Burrowing behavior of Dermatonotus muelleri (Anura, Microhylidae) with reference to the origin of the burrowing behavior of Anura

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Predatory behaviour of a snakehead fish (Channa striatus Bloch)

The predatory behaviour of a snake-head, Channa striatus (Bloch) on Labeo rohita fingerlings was studied in the laboratory. The study was conducted with six C. striatus (120 to 210 g and 22 to 28 cm) over 24h a day for 3 weeks. Three different sizes prey of large (2.00g and 5.8cm), medium (1.30g and 4.5cm) and small (0.72g and 3.5cm) were used for the first week and then medium size prey for 2nd and 3rd weeks. All the predators preferred eating the small group of L. rohita although all three size groups of L. rohita offered were available. It was found that the prey fishes remained together aside of the aquarium from the predator. Predator first targeted a prey, drove fast towards it, the prey tried to escape from the predator's attack using a specific route and finally the predator grasped the prey on head first and then engulfed. The handling time ranged between 45 and 50 sec. The time of peak feeding was found in the morning and in the evening of day. When 2 or 3 predators were kept in one aquarium, they engaged in fighting, head on, followed by an attack on the mouth region by the dominant one, and subsequently on the pectoral fin and caudal fin of the defeating one. After 2-3 days they became habituated to remain together and did not involve themselves in fighting.

Feeding ecology of Liophis reginae semilineatus (Serpentes: Colubridae: Xenodontinae) in eastern Amazon, Brazil

We studied the diet of Liophis reginae semilineatus (Wagler, 1824) from eastern Amazon, Brazil, based on the analysis of 182 preserved specimens. Thirty-six individuals had prey in their stomachs; 34 (95%) contained exclusively anurans and 2 (5%) contained both anurans and lizards. The most common prey items were small Leptodactylus sp. (33.3%), followed by Physalaemus ephippifer (Steindachner, 1864) (10.3%). Prey ingested head-first (78%; n = 25) were significantly larger than prey ingested tail-first (22%; n = 7). Females of L. reginae semilineatus have longer and wider heads than conspecific males with the same body length, which correspond to sexual divergences in the diet (size of the prey). No correlation was found between snake head length vs. prey size (SVL, width and mass). Liophis reginae semilineatus is an anurophagous snake that probably forages actively on the ground.

O parâmetro da linearidade em sintagmas nominais produzidos por crianças durante a aquisição do português como segunda língua

O propósito deste trabalho é apresentar um estudo do início daaquisição do português como segunda língua por três crianças de umacomunidade de nipo-brasileiros do Brasil. Até a idade escolar, fase em quecomeça a aquisição do português, estas crianças falam unicamente o japonêscomo língua materna. Com base no modelo de princípios e parâmetrosda teoria da gramática gerativa (Chomsky, 1981), foi tomado comoobjeto de estudo um fenômeno sintático que diferencia o japonês do português:o parâmetro da linearidade (isto é, ordem das palavras), o qual estabelecepara o japonês o núcleo sintagmático em posição final (head-last) epara o português, em posição inicial (head-first). Valendo-me dos estudossobre language transfer (Odlin, 1989), mostro que, nesta fase da aquisição,as crianças, na produção de sintagmas nominais (NP -> N + complemento),transferem o parâmetro head-last do japonês para o português. As evidênciasmostradas neste trabalho contrariam alguns estudos que negam aexistência de transfer (Dulay & Burt, 1974; Dulay et al., 1982), sobretudono nível sintático (Felix, 1978; Genesee et al., 1995; Paradis & Genesee,1996).

