CryoNet #33256 - #33259

CryoNet <[email protected]> 21 Jan 2011 10:00:04 -0000
Newsgroups gmane.culture.science.cryogenics
Message-ID <[email protected]>
CryoNet - Fri 21 Jan 2011

    #33256: AW: CryoNet #33255 [Jens Rabis]
    #33257: Re: Automated Data Collection [Perry E. Metzger]
    #33258: upgrade for glycerol cryopreservation? [oberon]
    #33259: My life based on cryonics is starting out [=?UTF-8?Q?Jonathan_Despr=C3=A9s?=]

Rate This Digest: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33256%2D33259

Administrivia

To subscribe to CryoNet, send email to:
    [email protected]
with the subject line (not message _body_):
    subscribe
To unsubscribe, use the subject line:
    unsubscribe
To post a message to CryoNet, send your message to:
    [email protected]
from the same address to which you are aubscribed.
Send questions, comments, or feedback to [email protected]
with "CryoNet" or "cryonics" somewhere in the Subject line.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33256
From: "Jens Rabis" <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
Subject: AW: CryoNet #33255
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:50:11 +0100

Hi cryonauts, hi Mike 

I suggest to stop any investment in a) resuscitation technologies, b) life
extension technologies. But invest to freezing technologies. Because:
 1. a) comes later automatically
 2. b) is not our (Cryonics Institute) job
 3. c) Only a few hundred years, we are rich (because of the time factor -
the exponential growth of wealth). We do not have enough money to  "dance to
several weddings!" Or?

*********

ich schlage vor, jede Investitionen in a) Reanimationstechnologien, b)
Lebensverlangerungstechnologien zu stoppen. Dafur aber in
Einfriertechnologien zu investieren. Weil:
1. a) kommt spater automatisch
2. b) ist nicht unser (Kryonikinstitute) Job
3. c)  Erst in ein paar hundert Jahren sind wir reich (wegen des Zeitfaktors
- exponentieller Wachstum des Reichtums). Wir konnen uns es jetzt(!) nicht
leisten " auf mehreren Hochzeiten zu tanzen! " Oder?



Best greetings
Jens Rabis
Germany-Berlin
" The time is with us, we can ... more! Life is for my ... curiosity :-) "




-----Ursprungliche Nachricht-----
Von: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Im
Auftrag von CryoNet
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 20. Januar 2011 11:00
An: [email protected]
Betreff: CryoNet #33255




Message #33255
From: [email protected]
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:49:14 EST
Subject: Automated Data Collection

In a message dated 1/19/2011 2:00:07 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:

Mike Darwin writes:
> MD: I'll leave this question to Brian,  because he can discourse at 
> length on the magic that is differential  scanning calorimetery (DSC). 
> DSC can detect  the minutest of  phase changes in a sample,
> and if your numbers all sum out   right, then you can be pretty sure
> "what's what" after cooling to any  given  temperature. I was still at 
> 21CM when Brian began this  work, and it was horrible  - the kind of 
> thing that would drive  me barking mad. Basically you crimp a tiny  
> volume of solution  'just so' into sealed metal pans, and put them in 
> the device  and  cool them. Of course, the catch is, that you must do 
> this thousands  and  thousands of times to build a picture of how 
> different  solutions behave under  different regimens of cooling and  
> re-warming. It is boring, repetitive  and truly
> dull   work.>>

These days, this is what one builds small robots to do.  (That is what has
made much of recent science possible. No one could handle  the precision and
boredom associated with many modern data  collection tasks -- automation is
why they are possible at all.  Luckily, technology to do things like that
has gotten dirt cheap in the  last decade or so.)

Perry,


I'm  often surprised by what is automated and what is not.  

I love to visit factories of all kinds everywhere I go (hospitals  too), and
I see that my interest must be shared by others, because there are  now
these (to me at least) absolutely captivating TV programmes like "How It's
Made." In Chen Chang, I saw all kinds of factories, and I observed a lot of
automation, but only where cleanliness, rapidity and high precision were
required. Where people can do, they are still used. By contrast, in Germany,
the UK and the US, even very basic tasks that are not very sophisticated are
automated. The difference is the cost of labor (and the regulatory burden). 
As  it turns out, it costs a tremendous amount of money to automate any kind
of  precision, multi-step process. 
 
A machine to manufacture needles may cost upwards of a million dollars.  Of
course, that's a bargain compared to paying the people required  (in a
developed country) to do the job. Aside from the high direct  costs, people
are a pain the arse. And even then, costs are as low as  they are because a
lot of manufacturing automation will not be a 'one-off' -  other people need
needle making machines, too. 
 
