Low temperature X-ray microanalysis of calcium in a scleractinian coral:evidence of active transport mechanisms

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (22) ◽  
pp. 3543-3552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peta L. Clode ◽  
Alan T. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Active Transport ◽  
Scleractinian Coral ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Oral Epithelium ◽  
Transport Mechanisms ◽  
Night Time ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Oral Ectoderm ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Epithelial Layers

SUMMARY Element concentrations were measured by X-ray microanalysis in seawater(SW) compartments and mucocytes in bulk, frozen-hydrated preparations of the scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis. Quantitative X-ray microanalysis of polyps sampled in the daytime revealed that concentrations of the elements Na, S, K and Ca were all significantly higher in a thin (10-20μm) external SW layer adjacent to the oral ectoderm (P<0.05,<0.05, <0.0001 and <0.01, respectively) than in standard SW. In polyps sampled during night-time, concentrations of Ca and S in this external SW layer were significantly reduced (P<0.05). Ca concentration in the coelenteron and extrathecal coelenteron was significantly higher(P<0.001) than in the external SW layer, regardless of time of sampling, suggesting that Ca2+ transport across the oral epithelium occurs via an active, transcellular route. X-ray microanalyses of mucocytes revealed that the concentration of S was high and did not vary between epithelial layers, while that of Ca increased in an inward gradient toward the skeleton. We suggest that throughout the day, secreted mucus behaves as a Donnan matrix at the oral ectoderm—SW interface,facilitating intracellular Ca2+ uptake. The accumulation within internal SW compartments of high concentrations of Ca relative to standard SW levels, however, appears to be independent of mucus secretion and is likely to be a consequence of active transport processes.

scholarly journals A small molecule compound with an indole moiety inhibits the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 and blocks virus replication

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ichiro Hattori ◽  
Nobuyo Higashi-Kuwata ◽  
Hironori Hayashi ◽  
Srinivasa Rao Allu ◽  
Jakka Raghavaiah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecule ◽  
Covalent Bond ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Viral Breakthrough ◽  
Main Protease ◽  
Small Molecule Compound ◽  
Polar Interactions ◽  
High Concentrations

AbstractExcept remdesivir, no specific antivirals for SARS-CoV-2 infection are currently available. Here, we characterize two small-molecule-compounds, named GRL-1720 and 5h, containing an indoline and indole moiety, respectively, which target the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). We use VeroE6 cell-based assays with RNA-qPCR, cytopathic assays, and immunocytochemistry and show both compounds to block the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 with EC50 values of 15 ± 4 and 4.2 ± 0.7 μM for GRL-1720 and 5h, respectively. Remdesivir permitted viral breakthrough at high concentrations; however, compound 5h completely blocks SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro without viral breakthrough or detectable cytotoxicity. Combination of 5h and remdesivir exhibits synergism against SARS-CoV-2. Additional X-ray structural analysis show that 5h forms a covalent bond with Mpro and makes polar interactions with multiple active site amino acid residues. The present data suggest that 5h might serve as a lead Mpro inhibitor for the development of therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

scholarly journals Synthesis of Exosome-Based Fluorescent Gold Nanoclusters for Cellular Imaging Applications

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4433
Author(s):  
Eun Sung Lee ◽  
Byung Seok Cha ◽  
Seokjoon Kim ◽  
Ki Soo Park
Keyword(s):  
Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Stokes Shift ◽  
Gold Nanoclusters ◽  
Human Colon ◽  
Cellular Imaging ◽  
Metal Nanoclusters ◽  
Human Colon Cancer ◽  
X Ray ◽  
High Concentrations

