Cleavage of functionalized DNA containing 5-modified pyrimidines by type II restriction endonucleases

A series of six pyrimidine-modified dNTPs--5-ethynyl-, 5-phenyl-, and 5-(3-nitrophenyl)deoxycitidine and -deoxyuridine triphosphates--were prepared and incorporated by primer extension with Vent (exo-)polymerase to specific DNA sequences within or next to the recognition sequences of selected restriction endonucleases. The cleavage of these pyrimidine-modified DNA sequences by 13 restriction enzymes was then studied. Whereas the presence of any modified C within the target sequence completely prevented any restriction cleavage, most enzymes tolerated the presence of 5-ethynylU and two of them even the presence of 5-phenyl- and 5-(3-nitrophenyl)U. Modifications outside the recognition sequence were tolerated except in the case of phenyl derivatives with the PvuII enzyme. 5-EthynylC was used for protection of the recognition sequence from cleavage in the presence of the second unmodified copy of the same sequence that was cleaved.     

Knigth's Move in the Periodic Table, From Copper to Platinum, Novel Antitumor Mixed Chelate Copper Compounds, Casiopeinas, Evaluated by an in Vitro Human and Murine Cancer Cell Line Panel

We synthesized a novel anticancer agents based on mixed chelate copper (II) complexes, named Casiopeínas^® has of general formula [Cu(N-N)(N-O)H₂O]NO₃ (where, N-N = diimines as 1,10- phenanthroline, 2,2-bipyridine, or substituted and N-O=aminoeidate or [Cu(N-N)(O-O)H₂O]NO₃ (where NN= diimines as 10-phenanthroline, 2,2-bipyridine or substituted Casiopeínas I, II, IV, V, VI, VII VIII and O-O=acetylacetonate, salicylaldehidate Casiopínas III). We evaluated the in vitro antitumor activity using a human cancer cell panel and some nurine cancer cells. Eleven Casiopeinas are evaluated in order to acquire some structure-activity correlations and some monodentated Casiopeinäs analogues; cisplatinum was used as control drug. The 50% growth inhibition observed is, in all cases reach with concentrations of Casiopeina''s 10 or 100 times lower than cisplatinum. In a previous work we reported the induction of apoptosis by Casiopeina II. The results indicate that Casiopeinass are a promising new anticancer drug candidates to be developed further toward clinical trials.     

等离子碳热法还原氧化钒生产钒铁

引言在金属工业中,等离子加热器已广泛地用于切削和焊接。正在研究用高功率级等离子加热器熔炼和精炼大宗金属,特别是用于高质量钢、有色合金和活泼元素合金。等离子气体加热器进一步扩展到提取冶金部门还处于发展的最初阶段。在等离子气体加     

Pentacyclic Triterpenes with Selective Bioactivity from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sebastiania adenophora</Emphasis> Leaves,Euphorbiaceae

Six known pentacyclic triterpenes possessing oleanane, lupane, or taraxerane-type skeletons were isolated from the leaves of Sebastiania adenophora (Euphorbiaceae) and are reported for the first time in this species. These compounds include 3-epi-β-amyrin, β-amyrinone, 3-epi-lupeol, lupenone, taraxerol, and taraxerone. Structures were elucidated by comparison with literature data. The bioactivities of these compounds were tested on the root growth of Amaranthus hypochondriacus, amaranth (Amaranthaceae), Lycopersicon esculentum, tomato (Solanaceae), and Echinochloa crus-galli, barnyard grass (Poaceae). All six triterpenes were selectively bioactive. An important stimulatory effect was observed on amaranth root growth (23% to 56%) for almost all tested triterpenes (250 μg/ml). These triterpenes significantly inhibited the root growth of barnyard grass (28% to 78%) and tomato (23% to 49%). Aqueous leachate and organic extracts of S. adenophora leaves significantly inhibited the root growth of all test species. The possible ecological role of the allelochemicals isolated is discussed.     

Combined exposure to ambient UVB radiation and nitrite negatively affects survival of amphibian early life stages

Many aquatic species are sensitive to ambient levels of ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB) and chemical fertilizers. However, recent studies indicate that the interaction among multiple stressors acting simultaneously could be contributing to the population declines of some animal species. Therefore, we tested the potential synergistic effects between ambient levels of UVB and a contaminant, sodium nitrite in the larvae of two amphibian species, the common European toad Bufo bufo and the Iberian green frog Rana perezi. We studied R. perezi from both mountain and coastal populations to examine if populations of the same species varied in their response to stressors in different habitats. Both species were sensitive to the two stressors acting alone, but the interaction between the two stressors caused a multiplicative impact on tadpole survival. For B. bufo, the combination of UVB and nitrite was up to seven times more lethal than mortality for each stressor alone. In a coastal wetland, the combination of UVB and nitrite was four times more toxic for R. perezi than the sum of the effect on mortality for each stressor alone. One mg/L of nitrite killed half the population of R. perezi at Gredos Mountains at day 10 in the absence of UVB. In the presence of UVB, 50% of the tadpoles from the same experiment died at day 7. Similar toxic response were found for R. perezi in two highly contrasted environments suggesting this synergistic interaction can be a widespread phenomenon. The interaction of excess chemical fertilizers and manure with ambient UVB radiation could be contributing to the global decline of some amphibian species. We suggest that potential exposure to UVB radiation be accounted for when assessing water quality criteria regarding nitrite pollution.     

