Neurotoxicity of Dental Amalgam is Mediated by Zinc

2003 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Lobner ◽  
M Asrari
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Cell ◽  
Dental Amalgam ◽  
The Body ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Cell Toxicity ◽  
Mercury Toxicity ◽  
Metal Chelator ◽  
Cortical Cell Cultures ◽  
Zinc Levels ◽  
First Time

The use of dental amalgam is controversial largely because it contains mercury. We tested whether amalgam caused toxicity in neuronal cultures and whether that toxicity was caused by mercury. In this study, we used cortical cell cultures to show for the first time that amalgam causes nerve cell toxicity in culture. However, the toxicity was not blocked by the mercury chelator, 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate (DMPS), but was blocked by the metal chelator, calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (CaEDTA). DMPS was an effective mercury chelator in this system, since it blocked mercury toxicity. Of the components that comprise amalgam (mercury, zinc, tin, copper, and silver), only zinc neurotoxicity was blocked by CaEDTA. These results indicate that amalgam is toxic to nerve cells in culture by releasing zinc. While zinc is known to be neurotoxic, ingestion of zinc is not a major concern because zinc levels in the body are tightly regulated.

scholarly journals The synergistic interference effect of silica nanoparticles concentration and the wavelength of ELISA on the colorimetric assay of cell toxicity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariba Abbasi ◽  
Hassan Hashemi ◽  
Mohammad Reza Samaei ◽  
Amir SavarDashtaki ◽  
Abooalfazl Azhdarpoor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mtt Assay ◽  
Interference Effect ◽  
Polynomial Regression ◽  
Colorimetric Assay ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Cell Toxicity ◽  
Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide ◽  
Nanoparticles Concentration ◽  
Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay is the most common method for the determination of cell toxicity, but some factors limit the sensitivity of this method, such as pH. Less attention had been paid to the interference effect of optical and plasmonic properties of SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) in the wavelength range assigned to MTT. This study investigated the synergistic interference effect of SiO2 NPs and wavelength on MTT assay for the first time. The examined variables included the type of SiO2 NPs concentrations (1, 10, and 100 mM) and different wavelengths (470, 490, 520, and 570 nm). The results showed that optical density (OD) increased (p < 0.05) when wavelength and the concentration of crystalline SiO2 NPs increased. So, the maximum OD at 10 and 100 mM were attributed to crystalline SiO2 NPs (p < 0.05) due to the functional group, whereas it was related to amorphous at 1 mM (p > 0.05). According to polynomial regression modeling (PRM), the maximum interference effect was predicted at crystalline SiO2 NPs and wavelength > 550 nm. Besides, the synergistic effects of SiO2 NPs, wavelength, and concentration of NPs had been a good fitting with first-order PRM. Thus, the concentration of SiO2 NPs had a confounder factor in colorimetric for MTT assay. The best artificial neural network (ANN) structure was related to the 3:7:1 network (Rall = 0.936, MSE = 0.0006, MAPE = 0.063). The correlation between the actual and predicted data was 0.88. As SiO2 NPs presence is an interfering factor in MTT assay concerning wavelength, it is suggested wavelength use with minimum confounding effect for MTT assay.

scholarly journals Electro-Quasistatic Animal Body Communication for Untethered Rodent Biopotential Recording

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreeya Sriram ◽  
Shitij Avlani ◽  
Matthew P. Ward ◽  
Shreyas Sen
Keyword(s):  
Lower Energy ◽  
Sensor Node ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The Body ◽  
Animal Body ◽  
Current State ◽  
Communication Modalities ◽  
First Time ◽  
Biopotential Recording