Preparing the sample for analysis in the DSC requires (at least) these
steps:
 
1) Someone has to mix up the various solutions that are to be evaluated.  
These solutions will 'one-offs' that are made up just for the purpose of
evaluation. It's not like you are taking samples from various batches of
medicine, soda, beer, etc., that being produced en masse for commerce.
 
2) The DSC 'pans' are very small, indeed tiny little metal containers -
smaller than most hearing aid batteries. They must be filled with care and
precision: no air bubbles can be present, and care must be taken to avoid
contamination of the sample with water from the atmosphere in the case of
hygroscopic CPAs (i.e., most of them).
 
3) The pan must be very artfully closed and crimped, and only then is it
place in the DSC. 
 
The whole thing is a nightmare of careful and precise labor. And of course,
you can't mix up 1 mL  of your putative CPA mixtures, because you  can't
measure that precisely or repeatedly. [Actually, you can, but
microchesmistry has its own headaches and is only economical if the reagents
cost a fiortune.]
 
Could a machine do all this? Absolutely! Just be prepared to shell out
$1-2 million and to spend a couple of years ironing out the bugs. AND you
will have a lot of overhead in the form of skilled people to maintain the
machine.  Turn out, wasting a brilliant mind like Brian Wowk's on such
dreary business  is cost effective. Also, there are technicians who can be
trained to do this  work.
 
The brutal fact is that this civilization does not much value intellects
such as Brian's. Nor do they value any intellect that does not provide a
return on investment within ~5 years, on average.
 
As someone who has had direct experience trying to automate some
comparatively simple things, such as cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (which  is
very simple to automated compared to some of the unbelievably complex and
exactly manufacturing processes I've seen automated), it can be surprisingly
difficult, even if you have you have experts, and enormous computing power
at  your disposal. CPB is arguably no more complex than flying and landing a
jetliner - and that process has been fully automated for at least  a decade.
Yes, you still need a pilot, and you would still need a  perfusionist in
automated CPB, but such automation provides enormous added  safety (used
wisely) and it also may allow for the use of knowledgeable, but  less
skilled personnel, in emergent situations - such as in-field CPB for
refractory cardiac arrest. [You can have knowledge without reflexes!] 
 
However, such automation is challenging, and even if achieved, there has to
be a market for it. Due mostly to regulatory constraints, that market is not
there for automated CPB. That means you have no economies of scale and that
further drives up the price and drives down the reliability of any system
you do develop. Wide use = robustness and reliability. As to automating CPA
evaluation, well, that is so far from a priority for this civilization it is
impossible to put into words.  At least not words I can post here ;-0.
 
Mike Darwin




 Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"

[ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] 

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33255


End of CryoNet Digest
*********************

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33256

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33257
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:23:20 -0500
From: "Perry E. Metzger" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Automated Data Collection
References: <[email protected]>

This gets a bit afield of the actual cryonics, but then again, so much
here does. Hopefully it isn't entirely worthless to discuss.

> From: [email protected]
> > 
> > Mike Darwin writes:
> > > MD: I'll leave this question to Brian,  because he can discourse
> > > at length on the magic that is differential  scanning calorimetery
> > > (DSC). DSC can detect  the minutest of  phase changes in a sample,
> > > and if your numbers all sum out   right, then you can be pretty
> > > sure "what's what" after cooling to any  given  temperature. I
> > > was still at 21CM when Brian began this  work, and it was
> > > horrible  - the kind of thing that would drive  me barking mad.
> > > Basically you crimp a tiny  volume of solution  'just so' into
> > > sealed metal pans, and put them in the device  and  cool them. Of
> > > course, the catch is, that you must do this thousands  and
> > > thousands of times to build a picture of how different  solutions
> > > behave under  different regimens of cooling and  re-warming. It
> > > is boring, repetitive  and truly dull   work.>>
> >
> > These days, this is what one builds small robots to do.  (That is
> > what has made much of recent science possible. No one could handle
> > the precision and boredom associated with many modern data
> > collection tasks -- automation is why they are possible at all.
> > Luckily, technology to do things like that has gotten dirt cheap in
> > the  last decade or so.)
[...]

Now, I want to be clear, I'm not actually proposing any of this is
important enough to do...

