INTRODUCTION Copper is essential micronutrient and has an important role in the human body. The serum copper increases during pregnancy and is doubled at full term. Lower levels of serum copper in pregnancy are connected with some pathological conditions. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to estimate the levels of serum copper in normal and pathological pregnancies, comparing them with valu...

Mixtures of a copper complex and copper fine particles as copper-based metal-organic decomposition (MOD) dispersions have been demonstrated to be effective for low-temperature sintering of conductive copper film. However, the copper particle size effect on decomposition process of the dispersion during heating and the effect of organic residues on the resistivity have not been studied. In this ...

Pool boiling heat transfer is measured with two individual working fluids on copper surfaces enhanced with sintered copper powder and carbon nanotubes. The working fluids are a segregated hydrofluoroether, HFE-7300, and deionized water. The surfaces considered in the experiments include smooth copper, copper with sintered copper particles, smooth copper with copper-coated carbon nanotubes (CNT)...

Expression of miR398 is induced in response to copper deficiency and is involved in the degradation of mRNAs encoding copper/zinc superoxide dismutase in Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that SPL7 (for SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein-like7) is essential for this response of miR398. SPL7 is homologous to Copper response regulator1, the transcription factor that is required for switching between ...

The essential micronutrient copper is tightly regulated in organisms, as environmental exposure or homeostasis defects can cause toxicity and neurodegenerative disease. The principal target(s) of copper toxicity have not been pinpointed, but one key effect is impaired supply of iron-sulfur (FeS) clusters to the essential protein Rli1 (ABCE1). Here, to find upstream FeS biosynthesis/delivery pro...

Three strains of heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria were cultured in artificial seawater medium under trace metal clean conditions to investigate their physiological response to changes in copper concentration. Decreasing the copper concentration in cultures of Pseudomonas stutzeri and Paracoccus denitrificans resulted in accumulation of nitrous oxide (N2O) gas compared to copper-replete cultu...

The aim of this study was to determine whether total copper or soluble copper concentration is associated with gastrointestinal signs and symptoms. Forty-five healthy adult women (18-55 years of age), living in Santiago, Chile, ingested tap water with 5 mg/L of copper containing different ratios of soluble copper (copper sulfate) and insoluble copper (copper oxide) over a 9-week period. Three r...

Copper uptake and subsequent delivery to copper-dependent enzymes are essential for many cellular processes. However, the intracellular levels of this nutrient must be controlled because of its potential toxicity. The hCtr1 protein functions in high affinity copper uptake at the plasma membrane of human cells. Recent studies have shown that elevated copper stimulates the endocytosis and degrada...

Copper effects on human health represent a relevant issue in modern nutrition. One of the difficulties in assessing the early, acute effects of copper ingested via drinking water is that the taste of copper may influence the response and the capacity to taste copper in different waters is unknown. The purpose of the study was to determine the taste threshold of copper in different types of wate...