Raman spectroscopic investigation on the microenvironment of the liver tissues of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) due to titanium dioxide exposure

Nano titanium dioxide (nTiO₂), generally considered to be toxicologically inert, is manufactured in large quantities and extensively applied in consumer products. The small size and large surface area endow them with an active group or intrinsic toxicity. Advances in instrumentation are making Raman spectroscopy the tool of choice for an increasing number of (bio) chemical applications. One of the great advantages of this technique is its ability to provide information on the concentration, structure and interaction of biochemical molecules in their microenvironments within intact cells and tissues, non-destructively. Zebrafish (Danio rerio), one of the most important vertebrate model organisms used in developmental biology, are increasingly used in biomedical research, particularly as a model of human disease. In the present work, an attempt is made to study the effect of titanium dioxide, both nano and bulk, on the microenvironment of the liver tissues of Zebrafish using FT-Raman spectroscopy. The results of the present study suggest that TiO₂ exposure demonstrate a marked influence on the microenvironments of the liver tissues of Zebrafish. A shift to a higher wavenumber and an increase in the intensity of the band at ∼1087 cm⁻¹ in the TiO₂ exposed tissues suggest that some of the conformational changes resulting from the alkali recovery process takes place due to TiO₂ exposure. The decreased intensity ratio (I₃₂₂₀/I₃₄₀₀) observed in the titanium-exposed tissues suggests a decreased water domain size, which could be interpreted in terms of weaker hydrogen-bonded molecular species of water in the TiO₂ exposed tissues. The observed shift of COO⁻ bands to higher frequencies shows the disruption of salt bridges as a result of a change in the oppositely charged partners and due to the enhanced random coil conformation. The variation in the intensity ratio of the tyrosyl doublet (I₈₅₈/I₈₂₅) indicates variation in the hydrogen bonding of the phenolic hydroxyl group due to TiO₂ exposure. The results further suggest that the microenvironments are greatly altered due to titanium nano exposure when compared to titanium bulk. In conclusion, the results indicate that FT-Raman spectroscopy might be a useful tool for rapid assessment of nano particle biological interactions.     

The study of the changes in the thermal properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Labeo rohita</Emphasis> bones due to arsenic exposure

The paper presents the changes in the thermal properties of control, arsenic exposed and DMSA treated Labeo rohita bones by using thermo analytical techniques. The result shows that the mass loss due to the thermal decomposition occurs in three distinct steps due to loss of water, organic and inorganic materials. The arsenic exposed bones present a different thermal behaviour compared to the control bones. The residue masses are increased due to arsenic exposure, while the DMSA treatment reduces the residue mass level. These thermal characteristics can be used as a qualitative method to check the metal accumulation in samples.     

Photoproduction of neutral pions on hydrogen at photon energies between 200 and 440 MeV

At the Bonn 500 MeV electron synchrotron the differential cross section of the reaction γ+p → π⁰+p has been measured detecting the recoil proton by a magnetic spectrometer. Angular distributions between pion c.m. angles of 50 ° and 160 ° were taken at photon energies between 220 and 420 MeV.     

Some relations between additive functions,II

Aequationes mathematicae -     

Analysis of the reaction pp → p(ππ)0 p,and the question of double pomeron exchange in high-energy production processes

A low-mass S-wave (ππ)⁰ enhancement is observed in the reaction pp → p (ππ)⁰ p at 12 and 24 GeV/c incident momentum. The mechanism for producing these low-mass pion pairs is investigated, and it is shown that double pomeron exchange can contribute at most 5% to their production cross section at 24 GeV/c.     

A study of charge distributions in inelastic proton-proton collisions

Charge distributions for the secondaries from inelastic proton-proton collisions are studied by means of new data from an experiment at 12 and 24 GeV/c (2 m HBC at CERN). By comparison with π^±p data at 16 GeV/c, the inclusive charge distributions for the fragments of an incident proton and pion, respectively, are analysed. In addition, the cross sections for charge exchange between cms hemispheres are presented for the various charged-particle multiplicities. For events with no more than one neutral particle, charge and baryon exchange between cms hemispheres are compared to those between clusters. For the inelastic two-prong reactions, the two-dimensional distributions in longitudinal phase space are presented.