Interspecific Comparisons of Blood Protein and Urea Concentrations in Musk Turtles (Sternotherus), with Notes on Fasting in Sternotherus odoratus

1980 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Seidel
Keyword(s):  
Blood Protein ◽  
Sternotherus Odoratus ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons

On the Natural Blood Coagulation Inhibitor System Investigations of Inhibitor Factors Based on Antithrombin Deficient Blood

1965 ◽  
Vol 14 (03/04) ◽  
pp. 473-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
O Egeberg
Keyword(s):  
Normal Level ◽  
Antithrombin Iii ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Blood Protein ◽  
Coagulation Inhibitor ◽  
Inhibitor System ◽  
Normal Human ◽  
Partial Deficiency ◽  
Antithrombin Iii Activity ◽  
Prothrombinase Activity

SummaryNatural coagulation inhibitor factors were studied in sera, or in fractions of sera, from patients with congenital partial deficiency of antithrombin and from normal persons. In the patients’ sera the progressive antithrombin (antithrombin III) and heparin cofactor (antithrombin II) had both been measured around 50 per cent of normal level.No decreased activity could be demonstrated in the patients’ sera as to antiprothrombinase, the inhibitor against blood intrinsic prothrombinase activity.For anticonvertin, the inhibitor against the tissue convertin complex, the activity was found decreased to about the same level as that demonstrated for antithrombin III and II. The results lend strong support to the hypothesis that the activities measured as anticonvertin, antithrombin III and antithrombin II represent functions of the same blood protein, which on the other side appears to be distinct from antiprothrombinase. In accordance with this explanation, an antithrombin III concentrate had also antithrombin II and anticonvertin activity, and further, adsorption of a normal human serum with convertin appeared to specifically reduce its antithrombin III activity.The inhibitor against activated antihemophilic C factor (AHC’ = activated f. XI) was studied in sera adsorbed with BaS04 and celite. The inhibitor activity was found at normal level in the patients’ sera, consistent with the view that anti-AHC’ is distinct from antithrombin III, II and from anticonvertin. No acceleration of the anti-AHC’ activity could be demonstrated after addition to the inhibition mixture of weak solutions of heparin.The results are discussed.

Trophic position scales positively with body size within but not among four species of rocky reef predators

2020 ◽  
Vol 640 ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Olson ◽  
A Frid ◽  
JBQ dos Santos ◽  
F Juanes
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Rocky Reef ◽  
Morphometric Traits ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Predatory Fishes ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons ◽  
Large Predators

Intra- and interspecifically, larger-bodied predators generally occupy higher trophic positions (TPs). With widespread declines in large predators, there is a need to understand their size-based trophic roles to predict ecosystem-level responses. In British Columbia, Canada, we examined size-based trophic interactions between predatory fishes—3 rockfish species (genus Sebastes) and lingcod Ophiodon elongatus—and their prey, converting predator δ15N signatures to TP and analyzing stomach contents. Intraspecifically, TP scaled positively with predator length and gape width, but the rates of change varied by species. Interspecifically, TP did not scale positively with the observed mean sizes or known maximum sizes of species. Lingcod TP was lower than that of yelloweye and quillback rockfishes, which were 51 and 37%, respectively, smaller than lingcod. Yellowtail rockfish had the smallest average size, yet their mean TP did not differ significantly from that of lingcod. Neither species differences in some morphometric traits known to influence body size-TP relationships nor phylogenetic history explained these results. Most prey consumed were <20% of the predator’s size, which might partially explain the lack of a size-based trophic hierarchy among species. Currently, large size classes of rockfishes are being lost due to fisheries and perhaps climate-driven changes. Our findings on intraspecific size-TP relationships indicate that fishery removals of large individuals may diminish trophic structures. Interspecific comparisons of TP suggest that, along with size, species remain an important factor in understanding trophic dynamics. In addition, smaller-bodied predator species may have significant ecological roles to be considered in ecosystem-based fisheries management.

scholarly journals Surface Chemistry, Crystal Structure, Size and Topography Role in the Albumin Adsorption Process on TiO2 Anatase Crystallographic Faces and Its 3D-Nanocrystal: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 420
Author(s):  
Giuseppina Raffaini
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Surface Chemistry ◽  
Protein Adsorption ◽  
Adsorption Process ◽  
Sol Gel ◽  
Interaction Strength ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Blood Protein ◽  
Tio2 Anatase

