Dielectric properties of human diabetic blood: Thermodynamic characterization and new prospective for alternative diagnostic techniques

In this paper, we will show the possibility of studying physical properties and irreversible phenomena that occur in blood by applying the dielectric Kluitenberg's nonequilibrium thermodynamic theory. Namely, we shall use some recent extensions of this theory that allow to infer its main characteristic parameters from experimental measures. Applying these results to the study of normal and diabetic blood we show, by comparing them, that it is possible to determine the difference, in some details, of the amount of particular phenomena occurring inside them and give a biological meaning to these phenomena. Moreover, observing a correspondence between a particular value of the frequency for which state coefficients are equal and glucose levels we introduce an alternative diagnostic method to measure the values of the glucose in the blood by determining only this frequency value. The thermodynamic description will be completed by determining the trend of the entropy production

Willingness to Attend Sex Venues in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City: Results from an Online Survey with Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals

Collective sex venues (places where people have sex in groups or in the presence of others, such as bathhouses or sex clubs) are locations where SARS-CoV-2 transmission is likely to occur. We conducted an online survey to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among 342 sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals who had attended collective sex venues (CSV) in New York City (NYC) in the prior year. Almost 1 in 10 (9.9%) participants reported having received a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 infection or antibodies. Although a minority (27.5%) of participants reported being comfortable attending a CSV during the COVID-19 pandemic, multivariable ordinal logistic regression found that willingness was higher among participants who had taken the survey later in the pandemic (aOR = 2.90, CI95% 1.90 to 4.43), who attended CSV at higher frequencies (aOR = 1.94, CI95% 1.26 to 2.99), who used substances at CSV (aOR = 1.98, CI95% 1.22 to 3.23), and who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection or antibodies (aOR = 2.27, CI95% 1.17 to 4.39). In open survey answers, participants described reasons for or against attending CSV during the pandemic, as well as risk reduction strategies that would make them more comfortable attending (e.g., screening for test results, doing temperature checks, holding outdoor events, or restricting events to lower risk sexual practices). SGM individuals who attend CSV might be at increased risk for COVID-19. Public health officials should provide CSV organizers and attendees with guidelines on how to prevent or minimize transmission risk in the context of pandemics such as COVID-19

Protein synthesis inEscherichia coli at 4°C

International audienc

Influence of Gemfibrozil on Sulfate Transport in Human Erythrocytes during the Oxygenation-Deoxygenation Cycle

Summary The effects of gemfibrozil (GFZ), an antihyperlipidemic agent, on the anionic transport of the human red blood cells (RBC) during the oxygenation-deoxygenation cycle were examined. Gemfibrozil clearly plays a role in the modulation of the anionic flux in erythrocytes; in fact it causes a strong increment of anions transport when the RBCs are in the high-oxygenation state (HOS). Such an effect is remarkably reduced in the low-oxygenation state (LOS). With the aim of identifying the dynamics of fibrate action, this effect has been investigated also in human ghost and chicken erythrocytes. These latter, in fact, are known to possess a B3 (anion transporter or Band 3) modified at the cytoplasmic domain (cdb3) which plays a significant role in the metabolic modulation of red blood cells. The results were analyzed taking into account the well known interactions between fibrates and both conformational states of haemoglobin i.e. the T state (deoxy-conformation) and the R state (oxy-conformation). The effect of gemfibrozil on anionic influx appears to be due to a wide interaction involving a "multimeric" Hb-GFZcdb3 macromolecular complex