Chemical Analysis Of Tissues Research Articles

Phytochemical, Anatomical, and Histochemical Investigation of Felicia abyssinica: A Chemical Analysis of Tissues in Relation to Their Structural Organization

Phytochemical, Anatomical, and Histochemical Investigation of Felicia abyssinica: A Chemical Analysis of Tissues in Relation to Their Structural Organization

Assisted laser impedance spectroscopy to probe breast cancer cells

Confidence and integrity are critical in the physical and chemical analyses of tissues and living cells. However, many of the probes targeting biological markers for confocal spectroscopy affect cells’ molecular identity. Hence, we combined photonics with electrical analysis in an assisted laser impedance spectroscopy facility and applied it to characterize two breast cancer cell lines (BT-474 and MCF-7) and lymphocytes (as a normal control). The setup comprised a sample holder with a ∼15 000 cell capacity fitted with two isolated conducting electrodes arranged concentrically and connected to an impedance analyser with a 20 Hz–1 MHz sweeping frequency. Capacitive transconductance measurements showed bands at 3491, 3494 and 3470 Hz corresponding to the BT-474, MCF-7, and lymphocytes, respectively. Under photonic stimulation by a 532 nm laser, these dark reference bands shifted to 3518, 3566 and 3674 Hz, respectively, reflecting optical transitions favouring ionic transport in the cells. Based on the experimental Nyquist diagrams and taking into account the roughness nature of the cell membrane, a constant phase element (CPE) was introduced in the circuit. The CPE was explained through a fractional parameter, α, based on fractional calculus. Results showed that, under photonic stimulation, α is less than ½, and the minimum change of series and membrane resistances are about 28.95% and 58.88%, respectively.

A decadal study of biometric and imposex indices in two gastropods

AbstractWe have monitored tributyltin (TBT) pollution in Galicia (NW Spain) for more than a decade by means of assessing gastropod imposex in populations of Nucella lapillus (N ≥ 34) and Tritia reticulata (N ≥ 18) at regular intervals. Several thousand specimens were processed to obtain their shell height (SH), penis length (PL) and vas deferens sequence (VDS); imposex indices (including the VDS index, VDSI) were subsequently calculated. The regional mean SH of both females and males has not changed significantly in either species throughout the study. This also applies to the mean male PL in N. lapillus, but male T. reticulata penises surprisingly enlarged. On the contrary, the regional mean female PL (MFPL) and all imposex indices significantly decreased in both snails. Results confirm previous conclusions based on the chemical analyses of tissues and partial imposex observations. In addition, the close correlations between MFPL and VDSI show some potential applications to TBT biomonitoring.

Krabbe disease: One Hundred years from the bedside to the bench to the bedside.

This Review summarizes the progress in understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of Krabbe disease from the description of five patients in by Knud Krabbe until 2016. To determine the cause of this genetic disease, pathological and chemical analyses of tissues from the nervous systems of patients were performed. It was determined that these patients had a pathological feature known as globoid cell in the brain and that this consisted partially of galactosylceramide, a major sphingolipid component of myelin. The finding that these patients had a deficiency of galactocerebrosidase (GALC) activity opened the way to relatively simple diagnostic testing with easily obtainable tissue samples, studies leading to the purification of GALC, and cloning of the GALC cDNA and gene. The availability of the gene sequence led to the identification of mutations in patients and to the current studies involving the use of viral vectors containing the GALC cDNA to treat experimentally naturally occurring animal models, such as twitcher mice. Currently, treatment of presymptomatic human patients is limited to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). With recent studies showing successful treatment of animal models with a combination of HSCT and viral gene therapy, it is hoped that more effective treatments will soon be available for human patients. For this Review, it is not possible to reference all of the articles contributing to our current state of knowledge about this disease; however, we have chosen those that have influenced our studies by suggesting research paths to pursue. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Raman Spectroscopy: Incorporating the Chemical Dimension into Dermatological Diagnosis.

