Endothelial function

Endothelial function find more was evaluated by ultrasound measurement of the flow mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Compared to the control

group, patients with idiopathic venous thrombosis had significantly lower levels of interleukin-10 1.81 pg/ml (1.53-2.21) versus 2.71 pg/ml (1.84-3.65), p < 0.001. Patients also had increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines: interleukin-6 2.37 pg/ml (1.59-4.09) versus 2.03 pg/ml (1.49-2.59), p = 0.025, interleukin-8 3.53 pg/ml (2.94-5.30) versus 2.25 pg/ml (1.77-2.90), p < 0.001. Furthermore, decreased FMD was observed in patients: 5.0% (3.9-6.9) versus 12.7% (10.8-15.6), p < 0.001. FMD was related to levels of interleukin-10 (r = 0.33, p = 0.001) and was inversely related to pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (r = -0.34, p = 0.001) and interleukin-8 (r = -0.43, p < 0.001). Patients with idiopathic FDA approved Drug Library venous thrombosis have decreased levels of IL-10 and increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This imbalance indicates that in the stable phase of the disease,

patients have an increased systemic inflammatory response. This inflammatory response could be the consequence of the disease, but most probably is involved in the pathogenesis of venous thrombosis.”
“Background and objective: High MW hyaluronan (HMW HA) as opposed to low MW hyaluronan (LMW HA) has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. We hypothesized that treatment with HMW HA would block smoke inhalation lung injury by inhibiting smoke-induced lung inflammation and airway epithelial cell apoptosis.

Methods: Anesthetized, intubated male rats were randomly allocated to either control or smoke inhalation injury groups. Rats were treated with 3-mL subcutaneous normal saline solution (sham) or LMW HA (35 kDa) or HMW HA (1600 kDa) 18 h before exposure to 15 min of cotton smoke (n = 5 each). Rats were also treated post smoke inhalation with 1600 kDa HA by intra-peritoneal injection (3 mL) or intra-tracheal nebulization (200 mL). Lung neutrophil infiltration, airway apoptosis,

airway mucous plugging and lung injury were assessed 4 h after smoke inhalation injury.

Results: Rats pretreated with 1600 kDa HA had significantly less www.selleckchem.com/products/a-1331852.html smoke-induced neutrophil infiltration, lung oedema, airway apoptosis and mucous plugging. Pretreatment with 35 kDa HA, in contrast, increased smoke-induced neutrophil infiltration and lung injury score. Intra-tracheal administration of a single dose 1600 kDa HA, but not intra-peritoneal injection, significantly improved survival post smoke inhalation.

Conclusions: High MW hyaluronan (1600 kDa) may prove to be a beneficial therapy for smoke inhalation through inhibition of smoke-induced inflammation, lung oedema, airway epithelial cell apoptosis and airway mucous plugging.”
“McFarland fractures represent a type of oblique medial malleolar fracture in children that can be challenging to diagnose and treat.

Defense-related genes were constitutively activated in atg2-2 In

Defense-related genes were constitutively activated in atg2-2. In atg2-2 mutants, spontaneous cell death, early senescence and disease resistance required

the salicylic acid (SA) pathway, but interestingly, mildew-induced cell death was not fully suppressed by inactivation of SA signaling. Thus, cell death could be uncoupled from disease resistance, suggesting that cell death is not sufficient for resistance to powdery mildew. ATG2 encodes autophagy-related 2, a protein known www.selleckchem.com/products/MS-275.html to be involved in the early steps of autophagosome biogenesis. The atg2-2 mutant exhibited typical autophagy defects in autophagosome formation. Furthermore, mutations in several other ATG genes, including ATG5, ATG7 and ATG10, exhibited similar powdery mildew resistance and mildew-induced cell death phenotypes. Taken together, our findings provide insights into the role of autophagy in cell death and disease resistance, and may indicate general links between autophagy, senescence, programmed cell death and defense responses in plants.”
“Azole resistance is emerging in Aspergillus fumigatus isolates. The exact

