Influence of Glucose Concentration on the Membrane Stability of Human Erythrocytes

The action of glucose as an osmolyte in relation to blood cells is not well-characterized in the literature. This study aimed to study the influence of glucose concentration on the stability of red blood cells. The stability of erythrocytes was evaluated by the half-transition point obtained from the curves of lysis induced by glucose in the absence of salt or by increase in medium hypotonicity in the absence and the presence of different concentrations of glucose. In the presence of 0.9 g/dl NaCl, there was no hemolysis with increasing concentration of glucose from 0 to 10 g/dl. In the absence of NaCl, the dependence of hemolysis with the 0–10 g/dl glucose was described by a decreasing sigmoid, with fully lysed and fully protected cells being encountered in the presence of 0–2 and 4–10 g/dl glucose, respectively. The possible origin of such stabilization effect is discussed with base of what is known about osmostabilization of biological complexes and about the influence of glucose on the rheological properties of erythrocytes.     

Mechanical Fluctuations of the Membrane–Skeleton Are Dependent on F-Actin ATPase in Human Erythrocytes

Cell membrane fluctuations (CMF) of human erythrocytes, measured by point dark field microscopy, were shown to depend, to a large extent, on intracellular MgATP (Levin, S.V., and R. Korenstein. 1991. Biophys. J. 60:733–737). The present study extends that investigation and associates CMF with F-actin's ATPase activity. MgATP was found to reconstitute CMF in red blood cell (RBC) ghosts and RBC skeletons to their levels in intact RBCs, with an apparent K_d of 0.29 mM. However, neither non-hydrolyzable ATP analogues (AMP-PNP, ATPγS) nor hydrolyzable ones (ITP, GTP), were able to elevate CMF levels. The inhibition of ATPase activity associated with the RBC's skeleton, carried out either by the omission of the MgATP substrate or by the use of several inhibitors (vanadate, phalloidin, and DNase I), resulted in a strong decrease of CMF. We suggest that the actin's ATPase, located at the pointed end of the short actin filament, is responsible for the MgATP stimulation of CMF in RBCs.     

Effects of Thimerosal on Lipid Bilayers and Human Erythrocytes: An In Vitro Study

Thimerosal (THI, ethyl-mercury thiosalicylate) is added to vaccines as a preservative; as a consequence, infants may have been exposed to bolus doses of Hg that collectively added up to nominally 200 µg Hg during the first 6 months of life. While several studies report an association between THI-containing vaccines and neurological disorders, other studies do not support the causal relation between THI and autism. With the purpose to understand the molecular mechanisms of the toxic effect of THI it was assayed on human red cells and in bilayers built-up of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE), classes of phospholipids found in the outer and inner monolayers of the human erythrocyte membrane, respectively. The capacity of THI to interact with DMPC and DMPE was determined by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, whereas intact human erythrocytes were observed by optical, defocusing and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental findings of this study demonstrated that THI interacted in a concentration-dependent manner with DMPC and DMPE bilayers, and in vitro interacted with erythrocytes inducing morphological changes. However, concentrations were considerable higher than those present in vaccines.     

Oxidative Effects of Iron on Erythrocytes

In this work we have investigated the effects of iron-induced free radical formation in normal human erythrocytes in vitro, as a model system for studying iron damage, and in erythrocytes from patients with β-thalassaemia major. The resulting oxidative effects were measured in terms of methaemoglobin formation and reduced glutathione loss. The effects of desferrioxamine, an iron-chelating agent, were also investigated.

The results show that the increased methaemoglobin formation after iron-induced oxidative stress is consistent with a decline in the intracellular glutathione levels and that this process is inhibited by desferrioxamine. Similar treatment of red cell haemolysates produces less methaemoglobin. This suggests that, on exposure of intact erythrocytes to iron-induced free radical effects, the red cell membrane exacerbates the breakdown of the antioxidant defences of the cell and the oxidation of haemoglobin.     