In recent years, fluorescent metal nanoclusters have been used to develop bioimaging and sensing technology. Notably, protein-templated fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) are attracting interest due to their excellent fluorescence properties and biocompatibility. Herein, we used an exosome template to synthesize AuNCs in an eco-friendly manner that required neither harsh conditions nor toxic chemicals. Specifically, we used a neutral (pH 7) and alkaline (pH 11.5) pH to synthesize two different exosome-based AuNCs (exo-AuNCs) with independent blue and red emission. Using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we demonstrated that AuNCs were successfully formed in the exosomes. Red-emitting exo-AuNCs were found to have a larger Stokes shift and a stronger fluorescence intensity than the blue-emitting exo-AuNCs. Both exo-AuNCs were compatible with MCF-7 (human breast cancer), HeLa (human cervical cancer), and HT29 (human colon cancer) cells, although blue-emitting exo-AuNCs were cytotoxic at high concentrations (≥5 mg/mL). Red-emitting exo-AuNCs successfully stained the nucleus and were compatible with membrane-staining dyes. This is the first study to use exosomes to synthesize fluorescent nanomaterials for cellular imaging applications. As exosomes are naturally produced via secretion from almost all types of cell, the proposed method could serve as a strategy for low-cost production of versatile nanomaterials.

Bank filtration: a suitable process for the removal of iodinated X-ray contrast media?

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 261-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schittko ◽  
A. Putschew ◽  
M. Jekel
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Contrast Media ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Transformation Products ◽  
Bank Filtration ◽  
Anoxic Conditions ◽  
X Ray ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Media Concentration

After bank filtration, effluent influenced surface waters are often used as raw drinking water. It is known that high concentrations of iodinated X-ray contrast media are detectable in such surface waters and thus, more knowledge about the behaviour of the contrast media during bank filtration is necessary and the subject of investigations in this study. The adsorbable organic iodine (AOI), four widely used iodinated X-ray contrast media and four possible transformation products were quantified in an influenced lake, five groundwater wells and a drinking water well. Under anoxic conditions the AOI as well as the concentration of the contrast media are decreased by bank filtration, whereby the AOI is decreased by 64% and the contrast media concentration can be reduced up to 95%, depending on the compound. In the raw drinking water the following average concentrations were determined: Iopromid <20 ng/L, Diatrizote 166 ng/L, Iopamidol 166 ng/L and Iohexol 34 ng/L. Instationary conditions during the sampling period indicate that, at least under anoxic conditions, a large part of the contrast media and transformation products, which are still iodinated, may be associated to colloids and/or humic material.

Transport Phenomena and Properties in Treelike Networks

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Xu ◽  
Agus Pulung Sasmito ◽  
Boming Yu ◽  
Arun Sadashiv Mujumdar
Keyword(s):  
Transport Properties ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Transport Phenomena ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Transport Mechanisms ◽  
Branching Structures ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
Flow Heat

Treelike structures abound in natural as well as man-made transport systems, which have fascinated multidisciplinary researchers to study the transport phenomena and properties and understand the transport mechanisms of treelike structures for decades. The fluid flow and heat transfer in treelike networks have received an increasing attention over the past decade as the highly efficient transport processes observed in natural treelike structures can provide useful hints for optimal solutions to many engineering and industrial problems. This review paper attempts to present the background and research progress made in recent years on the transport phenomenon in treelike networks as well as technological applications of treelike structures. The subtopics included are optimization of branching structures, scaling laws of treelike networks, and transport properties for laminar flow, turbulent flow, heat conduction, and heat convection in treelike networks. Analytical expressions for the effective transport properties have been derived based on deterministic treelike networks, and the effect of branching parameters on the transport properties of treelike networks has also been discussed. Furthermore, numerical simulation results for treelike microchannel networks are presented as well. The proposed transport properties may be beneficial to understand the transport mechanisms of branching structures and promote the applications of treelike networks in engineering and industry.

Deposition of TRISO Particles With Superhard SiC Coatings and the Characterization of Anisotropy by Raman Spectroscopy

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. López-Honorato ◽  
P. J. Meadows ◽  
J. Tan ◽  
Y. Xiang ◽  
P. Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Solid Solution ◽  
Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Pyrolytic Carbon ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Flat Substrate ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Triso Particles ◽  
Sic Coatings

In this work we have deposited silicon carbide (SiC) at 1300°C with the addition of small amounts of propylene. The use of propylene and high concentrations of methyltrichlorosilane (9 vol %) allowed the deposition of superhard SiC coatings (42 GPa). The superhard SiC could result from the presence of a SiC–C solid solution, undetectable by X-ray diffraction but visible by Raman spectroscopy. Another sample obtained by the use of 50 vol % Argon, also showed the formation of SiC with good properties. The use of a flat substrate together with the particles showed the importance of carrying out the analysis on actual particles rather than in flat substrates. We show that it is possible to characterize the anisotropy of pyrolytic carbon by Raman spectroscopy.

