Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “FLASH”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,441 records · Page 80Linked to original sources

Flash-freezing causes a stress-induced modulation in a crystal structure of soybean lipoxygenase l3.

A dynamic conformational flexibility of a protein might be a source of non-covalent structural heterogeneity, causing diminished diffracting ability of crystals and disorder in a crystal structure of soybean lipoxygenase L3. Room-temperature data, space group C2, correspond to a structure with large channels lined mostly or in part by disordered fragments of the molecule or flexible loops with an increased thermal vibration. A rapid change in temperature of approximately 200 K creates a wave of a stress-induced modulation that propagates in the crystal changing its reciprocal space into a three-dimensional quilt-like mixture of C and P intertwined lattices. Low-temperature data indicate a transformation from the dynamic to static disorder, leading to a primitive unit cell with 10% reduced volume. The molecules, formerly related by a twofold axis are rotated by approximately 7 degrees and are shifted along the diagonal to be approximately 4 A, closer together. During a routine data collection for the flash-frozen crystals of similar properties such phenomena could easily go unnoticed leading to biased results because of such effects and possibly improper indexing of the data.

Journal Article↗

A flash-annealing technique to improve diffraction limits and lower mosaicity in crystals of glycerol kinase.

A flash-annealing method has been developed that increases the diffraction limits, and simultaneously decreases the mosaicity of glycerol kinase crystals. This technique utilizes brief thawing and rapid freezing cycles of the crystal in the cold nitrogen stream. The effective resolution limits increased almost by 0.8 A, from 3.6 to 2.8 A, and mosaicity values halved.

Crystallization↗

Attentional enhancement opposite a peripheral flash revealed using change blindness.

We describe a new method for mapping spatial attention that reveals a pooling of attention in the hemifield opposite a peripheral flash. Our method exploits the fact that a brief full-field blank can interfere with the detection of changes in a scene that occur during the blank. Attending to the location of a change, however, can overcome this change blindness, so that changes are detected. The likelihood of detecting a new element in a scene therefore provides a measure of the occurrence of attention at that element's location. Using this measure, we mapped how attention changes in response to a task-irrelevant peripheral cue. Under conditions of visual fixation, change detection was above chance across the entire visual area tested. In addition, a "hot spot" of attention (corresponding to near-perfect change detection) elongated along the cue-fixation axis, such that performance improved not only at the cued location but also in the opposite hemifield.

Adult↗

The menopausal hot flash: a procrustean bed of research.

There are several scientific researchers from a variety of academic disciplines investigating the menopausal hot flash (MHF). Synthesis of all MHF research findings results in contradictory and inconclusive information available to health care providers and perimenopausal women. This study used epistemological construction and hermenuetical understanding to explore this information problem. Specific MHF exemplars, the problem-solutions, were constructed from extant scientific literature; two models of health guiding MHF research were generated from these exemplars. These models, health as a shared and communicable experience and health as a medical-physiological concept, provided a focus for hermeneutical understanding of the MHF information problem. Cooperative-collaborative inquiry was proposed as an approach for future MHF research.

Climacteric↗

Flash X-ray microscopy with a gas jet plasma source.

A novel flash X-ray source, the gas jet plasma source, has been used for contact X-ray microscopy. Using a wavelength range of 2-7 nm a resolution of the order of 30 nm can be obtained. The gas jet plasma source provides a new and unique tool which should allow future imaging of wet live cells.

Blood Platelets↗

A comparative laser-flash absorption spectroscopy study of algal plastocyanin and cytochrome c552 photooxidation by photosystem I particles from spinach.