> Preparing the sample for analysis in the DSC requires (at least)
> these steps:
>
> 1) Someone has to mix up the various solutions that are to be
> evaluated. These solutions will 'one-offs' that are made up just
> for the purpose of evaluation. It's not like you are taking samples
> from various batches of medicine, soda, beer, etc., that being
> produced en masse for commerce.

There are inexpensive pump systems these days that can quite precisely
move a small, well measured quantity of fluid from a reservoir to an
output location.

> 2) The DSC 'pans' are very small, indeed tiny little metal
> containers - smaller than most hearing aid batteries. They must be
> filled with care and precision: no air bubbles can be present, and
> care must be taken to avoid contamination of the sample with water
> from the atmosphere in the case of hygroscopic CPAs (i.e., most of
> them).

Glove box + insulin needles at the ends of the tubing from the
reservoirs will probably work nicely. It is straightforward these days
to buy or build a stage that will move quite precisely that one can
put one's containers onto -- drive motors, screw shafts and the
associated electronics will cost only a couple hundred dollars for
that. Once a precision molded plastic grid to hold the containers
would have cost a bunch of time and money to produce, but now we have
rapid prototype machines that will print such things in plastic in a
few minutes given a straightforward CAD design.

Given this, one could easily place a few hundred open "pans" in
precision locations on a movable stage and fill them all with varying
mixtures very, very rapidly.

> 3) The pan must be very artfully closed and crimped, and only then
> is it place in the DSC.

That would be a bit of a challenge -- possibly an insurmountable
one. Probably the only reasonable way to deal with that is to alter
the "pan" design. I know little about this stuff and it may not be
possible at all, of course.

> The whole thing is a nightmare of careful and precise labor. And
> of course, you can't mix up 1 mL  of your putative CPA mixtures,
> because you  can't measure that precisely or repeatedly. [Actually,
> you can, but microchesmistry has its own headaches and is only
> economical if the reagents  cost a fiortune.]

It isn't so bad if you use the right equipment at this point. A
machine will happily dispense sub-milliliter quantities of several
liquids easily, and such machines are no longer expensive to construct.

> Could a machine do all this? Absolutely! Just be prepared to shell
> out $1-2 million and to spend a couple of years ironing out the
> bugs.

Oh, I doubt it. We're in an era where the controller electronics,
servos, etc. to build something like a Makerbot are now so cheap the
something like that -- which is a much more precise device than what
we're talking about here -- can cost well under $1000, even made more
or less from scratch with little in the way of economies of scale. I
know people who've built "bar bots" -- robots designed to precision
mix drinks -- as stunts for parties, on quite low (<$2000) budgets.

I suspect doing something like this correctly is a couple months work,
and the main cost would be labor, with the hardware in the noise. I'd
guess we're talking tens of thousands, not millions, of dollars.

Now, ten or twenty years ago, I'd grant you that things would have
been quite different, but they've changed a lot. Why is this possible
now when it wasn't a few years ago?

Well, several reasons. First, the cost of prepackaged microcontroller kits
capable of managing the hardware has gone through the floor -- Arduino
and similar systems now cost well under $100 and are easy even for
non-experts to program. Similar devices twenty years ago would have
cost tens of thousands of dollars if they existed without custom
design and fabrication at all.

Families of mechanical components capable of serving these markets
have become common and easy to purchase from suppliers that produce
them in heavy volume. These make the construction of simple mechanical
stages, "arms" with very simple motions, simple but precise pumps,
etc., inexpensive.

Also, the expertise needed to build simple mechanical devices suitable
for lightweight automation of this kind has become more and more
widespread.

The world does indeed make progress with time.

> As someone who has had direct experience trying to automate some
> comparatively simple things, such as cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)

Not clear what this involves here -- surely you don't refer to
automation of the surgical procedure itself?

> (which  is very simple to automated compared to some of the
> unbelievably complex and  exactly manufacturing processes I've seen
> automated), it can be surprisingly difficult, even if you have you
> have experts, and enormous computing power at  your disposal. CPB
> is arguably no more complex than flying and landing a jetliner -
> and that process has been fully automated for at least  a decade.
> Yes, you still need a pilot, and you would still need a
> perfusionist in automated CPB, but such automation provides
> enormous added  safety (used wisely) and it also may allow for the
> use of knowledgeable, but  less skilled personnel, in emergent
> situations - such as in-field CPB for  refractory cardiac arrest.

Ah, well, here, remember you face the FDA. There are folks who do
research in one corner of my lab on medical device automation, and I
get the distinct impression that no matter how simple the device, the
cost of actually getting anything to market is astonishingly large.

