Balance with respiration

We assume in the modern world that photosynthesis is balanced with respiration (see also Chapter 2.3.5.3). The reaction (2.42) is of Fischer-Tropsch type synthesis. This is also known from inorganic nature under conditions deep within the earth (Eq. 2.5 and 2.21) and in the upper atmosphere (Eq. 2.35), but under extreme... 

The above equations for photosynthesis and respiration, exactly balanced with respect to CO2, H2O, [C(H20)]6, and O2, mask an extraordinarily intricate set of reactions where balance tends to be masked by blurring detail. The objective here, however, is to dissect out sufficient detail to expose the primary energyconverting steps common to both processes and to demonstrate that model proteins, utilizing inverse temperature transitions, emulate key elements of those energy-converting steps. ... 

It is estimated that photosynthesis is a sink for around 60 billion tons of carbon every year, by far the strongest mechanism for carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. (This removal is almost exactly balanced by the respiration of animals, which combines oxygen with hydrocarbons to produce carbon dioxide and water vapor.)... 

The evolution of the profiles of the isotope ratio is shown in Figure 8-12, which plots the profiles at various times in the calculation. Early in the calculation, isotope ratios at shallow depths have been driven more negative by the release of isotopically light respiration carbon, but little change has occurred at greater depths. As the evolution proceeds, the ratios at shallow depths become more positive as the result of the dissolution and diffusion of heavier carbon from both above and below. In the final steady state, after some 15,000 years, the isotope ratio is nearly constant at about -0.6 per mil at depths below 100 centimeters, rising rapidly to the seawater value, +2 per mil in the top 100 centimeters. The final values reflect a balance between the release of isotopically light carbon by respiration and the release of isotopically heavy carbon by dissolution, with the additional influence of the diffusion of isotopically heavy seawater carbon. 

The required data generally are obtained by administering a measured dose of the candidate compound -- often isotopically labelled -- to the rat or mouse either by injection or per os. The animal is housed in a glass metabolism "cage" where it receives food, water, and clean air, and its urine, feces, and respired gases are collected and examined for the parent chemical and its metabolites. Eventual postmortem tissue analysis and calculation of material balance complete the measurements necessary to satisfy the above purposes of metabolism and pharmacokinetic experiments. While in vitro biochemical studies are important adjuncts, it is also apparent that only experiments with intact, healthy, living animals will suffice to meet EPA criteria. 

Tillie-Leblond I, Pugin J, Marquette CH, Lamblin C, Saulnier F, Brichet A, et al Balance between proinflamma-tory cytokines and their inhibitors in bronchial lavage from patients with status asthmaticus. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1999 159 487-494. 

The balance between relative rates of aerobic respiration and water movement were considered in Section 4.3.4. We saw that a subsurfece concentration minimum, the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), is a common characteristic of vertical profiles of dissolved oxygen and is produced by in situ respiration. Waters with O2 concentrations less than 2.0 ppm are termed hypoxic The term anoxic is applied to conditions when O2 is absent. (Some oceanographers use the term suboxic to refer to conditions where O2 concentrations fall below 0.2 ppm but are still detectable.) As illustrated by Figure 4.21b, this water column is hypoxic in the OMZ. The dissolved oxygen concentrations are presented as % saturations in Figure 4.21c. With the exception of the mixed layer, the water column is undersaturated with respect to dissolved oxygen with the most intense undersaturations present in mid-depths. Surface supersaturations are the result of O2 input from photosynthesis and bubble injection. 

In principle, the alkalinity of the water will also be affected by the balance of nutrient ions consumed and released by organisms in the water. But in practice these have a minor affect compared with CO2. The average composition of the algal biomass in natural waters is given by the Redfield formula (Redfield, 1934) as C106H263O110N16P. Therefore for the complete stoichiometry of algal photosynthesis and respiration, we have with NO3 as the source of N... 

As noted earlier, air-velocity profiles during inhalation and exhalation are approximately uniform and partially developed or fully developed, depending on the airway generation, tidal volume, and respiration rate. Similarly, the concentration profiles of the pollutant in the airway lumen may be approximated by uniform partially developed or fully developed concentration profiles in rigid cylindrical tubes. In each airway, the simultaneous action of convection, axial diffusion, and radial diffusion determines a differential mass-balance equation. The gas-concentration profiles are obtained from this equation with appropriate boundary conditions. The flux or transfer rate of the gas to the mucus boundary and axially down the airway can be calculated from these concentration gradients. In a simpler approach, fixed velocity and concentration profiles are assumed, and separate mass balances can be written directly for convection, axial diffusion, and radial diffusion. The latter technique was applied by McJilton et al. 

Acid-base and electrolyte balance High therapeutic dose especially when used in rheumatic fever, stimulates respiration and causes respiratory alkalosis. Reduction in bicarbonate and potassium level reduces the buffering capacity of the extracellular and intracellular fluid. Hypokalemia may lead to dehydration and hypernatremia. They also interfere with carbohydrate metabolism resulting in accumulation of pyruvic acid and lactic acid. 

Physiological, pharmacological, and biochemical responses do not usually lead to a tissue lesion, although there may be organ failure as a result. They may result from interactions of chemicals with receptors or specific enzymes leading to anoxia, inhibition of cellular respiration, respiratory failure, changes in pH, temperature, blood pressure or electrolyte balance, for example. 

Current estimates are that three protons move into the matrix through the ATP-synthase for each ATP that is synthesized. We see below that one additional proton enters the mitochondrion in connection with the uptake of ADP and Pi and export of ATP, giving a total of four protons per ATP. How does this stoichiometry relate to the P-to-O ratio When mitochondria respire and form ATP at a constant rate, protons must return to the matrix at a rate that just balances the proton efflux driven by the electron-transport reactions. Suppose that 10 protons are pumped out for each pair of electrons that traverse the respiratory chain from NADH to 02, and 4 protons move back in for each ATP molecule that is synthesized. Because the rates of proton efflux and influx must balance, 2.5 molecules of ATP (10/4) should be formed for each pair of electrons that go to 02. The P-to-O ratio thus is given by the ratio of the proton stoichiometries. If oxidation of succinate extrudes six protons per pair of electrons, the P-to-O ratio for this substrate is 6/4, or 1.5. These ratios agree with the measured P-to-O ratios for the two substrates. 

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