The relationship between bulk membrane fluidizing effect of ethanol and its toxicity due to oxidative stress is still unknown. To elucidate this issue, membrane fluidity of primary rat hepatocytes was studied by measuring order parameter after inhibition of ethanol-induced oxidative stress. We showed that pretreating cells with either 4-methyl-pyrazole (to inhibit ethanol metabolism), thiourea ...

8-alkylberberine homologues (Ber-C8-n, where n indicates carbon atom number of gaseous normal alkyl at 8 position, n = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16) were synthesized and their effects on the hemolysis of rabbit erythrocyte, the fluidity of membrane and the fluorescence of membrane protein were investigated by fluorescence analysis technique. Ber-C8-n with mediate length alkyl (4 < n < 10) exhib...

A series of experiments were conducted to examine the role of Ca2+ in modulating the fluidity of rat small- and large-intestinal antipodal plasma membranes and their liposomes. This bivalent cation was found to decrease the fluidity of these preparations in a complex manner involving at least two distinct mechanisms. The first appeared to be a direct effect of Ca2+ on fluidity, was readily reve...

In adaption to shifts in ambient temperature, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells maintain physiological homeostasis by adjusting various cellular properties, including membrane lipid fluidity, the capacity to maintain proteostasis and rate of protein synthesis [1]. How cells respond to temperature changes is a fundamental question in cell physiology. Here we briefly review current understand...

Previous spin-label and electromyographic experiments with rats fed 20,25-diazacholesterol, an inhibitor of the biosynthet ic conversion of desmostero[ to cholesterol, demonstrated an increased e ry th rocy te membrane f luidi ty and myotonia, a prolonged muscle contraction upon stimulation. The current studies with rats showed normal erythrocyte f luidi ty in animals fed 20,25-diazacholesterol...

Antithrombin is a plasma protease inhibitor that inhibits thrombin and contributes to the maintenance of blood fluidity. Using targeted gene disruption, we investigated the role of antithrombin in embryogenesis. Mating mice heterozygous for antithrombin gene (ATIII) disruption, ATIII(+/-), yielded the expected Mendelian distribution of genotypes until 14.5 gestational days (gd). However, approx...

How do cells maintain the fluidity of cellular membrane in response to temperature fluctuation? In this issue of Cell, Ma et al. identify a regulatory circuit involving a heat-induced acyl-CoA dehydrogenase that controls the lipid saturation level and the fluidity of cellular membranes by transcriptionally regulating a lipid desaturase.

This study determined the membrane fluidity of clostridial endospores during treatment with heat and pressure with nisin or reutericyclin. Heating (90°C) reduced laurdan (6-dodecanoyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene) general polarization, corresponding to membrane fluidization. Pressure (200 MPa) stabilized membrane order. Reutericyclin and nisin exhibit divergent effects on heat- and pressure-induc...

This paper investigates learning processes across a built environment design curriculum through the recognition of the four learning styles defined in the experiential learning theory of Kolb, i.e., ‘accommodating’, ‘diverging’, ‘assimilating’ and ‘converging.’ The paper focuses on the results of a cross-curriculum learning style survey. The results of the survey appear to explain why many prio...

The influence of the industrial sector is a longstanding assumption in entrepreneurship studies, yet the mechanisms through which the industrial sector shapes entrepreneurial phenomena and the processes through which entrepreneurial actors interact with sectors to prospect, develop and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities remain largely under-theorized and little understood. We critically re-e...