Laser-flash kinetic absorption spectroscopy has been used to compare the rate constants for electron transfer from reduced plastocyanin and cytochrome c552, obtained from the green alga Monoraphidium braunii, to photooxidized P700 (P700+) in photosystem I (PSI) particles from spinach Sigmoidal protein concentration dependence for the observed electron-transfer rate constants are obtained for both proteins. In the absence of added salts, the P700+ reduction rate increases as the pH decreases from approximately 8 to 5.5, then decreases to pH 3.5, this effect being more pronounced with cytochrome c552 than with plastocyanin. At neutral pH, plastocyanin is a more efficient electron donor to P700+ than cytochrome c552, whereas at pH 5.5, which is closer to physiological conditions, the two redox proteins react with approximately equal rate constants. In the presence of increasing concentrations of added salts, the P700+ reduction rate constants for both proteins increase at pH greater than 5.5, but decrease at pH less than 4. At neutral pH, the observed rate constants for both algal proteins have a biphasic dependence on sodium chloride concentration, increasing in a parallel manner with increasing salt concentration, reaching a maximum value at 50 mM NaCl, then decreasing. A similar biphasic dependence is obtained with magnesium chloride, but in this case the maximum value is reached at salt concentrations ten times smaller, suggesting a specific role for the divalent cations in the electron-transfer reaction.

Cytochrome c Group↗

A comparative laser-flash absorption spectroscopy study of Anabaena PCC 7119 plastocyanin and cytochrome c6 photooxidation by photosystem I particles.

Laser-flash absorption spectroscopy has been used to investigate the kinetics of electron transfer from reduced cytochrome c6 and plastocyanin, isolated from Anabaena PCC 7119, to oxidized P700 in photosystem-I particles isolated from the same cyanobacterium and from spinach. For all metalloproteins and photosystems, the observed rate constant has a non-linear protein-concentration dependence, thus suggesting complex formation preceding electron transfer. Plastocyanin and cytochrome c6 have similar association constants for complex formation with spinach photosystem I, but the copper protein exhibits a higher intracomplex-electron-transfer rate constant (twofold). With Anabaena photosystem I, the two redox proteins are more effective with respect to both complex formation (5-10-fold) and electron transfer (1.5-4-fold) than with the spinach photosystem. In all cases, the observed rate constants for electron-transfer monotonically decrease with increasing NaCl or MgCl2 concentration. This is interpreted in terms of the involvement of attractive electrostatic interactions, which result in the initial collision complex having the most productive orientation for the electron transfer process, without a requirement for further reorientation. The magnitude of the response to MgCl2 suggests the occurrence of specific ion effects as well. In the absence of added salts, the reduction rate of oxidized P700 increases with pH from approximately 6 to 8, but decreases slightly at pH 8.5.

Anabaena↗

Flash lamp-pumped dye laser treatment of telangiectasia.

BACKGROUND: Although many treatment modalities are effective in the treatment of essential telangiectasia, most have a risk of scarring and or incomplete obliteration of the dilated vessels. The Candela flash lamp-pumped dye laser has been regarded as highly selective for blood vessel ablation with virtually no risk of scarring. OBJECTIVE: To present a study of 182 patients who underwent this treatment. RESULTS: Good to excellent response was seen in 97.5% of these patients. No scars were seen in any of the patients studied. Patients described the degree of discomfort as mild to moderate and found the post-treatment purpura an acceptable phase of healing, if advised preoperatively. CONCLUSION: We found the laser to be safe and effective in the treatment of facial telangiectasia.

Adolescent↗

Stimulation frequency and visually evoked scalp potentials with brief flashes of light.

Recording of the visually evoked scalp potential (VESP) elicited with flash stimulation was completed in six subjects presenting with normal vision. From the four separate signals recorded over the visual cortex, it was concluded that stimulation frequency affects some of the components of the VESP. Accordingly, in studies of the VESP character, the influence of stimulation frequency is a critical factor which must be taken into account when analyzing the resultant activity.

Cerebral Cortex↗

The influence of age on the flash visual evoked potentials.

The effect of age on flash visual evoked potentials was investigate in 148 normal subjects aged 6 yo 84 years. The occurrence of the P1 wave progressively increased with age, while the P2 wave was recordable in all the subjects. There were significant effects of age on the P2 latency (p < or = 0.01). The latency of the N1 and N2 waves significantly changed with age. In particular, the N2 wave that occurred in the absence of the P1 wave had a latency similar to that of the N1 wave was present. We suggest that the cases apparently without the P1 wave could be explained with a merging of this was with the P2 wave in a major single deflection.

