Inhibitory effect of sildenafil on rat duodenal contractility in vitro: putative cGMP involvement.

1. Sildenafil citrate (Viagratrade mark; Pfizer, Sandwich, Kent, UK), a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, rises cGMP levels in smooth muscle cells. It relaxes both vascular and visceral smooth muscle.

Chemometric approaches in calibration experiments of trilinolenoylglycerol by liquid chromatography ion-trap mass spectrometry.

The article presents a comprehensive account of the application of chemometric approaches to determine the factors that influence the tri-alpha-linolenoylglycerol (TALG) ammoniated adduct signal m/z 890.6 in an ion-trap mass spectrometer coupled to a liquid chromatograph and the estimation of different sources of errors involved in TALG calibration experiments. It was found that by using experimental design, the influence of the nebulizer pressure on the analytical signal is less pronounced than the influence of the drying gas flow and the chromatographic flow rate.

Comparative analysis of Mutator -like transposases in sugarcane.

The maize Mutator ( Mu) system has been described as the most active and mutagenic plant transposon so far discovered. Mu -like elements (MULEs) are widespread among plants, and many and diverse variants can coexist in a particular genome. The autonomous regulatory element MuDR contains two genes: mudrA encodes the transposase, while the function of the mudrB gene product remains unknown.

Evaluation of the roughness and mass loss of the flowable composites after simulated toothbrushing abrasion.

The purpose of this study was to measure mass loss and surface roughness changes of different brands of flowable resin composites after a simulated toothbrushing test. The null hypotheses were that there would be no differences in mass loss and no significant changes in surface roughness after this test and that there would be no correlation between the two variables. The tested materials were Aeliteflo (Bisco), Flow-It (Pentron), Flow-It LF (Pentron), Natural Flow (DFL) and Wave (SDI).

Lingual thyroid causing dysphonia: evaluation and management. Case report.

Context: Lingual thyroid gland is a rare clinical entity that is caused by the failure of the thyroid gland to descend to a normal cervical location during embryogenesis. The occurrence of an ectopic thyroid gland located at the base of the tongue may cause problems for the patient, with symptoms of dysphagia, dysphonia, upper airway obstruction or even hemorrhage at any time from infancy through adulthood.

Case Report: We report on a case of lingual thyroid gland in a 41-year-old female patient.

Sulfated fucan as support for antibiotic immobilization.

Xylofucoglucuronan from Spatoglossum schröederi algae was tested as a support for antibiotic immobilization. The polysaccharide (20 mg in 6 ml) was first activated using carbodiimide, 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylamino-propyl)carbodiimide methiodide (20 mg in 2 ml), under stirring for 1 h at 25 masculine C and pH from 4.5 to 5.

Lactic acid triggers, in vitro, thiomersal to degrade protein in the presence of PLGA microspheres.

Microspheres of polymers like poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) have been studied as a vehicle for controlled release vaccines. They require materials and processes that might change the protein antigenicity. Lactic acid is produced during microsphere degradation that occurs in tandem with protein liberation.

Ionic interfaces and diphtheria toxoid interactions.

We present here a systematic study on the purification of the diphtheria toxoid (Dtxd) produced at the Instituto Butantan, by adding only one step on the entire process of its production. Aliquots of 1.0 ml of Dtxd were added to an equal amount of Q-Sepharose previously equilibrated with 500 mM Tris, pH 5.

In silico and in vivo analysis reveal a novel gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae trehalose metabolism.

Background: The ability to respond rapidly to fluctuations in environmental changes is decisive for cell survival. Under these conditions trehalose has an essential protective function and its concentration increases in response to enhanced expression of trehalose synthase genes, TPS1, TPS2, TPS3 and TSL1. Intriguingly, the NTH1 gene, which encodes neutral trehalase, is highly expressed at the same time.

Analysis and functional annotation of an expressed sequence tag collection for tropical crop sugarcane.

To contribute to our understanding of the genome complexity of sugarcane, we undertook a large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) program. More than 260,000 cDNA clones were partially sequenced from 26 standard cDNA libraries generated from different sugarcane tissues. After the processing of the sequences, 237,954 high-quality ESTs were identified.

Shared control of maltose and trehalose utilization in Candida utilis.

Trehalose biosynthesis and its hydrolysis have been extensively studied in yeast, but few reports have addressed the catabolism of exogenously supplied trehalose. Here we report the catabolism of exogenous trehalose by Candida utilis. In contrast to the biphasic growth in glucose, the growth of C.

Genomic distribution and characterization of EST-derived resistance gene analogs (RGAs) in sugarcane.

A large sugarcane EST (expressed sequence tag) project recently gave us access to 261,609 EST sequences from sugarcane, assembled into 81,223 clusters. Among these, we identified 88 resistance gene analogs (RGAs) based on their homology to typical pathogen resistance genes, using a stringent BLAST search with a threshold e-value of e(-50). They included representatives of the three major groups of resistance genes with NBS/LRR, LRR or S/T KINASE domains.

