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Biomedical subjects

R O Becker

Publications and source records attributed to R O Becker.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

In vivo bioelectrochemical changes associated with exposure to extremely low frequency electric fields.

One hundred seventy-four 21- to 24-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were continuously exposed to a 60 Hz electric field of 150 V/cm for one month in ten separate experiments. Biological effects observed included depressed body weights, serum corticoids, and water consumption. The findings are tentatively in terpreted as indicating that a power frequency electric field is a biological stressor. The observed effects cannot be a consequence of Joule heating and therefore indicate that electric fields can influence biological systems either at the systemic level, or at the cellular level via electrochemical alteration of the microenvironment.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

The effect of continuous exposure to low frequency electric fields on three generations of mice: a pilot study.

Mice were allowed to mate, gestate, deliver and rear their offspring for 3 successive generations while being continuously exposed to 60 Hz electric fields. Mice exposed to vertical electric fields exhibited decreased body weights at 35 days postpartum and increased mortality rates for 3 successive generations. Mice exposed to horizontal electric fields exhibited decreased body weights for 2 successive generations.

Animals↗

Photoconductivity in bone and tendon.

Ultraviolet light can be used to stimulate electrical current flow in bone and tendon. This stimulated photocurrent is directional. In tendon the photocurrent parallel to the fibrils is greater than the photocurrent perpendicular to the fibrils. In bone, the longitudinal photocurrent is less than the transverse photocurrent.

Animals↗

Antifungal properties of electrically generated metallic ions.

A qualitative and quantitative investigation was undertaken to study the susceptibility of unicellular eucaryotic organisms (yeasts) to metallic cations generated by low levels of direct current. Results were characteristic of effects obtained previously using clinical and standard bacteria test organisms. The present study demonstrated that anodic silver (Ag(+)) at low direct currents had inhibitory and fungicidal properties. Broth dilution susceptibility tests were made on several species of Candida and one species of Torulopsis. Growth in all isolates was inhibited by concentrations of electrically generated silver ions between 0.5 and 4.7 mug/ml, and silver exhibited fungicidal properties at concentrations as low as 1.9 mug/ml. The inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations of electrically generated silver ions are lower than those reported for other silver compounds.

Antifungal Agents↗

D.C. skin conductance variation at acupuncture loci.

Skin conductance was measured in 10 subjects with a DC Wheatstone bridge in 10 areas purportedly containing acupuncture loci on the Triple Burner (TB) and Lung (Lu) meridians. When the results were compared to those from anatomically similar locations devoid of acupuncture loci, local conductance variation was found to be significantly different (p less than 0.05) in most acupuncture locus locations.

Acupuncture Therapy↗