mechanism of evolution of azole resistance TPCA-1 cost has not been fully elucidated yet but increasing evidence indicates a role for azole fungicide used in agriculture. Patients confronted with an invasive fungal infection from an azole-resistant A. fumigatus isolate will fail azole treatment Azole resistance in A. fumigatus isolates impacts the management of invasive aspergillosis (IA) since the azoles are the primary agents used

for prophylaxis and treatment. Because A. fumigatus will always be present in our environment and also in the close vicinity of patients at risk for IA, there is an urgent need to understand the evolution of the increasing azole resistance in A. fumigatus. Thereby, induction of azole resistance or its spread can possibly be prevented to allow future treatment of A. fumigatus IA.”
“The ultrasonic properties of two devulcanized rubber (DR) blends with a styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) copolymer compound (ACE) are investigated using a transmission method. BTSA1 The DR materials are obtained from commercial rubber crumbs (RC) by a proprietary devulcanization technique. Measurements on the acoustic attenuation and travel velocity are conducted on the samples with different sample thicknesses in the pulsed mode. Attenuation coefficients of the materials are obtained by changing the frequency of the ultrasound in the tuned tone-burst mode. The two DR/ACE blends show marked differences in the attenuation and attenuation coefficient, although the ultrasonic velocities are similar. These differences arise from the variation of the remaining degree of crosslinking in the DR materials. The acoustic velocities in the three materials are similar.

Conclusions: This study proposes a quantitative AFM-based functio

Conclusions: This study proposes a quantitative AFM-based functional analysis at the micrometer- and nanometer scale to evaluate’the quality of cartilage surfaces. Mechanical testing (load-bearing) combined with friction analysis (gliding) can provide RG-7388 mw important information. Notably, sliding-type biomechanical stimuli may favor (re-)generation and maintenance of functional articular surfaces and support the development of mechanically competent engineered cartilage. (C) 2012 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Organ transplantation appears

today to be the best alternative to replace the loss of vital organs induced by various diseases. Transplants can, however, also be rejected by the recipient. In this review, we provide an overview of the mechanisms and the cells/molecules involved in acute and chronic rejections. T cells and B cells mainly control the antigen-specific rejection and act either as effector, regulatory, or memory cells. On the other hand, nonspecific cells such as endothelial cells, NK cells, macrophages, or polymorphonuclear cells are also crucial actors of transplant rejection. Last, beyond cells, the high contribution of antibodies, chemokines, and complement molecules check details in graft rejection is discussed in this article. The understanding of the different components involved in graft rejection is essential

as some of them are used in the clinic as biomarkers to detect and quantify the level of rejection.”
“Objective: To investigate safety and efficacy of a new transcutaneous Screening Library bone conduction hearing implant, over a 3-month follow-up period.

Study Design: Prospective, single-subject repeated-measures design in which each subject serves as his/her own control.

Setting: Departments of Otolaryngology at 4 hospitals in Germany and Austria.

Patients: Subjects were 12 German-speaking adults who suffered from conductive or mixed hearing loss. The upper bone conduction threshold limit was set to 45 dB HL at frequencies between 500 Hz and 4 kHz.

Intervention:

Implantation of a transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant.

Main Outcome Measures: Subjects’ speech perception (word recognition scores and SRT50%) and audiometric thresholds (air conduction, bone conduction and sound field at frequencies 500 Hz to 8 kHz) were assessed preoperatively, 1 month postoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. The subjects were monitored for adverse events and given a questionnaire to assess their satisfaction levels.

Results: Speech perception as measured by word recognition scores and SRT50% improved on average about 78.8% and 25 dB HL, respectively, 3 months after implantation. Aided thresholds also improved postoperatively at all tested frequencies and continued to improve from 1 to 3 months postoperatively.

Tumor rupture (TR) occurred in the other 9 and LR occurred in sev

Tumor rupture (TR) occurred in the other 9 and LR occurred in seven (Yates’ P = 0.012). All 33 patients underwent type III resection with free margins without tumor rupture. LR occurred in five. 11 patients had type IV resection. Free margin without tumor rupture was accomplished in seven and LR occurred in three. TR occurred in the other four, and LR occurred in two (Yates’ P = 0.689). One patient underwent selleck products type V resection with free margin without tumor rupture and LR occurred. Postoperatively, less than 1/3 needed long-term urethral catheterization. No patients received colostomy

for postoperative fecal incontinence. All the patients were able to ambulate.

