Immediate effects of an 8-h advance shift of the rest-activity cycle on 24-h profiles of cortisol

To investigate the adaptation of plasma cortisol profiles to an abrupt phase advance of the rest-activity cycle, eight normal young subjects were submitted in a sleep laboratory to an 8-h advance shift of their sleep-wake and dark-light cycles. The shift was achieved by advancing bedtimes from 2300-0700 to 1500-2300. Blood samples were obtained at 20-min intervals for 68 consecutive hours. The shift resulted within 6-9 h in a 3- to 4-h advance of timings of the nadir of the cortisol profile and of the end of the quiescent period but had no immediate effect on the timing of cortisol acrophase. The quiescent period of cortisol secretion was shortened and fragmented. Thus a major advance shift achieved without enforcing sleep deprivation results in a rapid partial adaptation of the temporal profiles of cortisol but also in a marked disruption of the cortisol quiescent period. Sleep onset was consistently followed by a decrease in cortisol concentrations. Conversely, both sleep-wake and dark-light transitions were consistently associated with cortisol secretory pulses.     

A computational investigation on the antioxidant potential of myricetin 3,4′-di-<Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>-rhamnopyranoside

In this work, we present a computational study on the antioxidant potential of myricetin 3,4\(^{\prime }\)-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (Compound M). A density functional theory (DFT) approach with the B3LYP and LC-ωPBE functionals and with both the 6-311G(d,p) and 6-311+G(d,p) basis sets was used. The focus of the investigation was on the structural and energetic parameters including both bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) and ionization potentials (IPs), which provide information on the potential antioxidant activity. The properties computed were compared with BDEs and IPs available in the literature for myricetin, a compound well known for presenting antioxidant activity (and the parent molecule of the compound of interest in the present work). Myricetin 3,4\(^{\prime }\)-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside presented the lowest BDE to be 79.13 kcal/mol (as determined using B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) in water) while myricetin has a quite similar value (within 3.4 kcal/mol). IPs computed in the gas phase [B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)] are 157.18 and 161.4 kcal/mol for myricetin 3,4\(^{\prime }\)-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside and myricetin, respectively. As the values of BDEs are considerably lower than the ones probed for IPs (in the gas phase or in any given solvent environment), the hydrogen atom transfer mechanism is preferred over the single electron transfer mechanism. The BDEs obtained suggest that myricetin 3,4\(^{\prime }\)-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside can present antioxidant potential as good as the parent molecule myricetin (a well-known antioxidant). Therefore, experimental tests on the antioxidant activity of Compound M are encouraged.     

Relationships between taxonomic and functional components of diversity: implications for conservation of tropical freshwater fishes

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Selecting high-dimensional mixed graphical models using minimal AIC or BIC forests

Background  

Chow and Liu showed that the maximum likelihood tree for multivariate discrete distributions may be found using a maximum weight spanning tree algorithm, for example Kruskal's algorithm. The efficiency of the algorithm makes it tractable for high-dimensional problems.     

Structural analysis of an Echinococcus granulosus actin-fragmenting protein by small-angle x-ray scattering studies and molecular modeling

The Echinococcus granulosus actin filament-fragmenting protein (EgAFFP) is a three domain member of the gelsolin family of proteins, which is antigenic to human hosts. These proteins, formed by three or six conserved domains, are involved in the dynamic rearrangements of the cytoskeleton, being responsible for severing and capping actin filaments and promoting nucleation of actin monomers. Various structures of six domain gelsolin-related proteins have been investigated, but little information on the structure of three domain members is available. In this work, the solution structure of the three domain EgAFFP has been investigated through small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) studies. EgAFFP exhibits an elongated molecular shape. The radius of gyration and the maximum dimension obtained by SAXS were, respectively, 2.52 +/- 0.01 nm and 8.00 +/- 1.00 nm, both in the absence and presence of Ca2+. Two different molecular homology models were built for EgAFFP, but only one was validated through SAXS studies. The predicted structure for EgAFFP consists of three repeats of a central beta-sheet sandwiched between one short and one long alpha-helix. Possible implications of the structure of EgAFFP upon actin binding are discussed.     

Novel three-phase bioreactor concept for fatty acid alkyl ester production using <Emphasis Type="Italic">R. oryzae</Emphasis> as whole cell catalyst

A novel three-phase solid–gas–liquid bioreactor (SGLB) concept using gaseous alcohol and liquid rapeseed oil with immersed microorganisms overlying a nutrient agar phase (solid) is proposed for biodiesel (fatty acid alkyl esters, FAAE) production based on the high hydrophobicity and negative surface charge showed by the fungi Rhizopus oryzae. This novel bioreactor was thought to increase oil bioavailability and decrease alcohol toxicity for effective microbial growth, reaching high yields of FAAE production without any pretreatment. High growth rates were reached for R. oryzae using a SGLB simultaneously reaching a high FAAE production yield, up to 50% using methanol and up to 70% using ethanol at 144 h of incubation at 20°C. To compare the effect of gaseous alcohol, the same experiments were carried out in a three-phase solid–liquid–liquid bioreactor (SLLB), where the alcohol was added in liquid phase, showing significant R. oryzae growth but no FAAE formation. This suggests that the inhibitory effect of alcohol is more significant in lipase activity than in R. oryzae growth, and the use of alcohol in gaseous phase may decrease both of them. The experimental procedure using SGLB showed that when R. oryzae is maintained alive, it can catalyze at the same time the hydrolysis, esterification and transesterification of triglycerides from rapeseed oil, but its activity strongly depends on the used growth media. Therefore, the application of gaseous alcohol coupled with R. oryzae as immobilized whole cell catalysts may be a potential alternative to the use of commercial lipases for biodiesel production.     

Ocular toxoplasmosis: evaluation of lacrimal-specific secretory IgA levels in both patients with active and inactive phases of the disease

Ocular toxoplasmosis can result in recurrent uveitis. Studies have shown that a correlation between active ocular toxoplasmosis and the presence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii secretory IgA (SIgA) in tears. This study compares anti-T. gondii SIgA levels in patients' tears during the acute and inactive phases of toxoplasmic uveitis. Twenty-nine positive tear specific SIgA for T. gondii patients with acute toxoplasmic uveitis were selected and were followed-up for at least two years, when the anti-T. gondii SIgA tears levels were determined. Specific SIgA for T. gondii was negative in 22 patients (75.86%) and positive in seven patients (24.13%) of whom six (85.7%) were followed over three years. Average SIgA levels during the acute phase are 1.54 and decrease significantly to 0.72 (p = 0.0001) during the inactive phase of disease. Because anti-T. gondii SIgA in the tear is negative in 75.86% of patients after the acute phase of infection, T. gondii SIgA levels may be used as a complementary diagnostic marker for active ocular toxoplasmosis.