Adolescent↗

Laser flash spectroscopy of methylene blue with nucleic acids. Effects of ionic strength and pH.

Laser flash spectroscopic measurements were made on methylene blue complexed to the synthetic polynucleotides poly[d(G-C)] and poly[d(A-T)] in solutions of varying ionic strength and pH. Triplet decay rates and rates of triplet quenching by oxygen have been measured for the polymer/dye solutions. The triplet decay and oxygen quenching rates of methylene blue in complex with poly[d(A-T)] are much less sensitive than those with poly[d(G-C)] with respect to variations in ionic strength. It is also shown that protonation of the triplet state of MB+ with poly[d(A-T)] is slower than that of free dye. These results indicate strong binding of the dye to poly[d(A-T)]. Excitation of the MB+/poly[d(A-T)] complex at 665 nm yielded single exponential decay kinetics, in contrast with excitation at 600 nm where double exponential kinetics were measured. This is tentatively assigned to excitation of dye dimer bound to this polymer.

Hydrogen-Ion Concentration↗

Type I and type II photosensitization by the antibacterial drug nalidixic acid. A laser flash photolysis study.

The 355 nm laser flash photolysis of nalidixic acid at pH 9.2 leads to the formation of the nalidixate anion triplet state (absorption lambda max = 620 nm; 5700 less than or equal to epsilon T less than or equal to 9000 M-1cm-1; 0.6 less than or equal to phi T less than or equal to 1). The first order triplet state decay (kT = 7.7 x 10(3) s-1) is accompanied by a diffusion controlled triplet-triplet annihilation. Oxygen efficiently quenches the triplet state (k = 3.2 x 10(9) M-1s-1). The nalidixate radical dianion (absorption lambda max = 650 nm; epsilon = 3000 M-1cm-1) is produced by the diffusion controlled reductive quenching of the triplet state by tryptophan and tyrosine. The superoxide anion (O2-.) is produced by diffusion controlled reaction of the radical dianion with oxygen. The O2-. is characterized by its reactions with ferricytochrome c and superoxide dismutase. The physiological form of nalidixic acid is thus a good Type I and Type II photosensitizer.

Anions↗

Hydrated electron formation in nanosecond and picosecond laser flash photolysis of hematoporphyrin in aqueous solution.

Nanosecond (lambda exc = 266, 355 and 532 nm) and picosecond (lambda exc = 355 nm) laser flash photolysis of hematoporphyrin (Hp) was performed in neutral (pH 7.4) and alkaline (pH 12) aqueous solution, as well as in the presence of 0.1% Triton X-100. The dependence of the yield of photoproduced hydrated electrons (e-aq) on laser pulse energy was studied over a wide range of energies (0.2 to greater than 1000 mJ cm-2). The results show that e-aq are predominantly formed in a two-photon process at lambda exc = 266 and 355 nm. One-photon quantum yields are higher at lambda exc = 266 nm than at lambda exc = 355 nm. Both one-photon and two-photon pathways are less efficient at higher Hp concentration, reflecting the influence of Hp self-aggregation. Two-photon e-aq formation is more efficient when 30 ps pulses are used for excitation, as compared to 10 ns pulses. No e-aq could be detected at lambda exc = 532 nm. Nanosecond pulse-induced transient spectra obtained at pH 7.4 are also discussed.

Electrons↗

Laser flash-induced photoreduction of photosynthetic ferredoxins and flavodoxin by 5-deazariboflavin and by a viologen analogue.

