products that pose a threat to human life are revealed. The factors of unhindered penetration of local markets in the cities and the surrounding countrysides with counterfeiting, smuggling and production of global junk food manufacturers and consumer goods are defined. A systematic view is put on the problems of food production in the private farms, ways to limit direct access to the market of food and food raw materials, which production was not controlled and who have not passed state registration, are suggested. One of these problems is creation of independent industrial structures that link production and sales of small-scale sector goods.

Biochemical markers of bone turnover in the clinical development of drugs for osteoporosis and metastatic bone disease: potential uses and pitfalls.

Science.gov (United States)

Cremers, Serge; Garnero, Patrick

2006-01-01

Biochemical markers of bone turnover are used increasingly during the clinical development of drugs for the treatment of metabolic bone diseases such as Paget's disease, osteoporosis and cancer that has metastasised to the bone. However, assessing the optimal value of these markers is often complicated, and such an assessment is an obvious prerequisite for rational use of the markers and, consequently, potential improvement of clinical drug development. Biochemical markers of bone turnover are substances in the blood or urine that are produced or released during bone remodelling. They provide semiquantitative information on bone remodelling, and are often the most adequate tool to describe the pharmacodynamics of the drug. Their use has increased considerably because of dose-effect relationships that have been seen with certain drugs, but also because they have proven relationships with clinical outcomes in several metabolic bone diseases. However, there is a lack of information on the kinetics of these markers, and the immunoassays that are frequently used in their monitoring often measure a mixture of fragments rather than a single molecular entity. For drug development it should also be realised that different markers, but also different assays for the same marker, may provide different results, considerably limiting the ability to compare results. In postmenopausal osteoporosis, relationships have been shown between several biochemical markers of bone turnover, and either fracture risk and/or the antifracture efficacy of drugs. Such relationships can be used for the development of drugs with similar mechanisms of action, but also for the development of these drugs for closely related indications, such as corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis. In both of these instances, data on effects on biochemical markers of bone turnover are usually employed in combination with information about effects on bone mineral density. However, the relationships of these parameters

Problems in ensuring normal actuation of pneumatic drilling machines during their manufacture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasilev, V

1982-01-01

The problems of ensuring normal actuation and reliable operation of pneumatic drilling machines during their manufacturing are examined. The modes of operation are cited with which the normal actuation must be tested. Oscillograms are used to examine the characteristic cases of completion of machines with the impossibility of actuation during operation for one cycle or with an interruption in the mode, along with methods for eliminating these deficiencies. The effect on the actuation process of factors such as the type of rock being drilled, the change in the position of the machine, the axial force, the design of the air distribution device and the impact mechanism, the relationship between the surface areas of the distribution device and the travel of the distributor, the choking of the power and so on is studied. Different methods for completing design are analyzed.

Ultrastructural and biochemical studies on formation of calcium oxalate in plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelmottaleb, A.M.

1989-01-01

Plant calcium oxalate crystals occur within cells called crystal idioblasts. Important aspects of this calcification phenomenon have not been characterized. This dissertation examines some of the aspects of this ubiquitous type of calcification including (1) characterization of ultrastructural features of developing crystal idioblasts, (2) determination of the relationship of specialized ultrastructural features of the idioblasts to transport of compounds and mechanisms of crystal deposition, and (3) the biochemical relationship between ascorbic acid metabolism and production of oxalic acid used for crystal formation. Structural and cytochemical studies revealed that crystal idioblasts have dense cytoplasm, modified plastids, enlarged nuclei, extensive endoplasmic reticulum, numerous dictyosomes and vesicles, and a bundle of raphide crystals in their vacuoles. A mechanism for Ca transport and crystal precipitation is proposed, based on these results. There is a strong and dynamic relationship between Ca concentration and oxalic acid produced for crystal formation, where increasing Ca level in the growth medium lead to increased total and insoluble oxalate in the plant. Calmodulin antagonists reduced oxalic acid production

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.

The Theoretical Foundations of Formation of the Essence of Concept of «Ensuring the Economic Security of Enterprise in the Conditions of Raiding»

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pysarevskyi Mykola I.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at the scientific substantiation of the theoretical aspects of formation of an effective mechanism for ensuring the economic security of enterprise in the conditions of raiding. The conceptual approaches to determining the main features of individual elements of the conceptual apparatus, namely, the concepts of «economic security of enterprise» and «raiding» were analyzed. The author’s own definition of ensuring the economic security of enterprise in the conditions of raiding has been formed, which provides an opportunity to develop a complex of organizational and economic measures aimed at maintaining the sustainable functioning and development of enterprise in the current and future periods. Prospect for further research in this direction is a critical analysis of the approaches to assessing threats to the economic security of enterprise in the context of raiding, thus broadening the theoretical basis for an effective response mechanism and establishing a qualitative methodical basis for research. Application of new scientific and methodical approaches to the integrated assessment of the level of economic security in the conditions of raiding will ensure the development and implementation of efficient managerial decisions aimed at establishing a system of preventive measures to address threats to the economic security of enterprise.

The Influence of Biochemical Modification on the Properties of Adhesive Compounds

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Anna Rudawska

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of biochemical modification of epoxy adhesive compounds on the mechanical properties of a cured adhesive exposed to various climatic factors. The epoxy adhesive was modified by lyophilized fungal metabolites and prepared by three methods. Additionally, the adhesive compound specimens were seasoned for two months at a temperature of 50 °C and 50% humidity in a climate test chamber, Espec SH 661. The tensile strength tests of the adhesive compounds were performed using a Zwick/Roell Z150 testing machine in compliance with the DIN EN ISO 527-1 standard. The examination of the adhesive specimens was performed using two microscopes: a LEO 912AB transmission electron microscope equipped with Quantax 200 for EDS X-ray spectroscopy and a Zeiss 510 META confocal microscope coupled to an AxioVert 200M. The experiments involved the use of a CT Skyscan 1172 tomograph. The results revealed that some mechanical properties of the modified adhesives were significantly affected by both the method of preparation of the adhesive compound and the content of the modifying agent. In addition, it was found that seasoning of the modified adhesives does not lead to a decrease in some of their mechanical properties.

Dosimetric response of some biochemicals used as lyoluminescent dosimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ettinger, K.V.; Rowe, R.W.; Mallard, J.R.; Takavar, A.; Sephton, J.

1977-01-01

It has been found recently that a whole variety of biochemicals exhibit lyoluminescent response to ionizing and UV radiation, which can be used for the purpose of dosimetry. Among the amino acids, glutamine, glutamic acid and valine are showing good response and satisfactory stability of the stored energy i.e. stability of 'frozen' free radicals. Actually, all amino acids involved in naturally occuring proteins, which were investigated (20 compounds) show lyoluminescence to smaller or greater extent. The response is proportional to the dose in the region of 50 rad to 100 kilorad. The mechanism of lyoluminescence in amino acids is probably the same as in the saccharides; formation of free radicals in the solid, conversion to peroxy radicals and, finally generation of excited oxygen dimers on dissolution. Other categories of biochemicals which exhibit lyoluminescence (LL) are DNA, RNA and their salts, as well as some antibiotics like streptomycin, gentamycin and oxytetracycline. Those of proteins that are easily soluble in water, show a good LL response. The half-life of free radicals responsible for LL in albumins (egg, horse and human) is of an order of 24 h. However, in salmine (protamine sulphate) the decay is very slow, of an order of few month, so this material can be used as a 'protein equivalent' dosemeter. In all experiments a 60 Co source was used for irradiations. Proteins, RNA and DNA show a considerable response to UV. In experiments with UV radiation, mostly 2547 A wavelength, the response to radiation in terms of energy deposited in gramme of material was almost twice that for gamma rays of 1.33 and 1.17MeV

Strategies for Ensuring Quality in the Business Education ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Strategies for Ensuring Quality in the Business Education Programme of Tertiary Institutions in ... The survey method was employed. One research question guided the study while two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 degree of significance.

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.

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.

Photobiological effects of helium neon laser on hematologic and biochemical factors of rabbit blood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Rahmani Kahnamoei

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Low-level helium neon laser has many applications due to its photobiostimulatory effects. Although the therapeutic effects of low-level laser radiation of different wavelengths and doses are well known, but the exact mechanism of action of the laser radiation on living cells is not yet determined. The present study is designed to evaluate the photobiological effects of 2 mw helium neon laser with wavelength of 632.8 nm on hematologic and biochemical factors of rabbit blood for this purpose, 30 male New Zealand white rabbits with the body weight of 1/5-2 kg were randomly allocated into two groups of control and laser treatment. Animals of both groups were anesthetized and those of laser treatment group were subjected to irradiation with helium neon laser at a                        wavelength of 632.8 nm and output 2 mw for 30 minutes. Finally blood samples were collected from all animals and the biochemical and hematologic factors evaluated. Significant difference (p

Biochemical approaches to C4 photosynthesis evolution studies: the case of malic enzymes decarboxylases.

Science.gov (United States)

Saigo, Mariana; Tronconi, Marcos A; Gerrard Wheeler, Mariel C; Alvarez, Clarisa E; Drincovich, María F; Andreo, Carlos S

2013-11-01

C4 photosynthesis enables the capture of atmospheric CO2 and its concentration at the site of RuBisCO, thus counteracting the negative effects of low atmospheric levels of CO2 and high atmospheric levels of O2 (21 %) on photosynthesis. The evolution of this complex syndrome was a multistep process. It did not occur by simply recruiting pre-exiting components of the pathway from C3 ancestors which were already optimized for C4 function. Rather it involved modifications in the kinetics and regulatory properties of pre-existing isoforms of non-photosynthetic enzymes in C3 plants. Thus, biochemical studies aimed at elucidating the functional adaptations of these enzymes are central to the development of an integrative view of the C4 mechanism. In the present review, the most important biochemical approaches that we currently use to understand the evolution of the C4 isoforms of malic enzyme are summarized. It is expected that this information will help in the rational design of the best decarboxylation processes to provide CO2 for RuBisCO in engineering C3 species to perform C4 photosynthesis.

Biochemical signaling by remote ischemic conditioning of the arm versus thigh: Is one raise of the cuff enough?

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Cameron Dezfulian

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC, induced by brief cycles of ischemia and reperfusion, protects vital organs from a prolonged ischemic insult. While several biochemical mediators have been implicated in RIC's mechanism of action, it remains unclear whether the localization or “dose” of RIC affects the extent of protective signaling. In this randomized crossover study of healthy individuals, we tested whether the number of cycles of RIC and its localization (arm versus thigh determines biochemical signaling and cytoprotection. Subjects received either arm or thigh RIC and then were crossed over to receive RIC in the other extremity. Blood flow, tissue perfusion, concentrations of the circulating protective mediator nitrite, and platelet mitochondrial function were measured after each RIC cycle. We found that plasma nitrite concentration peaked after the first RIC cycle and remained elevated throughout RIC. This plasma nitrite conferred cytoprotection in an in vitro myocyte model of hypoxia/reoxygenation. Notably, though plasma nitrite returned to baseline at 24 h, RIC conditioned plasma still mediated protection. Additionally, no difference in endpoints between RIC in thigh versus arm was found. These data demonstrate that localization and “dose” of RIC does not affect cytoprotection and further elucidate the mechanisms by which nitrite contributes to RIC-dependent protection.

Diagnosis Of Inherited Neurometabolic Disorders : A Biochemical Approach

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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.

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.

Ensuring Academic Standards in US Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Dill, David D.

2014-01-01

The most recent research on college-student learning in the US by respected scholars such as Richard Arum, Josipa Roksa, and Ernest Pascarella suggests that the nation's means of ensuring academic standards in US colleges and universities are not working effectively. Like US K-12 education and health care, the US higher education system is…

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)

Biochemical mechanisms of pallidal deep brain stimulation in X-linked dystonia parkinsonism.

Science.gov (United States)

Tronnier, V M; Domingo, A; Moll, C K; Rasche, D; Mohr, C; Rosales, R; Capetian, P; Jamora, R D; Lee, L V; Münchau, A; Diesta, C C; Tadic, V; Klein, C; Brüggemann, N; Moser, A

2015-08-01

Invasive techniques such as in-vivo microdialysis provide the opportunity to directly assess neurotransmitter levels in subcortical brain areas. Five male Filipino patients (mean age 42.4, range 34-52 years) with severe X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism underwent bilateral implantation of deep brain leads into the internal part of the globus pallidus (GPi). Intraoperative microdialysis and measurement of gamma aminobutyric acid and glutamate was performed in the GPi in three patients and globus pallidus externus (GPe) in two patients at baseline for 25/30 min and during 25/30 min of high-frequency GPi stimulation. While the gamma-aminobutyric acid concentration increased in the GPi during high frequency stimulation (231 ± 102% in comparison to baseline values), a decrease was observed in the GPe (22 ± 10%). Extracellular glutamate levels largely remained unchanged. Pallidal microdialysis is a promising intraoperative monitoring tool to better understand pathophysiological implications in movement disorders and therapeutic mechanisms of high frequency stimulation. The increased inhibitory tone of GPi neurons and the subsequent thalamic inhibition could be one of the key mechanisms of GPi deep brain stimulation in dystonia. Such a mechanism may explain how competing (dystonic) movements can be suppressed in GPi/thalamic circuits in favour of desired motor programs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ENSURING THE SAFETY OF ROAD TRANSPORTATION OF GOODS

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Liudmila Nikolaevna Andronikova

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The article investigates Russian and foreign regulatory documents, governing the issues of cargo securing in road transport, and sets out recommendations to ensure the safety of road transportation of goods by means of their attachment.

Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains Obtained from Sugar-Cane Juice Fermentations and Their Impact in Cachaça Production▿

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Valdinéia Aparecida; Vicente, Maristela Araújo; Fietto, Luciano Gomes; de Miranda Castro, Ieso; Coutrim, Maurício Xavier; Schüller, Dorit; Alves, Henrique; Casal, Margarida; de Oliveira Santos, Juliana; Araújo, Leandro Dias; da Silva, Paulo Henrique Alves; Brandão, Rogelio Lopes

2008-01-01

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains from different regions of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were isolated and characterized aiming at the selection of starter yeasts to be used in the production of cachaça, the Brazilian sugar cane spirit. The methodology established took into account the screening for biochemical traits desirable in a yeast cachaça producer, such as no H2S production, high tolerance to ethanol and high temperatures, high fermentative capacity, and the abilities to flocculate and to produce mycocins. Furthermore, the yeasts were exposed to drugs such as 5,5′,5"-trifluor-d,l-leucine and cerulenin to isolate those that potentially overproduce higher alcohols and esters. The utilization of a random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR method with primers based on intron splicing sites flanking regions of the COX1 gene, as well as microsatellite analysis, was not sufficient to achieve good differentiation among selected strains. In contrast, karyotype analysis allowed a clear distinction among all strains. Two selected strains were experimentally evaluated as cachaça producers. The results suggest that the selection of strains as fermentation starters requires the combined use of biochemical and molecular criteria to ensure the isolation and identification of strains with potential characteristics to produce cachaça with a higher quality standard. PMID:18065624

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.

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

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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.

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.

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.

A multipronged approach to ensuring food security | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-02-01

Feb 1, 2011 ... ... nations committed themselves to ensuring an enabling environment and ... to eradicate poverty and guarantee access to sufficient, safe food to all. They also agreed to promote a fair world trade system, and to work to ...

Biochemical adaptation of camelids during periods where feed is withheld

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Wensvoort

2001-03-01

Full Text Available Biochemical changes during fasting or the withholding of feed for 5 day were studied in serum of camelids (dromedary camel, llama and ruminants (sheep, steers. Camels maintained low levels of 13-hydroxybutyrate (BHB and high levels of glucose but showed some increased levels of non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA and urea when fasting. Sheep and steers showed a rise in serum BHB and much higher increases of NEFA than camels and llamas. Sheep showed decreased serum glucose. The llama showed some increase in BHB but NEFA was lower than the other three species. The results indicate that camelids have a unique ability to control lipolytic and gluconeogenic activity to prevent or postpone the state of ketosis. Understanding and manipulation of these metabolic mechanisms in cattle and sheep could have great benefit to the livestock industry.

