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Biomedical subjects

A Zwart

Publications and source records attributed to A Zwart.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Pressure-diameter relationships of segments of human finger arteries.

Pressure-diameter relationships of segments of human finger arteries, aged 57-85 years, were measured in vitro. The arteries, obtained at autopsy within 48 h after death, were stored in glucose-free Tyrode at 4 degrees C. Experiments began within 40 h after autopsy. The diameter responses to various transmural pressure changes, with and without the addition of noradrenaline to the Tyrode solution in the specimen chamber, were compared with the responses of freshly excised rat tail arteries. In general, pressure-diameter relations of human finger artery segments were similar to those of rat tail artery segments, with a steep slope in the collapse region near zero pressure. Also, spontaneous rhythmic contractions and myogenic activity induced by high transmural pressures were similar to those observed in the fresh rat tail arteries. Human finger arteries, however, could contract to complete closure both spontaneously and after addition of noradrenaline, while rat tail arteries did not. The diameter changes of the arterial segments during forced 1 Hz oscillations of 20-50 mm Hg (2.7-6.7 kPa) amplitude superimposed on a mean transmural pressure were substantially smaller than those during quasi-steady inflation-deflation ramps over the same pressure range, indicating the presence of a strong viscous wall component.

Aged↗

Simultaneous spectrophotometric calibration of wavelength and absorbance in an interlaboratory survey using holmium oxide (Ho2O3) in perchloric acid as reference, compared with p-nitrophenol and cobaltous sulphate solutions (1978-1984).

The wavelength accuracy of ten different types of spectrophotometer was tested with holmium perchlorate solutions. It was found to be good, with mean deviations from the literature values of maximally 0.3 nm. Standard deviations over the entire spectral range were within 0.75 nm. The absorbance accuracy for different types of instruments was generally within 5%, except in the 287 nm range where higher deviations were found. The sharpness of the holmium peaks, in combination with band width and sensitivity of the instruments, troubled the majority of the participants. 150 spectrophotometers were involved in the surveys. Linearity of the spectrophotometers was tested with p-nitrophenol and cobaltous sulphate and found to be satisfactory.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Results of routine determination of clinically significant hemoglobin derivatives by multicomponent analysis.

Our recently developed multiwavelength method for multi-component analysis of hemoglobin (Hb) derivatives (Clin Chem 1984;30:373-379) was adapted for routine use in the clinical chemical laboratory. The method was applied in 4066 determinations on blood specimens from patients awaiting major surgery (n = 3863) or visiting the outpatient department for pulmonary disease (n = 203). Mean total hemoglobin concentration was 141 (SD 14) g/L. The proportion of HbCO was slightly to moderately increased (1.5-10.0%) in 36.5% of all patients; in a few cases it was as high as 15%. Mean methemoglobin was 0.4% (SD 0.2%) in the surgical patients, but 1.5% (SD 0.8%) in the patients with pulmonary disease. In some patients of the latter group the proportion of methemoglobin amounted to 5%. Sulfhemoglobin was found less than 0.4% in all specimens. Interference by paraproteins and by increased concentrations of bilirubin and lipids in plasma was easily detected by means of the performance checks provided by the spectrophotometer (an HP 8451 UV/Vis). The method is equally suitable for measuring blood samples containing fetal hemoglobin.

Adolescent↗

Consequences of the O2-CO2 dissociation curves for gas exchange in avian and mammalian lung at various altitudes.

