Chitinolytic activity in Chromobacterium violaceum: substrate analysis and regulation by quorum sensing

Quorum sensing control mediated by N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) signaling molecules has been established as a key feature of the regulation of exoenzyme production in many gram-negative bacteria. In Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 31532 a number of phenotypic characteristics, including production of the purple pigment violacein, hydrogen cyanide, antibiotics, and exoproteases are known to be regulated by the endogenous AHL N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (HHL). In this study we show that C. violaceum produces a set of chitinolytic enzymes whose production is regulated by HHL. The chitinolytic activity was induced in strains grown in the presence of chitin as the sole carbon source and quantitated in the secreted proteins by using p-nitrophenol analogs of disaccharide, trisaccharide, and tetrasaccharide oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine. By using 4-methylumbelliferyl analogs of the same oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine as substrates for proteins separated and renatured by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, at least six enzymes were detected: a chitobiase with high specificity to a dimeric substrate of 87 kDa, two N-acetylglucosaminidases with apparent molecular masses of 162 and 133 kDa, two endochitinases of 108 and 67 kDa, and a chitobiosidase of 56 kDa. In addition, two unidentified bands of >205 kDa were found where a tetrameric chitin derivative was used as a substrate. A pleiotropic mini-Tn5 mutant of C. violaceum (CV026) that is defective in HHL production and other quorum-sensing-regulated factors was also found to be completely deficient in chitinolytic activity. Growth of this mutant on minimal medium with chitin supplemented with culture supernatant from the C. violaceum wild-type strain or 10 microM synthetic HHL restored chitinase production to the level shown by the parental strain. These results constitute the most complete evidence so far for regulation of chitinolytic activity by AHL signaling in a gram-negative bacterium.     

Activities of novel aryloxyalkylimidazolines on rat 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors

One impact of socioeconomic progress on populations has been to reduce the number of cases due to diseases of undernutrition and microbial contamination of food, which affected mostly infants and young children, and to increase those due to diseases of excessive food consumption, which are affecting adults and a growing number of children. This article reviews the main dietary factors which have an influence on cardiovascular disease and cancer, and discusses the link between economic development and increased rates of chronic diseases. There is evidence that the noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors have risen rapidly in countries of the WHO Western Pacific Region. Data from 29 countries and areas in the region indicate that 70% of them show lifestyle diseases in three or more of the top five causes of death. While public health measures have been implemented by some countries to prevent and control nutrition-related chronic diseases, further action is needed.     

Impact of maternal alcoholism on separation of children from their mothers: findings from a sample of incarcerated women

Research on achievement goal orientation in sport has relied primarily on traditional statistical methodology to examine group mean differences. Unfortunately, examination of the measurement model is generally ignored prior to means testing. This study reports an application of structural equation modeling (SEM) in testing measurement invariance and latent mean structure of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ; Duda & Nicholls, 1989) using male and female college students. A confirmatory factor analysis for testing invariance revealed invariant measurement properties and factor structures across gender, indicating that task and ego orientation are similarly conceptualized by male and female students. Subsequent testing of latent mean structures, however, showed significant gender differences with respect to ego orientation, but no difference in task orientation. The SEM procedures used in the present study demonstrate additional construct validity and internal consistency reliability for the TEOSQ and, by confirming its factor structure, provide a sound psychometric basis for its continued use in substantive studies focusing on the comparison of achievement goal orientation across gender.     

Theoretical and experimental study of the second-order polarizabilities of Schiff''s bases for nonlinear optical applications

A series of twenty-four Schiff's bases was synthesized and nonresonant static molecular second order polarizabilities (β) of these compounds were theoretically calculated and compared with experimental values. The computational method employed obtained: (a) values of polarization versus static electric fields using a semiempirical Hamiltonian; (b) all tensor elements of β by performing polynomial fits of the former data, within the finite-field approach. The experimental values were obtained using a modified electric field induced second harmonic generation (EFISH) experiment with 1,4-dioxane as the solvent. The measured quantities were the projection of β on μ (the permanent dipole moment), relative to MNA (2-methyl-4-nitroaniline). The correlation between the predicted static molecular quantities and their corresponding experimental values was 0.95 (based on a simple least-squares regression forced through the origin). A factor of 8.7 ± 0.3 was determined to be the adjustment parameter for Schiff's bases to account for the solvent and dispersion effects at the fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm.     

Human cytochrome P4502B6: interindividual hepatic expression, substrate specificity, and role in procarcinogen activation

In situ hybridization was combined with serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) or tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry and with Fluoro-Gold retrograde labeling of bulbo-spinal pathways in order to investigate the expression of GAP-43 mRNA in monoamine cell groups of the adult rat brain stem. Consistent with previous reports, GAP-43 mRNA was observed in serotonin and dopamine cell groups in the pons. In addition, GAP-43 expressing cells were observed in all the major monoamine cell groups in the medulla. Thus the B1, B2 and B3 serotonin cell groups all showed high GAP-43 expression in all contained many GAP-43 expressing serotonin cells with spinal cord projections. The A1, A2, A5 and A6 noradrenaline cell groups also showed high GAP-43 expression, although cells with spinal cord projections were largely restricted to the A5 group and A6 subcoeruleus region. In all areas, GAP-43 expressing cells with spinal cord projections were also observed which were not serotonergic or noradrenergic.     

Experimental study on effect of shenyi xieli mixture on nature killer cell activity and lymphocyte reactivity to IL-2 in tumor mice

OBJECTIVE: To explore therapeutic mechanism of Shengyi Xieli Mixture (SYXLM) on malignant tumor. METHODS: Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and different doses of SYXLM were used to treat tumor mice [correction of rats]. RESULTS: SYXLM could enhance the nature killer (NK) cell activities of the tumor mice [correction of rats], and this effect was dose dependent (control group 52.70 +/- 6.01, SYXLM No. 1 group 59.01 +/- 10.00, SYXLM No. 2 group 78.33 +/- 10.90, P < 0.01). The NK cell activities of the tumor mice [correction of rats] were inhibited in the chemotherapy group alone, but they were enhanced in the group of chemotherapy combined with SYXLM (P < 0.05), the results were the same in the radiotherapy group alone and the group of radiotherapy combined with SYXLM (P < 0.05). The response of lymphocyte of the tumor mice [correction of rats] to IL-2 was enhanced significantly in SYXLM group compared with the control group. This response was enhanced insignificantly in the group in which radiotherapy combined with the SYXLM. CONCLUSION: The SYXLM could enhance the function of immune system of the tumor mice [correction of rats] and diminish or reduce the side effect of radiotherapy, chemotherapy to the immune system of the tumor mice [correction of rats].