Direct Fibrinolytic Snake Venom Metalloproteinases Affecting Hemostasis: Structural, Biochemical Features and Therapeutic Potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Eladio F; Flores-Ortiz, Renzo J; Alvarenga, Valeria G; Eble, Johannes A

2017-12-05

Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) are predominant in viperid venoms, which provoke hemorrhage and affect hemostasis and thrombosis. P-I class enzymes consist only of a single metalloproteinase domain. Despite sharing high sequence homology, only some of them induce hemorrhage. They have direct fibrin(ogen)olytic activity. Their main biological substrate is fibrin(ogen), whose Aα-chain is degraded rapidly and independently of activation of plasminogen. It is important to understand their biochemical and physiological mechanisms, as well as their applications, to study the etiology of some human diseases and to identify sites of potential intervention. As compared to all current antiplatelet therapies to treat cardiovascular events, the SVMPs have outstanding biochemical attributes: (a) they are insensitive to plasma serine proteinase inhibitors; (b) they have the potential to avoid bleeding risk; (c) mechanistically, they are inactivated/cleared by α2-macroglobulin that limits their range of action in circulation; and (d) few of them also impair platelet aggregation that represent an important target for therapeutic intervention. This review will briefly highlight the structure-function relationships of these few direct-acting fibrinolytic agents, including, barnettlysin-I, isolated from Bothrops barnetti venom, that could be considered as potential agent to treat major thrombotic disorders. Some of their pharmacological advantages are compared with plasmin.

Direct Fibrinolytic Snake Venom Metalloproteinases Affecting Hemostasis: Structural, Biochemical Features and Therapeutic Potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eladio F. Sanchez

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs are predominant in viperid venoms, which provoke hemorrhage and affect hemostasis and thrombosis. P-I class enzymes consist only of a single metalloproteinase domain. Despite sharing high sequence homology, only some of them induce hemorrhage. They have direct fibrin(ogenolytic activity. Their main biological substrate is fibrin(ogen, whose Aα-chain is degraded rapidly and independently of activation of plasminogen. It is important to understand their biochemical and physiological mechanisms, as well as their applications, to study the etiology of some human diseases and to identify sites of potential intervention. As compared to all current antiplatelet therapies to treat cardiovascular events, the SVMPs have outstanding biochemical attributes: (a they are insensitive to plasma serine proteinase inhibitors; (b they have the potential to avoid bleeding risk; (c mechanistically, they are inactivated/cleared by α2-macroglobulin that limits their range of action in circulation; and (d few of them also impair platelet aggregation that represent an important target for therapeutic intervention. This review will briefly highlight the structure–function relationships of these few direct-acting fibrinolytic agents, including, barnettlysin-I, isolated from Bothrops barnetti venom, that could be considered as potential agent to treat major thrombotic disorders. Some of their pharmacological advantages are compared with plasmin.

Biochemical biomarker responses of green-lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus, to acute and subchronic waterborne cadmium toxicity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chandurvelan, Rathishri, E-mail: rch118@uclive.ac.nz [School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand); Marsden, Islay D., E-mail: islay.marsden@canterbury.ac.nz [School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand); Gaw, Sally, E-mail: sally.gaw@canterbury.ac.nz [Department of Chemistry, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand); Glover, Chris N., E-mail: chris.glover@canterbury.ac.nz [School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand)

2013-09-15

Highlights: •Biochemical biomarkers were measured to assess effects of Cd on Perna canaliculus. •Biochemical responses varied between acute and subchronic exposure to Cd. •MTLP induction correlated strongly with Cd accumulation. •Alkaline phosphatase and glycogen levels decreased during subchronic Cd exposure. •Duration of Cd exposure influenced biochemical biomarker responses in mussels. -- Abstract: The biochemical responses of the green-lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus, to waterborne cadmium (Cd) were investigated in order to delineate toxic mechanisms, and the impacts of exposure dose and duration, of this important toxicant in a potential sentinel species. Mussels were exposed for either 96 h (acute: 0, 2000, 4000 μg L{sup −1} Cd) or for 28 d (subchronic: 0, 200, 2000 μg L{sup −1} Cd), and the digestive gland, gill and haemolymph were examined for impacts. Biochemical responses measured included those associated with metal detoxification (metallothionein-like protein; MTLP), oxidative stress (catalase, lipid peroxidation), cellular homeostasis (alkaline phosphatase, Na{sup +}, K{sup +}-ATPase; NKA), and energy utilisation (glycogen, haemolymph protein). Following acute exposure, digestive gland glycogen and gill NKA activity were significantly altered by Cd exposure relative to levels in mussels exposed to Cd-free seawater. Subchronic Cd exposure resulted in a significant increase in MTLP levels in both the gill and the digestive gland. This increase was correlated strongly with the levels of Cd accumulation measured in these tissues (R = 0.957 for gill, 0.964 for digestive gland). Catalase activity followed a similar pattern, although the correlation with tissue Cd accumulation was not as strong (R = 0.907 for gill, 0.708 for digestive gland) as that for MTLP. Lipid peroxidation increased in the digestive gland at Days 7 and 14 at both subchronic Cd levels tested, but this effect had largely dissipated by Days 21 and 28 (with the exception of

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.

Histopathological and biochemical assessment of d-limonene-induced liver injury in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Carlos Alberto F; Sá, Rita de Cássia da S; Alves, Mateus F; Benedito, Rubens B; de Sousa, Damião P; Diniz, Margareth de Fátima F M; Araújo, Maria Salete T; de Almeida, Reinaldo N

2015-01-01

The aim of the present work was to develop a biochemical, histologic and immunohistochemical study about the potential hepatotoxic effect of d-limonene - a component of volatile oils extracted from citrus plants. Blood alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) from d-limonene-treated animals were determined and compared to morphologic hepatic lesions in order to investigate the possible physiopathologic mechanisms involved in the liver toxicity, in experimental animals treated with d-limonene. Wistar rats were randomly divided into seven groups: two control groups (untreated or receiving only vehicle, tween-80); one positive control (vehicle); two experimental groups treated with d-limonene at doses of 25 mg/kg/day and 75 mg/kg/day for 45 days, and two other groups treated with the same doses for 30 days and kept under observation during 30 more days. Biochemical data showed significant reduction in ALT levels in the animals treated with 75 mg/kg of d-limonene. Histological analysis revealed some hepatocyte morphological lesions, including hydropic degeneration, microvesicular steatosis and necrosis, Kupffer cell hyperplasia and incipient fibrosis. By immunohistochemistry, influx of T (CD3+) and cytotoxic (CD8+) lymphocytes was observed in the rats treated with d-limonene at both dose levels. In conclusion, it is possible that d-limonene has been directly responsible for hepatic parenchymal and matrix damage following subchronic treatment with d-limonene.

Recombinant expression, purification and biochemical characterization of kievitone hydratase from Nectria haematococca.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Engleder

Full Text Available Kievitone hydratase catalyzes the addition of water to the double bond of the prenyl moiety of plant isoflavonoid kievitone and, thereby, forms the tertiary alcohol hydroxy-kievitone. In nature, this conversion is associated with a defense mechanism of fungal pathogens against phytoalexins generated by host plants after infection. As of today, a gene sequence coding for kievitone hydratase activity has only been identified and characterized in Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli. Here, we report on the identification of a putative kievitone hydratase sequence in Nectria haematococca (NhKHS, the teleomorph state of F. solani, based on in silico sequence analyses. After heterologous expression of the enzyme in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, we have confirmed its kievitone hydration activity and have assessed its biochemical properties and substrate specificity. Purified recombinant NhKHS is obviously a homodimeric glycoprotein. Due to its good activity for the readily available chalcone derivative xanthohumol (XN, this compound was selected as a model substrate for biochemical studies. The optimal pH and temperature for hydratase activity were 6.0 and 35°C, respectively, and apparent Vmax and Km values for hydration of XN were 7.16 μmol min-1 mg-1 and 0.98 ± 0.13 mM, respectively. Due to its catalytic properties and apparent substrate promiscuity, NhKHS is a promising enzyme for the biocatalytic production of tertiary alcohols.

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.

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

Biochemical characterization of a recombinant Japanese encephalitis virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Chan-Mi

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV NS5 is a viral nonstructural protein that carries both methyltransferase and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp domains. It is a key component of the viral RNA replicase complex that presumably includes other viral nonstructural and cellular proteins. The biochemical properties of JEV NS5 have not been characterized due to the lack of a robust in vitro RdRp assay system, and the molecular mechanisms for the initiation of RNA synthesis by JEV NS5 remain to be elucidated. Results To characterize the biochemical properties of JEV RdRp, we expressed in Escherichia coli and purified an enzymatically active full-length recombinant JEV NS5 protein with a hexahistidine tag at the N-terminus. The purified NS5 protein, but not the mutant NS5 protein with an Ala substitution at the first Asp of the RdRp-conserved GDD motif, exhibited template- and primer-dependent RNA synthesis activity using a poly(A RNA template. The NS5 protein was able to use both plus- and minus-strand 3'-untranslated regions of the JEV genome as templates in the absence of a primer, with the latter RNA being a better template. Analysis of the RNA synthesis initiation site using the 3'-end 83 nucleotides of the JEV genome as a minimal RNA template revealed that the NS5 protein specifically initiates RNA synthesis from an internal site, U81, at the two nucleotides upstream of the 3'-end of the template. Conclusion As a first step toward the understanding of the molecular mechanisms for JEV RNA replication and ultimately for the in vitro reconstitution of viral RNA replicase complex, we for the first time established an in vitro JEV RdRp assay system with a functional full-length recombinant JEV NS5 protein and characterized the mechanisms of RNA synthesis from nonviral and viral RNA templates. The full-length recombinant JEV NS5 will be useful for the elucidation of the structure-function relationship of this enzyme and for the

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.

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.

Genotoxic and biochemical effects of Yohimbe after short-term treatment in somatic and germ cells of Swiss Albino Mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Yahya, Abdulaziz A.

2006-01-01

Yohimbe was evaluated for its effects on cytological and biochemical toxicity in male Swiss albino mice. Adult male mice were mice were treated with different doses (750, 1500 and 3000 mg yohombe/kg., body weight/day) in form of an aqueous suspension for 7 consecutive days by gavage. The following parameters were evaluated: (i) cytological studies on micronucleus test, (ii) cytological analysis of spermatozoa abnormalities, (iii) Cytogentic analysis of meiotic chromosomes in the tests, (iv) quantification of proteins, ribose nucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) in hepatic and testicular cells and (v) estimation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and nonprotein sulfhydryl (NP-SH) in hepatic and testicular cells. The treatment caused significant changes in the frequency of micronuclei in the femoral cells and induced spermatozoal abnormalities and testicular chromosomal aberrations. The study on biochemical parameters showed an increase of MDA and depletion of NP-SH, proteins, RNA and DNA in both hepatic and testicular cells. The data elucidated the role of free radical species in cytological and biochemical changes in both somatic and germ cells of Swiss albino mice. The exact mechanism of the genesis of lipid peroxides is not known, however, this might be related to the influence of yohimbine (the principal constituent of yohimbe) to enhance some catecholamines, including norepineprine which possess destructive stimuli on biological systems. It is suggested that, in view of the observed cytological and biochemical effects of yohimbe, it may be subjected to a thorough evaluation of toxicity before making it available for human use. (author)

Rapid Discrimination Among Putative Mechanistic Models of Biochemical Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lomnitz, Jason G; Savageau, Michael A

2016-08-31

An overarching goal in molecular biology is to gain an understanding of the mechanistic basis underlying biochemical systems. Success is critical if we are to predict effectively the outcome of drug treatments and the development of abnormal phenotypes. However, data from most experimental studies is typically noisy and sparse. This allows multiple potential mechanisms to account for experimental observations, and often devising experiments to test each is not feasible. Here, we introduce a novel strategy that discriminates among putative models based on their repertoire of qualitatively distinct phenotypes, without relying on knowledge of specific values for rate constants and binding constants. As an illustration, we apply this strategy to two synthetic gene circuits exhibiting anomalous behaviors. Our results show that the conventional models, based on their well-characterized components, cannot account for the experimental observations. We examine a total of 40 alternative hypotheses and show that only 5 have the potential to reproduce the experimental data, and one can do so with biologically relevant parameter values.

In search of mitochondrial mechanisms: interfield excursions between cell biology and biochemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Bechtel, William; Abrahamsen, Adele

2007-01-01

Developing models of biological mechanisms, such as those involved in respiration in cells, often requires collaborative effort drawing upon techniques developed and information generated in different disciplines. Biochemists in the early decades of the 20th century uncovered all but the most elusive chemical operations involved in cellular respiration, but were unable to align the reaction pathways with particular structures in the cell. During the period 1940-1965 cell biology was emerging as a new discipline and made distinctive contributions to understanding the role of the mitochondrion and its component parts in cellular respiration. In particular, by developing techniques for localizing enzymes or enzyme systems in specific cellular components, cell biologists provided crucial information about the organized structures in which the biochemical reactions occurred. Although the idea that biochemical operations are intimately related to and depend on cell structures was at odds with the then-dominant emphasis on systems of soluble enzymes in biochemistry, a reconceptualization of energetic processes in the 1960s and 1970s made it clear why cell structure was critical to the biochemical account. This paper examines how numerous excursions between biochemistry and cell biology contributed a new understanding of the mechanism of cellular respiration.

Strategies for ensuring quality data from Indian investigational sites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antal K Hajos

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The topic of ensuring quality and compliance is and must be a top priority in the conduct of clinical trials, as warranted by regulatory guidelines as well as the inherent responsibility of the professionals conducting such research. Fast-growing emerging clinical geographies such as India demand special attention due to rapid growth and associated factors that may put study quality at risk. In this paper, we used the basic principle of PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, and Adjust to structure the processes of a clinical trial from protocol to final analysis in order to highlight the interactive nature of involved people and processes required to ensure quality of data and site functioning.

Modern Paradigm of Ensuring Competitive Advantages of an Enterprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klymchuk Alyona O.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers evolution of development of the paradigm of ensuring competitive advantages of an enterprise. Foreign and domestic scientists focus on individual directions of development of competitive advantages and pay insufficient attention to new management concepts – development of the information society, knowledge economy and dynamism of integration processes. The goal of the study is formation of the modern paradigm of ensuring competitive advantages of an enterprise with consideration of tendencies of development of the knowledge economy, information society and integration processes. Enterprise competitiveness is a synergetic characteristic, which reflects enterprise capability of dynamic response to changes of the market situation with the aim of keeping predominance over other economic subjects. Management of the future, on the basis of the management 2.0 concept, should take into account interests not only of top management and shareholders but also employees, local communities and territories and meet requirements of the society in general, individual groups of consumers and tendencies of development of managerial and information technologies. The paradigm of the modern theory of ensuring competitive advantages should include models of keeping competitive advantages in the existing markets and models of development of future markets; strategy of development of enterprise competitiveness, human capital development and efficient enterprise management.

Influence of Fasciola Hepatica on Serum Biochemical Parameters and Vascular and Biliary System of Sheep Liver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Hodžić

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional capacity of the liver based on the activity of specific enzymes and bilirubin in serum and also to investigate the influence of mechanical and toxic effects of Fasciola hepatica on the structures of the blood vessels and biliary tract in the sheep liver.Methods: Blood samples and liver of 63 indigenous sheep of Pramenka breed, slaughtered in the period from March to December 2009 were used. Based on parasitological findings in the liver, all animals were divided into two groups: control (n=34 and infected group (n=29. For investigation and description of pathological changes in sheep liver, naturally infected with F. hepatica, corrosion cast technique was used.Results: Biochemical analysis of tested parameters showed a significant elevation (P≤0.05 of serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT, total bilirubin (TBIL and direct bilirubin (DBIL in infected sheep group comparing with the control group. No significant differences were observed for activity of aspartate aminotranferase (AST between groups. Vascular and biliary systems of the liver were found to be affected.Conclusion: Results of biochemical analysis are consistent with pathological findings and measuring of tested parameters could be used in early diagnosis of sheep fasciolosis and to test the effectiveness of anthelmintic therapy. Corrosion cast technique is very useful for investigation of pathological changes and neoangiogenesis of vascular and biliary system in sheep liver, caused by mechanical and toxic effects of F. hepatica.