Raman spectroscopy provides chemical analysis of tissue in vivo. By measuring the inelastic interactions of light with matter, Raman spectroscopy can determine the chemical composition of a sample. Diseases that are visually difficult to visually distinguish can be delineated based on differences in chemical composition of the affected tissue. Raman spectroscopy has successfully found spectroscopic signatures for skin cancers and differentiated those of benign skin growths. With current and on-going advances in optics and computing, inexpensive and effective Raman systems may soon be available for clinical use. Raman spectroscopy provides direct analyses of skin lesions, thereby improving both disease diagnosis and management.

Chemical contaminants and their effects in fish and wildlife from the industrial zone of Sumgayit, Republic of Azerbaijan.

Sediment from a wetland adjacent to an industrial wastewater treatment plant in Sumgayit contained concentrations of total PAHs, total PCBs, aldrin, biphenyl, chlordane, DDT, mercury, beta-endosulfan, heptachlor, alpha-hexacyclohexane (alpha-HCH), gamma-HCH, and several individual PAH congeners that were elevated relative to published sediment quality guidelines. Chemical analyses of tissues from European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) had increased levels of many of the same chemicals including aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, alpha-HCH, total PCBs, total PAHs, and mercury, compared to reference turtles. In addition, turtle tissues contained elevated levels of DDD, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and pentachlorobenzene that were not elevated in the sediment sample. Some differences were observed in contaminant levels between European pond turtles and Caspian turtles (Mauremys caspica) taken from the ponds in Sumgayit. Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assays on pond sediments were negative or weakly positive. Micronuclei in European pond turtles were statistically correlated with tissue levels of mercury, heptachlor, DDD, HCB, and trans-nonachlor. Microcosm experiments using Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) showed a positive dose-response relationship between exposure to suspended contaminated pond sediment and acute toxicity. Chemical and biological assays used in this study show the industrial area of Sumgayit is heavily contaminated with a complex mixture of toxic pollutants. Exposure to contaminated sediments produced acute effects in Russian sturgeon, but genotoxic effects appear to be slight.

Experimentally induced selenosis of adult mallard ducks: clinical signs, lesions, and toxicology.

Selenosis is thought to be a significant problem among waterfowl populations in selenium-contaminated wetlands in the western United States. Chemical analysis of avian tissues is currently the principal basis for diagnosis. The purpose of these two 150-day studies was to establish whether morphological criteria for selenosis could be developed to supplement chemical analysis. Forty-eight flightling male mallard ducks were fed either a proprietary waterfowl ration (< 1 ppm selenium) or the same ration amended to contain 10, 25, and 60 ppm selenium supplied as seleno-L-methionine (n = 12/group). In a separate study, 12 birds fed twice daily were offered either a proprietary ration or a selenium-supplemented ration (120 microg/g) for one of two daily feedings. Selenium in whole blood increased from baseline concentrations (< 0.4 microg/ml) to means of 4.5, 8.9, and 16.0 microg/ml in the 10-, 25-, and 60-ppm groups, respectively. All birds in the 60-ppm-dose group rapidly lost weight and were killed (11/12) or died (1/12) between 22 and 50 days of dietary exposure. In addition to emaciation, six of 12 birds (50%) fed the 60-microg/g diet developed mild to moderate generalized hepatopathy with single-cell necrosis, karyomegaly of hepatocytes, hyperplastic bile duct epithelium, and/or iron accumulation in Kupffer cells. The principal lesions in birds exposed to other dietary concentrations of selenium involved integumentary structures containing hard keratin. Gross lesions developed after 76 days of dietary exposure and consisted of bilaterally symmetrical alopecia of the scalp and dorsal cervical midline, broken or lost digital nails, and necrosis of the tip of the beak (maxillary nail). One or more of these three lesions were present in 0/12 birds (0%) fed 10 ppm selenium, 5/12 birds (42%) fed 25 ppm selenium, and 4/9 (44%) birds fed a split-feed diet containing 120 ppm selenium. Controls were unaffected. Histologic lesions in digital and maxillary nails consisted of single-cell to full-thickness necrosis of keratinocytes and multifocal parakeratosis in stratum corneum. Histologic lesions in alopecic skin (necrosis of the epidermal collar, inflammation of the feather pulp, and follicular keratosis) were mild. Some birds with alopecia had no detectable lesions in feather follicles from affected areas of skin. The highest tissue concentrations of selenium were in liver, kidney, and feathers, respectively. Mean hepatic tissue concentrations were 14.5 microg/g (10 ppm group), 29.6 microg/g (25 ppm group), 60.6 microg/g (60 ppm group), 13.0 microg/g (120 ppm split-feed group), and 2.0 microg/g (controls). Integumentary and hepatic lesions may be of value in corroborating a diagnosis of selenosis based on chemical analysis of tissues from naturally intoxicated waterfowl. Some birds with fatal selenosis may have no morphologic lesions other than emaciation.