The Large Scale Purification of Ubiquitin from Human Erythrocytes

A simple, reproducible method for the large-scale purification of active ubiquitin from human erythrocytes is described. Erythrocytes contain 100 μg free ubiquitin per cc of packed cells, of which 44% can be recovered in homogeneous form by a combination of heat treatment, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and ion exchange chromatography.     

红细胞羰基毒化及谷胱甘肽的保护作用

探索丙二醛（MDA）对红细胞的羰基毒化过程,以及谷胱甘肽（GSH）的拮抗作用．采用血液粘度测量、扫描电镜观察、羰基化蛋白含量测定以及荧光偏振度检测等方法,从红细胞表观粘度、红细胞形态、红细胞膜上羰基化蛋白含量以及红细胞膜脂流动性4个指标上进行研究．MDA导致的羰基应激造成红细胞损伤和血液粘度增加,而GSH可阻止羰基应激或还原羰．氨反应产物,且具有浓度依赖性．揭示了羰基应激可能是血瘀证的关键生化原因之一．为抗应激、抗衰老提供了理论和实验的重要依据．     

The Effect of Immersion Agents on the Weight and Geometric Parameters of Myocardial Tissue in Vitro

Biophysics - Abstract—The effect of 40%-glucose solution and 60%-glycerol solution on the weight and geometric parameters of the myocardium was studied in vitro in order to improve the...     

The Efficiency of the Preservation of Human Gut Microbiota in Liquid Nitrogen Depending on the Composition of the Cryoprotective Medium

Biophysics - A comparative analysis of the survival rate of the human gut microbiota after low-temperature preservation under the protection of penetrating (dimethylsulfoxide and glycerol),...     

Effects of Geometric Parameters on Swimming of Micro Organisms with Single Helical Flagellum in Circular Channels

We present a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for the swimming of micro organisms with a single helical flagellum in circular channels. The CFD model is developed to obtain numerical solutions of Stokes equations in three dimensions, validated with experiments reported in literature, and used to analyze the effects of geometric parameters, such as the helical radius, wavelength, radii of the channel and the tail and the tail length on forward and lateral swimming velocities, rotation rates, and the efficiency of the swimmer. Optimal shapes for the speed and the power efficiency are reported. Effects of Brownian motion and electrostatic interactions are excluded to emphasize the role of hydrodynamic forces on lateral velocities and rotations on the trajectory of swimmers. For thin flagella, as the channel radius decreases, forward velocity and the power efficiency of the swimmer decreases as well; however, for thick flagella, there is an optimal radius of the channel that maximizes the velocity and the efficiency depending on other geometric parameters. Lateral motion of the swimmer is suppressed as the channel is constricted below a critical radius, for which the magnitude of the lateral velocity reaches a maximum. Results contribute significantly to the understanding of the swimming of bacteria in micro channels and capillary tubes.     

Effects of Geometric Parameters on Swimming of Micro Organisms with Single Helical Flagellum in Circular Channels

We present a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for the swimming of micro organisms with a single helical flagellum in circular channels. The CFD model is developed to obtain numerical solutions of Stokes equations in three dimensions, validated with experiments reported in literature, and used to analyze the effects of geometric parameters, such as the helical radius, wavelength, radii of the channel and the tail and the tail length on forward and lateral swimming velocities, rotation rates, and the efficiency of the swimmer. Optimal shapes for the speed and the power efficiency are reported. Effects of Brownian motion and electrostatic interactions are excluded to emphasize the role of hydrodynamic forces on lateral velocities and rotations on the trajectory of swimmers. For thin flagella, as the channel radius decreases, forward velocity and the power efficiency of the swimmer decreases as well; however, for thick flagella, there is an optimal radius of the channel that maximizes the velocity and the efficiency depending on other geometric parameters. Lateral motion of the swimmer is suppressed as the channel is constricted below a critical radius, for which the magnitude of the lateral velocity reaches a maximum. Results contribute significantly to the understanding of the swimming of bacteria in micro channels and capillary tubes.     