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

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.

Development of the innovative food industry in the conditions of ensuring food security

OpenAIRE

Berdiev S.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to ensure the safety of food and through the development of innovative food industry and learning to increase the production of food. Work to ensure food security of the Republic of Uzbekistan has its own characteristics and analysis of trends and problems identified in this area. As well as ensuring the safety of food and food industry offer based on the priority directions of scientific and practical recommendations developed.

Glial Tissue Mechanics and Mechanosensing by Glial Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna Pogoda

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Understanding the mechanical behavior of human brain is critical to interpret the role of physical stimuli in both normal and pathological processes that occur in CNS tissue, such as development, inflammation, neurodegeneration, aging, and most common brain tumors. Despite clear evidence that mechanical cues influence both normal and transformed brain tissue activity as well as normal and transformed brain cell behavior, little is known about the links between mechanical signals and their biochemical and medical consequences. A multi-level approach from whole organ rheology to single cell mechanics is needed to understand the physical aspects of human brain function and its pathologies. This review summarizes the latest achievements in the field.

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 ...

Cross-border effects of capacity mechanisms in electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elberg, Christina

2014-01-01

To ensure security of supply in liberalized electricity markets, different types of capacity mechanisms are currently being debated or have recently been implemented in many European countries. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cross-border effects resulting from different choices on capacity mechanisms in neighboring countries. We consider a model with two connected countries that differ in the regulator's choice on capacity mechanism, namely strategic reserves or capacity payments. In both countries, competitive fi rms invest in generation capacity before selling electricity on the spot market. We characterize market equilibria and find the following main result: While consumers' costs may be the same under both capacity mechanisms in non-connected countries, we show that the different capacity mechanisms in interconnected countries induce redistribution effects. More precisely, we nd that consumers' costs are higher in countries in which reserve capacities are procured than in countries in which capacity payments are used to ensure the targeted reliable level of electricity.

Cross-border effects of capacity mechanisms in electricity markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elberg, Christina

2014-07-15

To ensure security of supply in liberalized electricity markets, different types of capacity mechanisms are currently being debated or have recently been implemented in many European countries. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cross-border effects resulting from different choices on capacity mechanisms in neighboring countries. We consider a model with two connected countries that differ in the regulator's choice on capacity mechanism, namely strategic reserves or capacity payments. In both countries, competitive fi rms invest in generation capacity before selling electricity on the spot market. We characterize market equilibria and find the following main result: While consumers' costs may be the same under both capacity mechanisms in non-connected countries, we show that the different capacity mechanisms in interconnected countries induce redistribution effects. More precisely, we nd that consumers' costs are higher in countries in which reserve capacities are procured than in countries in which capacity payments are used to ensure the targeted reliable level of electricity.

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.

Balancing mechanism status: November 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

RTE ensures the real-time balance between production and consumption and deals with congestion on the French electricity system. The Balancing Mechanism assists in the accomplishment of this task. As in many countries, and after extensive dialogue with representatives from the market's various players, RTE proposes a Balancing Mechanism in the form of a permanent and transparent system of calls for tender. The system is open to everyone and provides a real-time reserve of power that can be used for balancing either upward or downward. RTE takes advantage of these offers according to economic precedence, taking into account the system's operating conditions. It pays for them at the offer price. There are two types of offer: - Upward offer: increase in production, decrease in consumption, imports, - Downward offer: decrease in production, increase in consumption, exports. For a Balancing Entity, an offer systematically consists of: a balancing direction (upward/downward), a time period, a price that may vary according to six time slots. RTE publishes each month a Balancing Mechanism Report. which includes the following information: - energy volumes activated to ensure the balance of the system and to resolve congestion; - minimum and maximum prices of offers activated to balance the system; - daily trends calculated according to the predominant value of the overall upward or downward trend; - balancing shares by technology (nuclear, thermal, hydraulic); - characteristics of the five most activated balancing entities; - balances/imbalances accounts and production/consumption overcharge; - congestion curbing costs on the French electricity system; - energy volumes activated to ensure the balance of the system according to contracts between RTE and other Balance Responsible entities (UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Switzerland); - reliability of the provisional data supplied by RTE about the balancing trend; - availability of RTE's information services (planning, balancing

Balancing mechanism status: May 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

RTE ensures the real-time balance between production and consumption and deals with congestion on the French electricity system. The Balancing Mechanism assists in the accomplishment of this task. As in many countries, and after extensive dialogue with representatives from the market's various players, RTE proposes a Balancing Mechanism in the form of a permanent and transparent system of calls for tender. The system is open to everyone and provides a real-time reserve of power that can be used for balancing either upward or downward. RTE takes advantage of these offers according to economic precedence, taking into account the system's operating conditions. It pays for them at the offer price. There are two types of offer: - Upward offer: increase in production, decrease in consumption, imports, - Downward offer: decrease in production, increase in consumption, exports. For a Balancing Entity, an offer systematically consists of: a balancing direction (upward/downward), a time period, a price that may vary according to six time slots. RTE publishes each month a Balancing Mechanism Report. which includes the following information: - energy volumes activated to ensure the balance of the system and to resolve congestion; - minimum and maximum prices of offers activated to balance the system; - daily trends calculated according to the predominant value of the overall upward or downward trend; - balancing shares by technology (nuclear, thermal, hydraulic); - characteristics of the five most activated balancing entities; - balances/imbalances accounts and production/consumption overcharge; - congestion curbing costs on the French electricity system; - energy volumes activated to ensure the balance of the system according to contracts between RTE and other Balance Responsible entities (UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Switzerland); - reliability of the provisional data supplied by RTE about the balancing trend; - availability of RTE's information services (planning, balancing

Analysis of Technetium Species and Fractions in Natural Seaweed Using Biochemical Separation and ICP-MS Measurement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shi, Keliang; Hou, Xiaolin; Qiao, Jixin

2016-01-01

An extremely high accumulation and retention of technetium in marine plants, especially brown seaweed, makes it a unique bioindicator of technetium. In the present work, a novel approach was developed for the speciation analysis of technetium in seaweed, wherein a series of biochemical separations....... Besides the inorganic species of TcO4-, most of technetium (>75%) combined with organic components of seaweed such as algin, cellulose, and pigment. This investigation could provide important fundamental knowledge for studying the processes and mechanisms of 99Tc accumulation in the natural seaweed....

Communication equipment radiation resistance ensurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myrova, L.O.; Chelizhenko, A.Z.

1983-01-01

A review of works on radiation resistance of electronic equipment (epsilon epsilon) for 15 years is presented. The effect of ionizing radiation appearing as a result of nuclear explosions in nuclear facilities and in outerspace on epsilon epsilon has been considered. Types of radiation effects in epsilon epsilon, radiation effect on semiconductor devices and integrated circUits, types of epsilon epsilon failures, as well as the procass of radiation-resistant epsilon epsilon designing and selection of its main parameters have been described. The methods of epsilon epsilon flowsheet optimization, application of mathematical simulation and peculiarities of ensurance of epsilon epsilon radiation resistance of communication systems are considered. Peculiarities of designing of radiation-resistant quartz generators, secondary power supply sources and amplifiers are discussed

The Role of Communication in Ensuring Sustained Behavior Change

Science.gov (United States)

Webinar series on communications strategies and methods addresses how communications tools can be used throughout the implementation of climate and clean energy programs to achieve behavior change and ensure sustained.

Role of failure-mechanism identification in accelerated testing

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, J. M.; Barker, D.; Dasgupta, A.; Arora, A.

1993-01-01

Accelerated life testing techniques provide a short-cut method to investigate the reliability of electronic devices with respect to certain dominant failure mechanisms that occur under normal operating conditions. However, accelerated tests have often been conducted without knowledge of the failure mechanisms and without ensuring that the test accelerated the same mechanism as that observed under normal operating conditions. This paper summarizes common failure mechanisms in electronic devices and packages and investigates possible failure mechanism shifting during accelerated testing.

Clinical study on bone mineral density and bone metabolism biochemical marker in hyperthyroidism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Ying; Xu Xiaohui

2004-01-01

To investigate the mechanism and relationship between hyperthyroidism and osteoporosis, bone mineral density was observed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 149 cases of hyperthyroidism, while serum FT 3 , FT 4 , TSH, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), BGP, and D-pyd levels were measured in 81 cases of hyperthyroidism. The osteopenia rate is 30.2% and the osteoporosis rate is 24.1% in hyperthyroidism patients. Compare with control group, bone metabolic biochemical markers in all cases of hyperthyroidism showed a significant increase, which displays high turnover osteoporosis. In order to find out the case of osteoporosis as soon as possible, bone mineral density of all patients with hyperthyroidism should be measured in the period of treatment. (authors)

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 ...

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

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...

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.

[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.

[Progresses of alpine treeline formation mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Yu; He, Hong Shi; Gu, Xiao Nan; Xu, Wen Ru; Liu, Kai; Zong, Sheng Wei; Du, Hai Bo

2016-09-01

Alpine treelines represent one of the most distinct vegetation boundaries between canopy closed montane forest and treeless alpine vegetation. This transitional ecotone is highly sensitive to global and regional climate change and is considered as an ideal indicator of such changes. Treeline studies have evolved from morphological description to various hypotheses of treeline formation. Although individual hypothesis may provide reasonable explanation locally, a generalized hypothesis that is applicable on the global scale is still lacking. Temperature is considered the limited factor controlling the distribution of alpine treeline as low temperature restricts biochemical processes of tree growth. However, which particular biochemical processes are affected by low temperature remains unknown. This paper summarized the mechanisms of treeline formation with a focus on how low temperature affects photosynthesis characteristics, nutrient characteristics, non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) and antioxidant system. We also reviewed the key issues and future perspectives in treeline research.

Exploring the scope of community-based rehabilitation in ensuring ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... the scope of community-based rehabilitation in ensuring the holistic ... Rehabilitation is defined as the process of combined ... psychological measures for enabling individuals to at- ... inclusion, meeting basic needs and facilitating access to.

Ensuring Equal Access to High-Quality Education. Revised

Science.gov (United States)

Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education, 2011

2011-01-01

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education (Department) is a law enforcement agency charged with enforcing federal civil rights laws to ensure that educational institutions receiving federal financial assistance do not engage in discriminatory conduct. OCR enforces the federal civil rights laws that prohibit…

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.

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.

Aspects on the Physiological and Biochemical Foundations of Neurocritical Care

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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

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.

Selection of software for mechanical engineering undergraduates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheah, C. T.; Yin, C. S.; Halim, T.; Naser, J.; Blicblau, A. S.

2016-01-01

A major problem with the undergraduate mechanical course is the limited exposure of students to software packages coupled with the long learning curve on the existing software packages. This work proposes the use of appropriate software packages for the entire mechanical engineering curriculum to ensure students get sufficient exposure real life design problems. A variety of software packages are highlighted as being suitable for undergraduate work in mechanical engineering, e.g. simultaneous non-linear equations; uncertainty analysis; 3-D modeling software with the FEA; analysis tools for the solution of problems in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mechanical system design, and solid mechanics.

Selection of software for mechanical engineering undergraduates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheah, C. T.; Yin, C. S.; Halim, T.; Naser, J.; Blicblau, A. S., E-mail: ablicblau@swin.edu.au [Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Science Engineering and Technology, PO Box 218 Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, 3122 (Australia)

2016-07-12

A major problem with the undergraduate mechanical course is the limited exposure of students to software packages coupled with the long learning curve on the existing software packages. This work proposes the use of appropriate software packages for the entire mechanical engineering curriculum to ensure students get sufficient exposure real life design problems. A variety of software packages are highlighted as being suitable for undergraduate work in mechanical engineering, e.g. simultaneous non-linear equations; uncertainty analysis; 3-D modeling software with the FEA; analysis tools for the solution of problems in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mechanical system design, and solid mechanics.

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.

Exploring the mechanism of tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase

Science.gov (United States)

Thackray, Sarah J.; Mowat, Christopher G.; Chapman, Stephen K.

2008-01-01

The haem proteins TDO (tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase) and IDO (indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase) are specific and powerful oxidation catalysts that insert one molecule of dioxygen into L-tryptophan in the first and rate-limiting step in the kynurenine pathway. Recent crystallographic and biochemical analyses of TDO and IDO have greatly aided our understanding of the mechanisms employed by these enzymes in the binding and activation of dioxygen and tryptophan. In the present paper, we briefly discuss the function, structure and possible catalytic mechanism of these enzymes. PMID:19021508

Enhancing Scientific Foundations to Ensure Reproducibility: A New Paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Terry; Vaickus, Max H; Remick, Daniel G

2018-01-01

Progress in science is dependent on a strong foundation of reliable results. The publish or perish paradigm in research, coupled with an increase in retracted articles from the peer-reviewed literature, is beginning to erode the trust of both the scientific community and the public. The NIH is combating errors by requiring investigators to follow new guidelines addressing scientific premise, experimental design, biological variables, and authentication of reagents. Herein, we discuss how implementation of NIH guidelines will help investigators proactively address pitfalls of experimental design and methods. Careful consideration of the variables contributing to reproducibility helps ensure robust results. The NIH, investigators, and journals must collaborate to ensure that quality science is funded, explored, and published. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Protecting me from my Directive: Ensuring Appropriate Safeguards for Advance Directives in Dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Auckland, Cressida

2018-02-01

With one in six people over 80 now suffering from dementia, advance directives provide an important means of empowerment. Upholding directives in the context of dementia, however, raises extra challenges, given the potential for the directive to conflict with an assessment of what is in the person's current best interests. Given the profound harm that tying a person with dementia to their previous wishes can do, it is essential that we have sufficient safeguards in place to ensure that we only uphold such directives where we can be sure they are truly autonomous and are intended to apply to the situation at hand-safeguards which are at present, severely lacking. This article will consider various mechanisms by which safeguards can be built into the legal regime to ensure that the original decision is autonomous, including making it mandatory for the person to undergo a consultation with a healthcare professional, which would involve a contemporaneous capacity assessment. Clinicians must also be confident that the directive applies to the situation at hand. Introducing formalities, including a standardised (though not mandatory) proforma, may help to enhance specificity about when the directive is triggered, and to what treatments it relates, to enable clinicians to better assess the directive's applicability. A national registry for advance directives might also be beneficial. It will be argued that health care professionals will have to play a much greater role in the drafting and registering of advance directives, if we are to feel comfortable in upholding them.

Ensuring the security and availability of a hospital wireless LAN system.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanada, Eisuke; Kudou, Takato; Tsumoto, Shusaku

2013-01-01

Wireless technologies as part of the data communication infrastructure of modern hospitals are being rapidly introduced. Even though there are concerns about problems associated with wireless communication security, the demand is remarkably large. Herein we discuss security countermeasures that must be taken and issues concerning availability that must be considered to ensure safe hospital/business use of wireless LAN systems, referring to the procedures introduced at a university hospital. Security countermeasures differ according to their purpose, such as preventing illegal use or ensuring availability, both of which are discussed. The main focus of the availability discussion is on signal reach, electromagnetic noise elimination, and maintaining power supply to the network apparatus. It is our hope that this information will assist others in their efforts to ensure safe implementation of wireless LAN systems, especially in hospitals where they have the potential to greatly improve information sharing and patient safety.

