Isolation, expression and characterization of a novel dual serine protease inhibitor, OH-TCI, from king cobra venom

Snake venom Kunitz/BPTI members are good tools for understanding of structure-functional relationship between serine proteases and their inhibitors. A novel dual Kunitz/BPTI serine proteinase inhibitor named OH-TCI (trypsin- and chymotrypsin-dual inhibito

CHARACTERIZATION OF OHS1, AN ARGININE/LYSINE AMIDASE FROM THE VENOM OF KING COBRA (OPHIOPHAGUS HANNAH)

In this paper, we present the results of purification and characterization of an arginine/lysine amidase from the venom of Ophiophagus hannah (OhS1). It was purified by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B. It is a protein of about 43,000, consisting of a single polypeptide chain. It is a minor component in the venom. The purified enzyme was capable of hydrolysing several tripeptidyl-p-nitroanilide substrates having either arginine or lysine as the C-terminal residue. We studied the kinetic parameters of OhS1 on six these chromogenic substrates. OhS1 did not clot fibrinogen. Electrophoresis of fibrinogen degraded with OhS1 revealed the disappearance of the alpha- and beta-chains and the appearance of lower mel. wt fragments. OhS1 had no hemorrhagic activity. It did not hydrolyse casein, nor did it act on blood coagulation factor X, prothrombin and plasminogen. The activity of OhS1 was completely inhibited by NPGB, PMSF, DFP, benzamidine and soybean trypsin inhibitor, suggesting it is a serine protease. Metal chelator (EDTA) had no effect on it.

Complete assignment of H-1-NMR resonances of the king cobra neurotoxin CM-11

The king cobra(Ophiophagus hannah) neurotoxin CM-11 is long-chain peptide with 72 amino acid residues. Its complete assignment of H-1-NMR resonances was obtained using various 2D-NMR technologies, including DQF-COSY, clean-TOCSY and NOESY.

Determination of the secondary structure of the king cobra neurotoxin CM-11

The king cobra neuotoxin CM-11 is a small protein with 72 amino acid residues. After its complete assignments of H-1-NMR resonance's were obtained using various 2D-NMR technologies, including of DQF-COSY, clean-TOCSY AND NOESY, the secondary structure was analysed by studying the various NOEs extracted from the NOESY spectra and the distribution of chemical shifts. The secondary structure was finally determined by MCD as follows: a triple-strand antiparallel beta sheet with I20-W36, R37-A43 and V53--S59 as its beta strands, a short alpha helix formed by W30-G35 and four turns formed by P7-K10, C14-G17, K50-V53 and D61-N64.

King Solomon's Miners- Starvation and Bioaccumulation? An Environmental Archaeological Investigation in Southern Jordan

Pyatt, B. Barker, G. Birch, P. Gilbertson, D. Grattan, J. Mattingly, D. King Solomon's Miners - Starvation and Bioaccumulation? An Environmental Archaeological Investigation in Southern Jordan. Ecotoxicology and Environmental safety 43, 305-308 (1999) Environmental Research, Section B

Radon and King Solomons Miners: Faynan Orefeild, Jordanian desert

Grattan, J. Gilmore, G. Gilbertson, D. Pyatt, F.B. HUnt, C. McLaren, S. Phillips, P. Denman, A. Radon and King Solomons Miners: Paynan Orefield, Jordanian Desert. The Science of the Total Environment. 2004 319 pp 99-113

A Lesson for the King: Sotades’ Invective against Ptolemy (fr. 1 and 16 Powell) and Callimachus’ “Epigram” 1 Pfeiffer

The paper discusses the fable-like form of Callimachus’ Epigram 1 Pfeiffer and of Sotades’ fragmentary Invective against Ptolemy, and suggests that the former poem may contain an allusion to the latter. In the light of this reading, both poems are to be viewed as playfully encouraging the Ptolemies’ incestuous marriage.

Archbishop William King (1650-1729) and the Constitution of Church and State

Accepted Version

A king for the queene: Samuel Sheppard's the faerie king and his reception of Spenser's epic authority

This thesis is the study of the use and abuse of Edmund Spenser as an authority in native English epic literature of the early seventeenth century, within fifty years of his death. It focuses on attempts to emulate or adapt his seminal text, The Faerie Queene (1596), and offers a comparative analysis of two such approaches by the liminal authors, Ralph Knevet and Samuel Sheppard. The former, a tutor to the wealthy Norfolk Paston family, produced his A Supplement of the Ferie Queene in the pre-Civil War period (c.1630-1635), while the latter wrote The Faerie King at the very end of the social upheaval of the war (c.1648-54). The thesis privileges the study of the holograph manuscripts (Cambridge University Library, MS Ee.3.53 and Bodleian Library MS Rawl. Poet. 28 respectively) over the basic editions of these neglected texts. It argues for the need to re-evaluate the significance of such texts within the Spenserian canon and, through new readings of the texts' structures and contexts, the thesis questions the legitimacy of canon formation and continuation, as well as the influence editorial policies and decision making can have on subsequent readers and receptions of the text

Two Antarctic penguin genomes reveal insights into their evolutionary history and molecular changes related to the Antarctic environment.

BACKGROUND: Penguins are flightless aquatic birds widely distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The distinctive morphological and physiological features of penguins allow them to live an aquatic life, and some of them have successfully adapted to the hostile environments in Antarctica. To study the phylogenetic and population history of penguins and the molecular basis of their adaptations to Antarctica, we sequenced the genomes of the two Antarctic dwelling penguin species, the Adélie penguin [Pygoscelis adeliae] and emperor penguin [Aptenodytes forsteri]. RESULTS: Phylogenetic dating suggests that early penguins arose ~60 million years ago, coinciding with a period of global warming. Analysis of effective population sizes reveals that the two penguin species experienced population expansions from ~1 million years ago to ~100 thousand years ago, but responded differently to the climatic cooling of the last glacial period. Comparative genomic analyses with other available avian genomes identified molecular changes in genes related to epidermal structure, phototransduction, lipid metabolism, and forelimb morphology. CONCLUSIONS: Our sequencing and initial analyses of the first two penguin genomes provide insights into the timing of penguin origin, fluctuations in effective population sizes of the two penguin species over the past 10 million years, and the potential associations between these biological patterns and global climate change. The molecular changes compared with other avian genomes reflect both shared and diverse adaptations of the two penguin species to the Antarctic environment.

Carbon fluxes and pelagic ecosystem dynamics near two western Antarctic Peninsula Adélie penguin colonies: an inverse model approach

An inverse food-web model for the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) pelagic food web was constrained with data from Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER) project annual austral summer sampling cruises. Model solutions were generated for 2 regions with Adelie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae colonies presenting different population trends (a northern and a southern colony) for a 12 yr period (1995-2006). Counter to the standard paradigm, comparisons of carbon flow through bacteria, microzooplankton, and krill showed that the diatom-krill-top predator food chain is not the dominant pathway for organic carbon exchanges. The food web is more complex, including significant contributions by microzooplankton and the microbial loop. Using both inverse model results and network indices, it appears that in the northern WAP the food web is dominated by the microbial food web, with a temporal trend toward its increasing importance. The dominant pathway for the southern WAP food web varies from year to year, with no detectable temporal trend toward dominance of microzooplankton versus krill. In addition, sensitivity analyses indicated that the northern colony of Adelie penguins, whose population size has been declining over the past 35 yr, appears to have sufficient krill during summer to sustain its basic metabolic needs and rear chicks, suggesting the importance of other processes in regulating the Adelie population decline.