Night-time chemistry of biomass burning plumes in urban areas: A dual mobile chamber study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spiro Jorga ◽  
Kalliopi Florou ◽  
Christos Kaltsonoudis ◽  
John Kodros ◽  
Christina Vasilakopoulou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Mass Spectra ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Photochemical Activity ◽  
Organic Nitrate ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
High Concentrations

<p>Biomass burning including residential heating, agricultural fires, prescribed burning, and wildfires is a major source of gaseous and particulate pollutants in the atmosphere. Although, important changes in the size distributions and the chemical composition of the biomass burning aerosol during daytime chemistry have been observed, the corresponding changes at nighttime or in winter where photochemistry is slow, have received relatively little attention. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that nightime chemistry in biomass burning plumes can be rapid in urban areas using a dual smog chamber system.</p><p> </p><p>Ambient urban air during winter nighttime periods with high concentrations of ambient biomass burning organic aerosol is used as the starting point. Ozone was added in the perturbed chamber to simulate mixing with background air (and subsequent NO<sub>3</sub> production and aging) while the second chamber was used as a reference. Following the injection of ozone rapid organic aerosol (OA) formation was observed in all experiments leading to increases of the OA concentration by 20-70%. The oxygen to carbon ratio of the OA increased by 50% on average and the mass spectra of the produced OA was quite similar to that of the oxidized OA mass spectra reported during winter in urban areas. Good correlation was also observed with the produced mass spectra from nocturnal aging of laboratory biomass burning emissions showing the strong contribution of biomass burning emissions in the SOA formation during cold nights with high biomass burning activities. Concentrations of NO<sub>3</sub> radicals as high as 25 ppt were measured in the perturbed chamber with an accompanying production of 0.2-1.2 μg m<sup>-3</sup> of organic nitrate. These results strongly indicate that the OA in biomass burning plumes can evolve rapidly even during wintertime periods with low photochemical activity.</p>

scholarly journals The Transport of Salt and Water across Isolated Rat Ileum

1967 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. W. Clarkson
Keyword(s):  
Active Transport ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Irreversible Processes ◽  
Pressure Gradients ◽  
Ion Flow ◽  
Chemical Gradients ◽  
In Series ◽  
Frictional Coefficients ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Active Channel

The flows of sodium, potassium, and chloride under electrical and chemical gradients and of salt and water in the presence of osmotic pressure gradients are described by phenomenological equations based on the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The aim was to give the simplest possible description, that is to postulate the least number of active transport processes and the least number of separate pathways across the intestine. On this basis, the results were consistent with the following picture of the intestine: Two channels exist across this tissue, one allowing only passive transport of ions and the other only active. In the passive channel, the predominant resistance to ion flow is friction with the water in the channel. The electroosmotic flow indicates that the passive channel is lined with negative fixed charged groups having a surface charge density of 3000 esu cm-2. The values of the ion-water frictional coefficients, and the relationship between ionic concentrations and flows indicate that the passive channel is extracellular. The active channel behaves as two membranes in series, the first membrane being semipermeable but allowing active transport of sodium, and the second membrane being similar to the passive channel. Friction with the ions in the second "membrane" is the predominant resistance to water flow.

Ferritin Crystals in the Gut Caeca of a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Stegocephalid (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.G. Moore ◽  
P.S. Rainbow
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metals ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Amphipod Species ◽  
Single Pair ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge ◽  
High Concentrations