Modelling biochemical networks with intrinsic time delays: a hybrid semi-parametric approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliveira Rui

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper presents a method for modelling dynamical biochemical networks with intrinsic time delays. Since the fundamental mechanisms leading to such delays are many times unknown, non conventional modelling approaches become necessary. Herein, a hybrid semi-parametric identification methodology is proposed in which discrete time series are incorporated into fundamental material balance models. This integration results in hybrid delay differential equations which can be applied to identify unknown cellular dynamics. Results The proposed hybrid modelling methodology was evaluated using two case studies. The first of these deals with dynamic modelling of transcriptional factor A in mammalian cells. The protein transport from the cytosol to the nucleus introduced a delay that was accounted for by discrete time series formulation. The second case study focused on a simple network with distributed time delays that demonstrated that the discrete time delay formalism has broad applicability to both discrete and distributed delay problems. Conclusions Significantly better prediction qualities of the novel hybrid model were obtained when compared to dynamical structures without time delays, being the more distinctive the more significant the underlying system delay is. The identification of the system delays by studies of different discrete modelling delays was enabled by the proposed structure. Further, it was shown that the hybrid discrete delay methodology is not limited to discrete delay systems. The proposed method is a powerful tool to identify time delays in ill-defined biochemical networks.

Strategies for Ensuring Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Shenton, Andrew K.

2004-01-01

Although many critics are reluctant to accept the trustworthiness of qualitative research, frameworks for ensuring rigour in this form of work have been in existence for many years. Guba's constructs, in particular, have won considerable favour and form the focus of this paper. Here researchers seek to satisfy four criteria. In addressing…

Concise Review: Plasma and Nuclear Membranes Convey Mechanical Information to Regulate Mesenchymal Stem Cell Lineage.

Science.gov (United States)

Uzer, Gunes; Fuchs, Robyn K; Rubin, Janet; Thompson, William R

2016-06-01

Numerous factors including chemical, hormonal, spatial, and physical cues determine stem cell fate. While the regulation of stem cell differentiation by soluble factors is well-characterized, the role of mechanical force in the determination of lineage fate is just beginning to be understood. Investigation of the role of force on cell function has largely focused on "outside-in" signaling, initiated at the plasma membrane. When interfaced with the extracellular matrix, the cell uses integral membrane proteins, such as those found in focal adhesion complexes to translate force into biochemical signals. Akin to these outside-in connections, the internal cytoskeleton is physically linked to the nucleus, via proteins that span the nuclear membrane. Although structurally and biochemically distinct, these two forms of mechanical coupling influence stem cell lineage fate and, when disrupted, often lead to disease. Here we provide an overview of how mechanical coupling occurs at the plasma and nuclear membranes. We also discuss the role of force on stem cell differentiation, with focus on the biochemical signals generated at the cell membrane and the nucleus, and how those signals influence various diseases. While the interaction of stem cells with their physical environment and how they respond to force is complex, an understanding of the mechanical regulation of these cells is critical in the design of novel therapeutics to combat diseases associated with aging, cancer, and osteoporosis. Stem Cells 2016;34:1455-1463. © 2016 AlphaMed Press.

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.

Selection for Cd Pollution-Safe Cultivars of Chinese Kale (Brassica alboglabra L. H. Bailey) and Biochemical Mechanisms of the Cultivar-Dependent Cd Accumulation Involving in Cd Subcellular Distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Jing-Jie; Tan, Xiao; Fu, Hui-Ling; Chen, Jing-Xin; Lin, Xiao-Xia; Ma, Yuan; Yang, Zhong-Yi

2018-02-28

Two pot experiments were conducted to compare and verify Cd accumulation capacities of different cultivars under Cd exposures (0.215, 0.543, and 0.925 mg kg -1 in Exp-1 and 0.143, 0.619, and 1.407 mg kg -1 in Exp-2) and Cd subcellular distributions between low- and high-Cd cultivars. Shoot Cd concentrations between the selected low- and high-Cd cultivars were 1.4-fold different and the results were reproducible. The proportions of Cd-in-cell-wall of shoots and roots were all higher in a typical low-Cd cultivar (DX102) than in a typical high-Cd cultivar (HJK), while those of Cd-in-chloroplast or Cd-in-trophoplast and Cd-in-membrane-and-organelle were opposite. The proportions of Cd-in-vacuoles-and-cytoplasm of roots in DX102 were always higher than in HJK under Cd stresses, while there was no clear pattern in those of shoots. These findings may help to reduce health risk of Cd from Chinese kale consumption and explained biochemical mechanisms of cultivar-dependent Cd accumulation among the species.

Morphological, physiological and biochemical responses of camellia oleifera to low-temperature stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, J.; Shu, Q.; Fu, S.; Wu, W.

2016-01-01

Camellia oleifera Abel originates from China and is high healthy effect food oil species. It is also a high additional plant in southern China and can help to keep some people of mountain area out of poverty. In recent years, climate change has been abnormal frequently. Abnormal low temperature in winter and late spring coldness may cause the hard hit to C. oleifera farmers. Freezing injury can be caused by sudden decreases in temperature in winter. However, C. oleifera varieties differ in their hardiness to low temperatures. The paper investigated cold-resistance mechanisms by determining and analyzing the morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of C. oleifera from eastern, western and southern Anhui, respectively. Sensitivity to low temperature was assessed via the number of leaves in spring shoots, leaf thickness, the activities of protective enzymes such as CAT, POD and SOD, and the inclusion contents of WSS, FPro, MDA, benzene-alcohol extracts and lignin. The results showed that C. oleifera varieties had different physiological and biochemical, and morphological responses to low winter temperatures. In different regions, the number of leaves, leaf thickness, WSS content, FPro content and MDA content varied from 5.2-7.8, 398.79 micro m-465.27 micro m, 23.41 mg/g-24.74 mg/g, 41.86 micro g/g-44.18 micro g/g and 10.08 micro mol/g-14.51 micro mol/g, respectively. The varieties from eastern Anhui, the leaf thickness were thicker. Meanwhile, the protective enzyme activities and inclusion contents were relatively higher. The protective enzyme activities and chemical components contents such as benzene-alcohol extract and lignin represented significantly difference (p<0.05) among three regions. In the future, for the abnormal low temperature in winter, a serious of cultivation measures such as improving the contents of WSS, FPro, benzene-alcohol extract and lignin, were taken to enhance the cold resistance of C. oleifera. The result broadens the

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)

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.

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 ...

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.

Cep63 and cep152 cooperate to ensure centriole duplication.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola J Brown

Full Text Available Centrosomes consist of two centrioles embedded in pericentriolar material and function as the main microtubule organising centres in dividing animal cells. They ensure proper formation and orientation of the mitotic spindle and are therefore essential for the maintenance of genome stability. Centrosome function is crucial during embryonic development, highlighted by the discovery of mutations in genes encoding centrosome or spindle pole proteins that cause autosomal recessive primary microcephaly, including Cep63 and Cep152. In this study we show that Cep63 functions to ensure that centriole duplication occurs reliably in dividing mammalian cells. We show that the interaction between Cep63 and Cep152 can occur independently of centrosome localisation and that the two proteins are dependent on one another for centrosomal localisation. Further, both mouse and human Cep63 and Cep152 cooperate to ensure efficient centriole duplication by promoting the accumulation of essential centriole duplication factors upstream of SAS-6 recruitment and procentriole formation. These observations describe the requirement for Cep63 in maintaining centriole number in dividing mammalian cells and further establish the order of events in centriole formation.

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. .

Mechanism of sequence-specific template binding by the DNA primase of bacteriophage T7

KAUST Repository

Lee, Seung-Joo; Zhu, Bin; Hamdan, Samir; Richardson, Charles C.

2010-01-01

DNA primases catalyze the synthesis of the oligoribonucleotides required for the initiation of lagging strand DNA synthesis. Biochemical studies have elucidated the mechanism for the sequence-specific synthesis of primers. However, the physical

Mass balance to assess the efficiency of a mechanical-biological treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo Morais, J. de; Ducom, G.; Achour, F.; Rouez, M.; Bayard, R.

2008-01-01

Using mechanical-biological treatment of residual municipal solid waste, it is possible to significantly lower landfill volume and gas and leachate emissions. Moreover, the landfill characteristics are improved. The performance of the Mende (France) mechanical-biological treatment plant is assessed via mass balances coupled with manual sorting according to the MODECOM TM methodology and biochemical methane potential after 90 days of incubation. The site includes mechanical sorting operations, a rotary sequential bioreactor, controlled aerobic stabilisation corridors, maturation platforms, and a sanitary landfill site for waste disposal in separated cells. Results showed that several steps could be improved: after a first sieving step, about 12% of the potentially biodegradable matter is landfilled directly without any treatment; mechanical disintegration of papers and cardboards in the rotary sequential bioreactor is insufficient and leads to a high proportion of papers and cardboards being landfilled without further treatment. Two fine fractions go through stabilisation and maturation steps. At the end of the maturation step, about 54% of the potentially biodegradable matter is degraded. The biochemical methane potential after 90 days of incubation is reduced by 81% for one of the two fine fractions and reduced by 88% for the other one. Considering the whole plant, there is a reduction of nearly 20% DM of the entering residual municipal solid waste

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.

Role of Head Teachers in Ensuring Sound Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Kor, Jacob; Opare, James K.

2017-01-01

The school climate is outlined in literature as one of the most important within school factors required for effective teaching in learning. As leaders in any organisations are assigned the role of ensuring sound climates for work, head teachers also have the task of creating and maintaining an environment conducive for effective academic work…

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.

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.

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

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.

[Ensure - complete and balanced nutrition, convenient on work].

Science.gov (United States)

Kurenkov, A V; Iuriatin, A A

2013-01-01

The work conditions often may compromise a company ability to supply their employees with adequate, hot meals. For heavy labor workers and some office employees it is important to restore energy and nutrients with food, balanced in nutrients. The lack of adequate nutritive support can give a negative impact on different organs functions. One of the main principles of healthy nutrition is - diet must be balanced in nutrients. Which is easy to say, but difficult to implement, especially on some industries. Complete and balanced liquid and ready-to-use nutrition is new trend in nutrition of healthy people who cannot consume optimal diet, and in people with the risk of nutrient deficiencies. One-two packs of Ensure daily can significantly improve a worker ration. 2 and more packs could serve as a real complete and balanced lunch (>or=780 kcal). Also Ensure is easy to store and to deliver in distant places of work and can be recommended for use as a convenient, complete and balanced nutrition on work.

FACTOR IN ENSURING A BALANCED BUDGET NORTHERN TERRITORIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Anatol’evna Naidenova

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The main tools of sustainable development of the country as a whole and its individual regions are federal and regional budgets. At the same time a prerequisite for the use of this tool is its equilibrium. It is the basic principle of a responsible fiscal policy. The article describes the factors to equilibrium. on the budgets of the northern regions of the Russian Federation. The measures to ensure budgetary equilibrium in the northern regions of the Russian Federation are offered.The purpose of the article. Substantiating the measures to balance the budgets of the northern Russian Federation subjects on the basis of analysis of the factors that directly affect the mobilization of potential tax revenues to regional budgets.Method and methodology of work. Theoretical and empirical methods, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction.Results of the study. To ensure factors unbalanced budgets northern territories. The proposals the balance of revenues and expenditures of the regional budgets of the northern regions of the Russian Federation are submitted.Application area. Finance authorities of subjects of the Russian Federation.

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.

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.

Tissue-Based MicroRNAs as Predictors of Biochemical Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy: What Can We Learn from Past Studies?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhongwei Zhao

2017-09-01

Full Text Available With the increasing understanding of the molecular mechanism of the microRNAs (miRNAs in prostate cancer (PCa, the predictive potential of miRNAs has received more attention by clinicians and laboratory scientists. Compared with the traditional prognostic tools based on clinicopathological variables, including the prostate-specific antigen, miRNAs may be helpful novel molecular biomarkers of biochemical recurrence for a more accurate risk stratification of PCa patients after radical prostatectomy and may contribute to personalized treatment. Tissue samples from prostatectomy specimens are easily available for miRNA isolation. Numerous studies from different countries have investigated the role of tissue-miRNAs as independent predictors of disease recurrence, either alone or in combination with other clinicopathological factors. For this purpose, a PubMed search was performed for articles published between 2008 and 2017. We compiled a profile of dysregulated miRNAs as potential predictors of biochemical recurrence and discussed their current clinical relevance. Because of differences in analytics, insufficient power and the heterogeneity of studies, and different statistical evaluation methods, limited consistency in results was obvious. Prospective multi-institutional studies with larger sample sizes, harmonized analytics, well-structured external validations, and reasonable study designs are necessary to assess the real prognostic information of miRNAs, in combination with conventional clinicopathological factors, as predictors of biochemical recurrence.

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.

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 ...

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...

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.

Strategy to Ensure Institutional Control Implementation at Superfund Sites

Science.gov (United States)

This document sets forth EPA’s strategy (Strategy) for ensuring that institutional controls (ICs) are successfully implemented at Superfund sites, with an emphasis on evaluating ICs at sites where all construction of all remedies is complete (construction complete sites).

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

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.

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

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.

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...

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 ...

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.

Effect of ensure on the oral bioavailability of gatifloxacin in healthy volunteers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kays, Michael B; Overholser, Brian R; Lagvankar, Seema; Goldman, Mitchell; Sowinski, Kevin M

2005-11-01

To determine the effect of Ensure on the relative oral bioavailability of gatifloxacin in healthy volunteers. Single-dose, randomized, crossover study. University-affiliated research center. Twelve healthy volunteers (six men, six women) aged 18 years or older with no clinically significant abnormal findings on physical examination or in medical history. Intervention. Subjects consumed 120 ml of study liquid-water or Ensure-every 30 minutes for five doses. With the second dose, subjects ingested a single gatifloxacin 400-mg tablet that had been uniformly crushed and mixed into the study liquid. Serial blood samples were collected for 48 hours, and gatifloxacin concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Pharmacokinetic data were analyzed by using noncompartmental methods. Maximum serum concentration (Cmax) and area under the serum concentration-time curve from zero to infinity (AUC0-infinity) were tested for bioequivalence after log-transformation of the data. Comparison of parameters for gatifloxacin administered with water versus those with Ensure showed that Cmax (4.35 +/- 0.90 vs 2.41 +/- 0.58 mug/ml, pinfinity) (42.4 +/- 10.1 vs 31.3 +/- 8.3 mg*hr/L, pinfinity. The median time to reach Cmax was significantly prolonged when gatifloxacin was administered with Ensure versus that with water (2.5 hrs vs 1.0 hr, p=0.006). The Cmax and AUC0-infinity of gatifloxacin were significantly decreased when the drug was administered with Ensure. The clinical significance of these findings will depend on the offending pathogen and its susceptibility to gatifloxacin.

Atomic-level characterization of the activation mechanism of SERCA by calcium.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L Michel Espinoza-Fonseca

Full Text Available We have performed molecular dynamics (MD simulations to elucidate, in atomic detail, the mechanism by which the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+-ATPase (SERCA is activated by Ca(2+. Crystal structures suggest that activation of SERCA occurs when the cytoplasmic head-piece, in an open (E1 conformation stabilized by Ca(2+, undergoes a large-scale open-to-closed (E1 to E2 transition that is induced by ATP binding. However, spectroscopic measurements in solution suggest that these structural states (E1 and E2 are not tightly coupled to biochemical states (defined by bound ligands; the closed E2 state predominates even in the absence of ATP, in both the presence and absence of Ca(2+. How is this loose coupling consistent with the high efficiency of energy transduction in the Ca(2+-ATPase? To provide insight into this question, we performed long (500 ns all-atom MD simulations starting from the open crystal structure, including a lipid bilayer and water. In both the presence and absence of Ca(2+, we observed a large-scale open-to-closed conformational transition within 400 ns, supporting the weak coupling between structural and biochemical states. However, upon closer inspection, it is clear that Ca(2+ is necessary and sufficient for SERCA to reach the precise geometrical arrangement necessary for activation of ATP hydrolysis. Contrary to suggestions from crystal structures, but in agreement with solution spectroscopy, the presence of ATP is not required for this activating transition. Principal component analysis showed that Ca(2+ reshapes the free energy landscape of SERCA to create a path between the open conformation and the activated closed conformation. Thus the malleability of the free energy landscape is essential for SERCA efficiency, ensuring that ATP hydrolysis is tightly coupled to Ca(2+ transport. These results demonstrate the importance of real-time dynamics in the formation of catalytically competent conformations of SERCA, with broad

Mercury-induced biochemical and proteomic changes in rice roots.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yun-An; Chi, Wen-Chang; Huang, Tsai-Lien; Lin, Chung-Yi; Quynh Nguyeh, Thi Thuy; Hsiung, Yu-Chywan; Chia, Li-Chiao; Huang, Hao-Jen

2012-06-01

Mercury (Hg) is a serious environmental pollution threats to the planet. Accumulation of Hg in plants disrupts many cellular-level functions and inhibits growth and development, but the mechanism is not fully understood. We investigated cellular, biochemical and proteomic changes in rice roots under Hg stress. Root growth rate was decreased and Hg, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content and lipoxygenase activity were increased significantly with increasing Hg concentration in roots. We revealed a time-dependent alteration in total glutathione content and enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) during Hg stress. 2-D electrophoresis revealed differential expression of 25 spots with Hg treatment of roots: 14 spots were upregulated and 11 spots downregulated. These differentially expressed proteins were identified by ESI-MS/MS to be involved in cellular functions including redox and hormone homeostasis, chaperone activity, metabolism, and transcription regulation. These results may provide new insights into the molecular basis of the Hg stress response in plants. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Emerging Dynamic Design Techniques for Mechanical and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Emerging Dynamic Design Techniques for Mechanical ... through this school to bring about an awareness of the state-of-art of the software and ... those mentioned above, cannot be ensured on the basis of approaches involving numerical.