Association of Prokaryotes with Symptomatic Appearance of Withering Syndrome in Black Abalone Haliotis cracherodii

Withering syndrome (WS) is an epizootic fatal wasting disease that is devastating California Channel Island populations of block abalone Haliotis cracherodii. Our studies suggest a strong pathogen-disease association. The pathogen is an intracellular prokaryote that infects epithelial cells lining the gut and enzyme secreting cells of the digestive diverticula. It multiplies by binary fission in round to oval, basophilic, membrane-bound colonies teeming in the cytoplasm. Infection of the digestive diverticula is accompanied by a complete loss of digestive enzyme granules and metaplasia of enzyme secretory cells to a morphology similar to epithelium lining the gut. Extensive infection of digestive diverticular cells and the resultant deficiency in digestive enzymes correlates to the degree of pedal muscle atrophy and the severity of signs associated with WS. Electron microscopically the intracellular pathogen is a rodshaped, ribosome-rich, gram-negative, prokaryote with a trilaminar cell wall consistent with the order Rickettsiales. Microbiological and protozoological methods produced no patterns that implicated other types of microbes. Chemical analysis of tissue from animals from a population with WS did not support an association between WS and environmental pollutant exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, or chlorinated pesticides.

Diseases and environmental contaminants in seals from the Baltic and the Swedish west coast

Investigations have shown that Baltic grey seal ( Halichoerus grypus) and ringed seal ( Phoca hispida) suffer from a disease complex described as a primary lesion in the adrenals causing secondary reactions in various other organs. Studies on historical Baltic grey seal skull bone material show that the prevalence of affected animals started to increase after World War II. The disease complex explains the dramatic decrease in the Baltic grey and ringed seal population during the 1960s and 1970s and is believed to be caused by environmental pollutants. In 1988, about 60% of the harbor seal population ( Phoca vitulina) along the Swedish west coast and in the southwestern part of the Baltic died in the PDV epizootic (Phocine Distemper Virus). Whether the course of the epizootic was altered by environmental pollutants is still an open question. Studies on historical harbor seal skull bone material from both the Baltic and the Swedish west coast show that the incidence of skull bone lesions has also increased in these populations since World War II, indicating the presence of unnatural stress factors. After the epizootic, the harbor seal populations both in the Baltic and along the Swedish west coast have increased in number. Chemical analysis of tissues has been performed on the three seal species collected in various areas of the Baltic and the Swedish west coast. The concentrations of 17 metals and non-metal elements, sDDT and PCBs, DDE and PCB methylsulfones, toxaphene, chlordanes, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PCDDs and PCDFs have been determined in selected groups of seals in order to determine spatial, species and age variations in concentrations. Furthermore, healthy animals have been compared to diseased animals. Spatial variation was found mostly within the group of organohalogenated compounds, a group of contaminants where a strong covariation between the various compounds was also found. On the basis of the analytical results as well as the pathological findings on Baltic seals, the group of DDE and PCB methyl sulfones is tentatively suggested to be more important in explaining the disease complex than coplanar structures including dioxins.

SEM observations of bloom-forming toxic diatoms from Monterey Bay, California

In the late summer of 1991, large numbers of seabirds in northern Monterey Bay, California died after showing unusual neurological symptoms. The first suspects were dinoflagellates, planktonic algae known to produce the toxins responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Although toxic dinoflagellates were found, no evidence for PSP was present. Subsequent chemical analysis of tissue and stomach contents from affected birds and from locally collected northern anchovy showed high concentrations of domoic acid. During the seabird kill in Monterey Bay, the plankton was dominated by Pseudonitzschia australis (=Nitzschia pseudoseriata) a diatom not previously known to produce domoic acid.

