Water dependent properties of cutinase in nonaqueous solvents: a computational study of enantioselectivity.

The catalytic properties of enzymes in nonaqueous solvents are known to be dependent on the nature of the solvent. Here we present a molecular modeling study of the enantioselective properties of the enzyme cutinase in hexane under varying hydration conditions. Previous simulation studies have shown that for this model enzyme in hexane, the structural and dynamical properties are affected by the amount of water associated with the protein, being more similar to the aqueous simulation at 5-10% of water content.

Functional consequences of integrin-linked kinase activation in podocyte damage.

Background: The delicate foot process architecture of glomerular podocytes critically depends on integrin mediated cell-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) interaction. Integrin signaling via the integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is activated in podocyte damage and associated with considerable podocyte phenotype alterations. ILK has been shown to regulate cell fate via nuclear interaction of beta-catenin with lymphoid enhancer factor (LEF-1) transcription factors.

Early nuclear alterations and immunohistochemical expression of Ki-67, Erb-B2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor (TGF-beta1) and integrine-linked kinase (ILK) two days after tamoxifen in breast carcinoma.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate breast carcinoma samples before and two days after treatment with tamoxifen in order to analyse early histopathological alterations--particularlynuclear alterations-- as well as immunohistochemical expression of Ki-67, Erb-B2, VEGF, TGF-beta1 and ILK proteins. Twenty one cases of invasive ductal and lobular breast carcinoma were studied. Patients were submitted to biopsy of the lesion and, after confirmation of the diagnosis, they received 20 mg of tamoxifen a day, beginning two days before surgery.

[Anesthesia in Mckusick-Kaufman syndrome patient: case report.].

Background And Objectives: Mckusick-Kaufman syndrome is an uncommon disease, typically characterized by hydrometrocolpos, polydactyly and congenital heart defects. These patients are often submitted to different surgical procedures throughout their lives and the anesthesiologist must be prepared to deal with possible complications. This article aimed at reporting the anesthetic management adopted for a patient with this syndrome.

Austrian syndrome--autopsy report.

A case of the Austrian syndrome in a 23 year-old male, alcoholic and non-vaccinated against pneumococci, is reported. Autopsy study disclosed alcoholic liver disease, endocarditis, meningitis and pneumonia. Pneumococci were observed in the vegetations found in the mitral and aortic valves, in the coronarian septic embolus with acute myocardial infarction, and in the spleen abscess.

Antiviral activity of diterpenes isolated from the Brazilian marine alga Dictyota menstrualis against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).

The antiviral effect of the CH(2)Cl(2)/MeOH-soluble fraction from the alga Dictyota menstrualis on HIV-1 replication was evaluated in vitro. The antiretroviral activity was attributed to two diterpenes: (6R)-6-hydroxydichotoma-3,14-diene-1,17-dial, named Da-1, and (6R)-6-acetoxi-dichotoma-3,14-diene-1,17-dial, named AcDa-1. Da-1 or AcDa-1 were added to the culture medium of HIV-1-infected PM-1 cells at different times post-infection or during virus adsorption/penetration.

Functional status in patients with narcolepsy.

Objective: To describe health and functional status in treated narcolepsy patients and to compare it with normative data and with patients with another cause of sleepiness, the obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients.

Methods: A functional status survey in narcolepsy patients and in symptomatic untreated and CPAP treated OSAHS patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) >5 was assessed using the UK Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire, the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). SF-36 scores in narcoleptics were compared to age and sex matched controls.

Thickening of the amnion basement membrane and its relationship to placental inflammatory lesions and fetal and maternal disorders.

Objective: The aim of this study is the morphological and morphometric analysis of the basement membrane amniotic epithelium of the chorionic plate to establish possible correlation between the basement membrane amniotic epithelium thickening and maternal and fetal disorders.

Study Design: Ninety-one placentas of infants delivered in Medical Hospital School were studied with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) methods, morphometric and ultrastructural analysis.

Results: Of the 91 placentas analyzed, 17 (18.

Relationship between the morphologic alterations of vocal cords from adult autopsies and the cause of death.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the possible alteration in the thickness of the epithelium basal membrane of the vocal cords and correlate it with the cause of death.

Method: Larynxes collected from adult autopsies during the period of 1993 to 2001 were utilized. We used the hematoxylin-eosin and periodic acid-Schiff staining methods for the morphological and morphometric analysis.

Modeling electron transfer thermodynamics in protein complexes: interaction between two cytochromes c(3).

Redox protein complexes between type I and type II tetraheme cytochromes c(3) from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough are here analyzed using theoretical methodologies. Various complexes were generated using rigid-body docking techniques, and the two lowest energy complexes (1 and 2) were relaxed using molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent and subjected to further characterization. Complex 1 corresponds to an interaction between hemes I from both cytochromes c(3).

Ecological roles of natural products of the Brazilian red seaweed Laurencia obtusa.

Laboratory and field experiments were performed to assess the ecological roles of natural products produced by the Brazilian red seaweed Laurencia obtusa. Laboratory assays revealed that the natural concentration of the crude organic extract of L. obtusa significantly inhibited feeding by two herbivores: the crab Pachygrapsus transversus and the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus.

[Competency-based training for nurses: alternation between theory and practice, professionalization, and complex thought].

This study aims at eliciting a reflection on a competency-based education for nurses by understanding alternation as a necessary condition for an articulation between theory and practice, as well as at discussing some issues related to competency-based education and professionalization. We have searched to widen up our understanding of what competencies are and of an articulation between theory and practice. We have discussed the notion of professionalization and some ways of working on competencies by following different approaches and distinctive objectives, and we have reached an understanding about competencies, how to act in some situations, what leads to educational commitment, and what calls for contextualized and complex thought.