KEY ASPECTS OF ENSURING ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.G. Abramyan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The paper is based on the review of the foreign and national academic literature and intended to emphasize the issues of ensuring energy efficiency of buildings and structures applicable to all the countries as for reconstruction of existing buildings as for erection of new ones . The author highlights the key aspects of the provision of energy efficiency of buildings and structures in some foreign countries. The conclusion is made that the studies are mainly aimed at discovering new heat insulation materials, whereby polystyrene insulation is found to be the most widespread wall insulation material in a number of countries. At the same time, it is observed that the ongoing research is focused on solutions to optimize the structure of walling systems in terms of both insulant thickness and the number and sequence of insulation layers in the walling structure. A conclusion is made that hyper insulation of external walls leads to considerable expenses arising due to cooling during the summer season. The use of prefabricated vacuum panels as a heat insulation layer and off-the-shelf single-layer structures, subject to their heat insulation characteristics, appears a more constructive way to meet the energy efficiency requirements, as the arrangement of ideal air space in multilayered walls proves a significant challenge today. One of the most promising ways to ensure energy efficiency is the use of multifunctional polyvalent walls and provision of polyvalent heat supply from renewable energy sources. Since energy efficiency depends on the spatial arrangement of buildings, construction must ensure a minimum ratio of the area of enclosing structures to the overall building volume (by adding on new facilities in case of reconstruction. It is noted that a systemic approach to ensuring energy efficiency of buildings is impossible without proper regard to the environmental parameters of heat insulation materials.

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 ...

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.

Ensuring the operational safety of nuclear power plants with WWER reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shasharin, G.A.; Veretennikov, G.A.; Abagyan, A.A.; Lesnoj, S.A.

1984-01-01

At the start of 1983, 27 nuclear power producing units with reactor facilities of the WWER type were in operation in the Soviet Union and other countries. In 1982 the average load factor for nuclear power plants with WWER reactors was 73 per cent. There was not a single nuclear accident or even damage with any significant radiation consequences in the WWER reactors during the entire period of their operation. The most modern nuclear power plants with WWER-440 and WWER-1000 reactors meet all present-day international requirements. Safe operation of the plants is achieved by a variety of measures, the most important of which include: procedures for increasing the reliability of plant equipment and systems; ensuring exact compliance with plant operating instructions; ensuring reliable operation of plant safety systems; action directed towards maintaining the skills of plant personnel at a level adequate to ensure the taking of proper action during transient processes and accident situations. The paper discusses concrete steps for ensuring safe nuclear power plant operation along these lines. In particular, measures such as the following are described: the use of a system for collecting and processing information on equipment failures and defects; the development and introduction of methods of early defect diagnosis; the performance of complex testing of safety systems; the training of highly skilled personnel for nuclear power plants at educational combines and at teaching and training centres making use of simulators; arranging accident-prevention training and special instruction for personnel. (author)

An integrated finite-element approach to mechanics, transport and biosynthesis in tissue engineering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sengers, B.G.; Oomens, C.W.J.; Baaijens, F.P.T.

2004-01-01

A finite-element approach was formulated, aimed at enabling an integrated study of mechanical and biochemical factors that control the functional development of tissue engineered constructs. A nonlinear biphasic displacement-velocity-pressure description was combined with adjective and diffusive

Propagation of kinetic uncertainties through a canonical topology of the TLR4 signaling network in different regions of biochemical reaction space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

St Laurent Georges

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Signal transduction networks represent the information processing systems that dictate which dynamical regimes of biochemical activity can be accessible to a cell under certain circumstances. One of the major concerns in molecular systems biology is centered on the elucidation of the robustness properties and information processing capabilities of signal transduction networks. Achieving this goal requires the establishment of causal relations between the design principle of biochemical reaction systems and their emergent dynamical behaviors. Methods In this study, efforts were focused in the construction of a relatively well informed, deterministic, non-linear dynamic model, accounting for reaction mechanisms grounded on standard mass action and Hill saturation kinetics, of the canonical reaction topology underlying Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4-mediated signaling events. This signaling mechanism has been shown to be deployed in macrophages during a relatively short time window in response to lypopolysaccharyde (LPS stimulation, which leads to a rapidly mounted innate immune response. An extensive computational exploration of the biochemical reaction space inhabited by this signal transduction network was performed via local and global perturbation strategies. Importantly, a broad spectrum of biologically plausible dynamical regimes accessible to the network in widely scattered regions of parameter space was reconstructed computationally. Additionally, experimentally reported transcriptional readouts of target pro-inflammatory genes, which are actively modulated by the network in response to LPS stimulation, were also simulated. This was done with the main goal of carrying out an unbiased statistical assessment of the intrinsic robustness properties of this canonical reaction topology. Results Our simulation results provide convincing numerical evidence supporting the idea that a canonical reaction mechanism of the TLR4

Ensuring Integrity in AGU Publications and Compliance With Dual Publication Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Praveen; Calais, Eric

2011-03-01

To ensure the highest standards for publication, AGU has begun screening manuscript submissions using CrossCheck (http://www.crossref.org/crosscheck.html) for possible verbatim use of previously published material. Water Resources Research and Geophysical Research Letters have tested this technology since summer 2010. It has proven very useful in ensuring the highest integrity in publication standards and compliance with the AGU dual publication policy (http://www.agu.org/pubs/authors/policies/dualpub_policy.shtml). According to Barbara Major, assistant director of journals, other AGU journals will adopt this screening process in the near future.

Technical Education as a Tool for Ensuring Sustainable Development: A Case of India

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Gagan Deep; Uppal, Raminder Singh; Mahendru, Mandeep

2016-01-01

This paper notes that education needs to essentially lead to sustainable development serving two-fold purpose--eradicating the problems of unemployment and poverty; and ensuring equitable distribution of wealth while ensuring the right understanding leading to a peaceful, prosperous and developed world. In its current state, technical education…

Structural and biochemical analysis of atypically low dephosphorylating activity of human dual-specificity phosphatase 28.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonsu Ku

Full Text Available Dual-specificity phosphatases (DUSPs constitute a subfamily of protein tyrosine phosphatases, and are intimately involved in the regulation of diverse parameters of cellular signaling and essential biological processes. DUSP28 is one of the DUSP subfamily members that is known to be implicated in the progression of hepatocellular and pancreatic cancers, and its biological functions and enzymatic characteristics are mostly unknown. Herein, we present the crystal structure of human DUSP28 determined to 2.1 Å resolution. DUSP28 adopts a typical DUSP fold, which is composed of a central β-sheet covered by α-helices on both sides and contains a well-ordered activation loop, as do other enzymatically active DUSP proteins. The catalytic pocket of DUSP28, however, appears hardly accessible to a substrate because of the presence of nonconserved bulky residues in the protein tyrosine phosphatase signature motif. Accordingly, DUSP28 showed an atypically low phosphatase activity in the biochemical assay, which was remarkably improved by mutations of two nonconserved residues in the activation loop. Overall, this work reports the structural and biochemical basis for understanding a putative oncological therapeutic target, DUSP28, and also provides a unique mechanism for the regulation of enzymatic activity in the DUSP subfamily proteins.

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

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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.

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

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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/.

[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.

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.

Problems of structural mechanics in nuclear design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patwardhan, V.M.; Kakodkar, Anil

1975-01-01

A very careful and detailed stress analysis of nuclear presure vessels and components is essential for ensuring the safety and integrity of nuclear power plants. The nuclear designer, therefore, relies heavily on structural mechanics for application of the most advanced stress analysis techniques to practical design problems. The paper reviews the inter-relation between structural mechanics and nuclear design and discusses a few of the specific structural mechanics problems faced by the nuclear designers in the Department of Atomic Energy, India. (author)

Biochemical phenotyping unravels novel metabolic abnormalities and potential biomarkers associated with treatment of GLUT1 deficiency with ketogenic diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappuccio, Gerarda; Pinelli, Michele; Alagia, Marianna; Donti, Taraka; Day-Salvatore, Debra-Lynn; Veggiotti, Pierangelo; De Giorgis, Valentina; Lunghi, Simona; Vari, Maria Stella; Striano, Pasquale; Brunetti-Pierri, Nicola; Kennedy, Adam D; Elsea, Sarah H

2017-01-01

Global metabolomic profiling offers novel opportunities for the discovery of biomarkers and for the elucidation of pathogenic mechanisms that might lead to the development of novel therapies. GLUT1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1-DS) is an inborn error of metabolism due to reduced function of glucose transporter type 1. Clinical presentation of GLUT1-DS is heterogeneous and the disorder mirrors patients with epilepsy, movement disorders, or any paroxysmal events or unexplained neurological manifestation triggered by exercise or fasting. The diagnostic biochemical hallmark of the disease is a reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/blood glucose ratio and the only available treatment is ketogenic diet. This study aimed at advancing our understanding of the biochemical perturbations in GLUT1-DS pathogenesis through biochemical phenotyping and the treatment of GLUT1-DS with a ketogenic diet. Metabolomic analysis of three CSF samples from GLUT1-DS patients not on ketogenic diet was feasible inasmuch as CSF sampling was used for diagnosis before to start with ketogenic diet. The analysis of plasma and urine samples obtained from GLUT1-DS patients treated with a ketogenic diet showed alterations in lipid and amino acid profiles. While subtle, these were consistent findings across the patients with GLUT1-DS on ketogenic diet, suggesting impacts on mitochondrial physiology. Moreover, low levels of free carnitine were present suggesting its consumption in GLUT1-DS on ketogenic diet. 3-hydroxybutyrate, 3-hydroxybutyrylcarnitine, 3-methyladipate, and N-acetylglycine were identified as potential biomarkers of GLUT1-DS on ketogenic diet. This is the first study to identify CSF, plasma, and urine metabolites associated with GLUT1-DS, as well as biochemical changes impacted by a ketogenic diet. Potential biomarkers and metabolic insights deserve further investigation.

Insecticide Resistance and Metabolic Mechanisms Involved in Larval and Adult Stages of Aedes aegypti Insecticide-Resistant Reference Strains from Cuba.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisset, Juan Andrés; Rodríguez, María Magdalena; French, Leydis; Severson, David W; Gutiérrez, Gladys; Hurtado, Daymi; Fuentes, Ilario

2014-12-01

Studies were conducted to compare levels of insecticide resistance and to determine the metabolic resistance mechanisms in larval and adult stages of Aedes aegypti from Cuba. Three insecticide-resistant reference strains of Ae. aegypti from Cuba were examined. These strains were derived from a Santiago de Cuba strain isolated in 1997; it was previously subjected to a strong selection for resistance to temephos (SAN-F6), deltamethrin (SAN-F12), and propoxur (SAN-F13) and routinely maintained in the laboratory under selection pressure up to the present time, when the study was carried out. In addition, an insecticide-susceptible strain was used for comparison. The insecticide resistance in larvae and adults was determined using standard World Health Organization methodologies. Insecticide resistance mechanisms were determined by biochemical assays. The esterases (α EST and β EST) and mixed function oxidase (MFO) activities were significantly higher in adults than in the larvae of the three resistant strains studied. The association of resistance level with the biochemical mechanism for each insecticide was established for each stage. The observed differences between larval and adult stages of Ae. aegypti in their levels of insecticide resistance and the biochemical mechanisms involved should be included as part of monitoring and surveillance activities in Ae. aegypti vector control programs.

Crystallographic and biochemical analysis of the mouse poly(ADP-ribose glycohydrolase.

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Zhizhi Wang

Full Text Available Protein poly(ADP-ribosylation (PARylation regulates a number of important cellular processes. Poly(ADP-ribose glycohydrolase (PARG is the primary enzyme responsible for hydrolyzing the poly(ADP-ribose (PAR polymer in vivo. Here we report crystal structures of the mouse PARG (mPARG catalytic domain, its complexes with ADP-ribose (ADPr and a PARG inhibitor ADP-HPD, as well as four PARG catalytic residues mutants. With these structures and biochemical analysis of 20 mPARG mutants, we provide a structural basis for understanding how the PAR polymer is recognized and hydrolyzed by mPARG. The structures and activity complementation experiment also suggest how the N-terminal flexible peptide preceding the PARG catalytic domain may regulate the enzymatic activity of PARG. This study contributes to our understanding of PARG catalytic and regulatory mechanisms as well as the rational design of PARG inhibitors.

Family history and biochemical diagnosis in 1948 kidney stone formers

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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

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…

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 ...

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

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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.

Proton Pumps: Mechanism of Action and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Lanyi, Janos K.; Pohorille, Andrew; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Recent progress in understanding molecular structures and mechanisms of action of proton pumps has paved the way to their novel applications in biotechnology. Proton pumps, in particular bacteriorhodopsin and ATP synthases, are capable of continuous, renewable conversion of light to chemical, mechanical or electrical energy, which can be used in macro- or nano-scale devices. The capability of protein systems incorporated into liposomes to generate ATP, which can be further used to drive chemical reactions, and to act as molecular motors has been already demonstrated. Other possible applications of such biochemical devices include targeted drug delivery and biocatalytic re actors. All these devices might prove superior to their inorganic alternatives.

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...

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 ...

The elite young athlete: strategies to ensure physical and emotional health.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabato, Todd M; Walch, Tanis J; Caine, Dennis J

2016-01-01

This article presents a current review of the risk of physical and psychological injury associated with participation in elite youth sport, and suggests strategies to ensure the physical and emotional health of these young athletes. Although there is lack of epidemiological data, especially with regard to psychological injury, preliminary data suggest that the risk of injury is high in this population. While there is lack of incident and follow-up data, there is also concern regarding burnout, disordered eating, and the long-term consequences of injury. Modifiable injury risk factors identified include postural control, competition anxiety, life events, previous injury, and volume of training. There are presently no studies designed to determine the effectiveness of injury prevention measures in elite youth sports. However, there is adequate evidence arising from injury prevention studies of youth sports participants - including neuromuscular training, protective equipment, mental training to enhance self-esteem, and sport rules modification - to prevent injuries in elite youth sports settings. Although not tested, psychosocial prevention strategies such as adoption of task-oriented coping mechanisms, autonomous support from parents, and a proactive organizational approach also show promise in injury prevention.

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...