Our classification system and the corresponding surgical

approaches are helpful in dealing with primary malignant sacral tumors. Better oncologic results could be expected if free margin without tumor rupture was accomplished.”
“Although infrared laser was proven to be an alternative approach for neural stimulation, there is very little known about the neural response to infrared laser irradiation in visual cortex. This study is to investigate the effect of near-infrared laser irradiation on neural activities at the cortex level. A 850-nm pigtailed diode laser was applied to stimulate the rat primary visual cortex while the horizontal SBE-β-CD black and white stripe pattern was used as standard visual stimulation to evoke visual-evoked potential (VEP). Both amplitude and latency of VEP P100 was measured with or without infrared pulse stimulation applied in rat primary visual cortex. Paired t test and one-way analysis Proteasome inhibitor of variance were used to evaluate the impact of infrared irradiation and its pulse

width on the amplitudes and latencies of P100, respectively. The results from our preliminary study revealed that, the pulsed near-infrared laser depressed the VEP amplitude and shortened the latency of P100; with the increment of pulse width of infrared irradiation, further decline of VEP amplitude and much shortened latency of P100 were observed. The present work suggests that near-infrared laser irradiation can alter the neural activities in primary visual cortex transiently, and could provide a novel contactless artificial neural stimulus to brain cortex with high spatial selectivity.”
“Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) was compared with sulfuric acid for the conversion of glucose and xylose mixtures to produce levulinic acid and furfural. The interactions of glucose and xylose, the predominant sugars found in biomass, were found to influence product yields with furfural degradation reactions enhanced under higher reactant loadings. Fast heating rates allowed maximal yields (>60 mol%) of levulinic acid and furfural to be achieved under short reaction times. Under the range of conditions examined, sulfuric acid produced a slight increase in levulinic acid yield by 6% (P=0.02), although there was no significant difference (P=0.

The level of sCD36 in subjects with

glycosylated haemoglo

The level of sCD36 in subjects with

glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA(1C)) above the mean was higher than in those with HbA(1C) values below the mean.

Insulin sensitivity is a predictor of sCD36 in men with impaired glucose tolerance. IL-6 is related to sCD36 but does not predict sCD36 independent of insulin sensitivity and BMI.”
“Three kinds of insulin resistance cell models were used to. study how Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb (AP) extracts affect glucose uptake in cells. One flavone glycoside, tiliroside, was isolated from AP by bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation and tested it on promoting glucose uptake. Adipocytes were used to identify the response of tiliroside on insulin resistance related mRNA expression. It was found that glucose transporter factor 4GLUT4 translocation and the number of IR Bafilomycin A1 concentration were enhanced by tiliroside

treatment. Our findings indicate that tiliroside from AP may be beneficial for diabetic complications through its enhanced adiponectin secretion and GLUT4 translocation.”
“The influence of preparation methodology of silymarin solid dispersions using a hydrophilic polymer on the dissolution performance of silymarin was investigated. Silymarin solid dispersions were prepared using HPMC E 15LV by kneading, spray drying and co-precipitation methods and characterized by FTIR, DSC, XRPD and SEM. Dissolution profiles were compared by statistical and model independent methods. The FTIR and DSC studies revealed weak hydrogen bond formation between the drug and polymer, while XRPD and SEM confirmed the amorphous nature of the drug in co-precipitated solid dispersion. Enhanced selleck dissolution compared to pure drug was found in the following order: co-precipitation > spray drying > kneading methodology (p < 0.05). All preparation methods enhanced silymarin dissolution from solid dispersions of different characteristics.

The co-precipitation method proved to be best and provided a stable amorphous solid dispersion with 2.5 improved dissolution compared to the pure drug.”
“The objectives VX-680 of the study were to determine whether identifying patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) (as defined by International Diabetes Federation [IDF] criteria) among patients with diabetes would affect the decision to prescribe statin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), based on currently available public health guidelines.

