Restricted ADP movement in cardiomyocytes: Cytosolic diffusion obstacles are complemented with a small number of open mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channels.

Adequate intracellular energy transfer is crucial for proper cardiac function. In energy starved failing hearts, partial restoration of energy transfer can rescue mechanical performance. There are two types of diffusion obstacles that interfere with energy transfer from mitochondria to ATPases: mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) with voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) permeable to small hydrophilic molecules and cytoplasmatic diffusion barriers grouping ATP-producers and -consumers.

Formation of Nanoporous Anodic Alumina by Anodization of Aluminum Films on Glass Substrates.

Our research was aimed at the study of aluminum films and porous anodic alumina (PAA) films in thin-film РАА/Al structures for optical sensors, based on metal-clad waveguides (MCWG). The results of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of the structure of Al films, deposited by DC magnetron sputtering, and of PAA films, formed on them, are presented in this work.The study showed that the structure of the Al films is defined by the deposition rate of aluminum and the thickness of the film.

Temporal scales for nearshore hits of current-driven pollution in the Gulf of Finland.

Lagrangian trajectories of water parcels reconstructed using the TRACMASS model from three-dimensional velocity fields by the RCO model for 1965-2004 are used to analyse the temporal scales and the probability for the hits to the nearshore by pollution originating from a major fairway in the Gulf of Finland and transported by surface currents. Increasing the simulation length from 10 to 20days induces a linear increase in particle age, but the pattern of nearshore hits remains the same. A reasonable benefit can be reached by relatively small shifts of certain parts of the present fairway in a few locations.

Light controlled drug delivery containers based on spiropyran doped liquid crystal micro spheres.

We have developed a novel, light activated drug delivery containers, based on spiropyran doped liquid crystal micro spheres. Upon exposure to UV/violet light, the spiropyran molecules entrapped inside the nematic liquid crystal micro spheres, interconvert from the hydrophobic, oil soluble form, to the hydrophilic, water soluble merocyanine one, which stimulates the translocation of the merocyanine molecules across the nematic liquid crystal-water barrier and results their homogeneous distribution throughout in an aqueous environment. Light controllable switching property and extremely high solubility of spiropyran in the nematic liquid crystal, promise to elaborate a novel and reliable vehicles for the drug delivery systems.

Detection of Gold Nanoparticles Aggregation Growth Induced by Nucleic Acid through Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy.

The gold nanoparticle (GNP) aggregation growth induced by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is studied by laser scanning confocal and environmental scanning electron microscopies. As in the investigated case the direct light scattering analysis is not suitable, we observe the behavior of the fluorescence produced by a dye and we detect the aggregation by the shift and the broadening of the fluorescence peak. Results of laser scanning confocal microscopy images and the fluorescence emission spectra from lambda scan mode suggest, in fact, that the intruding of the hydrophobic moiety of the probe within the cationic surfactants bilayer film coating GNPs results in a Förster resonance energy transfer.

Rewritable Optical Storage with a Spiropyran Doped Liquid Crystal Polymer Film.

Rewritable optical storage has been obtained in a spiropyran doped liquid crystal polymer films. Pictures can be recorded on films upon irradiation with UV light passing through a grayscale mask and they can be rapidly erased using visible light. Films present improved photosensitivity and optical contrast, good resistance to photofatigue, and high spatial resolution.

Endothelial-like nitric oxide synthase immunolocalization by using gold nanoparticles and dyes.

Immunofluorescence is a biological technique that allows displaying the localization of the target molecule through a fluorescent microscope. We used a combination of gold nanoparticles and the fluorescein isothiocianate, FITC, as optical contrast agents for laser scanning confocal microscopy imaging to localize the endothelial-like nitric oxide synthase in skeletal muscle cells in a three-dimensional tissue phantom at the depth of 4µm. The FITC detected fluorescence intensity from gold-nanoparticles-labelled cells was brighter than the emission intensity from unlabelled cells.

Incorporation of fractional-order dynamics into an existing PI/PID DC motor control loop.