The world of medicine is filled with pain for those who propose to
improve it. Even now, most doctors I deal with have poor automation of
simple business practices, and that's stuff that doesn't even require
the FDA to fix.

> [You can have knowledge without reflexes!] However, such automation
> is challenging, and even if achieved, there has to be a market for
> it. Due mostly to regulatory constraints, that market is not there
> for automated CPB. That means you have no economies of scale and
> that further drives up the price and drives down the reliability of
> any system  you do develop. Wide use = robustness and reliability.
> As to automating CPA  evaluation, well, that is so far from a
> priority for this civilization it is  impossible to put into
> words.  At least not words I can post here ;-0.

Not surprised, sadly.

Perry
--
Perry E. Metzger		[email protected]

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33257

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33258
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:57:12 -0800 (PST)
From: [email protected]
Subject: upgrade for glycerol cryopreservation?

http://www.cryonics.org/perfusion/Glycerol.html

CI now suggests cephalic cryoprotectant perfusion for their dry ice
"customers".  The solutions recommended are saline (0.91 w/v%
NaCl) supplemented with 2 to 8 M glycerol. I wondered whether
there might not be a low cost upgrade for such solutions. The following
suggestion is what I came up with.

Suggestion: Add a dash of filtered red wine, and replace a pinch of salt
with some sodium bicarbonate.

The rationale: The cost is negligible. The only safety concern derives
from the very small amount of acid, which can easily be neutralized by a
pinch of sodium bicarbonate. The main reason for adding a "dash" of red
wine is because this offers powerful protection against glycerol toxicity
in live bodies. The main drawback is that it is not known what the
magnitude of this protection would be in dead bodies. However since both
cost and risks are negligible, there appears to be no reason not to
gamble with this addition.

Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2004 Sep;19(9):2237-44. Epub 2004 Jul 6.
Amelioration of myoglobinuric renal damage in rats by chronic exposure to flavonol-rich red wine.
Rodrigo R, Bosco C, Herrera P, Rivera G. Laboratorio de Fisiopatologia Renal, Programa de Farmacologia Molecular y Clinica, ICBM, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Casilla 70058, Santiago 7, Chile.
Abstract
  BACKGROUND: Myoglobinuric acute renal failure causes increased oxidative stress. Since ethanol upregulates renal antioxidant enzymes and wine polyphenols behave as antioxidants, we tested the hypothesis that red wine components would ameliorate the renal damage caused by rhabdomyolysis.
METHODS: Adult rats received water (control), alcohol-free red wine, ethanol 12.5% (v/v) or red wine for 10 weeks. Rhabdomyolysis was induced by glycerol injection (50%, 10 ml/kg, i.m.), and urine and blood samples were collected 6 h later to measure renal function parameters, creatine kinase (CK) activity, free F(2)-isoprostanes and total antioxidant capacity. Kidneys were then harvested for morphological studies and determinations of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, (Na + K)-ATPase and antioxidant enzyme activities.
RESULTS: In the control group, myoglobinuria was associated with a 68% decrease in creatinine clearance and increases in plasma creatinine and blood urea nitrogen of 3.2 and 1.8 times above baseline, respectively. Controls also showed increases in plasma free F(2)-isoprostanes levels and CK activity, together with enhanced renal expression of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, as well as increased production of malondialdehyde and carbonyls. Rhabdomolysis reduced renal (Na + K)-ATPase activity and this reduction was associated with a 5-fold increase in fractional sodium excretion as well as morphological damage to the kidney. These changes were significantly attenuated by pretreatment with chronic red wine exposure prior to glycerol injection
 . A less marked degree of functional and biochemical protection was also observed in response to the administration of alcohol-free red wine and ethanol.
CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that red wine protects against functional, biochemical and morphological damage caused by rhabdomyolysis in the rat, and this protection may be due to the synergistic effects of ethanol and non-alcoholic red wine components.
PMID: 15238628
Free text>
http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/9/2237.full.pdf+html

