Moonlighting Crypto-Enzymes and Domains as Ancient and Versatile Signaling Devices.

Increasing numbers of reports have revealed novel catalytically active cryptic guanylate cyclases (GCs) and adenylate cyclases (ACs) operating within complex proteins in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Here we review the structural and functional aspects of some of these cyclases and provide examples that illustrate their roles in the regulation of the intramolecular functions of complex proteins, such as the phytosulfokine receptor (PSKR), and reassess their contribution to signal generation and tuning. Another multidomain protein, K uptake permease (AtKUP5), also harbors multiple catalytically active sites including an N-terminal AC and C-terminal phosphodiesterase (PDE) with an abscisic acid-binding site.

Microwave Spectroscopy of Chiral Astrochemical Candidate Vinyloxirane: The Missing Gauche Conformer.

The recent detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide, in the interstellar medium provides impetus for investigation of related analogues as candidates for discovery of a second chiral species. Vinyloxirane (VO) shares many of the characteristics of propylene oxide that favored its remote detection such as modest size, appreciable dipole moment and modest adsorption to water ice. The microwave spectrum of vinyloxirane at room temperature has been studied in the 18 - 26 GHz region.

A comprehensive benchmark investigation of quantum chemical methods for carbocations.

The application of various density functional approximations (DFAs) and an emphasis on popular methods without any consensus have prevailed in computational studies dedicated to carbocations. More importantly, an extensive and rigorous benchmark investigation on density functionals for the class is still lacking. To close this gap, we present a comprehensive benchmark study of quantum chemical methods on a series of classical and nonclassical carbocations, the CARBO33 dataset.

Do Double-Hybrid Exchange-Correlation Functionals Provide Accurate Chemical Shifts? A Benchmark Assessment for Proton NMR.

A benchmark density functional theory (DFT) study of H NMR chemical shifts for data sets comprising 200 chemical shifts, including complex natural products, has been carried out to assess the performance of DFT methods. Two new benchmark data sets, NMRH33 and NMRH148, have been established. The meta-GGA revTPSS performs remarkably well against the NMRH33 benchmark set (mean absolute deviation (MAD), 0.

Tungsten Ligand-Based Sulfur-Atom-Transfer Catalysts: Synthesis, Characterization, Sustained Anaerobic Catalysis, and Mode of Aerial Deactivation.

The synthesis, properties, X-ray structures, and catalytic sulfur-atom-transfer (SAT) reactions of W(μ-S)(μ-S)(dtc)(dped) [; dtc = SCNR, where R = Me, Et, Bu, and Bn; dped = SCPh] and W(μ-S)(dtc)(dped) () are reported. These complexes represent the oxidized () and reduced () forms of anaerobic SAT catalysts operating through the bidirectional, ligand-based half-reaction (μ-S)(μ-S) ↔ (μ-S) + S. The catalysts are deactivated in air through the formation of catalytically inactive oxo complexes, (dtc)WO(μ-S)(μ-dped)W(dtc)(dped) (), prompting us to recommend that group 6 SAT activity be assessed under strictly anaerobic conditions.

High-performance thin layer chromatography-based phytochemical and bioactivity characterisation of anticancer endophytic fungal extracts derived from marine plants.

Bioactive compounds from endophytic fungi exhibit diverse biological activities which include anticancer effect. Capitalising on the abundance of unexplored endophytes that reside within marine plants, this study assessed the anticancer potential of ethyl acetate endophytic fungal extracts (i.e.

NanoSolveIT Project: Driving nanoinformatics research to develop innovative and integrated tools for nanosafety assessment.

Nanotechnology has enabled the discovery of a multitude of novel materials exhibiting unique physicochemical (PChem) properties compared to their bulk analogues. These properties have led to a rapidly increasing range of commercial applications; this, however, may come at a cost, if an association to long-term health and environmental risks is discovered or even just perceived. Many nanomaterials (NMs) have not yet had their potential adverse biological effects fully assessed, due to costs and time constraints associated with the experimental assessment, frequently involving animals.

Autoimmune encephalomyelitis in NOD mice is not initially a progressive multiple sclerosis model.

