Interruption of the ionic lock in the bradykinin B2 receptor results in constitutive internalization and turns several antagonists into strong agonists.

The DRY motif with the highly conserved R3.50 is a hallmark of family A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The crystal structure of rhodopsin revealed a salt bridge between R135(3.

[2011 ranking in production and research productivity in Spanish public universities].

The assessment and improvement of the quality of scientific research in the universities is one of the main goals of the European Space for Higher Education. Within this goal, increased interest in national and international rankings has been shown. The objective of this research is to update the scientific research productivity ranking of Spanish public universities and it is based on data corresponding to 2011.

In silico virtual screening approaches for anti-viral drug discovery.

Despite the considerable advances in medical and pharmaceutical research during the past years, diseases caused by viruses have remained a major burden to public health. Virtual in silico screening has repeatedly proven to be useful to meet the special challenges of antiviral drug discovery. Large virtual compound libraries are filtered by different computational screening methods such as docking, ligand-based similarity searches or pharmacophore-based screening, reducing the number of candidate molecules to a smaller set of promising candidates that are then tested biologically.

Sensitivity to temporal reward structure in amygdala neurons.

The time of reward and the temporal structure of reward occurrence fundamentally influence behavioral reinforcement and decision processes [1-11]. However, despite knowledge about timing in sensory and motor systems [12-17], we know little about temporal mechanisms of neuronal reward processing. In this experiment, visual stimuli predicted different instantaneous probabilities of reward occurrence that resulted in specific temporal reward structures.

Photosynthetic adaptation to length of day is dependent on S-sulfocysteine synthase activity in the thylakoid lumen.

Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) chloroplasts contain two O-acetyl-serine(thiol)lyase (OASTL) homologs, OAS-B, which is an authentic OASTL, and CS26, which has S-sulfocysteine synthase activity. In contrast with OAS-B, the loss of CS26 function resulted in dramatic phenotypic changes, which were dependent on the light treatment. We have performed a detailed characterization of the photosynthetic and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in cs26 plants compared with those of wild-type plants under short-day growth conditions (SD) and long-day growth conditions (LD).

Monitoring extracellular pH, oxygen, and dopamine during reward delivery in the striatum of primates.

Dopamine projections that extend from the ventral tegmental area to the striatum have been implicated in the biological basis for behaviors associated with reward and addiction. Until recently, it has been difficult to evaluate the complex balance of energy utilization and neural activity in the striatum. Many techniques such as electrophysiology, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry have been employed to monitor these neurochemical and neurophysiological changes.

Identification of messenger RNA of fetoplacental source in maternal plasma of women with normal pregnancies and pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction.

Objective: to quantify placenta-specific RNA in plasma of women carrying foetuses with intrauterine growth restriction and pregnant women with normal pregnancies.

Methods: 8 pregnant women with foetuses with intrauterine growth restriction were studied as well as 18 women with uncomplicated pregnancies in the third pregnancy trimester. Total free RNA was quantified in maternal plasma by spectrophotometry and the gene expression of hPL (Human Placental Lactogen) at the messenger RNA level through technical Real Time-Chain Reaction Polymerase.

[Absence of occult hepatitis B in Colombian blood donors].

Introduction: In Colombian blood banks, screening for the surface antigen of hepatitis B is mandatory in all units collected. Testing of antibody against core antigens is not administered, although this method may be useful to detect donors infected with the hepatitis B virus.

Objective: The prevalence of occult hepatitis B was determined by applying a full-serological profile of hepatitis B virus to blood samples of blood donors.

Binding characteristics of [3H]-JSM10292: a new cell membrane-permeant non-peptide bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist.

Background And Purpose: A (3) H-labelled derivative of the novel small-molecule bradykinin (BK) B(2) receptor antagonist JSM10292 was used to directly study its binding properties to human and animal B(2) receptors in intact cells and to closely define its binding site.

Experimental Approach: Equilibrium binding, dissociation and competition studies with various B(2) receptor ligands and [(3) H]-JSM10292 were performed at 4°C and 37°C. The experiments were carried out using HEK293 cells stably (over)expressing wild-type and mutant B(2) receptors of human and animal origin.

Putamen neurons process both sensory and motor information during a complex task.

The putamen has classically been considered to be primarily a motor structure. It is involved in a broad range of roles and its neurons have been postulated to function as pattern classifiers of behaviourally significant events. However, its specific role in motor and sensory processing is still unclear.

[Current epidemiological situation of HIV/AIDS in Latin America: analysis of differences among countries].

Background: There is a great regional heterogeneity in the prevalence of HIV/ AIDS.

Aim: To analyze the current situation of HIV/AIDS in Latin America by means of a comparative analysis among countries.

Material And Methods: In a descriptive study (document analysis), epidemiological data about HIV/AIDS in Latin America as well as population data were used.

In vivo light-driven DNA binding and cellular uptake of nucleic acid stains.

