Mitochondrial respiration has never been directly examined in intact cerebral arteries. We tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial energetics of large cerebral arteries ex vivo are sex dependent. The Seahorse XFe24 analyzer was used to examine mitochondrial respiration in isolated cerebral arteries from adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. We examined the role of nitric oxide (NO) on mit...

Cultivation machinery applies large amounts of mechanical energy to the soil and often brings about a decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC). New experiments on the effects of mechanical energy inputs on soil respiration are reported and the results discussed. In the laboratory, a speci®c energy, K, of 150 J kgÿ1, similar to that experienced during typical cultivation operations, was applied to ...

The effect of agricultural land use change on soil microbial community composition and biomass remains a widely debated topic. Here, we investigated soil microbial community composition and biomass [e.g., bacteria (B), fungi (F), Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Actinomycete (ACT)] using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis, and basal microbial respiration in afforested, cropland and...

The basal respiration rate at 10°C (R10) and the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10) are two premier parameters in predicting the instantaneous rate of soil respiration at a given temperature. However, the mechanisms underlying the spatial variations in R10 and Q10 are not quite clear. R10 and Q10 were calculated using an exponential function with measured soil respiration and soi...

A growing goal in the field of metabolism is to determine the impact of genetics on different aspects of mitochondrial function. Understanding these relationships will help to understand the underlying etiology for a range of diseases linked with mitochondrial dysfunction, such as diabetes and obesity. Recent advances in instrumentation, has enabled the monitoring of distinct parameters of mito...

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a highly debilitating disease of unknown aetiology. Abnormalities in bioenergetic function have been cited as one possible cause for CFS. Preliminary studies were performed to investigate cellular bioenergetic abnormalities in CFS patients. A series of assays were conducted using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from CFS patients and healthy controls....

While the influence of the mother's voice on neonatal heart-rate response and its relevant activity on cerebral cortex and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are well known, few studies have assessed its influence on respiratory activity. We investigated the relationship among the respiration rate, the delta wave amplitudes through electroencephalography, and the basal state of ANS through the ...

In brown-fat mitochondria, fatty acids induce thermogenic uncoupling through activation of UCP1 (uncoupling protein 1). However, even in brown-fat mitochondria from UCP1-/- mice, fatty-acid-induced uncoupling exists. In the present investigation, we used the inhibitor CAtr (carboxyatractyloside) to examine the involvement of the ANT (adenine nucleotide translocator) in the mediation of this UCP...

Purpose: The aim of this work was to investigate the hypothesis that catechol inhibits FADH 2 -linked basal respiration in mitochondria isolated from rat liver homogenates. Moreover, catechol ability to induce peroxidation of biomolecules in liver nuclear fractions was also studied. Methods: Rat liver homogenates were incubated with 1mM 1,2-dihydroxybenzene (catechol) at pH 7.4 for up to 30 min...