CRYSTALLIZATION AND PRELIMINARY DIFFRACTION DATA OF 2 MYOTOXINS ISOLATED FROM THE VENOMS OF BOTHROPS-ASPER (TERCIOPELO) AND BOTHROPS-NUMMIFER (JUMPING VIPER)

Two myotoxins isolated from B. asper (myotoxin II) and B. nummifer (myotoxin I) snake venoms have been crystallized and their diffraction properties are described. These myotoxins are phospholipase A2 variants which lack enzymatic activity; B. asper myotoxin II is a lysine-49 phospholipase. Crystals were obtained at room temperature by standard hanging-drop vapour diffusion methods. Crystals diffracted to a resolution of 2.8 and 2.3 angstrom, respectively.

Crystallization of piratoxin I, a myotoxic LYS49-phospholipase A(2) homologue isolated from the venom of Bothrops pirajai

Fernanda Canduri, Lit C. Mancuso, Andreimar M. Soares, Jose R. Giglio, Richard J. Ward and Raghuvir K. Arni. Crystallization of piratoxin I, a myotoxic Lys49-phospholipase A(2) homologue isolated from the venom of Bothrops pirajai. Toxicon 36, 547-551, 1998.-Large single crystals of piratoxin I, a Lys49-PLA(2) homologue with low enzymatic activity, have been obtained. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic system space group p2(1)2(1)2(1) and diffract X-raps to a resolution of 2.8 Angstrom. Preliminary analysis reveals the presence of two molecules in the crystallographic asymmetric unit. (C) 1998 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of the effect of the peptide loading and solvent system in SPPS by HRMAS-NMR

The SPPS methodology has continuously been investigated as a valuable model to monitor the solvation properties of polymeric materials. In this connection, the present work applied HRMAS-NMR spectroscopy to examine the dynamics of an aggregating peptide sequence attached to a resin core with varying peptide loading (up to 80%) and solvent system. Low and high substituted BHAR were used for assembling the VQAAIDYING sequence and some of its minor fragments. The HRMAS-NMR results were in agreement with the swelling of each resin, i.e. there was an improved resolution of resonance peaks in the better solvated conditions. Moreover, the peptide loading and the attached peptide sequence also affected the spectra. Strong peptide chain aggregation was observed mainly in highly peptide loaded resins when solvated in CDCl3. Conversely, due to the better swelling of these highly loaded resins in DMSO, improved NMR spectra were acquired in this polar aprotic solvent, thus enabling the detection of relevant sequence-dependent conformational alterations. The more prominent aggregation was displayed by the VQAAIDYING segment and not by any of its intermediary fragments and these findings were also corroborated by EPR studies of these peptide-resins labelled properly with an amino acid-type spin probe. Copyright (c) 2005 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PERFORMANCE OF THE SLD BARREL CRID DURING THE 1992 PHYSICS DATA RUN

The SLD Barrel Cherenkov Ring Imaging Detector was fully operational in the 1992 physics data run. The electron drift velocity and magnetic field deflection of electron trajectories have been measured. Cherenkov rings have been observed from both the liquid and gas radiators. The number and the resolution of the angle of Cherenkov photons have been measured to be approximately equal to design specifications.

Impact of Z-R relationship on flow estimates in central São Paulo

Mean areal radar rainfall over catchments in the State of São Paulo is an operational product under development by the Meteorological Research Institute - IPMet. A pilot project is being carried out which focuses on the important Corumbatai River basin, under surveillance by the IPMet-operated Bauru radar. Previous work on the project explored the relative impact of factors like time resolution of radar data and reflectivity to rain-rate conversion relationships, when the relevance of the latter was verified. This paper deals with the stratification of those relationships by daily intervals and its impact on flow estimates. Daily values of radar mean rainfall using gauges and different conversion relationships are plotted against the corresponding flow at the basin outlet. Flow estimates derived by applying the rainfall from the different relationships to a previously obtained rainfall-runoff curve for the basin is compared to the historical hydrograph. Preliminary results suggest stratification has hydrological significance.