Atherosclerosis. 2010 Oct;212(2):426-35. Epub 2010 Jun 25.
Moderate intake of red wine improves ischemia-induced neovascularization in diabetic mice--roles of endothelial progenitor cells and nitric oxide.
Huang PH, Tsai HY, Wang CH, Chen YH, Chen JS, Lin FY, Lin CP, Wu TC, Sata M, Chen JW, Lin SJ. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medical Research and Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract
  OBJECTIVE: Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a significant role in postnatal neovascularization. Patients with diabetes have attenuated EPC functions and impaired angiogenic response after tissue ischemia. We investigated whether moderate red wine consumption can enhance blood flow recovery in response to tissue ischemia by enhancement of EPC functions in diabetic mice.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Starting at 4 weeks after diabetes onset, red wine (4 ml/kg/day) or ethanol were administered to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced (type 1) diabetic mice and KKAy-Ta (type 2) mice. Unilateral hind limb ischemia surgery was conducted after 2 weeks of red wine or ethanol ingestion. Type 1 and type 2 diabetic mice given red wine, but not ethanol, had significantly increased collateral flow about 30% and augmented capillary density in ischemic tissues. These beneficial effects were markedly abolished by an eNOS inhibitor (L-NAME). Flow cytometry analysis showed impaired EPC-like cells (Sca-1+/Flk-1+) mobilization after ischemia surgery in diabetic mice, but augmented mobilization in red wine group (baseline vs. 2 days after operation: 0.88 0.06% vs. 1.73 0.29%, p=0.010). C-kit 
 positive bone marrow cells isolated from diabetic mice given red wine had enhanced adhesion and migration compared to mice given vehicle. By in-vitro studies, incubation with red wine in hig
 h-glucose medium significantly reduced H2O2 production, and improved high glucose-suppressed EPC functions by nitric oxide-related mechanisms.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that red wine consumption enhances blood flow recovery after tissue ischemia in diabetic mice. These effects may partly derive from enhanced EPC functions by upregulation of eNOS activity.
Copyright C 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID: 20637466

Lipids. 2000 Feb;35(2):143-8.
A high-fat diet induces and red wine counteracts endothelial dysfunction in human volunteers.
Cuevas AM, Guasch V, Castillo O, Irribarra V, Mizon C, San Martin A, Strobel P, Perez D, Germain AM, Leighton F. Department of Nutrition, Metabolism & Diabetes, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago.
Abstract
  Endothelial dysfunction is associated with atherogenesis and oxidative stress in humans. In rat and rabbit blood vessels, wine polyphenol antioxidants induce vascular relaxation in vitro through the NO-cGMP pathway. To assess the effect of a regular high-fat diet (HFD) and moderate red wine consumption on endothelial function (EF), a study was performed in healthy male volunteers. EF was measured as flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery, employing high-resolution ultrasound after an overnight fast. Other clinical and biochemical parameters related to EF were also measured. Six volunteers received a control diet, rich in fruits and vegetables (27% calories as fat) and five volunteers received an HFD (39.5% calories as fat). Measurements were done twice on each volunteer: after a
  period of 30 d with diet plus 240 mL of red wine/d, and after a period of 30 d with diet, without wine. In the absence of wine, there is a reduction of EF with HFD when compared to the cont
 rol diet (P = 0.014). This loss of EF is not seen when both diets are supplemented with wine for 30 d (P = 0.001). Plasma levels of n-3 fatty acids (R2 = 0.232, P = 0.023) and lycopene (R2 = 0.223, P = 0.020) show a positive correlation with individual EF measurements, but they do not account for the significant differences observed among dietary groups or after wine supplementation. These results help elucidate the deleterious effect of a high-fat diet and the protective role of wine, n-3 fatty acids and dietary antioxidants in cardiovascular disease.
PMID: 10757544

Ann Neurol. 2000 Oct;48(4):686-7.
Lyophilized red wine administration prolongs survival in an animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Esposito E, Rossi C, Amodio R, Di Castelnuovo A, Bendotti C, Rotondo T, Algeri S, Rotilio D.
PMID: 11026458 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Brain Res. 2010 Jul 30;1346:247-50. Epub 2010 May 27.
Red wine but not ethanol at low doses can protect against the toxicity of methamphetamine.
Ali SF, Bondy SC. Neurochemistry Laboratory, Division of Neurotoxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR 72079-9502, USA.
Abstract
  The goal of this study was twofold: (a) to search for possible interactive effects between two common drugs of abuse, ethanol and methamphetamine. b) To inquire whether any effects of ethanol could be replicated using an equivalent amount of ethanol in the form of red wine. Adult male C57/6N mice received 2% ethanol for 8 weeks in drinking water or red wine diluted to yield the same ethanol content. On the 9th week animals received multiple injections of methamphetamine (4 x 10 mg/kg, ip, every 2 h). They were then sacrificed 72 h after treatment. Methamphetamine produced a significant depletion of dopamine and DOPAC in the striatum. Treatment with both ethanol and methamphetamine led to a reduction of striatal dopamine and DOPAC that were both non-significantly greater than that observe
 d with methamphetamine alone. Alcohol alone produced no changes in the striatal content of dopamine or its metabolite, DOPAC. These data suggest that low doses of alcohol potentiate methamph
 etamine-induced neurotoxicity in mice and that this combination may be especially detrimental to the brain. However, an equivalent dose of ethanol in the form of red wine actually partially protected against methamphetamine-induced depletion of dopamine and DOPAC in red wine treated mice. This implies the presence of other agents in red wine, which may mitigate the toxicity of methamphetamine.
Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PMID: 20510887