Ensuring Economic Security in Lending Sphere

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Ivan Vadimovich Kochikin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Relevance of the topic is determined by the need for sustainable development of the country’s banking system, capable of ensuring the process of raising funds to producers and the public for their projects. One of the implementation of this objective is to discourage unfair behavior in financial markets. Trust is a key factor in the development of financial markets, therefore it is necessary to suppress the appearance of unfair practices and participants – black creditors, falsification of financial statements, trading on insider information and market manipulation. It requires a whole range of activities, and above all ensuring the inevitability and proportionality of punishment for unscrupulous players, the introduction of requirements for the business reputation of the management of financial institutions.The article is devoted to structuring legal violations in the lending sphere. The analysis of indicators of credit organizations in Russia was conducted to fulfill this aim. This analysis revealed the causes of sustainable growth of overdue accounts payable – job cuts in enterprises, violations in the financial sector, various errors in the credit granting / raising. The authors carry out the systematization and classification of offenses in the area of lending, provide examples, as well as factual material illustrating the violations in the lending process having the characteristics of a fraud. The article substantiates the obligations of employees of the credit institution, in the result of which risks of granting credit to fraudsters can be reduced. The methods of fraud prevention should include the identified methods of protection against fraud in the area under consideration – exchange of information by banks associated with the criminal intentions of customers; technology development and technical support, training, and personnel responsibilities.

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

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.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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…

Minocycline Rescues from Zinc-Induced Nigrostriatal Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration: Biochemical and Molecular Interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Vinod; Singh, Brajesh Kumar; Chauhan, Amit Kumar; Singh, Deepali; Patel, Devendra Kumar; Singh, Chetna

2016-07-01

Accumulation of zinc (Zn) in dopaminergic neurons is implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD), and microglial activation plays a critical role in toxin-induced Parkinsonism. Oxidative stress is accused in Zn-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration; however, its connection with microglial activation is still not known. This study was undertaken to elucidate the role and underlying mechanism of microglial activation in Zn-induced nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurodegeneration. Male Wistar rats were treated intraperitoneally with/without zinc sulphate (20 mg/kg) in the presence/absence of minocycline (30 mg/kg), a microglial activation inhibitor, for 2-12 weeks. While neurobehavioral and biochemical indexes of PD and number of dopaminergic neurons were reduced, the number of microglial cells was increased in the substantia nigra of the Zn-exposed animals. Similarly, Zn elevated lipid peroxidation (LPO) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase; however, catalase activity was reduced. Besides, Zn increased an association of NADPH oxidase subunit p67(phox) with membrane, cytochrome c release from the mitochondria and cleavage of pro-caspase 3. Zn attenuated the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT-2) while augmented the expression of dopamine transporter (DAT) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Minocycline alleviated Zn-induced behavioural impairments, loss of TH-positive neurons, activated microglial cells and biochemical indexes and modulated the expression of studied genes/proteins towards normalcy. The results demonstrate that minocycline reduces the number of activated microglial cells and oxidative stress, which rescue from Zn-induced changes in the expression of monoamine transporter and nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurodegeneration.

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)

Activity profiles of 309 ToxCastTM chemicals evaluated across 292 biochemical targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knudsen, Thomas B.; Houck, Keith A.; Sipes, Nisha S.; Singh, Amar V.; Judson, Richard S.; Martin, Matthew T.; Weissman, Arthur; Kleinstreuer, Nicole C.; Mortensen, Holly M.; Reif, David M.; Rabinowitz, James R.; Setzer, R. Woodrow; Richard, Ann M.; Dix, David J.; Kavlock, Robert J.

2011-01-01

Understanding the potential health risks posed by environmental chemicals is a significant challenge elevated by the large number of diverse chemicals with generally uncharacterized exposures, mechanisms, and toxicities. The present study is a performance evaluation and critical analysis of assay results for an array of 292 high-throughput cell-free assays aimed at preliminary toxicity evaluation of 320 environmental chemicals in EPA's ToxCast TM project (Phase I). The chemicals (309 unique, 11 replicates) were mainly precursors or the active agent of commercial pesticides, for which a wealth of in vivo toxicity data is available. Biochemical HTS (high-throughput screening) profiled cell and tissue extracts using semi-automated biochemical and pharmacological methodologies to evaluate a subset of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), CYP450 enzymes (CYPs), kinases, phosphatases, proteases, HDACs, nuclear receptors, ion channels, and transporters. The primary screen tested all chemicals at a relatively high concentration 25 μM concentration (or 10 μM for CYP assays), and a secondary screen re-tested 9132 chemical-assay pairs in 8-point concentration series from 0.023 to 50 μM (or 0.009-20 μM for CYPs). Mapping relationships across 93,440 chemical-assay pairs based on half-maximal activity concentration (AC50) revealed both known and novel targets in signaling and metabolic pathways. The primary dataset, summary data and details on quality control checks are available for download at (http://www.epa.gov/ncct/toxcast/).

The Conceptual Framework for Ensuring Economic Safety of Corporate Integration Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gutsaliuk Oleksii M.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The objective growth of the number of displays and influence of negative factors of threats from the environment actualizes the issue of ensuring economic safety of national economic entities. The article notes that simultaneously with counteracting threats enterprises are working for development, one form of which is the establishment of corporate structures and implementation of integration processes. It is proposed to ensure achieving the desired level of the corporate structure economic safety through optimizing the correlation of resources and competencies, skills and technologies for their use within the integrated logistics value chain. In this case it is the implementation of the integration process that serves as an instrument for achieving this optimal correlation, and the level of economic safety is considered as one of the optimization criteria. The system of authors’ hypotheses is taken as the basis for ensuring economic safety of the corporate integration process. Each of the hypotheses corresponds to a set of conceptual principles aimed at practical implementation of the proposed approaches. Within these conceptual principles the relationship between incentives and benefits of integration and the basis for ensuring their safety is presented, the differences between safety of functioning and safety of development are studied, the use of the methodology of logistics to harmonize the interests of participants of the corporate structure is justified, the relevance of applying the resource approach to manage the integration and development safety is proved. The graphical representation of causal relationships between the proposed conceptual principles allowed formalizing the subject area of studying corporate integration safety

Ensuring Effective Mentoring in Tertiary Institutions in Anambra State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper concerns itself only with ascertaining the strategies that could ensure effective mentoring in tertiary institutions. The survey method was employed. The study population comprised 78 teacher educators in tertiary institutions in Anambra State. One research question guided the study while one null hypothesis was ...

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 ...

Pseudomonas putida KT2440 as a host for biochemicals production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Calero Valdayo, Patricia

The extensive use of cell factories for production of biochemicals is still facing a number of challenges to become economically competitive. One of the problems that need to be overcome is the toxicity of certain chemical products, which prevents yields high enough for their implementation...... in industry.This thesis aims at contributing to developing and characterizing tools for the use of alternative hosts organisms with high tolerance towards toxic compounds, such as Pseudomonas putida. The thesis also focuses on identifying target compounds that may be relevant to produce in this strain...... such as p-coumaric acid, and the mechanisms responsible for such natural tolerance. Moreover, the tolerance towards the highly toxic compound p-hydroxystyrene was improved as an alternative strategy to deal with the effect on growth during the production of such compounds. Expanding the toolbox...

Ensuring microbiological safety and extending the shelf life of shelled sweet corn kernels using hurdle technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Sanjeev; Gautam, Satyendra

2015-01-01

Shelled sweet corn kernels are prone to microbial contaminations due to high moisture and nutrient contents. Post harvest handling further aggravates the condition and makes the product highly perishable and unsafe. In freshly shelled kernels total aerobic plate count, yeast mold count and presumptive coliforms were found to be ∼ 8, 7, and 4 log cfu/g, respectively. IMViC analysis confirmed presence of opportunistic pathogens like Escherichia coli and Enterobacteraerogenes in these samples. Besides, occurrence of mycotoxin such as ochratoxin A (OTA), classified as a possible carcinogenic compound, was found to be high in sweet corn samples spiked with toxigenic strain. To address this issue, a combination process including NaOCl washing (200 ppm for 5 min), hot water blanching (60℃ for 5 min), air drying, LDPE packaging, and finally gamma radiation (5 kGy) treatment was developed. The developed combination process was found to reduce microbial load to below detectable level and quite effectively inactivated Aspergillusochraceus spores as well as pre-formed toxin. These treatments were not found to affect the contents of biochemical constituents such as total and reducing sugars, proteins, phenolics, and flavonoids during storage. Prophylactic properties in terms of antioxidant capacity and potential to suppress chemical induced mutagenesis were not affected in these samples. Physical properties and sensory qualities were also found to be similar to fresh (control). Thus, the developed combination process ensured microbiological safety and extended shelf life of sweet corn kernels up to 30 days at 4℃ . (author)

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)

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.

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.

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

Scientific Research & Subsistence: Protocols to Ensure Co-Existence

Science.gov (United States)

Nachman, C.; Holman, A.; DeMaster, D.

2017-12-01

Commercial, industrial, and research interests in the Arctic are expanding rapidly. Potentials are numerous and exciting, giving rise to the need for guidelines to ensure interactions among waterway users do not conflict. Of particular concern is the potential for adverse impacts to U.S. Arctic coastal communities that rely on living marine resources for nutritional and cultural health, through subsistence hunts from small craft, ice edges, and shore. Recent events raised concerns over research surveys potentially interfering with subsistence hunts in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. Incidents led to calls by Native Alaskan communities to restrict science activities with a mixed response from the scientific community (i.e., some sympathetic, some defensive). With a common goal of wanting to mitigate this potential interaction, Federal agencies made a commitment in the National Strategy for the Arctic Region to coordinate and consult with Alaska Natives and also to pursue responsible Arctic stewardship, with understanding through scientific research and traditional knowledge. The effort to create a "Standard of Care" for research surveys incorporates years of experience by subsistence hunters working to mitigate impacts of other anthropogenic activities in the region, as well as best practices by many in the research community. The protocols are designed to ensure potential conflicts between the scientific research community and subsistence hunters are avoided and to encourage mutual assistance and collaboration between researchers and hunters. The guidelines focus on enhancing communication between researchers and subsistence hunters before, during, and after research occurs. The best management practices outlined in the Standard of Care assist those overseeing and funding scientific research in making decisions about how best to accomplish the goals of the research while ensuring protection of the Alaska subsistence lifestyle. These protocols could also be

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.

Stem Cell-Specific Mechanisms Ensure Genomic Fidelity within HSCs and upon Aging of HSCs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina M. Moehrle

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Whether aged hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs have impaired DNA damage repair is controversial. Using a combination of DNA mutation indicator assays, we observe a 2- to 3-fold increase in the number of DNA mutations in the hematopoietic system upon aging. Young and aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs and hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs do not show an increase in mutation upon irradiation-induced DNA damage repair, and young and aged HSPCs respond very similarly to DNA damage with respect to cell-cycle checkpoint activation and apoptosis. Both young and aged HSPCs show impaired activation of the DNA-damage-induced G1-S checkpoint. Induction of chronic DNA double-strand breaks by zinc-finger nucleases suggests that HSPCs undergo apoptosis rather than faulty repair. These data reveal a protective mechanism in both the young and aged hematopoietic system against accumulation of mutations in response to DNA damage.

The mechanisms of neurotoxicity and the selective vulnerability of nervous system sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Maurer, Laura L; Philbert, Martin A

2015-01-01

The spatial heterogeneity of the structure, function, and cellular composition of the nervous system confers extraordinary complexity and a multiplicity of mechanisms of chemical neurotoxicity. Because of its relatively high metabolic demands and functional dependence on postmitotic neurons, the nervous system is vulnerable to a variety of xenobiotics that affect essential homeostatic mechanisms that support function. Despite protection from the neuroglia and blood-brain barrier, the central nervous system is prone to attack from lipophilic toxicants and those that hijack endogenous transport, receptor, metabolic, and other biochemical systems. The inherent predilection of chemicals for highly conserved biochemical systems confers selective vulnerability of the nervous system to neurotoxicants. This chapter discusses selective vulnerability of the nervous system in the context of neuron-specific decrements (axonopathy, myelinopathy, disruption of neurotransmission), and the degree to which neuronal damage is facilitated or ameliorated by surrounding nonneural cells in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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 ...

The Glymphatic Hypothesis of Glaucoma: A Unifying Concept Incorporating Vascular, Biomechanical, and Biochemical Aspects of the Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Wostyn, Peter; De Groot, Veva; Van Dam, Debby; Audenaert, Kurt; Killer, Hanspeter Esriel; De Deyn, Peter Paul

2017-01-01

The pathophysiology of primary open-angle glaucoma is still largely unknown, although a joint contribution of vascular, biomechanical, and biochemical factors is widely acknowledged. Since glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, exploring its underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is extremely important and challenging. Evidence from recent studies appears supportive of the hypothesis that a "glymphatic system" exists in the eye and optic nerve, analogous to the described "glymphatic system" in the brain. As discussed in the present paper, elucidation of a glymphatic clearance pathway in the eye could provide a new unifying hypothesis of glaucoma that can incorporate many aspects of the vascular, biomechanical, and biochemical theories of the disease. It should be stressed, however, that the few research data currently available cannot be considered as proof of the existence of an "ocular glymphatic system" and that much more studies are needed to validate this possibility. Even though nothing conclusive can yet be said, the recent reports suggesting a paravascular transport system in the eye and optic nerve are encouraging and, if confirmed, may offer new perspectives for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this devastating disorder.

The Glymphatic Hypothesis of Glaucoma: A Unifying Concept Incorporating Vascular, Biomechanical, and Biochemical Aspects of the Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Wostyn

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The pathophysiology of primary open-angle glaucoma is still largely unknown, although a joint contribution of vascular, biomechanical, and biochemical factors is widely acknowledged. Since glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, exploring its underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is extremely important and challenging. Evidence from recent studies appears supportive of the hypothesis that a “glymphatic system” exists in the eye and optic nerve, analogous to the described “glymphatic system” in the brain. As discussed in the present paper, elucidation of a glymphatic clearance pathway in the eye could provide a new unifying hypothesis of glaucoma that can incorporate many aspects of the vascular, biomechanical, and biochemical theories of the disease. It should be stressed, however, that the few research data currently available cannot be considered as proof of the existence of an “ocular glymphatic system” and that much more studies are needed to validate this possibility. Even though nothing conclusive can yet be said, the recent reports suggesting a paravascular transport system in the eye and optic nerve are encouraging and, if confirmed, may offer new perspectives for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this devastating disorder.

Genetic instability in budding and fission yeast—sources and mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Skoneczna, Adrianna; Kaniak, Aneta; Skoneczny, Marek

2015-01-01

Cells are constantly confronted with endogenous and exogenous factors that affect their genomes. Eons of evolution have allowed the cellular mechanisms responsible for preserving the genome to adjust for achieving contradictory objectives: to maintain the genome unchanged and to acquire mutations that allow adaptation to environmental changes. One evolutionary mechanism that has been refined for survival is genetic variation. In this review, we describe the mechanisms responsible for two biological processes: genome maintenance and mutation tolerance involved in generations of genetic variations in mitotic cells of both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. These processes encompass mechanisms that ensure the fidelity of replication, DNA lesion sensing and DNA damage response pathways, as well as mechanisms that ensure precision in chromosome segregation during cell division. We discuss various factors that may influence genome stability, such as cellular ploidy, the phase of the cell cycle, transcriptional activity of a particular region of DNA, the proficiency of DNA quality control systems, the metabolic stage of the cell and its respiratory potential, and finally potential exposure to endogenous or environmental stress. PMID:26109598

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

Algorithm To Ensure And Enforce Brute-Force Attack-Resilient Password In Routers

OpenAIRE

Mohammed Farik; ABM Shawkat Ali

2015-01-01

Abstract Issues of weak login passwords arising from default passwords in wired and wireless routers has been a concern for more than a decade. In this research we develop and test an algorithm to ensure and enforce passwords in routers that are resistant to brute-force attack. A comparative analysis is performed to show the improved strengths of passwords derived via this algorithm. Implementation of this algorithm in routers will ensure setup of brute-force attack resistant passwords.

Problems of Ensuring Complex Business Security in the Conditions of Modern Globalization

OpenAIRE

Anatoliy Petrovich Sterkhov

2015-01-01

From the viewpoint of ensuring complex business security, the relevance of the present work is associated with the rationale of multilevel hierarchical approach to the classification of security threats in the age of globalization. The specificity of the threats specific to one or another level of the economy, helps to better understand and consequently to build an effective system of ensuring complex business security. For each of the nine hierarchical levels of the economy the author identi...

