Medicinal and other economic plants of the Paya of Honduras

To collect information regarding Paya plant use practices, especially ethnomedical applications, an ethnobotanical study was conducted at the Santa Maria del Carbon community in north-central Honduras. Scientific and Paya names have been provided for 68 plants used for medicine, 40 used for food, 23 used as sources of wood, 8 used for beverages, 7 used in artifact manufacture and 10 used in other ways. Also, a list of 25 species is included for which the Paya have a name but no known use.     

Chemiluminescent and bioluminescent assays as innovative prospects for mycotoxin determination in food and feed.

Mycotoxin contamination of food and feedstuffs is among the top priorities for human and animal safety. The currently used techniques for mycotoxin determination, either chromatography or ELISA, are unsuitable for routine in-field assessment. There is an urgent need for other accurate, simple and cost-effective techniques that can be used as a screening tool for a rapid estimation of mycotoxin contamination in commodity lots. This paper reviews the literature on the use of chemiluminescence (CL) and bioluminescence (BL) assays for direct or indirect mycotoxin assessment. The chemiluminescence immunoassays, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence and bioassays are reviewed and their advantages and limitations discussed. These techniques used in food testing and the pharmaceutical industry offer promise as rapid techniques for mycotoxin determination. Chemiluminescence and bioluminescence bioassays are the most innovative alternatives to the conventional techniques used for mycotoxin determination in food and feed.     

A fast, precise and low-cost replication technique for nano- and high-aspect-ratio structures of biological and artificial surfaces

Biological surfaces are multifunctional interfaces between the organisms and their environment. Properties such as the wettability and adhesion of particles are linked to the micro- and nanostructures of their surfaces. In this study, we used plant and artificial surfaces covered with wax crystals to develop a low-cost replication technique with high resolution. The technique is applicable for fragile surface structures, as demonstrated for three-dimensional wax crystals, and is fast to prevent shrinking of the biological material by water loss during the molding process. Thermal evaporation of octacosan-1-ol has been used to create microstructured surfaces with small platelets as templates for molding. Epoxy resin as filling material provided the smallest deviations from the original surface structures and can be used for replication of nanostructures as small as 4.5 nm. Contact angle measurements of leaves and their replicas show that this technique can be used to develop biomimetic surfaces with similar wettability as in the plant surfaces.     

An improved method for clearing and staining free-hand sections and whole-mount samples

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Free-hand sectioning of living plant tissues allows fast microscopic observation of internal structures. The aim of this study was to improve the quality of preparations from roots with suberized cell walls. A whole-mount procedure that enables visualization of exo- and endodermal cells along the root axis was also established. METHODS: Free-hand sections were cleared with lactic acid saturated with chloral hydrate, and observed with or without post-staining in toluidine blue O or aniline blue. Both white light and UV light were used for observation. Lactic acid was also used as a solvent for berberine, and fluorol yellow for clearing and staining the samples used for suberin observation. This procedure was also applied to whole-mount roots with suberized celllayers. KEY RESULTS: Clearing of sections results in good image quality to observe the tissue structure and cell walls compared with non-cleared sections. The use of lactic acid as a solvent for fluorol yellow proved superior to previously used solvents such as polyethylene glycol-glycerol. Clearing and fluorescence staining of thin roots such as those of Arabidopsis thaliana were successful for suberin visualization in endodermal cells within whole-mount roots. For thicker roots, such as those of maize, sorghum or tea, this procedure could be used for visualizing the exodermis in a longitudinal view. Clearing and staining of peeled maize root segments enabled observation of endodermal cell walls. CONCLUSIONS: The clearing procedure using lactic acid improves the quality of images from free-hand sections and clearings. This method enhances the study of plant root anatomy, in particular the histological development and changes of cell walls, when used in combination with fluorescence microscopy.     

