Monte Carlo Study of Structural and Thermodynamic Properties of Liquid Chloroform Using a Five Site Model

A five site potential model combining Lennard–Jones plus Coulomb potential functions has been developed for chloroform molecule. The partial charges needed for Coulombic interactions were derived using the chelpg procedure implemented in the gaussian 92 program. These calculations were performed at the MP2 level with MC-311G* basis set for Cl and 6-311G** for C and H atoms. The parameters for the Lennard–Jones potentials were optimized to reproduce experimental values for the density and enthalpy of vaporization of the pure liquid at 298 K and 1 atm. The statistical mechanics calculations were performed with the Monte Carlo method in the isothermic and isobaric (NpT) ensemble. Besides the values obtained for density, ρ, and molar enthalpy of vaporization at constant pressure, Δ H_V, for liquid chloroform, results for molar volume, V_m, molar heat capacity, C_p, isobaric thermal expansivity, α_p, and isothermal compressibility, κ_T, for this pure liquid are also in very good agreement with experimental observations. Size effects on the values of thermodynamic properties were investigated. The potential model was also tested by computing the free energy for solvating one chloroform molecule into its own liquid at 298 K using a statistical perturbation approach. The result obtained compares well with the experimental value. Site–site pair correlation functions were calculated and are in good accordance with theoretical results available in the literature. Dipole–dipole correlation functions for the present five site model were also calculated at different carbon–carbon distances. These correlations were compared to those obtained using the four site model reported in the literature. An investigation of the solvent dependence of the relative free energy for cis/trans conversion of a hypothetical solute in TIP4P water and chloroform was accomplished. The results show strong interaction of water and chloroform molecules with the gauche conformer. The value obtained for the free energy barrier for cis/trans rotation in TIP4P water is higher than that for chloroform. This result is in agreement with the continuous theory for solvation as the conformer with higher dipole moment is more favoured by the solvent with higher dieletric constant. The results also show an increase in entropy as the solute goes from the cis to the trans geometry and this result is more appreciable in the aqueous solution. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Internally quenched fluorogenic protease substrates: Solid-phase synthesis and fluorescence spectroscopy of peptides containing ortho-aminobenzoyl/dinitrophenyl groups as donor-acceptor pairs

Summary A general procedure, using the commonly employed solid-phase peptide synthesis methodology for obtaining internally quenched fluorogenic peptides with ortho-aminobenzoyl/dinitrophenyl groups as donor-acceptor pairs, is presented. The essential feature of this procedure is the synthesis of an N -Boc or-Fmoc derivative of glutamic acid with the -carboxyl group bound to N-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)-ethylenediamine (EDDnp), which provides the quencher moiety attached to the C-terminus of the substrate. The fluorescent donor group, ortho-aminobenzoic acid (Abz), is incorporated into the resin-bound peptide in the last coupling cycle. Depending on the resin type used, Abz-peptidyl-Gln-EDDnp or Abz-peptidyl-Glu-EDDnp is obtained. Using the procedure described above, substrates for human renin and tissue kallikreins were synthesised. Spectrofluorimetric measurements of Abz bound to the -amino group of proline showed that strong quenching of Abz fluorescence occurs in the absence of any acceptor group.     

Behavior of C-peptide and immunoreactive insulin in essential obesity]

The levels of glucose, immunoreactive insulin and C-peptide were studied in 13 obese patients and 10 control subjects, in basal conditions and after an oral glucose load (OGTT). The IRI and C-peptide levels were higher in the obese patients than in the controls either during fasting or during the OGTT. The C-peptide/IRI ratio decreased after the oral glucose load in both groups studied. However in the obese subjects the values for the C-peptide/IRI ratio were lower than those found in the controls during the same observation period. These results suggest the hypothesis that in the obese patients the high IRI levels which reflect an increased insulin secretion, are, at least in part, due to an early saturation of the hepatic degradation of insulin and/or to a decrease in the specific receptor sites normally present in the cell membranes.     

Serological analysis and pathogenic potentials of Wangiella dermatitidis isolated from bats

Methods for the preparation of antigens from clinically isolated cultures of Aspergillus were standardized. Sera from 25 suspected cases of pulmonary aspergillosis were tested against antigens prepared by us, from 4 strains of A. fumigatus and one strain of A. flavus, using the Ouchterlony double diffusion and immunoelectrophoretic techniques.Of the 25 sera tested, 18 reacted positively with antigens of A. fumigatus, one with A. flavus and 2 with both these species. Antigens of two non-pathogenic Aspergilli included in the study failed to react with any of the sera. Our antigen preparations gave more numerous as well as sharper precipitin lines than the commercial Bencard antigens which were used for comparison. Moreover, mycelial antigens from 48 to 96 h old cultures revealed precipitin lines comparable to that of the routine, 4 week old culture filtrate antigens, thus suggesting that the incubation period for obtaining antigens could be cut down considerably.Memoir No. 323 from the Centre of Advanced Study in Botany.Deceased     

On the frequency of isothermal germination in seeds of Dolichos biflorus L.

