The effects of sodium bicarbonate and pyridoxine-alpha-ketoglutarate on short-term maximal exercise capacity.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the simultaneous use of pyridoxine-alpha-ketoglutarate (PAK) and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on short-term maximal exercise capacity in eight well-trained male cyclists. The study consisted of the determination of maximal power output and the administration of various combinations of placebos, PAK and NaHCO3, followed by a short-term maximal exercise test. To determine maximal power output (power(max)), the subjects performed a continuous, incremental test on a Monark bicycle ergometer to symptom limited maximum (test 1). To determine the effects of NaHCO3 and PAK on short-term maximal exercise performance, the subjects were administered either placebo (PLA), PAK and sodium bicarbonate (P/B), PAK and placebo (PAK), or sodium bicarbonate and placebo (BIC) prior to performing short-term maximal exercise (test 2). Oral tablets of NaHCO3 and PAK were given in doses of 200 mg kg-1 and 50 mg kg-1 respectively. The subjects pedalled at the power output corresponding to 100% of their VO2 max at 70 rev min-1 until voluntary cessation or until they were unable to maintain pedal revolution rate. Venous blood samples were drawn at rest (RES), cessation of exercise (CES) and after 2 min of recovery (REC) and analysed for lactate, pH and bicarbonate ion concentration. The subjects attained an average maximum power output of 377 +/- 20 W during the graded maximal pre-test (test 1). There were no significant differences between treatments in the ability to sustain power(max) during test 2. During test 2, the subjects were able to sustain power(max) for 7.6 +/- 4.3 min with P/B, 6.7 +/- 2.9 min with PAK, 7.3 +/- 4.9 min with BIC and 6.9 +/- 2.7 min with placebo (mean +/- S.E.). Blood lactate (BLa) was significantly elevated at cessation of exercise and remained elevated during recovery, but there were no significant differences between treatments. Bicarbonate fell significantly during exercise and recovery in each treatment. At rest, bicarbonate levels were significantly higher in both the P/B and BIC than in the PAK or PLA treatments. Pooled data from the P/B and BIC treatments demonstrated a significant increase in pH at rest and end of exercise when compared to PLA treatment. These data suggest that sodium bicarbonate rather than PAK was responsible for this increase. In summary, our data suggest that in the dosages used in this study, administration of sodium bicarbonate or PAK, alone or in combination, is ineffective in increasing short-term maximal exercise capacity.     

A Virtual Notebook for biomedical work groups

During the past several years, Baylor College of Medicine has made a substantial commitment to the use of information technology in support of its corporate and academic programs. The concept of an Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS) has proved central in our planning, and the IAIMS activities that we have undertaken with funding from the National Library of Medicine have proved to be important extensions of our technology development. Here we describe our Virtual Notebook system, a conceptual and technologic framework for task coordination and information management in biomedical work groups. When fully developed and deployed, the Virtual Notebook will improve the functioning of basic and clinical research groups in the college, and it currently serves as a model for the longer-term development of our entire information management environment.     

Vertical microbubble column–A photonic lab-on-chip for cultivation and online analysis of yeast cell cultures

This paper presents a vertically positioned microfluidic system made of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and glass, which can be applied as a microbubble column (μBC) for biotechnological screening in suspension. In this μBC, microbubbles are produced in a cultivation chamber through an integrated nozzle structure. Thus, homogeneous suspension of biomass is achieved in the cultivation chamber without requiring additional mixing elements. Moreover, blockage due to produced carbon dioxide by the microorganisms—a problem predominant in common, horizontally positioned microbioreactors (MBRs)—is avoided, as the gas bubbles are released by buoyancy at the upper part of the microsystem. The patterned PDMS layer is based on an optimized two-lithographic process. Since the naturally hydrophobic PDMS causes problems for the sufficient production of microbubbles, a method based on polyelectrolyte multilayers is applied in order to allow continuous hydrophilization of the already bonded PDMS-glass-system. The μBC comprises various microelements, including stabilization of temperature, control of continuous bubble formation, and two optical configurations for measurement of optical density with two different sensitivities. In addition, the simple and robust application and handling of the μBC is achieved via a custom-made modular plug-in adapter. To validate the scalability from laboratory scale to microscale, and thus to demonstrate the successful application of the μBC as a screening instrument, a batch cultivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is performed in the μBC and compared to shake flask cultivation. Monitoring of the biomass growth in the μBC with the integrated online analytics resulted in a specific growth rate of 0.32 h⁻¹, which is almost identical to the one achieved in the shake flask cultivation (0.31 h⁻¹). Therefore, the validity of the μBC as an alternative screening tool compared to other conventional laboratory scale systems in bioprocess development is proven. In addition, vertically positioned microbioreactors show high potential in comparison to conventional screening tools, since they allow for high density of integrated online analytics and therefore minimize time and cost for screening and guarantee improved control and analysis of cultivation parameters.     

Dielectrophoretic differentiation of mouse ovarian surface epithelial cells, macrophages, and fibroblasts using contactless dielectrophoresis

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies in women. The primary challenge is the detection of the cancer at an early stage, since this drastically increases the survival rate. In this study we investigated the dielectrophoretic responses of progressive stages of mouse ovarian surface epithelial (MOSE) cells, as well as mouse fibroblast and macrophage cell lines, utilizing contactless dielectrophoresis (cDEP). cDEP is a relatively new cell manipulation technique that has addressed some of the challenges of conventional dielectrophoretic methods. To evaluate our microfluidic device performance, we computationally studied the effects of altering various geometrical parameters, such as the size and arrangement of insulating structures, on dielectrophoretic and drag forces. We found that the trapping voltage of MOSE cells increases as the cells progress from a non-tumorigenic, benign cell to a tumorigenic, malignant phenotype. Additionally, all MOSE cells display unique behavior compared to fibroblasts and macrophages, representing normal and inflammatory cells found in the peritoneal fluid. Based on these findings, we predict that cDEP can be utilized for isolation of ovarian cancer cells from peritoneal fluid as an early cancer detection tool.     

Microfluidic three-dimensional hydrodynamic flow focusing for the rapid protein concentration analysis

A simple microfluidic 3D hydrodynamic flow focusing device has been developed and demonstrated quantitative determinations of quantum dot 525 with antibody (QD525-antibody) and hemagglutinin epitope tagged MAX (HA-MAX) protein concentrations. This device had a step depth cross junction structure at a hydrodynamic flow focusing point at which the analyte stream was flowed into a main detection channel and pinched not only horizontally but also vertically by two sheath streams. As a result, a triangular cross-sectional flow profile of the analyte stream was formed and the laser was focused on the top of the triangular shaped analyte stream. Since the detection volume was smaller than the radius of laser spot, a photon burst histogram showed Gaussian distribution, which was necessary for the quantitative analysis of protein concentration. By using this approach, a linear concentration curve of QD525-antibody down to 10 pM was demonstrated. In addition, the concentration of HA-MAX protein in HEK293 cell lysate was determined as 0.283 ± 0.015 nM. This approach requires for only 1 min determining protein concentration. As the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to determinate protein concentration by using single molecule detection techniques.