Objective: Despite progress in treating relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), effective inhibition of nonrelapsing progressive MS is an urgent, unmet, clinical need. Animal models of MS, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), provide valuable tools to examine the mechanisms contributing to disease and may be important for developing rational therapeutic approaches for treatment of progressive MS. It has been suggested that myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide residues 35-55 (MOG )-induced EAE in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice resembles secondary progressive MS.

Square Grid Metal-Chloranilate Networks as Robust Host Systems for Guest Sorption.

Reaction of the chloranilate dianion with Y(NO ) in the presence of Et N in the appropriate proportions results in the formation of (Et N)[Y(can) ], which consists of anionic square-grid coordination polymer sheets with interleaved layers of counter-cations. These counter-cations, which serve as squat pillars between [Y(can) ] sheets, lead to alignment of the square grid sheets and the subsequent generation of square channels running perpendicular to the sheets. The crystals are found to be porous and retain crystallinity following cycles of adsorption and desorption.

In vitro assessment of pediococci- and lactobacilli-induced cholesterol-lowering effect using digitally enhanced high-performance thin-layer chromatography and confocal microscopy.

The cholesterol-lowering properties of 12 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the absence or presence of 0.3% bile salts were assessed and compared quantitatively and qualitatively in vitro. A new, more sensitive and cost-effective high-performance thin-layer chromatography method combined with digital image evaluation of derivatised chromatographic plates was developed and validated to quantify cholesterol in LAB culture media.

HPTLC - Bioautographic methods for selective detection of the antioxidant and α-amylase inhibitory activity in plant extracts.

A high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed for quantification of α-amylase inhibitory activity and stigmasterol content in ant plant extracts. An improved HPTLC method for the determination of total free radical scavenging activity in samples using DPPH• is also reported. For quantification of -amylase inhibitory activity, the developed HPTLC plate is dipped into an -amylase solution, and the bioautogram is then incubated at 25 °C for 30 min under humid conditions.

A new high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method for determining bile salt hydrolase activity.

A quantitative assay using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) was developed to investigate bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity in Pediococcus pentosaceus LAB6 and Lactobacillus plantarum LAB12 probiotic bacteria isolated from Malaysian fermented food. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were cultured in de Man Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth containing 1 mmol/L of sodium-based glyco- and tauro-conjugated bile salts for 24 h. The cultures were centrifuged and the resultant cell free supernatant was subjected to chromatographic separation on a HPTLC plate.

A simple halide and silver-free synthesis of Echavarren's catalyst directly from gold powder.

An expedient procedure is reported for the preparation of the synthetically valuable Au(i) complex [Au(MeCN)(PBuCHPh-2)][BF] (Echavarren's catalyst) directly from gold powder using [NO][BF] in acetonitrile. The synthetic method obviates the potential presence of silver or halide impurities that follow from the tedious conventional synthesis, and have otherwise been shown to moderate catalyst performance.

Growth of in Defined Media Is Dependent on Presence of Particulate Matter.

are typically cultured in a monoxenic medium consisting of live bacteria. However, this introduces a secondary organism to experiments, and restricts the manipulation of the nutritional environment. Due to the intricate link between genes and environment, greater control and understanding of nutritional factors are required to push the field into new areas.

Association between short sleep duration and body mass index in Australian Indigenous children.

Aim: Associations between short sleep duration and obesity and the relationship between obesity and chronic illness are well documented. Obese children are likely to become obese adults. To date, there is a paucity of information regarding sleep duration and quality for Indigenous Australian people.

A Kinome RNAi Screen in Identifies Novel Genes Interacting with Lgl, aPKC, and Crb Cell Polarity Genes in Epithelial Tissues.

In both and mammalian systems, epithelial structure and underlying cell polarity are essential for proper tissue morphogenesis and organ growth. Cell polarity interfaces with multiple cellular processes that are regulated by the phosphorylation status of large protein networks. To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that coordinate cell polarity with tissue growth, we screened a boutique collection of RNAi stocks targeting the kinome for their capacity to modify "cell polarity" eye and wing phenotypes.

Chronic disease, medications and lifestyle: perceptions from a regional Victorian Aboriginal community.

