scholarly journals Insect Muscular Tissue-Powered Swimming Robot

Actuators ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaxiaer Yalikun ◽  
Kaoru Uesugi ◽  
Minamida Hiroki ◽  
Yigang Shen ◽  
Yo Tanaka ◽  
...  

Bio-actuators that use insect muscular tissue have attracted attention from researchers worldwide because of their small size, self-motive property, self-repairer ability, robustness, and the need for less environment management than mammalian cells. To demonstrate the potential of insect muscular tissue for use as bio-actuators, three types of these robots, a pillar actuator, a walker, and a twizzer, have been designed and fabricated. However, a model of an insect muscular tissue-powered swimming robot that is able to float and swim in a solution has not yet been reported. Therefore, in this paper, we present a prototype of an insect muscular tissue-powered autonomous micro swimming robot that operates at room temperature and requires no temperature and pH maintenance. To design a practical robot body that is capable of swimming by using the force of the insect dorsal vessel (DV), we first measured the contraction force of the DV. Then, the body of the swimming robot was designed, and the design was confirmed by a simulation that used the condition of measured contraction force. After that, we fabricated the robot body using polydimethylpolysiloxane (PDMS). The PDMS body was obtained from a mold that was fabricated by a stereo lithography method. Finally, we carefully attached the DV to the PDMS body to complete the assembly of the swimming robot. As a result, we confirmed the micro swimming robot swam autonomously at an average velocity of 11.7 μm/s using spontaneous contractions of the complete insect DV tissue. These results demonstrated that the insect DV has potential for use as a bio-actuator for floating and swimming in solution.


Author(s):  
Dyah Anggraeni ◽  
Nurlela Nurlela

Background: Natural preservatives are compounds produced by natural ingredients that can suppress bacterial growth and development. Natural preservatives are carried out because most of the preservatives circulating are chemicals and unsafe for the body. One of the natural preservatives is by using garlic extract (Allium sativum L).  Objective: This study is aimed to determine the effectiveness of the antibacterial garlic (Allium sativum L) as a natural preservative in fresh African catfish (Clarias gariepinus).  Method: This research used the Pour Plate iroculation method. African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) which is soaked with garlic (Allium sativum L) with a concentration of 7%, 14% and 21% for 30 minutes, then the fish will be kept at room temperature with a storage period of 24 hours and 48 hours and calculated growth in bacterial numbers with the Colony counter.  Result: Based on the research result, it was found that garlic extract (Allium sativum L) can obstruct the effectiveness of antibacterial in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) at a concentration of 14%.



2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C984-C984
Author(s):  
Alessia Bacchi ◽  
Davide Capucci ◽  
Paolo Pelagatti

The objective of this work is to embed liquid or volatile pharmaceuticals inside crystalline materials, in order to tune their delivery properties in medicine or agrochemistry, and to explore new regulatory and intellectual properties issues. Liquid or volatile formulations of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are intrinsically less stable and durable than solid forms; in fact most drugs are formulated as solid dosage because they tend to be stable, reproducible, and amenable to purification. Most drugs and agrochemicals are manufactured and distributed as crystalline materials, and their action involves the delivery of the active molecule by a solubilization process either in the body or on the environment. However some important compounds for the human health or for the environment occur as liquids at room temperature. The formation of co-crystals has been demonstrated as a means of tuning solubility properties of solid phases, and therefore it is widely investigated by companies and by solid state scientists especially in the fields of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, pigments, dyestuffs, foods, and explosives. In spite of this extremely high interest towards co-crystallization as a tool to alter solubility, practically no emphasis has been paid to using it as a means to stabilize volatile or labile or low-melting products. In this work we trap and stabilize volatile and liquid APIs and agrochemicals in crystalline matrices by engineering suitable co-crystals. These new materials alter the physic state of the active ingredients allowing to expand the phase space accessible to manufacturing and delivery. We have defined a benchmark of molecules relevant to human health and environment that have been combined with suitable partners according to the well known methods of crystal engineering in order to obtain cocrystals. The first successful results will be discussed; the Figure shows a cocrystal of propofol, a worldwide use anesthetic.