Laser flash photolysis has been used to compare the kinetics of reduction of ferredoxin isoforms from the green alga Monoraphidium braunii, and the ferredoxin and flavodoxin from the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7119, by 5-deazariboflavin semiquinone (dRfH.) and the viologen analogue 1,1'-propylene-2,2'-bipyridyl (PDQ.+). Similar ionic strength-independent second-order rate constants (1.4 x 10(8) M-1 s-1) were obtained for the reduction of both algal ferredoxin isoforms by dRfH.. For the reduction of oxidized flavodoxin by dRfH., a more complex behavior was observed, with a second-order rate constant for dRfH. decay of 1.8 x 10(8) M-1 s-1, and a first-order (i.e. protein concentration independent) rate constant of 450 s-1, that probably corresponds to the protonation of the FMN semiquinone cofactor, which occurs subsequent to electron transfer. A value of 5 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 was obtained for the second-order rate constant of flavodoxin semiquinone reduction by dRfH.. The reduction of ferredoxins and flavodoxin semiquinone by PDQ.+ showed nonlinear protein concentration dependencies, consistent with a minimal two-step mechanism involving complex formation followed by intracomplex electron transfer. A negative ionic strength effect on the kinetic constants was obtained, indicating the existence of attractive electrostatic interactions during electron transfer. With all the ferredoxins the k infinity values (rate constants extrapolated to infinite ionic strength) for the second-order step of the reduction process (complex formation) are smaller than previously reported for spinach ferredoxin, although Anabaena ferredoxin is somewhat more reactive than are the algal ferredoxins with the viologen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anabaena↗

Dose-response of acetylcholine receptor channels opened by a flash-activated agonist in voltage-clamped rat myoballs.

Whole-cell or single-channel currents through acetylcholine (ACh) receptor channels were studied in voltage-clamped rat myoballs or in excised membrane patches from myoballs. The recording pipette contained CsCl to suppress outward currents, and tetrodotoxin was used to help suppress Na+ currents. To minimize problems associated with bath applied agonists, myoballs were bathed in a solution containing the inactive (cis) isomer of the photo-isomerizable azobenzene derivative, Bis-Q. Calibrated light flashes of varying intensity were presented to produce concentration jumps of agonist, trans-Bis-Q. The resulting whole-cell current relaxations through ACh channels approach a steady state along an exponential time course, then decline as the newly created agonist diffuses away over the next few seconds. The dose-response relationship was inferred from Hill (double-log) plots for myoballs bathed in 500 nM-cis-Bis-Q at three membrane potentials. At low agonist concentrations (less than 300 nM-trans-Bis-Q), the slope of the Hill plot averaged 1.62 at -150 mV, 1.89 at -100 mV, and 2.05 at +80 mV. These results are consistent with an apparent agonist affinity constant that decreases with membrane depolarization and shifts the responses further down on the dose-response curve. When the myoballs were bathed in higher concentrations of cis-Bis-Q (1.5-20 microM), the slope of the Hill plot was reduced at all membrane potentials, although it was still closer to two at positive potentials. This is expected from the known sigmoid shape of the dose-response relation. The shallow dependence of the Hill slope on agonist concentration suggests the presence of negative cooperativity in the over-all binding of agonist molecules. Following treatment of the membrane with dithiothreitol to reduce disulphide groups, the Hill slope for the reversibly bound agonist, trans-Bis-Q, remained near two. The kinetics of currents at hyperpolarized membrane potentials became complicated at higher agonist concentrations in a manner that was consistent with open-channel block by trans-Bis-Q; the currents showed a slow secondary increase in conductance. Averaged single-channel recordings at higher agonist concentrations resemble macroscopic relaxations under comparable conditions. Furthermore, those recordings also suggested that open channels are blocked by trans-Bis-Q at concentrations greater than 2 microM; the block depends strongly on membrane potential and increases with hyperpolarization. Currents at positive membrane potentials showed no evidence of open-channel block.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Action Potentials↗

The effects of MgADP on cross-bridge kinetics: a laser flash photolysis study of guinea-pig smooth muscle.