The problem of changing the dynamics of an existing DC motor control system without the need of making internal changes is considered in the paper. In particular, this paper presents a method for incorporating fractional-order dynamics in an existing DC motor control system with internal PI or PID controller, through the addition of an external controller into the system and by tapping its original input and output signals. Experimental results based on the control of a real test plant from MATLAB/Simulink environment are presented, indicating the validity of the proposed approach.

Chronic maternal morphine alters calbindin D-28k expression pattern in postnatal mouse brain.

The distribution pattern of calbindin (CB)-D28k-expressing neurons results to be altered in several brain regions of chronic morphine exposed adult mice. In this study, the influence of chronic maternal exposure to morphine on the distribution pattern of CB-D28k-expressing neurons in the brain of mouse offspring was investigated. Females of CD-1 mice were daily administered with saline or morphine for 7 days before mating, during the whole gestation period, and until 21 day post-partum.

Cross-Bridge Group Ensembles Describing Cooperativity in Thermodynamically Consistent Way.

The aim of this work is to incorporate cooperativity into Huxley-type cross-bridge model in thermodynamically consistent way. While the Huxley-type models assume that cross-bridges act independently from each other, we take into account that each cross-bridge is influenced by its neighbors and cooperativity is induced by tropomyosin movement. For that, we introduce ensembles of cross-bridge groups connected by elastic tropomyosin.

Regional modulation of the response to glutathione in Hydra vulgaris.

In the presence of prey, or upon exposure to reduced glutathione (GSH), Hydra polyps open a mouth to ingest the captured prey and close it after feeding; at rest the mouth is not evident. In previous papers we have shown that GABA, glycine and NMDA modulate the mechanisms of mouth closure through ligand-gated-ion-channel receptors that are similar to their mammalian analogues in terms of biochemical and pharmacological properties. In order to study the regional distribution of these receptors, we have applied the GSH assay to polyps amputated at different levels of the body column.

Finite-time compressibility as an agent of frequent spontaneous patch formation in the surface layer: A case study for the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea.

We explore the possibilities for spontaneous formation of surface patches with high concentrations of contaminants through time correlations of the convergence field and the Lagrangian transport. The test area is the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea, where surface velocity fields show extensive convergence. The flow properties are extracted from 3D velocity fields simulated for 1987-1991 using the OAAS model with a resolution of 1 mile.

The location of energetic compartments affects energetic communication in cardiomyocytes.

The heart relies on accurate regulation of mitochondrial energy supply to match energy demand. The main regulators are Ca(2+) and feedback of ADP and Pi. Regulation via feedback has intrigued for decades.

Iron overload causes osteoporosis in thalassemia major patients through interaction with transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) channels.

The pathogenesis of bone resorption in β-thalassemia major is multifactorial and our understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remains incomplete. Considering the emerging importance of the endocannabinoid/endovanilloid system in bone metabolism, it may be instructive to examine a potential role for this system in the development of osteoporosis in patients with β-thalassemia major and its relationship with iron overload and iron chelation therapy. This study demonstrates that, in thalassemic-derived osteoclasts, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase expression inversely correlates with femoral and lumbar bone mineral density, and directly correlates with ferritin levels and liver iron concentration.

Exclusion of TNFRSF11B as Candidate Gene for Otosclerosis in Campania Population.

The etiology of otosclerosis is unknown. The etiopathogenesis of otosclerosis seems similar to that occurring in Paget's disease of bone, for which mutations or polymorphisms in several genes have been identified. Among these, TNFRSF11B gene encoding the osteoprotegerin is produced at high levels in the normal inner ear and at low level in active otosclerotic stapes footplates.

Tight coupling of Na+/K+-ATPase with glycolysis demonstrated in permeabilized rat cardiomyocytes.

The effective integrated organization of processes in cardiac cells is achieved, in part, by the functional compartmentation of energy transfer processes. Earlier, using permeabilized cardiomyocytes, we demonstrated the existence of tight coupling between some of cardiomyocyte ATPases and glycolysis in rat. In this work, we studied contribution of two membrane ATPases and whether they are coupled to glycolysis--sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) and plasmalemma Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA).

On mathematical modelling of solitary pulses in cylindrical biomembranes.