1967 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Ogilvie

The effects, on the body temperature of white mice, of repeated short exposures to cold were investigated using two methods of restraint. Animals held in a flattened posture became hypothermic at room temperature, cooled more than five times as fast at −10 °C as mice that could adopt a heat-conserving posture, and continued to cool for some time after they were removed from the cold. With repeated tests, cooling at room temperature decreased, and an improvement in re warming ability was observed. In addition, with lightly restrained mice, the fall in rectal temperature during cold exposure showed a progressive decrease, a phenomenon not observed with severely restrained animals.



2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1391
Author(s):  
Andrey Kropotov ◽  
Veronika Kulikova ◽  
Kirill Nerinovski ◽  
Alexander Yakimov ◽  
Maria Svetlova ◽  
...  

Nicotinamide riboside (NR), a new form of vitamin B3, is an effective precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in human and animal cells. The introduction of NR into the body effectively increases the level of intracellular NAD+ and thereby restores physiological functions that are weakened or lost in experimental models of aging and various pathologies. Despite the active use of NR in applied biomedicine, the mechanism of its transport into mammalian cells is currently not understood. In this study, we used overexpression of proteins in HEK293 cells, and metabolite detection by NMR, to show that extracellular NR can be imported into cells by members of the equilibrative nucleoside transporter (ENT) family ENT1, ENT2, and ENT4. After being imported into cells, NR is readily metabolized resulting in Nam generation. Moreover, the same ENT-dependent mechanism can be used to import the deamidated form of NR, nicotinic acid riboside (NAR). However, NAR uptake into HEK293 cells required the stimulation of its active utilization in the cytosol such as phosphorylation by NR kinase. On the other hand, we did not detect any NR uptake mediated by the concentrative nucleoside transporters (CNT) CNT1, CNT2, or CNT3, while overexpression of CNT3, but not CNT1 or CNT2, moderately stimulated NAR utilization by HEK293 cells.



1975 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Mazia ◽  
G Schatten ◽  
W Sale

Cells of many kinds adhere firmly to glass or plastic surfaces which have been pretreated with polylysine. The attachment takes place as soon as the cells make contact with the surfaces, and the flattening of the cells against the surfaces is quite rapid. Cells which do not normally adhere to solid surfaces, such as sea urchin eggs, attach as well as cells which normally do so, such as amebas or mammalian cells in culture. The adhesion is interpreted simply as the interaction between the polyanionic cell surfaces and the polycationic layer of adsorbed polylysine. The attachment of cells to the polylysine-treated surfaces can be exploited for a variety of experimental manipulations. In the preparation of samples for scanning or transmission electron microscopy, the living material may first be attached to a polylysine-coated plate or grid, subjected to some experimental treatment (fertilization of an egg, for example), then transferred rapidly to fixative and further passed through processing for observation; each step involves only the transfer of the plate or grid from one container to the next. The cells are not detached. The adhesion of the cell may be so firm that the body of the cell may be sheared away, leaving attached a patch of cell surface, face up, for observation of its inner aspect. For example, one may observe secretory vesicles on the inner face of the surface (3) or may study the association of filaments with the inner surface (Fig. 1). Subcellular structures may attach to the polylysine-coated surfaces. So far, we have found this to be the case for nuclei isolated from sea urchin embryos and for the microtubules of flagella, which are well displayed after the membrane has been disrupted by Triton X-100 (Fig. 2).



Development ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 530-562
Author(s):  
M. Enesco ◽  
C. P. Leblond

While the organs and tissues of the young rat are known to increase in size with age (Donaldson, 1924), little is known of the role played by the component cells in this increase. There is evidence that cells enlarge (Levi, 1906; Plenk, 1911) and new cells are added (Strasburger, 1893), but we do not know to what extent the enlargement and proliferation of the cells cause the growth of organs and tissues. The present work is an attempt to clarify this problem. In the past, the growth of organs and tissues has often been measured by weight gain (Donaldson, 1924). However, this approach might be misleading, since the body-weight may increase in the absence of growth, for instance as a result of fat-storage in old rats, of pregnancy in females, and even of changes in room temperature.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris K Lee ◽  
Daniel A Jacome ◽  
Joshua K Cho ◽  
Vincent Tu ◽  
Anthony Young ◽  
...  