Nitrogen-13 flux from L-[ 13N]glutamate in the isolated rabbit heart: effect of substrates and transminase inhibition

Kinetic and biochemical parameters of nitrogen-13 flux from L-[ 13N]-glutamate in myocardium were examined. Tissue radioactivity kinetics and chemical analyses were determined after bolus injection of L-[ 13N]glutamate into isolated arterially perfused interventricular septa under various metabolic states, which included addition of lactate, pyruvate, aminooxyacetate (a transminase inhibitor), or a combination of aminooxyacetate and pyruvate to the standard perfusate containing insulin and glucose. Chemical analysis of tissue and effluent at 6 min allowed determination of the composition of the slow third kind kinetic component of the time-activity curves. 13N-labeled aspartate, alanine and glutamate accounted for more than 80% of the tissue nitrogen-13 under the experimental conditions used. Specific activities for these amino acids were constant, but not identical to each other, from 6 through 15 min after administration of L-[ 13N]glutamate. Little labeled ammonia (1.9%) and glutamine (4.7%) were produced, indicating limited accessibility of exogenous glutamate to catabolic mitochondrial glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase, under control conditions. Lactate and pyruvate additions did not affect tissue amino acid specific activities. Aminooxyacetate suppressed formation of 13N-labeled alanine and aspartate and increased production of L-[ 13N]glutamine and [ 13N]ammonia. Formation of [ 13N]ammonia was, however, substantially decreased when aminooxyacetate was used in the presence of exogenous pyruvate. The data support a model for glutamate compartmentation in myocardium not affected by increasing the velocity of enzymatic reactions through increased substrate (i.e., lactate or pyruvate) concentrations but which can be altered by competitive inhibition of transaminases (via aminooxyacetate) making exogenous glutamate more available to other compartments.

The chronic toxicity of technical and analytical pentachlorophenol in cattle: II. Chemical analyses of tissues

The toxicopathological effects of technical (t) and analytical (a) grade pentachlorophenol (PCP) were compared in female yearling Holstein cattle. Four groups of three calves each were exposed for 160 days to aPCP, tPCP, or a mixture thereof in the feed. A fifth group of three animals served as unexposed controls. All treated cattle received the same amount of PCP; 20 mg/kg/day for 42 days followed by 15 mg/kg/day for the remainder of the study. The four doses fed were 100% aPCP, 10% tPCP + 90% aPCP, 35% tPCP + 65% aPCP, and 100% tPCP. At the end of the study, samples of liver and adipose tissue were analyzed for chlorinated dibenzodioxin and furan content, and blood was assayed for PCP and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Analyses indicated increases in the dioxin and furan concentrations of liver and adipose tissue which were correlated with the concentration of tPCP in the diet. The liver contained markedly higher dioxin levels than the adipose tissue. Blood HCB levels also increased as the dose of tPCP increased, while blood PCP levels were lowest in the cows fed the highest tPCP dose.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) poisoning in farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus).

A series of unexpected deaths and unthriftiness was encountered in red deer at Glensaugh Deer Farm, Kincardineshire, Scotland, in the autumn and winter of 1975--76. Occurrence and gross post mortem findings suggested a common etiology but microbiological, helminthological and histological examinations indicated that the syndrome was not of infectious or parasitic origin. Some of the lesions suggested an irritant poison. Foxglove plants were found in the pasture and their poisonous potential seemed to fit the post mortem findings and clinical signs. The diagnosis was confirmed by chemical analysis of tissues and botanical examination of rumen contents, and a similar fatality was produced in a penned red deer by test dosing with powdered foxglove leaves. Possible control and treatment are discussed. It is concluded that foxglove poisoning may be an occasional hazard in the husbanding of red deer. The history, clinical syndrome and gross post mortem findings may be sufficiently characteristic to allow a provisional diagnosis to be made in the field.

