Antioxidant activity of different molecular weight sulfated polysaccharides from Ulva pertusa Kjellm (Chlorophyta)

Polysaccharides extracted from Ulva pertusa Kjellm ( Chlorophyta) are a group of sulfated heteropolysaccharides, the ulvans. In this study, different molecular weight ulvans were prepared by H2O2 degradation and their antioxidant activities investigated including superoxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, reducing power and metal chelating ability. The molecular weights of natural and degraded ulvans were 151.7, 64.5, 58.0, and 28.2 kDa, respectively, as determined by high performance gel permeation chromatography. Among the four samples, U-3 ( the lowest molecular weight sample) showed significant inhibitory effects on superoxide and hydroxyl radicals with IC50 values of 22.1 mu g mL(-1) and 2.8 mg mL(-1); its reducing power and metal chelating ability were also the strongest among the four samples. All the other samples also demonstrated strong activity against superoxide radicals. The results indicated that molecular weight had a significant effect on the antioxidant activity of ulvan with low molecular weight ulvan having stronger antioxidant activity.

Relevance of molecular weight of chitosan and its derivatives and their antioxidant activities in vitro

The antioxidant potency of different molecular weight (DMW) chitosan and sulfated chitosan derivatives was investigated employing various established in vitro systems, such as superoxide (O-2(.-))/hydroxyl ((OH)-O-.) radicals scavenging, reducing power, iron ion chelating. As expected, we obtained several satisfying results, as follows: Firstly, low molecular weight chitosan had stronger scavenging effect on O-2(.-) and (OH)-O-. than high molecular weight chitosan. For example the O-2(.-) scavenging activity of low molecular weight chitosan (9 kDa) and high molecular weight chitosan (760 kDa) were 85.86 % and 35.50 % at 1.6 mg/mL, respectively. Secondly, comparing with DMW chitosan, DMW sulfated chitosans had the stronger inhibition effect on 0(2)(.-). At 0.05 mg/mL, the scavenging activity on O-2(.-) reached 86.26 %, for low molecular weight chitosan sulfate (9 kDa), but that of low molecular weight chitosan (9 kDa) was 85.86 % at 1.6 mg/mL. As concerning chitosan and sulfated chitosan of the same molecular weight, scavenging activities of sulfated chitosan on superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were more pronounced than that of chitosan. Thirdly, low molecular weight chitosan sulfate had more effective scavenging activity on 02 and (OH)-O-. than that of high molecular weight chitosan sulfate. Fourthly, DMW chitosans and sulfated chitosans were efficient in the reducing power, especially LCTS. Their orders were found to be LCTS > CTS4 > HCTS > CTS3 > CTS2 > CTS1 > CTS. Fifthly, CTS4 showed more considerable ferrous ion-chelating potency than others. Finally, the scavenging rate and reducing power of DMW chitosan and sulfated derivatives increased with their increasing concentration. Moreover, change of DMW sulfated chitosans was the most pronounced within the experimental concentration. However, chelating effect of DMW chitosans were not concentration dependent except for CTS4 and CTS1. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antihyperlipidemic effects of different molecular weight sulfated polysaccharides from Ulva pertusa (Chlorophyta)

Ulvan, a sulfated polysaccharide from Ulva pertusa, was degraded to yield two low molecular weight fractions U1 and U2. The molecular weights of ulvan and its fractions were determined and varied from 151.6 to 28.2 kDa. They were fed to rats on a hypercholesterolemic diet for 21 days to evaluate and compare the antihyperlipidemic actions. Ulvan-based diet significantly lowered the levels of serum total cholesterol (-45.2%, P < 0.05) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol, -54.1%, P < 0.05). While U1- and U2-based diets significantly elevated the levels of serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol, +22.0% for U1, not significant; +61.0% for U2; P < 0.05) and reduced triglyceride (TG, -82.4% for U1, -77.7% for U2; P < 0.05) in rats as compared to control diet. In addition, consumptions of various ulvans significantly increased fecal bile acid excrement. The results indicated that ulvans with different molecular weights exhibited diverse effects on lipid metabolism. The high molecular weight ulvan was effective in serum total and LDL-cholesterol, whereas low molecular weight fractions were in TG and HDL-cholesterol. The fractions were considered to be more beneficial to hyperlipidemia associated with diabetes over ulvan. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of molecular weight of quaternized chitosan on antifungal activity