Assessment of luteal function in goats by ultrasonographic image attribute analysis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Disulfide Biochemistry in 2-Cys Peroxiredoxin: Requirement of Glu50 and Arg146 for the Reduction of Yeast Tsa1 by Thioredoxin

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

Quantitative Phase Analyses Through The Rietveld Method with X-Ray Powder Diffraction Data of Heat-Treated Carbamazepine Form III

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

Macrophage suppression following phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils is mediated by the S100A9 calcium-binding protein

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of SIII-SPIII, a ahospholipase A2 isolated from the venom of Bothrops jararacussu

Large single crystals have been obtained of SIII-SPIII, a phospholipase A2 from the venom of Bothrops jararacussu. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic system space group C222, and diffract X-rays to a resolution of 1.9 Å. Preliminary analysis reveals the presence of one molecule in the crystallographic asymmetric unit. The crystal structure is currently being determined using molecular replacement techniques.

Characterization of lubricating oil using ultrasound

This paper presents an ultrasonic method to measure small concentrations of water in lubricating oil. It uses an ultrasonic measurement cell composed by a piezoceramic emitter (5 and 10 MHz), and a large aperture PVDF receiver that eliminates diffraction effects. The propagation velocity, attenuation coefficient and density of several samples of water-in-oil emulsion were measured. The concentrations of water of the samples were in the range of 0 to 5% in volume, and the results showed that these low concentrations can be discriminated within a resolution of 0.2% in the studied range, using the measurement of the propagation velocity.

Spontaneous resolution in congenital nasolacrimal obstruction after 12 months

A retrospective observational study was performed in order to evaluate the possibility of spontaneous resolution of tearing in the congenital nasolacrimal obstruction (CNLO). Twenty-seven CNLO child carriers with spontaneous tearing resolution were evaluated according to sex, age of starting and end of symptoms. The data were evaluated by the Chi-Square Test and non-parametric Mann-Whitney test (p ≤ 0.05). Spontaneous resolution occurred between ages 3 and 48 months (Median = 14 months; Mean = 16.2 ± 10.5 months). The period in which the child presented tearing varied from 2 months to 47.5 months (Median = 12 months) and was similar for both sexes, with or without realization of massage. Our data support the possibility of CNLO spontaneous resolution in children beyond 12 months of age, allowing us to suggest postponed probing beyond this time period. Copyright © Informa Healthcare.

Natural resources within the Union of South American Nations: status and trends for a regional development agenda

Includes bibliography

Non-conventional applications of computerized tomography: Analysis of solid dosage forms produced by pharmaceutical industry

X-ray computed tomography (CT) refers to the cross-sectional imaging of an object measuring the transmitted radiation at different directions. In this work, we describe a non-conventional application of computerized tomography: visualization and improvements in the understanding of some internal structural features of solid dosage forms. A micro-CT X-ray scanner, with a minimum resolution of 30 μm was used to characterize some pharmaceutical tablets, granules, controlled-release osmotic tablet and liquid-filled soft-gelatin capsules. The analysis presented in this work are essentially qualitative, but quantitative parameters, such as porosity, density distribution, tablets dimensions, etc. could also be obtained using the related CT techniques. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.

Bone mineral density on conventional and digitized images under different parameters of digitization and storage

Aim: To assess the bone mineral density on conventional and digitized images, comparing whether different parameters of digitization and storage change these values. Methods: Twenty radiographs were taken from five partially dentulous dry mandibles with an aluminum 7-mm stepwedge placed on the superior edge of the film. After processing, the films were digitized with a resolution of 600 and 2,400 d.p.i. and saved as TIFF and JPEG files. On every conventional and digitized image, circular regions of interest were selected for densitometry and radiographic contrast analysis. Results: Pearson's correlation coefficient showed a significant and strong mean gray values association between digitized and conventional images, differing from radiographic contrast that did not show a significant association. ANOVA did not reveal a statistically significant difference in bone density and radiographic contrast among the four digitized image groups, but the conventional image contrast was significantly lower. Conclusions: Bone mineral density did not differ in both conventional and digitized images. The parameters of image compression and resolution, tested in this study, did not change the results of densitometry and digitization process increased the radiographic contrast.