Gas exchange in avian and mammalian lung was studied with computer simulations using mutually dependent O2-CO2 dissociation curves. The mammalian lung was simulated with an ideal mixing unit. The model of the avian lung consisted of 25 ideal mixing units placed in series with respect to the ventilation but placed in parallel with respect to the perfusion (cross-current arrangement). The consequence of the right shift in the avian oxygen dissociation curve, if compared with the human dissociation curve, was studied by application of both dissociation curves to the avian lung model. The influence of a decreased tension of oxygen in the inspired air was studied under conditions of constant PvCO2 (48 mmHg), PvO2 (30 mmHg), RQ (0.70) and approximately constant levels of PaCO2. At sea-level the avian lung needs 80 per cent of the alveolar ventilation and 64 per cent of the cardiac output to transport the same amount of gas if compared with the mammalian lung. The difference in the need for cardiac output resulted from the right shift in the dissociation curve of avian blood. Changing PIO2 from 115 mmHg (2000 m) to 100 mmHg (3000 m) showed a dramatic difference in the performance of the two lung models. The mammalian lung model needed a more than eight fold increase in cardiac output whereas the avian lung model needed less than a three fold increase to maintain a RQ of 0.7. This difference could be ascribed to the Haldane effect in combination with the cross-current arrangement. The Haldane effect was also responsible for an end expired CO2 tension which exceeded the mixed venous CO2 tension.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Inhibition of carbonic anhydrase in dog plasma.

Using a pH stat method, we measured the activity of carbonic anhydrase (CA) from dog erythrocytes in the presence of various amounts of dog plasma. A plasma factor appeared to be able to inhibit about 86% of the total CA activity, corresponding to the relative activity of CA II. Naiodoacetate was shown to inhibit the total CA activity up to about 13%, corresponding to the relative activity of CA I. C1- inhibited the total CA activity up to about 20%, presumably mainly through its strong influence on Ca I. It is concluded that with a degree of haemolysis of up to 3%, no appreciable plasma CA activity will occur.

Animals↗

Uptake of highly soluble gases in the epithelium of the conducting airways.

Short duration washin and washout experiments were carried out with the gases ether (diethyl ether), ethyl acetate and acetone in order to study the excretion behaviour in the lung of gases highly soluble in blood and tissues. Carbon dioxide (CO2) was analyzed as a reference gas during the washout. The excretion values for acetone were generally the lowest, those for ether the highest, and intermediate ones were obtained for ethyl acetate. These results are in accord with the experimental data of others. Analysis of the washout curves shows that for acetone the volume of gas expired before the beginning of phase II is considerably smaller than found for CO2 and ether. During washout, the slope of the alveolar plateau for acetone is negative for the first few breaths and becomes positive thereafter; however, it remains lower than the slopes for CO2 and ether, which are always positive. These two phenomena occurring during washout clearly demonstrate that the acetone in the expired air must originate from the epithelial tissue lining the conducting airways. We conclude, therefore, that, in terms of gas transport, the conducting airways behave differently for poorly and highly soluble gases and this provides a physiological basis for the deviating excretion behaviour of highly soluble gases.

Acetates↗

Human whole-blood oxygen affinity: effect of carbon monoxide.

Oxygen dissociation curves (ODC) were recorded in the presence of carboxyhemoglobin fractions (FHbCO) up to 60%. The gradual shift to the left of the ODC at increasing amounts of HbCO was reflected in a gradual fall in the half-saturation pressure of the remaining Hb and was accompanied by a gradual change in the shape of the ODC to a hyperbolic one. The H+ factor (delta log PO2/delta pH) was determined over the entire oxygen saturation (SO2) range at three different FHbCO levels (14, 30, and 52%). At FHbCO = 14 and 30% and for the SO2 range 20-90%, the H+ factor vs. SO2 curve was not significantly different from that in the absence of HbCO. At FHbCO = 52%, however, the value found for the H+ factor (-0.55) was appreciably more negative than in the case of blood containing less than 1% HbCO (-0.44), and there was no dependence on SO2. Comparison of measured and calculated ODCs at varying HbCO fractions showed, for FHbCO less than or equal to 50%, that measured and calculated ODCs coincide over the greater part of the SO2 range. For FHbCO greater than 50%, the measured ODC was situated to the left of the calculated one over the entire SO2 range. We conclude that the heme-heme interaction for CO is appreciably larger than for O2 only for FHbCO greater than 50%, whereas for FHbCO less than 50% there is virtually no difference.