The Effects of Certain Growth-regulating Substances on the Rhizomes of Aegopodium podagraria

1. The effects on elongation and geotropic behaviour of theimmersion of rhizomes of Aegopodium podagraria for periods ofminutes in solutions of ß-indolylacetic acid,2:4-dichiorophenoxyaceticacid, ascorbic acid, 2:3:5 -triiodobenzoic acid, and 2:4-dichloranisolewere investigated. 2. The experimental treatment was carried out in absence ofvisible light, the rhizomes being photographed every hour byinfra-red radiation. 3. After immersion in 10^– M. IAA, the rate of growth isapproximately doubled. About 5 hours later it declines to one-thirdor less of its original value and then gradually recovers. Thedepression in the growth rate can be reversed by a second immersionin IAA, indicating that it is not due to exhaustion of someother substance essential for growth. 4. Immersion in 10^–4 M. 2:4-D also stimulates growth,which then slowly returns to about the normal rate without showingany marked depression. 5. The possibility is suggested that IAA, which first accelerateselongation, is later converted into, or causes the productionof, an inhibitor. When successive immersions in IAA are repeatedevery 2 hours, the inhibition can be partially overcome so longas the treatment is continued. 6. Ascorbic acid slightly depresses the rate of elongation,but triiodobenzoic acid and dichloranisole produce no significanteffect. 7. Immersion of the horizontal rhizomes in IAA or 2:4-D causesthem to turn up. This suggests that an equilibrium is disturbedand supports the hypothesis that the diageotropic behaviourof these rhizomes is the result of a balance between the effectsof two opposing hormones.     

The Inhibition of Nucleoside Transport in Human Erythrocytes by Mioflazine Analogues

Abstract

Kinetic analysis of the transport protein (both influx and efflux), usually performed with radiolabelled nucleosides such as adenosine and uridine, has provided a wealth of information regarding the various kinetic and equilibrium parameters (1).     

The Influence of the Dietary Cu-Glycine Complex on the Histomorphology of Cancellous Bone,Articular Cartilage,and Growth Plate as well as Bone Mechanical and Geometric Parameters Is Dose Dependent

Copper (Cu) is required for all basic biochemical and physiological processes. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of two different chemical forms (sulfates and glycinate chelates also below the recommended dose) of Cu administered to adult rats on the biomechanical and morphometric properties of femur. Male rats at the age of 12 weeks were used in the 12-week experiment. The control diet provided the required Cu level from sulfate (S-Cu), and the other diets were supplemented with Cu-glycine complex. The Cu-Gly-treatment, irrespective of its concentration, did not influence the bone mass and length. The Cu-Gly-treatment in 100 and 75% of daily demand increased mechanical endurance. The Cu-Gly-treatment (regardless of its concentration) increased the real bone volume in epiphysis and decreased the total thickness and zone I of the articular cartilage compared to the control group supplemented with S-Cu. The Cu-Gly-treatment enhanced the content of proteoglycans (except the OG50 group). Dietary Cu given to adult rats in the Cu-Gly complex covering the daily demand in 75% exerted a positive effect on bone metabolism and appeared to be the most effective among the investigated doses of the organic form.     

Effect of Geometric Parameters on the Performance of P-Type Junctionless Lateral Gate Transistors

This paper examines the impact of two important geometrical parameters, namely the thickness and source/drain extensions on the performance of low doped p-type double lateral gate junctionless transistors (DGJLTs). The three dimensional Technology Computer-Aided Design simulation is implemented to calculate the characteristics of the devices with different thickness and source/drain extension and based on that, the parameters such as threshold voltage, transconductance and resistance in saturation region are analyzed. In addition, simulation results provide a physical explanation for the variation of device characteristics given by the variation of geometric parameters, mainly based on investigation of the electric field components and the carries density variation. It is shown that, the variation of the carrier density is the main factor which affects the characteristics of the device when the device''s thickness is varied. However, the electric field is mainly responsible for variation of the characteristics when the source/drain extension is changed.