The abnormalities underlying diabetic neuropathy appear to be multiple and involve metabolic neuronal and vasomediated defects. The accumulation of long-chain fatty acids and impaired beta-oxidation due to deficiencies in carnitine and/or its esterified derivatives, such as acetyl-L-carnitine, may have deleterious effects. In the present study, we examined, in the diabetic bio-breeding Worceste...

Polyol concentrations were determined by selected-ion monitoring in 10 sample sets taken before dialysis and hourly for 4 h during dialysis. Predialysis concentrations (mumol/L) exceeding the upper limit of normal (mean + 2 SD; n = 33) were found for erythritol (25.4-59.0), threitol (11.5-46.7), and arabinitol (21.0-49.3) in all 10 cases; mannitol (2.7-62.0) in nine cases; and xylitol (0.7-1.3)...

Acetic acid bacteria, especially Gluconobacter species, have been known to catalyze the extensive oxidation of sugar alcohols (polyols) such as D-mannitol, glycerol, D-sorbitol, and so on. Gluconobacter species also oxidize sugars and sugar acids and uniquely accumulate two different keto-D-gluconates, 2-keto-D-gluconate and 5-keto-D-gluconate, in the culture medium by the oxidation of D-glucon...

A method has been developed for inducing spherule formation (spherulation) in the myxomycete Physarum polycephalum by transferring the culture to synthetic medium containing 0.5 m mannitol or other polyols. This morphogenetic process occurred within 12 to 35 hr after the inducer was added. The mature spherules existed as distinct morphogenetic units, in contrast to the clusters of spherules for...

Shape memory polyurethanes (SMPUs) are typically synthesized using polyols of low molecular weight (MW~2,000 g/mol) as it is believed that the high density of cross-links in these low molecular weight polyols are essential for high mechanical strength and good shape memory effect. In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) with MW ~6000 g/mol as the soft segment and diisocyanate as the hard ...

Galactitol 2-dehydrogenase (GDH) belongs to the protein subfamily of short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases and can be used to produce optically pure building blocks and for the bioconversion of bioactive compounds. An NAD(+)-dependent GDH from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 (RlGDH) was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The RlGDH protein was purified as an active soluble for...

Sorbitol and mannitol, two stereoisomeric osmolytes, inhibit the ATP-dependent Ca2+ transport in inside-out vesicles derived from basolateral membranes from kidney proximal tubules. This inhibition (I0.5 = 400 and 390 mM respectively) cannot be attributed to an increase in Ca2+ permeability, since the rate of EGTA-stimulated Ca2+ efflux from preloaded vesicles is not modified by these osmolytes...

The effect of 8 polyols and 14 aldoses or ketoses on the spontaneous aggregation of Ca-proteinates was followed spectrophotometrically in supernatants and filtrates of human mixed saliva. Each carbohydrate was added to the saliva samples at 37 degrees C and the precipitated material was analyzed for protein, total carbohydrate and Ca. Based on their effect on aggregation, the carbohydrates coul...

BACKGROUND Diapause, a condition of developmental arrest and metabolic depression exhibited by a wide range of animals is accompanied by complex physiological and biochemical changes that generally enhance environmental stress tolerance and synchronize reproduction. Even though some aspects of diapause have been well characterized, very little is known about the full range of molecular and bioc...