The propagation of action potentials in nerve fibres is usually described by models based on the ionic hypotheses. However, this hypothesis does not provide explanation of other experimentally verified phenomena like the swelling of fibres and heat production during the nerve pulse propagation. Heimburg and Jackson (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102(28):9790-9795, 2005, Biophys Rev Lett 2:57-78, 2007) have proposed a model describing the swelling of fibres like a mechanical wave related to changes of longitudinal compressibility of the cylindrical membrane.

Existence and uniqueness theorems for impulsive fractional differential equations with the two-point and integral boundary conditions.

We study a boundary value problem for the system of nonlinear impulsive fractional differential equations of order α (0 < α ≤ 1) involving the two-point and integral boundary conditions. Some new results on existence and uniqueness of a solution are established by using fixed point theorems. Some illustrative examples are also presented.

Highly sensitive immunoassay based on SERS using nano-Au immune probes and a nano-Ag immune substrate.

A super-high-sensitivity immunoassay based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was implemented using the nano-Au immune probes and nano-Ag immune substrate. Ultraviolet-visible extinction spectra, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, and SERS spectra were used to characterise the nano-Au immune probes and the nano-Ag immune substrate. The nano-Ag immune substrate was prepared by the in situ growth of Ag nanoparticles and the subsequent linkage of these nanoparticles with anti-apolipoprotein B on a silicon wafer.

Predictive value of the complex magnetocardiographic index in patients with intermediate pretest probability of chronic coronary artery disease: results of a two-center study.

Introduction: The aim of this paper is to investigate the predictive value of the new integrated magnetocardiographic (MCG) index (CI) in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with suspected CAD with intermediate pretest probability of the disease and uninformative results of routine tests.

Patients And Methods: The study was carried out in the Clinic of Cardiology of the Main Military Clinical Hospital of Ukraine, Kiev (clinic 1), and in the Second Medical Clinic of the 'Katholisches Klinikum Essen', Germany (clinic 2).The main group (group 1) included 89 patients without a history of myocardial infarction.

Electrophysiological variability in the SH-SY5Y cellular line.

The basic electrophysiological properties of SH-SY5Y tumour cells have been studied by whole cell patch-clamp in voltage clamp configuration. The results shown the existence of a large variability of the response among individual cells in the same experimental conditions. Experiments conducted by using different ionic concentrations of the recording pipette filling solution, yielded a significant variability of peak current amplitude for all the filling solutions used.

ADP protects cardiac mitochondria under severe oxidative stress.

ADP is not only a key substrate for ATP generation, but also a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). In this study, we assessed how oxidative stress affects the potency of ADP as an mPTP inhibitor and whether its reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production might be involved. We determined quantitatively the effects of ADP on mitochondrial Ca(2+) retention capacity (CRC) until the induction of mPTP in normal and stressed isolated cardiac mitochondria.

Unchanged mitochondrial organization and compartmentation of high-energy phosphates in creatine-deficient GAMT-/- mouse hearts.

Disruption of the creatine kinase (CK) system in hearts of CK-deficient mice leads to changes in the ultrastructure and regulation of mitochondrial respiration. We expected to see similar changes in creatine-deficient mice, which lack the enzyme guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) to produce creatine. The aim of this study was to characterize the changes in cardiomyocyte mitochondrial organization, regulation of respiration, and intracellular compartmentation associated with GAMT deficiency.

Possibility of using near infrared irradiation for early cancer diagnosis.

Penetration of near infrared radiation (NIR) through biological tissues (human wrist, muscle and skin of hen, muscle of mollusk) was studied. The possibilities of visualizing various objects within biological tissues were examined. It is found that: (a) it is possible to see small objects with millimeter and sub-millimeter dimensions; and (b) by using NIR rays it is possible to distinguish different parts of small homogeneous biological tissues.

Obesity-driven synaptic remodeling affects endocannabinoid control of orexinergic neurons.

Acute or chronic alterations in energy status alter the balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission and associated synaptic plasticity to allow for the adaptation of energy metabolism to new homeostatic requirements. The impact of such changes on endocannabinoid and cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1)-mediated modulation of synaptic transmission and strength is not known, despite the fact that this signaling system is an important target for the development of new drugs against obesity. We investigated whether CB1-expressing excitatory vs.