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....

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

Simulation of biochemical reactions with time-dependent rates by the rejection-based algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thanh, Vo Hong, E-mail: vo@cosbi.eu [The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto 38068 (Italy); Priami, Corrado, E-mail: priami@cosbi.eu [The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto 38068 (Italy); Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Trento (Italy)

2015-08-07

We address the problem of simulating biochemical reaction networks with time-dependent rates and propose a new algorithm based on our rejection-based stochastic simulation algorithm (RSSA) [Thanh et al., J. Chem. Phys. 141(13), 134116 (2014)]. The computation for selecting next reaction firings by our time-dependent RSSA (tRSSA) is computationally efficient. Furthermore, the generated trajectory is exact by exploiting the rejection-based mechanism. We benchmark tRSSA on different biological systems with varying forms of reaction rates to demonstrate its applicability and efficiency. We reveal that for nontrivial cases, the selection of reaction firings in existing algorithms introduces approximations because the integration of reaction rates is very computationally demanding and simplifying assumptions are introduced. The selection of the next reaction firing by our approach is easier while preserving the exactness.

Constraints to Agricultural Mechanization in Sub-Saharan Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Adeyinka Odunsi

Key words: food, constraints, mechanization, Sub-Saharan Africa, food security. Introduction ... ensure all-year-round food production. Agricultural .... her citizens to travel to the United States to ... downsize in the intake of students into these.

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 ...

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.

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...

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

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

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Galluzzi, Lorenzo; Vitale, Ilio; Aaronson, Stuart A.; Abrams, John M.; Adam, Dieter; Agostinis, Patrizia; Alnemri, Emad S.; Altucci, Lucia; Amelio, Ivano; Andrews, David W.; Annicchiarico-Petruzzelli, Margherita; Antonov, Alexey V.; Arama, Eli; Baehrecke, Eric H.; Barlev, Nickolai A.; Bazan, Nicolas G.; Bernassola, Francesca; Bertrand, Mathieu J. M.; Bianchi, Katiuscia; Blagosklonny, Mikhail V.; Blomgren, Klas; Borner, Christoph; Boya, Patricia; Brenner, Catherine; Campanella, Michelangelo; Candi, Eleonora; Carmona-Gutierrez, Didac; Cecconi, Francesco; Chan, Francis K.-M.; Chandel, Navdeep S.; Cheng, Emily H.; Chipuk, Jerry E.; Cidlowski, John A.; Ciechanover, Aaron; Cohen, Gerald M.; Conrad, Marcus; Cubillos-Ruiz, Juan R.; Czabotar, Peter E.; D'Angiolella, Vincenzo; Dawson, Ted M.; Dawson, Valina L.; de Laurenzi, Vincenzo; de Maria, Ruggero; Debatin, Klaus-Michael; DeBerardinis, Ralph J.; Deshmukh, Mohanish; Di Daniele, Nicola; Di Virgilio, Francesco; Dixit, Vishva M.; Dixon, Scott J.; Duckett, Colin S.; Dynlacht, Brian D.; El-Deiry, Wafik S.; Elrod, John W.; Fimia, Gian Maria; Fulda, Simone; García-Sáez, Ana J.; Garg, Abhishek D.; Garrido, Carmen; Gavathiotis, Evripidis; Golstein, Pierre; Gottlieb, Eyal; Green, Douglas R.; Greene, Lloyd A.; Gronemeyer, Hinrich; Gross, Atan; Hajnoczky, Gyorgy; Hardwick, J. Marie; Harris, Isaac S.; Hengartner, Michael O.; Hetz, Claudio; Ichijo, Hidenori; Jäättelä, Marja; Joseph, Bertrand; Jost, Philipp J.; Juin, Philippe P.; Kaiser, William J.; Karin, Michael; Kaufmann, Thomas; Kepp, Oliver; Kimchi, Adi; Kitsis, Richard N.; Klionsky, Daniel J.; Knight, Richard A.; Kumar, Sharad; Lee, Sam W.; Lemasters, John J.; Levine, Beth; Linkermann, Andreas; Lipton, Stuart A.; Lockshin, Richard A.; López-Otín, Carlos; Lowe, Scott W.; Luedde, Tom; Lugli, Enrico; MacFarlane, Marion; Madeo, Frank; Malewicz, Michal; Malorni, Walter; Manic, Gwenola; Marine, Jean-Christophe; Martin, Seamus J.; Martinou, Jean-Claude; Medema, Jan Paul; Mehlen, Patrick; Meier, Pascal; Melino, Sonia; Miao, Edward A.; Molkentin, Jeffery D.; Moll, Ute M.; Muñoz-Pinedo, Cristina; Nagata, Shigekazu; Nuñez, Gabriel; Oberst, Andrew; Oren, Moshe; Overholtzer, Michael; Pagano, Michele; Panaretakis, Theocharis; Pasparakis, Manolis; Penninger, Josef M.; Pereira, David M.; Pervaiz, Shazib; Peter, Marcus E.; Piacentini, Mauro; Pinton, Paolo; Prehn, Jochen H. M.; Puthalakath, Hamsa; Rabinovich, Gabriel A.; Rehm, Markus; Rizzuto, Rosario; Rodrigues, Cecilia M. P.; Rubinsztein, David C.; Rudel, Thomas; Ryan, Kevin M.; Sayan, Emre; Scorrano, Luca; Shao, Feng; Shi, Yufang; Silke, John; Simon, Hans-Uwe; Sistigu, Antonella; Stockwell, Brent R.; Strasser, Andreas; Szabadkai, Gyorgy; Tait, Stephen W. G.; Tang, Daolin; Tavernarakis, Nektarios; Thorburn, Andrew; Tsujimoto, Yoshihide; Turk, Boris; Vanden Berghe, Tom; Vandenabeele, Peter; Vander Heiden, Matthew G.; Villunger, Andreas; Virgin, Herbert W.; Vousden, Karen H.; Vucic, Domagoj; Wagner, Erwin F.; Walczak, Henning; Wallach, David; Wang, Ying; Wells, James A.; Wood, Will; Yuan, Junying; Zakeri, Zahra; Zhivotovsky, Boris; Zitvogel, Laurence; Melino, Gerry; Kroemer, Guido

2018-01-01

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell

Algorithm To Ensure And Enforce Brute-Force Attack-Resilient Password In Routers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Farik

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Issues of weak login passwords arising from default passwords in wired and wireless routers has been a concern for more than a decade. In this research we develop and test an algorithm to ensure and enforce passwords in routers that are resistant to brute-force attack. A comparative analysis is performed to show the improved strengths of passwords derived via this algorithm. Implementation of this algorithm in routers will ensure setup of brute-force attack resistant passwords.

Physiological Mechanisms behind Differences in Pod Shattering Resistance in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L. Varieties.

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Jie Kuai

Full Text Available Pod shattering resistance index (SRI is a key factor affecting the mechanical harvesting of rapeseed. Research on the differences in pod shattering resistance levels of various rapeseed varieties can provide a theoretical basis for varietal breeding and application in mechanical harvesting. The indicators on pod shattering resistance including pod morphology and wall components were evaluated on eight hybrids and open pollinators, respectively, during 2012-2014. The results showed the following: (1 From the current study, SRI varied greatly with variety, and conventional varieties had stronger resistance than hybrid according to the physiological indexes. and (2 Under the experimental conditions, the SRI was linearly related to pod wall weight and the water content in pod walls, and the goodness-of-fit measurements for the regression model of the SRI based on pod wall weight and water content were 0.584** and 0.377*, respectively, reaching the significant level. This illustrated that pod wall weight and the water content in pod walls determined the SRI. (3 Compared with the relative contents of biochemical components in pod walls, the contents of particular biochemical components in pod walls had closer correlations with SRI. Among the biochemical components, the hemicellulose content was the decisive factor for the SRI.

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

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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.

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.

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.

THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN ENSURING THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM

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Verginia Vedinaș

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The study aims to examine the role that local government plays in ensuring the economic freedom. It briefly examines the status of local authorities, deliberative and executive, and also the powers that they have to create the conditions for the exercise of economic freedom. The study also examines the constitutional regime of this fundamental freedom which is part of the rights and freedoms of the first generation. The purpose of the research aimed both identifying the role of local government in ensuring this basic freedom but also to determine possible means of action to be considered by the government within the territory.

Homocystein: A new biochemical marker in livestock sector

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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

Molecular and biochemical responses in the midgut of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, infected with Nosema bombycis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhi; Wang, Yu; Wang, Linling; Zhou, Zeyang

2018-03-06

midgut tissues decreased significantly, whereas the fatty acid content did not significantly change after four days of N. bombycis infection. Microsporidia N. bombycis infection upregulated the expression level of genes involved in host ATP synthesis, protein and fat degradation, which eventually causes the obvious decline of protein content and ATP synthesis in the host midgut, whereas the fatty acids content did not change significantly. This study suggested to some extent that N. bombycis invasion can activate the host protein degradation and accelerate the production of host ATP. Microsporidia of N. bombycis show preference for proteins rather than fatty acids from the host to ensure the material preparation required by their parasitic life-cycle. Requirements of N. bombycis for energy were also mainly dependent on the host ATP production. This study provides a new data that may help our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of obtaining energy and nutrients from the host by the microsporidium N. bombycis.

Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) of mechanical ventilators by clinical engineers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshioka, Jun; Nakane, Masaki; Kawamae, Kaneyuki

2014-01-01

Mechanical ventilator failures expose patients to unacceptable risks, and maintaining mechanical ventilator safety is an important issue. We examined the usefulness of maintaining mechanical ventilators by clinical engineers (CEs) using a specialized calibrator. These evaluations and the ability to make in-house repairs proved useful for obviating the need to rent ventilators which, in turn, might prove faulty themselves. The CEs' involvement in maintaining mechanical ventilators is desirable, ensures prompt service, and, most importantly, enhances safe management of mechanical ventilators.

Ensuring quality control of forensic accounting for efficient and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study focuses on ensuring quality control of forensic accounting for efficient and effective corporate management. Over the years, fraud has taken the center stage in every discussion whether in business or social. “3m” have been identified to be the tool used to effect this crime namely; misappropriation, misapplication ...

BP Network Control for Resource Allocation and QoS Ensurance in UAV Cloud

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Ang Gao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV cloud can greatly enhance the intelligence of unmanned systems by dynamically unloading the compute-intensive applications to cloud. For the uncertain nature of UAV missions and fast-changing environment, different UAV applications may have different quality of service (QoS requirements. This paper proposes a mixed QoS ensurance and energy-balanced (MQEB architecture for UAV cloud from a view of control theory, which can support both hard and soft QoS ensurance with the consideration of energy saving. The hard and soft QoS requirements are decoupled by being normalized into a two-level cascaded feedback loop. The former is time slot loop (TS-Loop to enforce the absolute QoS ensurance for real-time applications, and the latter is contention window loop (CW-Loop to enforce the plastic QoS ensurance for non-real-time applications. Finally, the back propagating (BP neuron network is used for parameters’ self-tuning and controller design. The hardware experiments demonstrate the feasibility of MQEB. In heavy load, MQEB has greater throughput and better energy efficiency, and in light load, MQBE has lower total power consumption.

Engineering of Impulse Mechanism for Mechanical Hander Power Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolaevich Drozdov, Anatoliy

2018-03-01

The solution to the problem of human security in cities should be considered on the basis of an integrated and multidisciplinary approach, including issues of security and ecology in the application of technical means used to ensure the viability and development of technocracy. In this regard, an important task is the creation of a safe technique with improved environmental properties with high technological characteristics. This primarily relates to mechanised tool — the division of technological machines with built in engines is that their weight is fully or partially perceived by the operator’s hands, making the flow and control of the car. For this subclass of machines is characterized by certain features: a built-in motor, perception of at least part of their weight by the operator during the work, the implementation of feeding and management at the expense of the muscular power of the operator. Therefore, among the commonly accepted technical and economic characteristics, machines in this case, important ergonomic (ergonomics), regulation of levels which ensures the safety of the operator. To ergonomics include vibration, noise characteristics, mass, and force feeding machine operator. Vibration is a consequence of the dynamism of the system operator machine - processed object (environment) in which the engine energy is redistributed among all the structures, causing their instability. In the machine vibration caused by technological and constructive (transformative mechanisms) unbalance of individual parts of the drive, the presence of technological and design (impact mechanisms) clearances and other reasons. This article describes a new design of impulse mechanism for hander power tools (wrenches, screwdrivers) with enhanced torque. The article substantiates a simulation model of dynamic compression process in an operating chamber during impact, provides simulation results and outlines further lines of research.

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...

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

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

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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.

Robust design of large-displacement compliant mechanisms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lazarov, Boyan Stefanov; Schevenels, M.; Sigmund, Ole

2011-01-01

The aim of this article is to introduce a new topology optimisation formulation for optimal robust design of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. Mesh independence in topology optimisation is most often ensured by using filtering techniques, which result in transition grey regions difficult to inter...... in nearly black and white mechanism designs, robust with respect to uncertainties in the production process, i.e. without any hinges or small details which can create manufacturing difficulties....

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

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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.

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

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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

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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 ...

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.

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.

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 ...

THE ISSUEOFSTRENGTHENING BUDGET CAPACITY FOR ENSURING THE FINANCIALINDEPENDENCE OFLOCALAUTHORITIES

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Dmytriy V. Nekhaychuk

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the issues on strengthening local governments’ budget capacity in the face of modern challenges. It shows the conceptual in-depth study of local budgets foundations, income and practical recommendations focusing on stability and capacity. The author proves that the revenues of local budgets play a crucial role in ensuring the full and effective performance of the functions and local authorities’ tasks. The paper shows the scientific analysis of modern economists’ views on the local authorities’ financial autonomy and the local budgets’ role in the process. The paper also shows the retrospective comparative analysis of methods, used by local and foreign scientists for the formation of local budgets’ revenues. It considers the economic nature of income in local budgets as a source of finance, ensures the efficient operation of local authorities. It has been found out that the organization of the process of forming local budgets’ revenues is influenced by the organizational and legal forms of management, type of ownership and specifics of enterprises. Taxes are the dominant source of local budgets’ incomes, the financial regulator of production, means of ensuring socio-economic development of the separate administrative and territorial units and the state as a whole. The authors also analyze different types of revenues, including tax, in the revenue part of local budgets. The authors propose to expand the list of local taxes and fees due to the introduction of tax with targeted use of received funds. The conceptual basis of financial independence of local self-government lies in in the optimal interests of the population, local government, state and business structures. The increase of own revenues in the share of local budgets becomes a strategic issue of the financial autonomy and the corresponding administrative and territorial units.

The Problem of Ensuring Reliability of Gas Turbine Engines

Science.gov (United States)

Nozhnitsky, Yu A.

2018-01-01

Requirements to advanced engines for civil aviation are discussing. Some significant problems of ensuring reliability of advanced gas turbine engines are mentioned. Special attention is paid to successful utilization of new materials and critical technologies. Also the problem of excluding failure of engine part due to low cycle or high cycle fatigue is discussing.

Mechanical design in embryos: mechanical signalling, robustness and developmental defects.

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Lance A

2017-05-19

Embryos are shaped by the precise application of force against the resistant structures of multicellular tissues. Forces may be generated, guided and resisted by cells, extracellular matrix, interstitial fluids, and how they are organized and bound within the tissue's architecture. In this review, we summarize our current thoughts on the multiple roles of mechanics in direct shaping, mechanical signalling and robustness of development. Genetic programmes of development interact with environmental cues to direct the composition of the early embryo and endow cells with active force production. Biophysical advances now provide experimental tools to measure mechanical resistance and collective forces during morphogenesis and are allowing integration of this field with studies of signalling and patterning during development. We focus this review on concepts that highlight this integration, and how the unique contributions of mechanical cues and gradients might be tested side by side with conventional signalling systems. We conclude with speculation on the integration of large-scale programmes of development, and how mechanical responses may ensure robust development and serve as constraints on programmes of tissue self-assembly.This article is part of the themed issue 'Systems morphodynamics: understanding the development of tissue hardware'. © 2017 The Author(s).