Quaternized chitosan derivatives with different molecular weights were synthesized in the laboratory. Subsequent experiments were conducted to test their antifungal activities against Botrytis cinerea Pers. (B. cinerea pers.) and Colletotrichum lagenarium (Pass) Ell.et halst (C. lagenarium (Pass) EII.et halst). Our results indicate that quaternized chitosan derivatives have stronger antifungal activities than chitosan. Furthermore, quaternized chitosan derivatives with high molecular weight are shown to have even stronger antifungal activities than those with low molecular weight. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Relevance of molecular weight of chitosan-N-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride and their antioxidant activities

The antioxidant potency of high/low molecular weight quatemary chitosan derivatives was investigated employing various established systems in vitro, such as superoxide (O-2(center dot-)) and hydroxyl (center dot OH) radicals scavenging, reducing power and iron ion chelating. As expected, we obtained several satisfying results, as follow: firstly, low molecular weight quaternary chitosan had stronger scavenging effect on O-2(center dot-) and center dot OH than high molecular weight quaternary chitosan. Secondly, the reducing power of low molecular weight quaternary chitosan was more pronounced than that of high molecular weight quaternary chitosan. Thirdly, ferrous ion chelating potency were showed to increase first and decrease afterwards with increasing concentration for two kinds of quaternary chitosans, namely, they have not concentration-dependence. However, the scavenging rate and reducing power of high and low molecular weight quaternary chitosans increased with their increasing conc centrations, and hence were concentration-dependent. (c) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

铂族元素分析方法研究及其在有关地质问题中的应用

Characterization of Platinum Group Elements (PGE) has been applied to earth, space and environmental sciences. However, all these applications are based on a basic prerequisite, i.e. their concentration or ratio in the research objects can be accurately and precisely determined. In fact, development in these related studies is a great challenge to the analytical chemistry of the PGE because their content in the geological sample (non-mineralized) is often extremely low, range from ppt (10~(-12)g/g) to ppt (10~(-9)g/g). Their distribution is highly heterogeneous, usually concentrating in single particle or phase. Therefore, the accurate determination of these elements remains a problem in analytical chemistry and it obstructs the research on geochemistry of PGE. A great effort has been made in scientific community to reliable determining of very low amounts of PGE, which has been focused on to reduce the level of background in used reagents and to solve probable heterogeneity of PGE in samples. Undoubtedly, the fire-assay method is one of the best ways for solving the heterogeneity, as a large amount of sample weight (10-50g) can be hold. This page is mainly aimed at development of the methodology on separation, concentration and determination of the ultra-trace PGE in the rock and peat samples, and then they are applied to study the trace of PGE in ophiolite suite, in Kudi, West Kunlun and Tunguska explosion in 1908. The achievements of the study are summarized as follows: 1. A PGE lab is established in the Laboratory of Lithosphere Tectonic Evolution, IGG, CAS. 2. A modified method of determination of PGE in geological samples using NiS Fire-Assay with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is set up. The technical improvements are made as following: (1) investigating the level of background in used reagents, and finding the contents of Au, Pt and Pd in carbonyl nickel powder are 30, 0.6 and 0.6ng/g, respectively and 0.35, 7.5 and 6.4ng, respectively in other flux, and the contents of Ru, Rh, Os in whole reagents used are very low (below or near the detection limits of ICP-MS); (2) measuring the recoveries of PGE using different collector (Ni+S) and finding 1.5g of carbonyl nickel is effective for recovering the PGE for 15g samples (recoveries are more than 90%), reducing the inherent blank value due to impurities reagents; (3) direct dissolving nickel button in Teflon bomb and using Te-precipitation, so reducing the loss of PGE during preconcentration process and improving the recoveries of PGE (above 60% for Os and 93.6-106.3% for other PGE, using 2g carbonyl nickel); (4) simplifying the procedure of analyzing Osmium; (5)method detection limits are 8.6, 4.8, 43, 2.4, 82pg/g for 15g sample size ofRu, Rh, Pd, Ir, Pt, respectively. 3. An analytical method is set up to determine the content of ultra-trace PGE in peat samples. The method detection limits are 0.06, 0.1, 0.001, 0.001 and 0.002ng/mL for Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir and Pt, respectively. 4. Distinct anomaly of Pd and Os are firstly found in the peat sampling near the Tunguska explosion site, using the analytical method. 5. Applying the method to the study on the origin of Tunguska explosion and making the following conclusions: (1) these excess elements were likely resulted from the Tunguska Cosmic Body (TCB) explosion of 1908. (2) The Tunguska explosive body was composed of materials (solid components) similar to C1 chondrite, and, most probably, a cometary object, which weighed more than 10~7 tons and had a radius of more than 126 m. 6. The analysis method about ultra-trace PGE in rock samples is successfully used in the study on the characteristic of PGE in Kudi ophiolite suite and the following conclusions are made: (1) The difference of the mantle normalization of PGE patterns between dunite, harzburgite and lherzolite in Kudi indicates that they are residual of multi-stage partial melt of the mantle. Their depletion of Ir at a similar degree probably indicates the existence of an upper mantle depleted Ir. (2) With the evolution of the magma produced by the partial melt of the mantle, strong differentiation has been shown between IPGE and PPGE; and the differentiation from pyroxenite to basalt would have been more and more distinct. (3) The magma forming ophiolite in Kudi probably suffered S-saturation process.