1. The effects of MgADP on cross-bridge kinetics were investigated using laser flash photolysis of caged ATP (P3-1(2-nitrophenyl) ethyladenosine 5'-triphosphate), in guinea-pig portal vein smooth muscle permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin. Isometric tension and in-phase stiffness transitions from rigor state were monitored upon photolysis of caged ATP. The estimated concentration of ATP released from caged ATP by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was 1.3 mM. 2. The time course of relaxation initiated by photolysis of caged ATP in the absence of Ca2+ was well fitted during the initial 200 ms by two exponential functions with time constants of, respectively, tau 1 = 34 ms and tau 2 = 1.2 s and relative amplitudes of 0.14 and 0.86. Multiple exponential functions were needed to fit longer intervals; the half-time of the overall relaxation was 0.8 s. The second order rate constant for cross-bridge detachment by ATP, estimated from the rate of initial relaxation, was 0.4-2.3 x 10(4) M-1 s-1. 3. MgADP dose dependently reduced both the relative amplitude of the first component and the rate constant of the second component of relaxation. Conversely, treatment of muscles with apyrase, to deplete endogenous ADP, increased the relative amplitude of the first component. In the presence of MgADP, in-phase stiffness decreased during force maintenance, suggesting that the force per cross-bridge increased. The apparent dissociation constant (Kd) of MgADP for the cross-bridge binding site, estimated from its concentration-dependent effect on the relative amplitude of the first component, was 1.3 microM. This affinity is much higher than the previously reported values (50-300 microM for smooth muscle; 18-400 microM for skeletal muscle; 7-10 microM for cardiac muscle). It is possible that the high affinity reflects the properties of a state generated during the co-operative reattachment cycle, rather than that of the rigor bridge. 4. The rate constant of MgADP release from cross-bridges, estimated from its concentration-dependent effect on the rate constant of the second (tau 2) component, was 0.35-7.7 s-1. To the extent that reattachment of cross-bridges could slow relaxation even during the initial 200 ms, this rate constant may be an underestimate. 5. Inorganic phosphate (Pi, 30 mM) did not affect the rate of relaxation during the initial approximately 50 ms, but accelerated the slower phase of relaxation, consistent with a cyclic cross-bridge model in which Pi increases the proportion of cross-bridges in detached ('weakly bound') states.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Flash photolysis studies of the localization of calcium release sites in rat parotid isolated acinar cells.

1. The temporal relationship between cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and activation of membrane current responses in single rat parotid acinar cells has been examined. Activation of muscarinic receptors by carbachol (CCh) at -40 mV (midway between EK and ECl under our experimental conditions) frequently evoked biphasic current responses, application of 2 microM CCh leading to rapid activation of an inward current followed by a slower outward current. 2. Photochemical release of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3), from 'caged' InsP3, by a brief near-UV flash, evoked similar biphasic current responses at -40 mV. In contrast, elevation of [Ca2+]i by photolysis of the caged calcium compound nitr-5 at -40 mV activated only monophasic current responses. 3. These results can be explained by a model in which the InsP3-sensitive Ca2+ release sites are localized at the luminal pole of the cell, combined with a relative preponderance of Ca(2+)-activated Cl- channels at that pole, and a relative preponderance of Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels at the basal end.

Animals↗

Application of two-photon flash photolysis to reveal intercellular communication and intracellular Ca2+ movements.

Two-photon excitation makes it possible to excite molecules in volumes of much less than 1 fl. In two-photon flash photolysis (TPFP) this property is used to release effector molecules from caged precursors with high three-dimensional resolution. We describe and examine the benefits of using TPFP in model solutions and in a number of cell systems to study their spatial and temporal properties. Using TPFP of caged fluorescein, we determined the free diffusion coefficient of fluorescein (D=4 x 0(-6) cm(2)/s at 20 degrees C, which is in close agreement with published values). TPFP of caged fluorescein in lens tissue in situ revealed spatial nonuniformities in intercellular fiber cell coupling by gap junctions. At the lens periphery, intercellular transport was predominantly directed along rows of cells, but was nearly isotropic further from the periphery. To test an algorithm aiming to reconstruct the Ca(2+) release flux underlying physiological Ca(2+) signals in heart muscle cells, TPFP of DM-Nitrophen was utilized to generate artificial microscopic Ca(2+) signals with known underlying Ca(2+) release flux. In an experiment with mouse oocytes, the recently developed Ca(2+) cage dimethoxynitrophenyl-ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethylether)-N,N,N('),N(') tetraacetic acid-4 (DMNPE-4) was released in the oocyte cytosol and inside a nucleolus. Analysis of the resulting fluorescence changes suggested that the effective diffusion coefficient within the nucleolus was half of that in the cytosol. These experiments demonstrate the utility of TPFP as a novel tool for the optical study of biomedical systems.

Action Potentials↗