Ferritin crystals and calcium granules are reported from the ventral ceaca of Steleuthera ecoprophycea (Amphipoda: Stegocephalidae) collected from the Snake Pit hydrothermal vent, Mid-Atlantic Ridge (3520 m).In a series of earlier papers (Moore & Rainbow, 1984, 1989, 1992; Moore et al., 1994), the authors described the widespread occurrence of intracellular, octahedral crystals of ferritin in the ventral caeca of a range of stegocephalid amphipod species from the continental shelf epibenthos and oceanic plankton. The discovery at 3500 m of a new Steleuthera species (S. ecoprophycea), from a hydrothermal vent on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge was announced recently by Bellan-Santini & Thurston (1996), and a complete description is provided therein.Oceanic ridge sites are notable for their tectonic activity and the presence of a diversity of trace metals at high concentrations is to be expected in hydrothermal plumes emanating from such regions (German & Angel, 1995). The detoxification of accumulated trace metals in the ventral ceaca of stegocephalid amphipods from uncontaminated environments is now relatively well known (see above), so it was of interest to investigate whether a vent stegocephalid showed an atypical presence of trace metals in detoxified form in cells of the ventral caeca. The results following from an opportunity to investigate this are reported herein.Material was derived from a dive made by the submersible ‘Alvin’ at Snake Pit hydrothermal field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge (23°23′N 44°56′W), 3520 m, on 16 June 1993 (see Bellan-Santini & Thurston, 1996). Steleuthera ecoprophycea was preserved in 70% alcohol. Subsequently to dissection, the single pair of ventral caeca from each of the four damaged amphipods investigated were post-fixed in 4% glutaraldehyde. For electron microscopy and x-ray microanalysis in STEM mode, ventral caecal tissues were then dehydrated through 95% and absolute ethanol, cleared in propylene oxide, embedded in TAAB resin, sectioned at 0·5 μm (semi-thin sections) on a Reichert OmU2 ultramicrotome and examined without staining in a JEOL 100C electron microscope equipped with LINK system EDX energy dispersive x-ray microanalyser.

scholarly journals A hydroxyapatite phantom material for the calibration of in vivo x-ray fluorescence systems of bone strontium and lead quantification

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulations ◽  
Calibration Procedure ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Total Phosphate Concentration ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Phantom Material

A hydroxyaptite [HAp; Ca5(PO4)3OH] phantom material was developed with the goal of improving the calibration protocol of the 125I-induced in vivo X-ray fluorescence (IVXRF) system of bone strontium quantification with further application to other IVXRF bone metal quantification systems, particulary those associated with bone lead quantification. It was found that calcium can be prepared pure of inherent contamination from strontium (and other elements) through a hydroxide precipitation producing pure Ca(OH)2, thereby, allowing for the production of a blank phantom which has not been available previously. The pure Ca(OH)2 can then be used for the preparation of pure CaHPO4 ⋅ 2H2O. A solid state pure HAp phantom can then be prepared by reaction of Ca(OH)2 and CaHPO4 ⋅ 2H2O mixed as to produce a Ca/P mole ratio of 1.67, that in HAp and the mineral phase of bone, in the presence of a setting solution prepared as to raise the total phosphate concentration of the solution by increasing the solubility CaHPO4 ⋅ 2H2O and thereby precipitating HAp. The procedure can only be used to prepare phantoms in which doping with the analyte does not disturb the Ca/P ratio substantially. In cases in which phantoms are to be prepared with high concentrations of strontium, the cement mixture can be modified as to introduce strontium in the form of Sr(OH)2 ⋅ 8H2O as to maintain a (Ca + Sr)/P ratio of 1.67. It was found by both X-ray diffraction spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy studies that strontium substitutes for calcium as in bone when preparing phantoms by this route. The necessity for the blank bone phantoms was assessed through the first blank bone phantom measurement and Monte Carlo simulations. It was found that for the 125I-induced IVXRF system of bone strontium quantification, the source, 125I brachytherapy seeds may be contributing coherently and incoherently scattered zirconium X-rays to the measured spectra, thereby requiring the use of the blank bone phantom as a means of improving the overall quantification methodology. Monte Carlo simulations were employed to evaluate any improvement by the introduction of HAp phantoms into the coherent normalization-based calibration procedure. It was found that HAp phantoms remove the need for a coherent conversion factor (CCF) thereby potentially increasing accuracy of the quantification. Further, it was found that in order for soft tissue attenuation corrections to be possible using spectroscopic information alone, HAp along with a suitable soft tissue surrogate material need to be employed. The HAp phantom material was used for the evaluations of portable X-ray analyzer systems for their potential for IVXRF quantification of lead and strontium with a focus on a comparison between tungsten, silver and rhodium target systems. Silver and rhodium target X-ray tube systems were found to be comparable for this quantification.

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