基于网络药理学及分子对接的浙贝母花-枇杷花药对止咳化痰作用机制研究

采用网络药理学及分子对接阐明浙贝母花—枇杷花药对的止咳化痰作用机制.以口服生物利用度≥30％和类药性≥0.18筛选成分,Swiss Target Prediction数据库进行靶点预测,GenCLiP 3和Drugbank数据库进行疾病靶点分析.以STRING和Cytoscape软件构建成分—靶点互作图,并进行GO、K...     

Simple and effective method for generating single-stranded DNA targets and probes

A simple and efficient PCR method was developed for generating dye- or radiolabeled single-stranded DNA targets or probes used for hybridization studies. The method involved the use of a pair of long primers with high annealing temperatures and a short, labeled primer with a low annealing temperature in a PCR consisting of two cycles at different temperatures. We used this method to generate dye Cy 5-labeled and [32P]-radiolabeled single-stranded DNA targets and probes. These labeled probes were used successfully for the microarray identification of point mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis genes and for the Northern blot detection of expression changes of the GATA-2 gene in Pneumocystis carinii-infected rat lungs.     

Selection and characterization of cell binding and internalizing phage antibodies

Many therapeutic targets are cell surface receptors, which can be challenging antigens for antibody generation. For many therapeutic applications, one needs antibodies that not only bind the cell surface receptor but also are internalized into the cell. This allows use of the antibody to deliver various payloads into the cell to achieve a therapeutic effect. Phage antibody technology has proven a powerful tool for the generation and optimization of human antibodies to any antigen. While applied to the generation of antibodies to purified proteins, it is possible to directly select cell binding and internalizing antibodies on cells. Potential advantages of this approach include: cell surface receptors are in native conformation on intact cells while this might not be so for recombinant proteins; antibodies can be selected for both cell binding and internalization properties; the antibodies can be used to identify their tumor associated antigens; and such antibodies can be used for human treatment directly since they are human in sequence. This review will discuss the factors that impact the successful selection of cell binding and internalizing antibodies. These factors include the cell types used for selection, the impact of different phage antibody library formats, and the specific selection protocols used.     

Current developments and future directions of bio-inspired computation and implications for ecoinformatics

Evolutionary and neural computation has been used widely in solving various problems in biological ecosystems. This paper reviews some of the recent work in evolutionary computation and neural network ensembles that could be explored further in the context of ecoinformatics. Although these bio-inspired techniques were not developed specifically for ecoinformatics, their successes in solving complex problems in other fields demonstrate how these techniques could be adapted and used for tackling difficult problems in ecoinformatics. Firstly, we will review our work in modelling and model calibration, which is an important topic in ecoinformatics. Secondly one example will be given to illustrate how coevolutionary algorithms could be used in problem-solving. Thirdly, we will describe our work on neural network ensembles, which can be used for various classification and prediction problems in ecoinformatics. Finally, we will discuss ecosystem-inspired computational models and algorithms that could be explored as directions of future research.     

Features and applications of blue-native and clear-native electrophoresis

1-D native electrophoresis is used for the separation of individual proteins, protein complexes, and supercomplexes. Stable and labile protein-protein interactions can be identified depending on detergent and buffer conditions. 1-D native gels are immediately applicable for in-gel detection of fluorescent-labeled proteins and for in-gel catalytic activity assays. 1-D native gels and blots are used to determine native mass and oligomeric state of membrane proteins. Protein extracts from 1-D native gels are used for generation of antibodies, for proteomic work, and for advanced structural investigations. 2-D separation of subunits of protein complexes by SDS-PAGE is mostly used for immunological and proteomic studies. Following the discussion of these general features, specific applications of native electrophoresis techniques in various research fields are highlighted: immunological and receptor studies, biogenesis and assembly of membrane protein complexes, protein import into organelles, dynamics of proteasomes, proteome and subproteome investigations, the identification and quantification of mitochondrial alterations in apoptosis, carcinogenesis, and neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and the vast variety of mitochondrial encephalomyopathies.     

