Synthesis of 'difficult' peptides free of aspartimide and related products, using peptoid methodology

We developed an efficient, cost effective strategy for Fmoc-based solid phase synthesis of 'difficult' peptides and/or peptides containing Asp/Asn-Gly sequences, free of aspartimide and related products, using a peptoid methodology for the preparation of N-substituted glycines.

The effect of blending on selected physical properties of crude oils and their products

A study was made of the effect of blending practice upon selected physical properties of crude oils, and of various base oils and petroleum products, using a range of binary mixtures. The crudes comprised light, medium and heavy Kuwait crude oils. The properties included kinematic viscosity, pour point, boiling point and Reid vapour pressure. The literature related to the prediction of these properties, and the changes reported to occur on blending, was critically reviewed as a preliminary to the study. The kinematic viscosity of petroleum oils in general exhibited non-ideal behaviour upon blending. A mechanism was proposed for this behaviour which took into account the effect of asphaltenes content. A correlation was developed, as a modification of Grunberg's equation, to predict the viscosities of binary mixtures of petroleum oils. A correlation was also developed to predict the viscosities of ternary mixtures. This correlation showed better agreement with experimental data (< 6% deviation for crude oils and 2.0% for base oils) than currently-used methods, i.e. ASTM and Refutas methods. An investigation was made of the effect of temperature on the viscosities of crude oils and petroleum products at atmospheric pressure. The effect of pressure on the viscosity of crude oil was also studied. A correlation was developed to predict the viscosity at high pressures (up to 8000 psi), which gave significantly better agreement with the experimental data than the current method due to Kouzel (5.2% and 6.0% deviation for the binary and ternary mixtures respectively). Eyring's theory of viscous flow was critically investigated, and a modification was proposed which extends its application to petroleum oils. The effect of blending on the pour points of selected petroleum oils was studied together with the effect of wax formation and asphaltenes content. Depression of the pour point was always obtained with crude oil binary mixtures. A mechanism was proposed to explain the pour point behaviour of the different binary mixtures. The effects of blending on the boiling point ranges and Reid vapour pressures of binary mixtures of petroleum oils were investigated. The boiling point range exhibited ideal behaviour but the R.V.P. showed negative deviations from it in all cases. Molecular weights of these mixtures were ideal, but the densities and molar volumes were not. The stability of the various crude oil binary mixtures, in terms of viscosity, was studied over a temperature range of 1oC - 30oC for up to 12 weeks. Good stability was found in most cases.

Lyophilisation and sterilisation of liposomal vaccines to produce stable and sterile products

The advantages of liposomes as delivery systems for peptide, protein and DNA vaccines is well-recognised, unfortunately their application has been stinted by their instability during storage and their limited shelf-life. Further, sterilisation of these systems has been problematic, with degradation of the liposomes being reported after sterilisation using the various techniques available. Work form our laboratory has investigated techniques that can be applied to particulate liposomal vaccines such that they can be prepared in a freeze-dried and sterile format. In this article, we describe techniques for the lyophilisation, cryoprotection and sterilisation of liposomal vaccines. Applying these methods allows for the retention of both the chemical integrity of the lipids and the key physico-chemical characteristics of the liposomes (e.g., particle size, zeta potential, and dynamic viscosity), thus supporting the enhanced transition of liposomal vaccines from the bench to the clinic. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Permeability characteristics of temozolomide and its ester and amide products through rat and human skin.

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Salespersons as internal knowledge brokers and new products selling:discovering the link to genetic makeup

Managers increasingly realize the importance of involving the sales force in new product development. However, despite recent progress, research on the specific role of the sales force in product innovation-related activities remains scarce. In particular, the importance of a salespersons’ internal knowledge brokering has been neglected. This study develops and empirically validates the concept of internal knowledge brokering behavior and its effect on selling new products and developing new business, and explores whether a salesperson’s internal brokering qualities are determined by biological traits. The findings reveal that salespeople with the DRD2 A1 gene variant engage at significant lower levels of internal knowledge-brokering behavior than salespeople without this gene variant, and as a result are less likely to engage effectively in new product selling. The DRD4 gene variant had no effect on internal knowledge brokering. Management and future research implications are discussed.

On Generalized Models and Singular Products of Distributions in Colombeau Algebra G(R)

MSC 2010: 46F30, 46F10

Bioinformatic analysis for exploring relationships between genes and gene products

To carry out their specific roles in the cell, genes and gene products often work together in groups, forming many relationships among themselves and with other molecules. Such relationships include physical protein-protein interaction relationships, regulatory relationships, metabolic relationships, genetic relationships, and much more. With advances in science and technology, some high throughput technologies have been developed to simultaneously detect tens of thousands of pairwise protein-protein interactions and protein-DNA interactions. However, the data generated by high throughput methods are prone to noise. Furthermore, the technology itself has its limitations, and cannot detect all kinds of relationships between genes and their products. Thus there is a pressing need to investigate all kinds of relationships and their roles in a living system using bioinformatic approaches, and is a central challenge in Computational Biology and Systems Biology. This dissertation focuses on exploring relationships between genes and gene products using bioinformatic approaches. Specifically, we consider problems related to regulatory relationships, protein-protein interactions, and semantic relationships between genes. A regulatory element is an important pattern or "signal", often located in the promoter of a gene, which is used in the process of turning a gene "on" or "off". Predicting regulatory elements is a key step in exploring the regulatory relationships between genes and gene products. In this dissertation, we consider the problem of improving the prediction of regulatory elements by using comparative genomics data. With regard to protein-protein interactions, we have developed bioinformatics techniques to estimate support for the data on these interactions. While protein-protein interactions and regulatory relationships can be detected by high throughput biological techniques, there is another type of relationship called semantic relationship that cannot be detected by a single technique, but can be inferred using multiple sources of biological data. The contributions of this thesis involved the development and application of a set of bioinformatic approaches that address the challenges mentioned above. These included (i) an EM-based algorithm that improves the prediction of regulatory elements using comparative genomics data, (ii) an approach for estimating the support of protein-protein interaction data, with application to functional annotation of genes, (iii) a novel method for inferring functional network of genes, and (iv) techniques for clustering genes using multi-source data.

Quick and robust method for trace determination of MeHg in rice and rice products without derivatisation

Peer reviewed

Quick and robust method for trace determination of MeHg in rice and rice products without derivatisation

Peer reviewed

Quick and robust method for trace determination of MeHg in rice and rice products without derivatisation

Peer reviewed

PERCEPTION AND OPINION OF CHILDREN, FAMILY PARENTS REGARDING THE SERVICES AND INFORMATION PRODUCTS OFFERED BY THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY "ALVAREZ MIRIAM BRENES"

Presents the results of the study on the perceptions and views of children, fathers and mothers in relation to the services and products Children's Library "Miriam Alvarez Brenes" National University, developed by the Institute of Social Studies Population (IDESP), in collaboration with the Library staff Pretend that provided inputs to become key elements in making decisions and setting policies emanating from the authorities responsible for the proper development and expansion of activities and services that are to be implemented in selected communities will benefit of this project.