Capillary Permeability↗

Human whole-blood oxygen affinity: effect of temperature.

phe effect of temperature changes on human whole-blood O2 affinity was measured in the blood of six healthy donors over almost the entire O2 saturation (SO2) range (1-99%). The results showed that temperature has no influence on the shape of the O2 dissociation curve, implying that the temperature coefficient (delta log PO2/delta T) is independent of SO2. Simultaneous measurements of the total (proton) Haldane factor (delta[HbH]/[delta HbO2]) at the five temperatures under study (22, 27, 32, 37, and 42 degrees C) revealed that this factor depends on temperature. The liberation of protons from hemoglobin appeared to be linear with respect to changes in SO2. We therefore conclude that the (proton) Bohr factor (H+ factor) is dependent on temperature over the entire SO2 range in the same way as previously described for SO2 = 50%. The exothermic oxygenation reaction in whole blood was accompanied by a heat evolution (delta HO2) of 42.7 kJ/mol (monomeric) hemoglobin.

Female↗

Multicomponent analysis of hemoglobin derivatives with reversed-optics spectrophotometer.

We describe a method for the simultaneous determination of the five clinically relevant hemoglobin derivatives (Hb, HbO2, HbCO, Hi, SHb) in a blood sample by means of a reversed-optics spectrophotometer (Hewlett-Packard HP8450 A UV/Vis). A built-in computer program is used for multicomponent analysis in an overdetermined system, i.e., a system in which the number of independent equations used exceeds the number of unknowns to be determined. First, the spectra of the five hemoglobin derivatives are measured in a series of different human blood samples. Thereafter, the multicomponent method for the simultaneous determination of the five hemoglobin derivatives is tested by comparison with conventional methods for the separate determination of oxygen saturation, HbCO, Hi, and SHb fractions. The multicomponent (multiwavelength) method is sufficiently reliable, accurate, and easy to justify its use in physiological chemical research as well as its routine application in the clinical chemical laboratory.

Carboxyhemoglobin↗

Plasma cells and their precursors. III. Late phases of anti-bovine serum albumin IgG antibody responses depend upon newly produced IgG B-memory cells.

The sequential appearance of the IgG antibody clones constituting the primary, secondary or tertiary response to BSA was studied in individual rabbits by relating antibody titers, antibody affinities, and clonal spectra obtained by IEF. The results showed that after a single i.v. injection of BSA, the primary response IgG antibodies peaked at day 11 and had a constant and low average affinity during the first 20 days. A slow rise of affinity was observed during the following 20 days. In this period, new IgG antibody clones appeared, though antibody titers decreased. A number of these newly appearing, so-called late-phase clones were isolated by preparative IEF. Their affinities to BSA were high. Secondary responses showed the rapid rise of both titers and antibody affinities typical for the activity of B-memory AFC. One animal immunized for a tertiary response showed a still further increase of antibody affinity in its late phase. These results, together with those described in two earlier papers (1, 2), demonstrate that primary immunization, apart from triggering preexisting IgG AFCP into production of antibodies having low affinity, elicits the origination of IgG (B-memory)-AFCP capable of producing high affinity IgG upon antigenic triggering, and show that some of these may already be triggered during the ongoing response, thereby giving rise to the so-called late phase in the primary IgG antibody response.

Animals↗

Molar absorptivities of human hemoglobin in the visible spectral range.

In a recent paper, Burkhard and Barnikol (J. Appl. Physiol.: Respirat. Environ. Exercise Physiol. 52: 124-130, 1982) claimed that the absorption spectra of human (oxy-)hemoglobin are dependent on the total hemoglobin concentration (CHb) and it is suggested that this might also be the case with cyanmethemoglobin (HiCN). Such relationships would invalidate the widely used spectrophotometric methods for the determination of total hemoglobin and the fractions of various hemoglobin derivatives in human blood. Although Burkhard and Barnikol's findings are rather improbable considering earlier data, we measured the millimolar absorptivities of oxyhemoglobin (epsilon HbO2) and cyanmethemoglobin (epsilon HiCN) at various wavelengths over a wide range of concentrations (CHb approximately equal to 0.004-10 mmol x 1(-1)), using two different types of spectrophotometers. epsilon HbO2 and epsilon HiCN proved to be independent of CHb. Moreover the values obtained confirmed those in the earlier literature, whereas those of Burkhard and Barnikol are some 30% higher. Consequently there is no reason to doubt the validity of the generally accepted millimolar absorptivities of human hemoglobin.