Recently, several molecular imaging strategies have developed to image bacterial infections in humans. Nuclear approaches, specifically positron emission tomography (PET), affords sensitive detection and the ability to non-invasively locate infections deep within the body. Two key radiotracer classes have arisen: metabolic approaches targeting bacterial specific biochemical transformations, and antibiotic-based approaches that have inherent selectivity for bacteria over mammalian cells. A critical question for clinical application of antibiotic radiotracers is whether resistance to the template antibiotic abrogates specific uptake, thus diminishing the predictive value of the diagnostic test. We recently developed small-molecule PET radiotracers based on the antibiotic trimethoprim (TMP), including [11C]-TMP, and have shown their selectivity for imaging bacteria in preclinical models. Here, we measure the in vitro uptake of [11C]-TMP in pathogenic susceptible and drug-resistant bacterial strains. Both resistant and susceptible bacteria showed similar in vitro uptake, which led us to perform whole genome sequencing of these isolates to identify the mechanisms of TMP resistance that permit retained radiotracer binding. By interrogating these isolate genomes and a broad panel of previously sequenced strains, we reveal mechanisms where uptake or binding of TMP radiotracers can potentially be maintained despite the annotation of genes conferring antimicrobial resistance. Finally, we present several examples of patients with both TMP-sensitive and drug-resistant infections in our first-in-human experience with [11C]-TMP. This work underscores the ability of an antibiotic radiotracer to image bacterial infection in patients, which may allow insights into human bacterial pathogenesis, infection diagnosis, and antimicrobial response monitoring.



2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (103) ◽  
pp. 145-151
Author(s):  
L. P. Goralskyi ◽  
M. R. Ragulya ◽  
I. M. Sokulskyi ◽  
N. L. Kolesnik ◽  
I. Y. Goralska

The paper presents the results of macro- and microscopic structure of cattle heart on the organ-, tissue- and cell levels. The samples of the selected material (n = 5) were preserved in a 10–12 % water solution of neutral formaline with its further charging into wax. Histologic sections not more than 10 mkm were made from wax blocks by using a sliding microtome MC-2. Hematoxilin- and eosin staining of histological sections by Heydengine technique was used for studying cell morphology, carrying out morphometrical studies and for receiving review samples. Histoarchitecture of the structural parts of the heart (ventricle and auricle) and their morphometrical parameters were studied on the histological preparations using the light microscopy technique. The experimantal part of the scientific research was carried out in compliance with the requirements of “European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimantal and other Scientific Purposes” (Strussburg, 1986). The cattle heart is located in a thorax between two lungs, in front of a diaphragm and shifted left. In the 3rd–4th rib region the heart adjacents to a thoracic wall. The heart apex is in the 5th rib region. The absolute weight of a cattle heart equals 2143.27 ± 38.76 g, the relative weight equals – 0.43 ± 0.006 %. The net weight of the heart without the epicardial fat equals 1926.12 ± 31.12 g. Herewith, the weight of the aortic ventricle equals 978.54 ± 19.52 g, the weight of the pulmonic ventricle equals 554.17 ± 14.21 g, the weight of both ventricles equals 1539.08 ± 49.74 g. The auricles weight was the least and equaled 397.18 ± 11.21 g. The ratio of the ventricle weight of the heart to its net weight equals 1:0.2, and the ratio of the weight of the auricle myocard to the weight of the ventricle myocard equals 1:0.26. The heart height equaled 23.08 ± 0.11 сm, width – 13.9 ± 0.18 cm and the circumference – 38.08 ± 0.9 cm. According to the analysis of such liniar measurements, the cattle heart in the animals of the experimental group is characterized as that of an enlarged- and short form. The heart wall consists of three sacs – endocardium, myocard and epicardium. The dominating weight of the heart wall is in a muscular layer (myocard), which consists of transversus stripe muscular fibers which are formed on the basis of mononuclear cells – cardiomyocytes which are interlinked into muscular fibers. According to the cytometric analysis of cardiomyocytes, their largest volume – (11225.73 ± 824.42 mkm3) is observed in the aortic ventricle, smaller – (7963.60 ± 627.09 mkm3) – in a pulmonic ventricle and the smallest – (5361.60 ± 583.91 mkm3) in the auricle cardiomyocytes. Herewith, the volumes of cardiomyocytes nuclei in an aortic ventricle (124.55 ± 7.99 mkm3 and in a pulmonuc ventricle (121.67 ± 7.02 mkm3) are nearly the same, and in the auricle cardiomyocytes the nuclei volume is significantly smaller and it equals 101.05 ± 6.04 mkm3 respectively. Such morphometrical parameters of cardiomyocytes and their nuclei are evidenced in their nuclei-cytoplasmatic ratio, which is the smallest in the cardiomyocytes of an aortic ventricle – 0.0113 ± 0.0068, somewhat larger in a pulmonic ventricle – 0.0156 ± 0.0054 and the largest – 0.0234± 0.0058 in the auricle cardiomyocytes, that is connected with the special properties of the muscular tissue of a myocard which is capable of spontaneous rythmic beatings depending on their morphofunctional load: the ventricles pump the blood from the heart to the body performing the gratest load (the aortic ventricle acts a s a pump, and the pulmonic ventricle acts as a container), the auricles receive the blood which returns to the heart from the animal body, performing somewhat smaller load.