Gas chromatographic analysis of ketamine and norketamine in plasma and urine: Nitrogen-sensitive detection

A sensitive gas chromatographic method for quantitative analysis of ketamine and norketamine in human and animal biological fluids is described. The nitrogen-sensitive detection procedure used is more stable than electron-capture detection and reduced analysis time. The method used bromo-ketamine as an internal standard for quantitation and is linear from 10–25,000 ng/ml. No interferences were shown with drugs commonly associated with cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary by-pass. This assay is sensitive, specific, using either native or derivatized drugs and can be used for routine analysis of ketamine and norketamine in plasma or urine.     

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of Indian Hypericum perforatum L

A standardised 50% aqueous ethanolic extract of the Indian variety of Hypericum perforatum (IHp) was examined for its putative anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity at the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg, po. The experimental paradigms used were carrageenan induced pedal edema and cotton pellet induced granuloma for anti-inflammatory activity, whereas the tail flick, hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing methods were used to asses analgesic activity. Indomethacin (20 mg/kg, ip) was used as the standard anti-inflammatory drug. Pentazocine (10 mg/kg, ip) and aspirin (25 mg/kg, ip), both clinically used analgesics, were used as standard analgesics for comparison. IHp extract showed significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity at both dose levels, in all the paradigms used. Additionally, IHp potentiated the anti-inflammatory activity of indomethacin and analgesic activities of pentazocine and aspirin.     

Demand and Dematerialization Impacts of Second-Hand Markets

The potential for second-hand markets to reduce demand for new goods is investigated. Using a variant of an economic model originally developed by Anderson and Ginsburgh, the physical implications for material use are explored. The second-hand market grows if transaction costs decrease or if product lifetime increases. In this model, growth of the secondhand market reduces demand for new goods if there are waste used goods that can be brought into the market. But if there is not a ready supply of waste used goods, growth of the second-hand market can increase demand for new goods, thereby increasing material consumption. Moreover, even when second-hand sales reduce demand for new goods, it is typically not on a one-for-one basis. The extent to which the purchase of used goods replaces the purchase of new goods is shown to be an explicit function of the relative value provided by used versus new goods.     

Synonymous codon selection controls in vivo turnover and amount of mRNA in Escherichia coli bla and ompA genes.

A number of silent codon changes were made in two Escherichia coli genes. For the ompA gene, the replacement of seven consecutive frequently used codons with synonymous infrequently used codons reduced the ompA mRNA level and its half-life. For the bla gene, the exchange of 24 codons for the most frequently used synonymous codons extended the bla mRNA half-life. A modification of ribosome traffic could account for these observations.     

Local and Systemic Antibiotic Therapy of Wounds and Burns

Postoperative wound infection rates range between 3% for clean wounds to 28% for dirty wounds. Indiscriminate antibiotic prophylaxis is ineffective. Requisites for effectiveness are specificity of the antibiotic for wound pathogens, the achievement of therapeutic tissue levels within four to six hours of wounding, and use only for high-risk situations. Topical neomycin is recommended in special-risk clean cases. In addition, in contaminated cases, a combination of penicillin G, a biosynthetic penicillin, and broad-spectrum penicillin parenterally is used, preoperatively, intra-operatively, and immediately postoperatively. Intravenous penicillin G and a biosynthetic penicillin are used for patients with major trauma and burns.     

Thermophilic archaeal enzymes and applications in biocatalysis

Thermophilic enzymes have advantages for their use in commercial applications and particularly for the production of chiral compounds to produce optically pure pharmaceuticals. They can be used as biocatalysts in the application of 'green chemistry'. The thermophilic archaea contain enzymes that have already been used in commercial applications such as the L-aminoacylase from Thermococcus litoralis for the resolution of amino acids and amino acid analogues. This enzyme differs from bacterial L-aminoacylases and has similarities to carboxypeptidases from other archaeal species. An amidase/γ-lactamase from Sulfolobus solfataricus has been used for the production of optically pure γ-lactam, the building block for antiviral carbocyclic nucleotides. This enzyme has similarities to the bacterial signature amidase family. An alcohol dehydrogenase from Aeropyrum pernix has been used for the production of optically pure alcohols and is related to the zinc-containing eukaryotic alcohol dehydrogenases. A transaminase and a dehalogenase from Sulfolobus species have also been studied. The archaeal transaminase is found in a pathway for serine synthesis which is found only in eukaryotes and not in bacteria. It can be used for the asymmetric synthesis of homochiral amines of high enantioselective purity. The L-2-haloacid dehalogenase has applications both in biocatalysis and in bioremediation. All of these enzymes have increased thermostability over their mesophilic counterparts.     