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 ...

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

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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.

Biochemical characteristics and modulation by external and internal factors of aminopeptidase-N activity in the hepatopancreas of a euryhaline burrowing crab.

Science.gov (United States)

Michiels, M S; del Valle, J C; López Mañanes, A A

2015-07-01

Strikingly, in spite of its physiological importance, information about occurrence, biochemical characteristics and mechanisms of regulation of aminopeptidase-N (APN) in the hepatopancreas of intertidal euryhaline crabs is still lacking. In this work, we determined the occurrence, biochemical characteristics, response to environmental salinity and dopamine of APN in the hepatopancreas of the euryhaline crab Neohelice granulata (Dana 1851) from the open mudflat of Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires province, Argentina). APN activity was maximal at pH and temperature range of 7.6-9.0 and 37-45 °C, respectively. APN activity exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics (apparent Km = 0.19 ± 0.10 mM) (pH 7.6, 37 °C) and appeared to be sensitive to bestatin (I 50 = 15 mM) and EDTA (I 50 = 9 mM). In crabs acclimated to 10 psu (hyper-regulation conditions) and 37 psu (hypo-regulation conditions), APN activity was about 45 and 160% higher, respectively, than in 35 psu (osmoconformation). APN activity in the hepatopancreas was stimulated in vitro (about 137%) by 10(-4) M dopamine. Higher dopamine concentrations produced a similar extent of increase. The responses of APN activity to salinity and dopamine in vitro suggest the role of APN in digestive adjustments upon hyper and hypo-regulatory conditions and its modulation via direct mechanisms on hepatopancreas by dopamine.

28 CFR 97.20 - Standards to ensure the safety of violent prisoners during transport.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... physical safety of the prisoners during transport, including a first-aid kit and employees who are... transportation, where practicable; (f) Policies, practices, and procedures are in effect to ensure that female..., practices, and procedures are in effect to ensure that female guards are on duty to supervise the...

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

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

Obligations of low income countries in ensuring equity in global health financing.

Science.gov (United States)

Barugahare, John; Lie, Reidar K

2015-09-08

Despite common recognition of joint responsibility for global health by all countries particularly to ensure justice in global health, current discussions of countries' obligations for global health largely ignore obligations of developing countries. This is especially the case with regards to obligations relating to health financing. Bearing in mind that it is not possible to achieve justice in global health without achieving equity in health financing at both domestic and global levels, our aim is to show how fulfilling the obligation we propose will make it easy to achieve equity in health financing at both domestic and international levels. Achieving equity in global health financing is a crucial step towards achieving justice in global health. Our general view is that current discussions on global health equity largely ignore obligations of Low Income Country (LIC) governments and we recommend that these obligations should be mainstreamed in current discussions. While we recognise that various obligations need to be fulfilled in order to ultimately achieve justice in global health, for lack of space we prioritise obligations for health financing. Basing on the evidence that in most LICs health is not given priority in annual budget allocations, we propose that LIC governments should bear an obligation to allocate a certain minimum percent of their annual domestic budget resources to health, while they await external resources to supplement domestic ones. We recommend and demonstrate a mechanism for coordinating this obligation so that if the resulting obligations are fulfilled by both LIC and HIC governments it will be easy to achieve equity in global health financing. Although achieving justice in global health will depend on fulfillment of different categories of obligations, ensuring inter- and intra-country equity in health financing is pivotal. This can be achieved by requiring all LIC governments to allocate a certain optimal per cent of their domestic

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

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.

Biochemical response and the effects of bariatric surgeries on type 2 diabetes

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Roland; Hughes, Tyler; Lerd Ng, Jia; Ortiz, Roberto; Abou Ghantous, Michel; Bouhali, Othmane; Arredouani, Abdelilah

2013-03-01

A general method is introduced for calculating the biochemical response to pharmaceuticals, surgeries, or other medical interventions. This method is then applied in a simple model of the response to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery in obese diabetic patients. We specifically address the amazing fact that glycemia correction is usually achieved immediately after RYGB surgery, long before there is any appreciable weight loss. Many studies indicate that this result is not due merely to caloric restriction, and it is usually attributed to an increase in glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) levels observed after the surgery. However, our model indicates that this mechanism alone is not sufficient to explain either the largest declines in glucose levels or the measured declines in the homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). The most robust additional mechanism would be production of a factor which opens an insulin-independent pathway for glucose transport into cells, perhaps related to the well-established insulin-independent pathway associated with exercise. Potential candidates include bradykinin, a 9 amino acid peptide. If such a substance were found to exist, it would offer hope for medications which mimic the immediate beneficial effect of RYGB surgery. Supported by Qatar Biomedical Research Institute and Science Program at Texas A&M University at Qatar

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...

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.

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

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...

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.

PLK1 regulation of PCNT cleavage ensures fidelity of centriole separation during mitotic exit.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaeyoun; Lee, Kwanwoo; Rhee, Kunsoo

2015-12-09

Centrioles are duplicated and segregated in close link to the cell cycle. During mitosis, daughter centrioles are disengaged and eventually separated from mother centrioles. New daughter centrioles may be generated only after centriole separation. Therefore, centriole separation is considered a licensing step for centriole duplication. It was previously known that separase specifically cleaves pericentrin (PCNT) during mitotic exit. Here we report that PCNT has to be phosphorylated by PLK1 to be a suitable substrate of separase. Phospho-resistant mutants of PCNT are not cleaved by separase and eventually inhibit centriole separation. Furthermore, phospho-mimetic PCNT mutants rescue centriole separation even in the presence of a PLK1 inhibitor. On the basis on these results, we propose that PLK1 phosphorylation is a priming step for separase-mediated cleavage of PCNT and eventually for centriole separation. PLK1 phosphorylation of PCNT provides an additional layer of regulatory mechanism to ensure the fidelity of centriole separation during mitotic exit.

Ultraviolet Radiation–Induced Cataract in Mice: The Effect of Age and the Potential Biochemical Mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jie; Yan, Hong; Löfgren, Stefan; Tian, Xiaoli; Lou, Marjorie F.

2012-01-01

Purpose. To study the effect of age on the morphologic and biochemical alterations induced by in vivo exposure of ultraviolet radiation (UV). Methods. Young and old C57BL/6 mice were exposed to broadband UVB+UVA and euthanized after 2 days. Another batch of UV-exposed young mice was monitored for changes after 1, 2, 4, and 8 days. Age-matched nonexposed mice served as controls. Lens changes were documented in vivo by slit-lamp biomicroscopy and dark field microscopy photographs ex vivo. Lens homogenates were analyzed for glutathione (GSH) level, and the activities of thioredoxin (Trx), thioltransferase (TTase), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PD). Glutathionylated lens proteins (PSSGs) were detected by immunoblotting using GSH antibody. Western blot analysis was also done for the expression levels of TTase and Trx. Results. Both age groups developed epithelial and superficial anterior subcapsular cataract at 2 days postexposure. The lens GSH level and G3PD activity were decreased, and PSSGs were elevated in both age groups, but more prominent in the older mice. TTase and Trx activity and protein expression were elevated only in the young mice. Interestingly, lens TTase and Trx in the young mice showed a transient increase, peaking at 2 days after UV exposure and returning to baseline at day 8, corroborated by lens transparency. Conclusions. The lenses of old mice were more susceptible to UV radiation–induced cataract. The upregulated TTase and Trx likely provided oxidation damage repair in the young mice. PMID:23010639

State-of-the-Art of (Bio)Chemical Sensor Developments in Analytical Spanish Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Plata, María Reyes; Contento, Ana María; Ríos, Angel

2010-01-01

(Bio)chemical sensors are one of the most exciting fields in analytical chemistry today. The development of these analytical devices simplifies and miniaturizes the whole analytical process. Although the initial expectation of the massive incorporation of sensors in routine analytical work has been truncated to some extent, in many other cases analytical methods based on sensor technology have solved important analytical problems. Many research groups are working in this field world-wide, reporting interesting results so far. Modestly, Spanish researchers have contributed to these recent developments. In this review, we summarize the more representative achievements carried out for these groups. They cover a wide variety of sensors, including optical, electrochemical, piezoelectric or electro-mechanical devices, used for laboratory or field analyses. The capabilities to be used in different applied areas are also critically discussed. PMID:22319260

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.

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.

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.

The French capacity mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The French capacity mechanism has been design to ensure security of supply in the context of the energy transition. This energy transition challenges the electricity market design with several features: peak load growth, the development of renewables, demand response,... To ensure security of supply in this context, a capacity mechanism is being implemented in France. It is a market wide capacity obligation on electricity suppliers, based on market principles. Suppliers are responsible for forecasting their obligation, which corresponds to their contribution to winter peak load, and must procure enough capacity certificates to meet their obligations. Capacity certificates are granted to capacities through a certification process, which assesses their contribution to security of supply on the basis of availability commitments. This certification process is technology neutral and performance based, associated with controls and penalties in case of non compliance. Demand Side is fully integrated in the market, either through the reduction of suppliers' capacity obligation or direct participation after certification. In addition to the expected benefits in terms of security of supply, the French capacity market will foster the development of demand response. The participation of foreign capacities will require adaptations which are scheduled in a road-map, and could pave the way for further European integration of energy policies. (authors)

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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Innovations as a Factor for Ensuring Economic Safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maxim SANDU

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In modern conditions of development of the competitive environment, one of the main ways to solve economic, social and environmental problems is to use the latest achievements of science and technology. Each enterprise seeks to ensure that economic growth is intense, i.e. to be a consequence of the application of more sophisticated factors of production and technology. The prerequisite for intensive growth is the use of innovative strategy in the practical activities of enterprises. The end result of innovations is the materialization and industrial development of innovation, the idea of which can be the scientific and technical activity, and marketing research to identify unmet needs. The innovations are an effective defensive reaction of the firm to the emerging threats of losing market place, constant pressure from competitors, the challenge of new technologies, shortening the life of products, legislative restrictions and changing the market situation. In the offensive version, the innovation is a mean of exploiting new opportunities to preserve or gain a competitive advantage. In the long term aspect, the company has no choice but to pursue an innovation policy, which is the only source of lasting success. The main objective of researching the innovation activity of any organization is to ensure competitiveness in market conditions in order to identify risk factors and ways to overcome them.

Ensuring the Validity of the Micro Foundation in DSGE Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Martin Møller

& Primiceri (American Economic Review, forth- coming) and Fernández-Villaverde & Rubio-Ramírez (Review of Economic Studies, 2007) do not satisfy these sufficient conditions, or any other known set of conditions ensuring finite values for the objective functions. Thus, the validity of the micro foundation......The presence of i) stochastic trends, ii) deterministic trends, and/or iii) stochastic volatil- ity in DSGE models may imply that the agents' objective functions attain infinite values. We say that such models do not have a valid micro foundation. The paper derives sufficient condi- tions which...... ensure that the objective functions of the households and the firms are finite even when various trends and stochastic volatility are included in a standard DSGE model. Based on these conditions we test the validity of the micro foundation in six DSGE models from the literature. The models of Justiniano...

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.

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.

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.

Bioprinting Using Mechanically Robust Core-Shell Cell-Laden Hydrogel Strands.

Science.gov (United States)

Mistry, Pritesh; Aied, Ahmed; Alexander, Morgan; Shakesheff, Kevin; Bennett, Andrew; Yang, Jing

2017-06-01

The strand material in extrusion-based bioprinting determines the microenvironments of the embedded cells and the initial mechanical properties of the constructs. One unmet challenge is the combination of optimal biological and mechanical properties in bioprinted constructs. Here, a novel bioprinting method that utilizes core-shell cell-laden strands with a mechanically robust shell and an extracellular matrix-like core has been developed. Cells encapsulated in the strands demonstrate high cell viability and tissue-like functions during cultivation. This process of bioprinting using core-shell strands with optimal biochemical and biomechanical properties represents a new strategy for fabricating functional human tissues and organs. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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 ...

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.

Outsourcing your medical practice call center: how to choose a vendor to ensure regulatory compliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Bill

2014-01-01

Medical practices receive hundreds if not thousands of calls every week from patients, payers, pharmacies, and others. Outsourcing call centers can be a smart move to improve efficiency, lower costs, improve customer care, ensure proper payer management, and ensure regulatory compliance. This article discusses how to know when it's time to move to an outsourced call center, the benefits of making the move, how to choose the right call center, and how to make the transition. It also provides tips on how to manage the call center to ensure the objectives are being met.

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...

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.

Good Work Ensures Employment Success. Myths and Realities No. 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Bettina Lankard

It is a myth that skills alone ensure employment. Other keys to workplace success include continuous learning, emotional intelligence, networking, flexibility, and commitment to business objectives. Although academic degrees, skill certifications, and other documentation of accomplishments provide access to employment, they are significant only at…

The Inadequacy of Existing Far Provisions to Ensure Contractor Environmental Compliance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

MacDonald, Edward

1997-01-01

This thesis focuses on situations where the obligation is on the contractor, and examines the existing FAR provisions and clauses to explore whether they are adequate to ensure government contractor...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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,.

Intraspecific variation in cellular and biochemical heat response strategies of Mediterranean Xeropicta derbentina [Pulmonata, Hygromiidae].

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Troschinski

Full Text Available Dry and hot environments challenge the survival of terrestrial snails. To minimize overheating and desiccation, physiological and biochemical adaptations are of high importance for these animals. In the present study, seven populations of the Mediterranean land snail species Xeropicta derbentina were sampled from their natural habitat in order to investigate the intraspecific variation of cellular and biochemical mechanisms, which are assigned to contribute to heat resistance. Furthermore, we tested whether genetic parameters are correlated with these physiological heat stress response patterns. Specimens of each population were individually exposed to elevated temperatures (25 to 52°C for 8 h in the laboratory. After exposure, the health condition of the snails' hepatopancreas was examined by means of qualitative description and semi-quantitative assessment of histopathological effects. In addition, the heat-shock protein 70 level (Hsp70 was determined. Generally, calcium cells of the hepatopancreas were more heat resistant than digestive cells - this phenomenon was associated with elevated Hsp70 levels at 40°C.We observed considerable variation in the snails' heat response strategy: Individuals from three populations invested much energy in producing a highly elevated Hsp70 level, whereas three other populations invested energy in moderate stress protein levels - both strategies were in association with cellular functionality. Furthermore, one population kept cellular condition stable despite a low Hsp70 level until 40°C exposure, whereas prominent cellular reactions were observed above this thermal limit. Genetic diversity (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene within populations was low. Nevertheless, when using genetic indices as explanatory variables in a multivariate regression tree (MRT analysis, population structure explained mean differences in cellular and biochemical heat stress responses, especially in the group

The formation of labyrinths, spots and stripe patterns in a biochemical approach to cardiovascular calcification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yochelis, A; Tintut, Y; Demer, L L; Garfinkel, A

2008-01-01

Calcification and mineralization are fundamental physiological processes, yet the mechanisms of calcification, in trabecular bone and in calcified lesions in atherosclerotic calcification, are unclear. Recently, it was shown in in vitro experiments that vascular-derived mesenchymal stem cells can display self-organized calcified patterns. These patterns were attributed to activator/inhibitor dynamics in the style of Turing, with bone morphogenetic protein 2 acting as an activator, and matrix GLA protein acting as an inhibitor. Motivated by this qualitative activator-inhibitor dynamics, we employ a prototype Gierer-Meinhardt model used in the context of activator-inhibitor-based biological pattern formation. Through a detailed analysis in one and two spatial dimensions, we explore the pattern formation mechanisms of steady state patterns, including their dependence on initial conditions. These patterns range from localized holes to labyrinths and localized peaks, or in other words, from dense to sparse activator distributions (respectively). We believe that an understanding of the wide spectrum of activator-inhibitor patterns discussed here is prerequisite to their biochemical control. The mechanisms of pattern formation suggest therapeutic strategies applicable to bone formation in atherosclerotic lesions in arteries (where it is pathological) and to the regeneration of trabecular bone (recapitulating normal physiological development)

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