Search results for "Biophysics"
showing 10 items of 3515 documents
Trichinella spiralisThymidylate Synthase: Developmental Pattern, Isolation, Molecular Properties, and Inhibition by Substrate and Cofactor Analogues
1996
Abstract Thymidylate synthase specific activity was found to remain at a constant level in crude extracts from muscle larvae, isolated (1-15 months after infection) by pepsin-HCl digestion, as well as from adult worms ofTrichinella spiralis.The enzyme was purified and its molecular (monomer mol. wt 35 kD) and kinetic (sequential mechanism with the Kmvalues 3.1 and 19 μM for dUMP and N5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, respectively) properties determined. 5-Fluoro-dUMP was a competitive, slow-binding inhibitor of the parasite enzyme. N5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate analogues 10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolate (CB3717), ZD1694, BW1843U89, and AG337 were weaker inhibitors of the parasite than regener…
The Role of Oxidative Stress in the Response of Endothelial Cells to Metals
2012
The involvement of endothelial cells in inflammation and blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) makes them important for the integration of metal implants. Metal degradation products can, however, influence these processes, possibly leading to ineffective wound healing, prolonged inflammation and eventually aseptic loosening of the implant. Different metal degradation processes have been shown to lead to ROS formation. Oxidative stress, therefore, can mediate the reactions of the human body to the implant. While the response of endothelial cells to oxidative stress has been well studied, the effects of ROS produced as the result of metal degradation have not been addressed as yet. Therefore,…
In vivo 3D muscle architecture quantification based on 3D freehand ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging
2023
Muscle architecture parameters, such as the fascicle length, pennation angle, and volume, are important muscle morphology characteristics. Accurate in vivo quantification of these parameters allows to detect changes due to pathologies, interventions, and rehabilitation trainings, which ultimately impact on muscles’ force-producing capacity. In this study, we compared three-dimensional (3D) muscle architecture parameters of the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius medialis, which were quantified by 3D freehand ultrasound (3DfUS) and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), respectively. Sixteen able-bodied subjects were recruited where seven of them receiv…
In vivo and in vitro degradation of a novel bioactive guided tissue regeneration membrane
2006
The aim of this study was to assess degradation of a novel bioactive guided tissue regeneration (GTR) membrane and to quantify the concurrent tissue responses. Pieces of membrane composed of poly-l-lactide, poly-d,l-lactide, trimethylenecarbonate and polyglycolide were dipped into an N-methyl-2-pyrroline (NMP) solution and implanted in the mandibles of 10 sheep. The animals were sacrificed at 6-104 weeks. Parallel in vitro degradation was analysed by measuring the inherent viscosity, water absorption and remaining mass. One of the 2 in vitro sets of membranes was prehandled with NMP. At 6-26 weeks in vivo, the gradually more degraded implants were surrounded by a fibrous network. At 52 and …
Pigment organization and energy transfer dynamics in isolated photosystem I (PSI) complexes from Arabidopsis thaliana depleted of the PSI-G, PSI-K, P…
2002
Abstract Green plant photosystem I (PSI) consists of at least 18 different protein subunits. The roles of some of these protein subunits are not well known, in particular those that do not occur in the well characterized PSI complexes from cyanobacteria. We investigated the spectroscopic properties and excited-state dynamics of isolated PSI-200 particles from wild-type and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants devoid of the PSI-G, PSI-K, PSI-L, or PSI-N subunit. Pigment analysis and a comparison of the 5K absorption spectra of the various particles suggests that the PSI-L and PSI-H subunits together bind approximately five chlorophyll a molecules with absorption maxima near 688 and 667nm, that…
Ferricytochrome c encapsulated in silica hydrogels: correlation between active site dynamics and solvent structure.
2003
Ferricytochrome c encapsulated in silica hydrogels has been prepared by the sol-gel technique following, with some modifications, the procedure originally developed by Ellerby et al. (Science 255 1113 (1992)). A suitable preparation of hydrogels enables having both 'wet' and 'dry' samples. Wet samples have a high water content: as the temperature is lowered below approximately 260 K, water freezes and the samples crack. On the contrary, dry samples have a low water content (hydration h approximately equal 0.35): in these conditions water does not freeze even at cryogenic temperatures and the samples remain transparent and non-cracking. The dynamics of ferricytochrome c and its dependence on…
Effect of fatigue on the intra-cycle acceleration in front crawl swimming: a time-frequency analysis.
2007
The present study analyzes the changes in acceleration produced by swimmers before and after fatiguing effort. The subjects (n=15) performed a 25-m crawl series at maximum speed without fatigue, and a second series with fatigue. The data were registered with a synchronized system that consisted of a position transducer (1 kHz) and a video photogrametry (50 Hz). The acceleration (m s−2) was obtained by the derivative analysis of the variation of the position with time. The amplitude in the time domain was calculated with the root mean square (RMS); while the peak power (PP), the peak power frequency (PPF) and the spectrum area (SA) were calculated in the frequency domain with Fourier analysi…
Aβ Oligomers and Fibrillar Aggregates Induce Different Apoptotic Pathways in LAN5 Neuroblastoma Cell Cultures
2009
Fibril deposit formation of amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Increasing evidence suggests that toxicity is linked to diffusible Abeta oligomers, which have been found in soluble brain extracts of AD patients, rather than to insoluble fibers. Here we report a study of the toxicity of two distinct forms of recombinant Abeta small oligomers and fibrillar aggregates to simulate the action of diffusible Abeta oligomers and amyloid plaques on neuronal cells. Different techniques, including dynamic light scattering, fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy, have been used to characterize the two forms of Abeta. Under similar conditions and …
Ultrastructural changes of sparkling wine lees during long-term aging in real enological conditions.
2012
Ultrastructural changes of lees of three series of sparkling wines produced using the traditional method during long-term aging (4 years) were assessed by high-pressure freezing in combination with transmission electron microscopy. The stratified structure of the cell wall disappeared throughout aging. After 18 months, the microfibrous material of the cell wall appeared more diffuse and the amorphous midzone of the inner wall layer was progressively degraded. From 30 months onward, the cell wall consisted of a tangled structure of fibers. In spite of these changes, the cell wall of yeasts remained unbroken at 48 months of wine aging. Cell membrane breakage was observed for the first time in…
Critical behavior of a tumor growth model: directed percolation with a mean-field flavor.
2012
We examine the critical behaviour of a lattice model of tumor growth where supplied nutrients are correlated with the distribution of tumor cells. Our results support the previous report (Ferreira et al., Phys. Rev. E 85, 010901 (2012)), which suggested that the critical behaviour of the model differs from the expected Directed Percolation (DP) universality class. Surprisingly, only some of the critical exponents (beta, alpha, nu_perp, and z) take non-DP values while some others (beta', nu_||, and spreading-dynamics exponents Theta, delta, z') remain very close to their DP counterparts. The obtained exponents satisfy the scaling relations beta=alpha*nu_||, beta'=delta*nu_||, and the general…