Biological Effects of a Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Field on Yeast Cells of the Genus Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Low-Frequency Magnetic Field Exposure System for Cells Electromagnetic Biocompatibility Studies

The advancement in science and technology has resulted in the invention and widespread usage of many electrical devices in the daily lives of humans. The exponential use of modern electronic facilities has increased electromagnetic field exposure in the current population. Therefore, the presented article deals with designing, constructing, and testing a new applicator system developed for cells electromagnetic biocompatibility studies. The applicator system is intended for studying the non-thermal impacts of low-frequency magnetic field on cell cultures growth. Main attention is focused on increasing the capacity of the applicator and effectivity of the experiments. The key idea is to reach high level of the magnetic field homogeneity in an area of interest and the temperature stability during the biocompatibility studies. The applicator system is designed based on numerical simulations and its construction, measurements, and properties evaluation are also reported for proving the applicator’s functionality. The new applicator allows performing five parallel experiments at the same time under the same conditions. The simulation together with the experimental results confirm that the magnetic field homogeneity reaches 99% in the area of interest and the maximum temperature instability is lower than 2% during the experiments. The effectiveness of new applicator is tested and proved during preliminary experiments with Saccharomyces Cerevisiae cells. The observed effects of MF exposure represent maximal stimulation of 74% and maximal inhibition of 49%. The reason why MF with the same parameters induces inhibition in one sample and stimulation in the other will be the subject of further research.

Measurement of Base Transceiver Station Exposure in the Extra-Village Environment- A Pilot Study

In recent years, communication using electromagnetic (EM) radiation became an integral part of our lives. As a result, there is a large number of base transceiver stations (BTSs) which act as a source of high EM exposure for inhabitants mainly in the “hot-spot” areas. They employ higher values of radiation, thus, providing potentially harmful effects on living or working environment. The aim of this pilot study was to study a distribution of hot-spots and EMF power in a vicinity of BTSs. BTS was located in an extra-village area at least 500 m away from the nearest city or surrounded villages in the district of Martin. The targeted area of EM radiation from the BTS was divided into two smaller zones, the right and the left. For a better visualization, topographic maps were created. Using spectral analyzer Aaronia Spectran HF-6085, intensities of EMF within the frequency range from 880 – 960 MHz (GSM900) were recorded. Maximum values of EMF power flux density were 146.827 μW/m2 in horizontal and 96.448 μW/m2 in vertical plane. Minimal va lues were 0.052 μW/m2 in horizontal and 0.179 μW/m2 vertical plane respectively. The maps revealed two hotspots in the left zone and also two (smaller and larger) hotspots in the right zone. Our values were below the actual limits given by the Slovak Republic and the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) safety guidelines. However, the values from the hotspots were above the limits suggested by the BioInitiative Report. Our results indicate an elevation of EMF values in the hot-spots even in the extra-village areas. Further studies are needed to analyze in detail EMF parameters in the hot-spots, and their effects on living and working environments.

Classifier Spot Count Optimization of Automated Fluorescent Slide Scanning System

Purpose: Ionizing radiation induced foci (IRIF) known also as DNA repair foci represent the most sensitive endpoint for assessing DNA double strand breaks (DSB). IRIF are usually visualized and enumerated with the aid of fluorescence microscopy using antibodies to γH2AX and 53BP1. Although several approaches and software packages were developed for the quantification of IRIF, not one of them was commonly accepted and inter-laboratory variability in the outputs was reported. In this study, the sensitization of Metafer software to counting also small appearing IRIF was validated.

Materials and Methods: Human lymphocytes were γ-irradiated at a dose of 2 Gy. The cells were fixed at 0.5, 1, 2, and 18 hours post-irradiation, permeabilized and IRIF were immunostained using appropriate antibodies. Cell images were acquired with the automatic Metafer system. Radiation-induced γH2AX and 53BP1 foci were enumerated using either manual counting (JCountPro program) or the Metafer software (after its classifier optimization has been done) and compared. The statistical analysis was performed using One-way ANOVA.

Results: The enumeration of 53BP1, γH2AX foci manually by JCountPro did not statistically significantly differ from the automatic one performed with the optimized Metafer classifier. A detailed step-by-step protocol of this successful optimization is described in this study.

Conclusions: We concluded that the Metafer software after the optimization was efficient in objectively enumerating IRIF, having a potential for usage in clinics and molecular epidemiology.