TiO2 is widely used in biomaterial implants. The topography, chemical and structural properties of titania surfaces are an important aspect to study. The size of TiO2 nanoparticles synthetized by sol–gel method can influence the responses in the biological environment, and by using appropriate heat treatments different contents of different polymorphs can be formed. Protein adsorption is a crucial step for the biological responses, involving, in particular, albumin, the most abundant blood protein. In this theoretical work, using molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics methods, the adsorption process of an albumin subdomain is reported both onto specific different crystallographic faces of TiO2 anatase and also on its ideal three-dimensional nanosized crystal, using the simulation protocol proposed in my previous theoretical studies about the adsorption process on hydrophobic ordered graphene-like or hydrophilic amorphous polymeric surfaces. The different surface chemistry of anatase crystalline faces and the nanocrystal topography influence the adsorption process, in particular the interaction strength and protein fragment conformation, then its biological activity. This theoretical study can be a useful tool to better understand how the surface chemistry, crystal structure, size and topography play a key role in protein adsorption process onto anatase surface so widely used as biomaterial.

scholarly journals Plasma protein expression profiles, cardiovascular disease, and religious struggles among South Asians in the MASALA study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Long H. Ngo ◽  
M. Austin Argentieri ◽  
Simon T. Dillon ◽  
Blake Victor Kent ◽  
Alka M. Kanaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Plasma Protein ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
South Asians ◽  
Predictive Biomarkers ◽  
Information Criteria ◽  
Blood Protein ◽  
Complement Factor ◽  
Factor B ◽  
Complement Factor B

AbstractBlood protein concentrations are clinically useful, predictive biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite a higher burden of CVD among U.S. South Asians, no CVD-related proteomics study has been conducted in this sub-population. The aim of this study is to investigate the associations between plasma protein levels and CVD incidence, and to assess the potential influence of religiosity/spirituality (R/S) on significant protein-CVD associations, in South Asians from the MASALA Study. We used a nested case–control design of 50 participants with incident CVD and 50 sex- and age-matched controls. Plasma samples were analyzed by SOMAscan for expression of 1305 proteins. Multivariable logistic regression models and model selection using Akaike Information Criteria were performed on the proteins and clinical covariates, with further effect modification analyses conducted to assess the influence of R/S measures on significant associations between proteins and incident CVD events. We identified 36 proteins that were significantly expressed differentially among CVD cases compared to matched controls. These proteins are involved in immune cell recruitment, atherosclerosis, endothelial cell differentiation, and vascularization. A final multivariable model found three proteins (Contactin-5 [CNTN5], Low affinity immunoglobulin gamma Fc region receptor II-a [FCGR2A], and Complement factor B [CFB]) associated with incident CVD after adjustment for diabetes (AUC = 0.82). Religious struggles that exacerbate the adverse impact of stressful life events, significantly modified the effect of Contactin-5 and Complement factor B on risk of CVD. Our research is this first assessment of the relationship between protein concentrations and risk of CVD in a South Asian sample. Further research is needed to understand patterns of proteomic profiles across diverse ethnic communities, and the influence of resources for resiliency on proteomic signatures and ultimately, risk of CVD.

scholarly journals Hyperspectral Imaging for Bloodstain Identification

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3045
Author(s):  
Maheen Zulfiqar ◽  
Muhammad Ahmad ◽  
Ahmed Sohaib ◽  
Manuel Mazzara ◽  
Salvatore Distefano
Keyword(s):  
Hyperspectral Imaging ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Forensic Sciences ◽  
Blood Protein ◽  
Chemical Methods ◽  
Acrylic Paint ◽  
Spectral Bands ◽  
Nail Polish ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Non Destructive

Blood is key evidence to reconstruct crime scenes in forensic sciences. Blood identification can help to confirm a suspect, and for that reason, several chemical methods are used to reconstruct the crime scene however, these methods can affect subsequent DNA analysis. Therefore, this study presents a non-destructive method for bloodstain identification using Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI, 397–1000 nm range). The proposed method is based on the visualization of heme-components bands in the 500–700 nm spectral range. For experimental and validation purposes, a total of 225 blood (different donors) and non-blood (protein-based ketchup, rust acrylic paint, red acrylic paint, brown acrylic paint, red nail polish, rust nail polish, fake blood, and red ink) samples (HSI cubes, each cube is of size 1000 × 512 × 224, in which 1000 × 512 are the spatial dimensions and 224 spectral bands) were deposited on three substrates (white cotton fabric, white tile, and PVC wall sheet). The samples are imaged for up to three days to include aging. Savitzky Golay filtering has been used to highlight the subtle bands of all samples, particularly the aged ones. Based on the derivative spectrum, important spectral bands were selected to train five different classifiers (SVM, ANN, KNN, Random Forest, and Decision Tree). The comparative analysis reveals that the proposed method outperformed several state-of-the-art methods.