Aqueous solutions of HEC and hmHEC: effects of molecular mass versus hydrophobic associations on hydrodynamic and thermodynamic parameters.

Aqueous solutions of amphiphilic polymers usually comprise of inter- and intramolecular associations of hydrophobic groups often leading to a formation of a rheologically significant reversible network at low concentrations that can be identified using techniques such as static light scattering and rheometry. However, in most studies published till date comparing water soluble polymers with their respective amphiphilic derivatives, it has been very difficult to distinguish between the effects of molecular mass versus hydrophobic associations on hydrodynamic (intrinsic viscosity [g]) and thermodynamic parameters (second virial coefficient A2), owing to the differences between their degrees of polymerization. This study focuses on the dilute and semi-dilute solutions of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and its amphiphilic derivatives (hmHEC) of the same molecular mass, along with other samples having a different molecular mass using capillary viscometry, rheometry and static light scattering. The weight average molecular masses (MW) and their distributions for the nonassociative HEC were determined using size exclusion chromatography. Various empirical approaches developed by past authors to determine [g] from dilute solution viscometry data have been discussed. hmHEC with a sufficiently high degree of hydrophobic modification was found to be forming a rheologically significant network in dilute solutions at very low concentrations as opposed to the hmHEC with a much lower degree of hydrophobic modification which also enveloped the hydrophobic groups inside the supramolecular cluster as shown by their [g] and A2. The ratio A2MW/[g], which takes into account hydrodynamic as well as thermodynamic parameters, was observed to be less for associative polymers compared to that of the non-associative polymers.

Cirurgia oral em hipocoagulados

Monografia apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa para obtenção do grau de Licenciado em Medicina Dentária

Monitoring behaviours and experiences before, during and after pregnancy in Ireland

Background: On-going surveillance of behaviours during pregnancy is an important but overlooked population health activity that is particularly lacking in Ireland. Few, if any, nationally representative estimates of most maternal behaviours and experiences are available. While on-going surveillance of maternal behaviours has not been a priority thus far in European countries including Ireland, on-going surveillance was identified as a key priority in the United States (US) during the 1980’s when the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), was established. Today, PRAMS is the only surveillance programme of maternal behaviours and experiences world-wide. Although on-going prevalence estimates are required in Ireland, studies which examine the offspring health effects of maternal behaviours are also required, since various questions regarding maternal exposures and their offspring health effects remain unanswered. Gestational alcohol consumption is one such important maternal exposure which is common in pregnancy, though its offspring health effects are unclear, particularly at lower or moderate levels. Thus, guidelines internationally have not reached consensus on safe alcohol recommendations for pregnant women. The aims of this thesis are to implement the PRAMS in Ireland (PRAMS Ireland), to describe the prevalence of health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in Ireland and to examine the effect of health behaviours on pregnancy and child outcomes (specifically the relationship between alcohol use during pregnancy and infant and child growth). Structure: In Chapter 1, a brief background and rationale for the work, as well as the thesis aims and objective is provided. A detailed description of the design and implementation of PRAMS Ireland is described in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 describe the methodological results of the implementation of the PRAMS Ireland pilot study and PRAMS Ireland main study. In Chapter 5, a comparison of alcohol prevalence in two Irish studies (PRAMS Ireland and Growing up in Ireland (GUI)) and one multi-centre prospective cohort study, Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) Study is detailed. Chapter 6 describes findings on adherence to National Clinical Guidelines on health behaviours and nutrition around the time of pregnancy in PRAMS Ireland. Findings on exposure to alcohol use in pregnancy and infant growth outcomes are described in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8. The results of analysis conducted to examine the impact of gestational alcohol use on offspring growth trajectories to age ten are described in Chapter 9. Finally, a discussion of the findings, strengths and limitations of the thesis, direction for future research, policy, practice and public health implications are discussed in Chapter 10.Results: Implementation of PRAMS: PRAMS may be an effective system for the surveillance of health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in the Irish context. PRAMS Ireland had high response rates (67% and 61% response rates in the pilot and main study respectively), high item completion rates and valid prevalence estimates for many health behaviours. Examining prevalence of health behaviours: We found high levels of alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy, poor adherence to healthy diets and high levels of smoking before and during pregnancy among women in Ireland. Socially disadvantaged women had higher rates of deleterious health behaviours before pregnancy, although women with the most deleterious behaviour profiles before pregnancy appeared to experience the greatest gain in protective health behaviours during pregnancy. The impact of alcohol use on infant and offspring growth: We found that low and moderate levels of alcohol use did not impact on birth outcomes or offspring growth whereas heavy alcohol consumption resulted in reduced birth length and birth weight; however, this finding was not consistently observed across all studies. Selection, reporting and confounding biases which are common in observational research could be masking harmful effects. Conclusion: PRAMS is a valid and feasible method of surveillance of health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in Ireland. A surveillance program of maternal behaviours and experiences is immediately warranted due to high levels of deleterious health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in Ireland. Although our results do not indicate any evidence of harm, given the quality of evidence available, abstinence and advice of abstinence from alcohol may be the most prudent choice for patients and healthcare professionals respectively. Further studies of the effects of gestational alcohol use are required; particularly those which can reduce selection bias, reporting bias and confounding.