We analysed the most recent recorded CVD risk profiles obtained from electronic patient files from 304 general practices in England and Wales. Of 60,258 patients with diabetes, 11,005 men and women aged 30-74 years fulfilled criteria for primary CVD prevention and were not on lipid-lowering drugs. Outcome data were extrapolated to an estimated national diabetes prevalence of 3.6%.

Identifying MetS in this group of patients would produce an additional 29,536 (8.

Data were analyzed using a Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model

Data were analyzed using a Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (HGLM) with species richness and presence of individual species as response variables and distance to nature reserve and application of AES as factors, controlling

for possible confounding factors. Results were interpreted as the effects of AES on seed and site limitation of the species. The results showed that plant diversity decreased significantly with distance from source populations. There were considerable differences in species diversity between AES and non-AES ditch banks, with the former showing greater plant diversity especially in the first 200 m from nature reserves. Presences of all individual species decreased with distance to nature reserve, find more but the strength buy GSK J4 of this relationship and the AES effects differed among species. AES ditch banks had lower site limitations for most plant species, but did not have lower seed limitation. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“An optical switch based on liquid crystal dielectric loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides is proposed and theoretically analyzed. The infiltration of the plasmonic structure with a nematic liquid crystalline material serving as the dielectric loading

is shown to allow for extensive electrical tuning of its waveguiding characteristics. Both the electrical switching and optical properties of the proposed waveguide are investigated in the context of designing a directional coupler optical switch, which is found to combine efficient voltage control, low power consumption, high extinction ratio, and relatively low insertion losses. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3658247]“
“Zonisamide is an antiepileptic selleck compound drug that acts on voltage-sensitive sodium and calcium channels, with a modulatory

effect on GABA-mediated neuronal inhibition and an inhibitory effect on carbonic anhydrase. It is used mainly for the treatment of partial seizures, and is generally well tolerated at therapeutic doses. The most common reported adverse effects are somnolence, anorexia, dizziness, and headache. There are limited data on zonisamide overdose in the literature, and no case of zonisamide mono-intoxication has been published to date. We describe the first case of zonisamide mono-intoxication in a 25-year-old woman who ingested 12.6 g of this substance with suicidal intent. Despite a plasma zonisamide concentration of 182 mg/L on admission, the patient exhibited a benign clinical course with vomiting and central nervous system depression, requiring brief intubation. Somnolence persisted for 50 hours, and normal-anion-gap metabolic acidosis and polyuria for several days. Complete recovery may be expected with supportive care, even after ingestion of large zonisamide overdoses. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The method can extract artefact- and EEG-free single trial ERP wa

The method can extract artefact- and EEG-free single trial ERP waveforms, offers improved ERP averages by selecting the trials on the basis of their BICs, and is applicable to other evoked potentials, conditions and diseases.”
“Melanins CHIR98014 in vivo are a heterogeneous group of polymers formed by enzymatic reactions in vegetable tissues that contain phenolic or polyphenolic

molecules. Recent studies have discovered some beneficial properties of melanins on health, making that not only its elimination should be reconsidered, but also its addition could be proposed to functional food of new creation. A further knowledge about the kinetic mechanism of melanogenesis is required prior to its possible industrial utilization. In this work, the kinetics of melanogenesis from 4-methylcatechol using mushroom tyrosinase and measuring the absorbance of the solution has been analyzed. The reaction pathway Taselisib mouse has been divided in two steps, and a mathematical expression has been developed to describe each one of them. The first one, an enzymatic reaction from the o-diphenol to colorless intermediate products. The second one, a polymerization of these intermediates leading to melanin chains. These expressions allow describing melanin formation as a function of reaction time, including some important parameters such as the extinction coefficient.

