Application of NMR microscopy to the morphological study of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, during its metamorphosis.

Zero (ZQ) and double (DQ) quantum 2D chemical shift selective and spin- echo 3D NMR imaging at microscopy resolution, has been applied to the morphological study of silkworm, Bombyx mori, during its metamorphosis. Attention has been focused on the evolution of the internal structure of the insect during its postembryonal life occurring through the larval, pupal and adult development. A major objective of this work was the characterization of the silk glands, responsible for synthesis and secretion of fibroin and sericin, through the changes of distribution and mobility of water, by imaging the water protons during postembryonal life stages. Moreover, alanine deriving from silk gland proteins was imaged during the last life stage of Bombyx mori

Corrected Mulliken Charges for Small Molecules

A quantum mechanical correction is applied to the Mulliken atomic charges in order to fit them to the calculated dipole moment. This correction is obtained from the Charge - Charge flux - Overlap model (CCFO) for the interpretation of infrared intensities. Values of corrected Mulliken charges are calculated using different basis sets for the HF, H20, NH3, CH4, LiF, LiCI and NaCI molecules. The corrected charges are compared with atomic charges obtained from other partitioning schemes. Our results reveal that the corrected Mulliken charge shows an excellent numerical stability when the basis set becomes more extended. It also gives a better description of the charge separation in predominantly ionic molecules. Finally, the Mulliken charge seems to reflect more adequately intramolecular interactions when corrected as above

Intrinsic Environmental Vulnerability as Shallow Landslide Susceptibility in Environmental Impact Assessment

This work investigated the susceptibility factors that trigger shallow landslides. In particular, the objective of the research was the implementation of a method to determine the relevant factors that can trigger shallow landslide events. However, with respect to the existing methods, the integration with historical datasets and the inclusion of spatial factors displaying dynamics in the same characteristic timescales were specific features of the developed tool. The study area included the watersheds of the Sessera and Strona rivers in the alpine area of the Province of Biella (Piedmont, NW Italy). The method was developed and tested from two sub-datasets derived from an integrated dataset that referred to an intense event, involving the same area, that occurred in 1968 (2\u20133 November). This allowed the implementation of an integrated representation of landslides\u2019 predisposing factors and the identification and classification in dierent groups of the areas susceptible to geo-hydrological instability processes. The previously existing databases were verified and integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) environment, giving a potentially sharable source of information for planning purposes. The obtained maps represent a metric of one of the possible intrinsic environmental vulnerability factors for the area under study. Consequently, this method can represent a future instrument for determining the intrinsic environmental vulnerability dependent on landslides within an environmental impact assessment (EIA), as required by the most recent European regulation on EIA. Moreover, the shared information can be used to implement informed policy and planning processes, based on a bottom-up approach. In particular, the availability online of landslide susceptibility maps could support the generation of augmented information\u2014useful for both local administrators and planners as well as for stakeholders willing to implement specific projects or infrastructure in vulnerable areas, such as mountain

A simple method for measuring oxygen uptake on a single breath basis

A simple method for calculating breath by breath O2 uptake by the conventional open circuit method is described. Each expiratory volume is collected in a collapsible bag (4 l capacity) surrounded by a rigid box connected to a spirometer. A system of tubes with two solenoid valves operated by a manual switch allows the collection of air into the bag, during expiration, and its emptying by a vacuum pump during inspiration, respectively. The sampling line of a fast responding O2 and CO2 analyzer, together with temperature and pressure probes are inserted into the tube connecting the bag to the vacuum. The expired volume is therefore recorded (by the spirometer output) during expiration and its composition analyzed during the immediately following inspiratory phase, thus allowing gas exchange measurements to be performed on each single breath. VO2 measured by this method at steady state over periods of about 1 min yields substantially the same values as obtained by standard open circuit method (average ratio = 1.01). Ventilations up to 150 l/min (ATPS) and respiratory rates up to 60/min can be easily followed. The simplicity of VO2 calculation, and the very limited dead space of the system (about 70 ml, downstream the expiratory valve), make this method particularly suitable for determining VO2 kinetics at the onset and offset of exercise

