BOUND WATER, INOSITOL, AND THE EFFECT OF X-RAYS ON ESCHERICHIA COLI

1964 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 877-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Webb ◽  
M. D. Dumasia

Aerosols of Escherichia coli B were subjected to 250 kv X-rays. It was found that maximal X-ray damage occurred at 70 to 80% relative humidity (R.H.). At these R.H. values only the water bound directly to cell macromolecules remains, and if the water layers were increased by using higher humidities, X-ray damage decreased. Also, at R.H. levels below 70% a sharp decrease in the sensitivity of the cells to the radiation occurred. Several chemicals known to protect cells against desiccation, ultraviolet, and X-ray damage were examined and of these i-inositol proved the most successful. The difference in the protective ability of these various compounds indicated that some protect cells against desiccation damage by retaining water, others by replacing bound-water molecules in macromolecular structure but those retaining water will not protect against X-rays. The results suggest that the physical removal or ionization of a strategic bound-water molecule by X-rays causes most of the cell deaths rather than ionizations occurring in the free water as the presence of the latter appears to offer cells a measure of protection.

Author(s):  
Nirmal Chandra Sukul ◽  
Tandra Sarkar ◽  
Atheni Konar ◽  
Md. Amir Sohel ◽  
Asmita Sengupta ◽  
...  

Aqueous ethanol is the standard medium for all drugs used in homeopathy. X-ray and Magnetispoli ambo are 2 homeopathic drugs prepared by exposure of aqueous ethanol to x-rays and static magnetic field, respectively.Mother tinctures (MT)weresuccessively diluted with solvent 1:100 and succussed in several steps to prepare centesimal potencies 8 cH, 14 cH and 32 cH. The solvent was processed in the same way. Although identical in chemical composition (0.03 molar ethanol) and water content (96%) these preparations like the Mother tinctures and three potencies of X-ray and Magnetispoli amboexhibit different therapeutic pathological effects. Potency 8cH of each preparation was diluted with water to reach concentrations 4%, 20%, 40% and 80% ethanol. The aim of the study was to establish whether these potencies exhibited variation in free water molecules. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) of MT and potencies exhibited almost similar freezing and melting points, but they remarkably differed in freezing and melting enthalpy and free water molecules. The various dilutions of potency 8cH exhibited variation in enthalpies and free water molecules, being this variation independent of the amount of water added. We conclude that exposure of aqueous ethanol to x-rays and magnetic field, with subsequent dilution and agitation induces changes in the solvent involving free water molecules. All X-ray and Magnetispoli ambo potencies were analyzed by means of Raman spectroscopy for free water molecules. The results were compared to the ones of DSC, being more or less similar.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
V. Kashpur ◽  
◽  
O. Khorunzhaya ◽  
D. Pesina ◽  
◽  
...  

Subject and Purpose. The elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of action of biomolecules is necessary for the development of state-of-the-art means of diagnosing and treatment. Dielectric studies in the millimeter wave range are effective for puzzling out the nature of the interaction of biomolecules with a surrounding aqueous solvent. Flavin mononucleotide (FMN), which can kill microorganisms and destroy cancer cells, is of particular interest. The aim of the work is to recognize hydration effects (changes in the state of water molecules) in FMN solutions. Methods and Methodology. The complex dielectric permittivity (CDP) is measured in the EHF range. Knowing the difference between the CDP of FMN solution and the CDP of water we find the difference, D es , between the effective dielectric permittivities in terms of the Debye theory of polar liquids. Since the relaxation time of dipoles of bound water is one or two orders of magnitude longer than that of free water, the amount of the difference D es characterizes the hydration of biomolecules. At low concentrations, this difference is proportional to the number of bound water molecules. Results. It has been shown that approximately18 water molecules are bound to the FMN molecule. Groups of atoms as the most probable hydration centers (primarily due to the hydrogen bonds) have been indicated. As the pH decreases, the number of water molecules bound to the Flavin mononucleotide increases to 21. The study of the FMN–DNA solution has shown that one nucleotide accounts for 25–26 bound water molecules in total. However, composing hydration numbers assumes a quantity of components less than 20. An assumption is made that the additional components are due to the cooperative nature of the hydration, leading to the fact that even if some solvent molecules do not come into a direct contact with hydration centers, they are under the influence of biomolecules all the same. Conclusion. Extremely-high-frequency dielectrometry is an effective method of research into the interaction of biomolecules with a water-ionic solvent. A FMN hydration model has been proposed, which indicates probable hydration centers and tells a measure of their effect on the solvent. It has been found that the FMN with DNA interaction increases the number of bound water molecules per one nucleotide of the DNA. The obtained results have been compared to the existing models of the DNA with FMN interaction.