A type of juvenile cerebromacular degeneration characterized by granular osmiophilic deposits

An 8-year-old girl developed a progressive neurological disease, characterized by minor seizures, gradual loss of vision leading to complete blindness, and ultimate dementia. She died at 16 years of age. At post-mortem virtually all neurons contained insoluble, autofluorescent, SBB-positive deposits. Similar deposits were present in many viscera. They were particularly abundant in skeletal muscle. By electron microscopy they appeared as granular osmiophilic deposits (GROD). The epithelial cells of the renal glomeruli contained lamellar inclusions in addition to the GROD. GROD and lipofuscin share many histochemical and ultrastructural features, but minor differences suggest that their chemical composition may differ. Chemical analysis of tissue from the patient failed to identify the nature of the GROD, principally because of their insolubility. This patient clinically conforms to the syndrome of juvenile cerebromacular degeneration. In these patients histochemical and ultrastructural examination of skin and skeletal muscle seems to be the most convenient method of making a precise pathological diagnosis at present.

SUGAR ALCOHOLS (POLYOLS) IN FUNGI AND GREEN PLANTS

The previous article has demonstrated that acylic sugar alcohols (polyols) are more widespread in plants than was formerly appreciated. As Touster and Shaw (i962) point out, it is to be expected that many polyols have escaped detection during chemical analysis of tissues since, until recently, there have been few sensitive methods available for their detection. Furthermore, in some of the routine methods for the analysis of carbohydrates in plant extracts, polyols may be very easily overlooked. For example, on paper chromatograms, polyols have similar mobilities to their corresponding sugars in most of the commonly used solvents, and they do not react with most of the commonly used sugar detection reagents. Because of this, and because there have been some particularly useful recent developments in techniques, it has been felt necessary to present this survey of the methods now available for the study of polyols in plants. In the account that follows, polyols are generally considered alone, but it must be emphasized that they frequently coexist in plant extracts with free sugars. Particular attention is therefore given to methods which clearly distinguish polyols from sugars both in identification and in quantitative estimation. As in the previous article, glycerol and cyclitols will not be discussed. There is no single method which is universally applicable for the identification of all polyols. In preliminary analyses of plant material, paper chromatography is very frequently used. The application of this method is therefore discussed in some detail, particularly since it requires little specialized equipment and because it has proved most useful for examining experimental material after identification has been confirmed by other methods. The discussions of techniques other than paper chromatography will not be given in so much detail; this is not because they are any less valuable, but rather because we have had less practical experience with some of them and also because a number are very adequately reviewed elsewhere. The paper ends with a brief section giving suggested procedures for preliminary identification and determination of polyols in plant extracts.

POTASSIUM IN PLANT METABOLISM. I. EFFECTS OF LIGHT ON THE MINERAL COMPOSITION OF NORMAL AND POTASSIUM-DEFICIENT WHEAT SEEDLINGS

Normal and potassium-deficient wheat seedlings were grown in sand culture under controlled environmental conditions in a growth chamber. Successive crops were subjected to varying photoperiods and light intensities. Chemical analysis of tissues of the 14-day seedlings indicated that any restriction of light intensity or duration resulted in higher levels of potassium in the plant, when potassium was available. Phosphorus decreased with increasing photoperiod. Levels of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and manganese were not directly related to illumination. Chlorosis due to potassium deficiency showed a correlation with high phosphorus/iron ratios.

ASSAY OF ADRENOCORTICAL HORMONES ON THE THYMUS OF THE WEANLING RAT

Involution of the thymus gland of intact weanling rats has been used as the criterion of the response to 11-oxycorticosteroids. Other substances known to cause thymus atrophy exhibited dosage–response relationships which differed significantly from those observed with 11-oxycorticosteroids. Thymus involution was produced at a faster rate and at smaller dose levels by adrenal corticoids than by any of the other steroid hormone preparations examined. The slope of the dosage–effect line obtained with an 11-oxycorticosteroid may be increased by using (a) adrenalectomized rats, (b) female rats, and (c) vegetable oil as the injection medium. The error term of the assay may be reduced by (a) using littermates in each treatment group, (b) maintaining the weight range within dosage groups as small as possible, and (c) equalizing the total weight of the rats in each dosage group at the start of the assay. The standard error of the potency ratio was usually less than ± 15% when 40 intact female rats of the Wistar strain, 21–23 days old, were employed in a two-dose assay design. This method provided estimates of potency of commercial adrenal cortical extracts which did not differ significantly from those obtained by a procedure using deposition of reducing substances in the liver of adrenalectomized male rats as the criterion of the response. The chief advantages of the thymus involution method are: (a) intact rats may be employed and (b) chemical analyses of tissues are not required.