Microscopic contributions to the pressure-volume diagram of the cell-water relations as demonstrated with tissue cells

Summary Continuing microscopic studies on cell-water relations with single cells (Gerdenitsch 1979) based on the relationship between the osmotic potential and the cell water volume, tissue cells were investigated. The experiments were done with inner epidermis of the bulb scale of onion (Allium cepa) which seemed to be most suitable for those investigations. Using a diagram described byRichter (1978) pressure volume curves of cells at the margin of the epidermis pieces neighboured by a various amount of dead cells and of cells in the center of tissue were worked out. They were contributed to one of three groups according to their amount of free surface (group 1: >1/3 free surface, group 2: <1/3 free surface, group 3: cells surrounded only by living-cells). Curves of the mean values of each of the three groups were compared as well as the mean -values, calculated as a measure for the elasticity of the cell wall.It was found that cells surrounded only by living cells had -values less than with both other groups. Assuming from observations during the experiments that all cells had very similar properties, this difference could be attributed to the expression of the effect of tissue counterpressure.     

Spectral analysis of Delayed Luminescence from human skin as a possible non-invasive diagnostic tool

In vivo measurements of Delayed Luminescence (DL), the low-level photo-induced emission which lasts for a longer time after switching off the excitation light, have been performed on human skin, with the aim to develop a technique for optical biopsy. Preliminary tests have been performed on healthy volunteers, measuring the time decays of the spectral components (λ_emiss = 400–800 nm) starting 10 μs after switching off the excitation (λ_exc = 337 nm). Significant differences in the decay trends of DL from different subjects were revealed and quite a good reproducibility for the same subject was observed. The modeling of experimental data has been examined in detail in order to get parameters, characterizing the theoretical fit, whose changes may be correlated with age differences and seasonal variations. Proceedings of the XVIII Congress of the Italian Society of Pure and Applied Biophysics (SIBPA), Palermo, Sicily, September 2006.     

Survey of electromagnetic field exposure in bedrooms of residences in lower Austria

Previous investigations of exposure to electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic fields (EMF) in households were either about electricity supply EMFs or radio frequency EMFs (RF‐EMFs). We report results from spot measurements at the bedside that comprise electrostatic fields, extremely low‐frequency electric fields (ELF‐EFs), extremely low‐frequency magnetic fields (ELF‐MFs), and RF‐EMFs. Measurements were taken in 226 households throughout Lower Austria. In addition, effects of simple reduction measures (e.g., removal of clock radios or increasing their distance from the bed, turning off Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication (DECT) telephone base stations) were assessed. All measurements were well below International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guideline levels. Average night‐time ELF‐MFs (long‐term measurement from 10 pm to 6 am, geometric mean over households) above 100 nT were obtained in 2.3%, and RF‐EMFs above 1000 µW/m² in 7.1% of households. Highest ELF‐EFs were primarily due to lamps beside the bed (max = 166 V/m), and highest ELF‐MFs because of transformers of devices (max = 1030 nT) or high current of power lines (max = 380 nT). The highest values of RF‐EMFs were caused by DECT telephone base stations (max = 28979 µW/m²) and mobile phone base stations (max = 4872 µW/m²). Simple reduction measures resulted in an average decrease of 23 nT for ELF‐MFs, 23 V/m for ELF‐EFs, and 246 µW/m² for RF‐EMFs. A small but statistically significant correlation between ELF‐MF exposure and overall RF‐EMF levels of R = 0.16 (P = 0.008) was computed that was independent of type (flat, single family) and location (urban, rural) of houses. Bioelectromagnetics 31:200–208, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Enhanced regional terrestrial carbon uptake over Korea revealed by atmospheric CO2 measurements from 1999 to 2017

