Teaching and Learning Computational Drug Design: Student Investigations of 3D Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships through Web Applications.

The increasing use of information technology in the discovery of new molecular entities encourages the use of modern molecular-modeling tools to help teach important concepts of drug design to chemistry and pharmacy undergraduate students. In particular, statistical models such as quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR)-often as its 3D QSAR variant-are commonly used in the development and optimization of a leading compound. We describe how these drug discovery methods can be taught and learned by means of free and open-source web applications, specifically the online platform www.

Longitudinal assessment of dairy farm management practices associated with the presence of psychrotolerant Bacillales spores in bulk tank milk on 10 New York State dairy farms.

The ability of certain spore-forming bacteria in the order Bacillales (e.g., Bacillus spp.

Identification and characterization of psychrotolerant coliform bacteria isolated from pasteurized fluid milk.

The presence of coliform bacteria in pasteurized fluid milk typically indicates that product contamination occurred downstream of the pasteurizer, but it may also indicate pasteurization failure. Although coliform detection is frequently used as a hygiene indicator for dairy products, our understanding of the taxonomic and phenotypic coliform diversity associated with dairy products is surprisingly limited. Therefore, using Petrifilm Coliform Count plates (3M, St.

Identification of dairy farm management practices associated with the presence of psychrotolerant sporeformers in bulk tank milk.

Some strains of sporeforming bacteria (e.g., Bacillus spp.

Real-time PCR detection of Paenibacillus spp. in raw milk to predict shelf life performance of pasteurized fluid milk products.

Psychrotolerant sporeformers, specifically Paenibacillus spp., are important spoilage bacteria for pasteurized, refrigerated foods such as fluid milk. While Paenibacillus spp.

The ability of common mastitis-causing pathogens to survive an ensiling period.

A forage-based study was conducted to examine the ability of enterococci, streptococci, and gram-negative bacteria to survive a 3-wk ensiling process. Harvested grass and corn forages were each divided into 3 treatment groups consisting of 2 commercially available silage inoculants and 1 negative control group. Within 24h of harvest, a uniform amount of forage was added to each of 18 vacuum-sealable freezer bags.

Experimental design applied to the formulation of lipsticks with particular features.

In our work a non-classical experimental design was applied to obtain lipsticks endowed with particular characteristics. Our aim was to formulate lipsticks that leave a brilliant and shiny colour application and have a transparent look. The emollient substances and the waxes (consistency factors) were identified as the main variables of the system.

Inflammatory effects of Salmonella typhimurium porins.

The inflammatory activity of porins purified from Salmonella typhimurium has been investigated. Porins (0.3 to 30 micrograms) injected into the rat paw induced a dose-related edema that was not due to lipopolysaccharide contamination and did not appear to be dependent on the activation of the complement system.

Epizootiology of epidemic typhus (Rickettsia prowazekii) in flying squirrels.

Vector transmission of Rickettsia prowazekii among wild flying squirrels, Glaucomys volans, was suggested by the occurrence of natural infection of squirrel lice and fleas. Lice, mostly Neohaematopinus sciuropteri Osburn, were found infected in the fall in each of 2 consecutive years; 4 of the 8 pools of this insect tested were infected. Fleas, Orchopeas howardii (Baker), were found infected on two occasions in 1 of the 2 consecutive years.