Blood O2 affinity and maximal O2 consumption in elite bicycle racers

The PO2 at which hemoglobin is half-saturated with O2 (P50) at 37\ub0C, PCO2 = 42 Torr, measured pH and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate-to-hemoglobin concentration ratio ([2,3-DPG]/[Hb]) values, Hill's coefficient (n) at rest, and maximal O2 consumption (V\u307O2(max)) were determined in 11 world-class professional bicycle racers off-season (control, C), after 3 mo of 3 h daily training (preseason, PrS), and after additional 6 mo of competitions (competitive season, CoS). The results indicate that the P50 observed in trained athletes was the same as that of a comparable group of sedentary subjects (Sed) under the same conditions of pH, PCO2, and [2,3-DPG]/[Hb] and was similar to that obtained after 'normalization' in respect to pH and the [2,3-DPG]/[Hb]; [2,3-DPG]/[Hb] increased as a function of training from 0.72 to 0.95 (P < 0.001); the slope of the central portion of the O2 equilibrium curve (OEC) was nearly unaffected by endurance training as indicated by the n value (n(CoS) = 2.70 \ub1 0.08; n(Sed) = 2.65 \ub1 0.08); and V\u307O2(max) increased in the course of training 7 and 9% (P < 0.001), respectively, when expressed in absolute units or per kilogram body weight. The V\u307O2(max) predicted on the basis of a computer simulation does not increase significantly as a consequence of the measured rise in [2,3-DPG]. Therefore, the observed increase of V\u307O2(max) cannot be explained with adaptive changes of the OEC. The present results differ from previous findings reported in other types of athletes

Energy cost of walking with hip joint impairment

The energy cost of walking was measured in 12 patients (age 39-73 years) with hip joint impairment and 10 healthy controls during unassisted walking (2-6 km\ub7h -1) on a level treadmill surface and on a 5% incline. The energy cost of locomotion in most patients increased up to 50% and 70% during level-surface and uphill walking, respectively. This difference between patients and controls was probably due to the increased external mechanical work. The energy cost of walking, although related to pain experienced during walking but not hip joint range of motion or to joint status evaluated radiographically, provides an additional variable when defining the conditions of disability and functional impairment individuals with this pathological condition

Stem and Progenitor Cells in Skeletal Muscle Development, Maintenance, and Therapy

Satellite cells are dormant progenitors located at the periphery of skeletal myofibers that can be triggered to proliferate for both self-renewal and differentiation into myogenic cells. In addition to anatomic location, satellite cells are typified by markers such as M-cadherin, Pax7, Myf5, and neural cell adhesion molecule-1. The Pax3 and Pax7 transcription factors play essential roles in the early specification, migration, and myogenic differentiation of satellite cells. In addition to muscle-committed satellite cells, multi-lineage stem cells encountered in embryonic, as well as adult, tissues exhibit myogenic potential in experimental conditions. These multi-lineage stem cells include side-population cells, muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs), and mesoangioblasts. Although the ontogenic derivation, identity, and localization of these non-conventional myogenic cells remain elusive, recent results suggest their ultimate origin in blood vessel walls. Indeed, purified pericytes and endothelium-related cells demonstrate high myogenic potential in culture and in vivo. Allogeneic myoblasts transplanted into Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients have been, in early trials, largely inefficient owing to immune rejection, rapid death, and limited intramuscular migration—all obstacles that are now being alleviated, at least in part, by more efficient immunosuppression and escalated cell doses. As an alternative to myoblast transplantation, stem cells such as mesoangioblasts and CD133+ progenitors administered through blood circulation have recently shown great potential to regenerate dystrophic muscle

A quantitative method to Monitor Reactive Oxygen Species (Ros) production by electron Paramagnetic Resonance (Epr) in phisiological and pathological conditions

The growing interest in the role of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and in the assessment of oxidative stress in health and disease clashes with the lack of consensus on reliable quantitative noninvasive methods applicable. The study aimed at demonstrating that a recently developed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance microinvasive method provides direct evidence of the "instantaneous" presence of ROS returning absolute concentration levels that correlate with "a posteriori" assays of ROS-induced damage by means of biomarkers. The reliability of the choice to measure ROS production rate in human capillary blood rather than in plasma was tested (step I). A significant (P < 0.01) linear relationship between EPR data collected on capillary blood versus venous blood (R-2 = 0.95), plasma (R-2 = 0.82), and erythrocytes (R-2 = 0.73) was found. Then (step II) ROS production changes of various subjects' categories, young versus old and healthy versus pathological at rest condition, were found significantly different (range 0.0001-0.05 P level). The comparison of the results with antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage biomarkers concentrations showed that all changes indicating increased oxidative stress are directly related to ROS production increase. Therefore, the adopted method may be an automated technique for a lot of routine in clinical trials

Acute Hyperbaria and Hyperoxia Effects on Oxidative Stress Kinetic Response: A Simulated Study

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