Background: Poor medication management may contribute to the increased morbidity and mortality of Aboriginal people in Australia. Yet while there is extensive literature about the perceptions of healthcare providers on this issue, there is limited information on the perceptions of Aboriginal people themselves.

Objectives: To investigate the perceptions of a group of Aboriginal people attending a Victorian regional Aboriginal Health Service (AHS) with diagnosed medical conditions requiring medications, of their lifestyle, disease management and medication usage.

Locating and Activating Molecular 'Time Bombs': Induction of Mycolata Prophages.

Little is known about the prevalence, functionality and ecological roles of temperate phages for members of the mycolic acid producing bacteria, the Mycolata. While many lytic phages infective for these organisms have been isolated, and assessed for their suitability for use as biological control agents of activated sludge foaming, no studies have investigated how temperate phages might be induced for this purpose. Bioinformatic analysis using the PHAge Search Tool (PHAST) on Mycolata whole genome sequence data in GenBank for members of the genera Gordonia, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, Rhodococcus, and Tsukamurella revealed 83% contained putative prophage DNA sequences.

Genome Sequences of Pseudomonas oryzihabitans Phage POR1 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Phage PAE1.

We report the genome sequences of two double-stranded DNA siphoviruses, POR1 infective for Pseudomonas oryzihabitans and PAE1 infective for Pseudomonas aeruginosa The phage POR1 genome showed no nucleotide sequence homology to any other DNA phage sequence in the GenBank database, while phage PAE1 displayed synteny to P. aeruginosa phages M6, MP1412, and YuA.

Deep Roots for Aboriginal Australian Y Chromosomes.

Australia was one of the earliest regions outside Africa to be colonized by fully modern humans, with archaeological evidence for human presence by 47,000 years ago (47 kya) widely accepted [1, 2]. However, the extent of subsequent human entry before the European colonial age is less clear. The dingo reached Australia about 4 kya, indirectly implying human contact, which some have linked to changes in language and stone tool technology to suggest substantial cultural changes at the same time [3].

Structural homology guided alignment of cysteine rich proteins.

Background: Cysteine rich protein families are notoriously difficult to align due to low sequence identity and frequent insertions and deletions.

Results: Here we present an alignment method that ensures homologous cysteines align by assigning a unique 10 amino acid barcode to those identified as structurally homologous by the DALI webserver. The free inter-cysteine regions of the barcoded sequences can then be aligned using any standard algorithm.

Development and validation of a simple high performance thin layer chromatography method combined with direct 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay to quantify free radical scavenging activity in wine.

The aim of this study was to: (a) develop a simple, high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method combined with direct 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay to rapidly assess and compare free radical scavenging activity or anti-oxidant activity for major classes of polyphenolics present in wines; and (b) to investigate relationship between free radical scavenging activity to the total polyphenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in the wine samples. The most potent free radical scavengers that we tested for in the wine samples were found to be resveratrol (polyphenolic non-flavonoid) and rutin (flavonoid), while polyphenolic acids (caffeic acid and gallic acid) although present in all wine samples were found to be less potent free radical scavengers. Therefore, the total antioxidant capacity was mostly affected by the presence of resveratrol and rutin, while total polyphenolic content was mostly influenced by the presence of the less potent free radical scavengers gallic and caffeic acids.

Antiquity and diversity of aboriginal Australian Y-chromosomes.

Objective: Understanding the origins of Aboriginal Australians is crucial in reconstructing the evolution and spread of Homo sapiens as evidence suggests they represent the descendants of the earliest group to leave Africa. This study analyzed a large sample of Y-chromosomes to answer questions relating to the migration routes of their ancestors, the age of Y-haplogroups, date of colonization, as well as the extent of male-specific variation.

Methods: Knowledge of Y-chromosome variation among Aboriginal Australians is extremely limited.

Isolation and characterization of bacteriophage SPI1, which infects the activated-sludge-foaming bacterium Skermania piniformis.

Foaming in activated sludge plants is a worldwide problem commonly caused by proliferation of bacteria of the order Corynebacteriales. These include Skermania piniformis, a filamentous bacterium that has been documented to be a major cause of foaming globally, and particularly in Australian treatment plants. Phage SPI1 is the first phage that was isolated and shown to infect this organism.