Is the mussel test a good indicator of antifouling activity? A comparison between laboratory and field assays.

Current antifouling technologies rely on metal-based paints, but due to their toxicity, an expected worldwide ban of organotin-containing paints is now prompting the quest for safe and effective alternatives. One of these is antifouling coatings whose active components are naturally occurring compounds in marine organisms. A number of laboratory bioassays has been designed to search for antifouling compounds.

High levels of interleukin-1 in patients with endemic pemphigus foliaceus.

Endemic pemphigus foliaceus (EPF) is an autoimmune disease characterized by blister formation with a loss of cohesion and infiltration of inflammatory cells. We observed that supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients produced significantly more interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) than those from stimulated healthy controls. Furthermore, a Th2 bias was observed in EPF patients when the IL-5/gamma interferon ratio was analyzed.

The prevalence of neurosensorial hearing loss among cystic fibrosis patients from Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre.

Unlabelled: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is considered one of the most prevalent lethal genetic disorders. The life expectancy of those patients has been rising. Besides the well-known prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis, neurosensory hearing loss (NSHL) due to the large use of ototoxic antibiotics may be another problem that should receive special attention in otolaryngology (ENT).

Isoform-specific regulation of Na+,K+-ATPase endocytosis and recruitment to the plasma membrane.

The Na(+),K(+)-ATPase traffics between the plasma membrane and intracellular compartments in response to acute changes in membrane receptor activation. These effects are accomplished by a time-dependent interaction of the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase alpha-subunit with specific intracellular signaling molecules either at the plasma membrane (endocytosis) or at the endosome's membranes (recruitment). Most of these studies have been performed in rat renal epithelial cells in which only the alpha(1) isoenzyme is present.

Redox-Bohr and other cooperativity effects in the nine-heme cytochrome C from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774: crystallographic and modeling studies.

The nine-heme cytochrome c is a monomeric multiheme cytochrome found in Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774. The polypeptide chain comprises 296 residues and wraps around nine hemes of type c. It is believed to take part in the periplasmic assembly of proteins involved in the mechanism of hydrogen cycling, receiving electrons from the tetraheme cytochrome c3.

Growth phase and medium ph modulate the expression of proteinase activities and the development of megasomes in axenically cultivated Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis amastigote-like organisms.

Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis LV79 (MPRO/BR/72/M1841) has been adapted to grow at 33 C as amastigote-like (AL) organisms in modified UM-54 medium initially adjusted to a pH of 4.8-5.0.

[Identification of infectious agents in the lungs in autopsies of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome].

Lung diseases are frequently observed in individuals infected with HIV. The aim of this study was to identify infectious agents in the lungs in the autopsied individuals with AIDS performed between march 1990 and july 2000 at the school of medicine (Uberaba- Brazil), using histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. Analysis was made on lungs obtained from 40 individuals with AIDS.

[Developmental characteristics of Cysticercus cellulosae in the human brain and heart].

The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of cysticercosis, to classify the developmental phases of cysticerci found in human brains and hearts, and differentiate these according to the macro and microscopic aspects of the general pathological processes, and to compare the process found in the brains and hearts. Protocols from autopsies performed at the Hospital of the School of Medicine of the Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, MG, Brazil, in the period from 1970 to 2000 were reviewed. The prevalence of cysticercosis was verified in 71 cases, of which 53 (74.

[Fatal toxic megacolon due to cytomegalovirosis in a patient with ulcerative colitis: case report and review].

Background: The toxic megacolon is a rare and severe complication of ulcerative colitis. In general it complicates patients with active colitis that are resistant to clinical treatment and, in some cases, the developing factor is unknown. Cytomegalovirus infection in humans in general is a subclinical condition.

Protein structure and dynamics in nonaqueous solvents: insights from molecular dynamics simulation studies.

Protein structure and dynamics in nonaqueous solvents are here investigated using molecular dynamics simulation studies, by considering two model proteins (ubiquitin and cutinase) in hexane, under varying hydration conditions. Ionization of the protein groups is treated assuming "pH memory," i.e.

[Beliefs about nursing in the Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem: reflections on ideals, science, and art].

The inquiry of this study is the beliefs related to the nursing professional in the first decades of this activity in Brazil. The investigation presupposes that some of these beliefs are still current. The objective is to point out the beliefs expressed by Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem (Brazilian Journal of Nursing) in 33 articles, during the period between 1932 (when the journal was created) and 1954.

Colchicine attenuates left ventricular hypertrophy but preserves cardiac function of aortic-constricted rats.

To investigate the effects of colchicine on left ventricular (LV) function and hypertrophy (LVH) of rats subjected to constriction of transverse aorta (TAoC), we evaluated SO (sham operated, vehicle; n = 25), SO-T (sham operated, colchicine 0.4 mg/kg body wt ip daily; n = 38), TAoC (vehicle; n = 37), and TAoC-T (TAoC, colchicine; n = 34) on the 2nd, 6th, and 15th day after surgery. Colchicine attenuated LVH of TAoC-T compared with TAoC rats, as evaluated by ratio between LV mass (LV(M)) and right ventricular mass, LV wall thickness, and average diameter of cardiac myocytes.

Participation of CaMKII in neuronal plasticity and memory formation.

1. The unique biochemical properties of Ca(2+)/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II have made this enzyme one of the paradigmatic models of the forever searched "memory molecule." 2.