Movements and activity levels of juvenile American lobsters Homarus americanus in nature quantified using ultrasonic telemetry

2016 ◽  
Vol 551 ◽  
pp. 155-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Morse ◽  
R Rochette
Keyword(s):  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Ultrasonic Telemetry

Improvement of cytoprotective and antioxidant activity of Rosa canina L. and Salix alba L. by controlled differential sieving process against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in mouse primary splenocytes

2017 ◽  
Vol 87 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nidhal Soualeh ◽  
Aliçia Stiévenard ◽  
Elie Baudelaire ◽  
Rachid Soulimani ◽  
Jaouad Bouayed
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Activity ◽  
Antioxidant Activities ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Good Alternative ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Salix Alba ◽  
Rosa Canina ◽  
Free Process ◽  
Plant Powders ◽  
Sieving Process

Abstract. In this study, cytoprotective and antioxidant activities of Rosa canina (RC) and Salix alba (SA), medicinal plants, were studied on mouse primary splenocytes by comparing Controlled Differential Sieving process (CDSp), which is a novel green solvent-free process, versus a conventional technique, employing hydroethanolic extraction (HEE). Thus, preventive antioxidant activity of three plant powders of homogeneous particle sizes, 50–100 µm, 100–180 µm and 180–315 µm, dissolved directly in the cellular buffer, were compared to those of hydroethanolic (HE) extract, at 2 concentrations (250 and 500 µg/mL) in H2O2-treated spleen cells. Overall, compared to HE extract, the superfine powders, i. e., fractions < 180 µm, at the lowest concentration, resulted in greater reactive oxygen species (ROS) elimination, increased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) production. Better antioxidant and preventive effects in pre-treated cells were found with the superfine powders for SA (i. e., 50–100 µm and 100–180 µm, both p < 0.001), and with the intermediate powder for RC (i. e., 100–180 µm, p < 0.05) versus HE extract. The activity levels of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in pretreated splenocytes exposed to H2O2, albeit reduced, were near to those in unexposed cells, suggesting that pretreatment with the fine powders has relatively restored the normal levels of antioxidant-related enzymes. These findings supported that CDSp improved the biological activities of plants, avoiding the use of organic solvents and thus it could be a good alternative to conventional extraction techniques.

A Sensitive and Facile Assay for the Measurement of Activated Protein C Activity Levels in Vivo

1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (05) ◽  
pp. 441-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn L Orthner ◽  
Billy Kolen ◽  
William N Drohan
Keyword(s):  
Protein C ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Limited Proteolysis ◽  
Activated Protein C ◽  
Microtiter Plate ◽  
Reversible Inhibitor ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Standard Curve ◽  
Agarose Beads

SummaryActivated protein C (APC) is a serine protease which plays an important role as a naturally occurring antithrombotic enzyme. APC, which is formed by thrombin-catalyzed limited proteolysis of the zymogen protein C, functions as an anticoagulant by proteolytic inactivation of the coagulation cofactors VIIIa and Va. APC is inhibited by several members of the serpin family as well a by α2-macroglobulin. APC is being developed as a therapeutic for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis. We have developed an assay to quantify circulating levels of enzymatically active APC during its administration to patients, in healthy individuals, and in various disease states. This assay utilizes an EDTA-dependent anti-protein C monoclonal antibody (Mab) 7D7B10 to capture both APC and protein C from plasma, prepared from blood collected in an anticoagulant supplemented with the reversible inhibitor p-aminobenzamidine. Mab 7D7B10-derivatized agarose beads are added to the wells of a 96-well filtration plate, equilibrated with Tris-buffered saline, and incubated for 10 min with 200 μl of plasma. After washing, APC and protein C are eluted from the immunosorbent beads with a calcium-containing buffer into the wells of a 96-well microtiter plate containing antithrombin III (ATIII) and heparin. The amidolytic activity of APC is then measured on a kinetic plate reader following the addition of L-pyroglutamyl-L-prolyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (S-2366) substrate.The rate of substrate hydrolysis was proportional to APC concentration over a 200-fold concentration range (5.0 to 1,000 ng/ml) when measured continuously over a 15 to 30 min time period. The coefficient of variation was 5.9% at 35 ng/ml and 8.8% at 350 ng/ml APC. The sensitivity of the assay could be increased by measuring the amount of color produced after longer incubation times in the endpoint mode. The measured APC activity levels were little affected by varying protein C or prothrombin over the extremes of 0 to 150% of normal plasma concentrations. By constructing the standard curve in protein C-deficient plasma, the concentration of APC activity in normal pooled plasma was determined to be 2.8 ng/ml (45 pM), which represents 0.08% of the protein C concentration. The assay was approximately 50-fold more sensitive than the identical assay, but using Mab-coated microtiter wells rather than immunosorbent beads as the capture step.

Evolution of Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator (u-PA) and Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator (t-PA) in Orthotopic Liver Transplantation (OLT)

1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (01) ◽  
pp. 056-059 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Himmelreich ◽  
G Dooijewaard ◽  
P Breinl ◽  
W O Bechstein ◽  
P Neuhaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Transplantation ◽  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Orthotopic Liver Transplantation ◽  
Tissue Type ◽  
Bleeding Complications ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Tissue Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Anhepatic Phase

SummaryIn orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) hyperfibrinolysis seems to be of causative importance for intra- and postoperative bleeding. Although recently hyperfibrinolysis has been successfully reduced by intraoperative aprotinin treatment, small increases of fibrinolysis still remain during OLT. Originally, tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) was considered to be responsible for the increases, but the efficacy of aprotinin which inhibits besides plasmin also kallikrein and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) suggested also a role for the intrinsic and contact system-dependent plasminogen activators. We investigated the role of u-PA. From 29 patients undergoing OLT with intraoperative aprotinin infusion arterial blood samples were taken at 7 different time points. The preoperative median values for u-PA antigen (u-PA Ag) and plasmin-activatable single-chain u-PA (scu-PA) levels, which were more than 2-fold above normal (both: p <0.01), decreased slightly during the preanhepatic phase and remained unchanged during the anhepatic phase. With reperfusion of the graft liver the two levels decreased significantly (p = 0.0003 and p = 0.006, respectively) to almost normal values, probably due to clearance by the graft liver. Active two-chain u-PA (tcu-PA) was preoperatively 2-fold above the detection limit, remained stable during the preanhepatic phase and increased 2-fold in the anhepatic phase (p = 0.0018). As expected tcu-PA also relapsed upon reperfusion, but to the preoperatively enhanced level, possibly caused by sustained activation of scu-PA by cathepsin B. t-PA activity levels were at the upper end of the normal range preoperatively, slightly increased during preanhepatic and anhepatic phases and decreased significantly with reperfusion. The increases in tcu-PA and t-PA activities during the anhepatic phase coincided with greatly increased fibrinolysis as demonstrated by thrombelastography, indicating that both u-PA and t-PA are involved in the development of fibrinolysis during OLT.One patient was excluded from statistical evaluations because preoperative u-PA Ag, scu-PA, tcu-PA and t-PA activity levels were much higher than in the other 28 patients. In the investigated group this patient was the only one with diffuse peritonitis intraoperatively and severe bleeding complications postoperatively which made retransplantation mandatory.

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