Low frequency of paleoviral infiltration across the avian phylogeny.

BACKGROUND: Mammalian genomes commonly harbor endogenous viral elements. Due to a lack of comparable genome-scale sequence data, far less is known about endogenous viral elements in avian species, even though their small genomes may enable important insights into the patterns and processes of endogenous viral element evolution. RESULTS: Through a systematic screening of the genomes of 48 species sampled across the avian phylogeny we reveal that birds harbor a limited number of endogenous viral elements compared to mammals, with only five viral families observed: Retroviridae, Hepadnaviridae, Bornaviridae, Circoviridae, and Parvoviridae. All nonretroviral endogenous viral elements are present at low copy numbers and in few species, with only endogenous hepadnaviruses widely distributed, although these have been purged in some cases. We also provide the first evidence for endogenous bornaviruses and circoviruses in avian genomes, although at very low copy numbers. A comparative analysis of vertebrate genomes revealed a simple linear relationship between endogenous viral element abundance and host genome size, such that the occurrence of endogenous viral elements in bird genomes is 6- to 13-fold less frequent than in mammals. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal that avian genomes harbor relatively small numbers of endogenous viruses, particularly those derived from RNA viruses, and hence are either less susceptible to viral invasions or purge them more effectively.

Plankton Of The Fladen Ground During Flex-76 .1. Spring Development Of The Plankton Community

Results from plankton sampling in the northern North Sea with the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) and the Undulating Oceanographic Recorder (UOR) during the Fladen Ground Experiment in 1976 (FLEX 76) are summarised. The first evidence of the spring outbreak of phytoplankton was on 19 April, the day after the first signs of vertical stability of the water column were observed. This was followed by spawning of the euphausiid Thysanoessa inermis and rapid increase in the numbers of Calanus finmarchicus. C. finmarchicus was the most abundant species over the FLEX period (19 March to 3 June) and, together with T. inermis, accounted for over 80% of the dry weight of the zooplankton standing stock. By early June the standing crop of phytoplankton had been depleted and nutrients levels were reduced to very low concentrations in the upper 50 m.

Low colloidal associations of aluminium and titanium in surface waters of the tropical Atlantic

The distribution of dissolved, soluble and colloidal fractions of Al and Ti was assessed by ultrafiltration studies in the upper water column of the eastern tropical North Atlantic. The dissolved fractions of both metals were found to be dominated by the soluble phase smaller than 10 kDa. The colloidal associations were very low (0.2–3.4%) for Al and not detectable for Ti. These findings are in some contrast to previous estimations for Ti and to the predominant occurrence of both metals as hydrolyzed species in seawater. However, low tendencies to form inorganic colloids can be expected, as in seawater dissolved Al and dissolved Ti are present within their inorganic solubility levels. In addition, association with functional organic groups in the colloidal phase is unlikely for both metals. Vertical distributions of the dissolved fractions showed surface maxima with up to 43 nM of Al and 157 pM of Ti, reflecting their predominant supply from atmospheric sources to the open ocean. In the surface waters, excess dissolved Al over dissolved Ti was present compared to the crustal source, indicating higher solubility and thus elevated inputs of dissolved Al from atmospheric mineral particles. At most stations, subsurface minima of Al and Ti were observed and can be ascribed to scavenging processes and/or biological uptake. The dissolved Al concentrations decreased by 80–90% from the surface maximum to the subsurface minimum. Estimated residence times in the upper 100 m of the water column ranged between 1.6 and 4 years for dissolved Al and between 14 and 17 years for dissolved Ti. The short residence times are in some contrast to the low colloidal associations of Al and Ti and the assumed role of colloids as intermediates in scavenging processes. This suggests that either the removal of both metals occurs predominantly via direct transfer of the hydrolyzed species into the particulate fraction or that the colloidal phase is rapidly turned over in the upper water column.