Absorption↗

Expiratory and arterial partial pressure relations under different ventilation-perfusion conditions.

Inert tracer gas exchange across the human respiratory system is simulated in an asymmetric lung model for different oscillatory breathing patterns. The momentary volume-averaged alveolar partial pressure (PA), the expiratory partial pressure (PE), the mixed expiratory partial pressure (PE), the end-tidal partial pressure (PET), and the mean arterial partial pressure (Pa), are calculated as functions of the blood-gas partition coefficient (lambda) and the diffusion coefficient (D) of the tracer gas. The lambda values vary from 0.01 to 330.0 inclusive, and four values of D are used (0.5, 0.22, 0.1, and 0.01). Three ventilation-perfusion conditions corresponding to rest and mild and moderate exercise are simulated. Under simulated exercise conditions, we compute a reversed difference between PET and Pa compared with the rest condition. This reversal is directly reflected in the relation between the physiological dead space fraction (1--PE/Pa) and the Bohr dead space fraction (1--PE/PET). It is argued that the difference (PET--Pa) depends on the lambda of the tracer gas, the buffering capacity of lung tissue, and the stratification caused by diffusion-limited gas transport in the gas phase. Finally some determinants for the reversed difference (PET--Pa) and the significance for conventional gas analysis are discussed.

Humans↗

Inert tracer gas washout from mixed venous blood: the sloping alveolar plateau.

The aim of this model study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying the sloping alveolar plateau for inert tracer gases supplied to the lung by mixed venous blood. Transpulmonary gas exchange was simulated in an asymmetric lung model for conditions at rest and in exercise. For highly soluble gases, the calculations show that the varying amount of tracer gas dissolved in superficial parenchymal tissue and capillary blood causes a sustained stratification in the acinus during expiration and that this is mainly responsible for the slope. For this type of tracer gas, the slope is almost independent of variations in the molecular diffusion coefficient (D) of the gases. In contrast, for poorly soluble gases, the contributions of local parallel inhomogeneities of gas concentrations in the acinus and the continued gas exchange across the alveolo-capillary membrane are mainly responsible for the slope. The first factor, which depends on the asymmetric branching pattern of intra-acinar airways, increases with decreasing D values. The contribution of continued gas exchange to the slope is most pronounced under exercise conditions. This contribution is almost independent of the blood/gas partition coefficient, lambda, for lambda values less than 4.0.

Diffusion↗

Excretion-retention diagram to evaluate gas exchange properties of vertebrate respiratory systems.

Excretion [E = (PE - PI)/(PV - PI)] and retention [R = (Pa - PI)/(PV -PI)]are completely model-free defined variables which describe the dual input-output black-box representation of vertebrate respiratory systems under steady-state conditions. In the excretion-retention diagram (E-R diagram), E is plotted as a function of R. The application of the principle of mass conservation confines the possible combinations of E and R for a gas with a blood-gas partition coefficient, lambda, in a respiratory system with an overall ventilation, VT, and an overall perfusion, QT, to E = (lambda QT/VT) (1 - R). In general, E can be described as a continuous function of R. The mathematical formulation of this function depends on the configuration of the respiratory system. Easily recognizable curvatures are obtained for counter-cross, and cocurrent systems with and without parallel inhomogeneities. Visual inspection of actual E and R data displayed in an E-R diagram therefore allows the correct choice of the configuration of the respiratory system to be eventually used for further parameter estimation schemes. The E-R diagram is also a powerful tutorial tool for visualizing the complex relationships between the gas exchange of agents with different physical properties and the consequences of changes in ventilation and perfusion distribution within the respiratory system on gas transport.

Animals↗