Fluorogenic probes for detecting deacylase and demethylase activity towards post-translationally-modified lysine residues

Reversible enzymatic post-translational modification of the ε-amino groups of lysine residues (e.g. N-acylation reactions) plays an important role in regulating the cellular activities of numerous proteins. This study describes how enzyme catalyzed N-deprotection of lysine residues of non-fluorescent peptide-coumarin probes can be used to generate N-deprotected peptides that undergo spontaneous O- to N-ester transfer reactions (uncatalyzed) to generate a highly fluorescent N-carbamoyl peptide. This enables detection of enzyme catalyzed N-deacetylation, N-demalonylation, N-desuccinylation and N-demethylation reactions activities towards the N-modified lysine residues of these probes using simple ‘turn on’ fluorescent assays.

We developed “turn-on” fluorescent probes that detect enzymatic lysine deacylation and demethylation critical for epigenetic and other cellular phenomena, using intramolecular O- to N-ester transfer reactions.     

The detection of drugs of abuse in fingerprints using Raman spectroscopy I: latent fingerprints

This paper describes the application of Raman spectroscopy to the detection of exogenous substances in latent fingerprints. The scenario considered was that of an individual handling a substance and subsequently depositing a contaminated fingerprint. Five drugs of abuse (codeine phosphate, cocaine hydrochloride, amphetamine sulphate, barbital and nitrazepam) and five non-controlled substances of similar appearance, which may be used in the adulteration of drugs of abuse (caffeine, aspirin, paracetamol, starch and talc), were studied in both sweat-rich and sebum-rich latent fingerprints. The substances studied could be clearly distinguished using their Raman spectra and were all successfully detected in latent fingerprints. Photobleaching was necessary to reduce the fluorescence background in the spectra of some substances. Raman spectra obtained from the substances in sweat-rich latent fingerprints were of a similar quality to spectra that obtained from the substances under normal sampling conditions. Interfering Raman bands arising from latent fingerprint material were present in the spectra obtained from the substances in sebum-rich fingerprints. These bands did not prevent identification of the substances and could be successfully removed by spectral subtraction. The most difficult aspect of the detection of these substances in latent fingerprints was visually locating the substance in the fingerprint in order to obtain a Raman spectrum.     

Collisional cooling enhances the ability to observe non-covalent interactions within the inducible nitric oxide synthase oxygenase domain: Dimerization,complexation, and dissociation

The investigation of protein quaternary structure, protein-cofactor, and protein-ligand interactions by mass spectrometry is often limited by the fragility of such interactions under experimental conditions. To develop more gentle conditions of perhaps general use, we used as a model for study the oxygenase domain of murine inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which is homodimeric, binds heme and tetrahydrobiopterin H(4)B cofactors, and the substrate L-arginine. The energetics of the collisions in q2 and in the lens region of the mass spectrometer were manipulated for varying the degree of solvation around the non-covalently bound ions. Furthermore, the number of low-energy collisions in the collision cell of the instrument was varied, focusing and dampening the ion beam. Under gentle source collision conditions, and using multiple low-energy collisions in the collision cell of the mass spectrometer, dimers of the iNOS oxygenase domain containing heme, H(4)B, and arginine were observed intact after electrospraying at pH values near neutrality; a mutant of this protein (Trp188 --> Phe) was monomeric and did not bind cofactors. The pH dependence of the iNOS oxygenase domain under acidic conditions was also studied; while heme remained bound to the protein between pH 2.5 and 4.0, the dimeric structure was disrupted. Our findings confirm that non-covalently bound macromolecular complexes are retained and observable using electrospray mass spectrometry under the appropriate experimental conditions.     

The preparation of hindered cuprates from aldehyde tosylhydrazones

Copper reagents react with secondary and tertiary aldehyde tosylhydrazones to give unique, hindered cuprates which are alkylated in a one-flask procedure.     

Simultaneous differential pulse-polarographic determination of CS2 and COS gases and its application in the analysis of dithiocarbamate fungicide residues in foods

The differential pulse-polarographic (DPP) determination of both CS₂ and COS gases, after their absorption in a methanolic piperidine reagent and the subsequent application of this technique to the residue analysis of dithiocarbamate fungicides is described. Rectilinear calibration curves for both CS₂ and COS in the respective regions of 1.5–9.2 and 2.1–12.6 mol/l were obtained. The DPP method has been successfully applied to the determination of thiram residues on apples after a hot acid hydrolysis of the fruits.     

Ergodicity of eigenfunctions for ergodic billiards

We give a simple proof of ergodicity of eigenfunctions of the Laplacian with Dirichlet boundary conditions on compact Riemannian manifolds with piecewise smooth boundaries and ergodic billiards. Examples include the Bunimovich stadium, the Sinai billiard and the generic polygonal billiard tables of Kerckhoff, Masur and Smillie.     

Three-valued derived logics for classical phase spaces

Reichenbach proposed a three-valued logic to describe quantum mechanics. In his development, Reichenbach presented three different negation operators without providing any criteria for choosing among them. In this paper we develop two three-valuedderived logics for classical systems. These logics are derived in that they are based on a theory of physical measurement. In this regard they have some of the characteristics of the quantum logic developed by Birkhoff and von Neumann. The theory of measurement used in the present development is the one used previously in developingbivalent derived logics for classical systems. As these systems are derived logics, many of the ambiguities possessed by systems such as Reichenbach's are avoided.     

On an alternative supermatrix reduction

We consider a nonstandard odd reduction of supermatrices (as compared with the standard even reduction) which arises in connection with the possible extension of manifold structure group reductions. The study was initiated by consideration of generalized noninvertible superconformal-like transformations. The features of even- and odd-reduced supermatrices are investigated together. They can be unified into some kind of sandwich semigroups. We also define a special module over even- and odd-reduced supermatrix sets, and the generalized Cayley-Hamilton theorem is proved for them. It is shown that the odd-reduced supermatrices represent semigroup bands and Rees matrix semigroups over a unit group.Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. On leave of absence from Theory Division, Nuclear Physics Laboratory, Kharkov State University, Kharkov 310077, Ukraine