Nucleic acid base-pairing and N-methylacetamide self-association in chloroform: affinity and conformation.

A recently developed computational method, 'mining minima', is used to examine the hydrogen-bonding interactions of nucleic acid base-pairs and of the N-methylacetamide homodimer in chloroform. The mining minima algorithm aggressively samples molecular conformations, identifies the most important local minima, and computes their contributions to the overall free energy of the system. Here, the CHARMM 98 parameter set is used for the potential energy and the generalized Born/surface area solvent model is used to account for the influence of the solvent. Good agreement with experiment is obtained for the non-covalent binding affinities of a series of complexes. The computational approach used here is applicable to a range of molecular systems.     

Aging and Curvature Discrimination from Static and Dynamic Touch

Two experiments evaluated the ability of 30 older and younger adults to discriminate the curvature of simple object surfaces from static and dynamic touch. The ages of the older adults ranged from 66 to 85 years, while those of the younger adults ranged from 20 to 29 years. For each participant in both experiments, the minimum curvature magnitude needed to reliably discriminate between convex and concave surfaces was determined. In Experiment 1, participants used static touch to make their judgments of curvature, while dynamic touch was used in Experiment 2. When static touch was used to discriminate curvature, a large effect of age occurred (the thresholds were 0.67 & 1.11/m for the younger and older participants, respectively). However, when participants used dynamic touch, there was no significant difference between the ability of younger and older participants to discriminate curvature (the thresholds were 0.58 & 0.59/m for the younger and older participants, respectively). The results of the current study demonstrate that while older adults can accurately discriminate surface curvature from dynamic touch, they possess significant impairments for static touch.     

Proteome profiling and its use in metabolic and cellular engineering

Proteome profiling of microorganisms makes it possible to generate valuable knowledge that can be used for the development of metabolic and cellular engineering strategies, which consequently are used to enhance the yield and productivity of native or foreign bioproducts and to modify cellular properties to improve mid-stream and down-stream processes. Advances in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis technology combined with mass spectrometry allow the creation of global scale proteome contents which can be used to elucidate valuable information on the dynamics of the metabolic, signaling and regulatory networks apart from understanding the physiological changes. In this paper, we review the approaches of exploiting the proteome profiling results to the development of the strategies for the metabolic and cellular engineering of microorganisms.     

Evolution of the silver and gold stains in neurohistology

Scientific investigations depend on the reliability of the observations that can be made. This reliability is determined in part by the understanding of the techniques and technology used to make the observations. The limitations and the strengths of the methodology and the equipment used must be evaluated thoroughly. The extent to which this is and has been the case for the use of the metal based stains in neuroscience is the subject of this paper. I evaluate the metallic stains used for neuroscience from several perspectives. I review briefly the state of neurohistology prior to its “golden years,” 1870-1910. Then I trace the development of the silver based stains used for neurohistology. I wanted to discuss the reasoning used by the originators of the silver based techniques in developing their specific procedures, but discovered that while procedures may be published, the methods and ideas used to arrive at the final procedures are not usually described in published work.     

Chemically modified porous silica gel as a bioadsorbent and a biocatalyst.

Aminopropyl silica gel was prepared from porous silica gel by reaction with γ-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane in toluene and was used for immobilizing chymotrypsin (EC 3.4.4.5) and human serum albumin. Immobilized chymotrypsin was used for the resolution of N-acetyl-dl-phenylalanine and immobilized human serum albumin was used for the purification of goat anti-human serum albumin. Epoxy silica gel, prepared by reaction of porous silica gel with γ-glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane, was coupled with m-aminobenzamidine and the resulting matrix was used for trypsin purification.