Probing The Active And Allosteric Binding Sites Of Soybean Lipoxygenase-1

Soybean lipoxygenase-1 is a model for lipoxygenase activity. While the mechanism of oxygenation is understood, the substrate binding mechanism has not yet been elucidated. Two putative binding mechanisms are the ¿head-first¿ and ¿tail-first¿ models, in which the carboxy-terminus or the methyl terminus of the fatty acid substrate is inserted into the active site while the remainder of the molecule protrudes from the surface, respectively. Previous work has demonstrated that derivatization of fatty acid substrates with D-tryptophan increases active site affinity. It has also been shown that while polyunsaturated fatty acids are the natural substrates of lipoxygenases, monounsaturated fatty acids can be oxygenated at a much slower rate. Starting with a monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid, as a platform, the molecule N-oleoyl-D-tryptophan (ODT) was synthesized with the anticipation of it being a potent competitive substrate-analogue inhibitor that could be used to discern the substrate binding mechanism. Inhibition kinetics demonstrated that this molecule functions as a partially competitive inhibitor, through an unknown mechanism. The implication behind partially competitive inhibition is that substrate and inhibitor molecules can bind simultaneously to the enzyme, which alludes to the presence of an allosteric binding domain. To investigate the possibility of an inhibitor binding site on the non-catalytic subunit, limited proteolysis was used to cleave the subunits apart which should have eliminated inhibition. Interestingly, it was observed that at high substrate concentrations the inhibitor was completely ineffective, but at low substrate concentrations the inhibitor maintained its standard efficacy. A satisfactory explanation for these results has not yet been determined.

Study Of The Binding Of Substrate By The Phe557Val Mutant Soybean Lipoxygenase-1

Lipoxygenases are a class of enzymes which consist of non-heme iron dioxygenases that are produced by fungi, plants, and mammals and catalyze the oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acid substrates to unsaturated fatty acid hydroperoxide products. The unsaturated fatty acid hydroperoxide products are stereo- and regiospecific. One such lipoxygenase, soybean lipoxygenase-1 (SBLO-1), catalyzes the conversion of linoleate to 13-hydroperoxy-9(Z),11(E)-octadecadienoate (13-HPOD) and a small amount of 9-hydroperoxy-10(E),12(Z)-octadecadienoate (9-HPOD). Although the structure of SBLO-1 is known and it is the most widely studied lipoxygenase, how it binds to substrate is still poorly understood. Two competing binding hypotheses that have been used to understand and explain the binding are the head first binding model and the tail first binding model. The head first binding model predicts linoleate binds with its polar carboxylate group in the binding pocket and the methyl terminus at the surface of the binding pocket. The tail first binding model predicts that linoleate binds with its methyl terminus end in the binding pocket and the polar carboxylate group at the surface of the binding pocket. Both binding models have been used in the explanation of previous work. In previous work the replacement of phenylalanine with valine has been performed to produce the phe557val mutant SBLO-1. The mutant SBLO-1 was then used in the enzymatic oxygenation of linoleate. With this mutant, the amount of 9-HPOD that is formed increases. This result has been interpreted using the head-first binding model in which the smaller valine residue allows linoleate to bind with the polar carboxylate group of linoleate interacting with arginine-707. The work presented in this thesis confirms the regiochemical results of the previous work and further tests the head-first binding model. If head-first binding occurs, the 9-HPOD is expected to have primarily S configuration. Utilizing chiral-phase HPLC, it was found that the 9-HPOD produced by the phe557val mutant SBLO-1 is primarily S, consistent with head-first binding. The head-first binding model was also tested using linoleyl dimethylamine (LDMA), which has been shown to be a good substrate for SBLO-1 at pH 7.0, where LDMA is thought to be positively charged. This model predicts that less of the 9-peroxide should be produced with this substrate. Through the use of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, it was found that the conversion of LDMA by the phe557val mutant SBLO-1 resulted in the formation of a 46:54 mixture of the 13-peroxide:9-peroxide. The higher amount of 9-peroxide is the opposite of what is expected for the currently proposed model suggesting that the proposed model may not be entirely correct. The results thus far have been consistent with reverse binding but not with the proposed interaction of the polar end of the substrate with arginine-707.

BBC3 - Grime Scene Investigation - Episode 1

Grime Scene Investigation was an eight part television series broadcast on BBC3 during Autumn 2006. In each episode a team of scientists from Aston University would visit a member of the public in their mobile laboratory to reveal the hidden world of microbes living in, on and around them. In this way microbiology was communicated in an informative and entertaining way. In this episode, Grime Scene Investigation dives head first into the murky world of Hooligan Swamp - a Bristolian band who pride themselves on living the rock'n'roll lifestyle to the full. The Swamp are facing an eviction notice and the environmental health authorities are threatening to brand their home a health hazard.

