Configuration-Dependent Diffusion Dynamics of Downhill and Two-State Protein Folding

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The Origin of Nonmonotonic Complex Behavior and the Effects of Nonnative Interactions on the Diffusive Properties of Protein Folding

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applied to cancer diagnosis and detection of pesticides, explosives, and drugs

The inelastic scattering of light, Raman scattering, presents a very low cross section. However, the signal can be amplified by several orders of magnitude, leading to the so-called surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) phenomenon. Basically, the SERS effect is achieved when the target molecule (analyte) is adsorbed onto metallic nanoparticles, usually noble metals. This article presents an overview of the applications of SERS to cancer diagnosis and the detection of pesticides, explosives, and drugs (illicit and pharmacological). SERS is routinely applied nowadays to detect and identify analytes at very low concentrations, including for single-molecule detection. However, the application of SERS as an analytical tool requires reliable and reproducible SERS substrates, in terms of enhancement factors, which depends on the size, shape, and aggregation of the metallic nanoparticles. Therefore, the production of reliable and reproducible SERS substrates is a challenge in the field. Besides, the metallic nanoparticles can also induce changes in the system by possible interactions with the analyte under investigation, which must be taken into account. This review will present work in which, under certain specific experimental conditions, SERS has been analytically applied.

Estudo longitudinal da terapia antibiótica local de bolsas periodontais residuais. Análise clínica e microbiológica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Vibrational spectroscopy for probing molecular-level interactions in organic films mimicking biointerfaces

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A pesquisa sobre o fazer pesquisa: uma análise de citação da literatura periódica em Ciência da Informação

Introduction: This paper considers that information science (IS) literature covers a diversity of thematics with low emphasis on researches about conducting research. The study analyzes the scientific production of authors who investigate about research methodology in the information science (IS) literature, and the references used to lay the foundation of the methodological issues regarding the area. It discusses the methodological and epistemological positions of the leading researchers highlighted as the most productive investigators on the subject in the country. Method: The research adopts the content analysis coupled with metric studies to contextualize the indicators related to productivity, to the types of authorship and citation analysis. The bibliographic coupling method is considered an analysis mode which analyzes concomitant citations. It develops a theoretical framework about the importance of scientific production analysis in different knowledge fields. The study investigates, from a theoretical perspective, the concepts about research methodology and the complementarity between methodology and epistemology in conducting research. Results: The results of the analysis showed that the production of the highlighted authors presents the methodology as a thematic focus to be applied to IS contexts, as well as a research object in the field. The prominent productivity of the authors is justified especially by deepening the meta studies about the ways to conduct research in IS. This study also identifies a trend to single-authored studies about the theme. Conclusions: The research considers that meta studies and applied and methodological studies are important to recognize a consistent theoretical and practical core in the IS area. Regarding the epistemological influences identified by the citation analysis, the study observes that the critical rationalist epistemology and the social and political epistemology are highlighted in the construction of the theoretical framework of the most productive authors.

Detection of trace levels of atrazine using surface-enhanced Raman scattering and information visualization

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Capturing Transition Paths and Transition States for Conformational Rearrangements in the Ribosome

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Capacitance spectroscopy and density functional theory

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The evolution of phylogeographic data sets

Empirical phylogeographic studies have progressively sampled greater numbers of loci over time, in part motivated by theoretical papers showing that estimates of key demographic parameters improve as the number of loci increases. Recently, next-generation sequencing has been applied to questions about organismal history, with the promise of revolutionizing the field. However, no systematic assessment of how phylogeographic data sets have changed over time with respect to overall size and information content has been performed. Here, we quantify the changing nature of these genetic data sets over the past 20years, focusing on papers published in Molecular Ecology. We found that the number of independent loci, the total number of alleles sampled and the total number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) per data set has improved over time, with particularly dramatic increases within the past 5years. Interestingly, uniparentally inherited organellar markers (e.g. animal mitochondrial and plant chloroplast DNA) continue to represent an important component of phylogeographic data. Single-species studies (cf. comparative studies) that focus on vertebrates (particularly fish and to some extent, birds) represent the gold standard of phylogeographic data collection. Based on the current trajectory seen in our survey data, forecast modelling indicates that the median number of SNPs per data set for studies published by the end of the year 2016 may approach similar to 20000. This survey provides baseline information for understanding the evolution of phylogeographic data sets and underscores the fact that development of analytical methods for handling very large genetic data sets will be critical for facilitating growth of the field.

Non-centrosymmetric crystals of new N-benzylideneaniline derivatives as potential materials for non-linear optics

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)