In addition, the effect of pH and substrate concentration has been assayed in melanogenesis from two kinds of tyrosinase substrates: monophenolic (L-tyrosine) and o-diphenolic (4-methylcatechol). (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and myotonic

dystrophy type 2 (proximal muscular myopaty/DM2) are caused by similar dynamic mutations at two distinct genetic loci. The two diseases also lead to similar phenotypes but different clinical severity. Dysregulation of alternative splicing has been suggested as the common pathogenic mechanism. Here, we investigate the molecular differences between DM1 and DM2 using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of troponin T (TnT) and the insulin receptor selleck chemicals (IR), as well as immunoblotting of TnT in muscle biopsies from DM1 and DM2 patients. We found that: (a) slow TnT was encoded by two different transcripts in significantly different ratios in DM1 and DM2 muscles; (b) DM2 muscles exhibited a higher degree of alternative splicing dysregulation for fast TnT transcripts when compared to DM1 muscles; (c) the distribution of TnT proteins was significantly skewed towards higher molecular weight species in both diseases; (d) the RNA for the insulin-independent IR-A isoform was significantly increased and appeared related to the fibre-type composition in the majority of the cases examined. On the whole, these data should give a better insight on pathogenesis of DM1 and DM2.

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate a late diagnosi

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate a late diagnosis and an increasing frequency of this neoplasia in the oral cavity.”
“Two major ginsenosides, ginsenoside-Rg(1) (1) and ginsenoside-Rb-1 (2), were transformed by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici (Z-001). 1 was converted into five metabolites, ginsenoside-F-1 (3), 6a, 12 beta-dihydroxydammar-3-one-20(S)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), 3a-oxa-3a-homo-6 alpha, 12 beta-dihydroxydammar-3-one-20(S)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside

Screening Library in vitro (5), 20(S)-protopanaxatriol (6), and 3-oxo-20(S)-protopanaxatriol (7). 2 was converted into four metabolites, ginsenoside-Rd (8), ginsenoside-F-2 (9), compound K (10), and 12 beta-hydroxydammar-3-one-20(S)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (11). The structures of these metabolites were determined by the analysis of extensive spectroscopic data. Among them, 4 and 5 were two new compounds. Deglycosylation and ketonization at C-3 were recognized as the characteristic reactions of this strain.”
“Prior to the late 1960s, a variety of studies suggested

that a general zonal pattern existed within the cerebellar cortex. The hypothesis proposed by Voogd, based on the organization of the subcortical white matter, indicated that this pattern may be very detailed, and he noted that “”a further analysis of the corticonuclear projection is still necessary.”" This brief paper chronicles the approach used by the author to formulate a plan, initiate a large series of experiments (over 250), and follow the sometimes confusing ML323 results to finally arrive at an understanding of the details of cerebellar corticonuclear projections. It was discovered that a series of mediolateral cortical zones were present that were topographically related to the underlying cerebellar nuclei, and within each zone, the cortex projected in a rostrocaudal sequence to a specific cerebellar nucleus. The hypothesis proposed by Voogd was fundamentally proven.”
“The present study was find more designed to monitor extrapyramidal

symptoms (EPS) elicited by the oral administration of haloperidol at clinically recommended doses and to compare it with EPS produced when the drug is injected intraperitoneally at doses used in animal research. Rats injected with haloperidol at a dose of 1 mg/kg daily for 5 weeks exhibited akinesia in an open field and impaired motor coordination. Effects of the drug on motor coordination but not on open field akinesia were attenuated gradually from 2-5 weeks of treatment. Oral administration of haloperidol in drinking water at clinically recommended dose exhibited decreased exploratory activity without producing akinesia. Motor coordination was impaired maximally after 3 weeks and tolerance was developed in the drug induced motor impairment after 5 weeks of treatment. Intensity of vacuous chewing movements (VCMs) and tardive VCMs was greater by oral administration than intraperitoneal injections of haloperidol.


“Background:


“Background: TH-302 Glenoid component loosening is a common cause of failure of total shoulder arthroplasty. It has been proposed that the heat generated during glenoid preparation may reach temperatures capable of producing osteonecrosis at the bone-implant interface. We hypothesized that temperatures sufficient to induce thermal necrosis can be produced with routine drilling and reaming during glenoid preparation for shoulder arthroplasty in vivo. Furthermore, we hypothesized that irrigation of the glenoid during reaming can reduce this temperature increase.