Understanding changes in terrestrial carbon balance is important to improve our knowledge of the regional carbon cycle and climate change. However, evaluating regional changes in the terrestrial carbon balance is challenging due to the lack of surface flux measurements. This study reveals that the terrestrial carbon uptake over the Republic of Korea has been enhanced from 1999 to 2017 by analyzing long‐term atmospheric CO₂ concentration measurements at the Anmyeondo Station (36.53°N, 126.32°E) located in the western coast. The influence of terrestrial carbon flux on atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (ΔCO₂) is estimated from the difference of CO₂ concentrations that were influenced by the land sector (through easterly winds) and the Yellow Sea sector (through westerly winds). We find a significant trend in ΔCO₂ of ?4.75 ppm per decade (p < .05) during the vegetation growing season (May through October), suggesting that the regional terrestrial carbon uptake has increased relative to the surrounding ocean areas. Combined analysis with satellite measured normalized difference vegetation index and gross primary production shows that the enhanced carbon uptake is associated with significant nationwide increases in vegetation and its production. Process‐based terrestrial model and inverse model simulations estimate that regional terrestrial carbon uptake increases by up to 18.9 and 8.0 Tg C for the study period, accounting for 13.4% and 5.7% of the average annual domestic carbon emissions, respectively. Atmospheric chemical transport model simulations indicate that the enhanced terrestrial carbon sink is the primary reason for the observed ΔCO₂ trend rather than anthropogenic emissions and atmospheric circulation changes. Our results highlight the fact that atmospheric CO₂ measurements could open up the possibility of detecting regional changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle even where anthropogenic emissions are not negligible.     

Evolutionary trends of the hairy-faceSaguinus in terms of the dental and cranial morphology

Shape variations in the dentition and the cranium were analyzed for sevenSaguinus forms of the hairy-face tamarin by applying the factor analysis method. The results obtained for the dental and cranial measurements were almost consistent with each other. The magnitude of the difference in shape factors between theS. nigricollis group and theS. midas group is appreciably larger than that between the former group and theS. mystax group. If the ancestral geographic centre of origin is postulated as being within the region which is inhabited by the livingS. nigricollis group, the morphological distances between any pairs of groups correlate well with the geographic distances between them. Concerning the dental and cranial morphologies, the physical changes in the three species group probably took place in two directions; that is, from theS. nigricollis group to theS. mystax group, and from theS. nigricollis group to theS. midas group. The forms belonging to each species group are more closely related to each other, with the exception ofS. imperator in theS. mystax group. The uniqueness ofS. imperator was clearly demonstrated by factor analysis and distance analysis. In theS. mystax group, although still hypothetical,S. imperator may have been related only through the basic ancestral stock toS. labiatus andS. mystax.     

Modeling antitumor activity by using a non-linear mixed-effects model

The response of solid tumors to antitumor treatment generally declines markedly with treatment time. Sometimes, a tumor regrows (rebounds) before the end of the treatment period. Studies of the patterns of tumor response to treatment are important, because they may provide useful information for clinical decision-making. We have investigated patterns of tumor response in mouse xenograft tumors by using data from a study conducted at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. We applied a biexponential non-linear mixed-effects model to an analysis of changes in tumor volume over a given period of treatment. The model gives a good fit to the data, even for small sample sizes. We addressed the relation between the baseline tumor volumes and the decay rates of the first and second stages of the tumor's response to treatment, and we applied sensitive analysis to determine the effect of using different imputed values for missing data. We also proposed a novel approach to a comparison of the antitumor effects of three different treatments, and we used the data from a St. Jude study to demonstrate the potential of this comparison approach in cancer clinical decision-making.     

Two interconverting pentaiodide forms in the cyclomaltohexaose (alpha-cyclodextrin) polyiodide inclusion complex with sodium ion: dielectric and Raman spectroscopy studies

The polycrystalline inclusion complex of cyclomaltohexaose, (alpha-CD)(2) x NaI(5) x 8H(2)O, has been investigated via dielectric spectroscopy over a frequency range of 0-100 kHz and the temperature range of 125-450 K. Additionally, a Raman spectroscopy study was accomplished in the temperature ranges of (i) 153-298 K and (ii) 303-413 K. The ln sigma versus 1/T variation revealed the order-disorder transition of some normal hydrogen bonds to those of a flip-flop type at 200.9 K. From 278.3 up to 357.1K, the progressive transformation (H(2)O)(tightly bound)-->(H(2)O)(easily movable) takes place resulting in an Arrhenius linear increment of the ac-conductivity with activation energy E(a)=0.32 eV. In the range of 357.1-386.1K a second linear part with E(a)=0.55 eV is observed, indicating the contribution of sodium ions via the water-net.The rapid decrease of the ac-conductivity at T>386.1K is due to the removal of the water molecules from the crystal lattice, whereas the abrupt increase at T>414.9 K is caused by the sublimation of iodine.The Raman bands at 160 and 169 cm(-1) indicate the coexistence of (I(2) x I(-) x I(2)) and (I3(-) x I(2)<-->I(2) x I3(-)) units, respectively.The (I3(-) x I(2)<-->I(2) x I3(-)) units are presented as form (I), and their central I(-) ion is disordered in occupancy ratio different from 50/50 (e.g., ...60/40...70/30...).The(I(2) x I(-) x I(2)) units are displayed by the 2 equiv forms (IIa) and (IIb). In (IIa) the central I(-) ion is twofold disordered in an occupancy ratio of 50:50, whereas in (IIb) the central I(-) ion is well-ordered and equidistant from the two I(2) molecules. At low temperatures the transformation (I)-->(IIa) takes place, whereas at high temperatures the inverse one (IIa)-->(I) happens. X-ray powder diffraction and Rietveld analysis revealed a triclinic crystal form with space group P1 and lattice parameters that are in good agreement with the theoretical values.     

