Human blood cells at microgravity: the NASA Initial Blood Storage Experiment

The Initial Blood Storage Experiment (IBSE) probed the behavior of human red cells, white cells, and platelets during exposure to microgravity for 6 days and 2 hours on a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shuttle mission, named STS 61-C, which was launched on January 12, 1986. IBSE involved carefully controlled comparisons between two identical sets of blood cells, one exposed to microgravity and the other held on the ground. Specially designed and fabricated, electrically powered environmental chambers provided appropriate environmental temperatures and air flow to support cell metabolism throughout the experiment. To circumvent the need for constant agitation of platelets during storage, a new thin-layer compression method for platelet preservation was developed. Blood cell samples were allocated to the two arms of the experiment, microgravity and earth gravity, by blind assignment. Moreover, to ensure unbiased assessment of the experiment's findings, postexperiment samples for measurement were identified by code. To optimize the chances of detecting possible gravitational effects, a wide array of measurements of cellular function, morphology, metabolism, and immunology were made. Analysis of variance was used in analyzing the data. The most striking finding was that platelets displayed markedly superior structural and functional integrity at microgravity. Granulocytes held on the ground were preserved slightly better than those that orbited in the shuttle, whereas red cells displayed few effects that were attributable to the gravitational variable. Polyvinylchloride-di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (PVC-DEHP) was the plastic of choice for storage of red cells, while PVC-trioctyltrimellitate (TOTM) was superior to PVC-DEHP and polyolefin (PO) for platelets.     

Hematological profile of pregnant women in southwest of Nigeria

ObjectiveTo evaluate the values of some major hematological parameters at different trimesters of pregnancy.MethodsThe research involved 33 healthy pregnant women as the study group and 11 non-pregnant women as control. The age range of these women was 20-40 years. Ethical approval was obtained from Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu. Three milliliters of venous blood collected from the median cubital vein with minimum stasis were put into K⁺EDTA bottle. The blood was properly mixed and analyzed for packed cell volume (PCV), total white cell count, differential counts and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Hematology was done according to standard methods.ResultsThe result showed that study group exhibited statistically significant lower values of PCV, monocyte and lymphocyte while WBC, eosinophil and ESR were not significantly changed. There was no significant difference in all hematological parameters among the three trimesters.ConclusionsHealthy pregnancy may have effect on hematological parameters. Therefore, there is a need to monitor these parameters during pregnancy. We also find that stages of pregnancy have no influence on hematological parameters.     

Synthesis and analgesic properties of N-phosphorylated derivatives of Phe-Ala and Phe-Gly

N-Phosphoryl dipeptides derived from Phe-Ala, Phe-Ala-NH₂ and Phe-Gly-NH₂ were synthesized and their analgesic activity was evaluated in mice. Intracere-broventricular administration of P-Phe-Ala-NH₂ produced a 100-fold increase in the analgesic potency of Phe-Ala and led to a potentiation and prolongation of the analgesic effect of the exogenously administered Met-enkephalin.