Comparison of luminescence ADP production assay and radiometric scintillation proximity assay for Cdc7 kinase

Several assay technologies have been successfully adapted and used in HTS to screen for protein kinase inhibitors; however, emerging comparative analysis studies report very low hit overlap between the different technologies, which challenges the working assumption that hit identification is not dependent on the assay method of choice. To help address this issue, we performed two screens on the cancer target, Cdc7-Dbf4 heterodimeric protein kinase, using a direct assay detection method measuring [(33)P]-phosphate incorporation into the substrate and an indirect method measuring residual ADP production using luminescence. We conducted the two screens under similar conditions, where in one, we measured [(33)P]-phosphate incorporation using scintillation proximity assay (SPA), and in the other, we detected luminescence signal of the ATP-dependent luciferase after regenerating ATP from residual ADP (LUM). Surprisingly, little or no correlation were observed between the positives identified by the two methods; at a threshold of 30% inhibition, 25 positives were identified in the LUM screen whereas the SPA screen only identified two positives, Tannic acid and Gentian violet, with Tannic acid being common to both. We tested 20 out of the 25 positive compounds in secondary confirmatory study and confirmed 12 compounds including Tannic acid as Cdc7-Dbf4 kinase inhibitors. Gentian violet, which was only positive in the SPA screen, inhibited luminescence detection and categorized as a false positive. This report demonstrates the strong impact in detection format on the success of a screening campaign and the importance of carefully designed confirmatory assays to eliminate those compounds that target the detection part of the assay.     

Vibrational properties of noble gas endohedral fullerenes

Analysis of IR and Raman spectra of Ar@C(60) and Kr@C(60) shows that the incorporation of noble gas atoms causes a blue shift of low energy vibrations, which have radial character, and a red shift of higher energy ones which have a tangential character movement. The mechanism of these phenomena is explained on the basis of ab initio numerical experiments with DFT and MP2 procedures. Methodological discussions are advanced, altogether with a scheme for the estimation of the van der Waals interaction between fullerene and noble gas, based on the frequency shifts.     

A mathematical modeling approach to the formation of urban and rural areas: Convergence of global solutions of the mixed problem for the master equation in sociodynamics

Urban and rural areas are formed by human migration from thinly populated areas to densely populated areas. It is known in sociodynamics that human migration is described by a nonlinear integro-partial differential equation whose unknown function denotes the population density. This equation is called the master equation. The master equation has its origin in statistical physics, and is regarded as one of the most fundamental equations in natural sciences, as its name suggests. We describe the formation of urban and rural areas by making use of global solutions of the mixed problem for this equation. In this paper we prove sufficient conditions for the mixed problem to have a unique global solution that converges to a two-tier step function as the time variable tends to infinity. This step function is a stationary solution of the master equation, and the higher (lower, respectively) step represents a stationary urban (rural, respectively) area. This result mathematically describes the formation of urban and rural areas in the real world.     

Effect of the langmuir-type ion adsorption on the membrane potential of a non-charged membrane

Membrane potential is determined by the combination of the properties of ions and of the membrane. There is, therefore, a possibility that the properties of ions can be reflected on the membrane potential more effectively by artificially modifying the membrane properties. In this paper, the membrane is assumed to have no charge but to adsorb cations or anions selectively, and the effect of Langmuir-type adsorption of ions on the membrane potential is investigated theoretically. The variation of the amount of adsorbed ions affects not only the surface potential but also the diffusion potential within the membrane. The membrane potential shows a minimum or a maximum with the variation of the ion concentration in the bulk solution. This phenomenon results from the variation of the amount of ions adsorbed onto the membrane surfaces. Therefore, information on both the adsorption coefficient of a given ion and the amount of saturation of absorption of the ion is obtained from an analysis of the membrane potential. The theory is applied to the analysis of the affinity membrane potential, which can be used for the determination of blood type, and it is shown that the theory is in good agreement with experimental data.     

Characterization of Pyrene Photoproducts in Chloroform by Gas-Chromatography and Gas-Chromatography Mass-Spectrometry

Photoproducts resulting from illumination of a pyrene-chloroform solution using several light sources (sunlight, lamp, a pulsed laser) were analyzed by using gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry. The main photoproducts in chloroform were chloropyrene and pyrenecarboxaldehydes, and their relative yields depended on differences in illumination conditions. Chloropyrene was formed under all types of light illumination, while ultraviolet lights was required for the formation of pyrenecarboxaldehydes. Several reaction mechanisms are proposed to account for the formation of chloropyrene and pyrenecarboxaldehydes.