Dose Reduction in Standard Head CT: First Results from a New Scanner Using Iterative Reconstruction and a New Detector Type in Comparison with Two Previous Generations of Multi-slice CT

PURPOSE Computed tomography (CT) accounts for more than half of the total radiation exposure from medical procedures, which makes dose reduction in CT an effective means of reducing radiation exposure. We analysed the dose reduction that can be achieved with a new CT scanner [Somatom Edge (E)] that incorporates new developments in hardware (detector) and software (iterative reconstruction). METHODS We compared weighted volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) values of 25 consecutive patients studied with non-enhanced standard brain CT with the new scanner and with two previous models each, a 64-slice 64-row multi-detector CT (MDCT) scanner with 64 rows (S64) and a 16-slice 16-row MDCT scanner with 16 rows (S16). We analysed signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios in images from the three scanners and performed a quality rating by three neuroradiologists to analyse whether dose reduction techniques still yield sufficient diagnostic quality. RESULTS CTDIVol of scanner E was 41.5 and 36.4 % less than the values of scanners S16 and S64, respectively; the DLP values were 40 and 38.3 % less. All differences were statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios were best in S64; these differences also reached statistical significance. Image analysis, however, showed "non-inferiority" of scanner E regarding image quality. CONCLUSIONS The first experience with the new scanner shows that new dose reduction techniques allow for up to 40 % dose reduction while still maintaining image quality at a diagnostically usable level.

Flood control : hearing before the Committee on Rules, House of Representatives, Seventieth Congress, first session on H. Res. 155, for the con sideration of S. 3740, a bill for the control of floods on the Mississippi River from the Head of Passes to Cape Girardeau, Mo., and for other purposes.

Mode of access: Internet.

The Consecration of the first woman priest of the NYC Epsicopal Church. The others in the photo with their hands on her head are the Bishop and the Presbyters.

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Ultrasonic measurement of fine head movements in a standard ophthalmic headrest

We aimed to investigate the naturally occurring horizontal plane movements of a head stabilized in a standard ophthalmic headrest and to analyze their magnitude, velocity, spectral characteristics, and correlation to the cardio pulmonary system. Two custom-made air-coupled highly accurate (±2 μm)ultrasound transducers were used to measure the displacements of the head in different horizontal directions with a sampling frequency of 100 Hz. Synchronously to the head movements, an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal was recorded. Three healthy subjects participated in the study. Frequency analysis of the recorded head movements and their velocities was carried out, and functions of coherence between the two displacements and the ECG signal were calculated. Frequency of respiration and the heartbeat were clearly visible in all recorded head movements. The amplitude of head displacements was typically in the range of ±100 μm. The first harmonic of the heartbeat (in the range of 2–3 Hz), rather than its principal frequency, was found to be the dominant frequency of both head movements and their velocities. Coherence analysis showed high interdependence between the considered signals for frequencies of up to 20 Hz. These findings may contribute to the design of better ophthalmic headrests and should help other studies in the decision making of whether to use a heavy headrest or a bite bar.

Crystallographic characterization of the first reported crystalline form of the potent hallucinogen (R)-2-amino-1-(8-bromobenzo[1,2-b;5,4-b']difuran-4-yl)propane or `bromodragonfly': the 1:1 anhydrous proton-transfer compound with 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid

The 1:1 proton-transfer compound of the potent substituted amphetamine hallucinogen (R)-1-(8-bromobenzo[1,2-b; 4,5-b']difuran-4-yl)-2-aminopropane (common trivial name 'bromodragonfly') with 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid, 1-(8-bromobenzo[1,2-b;4,5-b']difuran-4-yl)-2-mmoniopropane 2-carboxy-4,6-dinitrophenolate, C13H13BrNO2+ C7H3N2O7- forms hydrogen-bonded cation-anion chain substructures comprising undulating head-to-tail anion chains formed through C(8) carboxyl O-H...O(nitro) associations and incorporating the aminium groups of the cations. The intra-chain cation-anion hydrogen-bonding associations feature proximal cyclic R33(8) interactions involving both a N+-H...O(phenolate) and the carboxyl O--H...O(nitro)associations. Also present are aromatic pi-pi ring interactions [minimum ring centroid separation, 3.566(2)A; inter-plane dihedral angle, 5.13(1)deg]. A lateral hydrogen-bonding interaction between the third aminium proton and a carboxyl O acceptor link the chain substructures giving a two-dimensional sheet structure. This determination represents the first of any form of this compound and confirms that it has the (R) absolute configuration. The atypical crystal stability is attributed both to the hydrogen-bonded chain substructures provided by the anions, which accommodate the aminium proton-donor groups of the cations and give cross-linking, and to the presence of cation--anion aromatic ring pi-pi interactions.