Interaction Effects of Light, Temperature and Nutrient Limitations (N, P and Si) on Growth, Stoichiometry and Photosynthetic Parameters of the Cold-Water Diatom Chaetoceros wighamii

Light (20-450 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1), temperature (3-11°C) and inorganic nutrient composition (nutrient replete and N, P and Si limitation) were manipulated to study their combined influence on growth, stoichiometry (C:N:P:Chl a) and primary production of the cold water diatom Chaetoceros wighamii. During exponential growth, the maximum growth rate (~0.8 d^-1) was observed at high temperture and light; at 3°C the growth rate was ~30% lower under similar light conditions. The interaction effect of light and temperature were clearly visible from growth and cellular stoichiometry. The average C:N:P molar ratio was 80:13:1 during exponential growth, but the range, due to different light acclimation, was widest at the lowest temperature, reaching very low C:P (~50) and N:P ratios (~8) at low light and temperature. The C:Chl a ratio had also a wider range at the lowest temperature during exponential growth, ranging 16-48 (weight ratio) at 3°C compared with 17-33 at 11°C. During exponential growth, there was no clear trend in the Chl a normalized, initial slope (α*) of the photosynthesis-irradiance (PE) curve, but the maximum photosynthetic production (P_m) was highest for cultures acclimated to the highest light and temperature. During the stationary growth phase, the stoichiometric relationship depended on the limiting nutrient, but with generally increasing C:N:P ratio. The average photosynthetic quotient (PQ) during exponential growth was 1.26 but decreased to <1 under nutrient and light limitation, probably due to photorespiration. The results clearly demonstrate that there are interaction effects between light, temperature and nutrient limitation, and the data suggests greater variability of key parameters at low temperature. Understanding these dynamics will be important for improving models of aquatic primary production and biogeochemical cycles in a warming climate.

Two-layer mm-wave FSS of linear slot elements with low insertion loss

The performance of a very low loss frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising two air spaced planar arrays of linear slot elements is reported. The beamsplitter generates a low loss passband response with a very sharp transmission roll-off with frequency. Simulated and measured results in the 30 GHz and 300 GHz wavebands are used to quantify the performance improvement compared to a conventional multilayer dielectrically backed conducting ring FSS. The paper also discusses the effect of the array dimensions on the passband width and filter roll-off rate.

Determination of the molecular weight distribution of non-enzymatic browning products formed by roasting of glucose and glycine and studies on their effects on NADPH-cytochrome c-reductase and glutathione-S-transferase in Caco-2 cells

After thermal treatment of a mixture of glucose and glycine for 2 h at 125 degreesC, about 60% of the starting material was converted into nonsoluble, black pigments, whereas 40% of the mixture was still water-soluble. Dialysis of the latter fraction revealed 30.4% of low molecular weight compounds (LMWs; MW <10 000 De) and 10.0% high-molecular weight products [HMWs; MW greater than or equal to 10000 Dal. The water-soluble Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were separated by gel permeation chromatography and ultrafiltration, revealing that 60% of the water-soluble products of the total carbohydrate/amino acid mixture had MWs <1 000 Da and consisted mainly of non-coloured reaction products. MRPs with MWs between 1000 and 30000 Da were Found in comparatively low yields (about 1.3%). In contrast, about 31.1% of the MRPs exhibited MWs > 30000 Da, amongst which 14.5% showed MWs > 100000 Da, thus indicating an oligomerisation of LMWs to melanoidins under roasting conditions. To investigate the physiological effects of these MRPs, xenobiotic enzyme activities were analysed in intestinal Caco-2 cells. For Phase-I NADPH-cytochrome c-reductase, the activity in the presence of the LMW and HMW fraction was decreased by 13% and 22%: respectively. Phase-II glutathione-S-transferase activity decreased by 15% and 18%, respectively, after incubation with the LMW and the HMW fractions. Considering the different yields, 30% and 10%, respectively, of the LMW and the HMW fractions, the total amount of the LMW fraction present in the glucose-glycine mixture is more active in modulating three enzyme activities than that of the HMW fraction.