Kinetics of active alpha-glucoside transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

alpha-Glucosides are the most abundant fermentable sugars in the industrial applications of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the active transport across the plasma membrane is the rate-limiting step for their metabolism. In this report we performed a detailed kinetic analysis of the active alpha-glucoside transport system(s) present in a wild-type strain, and in strains with defined alpha-glucoside permeases. Our results indicate that the wild-type strain harbors active transporters with high and low affinity for maltose and trehalose, and low-affinity transport systems for maltotriose and alpha-methylglucoside.

Wear and superficial roughness of glass ionomer cements used as sealants, after simulated toothbrushing.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate, in vitro, the properties (wear and roughness) of glass ionomer cements that could influence their indication as pit and fissure sealants. The utilized materials were Fuji Plus, Ketac-Molar and Vitremer (in two different proportions: 1:1 and :1). The resin-based sealant Delton was used as control.

Heat shock protein micro-encapsulation as a double tool for the improvement of new generation vaccines.

The modern vaccinology encompasses the recombinant DNA technology, protein and carbohydrate chemistry to obtain safe molecularly defined vaccines. Nevertheless most of the vaccines are poorly immunogenic because a large number of antigens are membrane proteins and consequently they are not present in their active conformation in the vaccine. Others are not as potent because they contain only B epitopes and therefore, cannot stimulate cellular memory.

Bothrops lanceolatus (Fer de lance) venom stimulates leukocyte migration into the peritoneal cavity of mice.

The ability of Bothrops lanceolatus venom to induce neutrophil migration into the peritoneal cavity of mice was investigated. Intraperitoneal injection of venom caused dose- and time-dependent neutrophil migration, which peaked with 750 ng of venom/cavity 4h after venom injection. The neutrophil migration was significantly reduced by pretreatment with dexamethasone (0.

The use of protein structure/activity relationships in the rational design of stable particulate delivery systems.

The recombinant heat shock protein (18 kDa-hsp) from Mycobacterium leprae was studied as a T-epitope model for vaccine development. We present a structural analysis of the stability of recombinant 18 kDa-hsp during different processing steps. Circular dichroism and ELISA were used to monitor protein structure after thermal stress, lyophilization and chemical modification.

Somaclonal variation: a morphogenetic and biochemical analysis of Mandevilla velutina cultured cells.

Cell cultures of Mandevilla velutina have proved to be an interesting production system for biomass and secondary metabolites able to inhibit the hypotensive activity of bradykinin, a nonapeptide generated in plasma during tissue trauma. The crude ethyl acetate extract of cultured cells contains about 31- to 79-fold more potent anti-bradykinin compounds (e.g.

Overdoses among cocaine users in Brazil.

Aims: A survey of cocaine users was undertaken to study (i) the frequency of reported drug overdoses among cocaine users; and (ii) the frequency of witnessing drug overdoses in the same population.

Design And Setting: A cross-sectional study as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Multi-city Study among injecting drug users (IDUs), phase II, was conducted in Santos Metropolitan Region, State of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1999.

Participants: Three hundred and ninety-six exclusive users of cocaine in the Santos Metropolitan Region, São Paulo State, Brazil were surveyed concerning their past experience with drug overdoses.

Trends of HIV infection among injection drug users in Brazil in the 1990s: the impact of changes in patterns of drug use.

Background: Santos Metropolitan Region (SMR), State of Sao Paulo, historically is well known as being one of the areas with the largest number of AIDS cases in Brazil, especially among injection drug users (IDUs). The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of changes in drug-using patterns among IDUs on trends in HIV infection among IDUs in the 1990s.

Methods: During 1991 through 1992 (wave 1; n = 214), 1994 through 1996 (wave 2; n = 135), and 1999 (wave 3; n = 108), we conducted three cross-sectional studies of IDUs.

Maltotriose fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Maltotriose, the second most abundant sugar of brewer's wort, is not fermented but is respired by several industrial yeast strains. We have isolated a strain capable of growing on a medium containing maltotriose and the respiratory inhibitor, antimycin A. This strain produced equivalent amounts of ethanol from 20 g l(-1) glucose, maltose, or maltotriose.

Retrolyc1 subfamilies defined by different U3 LTR regulatory regions in the Lycopersicon genus.

Retrolycl, a Ty1/copia-like element, was originally isolated from the Lycopersicon peruvianum genome and shown to be present also in other Lycopersicon species. It shares extensive similarities with Tntl, except in its U3 regulatory region. In order to evaluate Retrolycl diversity, we analyzed partial sequences including both coding domains and the U3 regulatory region in four different species of the Lycopersicon genus.

Reduction of large neutral amino acid levels in plasma and brain of hyperleucinemic rats.

Neurological dysfunction is common in patients with maple syrup urine disease (MSUD). However, the mechanisms underlying the neuropathology of this disorder are poorly known. In the present study we investigated the effect of acute hyperleucinemia on plasma and brain concentrations of amino acids.

Retrolycl-1, a member of the tntl retrotransposon super-family in the Lycopersicon peruvianum genome.

Retrotransposons are ubiquitous mobile genetic elements that transpose through an RNA intermediate. One of the best known plant retrotransposon, Tnt1, was isolated from tobacco and showed an extensive distribution in the Nicotiana genus. We investigated the presence of related sequences in the Lycopersicon genus, another member of the Solanaceae family.