The relative frequencies of seed germination show positivelyskewed distributions along the time of isothermal incubation.Unimodal patterns prevailing between 19.3? and 31.4?C changeinto progressively polymodal distributions both below 19.3?and above 31.4?C. None of the distributions fit the adjustedgaussians, except at 8.0? and at 40.6?C. (Received September 29, 1977; )     

Monoclonal antibodies specific for the core protein of the beta-subunit of the gastric proton pump (H+/K+ ATPase). An autoantigen targetted in pernicious anaemia.

The gastric H+/K(+)-transporting adenosine triphosphatase (H+/K+ ATPase) (proton pump) consists of a catalytic alpha-subunit and a recently proposed 60-90-kDa glycoprotein beta-subunit. Using dog gastric membranes as the antigen, we have produced two murine monoclonal antibodies, 4F11 (IgG1) and 3A6 (IgA), which are specific for the 60-90-kDa glycoprotein. The monoclonal antibodies (1) specifically stained the cytoplasm of unfixed and formalin-fixed dog gastric parietal cells; (2) specifically reacted by ELISA with gastric tubulovesicular membranes; (3) recognised epitopes located on the luminal face of parietal cell tubulovesicular membranes, the site of the proton pump, by immunogold electron microscopy; (4) immunoblotted a 60-90-kDa molecule from tubulovesicular membranes and a 35-kDa component from peptide N-glycosidase-F-treated membrane extracts; (5) immunoblotted the 60-90-kDa parietal cell autoantigen associated with autoimmune gastritis and pernicious anemia, purified by chromatography on parietal cell autoantibody- or tomato-lectin-Sepharose 4B affinity columns, and the 35-kDa protein core of this autoantigen; this autoantigen has amino acid sequence similarity to the beta-subunit of the related Na+/K(+)-transporting adenosine triphosphatase (Na+/K+ ATPase) [Toh et al. (1990) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 87, 6418-6422]; (6) co-precipitated a molecule of 95 kDa with the 60-90-kDa molecule from 125I-labelled detergent extracts of dog tubulovesicular membranes; and (7) co-purified the catalytic alpha-subunit of the H+/K+ ATPase with the 60-90-kDa molecule by immunoaffinity chromatography of tubulovesicular membrane extracts on a monoclonal antibody 3A6-Sepharose 4B column, indicating a physical association between the two molecules. These results provide further evidence that the 60-90-kDa glycoprotein is the beta-subunit of the gastric H+/K+ ATPase. We conclude that the monoclonal antibodies specifically recognise luminal epitopes on the 35-kDa core protein of the 60-90-kDa beta-subunit of the gastric proton pump, a major target molecule in autoimmune gastritis and pernicious anaemia. These monoclonal antibodies will be valuable probes to study the structure and function of this associated beta-subunit, as well as the ontogeny of the gastric proton pump.     

Toad bladder amiloride-sensitive channels reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers

In the present study we used established methods to obtain apical membrane vesicles from the toad urinary bladder and incorporated these membrane fragments to solvent-free planar lipid bilayer membranes. This resulted in the appearance of a macroscopic conductance highly sensitive to the diuretic amiloride added to the cis side. The blockage is voltage dependent and well described by a model which assumes that the drug binds to sites in the channel lumen. This binding site is localized at about 15% of the electric field across the membrane. The apparent inhibition constant (K(0)) is equal to 0.98 microM. Ca2+, in the micromolar range on the cis side, is a potent blocker of this conductance. The effect of the divalent has a complex voltage dependence and is modulated by pH. At the unitary level we have found two distinct amiloride-blockable channels with conductances of 160 pS (more frequent) and 120 pS. In the absence of the drug the mean open time is around 0.5 sec for both channels and is not dependent on voltage. The channels are cation selective (PNa/PCl = 15) and poorly discriminate between Na+ and K+ (PNa/PK = 2). Amiloride decreases the lifetime in the open state of both channels and also the conductance of the 160-pS channel.     

Ascorbate oxidase from Cucurbita maxima

Ascorbate oxidase is present in homogenates of the flesh of Cucurbita maxima fruits. Its activity is independent of ascorbate concentration over th