AbstractContinuous multi-channel monitoring of biopotential signals is vital in understanding the body as a whole, facilitating accurate models and predictions in neural research. The current state of the art in wireless technologies for untethered biopotential recordings rely on radiative electromagnetic (EM) fields. In such transmissions, only a small fraction of this energy is received since the EM fields are widely radiated resulting in lossy inefficient systems. Using the body as a communication medium (similar to a ’wire’) allows for the containment of the energy within the body, yielding order(s) of magnitude lower energy than radiative EM communication. In this work, we introduce Animal Body Communication (ABC), which utilizes the concept of using the body as a medium into the domain of untethered animal biopotential recording. This work, for the first time, develops the theory and models for animal body communication circuitry and channel loss. Using this theoretical model, a sub-inch$$^3$$ 3 [1″ × 1″ × 0.4″], custom-designed sensor node is built using off the shelf components which is capable of sensing and transmitting biopotential signals, through the body of the rat at significantly lower powers compared to traditional wireless transmissions. In-vivo experimental analysis proves that ABC successfully transmits acquired electrocardiogram (EKG) signals through the body with correlation $$>99\%$$ > 99 % when compared to traditional wireless communication modalities, with a 50$$\times$$ × reduction in power consumption.

scholarly journals Experiential ownership and body ownership are different phenomena

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Liang ◽  
Wen-Hsiang Lin ◽  
Tai-Yuan Chang ◽  
Chi-Hong Chen ◽  
Chen-Wei Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conscious Experience ◽  
Distinct Type ◽  
Body Part ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Ownership ◽  
Rubber Hand ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
The One ◽  
First Time ◽  
Full Body

AbstractBody ownership concerns what it is like to feel a body part or a full body as mine, and has become a prominent area of study. We propose that there is a closely related type of bodily self-consciousness largely neglected by researchers—experiential ownership. It refers to the sense that I am the one who is having a conscious experience. Are body ownership and experiential ownership actually the same phenomenon or are they genuinely different? In our experiments, the participant watched a rubber hand or someone else’s body from the first-person perspective and was touched either synchronously or asynchronously. The main findings: (1) The sense of body ownership was hindered in the asynchronous conditions of both the body-part and the full-body experiments. However, a strong sense of experiential ownership was observed in those conditions. (2) We found the opposite when the participants’ responses were measured after tactile stimulations had ceased for 5 s. In the synchronous conditions of another set of body-part and full-body experiments, only experiential ownership was blocked but not body ownership. These results demonstrate for the first time the double dissociation between body ownership and experiential ownership. Experiential ownership is indeed a distinct type of bodily self-consciousness.

scholarly journals Normalizing Vision: The Representation and Use of Spectacles and Eyeglasses in Victorian Britain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Almond
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
The Body ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Medical Texts ◽  
Victorian Britain ◽  
Victorian Period ◽  
First Time ◽  
Material Evidence

Abstract This study explores the representation and use of Victorian visual aids, specifically focusing on how the design of spectacle and eyeglass frames shaped ideas of the ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ body. It contributes to our understanding of assistive technologies in the Victorian period by showcasing the usefulness of material evidence for exploring how an object was produced and perceived. By placing visual aids in their medical and cultural context for the first time, it will show how the study of spectacle and eyeglass frames develops our understanding of Victorian society more broadly. Contemporaries drew upon industrialization, increasing education, and the proliferation of print to explain a rise in refractive vision ‘errors’. Through exploring the design of three spectacle frames from the London Science Museum’s collections, this study will show how the representations and manufacture of visual aids transformed in response to these wider changes. The material evidence, as well as contemporary newspapers, periodicals, and medical texts, reveal that visual aids evolved from an unusual to a more mainstream device. It argues that visual aids are a unique assistive technology, one that is able to inform our understanding of how Victorians measured the body and constructed ideas of ‘normalcy’ and ‘abnormalcy’.

scholarly journals Association between Serum Zinc Levels and Clinical Index or the Body Composition in Incident Hemodialysis Patients

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 3187
Author(s):  
Tatsunori Toida ◽  
Reiko Toida ◽  
Shou Ebihara ◽  
Risa Takahashi ◽  
Hiroyuki Komatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Cardiovascular Events ◽  
Serum Zinc ◽  
Fluid Volume ◽  
The Body ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Cox's Regression ◽  
Zinc Levels ◽  
Serum Zinc Levels