scholarly journals Molecular Evolution at the decapentaplegic Locus in Drosophila

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 145 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart J Newfeld ◽  
Richard W Padgett ◽  
Seth D Findley ◽  
Brent G Richter ◽  
Michele Sanicola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Evolution ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Selective Constraint ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Regulatory Sequences ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Terminal Ligand ◽  
Cdna Sequences ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons

Using an elaborate set of cis-regulatory sequences, the decapentaplegic (dpp) gene displays a dynamic pattern of gene expression during development. The C-terminal portion of the DPP protein is processed to generate a secreted signaling molecule belonging to the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family. This signal, the DPP ligand, is able to influence the developmental fates of responsive cells in a concentration-dependent fashion. Here we examine the sequence level organization of a significant portion of the dpp locus in Drosophila melanogaster and use interspecific comparisons with D. simulans, D. pseudoobscura and D.virilis to explore the molecular evolution of the gene. Our interspecific analysis identified significant selective constraint on both the nucleotide and amino acid sequences. As expected, interspecific comparison of protein coding sequences shows that the C-terminal ligand region is highly conserved. However, the central portion of the protein is also conserved, while the N-terminal third is quite variable. Comparison of noncoding regions reveals significant stretches of nucleotide identity in the 3′ untranslated portion of exon 3 and in the intron between exons 2 and 3. An examination of cDNA sequences representing five classes of dpp transcripts indicates that these transcripts encode the same polypeptide.

scholarly journals Allelic Genealogies in Sporophytic Self-Incompatibility Systems in Plants

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 150 (3) ◽  
pp. 1187-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikkel H Schierup ◽  
Xavier Vekemans ◽  
Freddy B Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Self Incompatibility ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
Turnover Process ◽  
Neutral Gene ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons ◽  
Coalescence Times

Abstract Expectations for the time scale and structure of allelic genealogies in finite populations are formed under three models of sporophytic self-incompatibility. The models differ in the dominance interactions among the alleles that determine the self-incompatibility phenotype: In the SSIcod model, alleles act codominantly in both pollen and style, in the SSIdom model, alleles form a dominance hierarchy, and in SSIdomcod, alleles are codominant in the style and show a dominance hierarchy in the pollen. Coalescence times of alleles rarely differ more than threefold from those under gametophytic self-incompatibility, and transspecific polymorphism is therefore expected to be equally common. The previously reported directional turnover process of alleles in the SSIdomcod model results in coalescence times lower and substitution rates higher than those in the other models. The SSIdom model assumes strong asymmetries in allelic action, and the most recessive extant allele is likely to be the most recent common ancestor. Despite these asymmetries, the expected shape of the allele genealogies does not deviate markedly from the shape of a neutral gene genealogy. The application of the results to sequence surveys of alleles, including interspecific comparisons, is discussed.

scholarly journals Ag nanoparticles outperform Au nanoparticles for the use as label in electrochemical point-of-care sensors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Beck ◽  
Carina Horn ◽  
Antje J. Baeumner
Keyword(s):  
Limit Of Detection ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Automatic Measurement ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Differential Pulse ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Blood Protein ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Assay Protocol

AbstractElectrochemical immunosensors enable rapid analyte quantification in small sample volumes, and have been demonstrated to provide high sensitivity and selectivity, simple miniaturization, and easy sensor production strategies. As a point-of-care (POC) format, user-friendliness is equally important and most often not combinable with high sensitivity. As such, we demonstrate here that a sequence of metal oxidation and reduction, followed by stripping via differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), provides lowest limits of detection within a 2-min automatic measurement. In exchanging gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which dominate in the development of POC sensors, with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), not only better sensitivity was obtained, but more importantly, the assay protocol could be simplified to match POC requirements. Specifically, we studied both nanoparticles as reporter labels in a sandwich immunoassay with the blood protein biomarker NT-proBNP. For both kinds of nanoparticles, the dose-response curves easily covered the ng∙mL−1 range. The mean standard deviation of all measurements of 17% (n ≥ 4) and a limit of detection of 26 ng∙mL−1 were achieved using AuNPs, but their detection requires addition of HCl, which is impossible in a POC format. In contrast, since AgNPs are electrochemically less stable, they enabled a simplified assay protocol and provided even lower LODs of 4.0 ng∙mL−1 in buffer and 4.7 ng∙mL−1 in human serum while maintaining the same or even better assay reliability, storage stability, and easy antibody immobilization protocols. Thus, in direct comparison, AgNPs clearly outperform AuNPs in desirable POC electrochemical assays and should gain much more attention in the future development of such biosensors.

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