Chemical derivatization of nucleic stains such as ethidium bromide or DAPI with tailored, photoresponsive caging groups, allows for "on demand" spatiotemporal control of their in vivo nucleic acid binding, as well as for improving their cellular uptake. This effect was particularly noteworthy for a nitro-veratryloxycarbonyl-caged derivative of ethidium bromide that, in contrast with the parent stain, is effectively internalized into living cells. The activation strategy works in light-accessible, therapeutically relevant settings, such as human retinas, and can even be applied for the release of active compounds in the eyes of living mice.

Children's activities and their meanings for parents: a mixed-methods study in six Western cultures.

Theoretical perspectives and research in sociology, anthropology, sociolinguistics, and cultural psychology converge in recognizing the significance of children's time spent in various activities, especially in the family context. Knowing how children's time is deployed, however, only gives us a partial answer to how children acquire competence; the other part must take into account the culturally constructed meanings of activities, from the perspective of those who organize and direct children's daily lives. In this article, we report on a study of children's routine daily activities and on the meanings that parents attribute to them in six Western middle-class cultural communities located in Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States (N = 183).

Psychosocial correlates of condom use and their relationship with worry about STI and HIV in native and immigrant adolescents in Spain.

The goal of this study was to analyze how worry about sexually-transmitted infections (STI) and HIV influences attitudes and self-efficacy towards condom use, HIV-related knowledge, HIV-perceived susceptibility and HIV-misconceptions in a multicultural sample in Spain. The sample was composed of 3,051 adolescents aged between 14 and 19 years old who lived in Spain. Of these, 67.

[Ranking 2010 in production and research productivity in Spanish public universities].

The creation of the European Higher Education Area has brought the relevance of the scientific quality assessment in higher education. The result of this interest is a growing interest in the development of rankings of universities, both nationally and internationally. To continue the line started two years ago, the goal of this research is to update the ranking of research productivity in Spanish public universities with the data of 2010.

Colonization of turbot tissues by virulent and avirulent Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida strains during infection.

Preventing disease outbreaks in cultured turbot Psetta maxima L. caused by Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida (ASS) requires a better understanding of how this pathogen colonizes its host.

Intraneural hematoma after nerve stimulation-guided femoral block in a patient with factor XI deficiency: case report.

Intraneural hematoma after a peripheral nerve block is a theoretical cause of postoperative nerve injury that has not been previously documented in humans. We report an intraneural hematoma after nerve stimulation-guided femoral block, which occurred in a patient with undiagnosed factor XI deficiency and a slightly prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time. Onset of paralysis several days after surgery prompted early surgical exploration and removal of an intraneural hematoma at the femoral nerve.

Determination of dietary intake of total arsenic, inorganic arsenic and total mercury in the Chilean school meal program.

The dietary intake of total arsenic (tAs), inorganic arsenic (iAs) and total mercury (tHg) in lunch and breakfast servings provided by the Chilean School Meal Program (SMP) was estimated, using the duplicate-portion variant of the total diet study. Lunch and breakfast samples were collected from 65 schools throughout the country in 2006. The population sample was a group of girls and boys between 6 and 18 years old.

Time course of cold cataract development in anesthetized mice.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to study the time-course development of cold cataract in mice under general anesthesia.

Methods: We anesthetized five groups of 10 mice (12 weeks old) with 400 mg/Kg intraperitoneal injections of chloral hydrate and exposed them to 0, 7, 15, 23, and 37°C for 1 hr. Cataract development was assessed and graded as no cataract, mild, medium, or severe at 10, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min after the exposure started.

Orientation preference and horizontal disparity sensitivity in the monkey visual cortex.

Purpose: Disparity sensitivity may be explained by interocular positional differences of the receptive fields (RF) of visual cortical cells or by interocular shifts of the On and Off RF subregions. Since this latter model assumes shifts are orthogonal to the orientation of the RF, cells with disparity sensitivity should be oriented. The objective of the present study is to test this assumption.

Scratch resistance of polycarbonate containing ZnO nanoparticles: effects of sliding direction.

Abrasive wear resistance of injection molded polycarbonate (PC) and polycarbonate + zinc oxide nanocomposites containing 0.5 wt% ZnO nanoparticles was determined as a function of the sliding direction with respect to injection flow. First we have performed single scratch testing under progressively increasing the load applied.

Amazonia through time: Andean uplift, climate change, landscape evolution, and biodiversity.

The Amazonian rainforest is arguably the most species-rich terrestrial ecosystem in the world, yet the timing of the origin and evolutionary causes of this diversity are a matter of debate. We review the geologic and phylogenetic evidence from Amazonia and compare it with uplift records from the Andes. This uplift and its effect on regional climate fundamentally changed the Amazonian landscape by reconfiguring drainage patterns and creating a vast influx of sediments into the basin.

Arabidopsis plants deficient in plastidial glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase show alterations in abscisic acid (ABA) signal transduction: interaction between ABA and primary metabolism.

Abscisic acid (ABA) controls plant development and regulates plant responses to environmental stresses. A role for ABA in sugar regulation of plant development has also been well documented although the molecular mechanisms connecting the hormone with sugar signal transduction pathways are not well understood. In this work it is shown that Arabidopsis thaliana mutants deficient in plastidial glycolytic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gapcp1gapcp2) are ABA insensitive in growth, stomatal closure, and germination assays.