Biomedical subjects

C R Huang

Publications and source records attributed to C R Huang.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1990

Singlet-singlet energy transfer along the helix of a double-stranded nucleic acid at room temperature.

An irreversible electronic energy trap has been formed in calf thymus DNA by methylating about 75% of its G bases at position N-7. This has allowed us to measure for the first time the efficiency of transfer of energy along the helix of a double-stranded nucleic acid at room temperature. It is found that about one out of every three photons absorbed by the other bases is trapped. We have also simulated the data with a stochastic model that uses the dipole-dipole interaction to calculate the efficiency of transfer. In order to approximate the experimental results, the model requires that: (i) the fluorescence quantum yield of T, C, and G in DNA be about 2 x 10(-3), which is about two orders of magnitude larger than the value of the fluorescence quantum yield reported for DNA; and (ii) the fluorescence quantum yield of A in DNA be negligibly small. Requirement (i) is consistent with energy transfer taking place before a very efficient fluorescence quenching process sets in, which could be formation of excited-state complexes (excimers) that do not fluoresce appreciably. Requirement (ii) implies a very short fluorescence lifetime for A, which is consistent with the reported absence of a significant number of photoproducts formed by A in DNA. The simulations find that, on the average, the excitation energy takes about 1.2 steps to reach the trap; that is to say, bases that are nearest and next nearest neighbors of the trap are, in effect, the only energy donors. Both intra- as well as interstrand energy transfer (the latter only for the C-trap base pair) make significant contributions. The value of the efficiency for pairwise base-base intrastrand transfer is about 60%, whereas those for base-trap intra- and interstand transfer are 90% and 80%, respectively. The corresponding values for the rate constant of transfer are 2 x 10(11), 1 x 10(12), and 4 x 10(11) s-1. Transfer is inefficient when A is the donor or the acceptor. In addition to the dipole-dipole term, the only other significant term in the expansion of the interaction potential is the dipole-quadrupole term which, however, makes only a small contribution to the overall transfer efficiency. The electron exchange interaction appears to be much less efficient than the coulombic interaction.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Periodontal conditions in elderly people of Shanghai, People's Republic of China, in 1986.

In a stratified multi-stage random sample, 1600 persons of 60 years and older in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, were investigated for periodontal conditions using the CPITN method. Periodontal conditions seemed to deteriorate steadily but rather slowly with increasing age. In the older age groups, there was a trend for an increased proportion of both subjects and sextants scoring CPITN code 4 (deep pockets). The increase in tooth loss with increasing age was more clearly visible: increasing percentages of edentulousness and decreasing mean numbers of teeth remaining in dentate subjects.

Aged↗

PubMed1989

Acute transformation of chronic large granular lymphocyte leukemia associated with additional chromosome abnormality.

A patient with large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia that transformed into an acute or aggressive form after 20 months of the chronic phase is reported. The patient's leukemic cells were mature, medium-sized lymphocytes with sparse azurophil granules and the surface phenotypes of the cells were CD2+, CD3-, CD11+, and CD16+. Molecular analysis showed a germ line configuration in both T-cell receptor beta-chain genes and T-cell receptor tau-chain genes. A clonal anomaly of chromosome (trisomy 8) was demonstrated in peripheral blood cells. LGL after acute transformation of the disease displayed large blastic morphology with prominent nucleoli, intense basophilic cytoplasm, and numerous granules. Karyotypic analysis demonstrated a mosaic of trisomy 8 and trisomy 8 with an additional marker chromosome. Thus, transformation of chronic LGL leukemia into an acute or aggressive form in this patient was associated with morphologic and karyotypic changes of the leukemic cells. Patients with a stable form of chronic LGL leukemia should be examined carefully for the possible acute crisis associated with a clonal evolution.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Thixotropic properties of whole blood from healthy human subjects.

The steady state non-Newtonian viscosity of whole human blood has been widely studied as a function of the shear rate; and used to characterize the blood in various pathological disorders. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that blood is a thixotropic fluid. Its time-dependency and shear rate dependency of rheological behavior can be represented by an equation developed by Huang. Parameters of the equation can be used for the characterization of an individual's blood. They provide information, such as the kinetic rate constant of breakdown of RBC rouleaux to individual erythrocytes and the relative amount of rouleau formation in the dynamic equilibrium between rouleaux and individual erythrocytes. In this communication, the thixotropic parameters from blood samples of fifteen apparently healthy human subjects were investigated. When compared to the use of apparent viscosity values for the correlation with a pathological disorder, thixotropic parameters are preferable. The mean values of thixotropic parameters obtained from apparently healthy human subjects provide a base for comparison with the same parameters as obtained from blood samples of patients with certain pathological disorders involving the circulation.

Blood Viscosity↗

PubMed1987

Effects of hematocrit on thixotropic properties of human blood.

The rheological properties of whole human blood exhibit thixotropic behavior at low shear rates up to about ten reciprocal seconds (1). The accepted cause of this shear rate-dependent and time-dependent behavior is the progressive breakdown of rouleaux into individual red cells. Huang developed a rheological equation which incorporates the kinetics of rouleau breakdown in his models (2). This five-parameter equation was used successfully to represent the hysteresis loop and the torque-decay curve of whole human blood. Numerical values of these five thixotropic parameters, which characterize the rheological behavior of the blood from apparently healthy human subjects, were established (3). In this communication, we examined the effect of hematocrit on each of the above mentioned parameters. The results show that the following parameters will increase their values with an increase in hematocrit: the yield stress, Newtonian contribution of viscosity, non-Newtonian contribution of viscosity, apparent viscosity and the equilibrium value of the structural parameter which indicates the relative amount of rouleaux in blood. Mathematical equations were developed to give the relationship between parameters and hematocrit. Two other thixotropic parameters, viz. the kinetic rate constant of rouleaux breakdown into individual red cells and the order of the breakdown reaction, were found to be independent of the hematocrit. It is consistent with reaction kinetic theory that the rate constant and the order of reaction are independent of the concentration of reactants.

Blood Viscosity↗

PubMed1987