Methods: Real-time, high-definition, infrared thermal video imaging was used to determine the temperatures produced,by drilling and reaming

during glenoid preparation in ten consecutive patients undergoing total shoulder arthroplasty. The maximum temperature and the duration of temperatures greater than the established thresholds for thermal necrosis were documented. The first five arthroplasties were performed without irrigation and were compared with the second five GSK3235025 mw arthroplasties, in which continuous bulb irrigation was

used during drilling and reaming. A one-dimensional finite element model was developed to estimate the depth of penetration of critical temperatures into the bone of the glenoid on the basis of recorded surface temperatures.

Results: Our first hypothesis was supported by the recording of maximum surface temperatures above the 56 degrees C threshold during reaming in four of the five arthroplasties done without irrigation and during drilling in two of selleck compound the five arthroplasties without irrigation. The estimated depth of penetration of the critical temperature (56 degrees C) to produce instantaneous osteonecrosis was beyond 1 mm (range, 1.97 to 5.12 mm) in four of these patients during reaming and one of these patients during drilling, and two had estimated temperatures above 56 degrees

C at 3 mm. Our second hypothesis was supported by the observation that, in the group receiving irrigation, the temperature exceeded the critical threshold in only one specimen during reaming and in two during drilling. The estimated depth of penetration for the critical temperature (56 degrees C) did not reach a.depth of 1 mm in any of these patients (range, 0.07 to 0.19 mm).

Conclusions: Temperatures sufficient to induce thermal necrosis of glenoid bone can be generated by glenoid preparation in shoulder arthroplasty in vivo. Frequent irrigation may be effective in preventing temperatures from reaching the threshold for bone necrosis during glenoid preparation.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.”
“Background : Human pituitary adenoma (PA) is a common intracranial tumor, but the mechanism underlying tumorigenesis has not been established.

RESULTS: The ionic liquid showed excellent catalytic performance

RESULTS: The ionic liquid showed excellent catalytic performance exhibiting 95.4% conversion of propylene oxide (PO) and 94.6% selectivity to 1-methoxy-2-propanol. It is also an effective catalyst for the reaction of PO with other primary alcohols to yield corresponding

ethers. In addition this catalyst can be recovered and reused.

CONCLUSION:The high activity and selectivity can probably be ascribed to its basicity and/or the strong polarity and electrostatic field of the reaction medium caused by the ionic liquid. These findings are very rare in synthesis of propylene glycol https://www.selleckchem.com/products/cbl0137-cbl-0137.html ether to our knowledge. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry”
“Keloids are a proliferative fibrotic disease characterized by abnormal

accumulation GSK1210151A in vivo of extracellular matrix in the dermis. Keloid lesions lack skin plasticity due to deficiencies in elastic fiber formation in the extracellular matrix. The loss of elastic fiber is caused by excessive accumulation of chondroitin sulfate (CS), a sulfated glycosaminoglycan. However, there is no radical cure for keloids. Using a model system, we show herein that treatment of keloid tissues with chondroitinase ABC, an enzyme that specifically digests CS, improves clinical features of keloids. Keloid tissues obtained from patients were grafted on nude mice, and chondroitinase ABC was injected into the grafted keloid tissues. Chondroitinase ABC treatment significantly reduced the volume of keloid implants concomitant with recovery of elastic fiber formation. These results suggest that chondroitinase ABC injection is an effective therapy

for keloid.”
“BACKGROUND: The capability of cyanobacteria to convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates offers a promising carbon-neutral energy solution. Unfortunately, the lifespan of cyanobacteria based photoelectrochemical cells is poor because BVD-523 purchase discharge current drops to zero within days. The primary factor that limits lifespan was believed to be the toxicity of an artificial mediator that extracts electrons from cyanoacteria to electrode. It is critical to experimentally identify the true limiting factor such that we could prolong the lifespan for practical use.

RESULTS: Systematic tests on cell physiology and current discharge were performed in autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions. Contrary to previous belief, results for cell viability, chlorophyll content and growth curve of Cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6714 under continuous vitamin K(3)-mediated current discharge did not exhibit any toxic effect. The role of glucose was then investigated. Surprisingly, discharge current dropped to zero although there was significant intracellular glycogen (2.5 x 10(-10) mg cell(-1)).