Performance of four different force fields for simulations of dipeptide conformations: GlyGly, GlyGly-, GlyGly · Cl-, GlyGly · Na+ and GlyGly · (H2O)2.

Monte-Carlo conformational searches with four kinds of force fields (AMBER94, MM3*, MMFFs, and OPLS-2005) were performed on glycylglycine (GlyGly), deprotonated glycylglycine (GlyGly(-)), glycylglycine chloride anion complex (GlyGly · Cl(-)), glycylglycine sodium cation complex (GlyGly · Na(+)) and glycylglycine dihydrate [GlyGly · (H2O)2]. Combined with Hartree-Fock (HF) and second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2) optimizations, conformations within an energy of 20 kJ mol(-1) were predicted. After MP2 calculations, the geometries and relative energies of the predicted structures were the same regardless of the force field used.

[Study on the biological characteristic of Blastocystis hominis: morphology, mode of reproduction and the relation to bacteria].

Objective: To observe the reproductive modes of Blastocystis hominis and study the relation between this protozoa and bacteria.

Methods: Using the Iodine and Haematoxylin staining, the morphology of B. h from patients and RPMI 1640 medium were observed.

[Change of serum leptin and leptin receptors immunoreactivity in the brain following intraoral infusions of chemical solutions in rats].

Aim: To determining whether the level of serum leptin altered and whether the expression of leptin receptor immunoreactivity changed following taste stimuli.

Methods: After intraoral infusions of chemical solutions, which included 3 mol/L sucrose, 5 mmol/L sodium saccharin, 0.1 mol/L NaCl, 0.