Background: The relationships between serum zinc levels and body composition or clinical outcomes of incident hemodialysis (HD) patients remain unclear. Methods: This prospective observational study examined the relationships between serum zinc levels and clinical indexes, including body composition, in 142 incident HD patients using a bioelectrical impedance analysis. Patients were divided into three groups according to baseline serum zinc levels: tertile, <45, 45–59, and ≥60 µg/dL. The reference group was set as ≥60 µg/dL. Cox’s regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between serum zinc categories and cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality after adjustments for potential confounders. Results: Serum zinc levels positively correlated with the nutritional index and negatively correlated with fluid volume markers. In a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, there were 20 cases of cardiovascular events and 15 of all-cause mortality. In the Cox’s regression analysis for cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, the hazard ratio increased with a decrease in serum zinc levels, but was not significant. Conclusion: Serum zinc levels were associated with nutritional and fluid volume markers in incident HD patients. To clarify the relationship between serum zinc levels and cardiovascular events or mortality, further studies with a larger number of cases will be necessary.

scholarly journals Structural, Superconducting and Magnetic Properties of La3-XRxNi2B2N3-δ with R = Ce, Pr, Nd

2011 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 165-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahir Ali ◽  
Ernst Bauer ◽  
Gerfried Hilscher ◽  
Herwig Michor
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Properties ◽  
Structure Type ◽  
The Body ◽  
Spin Reorientation ◽  
Superconducting Transition ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Range Magnetic Order ◽  
Long Range Magnetic Order ◽  
First Time ◽  
Magnetic Pair

We report on structural and superconducting properties of La3-xRxNi2B2N3- where La is substituted by the magnetic rare-earth elements Ce, Pr, Nd. The compounds Pr3Ni2B2N3- and Nd3Ni2B2N3- are characterized for the first time. Powder X-ray diffraction confirmed all samples R3Ni2B2N3- with R = La, Ce, Pr, Nd and their solid solutions to crystallize in the body centered tetragonal La3Ni2B2N3 structure type. Superconducting and magnetic properties of La3-xRxNi2B2N3- were studied by resistivity, specific heat and susceptibility measurements. While La3Ni2B2N3- has a superconducting transition temperature Tc ~ 14 K, substitution of La by Ce, Pr, and Nd leads to magnetic pair breaking and, thus, to a gradual suppression of superconductivity. Pr3Ni2B2N3- exibits no long range magnetic order down to 2 K, Nd3Ni2B2N3- shows ferrimagnetic ordering below TC =17 K and a spin reorientation transition to a nearly antiferromagnetic state at 10 K.

scholarly journals NMDA Receptor-Mediated Neuroprotective Effect of theScutellaria baicalensisGeorgi Extract on the Excitotoxic Neuronal Cell Death in Primary Rat Cortical Cell Cultures

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinsong Yang ◽  
Xiaohong Wu ◽  
Haogang Yu ◽  
Xinbiao Liao ◽  
Lisong Teng
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Nmda Receptor ◽  
Cell Cultures ◽  
Neuroprotective Effect ◽  
Neuronal Cell Death ◽  
Cortical Cell ◽  
Neuronal Cell ◽  
Ethanol Extract ◽  
Phytochemical Analysis ◽  
Cortical Cell Cultures

The objective of the current research work was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of the ethanol extract ofScutellaria baicalensis(S.B.) on the excitotoxic neuronal cell death in primary rat cortical cell cultures. The inhibitory effects of the extract were qualitatively and quantitatively estimated by phase-contrast microscopy and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. The extract exhibited a potent and dose-dependent inhibition of the glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in the culture media. Further, using radioligand binding assays, it was observed that the inhibitory effect of the extract was more potent and selective for the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated toxicity. The S.B. ethanol extract competed with [3H] MDL 105,519 for the specific binding to the NMDA receptor glycine site with 50% inhibition occurring at 35.1 μg/mL. Further, NMDA receptor inactivation by the S.B. ethanol extract was concluded from the decreasing binding capability of [3H]MK-801 in the presence of the extract. Thus, S.B. extract exhibited neuroprotection against excitotoxic cell death, and this neuroprotection was mediated through the inhibition of NMDA receptor function by interacting with the glycine binding site of the NMDA receptor. Phytochemical analysis of the bioactive extract revealed the presence of six phytochemical constituents including baicalein, baicalin, wogonin, wogonoside, scutellarin, and Oroxylin A.

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