2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Sugito Sugito ◽  
Erdiansyah Rahmi ◽  
Azhari Azhari ◽  
M. Isa

The gain body weight and Spoilage of meat broiler which giving jaloh extract to combine with chromiumABSTRACT. A study was conducted on broiler chickens under heat stress to evaluate the effect of combined jaloh (Salix tetrasperma Roxb) extract with chromium mineral in the body weight, value of feed ratio conversion, and time to meat to become decomposed. Twenty four of 20-day old Cobb female broiler chickens were randomly assigned and divided to 4 treatment groups. Completely randomized design was used in this study. The treatments were as follows: 1) chickens given no heat stress and jaloh extract nor chromium (tCp); 2) chickens under heat stress without given jaloh extract nor chromium (Cp); 3) chickens under heat stress and given jaloh extract in 1.000 mg/lt drinking water (Cp+Ej); and 4) chickens under heat stress, given jaloh extract in 1.000 mg/lt drinking water, and chromium in 1.000 ug/lt drinking water (Cp+Ej+Cr). Heat stress given was 33 ± 1oC of cage temperature during 4 hours per day within 15 days. Jaloh extract and chromium treatments in drinking water were given at 2 hour before cage temperature reaching 33 ± 1oC and were stopped being given after 1 hour, when cage temperature back to room temperature. On the 16th day of the study chickens were measured before slaughtered. Samples obtained were chicken meat that taken from breast part (musculus pectoralis). The result suggested that either giving jaloh extract per se at the dose of 1.000 mg/lt in drinking water or combine it with chromium that given two hours before cage temperature reaching 33 ± 1oC, can prevent chickens from decreasing their body weight, decreasing value of feed ratio convertion, and extending time to meat to become decomposed.



2016 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 281-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHARLENE S.C. GARCIA ◽  
CAROLINE MENTI ◽  
ANA PAULA F. LAMBERT ◽  
THIAGO BARCELLOS ◽  
SIDNEI MOURA ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae) has been used in south of Brazil as a diary homemade, in food condiment and tea-beverage used for the treatment of several disorders. The objective of this study was to characterize chemical compounds in the hydroalcoholic (ExtHS) and aqueous (ExtAS) extract from Salvia officinalis (L.) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and by high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF MS/MS), evaluate in vitro ability to scavenge the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•+), catalase (CAT-like) and superoxide dismutase (SOD-like) activity, moreover cytotoxic by MTT assay, alterations on cell morphology by giemsa and apoptotic-induced mechanism for annexin V/propidium iodide. Chemical identification sage extracts revealed the presence of acids and phenolic compounds. In vitro antioxidant analysis for both extracts indicated promising activities. The cytotoxic assays using tumor (Hep-2, HeLa, A-549, HT-29 and A-375) and in non-tumor (HEK-293 and MRC-5), showed selectivity for tumor cell lines. Immunocytochemistry presenting a majority of tumor cells at late stages of the apoptotic process and necrosis. Given the results presented here, Brazilian Salvia officinalis (L.) used as condiment and tea, may protect the body against some disease, in particularly those where oxidative stress is involved, like neurodegenerative disorders, inflammation and cancer.



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