New insights on surface-enhanced Raman scattering based on controlled aggregation and spectroscopic studies, DFT calculations and symmetry analysis for 3,6-bi-2-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine adsorbed onto citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles

Asystematic study on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for 3,6-bi-2-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (bptz) adsorbed onto citrate-modified gold nanoparticles (cit-AuNps) was carried out based on electronic and vibrational spectroscopy and density functional methods. The citrate/bptz exchange was carefully controlled by the stepwise addition of bptz to the cit-AuNps, inducing flocculation and leading to the rise of a characteristic plasmon coupling band in the visible region. Such stepwise procedure led to a uniform decrease of the citrate SERS signals and to the rise of characteristic peaks of bptz, consistent with surface binding via the N heterocyclic atoms. In contrast, single addition of a large amount of bptz promoted complete aggregation of the nanoparticles, leading to a strong enhancement of the SERS signals. In this case, from the distinct Raman profiles involved, the formation of a new SERS environment became apparent, conjugating the influence of the local hot spots and charge-transfer (CT) effects. The most strongly enhanced vibrations belong to a(1) and b(2) representations, and were interpreted in terms of the electromagnetic and the CT mechanisms: the latter involving significant contribution of vibronic coupling in the system. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Banco de datos sobre inversión extranjera directa en América Latina y el Caribe. Tomo 1: sobre la base de información de organismos multilaterales y de gobiernos de países de origen de la inversión

Incluye Bibliografía

New reductive addition of hard nucleophiles to 6,7-bis(methylsulfanyl)-1,4-dihydro-1,4-methanonaphthalene-5,8-dione

A new reaction mode of 6,7-bis(methylsulfanyl)-1,4-dihydro-1,4-methanonaphthalene-5,8-dione 1 with the hard nucleophiles sodium benzene- or methane-sulfinate and cyanide, in DMSO, at room temperature, leads to the unexpected hydroquinonoid products 3a-c. All the data are in agreement with a mechanistic pathway involving the initial attack of the hard nucleophile onto the hard carbonyl group, followed by a symbiotic re-attack of the oxygen on the incoming group. In the case of soft nucleophiles, reaction on the olefinic carbon of the enedione system is preferential.

Expression of Protease Activated Receptor-1 in Chronic Periodontitis

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

Viability of Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 in the presence of Williopsis saturnus var. suaveolens

Maintaining the viability of probiotic microorganisms from production to consumption has long been a technological challenge for the food industry. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the in vitro interaction between Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Williopsis saturnus var. suaveolens and the effect of this yeast on acidification kinetics, viability of Lactobacillus acidophilus and post-acidification in fermented milk during refrigerated storage at 5 °C. The in vitro study showed a positive interaction between the acid cell free-supernatant (CFS) of probiotic bacteria La-5 and the yeast. The addition of W. saturnus var. suaveolens increased the fermentation time due to consumption of the organic acids produced by L. acidophilus. During the refrigerated storage of the samples, the presence of the yeast increased the viability of L. acidophilus and reduced post-acidification. However, the mechanism of such interaction of bacteria and yeast is not fully understood.

The orexin receptor 1 in the locus coeruleus modulates the hypercapnic ventilatory response in unanesthetized rats

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

Association of apolipoprotein B and adiponectin receptor 1 genes with carcass, bone integrity and performance traits in a paternal broiler line

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

DM-1, sodium 4-[5-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-oxo-penta-1,4-dienyl]-2-methoxy-phenolate: a curcumin analog with a synergic effect in combination with paclitaxel in breast cancer treatment

This paper describes a new method for the preparation of sodium 4-[5-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-oxo-penta-1,4-dienyl]-2-methoxy-phenolate, DM-1, and 3-oxo-penta-1,4-dienyl-bis (2-methoxy-phenolate), DM-2. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antitumor effects of DM-1 in adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer treatment. Mice bearing mammary adenocarcinomas (Ehrlich ascites tumors) were treated with paclitaxel alone, DM-1 alone, and paclitaxel + DM-1. Tumor samples were used to perform cytological analysis by the Papanicolaou method and apoptosis analysis by annexin V and phosphorylated caspase 3. The paclitaxel + DM-1 group had decreased tumor areas and tumor volumes, and the frequency of metastasis was significantly reduced. This caused a decrease in cachexia, which is usually caused by the tumor. Furthermore, treatment with paclitaxel + DM-1 and DM-1 alone increased the occurrence of apoptosis up to 40% in tumor cells, which is 35% more than in the group treated with paclitaxel alone. This cell death was mainly caused through phosphorylated caspase 3 (11% increase in paclitaxel + DM-1 compared to the paclitaxel group), as confirmed by reduced malignancy criteria in the ascitic fluid. DM-1 emerges as a potential treatment for breast cancer and may act as an adjuvant in chemotherapy, enhancing antitumor drug activity with reduced side effects.

Toll-like receptor 1 N248S single-nucleotide polymorphism is associated with leprosy risk and regulates immune activation during mycobacterial infection

Conflicting findings about the association between leprosy and TLR1 variants N248S and I602S have been reported. Here, we performed case-control and family based studies, followed by replication in 2 case-control populations from Brazil, involving 3162 individuals. Results indicated an association between TLR1 248S and leprosy in the case-control study (SS genotype odds ratio [OR], 1.81; P = .004) and the family based study (z = 2.02; P = .05). This association was consistently replicated in other populations (combined OR, 1.51; P < .001), corroborating the finding that 248S is a susceptibility factor for leprosy. Additionally, we demonstrated that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) carrying 248S produce a lower tumor necrosis factor/interleukin-10 ratio when stimulated with Mycobacterium leprae but not with lipopolysaccharide or PAM3cysK4. The same effect was observed after infection of PBMCs with the Moreau strain of bacillus Calmette-Guerin but not after infection with other strains. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the Toll-like receptor 1 structure containing 248S amino acid is different from the structure containing 248N. Our results suggest that TLR1 248S is associated with an increased risk for leprosy, consistent with its hypoimmune regulatory function.

Diseño de circuitos integrados de RF para un receptor WLAN en la banda de 5GHz sobre una tecnología de silicio de bajo coste

Programa de doctorado: Ingeniería de Telecomunicación Avanzada

Progettazione e sviluppo di una SDK in swift 2.1 per la piattaforma "Marketcloud"

Lo scopo di questa tesi di laurea è di presentare e documentare i risultati della tesi svolta in contesto aziendale presso la start-up "Marketcloud". L’obiettivo è stato quello di progettare, sviluppare e documentare una SDK REST in linguaggio Swift 2.1 per interfacciare eventuali future applicazioni iOS con le API Marketcloud. Viene fornita una panoramica sulla start-up in questione, sul linguaggio Swift, sulle motivazioni dietro lo sviluppo dell’SDK e sulle varie fasi di progettazione e sviluppo di quest’ultima. Tutto il lavoro in questione è documentato e reperibile sul repository Github di riferimento all'indirizzo https://github.com/Marketcloud/marketcloud-swift-sdk.