A new sensitive and specific method to measure gold and palladium surface areas using alkanethiol adsorption coupled with analysis by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection has been developed. The effectiveness of the method was tested with metallic samples having a known surface area. The results have also been compared with BET specific surface area measurements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMilk lipids contain several bioactive factors exhibiting antimicrobial activity against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. In the present study, we demonstrate that free fatty acids (FFA) derived from the saponification of bovine whey cream lipids are active in vitro at inhibiting the germination of Candida albicans, a morphological transition associated with pathogenicity. This activity was found to be significantly increased when bovine FFA were enriched in non-straight-chain FFA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have reported that resveratrol (RSV) evoked apoptosis through caspase-6 activation in HCT116 human colon cancer cells wild-type (p53+/+) or knockout (p53-/-) for p53. In this study, the role of caspase-6 activation in 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-elicited apoptosis as well as the combination effects between RSV and 5-FU on their apoptosis induction was further investigated in the same colon cancer cell model. The combination effects were determined by calculation of combination indices (CI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The dual BCR-ABL/SRC kinase inhibitor dasatinib entered the clinic for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Because SRC kinases are known to play an important role in physiologic T-cell activation, we analyzed the immunobiological effects of dasatinib on T-cell function. The effect of dasatinib on multiple T-cell effector functions was examined at clinically relevant doses (1-100 nmol/L); the promiscuous tyrosine kinase inhibitor staurosporine was used as a comparator.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSante Ment Que
October 2012
The authors discuss the current limits of the concept of continuity of care and the difficulties set by its determination from the perspective of the consumer. Obvious facts around this concept are also questionned. This reflection is anchored in preliminary results of an ongoing study on continuity of care with people with a dual diagnosis of mental disorder and substance abuse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article presents results following the observation of six court hearings of the Tribunal administratif du Québec reviewing involuntary confinement. All 6 hearings concerned individuals considered dangerous. Through thematic analysis of testimonies and interrogations of various people involved (psychiatrist, prosecutor, defence attorney, expert psychiatrist), the author examines signs and points of reference used by those involved to decide on the dangerousness of a psychiatric patient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the synthesis and biological characterization of 3-(pyrimidin-4-yl)-7-azaindoles (meriolins), a chemical hybrid between the natural products meridianins and variolins, derived from marine organisms. Meriolins display potent inhibitory activities toward cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and, to a lesser extent, other kinases (GSK-3, DYRK1A). The crystal structures of 1e (meriolin 5) and variolin B (Bettayeb, K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we characterized nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) subunit DNA binding in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) samples and demonstrated heterogeneity in basal and inducible NF-kappaB. However, all cases showed higher basal NF-kappaB than normal B cells. Subunit analysis revealed DNA binding of p50, Rel A, and c-Rel in primary CLL cells, and Rel A DNA binding was associated with in vitro survival (P = .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To date, few epidemiologic studies have examined the relationship between environmental PCDD/F exposure and breast cancer in human populations. Dioxin emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) are one of the major sources of environmental dioxins and are therefore an exposure source of public concern. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between dioxins emitted from a polluting MSWI and invasive breast cancer risk among women residing in the area under direct influence of the facility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOccurrence and fate of 17 antibiotics were investigated in the aqueous phase of river water under different hydrological conditions at 5 sampling locations in the Seine River inner estuary. The target analytes belonged to 4 groups: quinolones, sulfonamides, nitro-imidazoles and diaminopyrimidines. This six-month survey (from January to June 2006) showed that different compounds were occurring at individual concentrations reaching 544 ng L(-)(1) (sulfamethoxazole).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhylogenetic search is a key tool used in a variety of biological research endeavours. However, this search problem is known to be computationally difficult, due to the astronomically large search space, making the use of heuristic methods necessary. The performance of heuristic methods for finding Maximum Likelihood (ML) trees can be improved by using parsimony as an initial estimator for ML.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control
November 2007
In this paper we describe a method to assess the piezoelectric response of a piezoelectric thin film deposited on a conductive substrate. It is based on analyzing the frequency response of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter made on the piezoelectric thin film. For this analysis, we use a circuital model that takes into account the theoretical response of the ideal filter along with all the external and internal parasitic effects that deteriorate the response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Bioinform Res Appl
January 2008
Fundamental to Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA) algorithms is modelling insertions and deletions (gaps). The most prevalent model is to use Gap Open Penalties (GOP) and Gap Extension Penalties (GEP). While GOP and GEP are well understood conceptually, their effects on MSA and consequently on phylogeny scores are not as well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Bioinform Res Appl
January 2008
The CYP2D6 gene is responsible for metabolising a large portion of the commonly prescribed drugs. Because of its importance, various approaches have been taken to analyse CYP2D6 and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout its sequence. This study introduces a novel method to analyse the effects of SNPs on encoded protein complexes by focusing on the biochemical properties of each non-synonymous substitution using the program TreeSAAP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhylogenetic analysis is a central tool in studies of comparative genomics. When a new region of DNA is isolated and sequenced, researchers are often forced to throw away months of computation on an existing phylogeny of homologous sequences in order to incorporate this new sequence. The previously constructed trees are often discarded, and the researcher begins the search again from scratch.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGTPase ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) plays a role in various cellular processes pertinent to cancer development. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying apoptosis regulation by Rac1 through functional proteomic analysis of three human melanoma M14 cell lines stably transfected with constitutively active Rac1V12, dominant negative Rac1N17, and empty vector (pIRES), respectively. We found that paclitaxel evoked apoptosis in the melanoma cell lines through the intrinsic (mitochondria) pathway in a caspsae-3-dependent manner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To present prevalence rates of child psychological aggression and physical violence from a population survey conducted in 2004 and to compare the rates with the rates obtained in the 1999 edition of the survey.
Methods: The survey used a randomly generated telephone number methodology. Interviews were conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interview system with a representative sample of 3,148 mothers living in Quebec province, Canada.
Motivation: Multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) are at the heart of bioinformatics analysis. Recently, a number of multiple protein sequence alignment benchmarks (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInexpensive highly leaded jewelry, much of it imported from China, remains widely available in the United States. The source materials for these items are unknown. Due to the low cost of much of this trinket jewelry, it seems likely that scrap materials may be used in their manufacture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough Canada has not experienced a major terrorist attack, an increased global pending threat has put preparedness at the top of the Canadian government's agenda. Given its strong multicultural community and close proximity to the recently targeted United States, the Canadian experience is unique. However, minimal research exists on the public's reactions to terrorism threats and related preparedness strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotoaffinity labelling is regularly used to investigate proteins, including peptidergic G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). To this purpose benzophenone photolabels have been widely used to identify many contact residues in ligand-binding pockets. The three-dimensional binding environment of the human angiotensin II type 1 receptor hAT(1) has been determined using an iterative methionine mutagenesis strategy based on the photochemical properties and preferential incorporation of benzophenone onto methionine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious study demonstrated that the low survival of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) under conventional slow-cooling cryopreservation protocols is predominantly due to apoptosis rather than cellular necrosis. Hence, this study investigated whether a synthetic broad-spectrum irreversible inhibitor of caspase enzymes, Z-VAD-FMK can be used to enhance the post-thaw survival rate of hESC. About 100 mM Z-VAD-FMK was supplemented into either the freezing solution, the post-thaw culture media or both.
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