Local tissue temperature increase of a generic implant compared to the basic restrictions defined in safety guidelines

The objective of this study was to investigate if persons with implantable medical devices are intrinsically protected by the current electromagnetic safety guidelines. For inter-laboratory comparisons, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has defined a generic implant as consisting of an insulated wire with noninsulated tips, simulating active implants composed of a metallic case, and insulated wires with electric contacts at the tip. In this study, we determined the amplitude of the uniform electric fields induced in body tissues that cause a local increase in the tissue temperature by 1 °C in the presence of this generic implant for a wide range of frequencies and wire lengths. The field amplitudes were compared to the basic restrictions of the current exposure guidelines for both occupational and uncontrolled exposure. Results showed that a 1 °C temperature increase in the tissues around the tips of the generic implant can be reached for field strengths much smaller than 1% of those in the basic restrictions. The simulated results were validated by experimental evaluations. The impact of perfusion was investigated and was found to lead to a reduction in the local temperature peak by only 1.6-3 times. Additional simulations inside an inhomogeneous anatomical model were performed to ascertain whether similar heating as in the generic model was observed. The significant temperature elevations due to the presence of a generic implant indicate that demonstrating compliance with the basic restrictions might not be sufficient for persons with implants. Special considerations may be required, especially in the case of novel, emerging technologies that feature strong near-fields at frequencies below 10 MHz (e.g., wireless power-transfer systems).     

Functional groups based on leaf physiology: are they spatially and temporally robust?

The functional grouping concept, which suggests that complexity in ecosystem function can be simplified by grouping species with similar responses, was tested in the Florida scrub habitat. Functional groups were identified based on how species regulate exchange of carbon and water with the atmosphere as indicated by both instantaneous gas exchange measurements and integrated measures of function (%N, δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, C:N ratio) in fire-maintained Florida scrub, which was considered the natural state for scrub habitat. Using cluster analysis, five distinct physiologically based functional groups were identified in the fire-maintained scrub and were determined to be distinct clusters and not just arbitrary divisions in a continuous distribution by the non-parametric multivariate analysis of similarities (ANOSIM; R=0.649, P=0.005). These functional groups were tested for robustness spatially, temporally, and with management regime using ANOSIM. The physiological functional groups remained distinct clusters in this broader array of sites (R=0.794, P=0.001) and were not altered by plot differences, primarily, water table depth (R=−0.115, P=0.893) or by the three different management regimes: prescribed burn, mechanically treated and burned, and fire-suppressed (R=0.018, P=0.349). The physiological groupings also remained robust between the two climatically different years, with 1999 being a much wetter year than 2000 (R=−0.027, P=0.725). Easy-to-measure morphological characteristics, if they indicate the same functional groups, would be more practical for scaling and modeling ecosystem processes than detailed gas exchange measurements; therefore, we tested a variety of morphological characteristics as functional indicators. A combination of non-parametric multivariate techniques were used to compare the ability of life form, leaf thickness (LT), and specific leaf area (SLA) classifications to identify the physiologically based functional groups. Life form classifications (ANOSIM; R=0.629, P=0.001) were able to depict the physiological groupings more adequately than either SLA (ANOSIM; R=0.426, P=0.001) or LT (ANOSIM; R=0.344, P=0.001). The ability of life forms to depict the physiological groupings was improved by separating the parasitic Ximenia americana from the shrub category (ANOSIM; R=0.794, P=0.001). Therefore, a life form classification including parasites was determined to be a good indicator of the physiological processes of scrub species and would be a useful method of grouping species for scaling physiological processes to the ecosystem level.