Author(s):  
Tandra Sarkar ◽  
Atheni Konar ◽  
Nirmal Chandra Sukul ◽  
Achintya Singha ◽  
Anirban Sukul

Objective: To confirm that free water molecules and hydrogen bond strength of OH groups underlie difference between two homeopathic drugs at ultrahigh dilution (UHD). Method: FTIR and Laser Raman spectra of UHDs of X-ray and Magnetis Poli Ambo were obtained in the wave number regions of 2400-4000 cm-1 and 2400-4200 cm-1, respectively. Mother tincture (MT) were prepared by exposing ethanol water to X-radiation for X-ray and magnetic field for Magnetis. Spectra of the reference water and the three UHDs of Ethanol were also taken. All the samples were in water-ethanol solution in which the ethanol content was 25%. For FTIR the difference spectrum (absorbance of a UHD minus absorbance of reference water) was obtained after normalization of the spectrum at 3410 cm-1. For Raman spectra the intensity ratio at vibration frequencies between 3200 and 3420 cm-1 (R1), and that between 3620 and 3420 cm-1 (R2), were calculated for each UHD. The intensity at 3600 cm-1 in the difference spectra (FTIR) represents the number of free water molecules in UHDs. R2 values in Raman scattering suggest the same thing. Results: The data in both cases follow almost a similar pattern of difference among the UHDs studied here. For example, X-ray: FTIR 14


1994 ◽  
Vol 375 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. T. Chen ◽  
Y. U. Idzerda ◽  
C.-C. Kao ◽  
L. H. Tjeng ◽  
H.-J. Lin ◽  
...  

AbstractSoft-x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) is the difference between the absorptivity or reflectivity of left and right circularly polarized soft-x-rays at the magnetically interesting L2,3- edges of 3d transition metals or the M4,5-edges of the 4f rare earth elements. Thanks to its large absorption cross-section and strong MCD effect, this technique has become a powerful new means for probing, in an element- and site-specific manner, the magnetic properties of ultra-thin films and multilayers. Soft-x-ray MCD experiments, recently conducted at the Dragon beamline, are utilized to demonstrate the recent progress in this technique and its applications in the research of magnetic thin films.


In a previous paper it was shown that 0·0007 per cent, of 29 Cu and 0·0003 per cent, of 26 Fe could be detected in 30 Zn by atomic analysis by X-ray spectroscopy. This sensitivity is greater than that which was claimed by Noddack, Tacke, and Berg, who set the limit at about 0·1 per cent, for non-metals, and by Hevesy, who stated it to be about 0·01 per cent, for an element present in an alloy. It was later suggested by Hevesy that the high value of the sensitivity which we found might result from the fact that some of the alloys we had used were composed of elements of almost equal atomic number, and that the sensitivity would be smaller for a constituent of low atomic number mixed with a major constituent of high atomic number. To elucidate these disagreements we have made further observations of the sensitivity with elements of different atomic number and have investigated the conditions which can influence the sensitivity. The Factors Determining Sensitivity . The detection of one element in a mixture of elements depends upon the identification of its K or L lines in the general spectrum emitted by the mixture under examination. The intensity with which these lines are excited in the target (“excited intensity”) is proportional to the number of atoms of the constituent element excited, i. e ., to its concentration and to the volume of the target in which the cathode ray energy is absorbed. The depth of penetration of the cathode rays is determined by the density of the target material and by their velocity ( i. e ., by the voltage applied to the X-ray tube). Schonland has shown that the range of homogeneous cathode rays in different elements, expressed as a mass per unit area, is approximately constant and is independent of the atomic number of the absorbing element. When their velocity is increased, the cathode rays will penetrate to a greater depth, and therefore a greater number of atoms of all constituents will be ionised. This will increase the “excited intensity” of the lines due to the particular constituent sought equally with those lines of the other elements present. The intensity of a line further depends upon the difference between the voltage applied to the X-ray tube and that necessary to excite the series. For these reasons, a high applied voltage is required for a high sensitivity.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1107
Author(s):  
Wakana A. Azuma ◽  
Satoru Nakashima ◽  
Eri Yamakita ◽  
Tamihisa Ohta

Leaf water storage is a complex interaction between live tissue properties (anatomy and physiology) and physicochemical properties of biomolecules and water. How leaves adsorb water molecules based on interactions between biomolecules and water, including hydrogen bonding, challenges our understanding of hydraulic acclimation in tall trees where leaves are exposed to more water stress. Here, we used infrared (IR) microspectroscopy with changing relative humidity (RH) on leaves of tall Cryptomeria japonica trees. OH band areas correlating with water content were larger for treetop (52 m) than for lower-crown (19 m) leaves, regardless of relative humidity (RH). This high water adsorption in treetop leaves was not explained by polysaccharides such as Ca-bridged pectin, but could be attributed to the greater cross-sectional area of the transfusion tissue. In both treetop and lower-crown leaves, the band areas of long (free water: around 3550 cm−1) and short (bound water: around 3200 cm−1) hydrogen bonding OH components showed similar increases with increasing RH, while the band area of free water was larger at the treetop leaves regardless of RH. Free water molecules with longer H bonds were considered to be adsorbed loosely to hydrophobic CH surfaces of polysaccharides in the leaf-cross sections.


Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Xianwen Ran ◽  
Bo Wang ◽  
Kun Zhang ◽  
Wenhui Tang

The X-ray pulse originating from high altitude nuclear detonation (HAND) is mainly soft X-ray and its intensity is high enough to gasify the penetrated material and then lead to the severe thermo-mechanical deformation of unpenetrated material from the gasified blow-off effect. This effect cannot be directly reproduced in a lab for the lack of the X-ray source like HAND. At present, the low-energy relativistic electron beams resulting from an electron accelerator are usually used to approximately reproduce this effect, but the difference in the energy-deposited profile in materials between the electron and X-ray cannot be eliminated. In this paper, the symmetric linear least squares method was used to optimize the electron spectrum, and the general Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code calculations showed the optimized spectrum can produce the same energy-deposited profile in aluminum, copper, and tantalum with the soft X-rays like 1 keV or 3 keV spectrums. This indicates that it is possible to simulate the severe thermo-mechanical deformation resulting from HAND using the optimized electron spectrums.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S332) ◽  
pp. 418-424
Author(s):  
Marina G. Rachid ◽  
K. Faquine ◽  
S. Pilling

AbstractC2H4O2 isomers, methyl formate (HCOOCH3), acetic acid (CH3COOH) and glycoaldehyde (HOCH2CHO), have been detected in a lot of sources in ISM. However, their abundances are very different, with methyl formate much more abundant than the other two isomers. This fact may be related to the different destruction by ionizing radiation of these molecules. The goal of this work is experimentally study the photodissociation processes of methyl formate and acetic acid ices when exposed to broadband soft X-ray from 6 up to 2000 eV. The experiments were performed coupled to the SGM beamline in the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Source (LNLS/CNPEM) at Campinas, Brazil. The simulated astrophysical ices (12K) were monitored throughout the experiment using infrared vibrational spectroscopy. The analysis of processed ices allowed the determination of the effective destruction cross sections of the parent molecules as well as the effective formation cross section of daughter molecular species. The relative abundance between acetic acid and methyl formate (NCH3COOH/NHCOOCH3) in different astronomical scenarios and their column density evolution in the presence of X-rays were calculated and our results suggests that such radiation field can be one of the factors that explain the difference in the isomers C2H4O2 abundances. We also quantified the daugther species after the establishment of a chemical equilibrium in the samples.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C1096-C1096
Author(s):  
Ana Cuesta ◽  
Gema Alvarez Pinazo ◽  
Angeles De la Torre ◽  
Susana Sanfélix ◽  
Inmaculada Peral ◽  
...  

XRPD is a powerful tool for material characterization in general, and for in-situ studies of chemical processes in particular. The use of an intense X-ray source, .i.e. synchrotron X-rays, coupled with fast X-ray detection permits time-resolved diffraction experiments allowing in-situ quantitative phase analysis during the early ages of cement hydration. Calcium sulfoaluminate, CSA, cements may have variable compositions, but all of them contain high amounts of ye'elimite, Ca4Al6O12SO4. Commercial CSA cements have special applications such as high strength developments at early-ages. Ye'elimite is very reactive and most of its hydration heat is released during the first eight hours of hydration . The aim of this work is to better understand the early age hydration of stoichiometric (orthorhombic) and doped (pseudo-cubic) ye'elimite samples. The parameters studied by SXRPD, LXRPD and calorimetry have been: polymorphism; water/ye'elimite ratio; and sulfate (gypsum and anhydrite) contents. This work has allowed establishing mechanisms and kinetics for hydration of ye'elimite samples by in-situ SXRPD with internal standard methodology. Moreover, pastes were also studied by ex-situ LXRPD with the external standard method, G-factor, at 2 and 7 days. Both strategies were able to quantify the amorphous contents, including free water. It is important to highlight that the results obtained at early ages, by the internal standard method, are in agreement with those obtained at later ages, G-method, showing the consistence and complementarity of both methodologies. The hydration of stoichiometric ye'elimite in the presence of gypsum is strongly hastened, when compared to the hydration process without gypsum. However, the presence of gypsum has a little effect in the hydration of doped ye'elimite. Moreover, anhydrite has also accelerated the hydration of stoichiometric ye'elimite, although its lower solubility has provoked the formation of an intermediate phase in the first hours.


2014 ◽  
Vol 996 ◽  
pp. 175-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasha Alkaisee ◽  
Ru Lin Peng

For X-Ray Diffraction Measurement of Depth Profiles of Residual Stress, Step-Wise Removal of Materials has to be Done to Expose the Underneath Layers to the X-Rays. this Paper Investigates the Influence of Layer Removal Methods, Including Electro-Polishing in Two Different Electrolytes and Chemical Etching, on the Accuracy of Residual Stress Measurement. Measurements on Two Shot-Peened Steels Revealed Large Discrepancy in Subsurface Distributions of Residual Stress Obtained with the Respective Methods. Especially, the Chemical Etching Yielded much Lower Subsurface Compressive Stresses than the Electro-Polishing Using a so Called AII Electrolyte. the Difference was Explained by the Influence of the Different Layer Removal Methods on the Microscopic Roughness.


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