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2011 Jan 14;404(2):743-9. Epub 2010 Dec 16.
Chronic intake of red wine polyphenols by young rats prevents aging-induced endothelial dysfunction and decline in physical performance: Role of NADPH oxidase.
Dal-Ros S, Zoll J, Lang AL, Auger C, Keller N, Bronner C, Geny B, Schini-Kerth VB. UMR CNRS 7213, Laboratoire de Biophotonique et de Pharmacologie, Faculte de Pharmacie, Universite de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France.
Abstract
  Aging is associated with oxidative stress-mediated endothelial dysfunction and decline in physical performance, which promote cardiovascular diseases. This study examined whether chronic intake of red wine polyphenols (RWPs), a rich source of natural antioxidants, prevents aging-related impairment of vascular function and physical exercise capacity. Vascular reactivity from 12, 20 and 40week-old rats was assessed in organ chambers. Rats received from week 16 to 40 either solvent, RWPs or the antioxidant and NADPH oxidase inhibitor, apocynin. Aging was associated with blunted endothelium-dependent relaxations, oxidative stress (dihydroethidine staining), and an upregulation of eNOS, arginase I, NADPH oxidase p22phox and nox1 subunits, and AT1 and AT2 receptors (assessed by immunohistochem
 istry) in the mesenteric artery. RWPs and apocynin improved the endothelial dysfunction, normalized oxidative stress and the expression of the different proteins. RWPs also improved aging-re
 lated decline in physical exercise. Thus, intake of RWPs protects against aging-induced endothelial dysfunction and decline in physical performance. These effects likely involve the ability of RWPs to normalize oxidative stress and the expression of proteins involved in the formation of NO and the angiotensin II pathway.
Copyright AC 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PMID: 21167817

Ethanol has been tested as a cryoprotectant. Unfortunately, red wine
itself has never been tested, despite its much lower toxicity
profile. The only reason that has occurred to me to account for this
omission alludes to psychological limitations of scientists.

Cryobiology. 2009 Apr;58(2):166-9. Epub 2008 Dec 11.
Influence of cryoprotectants on abnormality and motility of baung (Mystus nemurus) spermatozoa after long-term cryopreservation.
Muchlisin ZA, Azizah MN. Department of Marine Sciences, Faculty of Sciences Syiah Kuala University, Kopelma Darussalam, Banda Aceh, NAD 23111, Indonesia.
Abstract
  Study on the effect of cryoprotectants on abnormality and motility of baung, Mystus nemurus spermatozoa were evaluated using transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Four cryoprotectants, dmso, ethanol, methanol and glycerol at concentration of 10% were tested in triplicates. Three ml of fresh sperm which was diluted with 60 ml of ringer solution was added to each of twelve 5-ml vials containing of 0.50-ml of the cryoprotectants. The vials were placed in an icebox containing dry ice 5 min and then storage into container containing liquid nitrogen for 13 months. The effect of cryoprotectants on the spermatozoa abnormality and motility were significant (P<0.05). The spermatozoa abnormality was significantly lower in methanol (62.65%) compared with the other cryoprotectants. The sperm
 atozoa motility was higher in methanol, but not significantly different with ethanol (P>0.05). It is a negative correlation between sperm motility and abnormality. Generally, higher abnormal
 ities of spermatozoa resulted low motility.
PMID: 19114036

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33258

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33259
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 07:07:51 +0100
Subject: My life based on cryonics is starting out
From: =?UTF-8?Q?Jonathan_Despr=C3=A9s?= <[email protected]>

I'm already seeing the success of my life with cryonics, as people
start to become interested by me just for that. Already. That is
awesome. I imagine the future and the rest. =) haha!

--Jon

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33259

----------------------------------------------------------------------

End of CryoNet Digest
*********************