Imaging visible light with Medipix2

A need exists for high-speed single-photon counting optical imaging detectors. Single-photon counting high-speed detection of x rays is possible by using Medipix2 with pixelated silicon photodiodes. In this article, we report on a device that exploits the Medipix2 chip for optical imaging. The fabricated device is capable of imaging at >3000 frames/s over a 256×256 pixel matrix. The imaging performance of the detector device via the modulation transfer function is measured, and the presence of ion feedback and its degradation of the imaging properties are discussed.     

Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses of the Bark Beetle Dendroctonus rhizophagus to Volatiles from Host Pines and Conspecifics

The bark beetle Dendroctonus rhizophagus is endemic to northwestern Mexico where it kills immature pines?相似文献   

Quantification of viable Brochothrix thermosphacta in cooked shrimp and salmon by real-time PCR

Brochothrix thermosphacta, a Gram-positive bacterium, is considered as the predominant spoilage microbiota of modified atmosphere packing (MAP) shrimp and fish. Traditional methods currently used to detect B. thermosphacta in foods are time-consuming and labour-intensive. The aim of this study was to develop a real-time PCR quantification method combined with a propidium monoazide (PMA) sample treatment step to monitor the population of B. thermosphacta in cooked shrimp and salmon. The specificity of the two primers MO405 and MO404 used to amplify a 70 bp fragment of the 16S rRNA gene was demonstrated by using purified DNA from 30 strains, among 21 bacterial species including 22 reference strains. Using these primers for real-time PCR and in pure culture, a good correlation was obtained between real-time PCR and the conventional plating method. Quantification was linear over 7-log units using artificially inoculated samples. The method performed successfully when tested on naturally contaminated cooked shrimp and fresh salmon, with a minimum threshold of 1.9×102 CFU/g for accurate quantification of B. thermosphacta. The correlation between the B. thermosphacta counts obtained by real-time PCR and plate counts on naturally contaminated shrimp and salmon was high (R2=0.895). Thus, this study presents a rapid tool for producing reliable quantitative data on B. thermosphacta in cooked shrimp and fresh salmon.     

Mixture temperature prediction of waxy oil–water two-phase system flowing near wax appearance temperature

Temperature sensitivity of waxy crude oils makes it difficult to study their flow behaviour in the presence of water especially near their wax appearance temperature(WAT). In this study a method was proposed and implemented to mitigate such difficulties which was applied in predicting mixture temperatures(Tm) of a typical Malaysian waxy crude oil and water flow in a horizontal pipe. To this end, two analytical models were derived firstly from calorimetry equation which based on developed two correlations for defining crude oil heat capacity actualized from the existed specific heat capacities of crude oils. The models were then applied for a set of experiments to reach the defined three predetermined Tm(26 °C, 28 °C and 30 °C). The comparison between the predicted mixture temperatures(Tm,1and Tm,2) from the two models and the experimental results displayed acceptable absolute average errors(0.80%, 0.62%, 0.53% for model 1; 0.74%, 0.54%, 0.52% for model 2). Moreover,the average errors for both models are in the range of standard error limits(±0.75%) according to ASTM E230.Conclusively, the proposed model showed the ease of obtaining mixture temperatures close to WAT as predetermined with accuracy of ± 0.5 °C approximately for over 84% of the examined cases. The method is seen as a practical reference point to further study the flow behaviour of waxy crudes in oil–water two-phase flow system near sensitive temperatures.     

Sensory characteristics of spoilage and volatile compounds associated with bacteria isolated from cooked and peeled tropical shrimps using SPME-GC-MS analysis

The spoilage potential of six bacterial species isolated from cooked and peeled tropical shrimps (Brochothrix thermosphacta, Serratia liquefaciens-like, Carnobacterium maltaromaticum, Carnobacterium divergens, Carnobacterium alterfunditum-like and Vagococcus penaei sp. nov.) was evaluated. The bacteria were inoculated into shrimps, packaged in a modified atmosphere and stored for 27 days at 8 °C. Twice a week, microbial growth, as well as chemical and sensory changes, were monitored during the storage period. The bacteria mainly involved in shrimp spoilage were B. thermosphacta, S. liquefaciens-like and C. maltaromaticum whose main characteristic odours were cheese-sour, cabbage-amine and cheese-sour-butter, respectively. The volatile fraction of the inoculated shrimp samples was analysed by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This method showed that the characteristic odours were most likely induced by the production of volatile compounds such as 3-methyl-1-butanal, 2,3-butanedione, 2-methyl-1-butanal, 2,3-heptanedione and trimethylamine.