Interaction of giant extracellular Glossoscolex paulistus hemoglobin (HbGp) with zwitterionic surfactant N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate (HPS): effects of oligomeric dissociation

The present work focuses on the interaction between the zwitterionic surfactant N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate (HPS) and the giant extracellular hemoglobin of Glossoscolex paulistus (HbGp). Electronic optical absorption, fluorescence emission and circular dichroism spectroscopy techniques, together with Gel-filtration chromatography, were used in order to evaluate the oligomeric dissociation as well as the autoxidation of HbGp as a function of the interaction with HPS. A peculiar behavior was observed for the HPS–HbGp interaction: a complex ferric species formation equilibrium was promoted, as a consequence of the autoxidation and oligomeric dissociation processes. At pH 7.0, HPS is more effective up to 1 mM while at pH 9.0 the surfactant effect is more intense above 1 mM. Furthermore, the interaction of HPS with HbGp was clearly less intense than the interaction of this hemoglobin with cationic (CTAC) and anionic (SDS) surfactants. Probably, this lower interaction with HPS is due to two factors: (i) the lower electrostatic attraction between the HPS surfactant and the protein surface ionic sites when compared to the electrostatic interaction between HbGp and cationic and anionic surfactants, and (ii) the low cmc of HPS, which probably reduces the interaction of the surfactant in the monomeric form with the protein. The present work emphasizes the importance of the electrostatic contribution in the interaction between ionic surfactants and HbGp. Furthermore, in the whole HPS concentration range used in this study, no folding and autoxidation decrease induced by this surfactant were observed. This is quite different from the literature data on the interaction between surfactants and tetrameric hemoglobins, that supports the occurrence of this behavior for the intracellular hemoglobins at low surfactant concentration range. Spectroscopic data are discussed and compared with the literature in order to improve the understanding of hemoglobin–surfactant interaction as well as the acid isoelectric point (pI) influence of the giant extracellular hemoglobins on their structure–activity relationship.     

Lectins and/or xyloglucans/alginate layers as supports for immobilization of dengue virus particles

Formation of stable thin films of mixed xyloglucan (XG) and alginate (ALG) onto Si/SiO(2) wafers was achieved under pH 11.6, 50mM CaCl(2), and at 70 degrees C. XG-ALG films presented mean thickness of (16+/-2)nm and globules rich surface, as evidenced by means of ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The adsorption of two glucose/mannose-binding seed (Canavalia ensiformis and Dioclea altissima) lectins, coded here as ConA and DAlt, onto XG-ALG surfaces took place under pH 5. Under this condition both lectins present positive net charge. ConA and DAlt adsorbed irreversibly onto XG-ALG forming homogenous monolayers approximately (4+/-1)nm thick. Lectins adsorption was mainly driven by electrostatic interaction between lectins positively charged residues and carboxylated (negatively charged) ALG groups. Adhesion of four serotypes of dengue virus, DENV (1-4), particles to XG-ALG surfaces were observed by ellipsometry and AFM. The attachment of dengue particles onto XG-ALG films might be mediated by (i) H bonding between E protein (located at virus particle surface) polar residues and hydroxyl groups present on XG-ALG surfaces and (ii) electrostatic interaction between E protein positively charged residues and ALG carboxylic groups. DENV-4 serotype presented the weakest adsorption onto XG-ALG surfaces, indicating that E protein on DENV-4 surface presents net charge (amino acid sequence) different from E proteins of other serotypes. All four DENV particles serotypes adsorbed similarly onto lectin films adsorbed. Nevertheless, the addition of 0.005mol/L of mannose prevented dengue particles from adsorbing onto lectin films. XG-ALG and lectin layers serve as potential materials for the development of diagnostic methods for dengue.     

Quantum monte carlo study of the energetics of small hydrogenated and fluoride lithium clusters

An investigation of the energetics of small lithium clusters doped either with a hydrogen or with a fluorine atom as a function of the number of lithium atoms using fixed‐node diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (DMC) simulation is reported. It is found that the binding energy (BE) for the doped clusters increases in absolute values leading to a more stable system than for the pure ones in excellent agreement with available experimental measurements. The BE increases for pure, remains almost constant for hydrogenated, and decreases rapidly toward the bulk lithium for the fluoride as a function of the number of lithium atoms in the clusters. The BE, dissociation energy as well as the second difference in energy display a pronounced odd–even oscillation with the number of lithium atoms. The electron correlation inverts the odd–even oscillation pattern for the doped in comparison with the pure clusters and has an impact of 29%–83% to the BE being higher in the pure cluster followed by the hydrogenated and then by the fluoride. The dissociation energy and the second difference in energy indicate that the doped cluster Li₃H is the most stable whereas among the pure ones the more stable are Li₂, Li₄, and Li₆. The electron correlation energy is crucial for the stabilization of Li₃H. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Influence of temperature on performance of an anaerobic sequencing biofilm batch reactor with circulation applied to treatment of low-strength wastewater

The effect of temperature on the performance of an anaerobic sequencing biofilm batch reactor (ASBBR) with liquid-phase recirculation was assessed. Assays were performed using a recirculation velocity of 0.20 cm/s, 8-h cycles, and an average treated synthetic wastewater volume of 2 L/cycle with a concentration of 500 mg of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)/L. Operation temperatures were 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°C. At 25, 30, and 35°C, organic matter removal efficiencies for filtered samples ranged from 81 to 83%. At lower temperatures, namely 15 and 20°C, removal efficiency decreased significantly to 61 and 65%, respectively. A first-order model could be fitted to the experimental concentration profile values. The first-order kinetic parameter value of this model varied from 0.46 to 0.81 h¹ considering the lowest and highest temperature studied. Moreover, analysis of the removal profile values allowed fitting of an Arrhenius-type equation with an activation energy of 5715 cal/mol.     

Pharmacological and Therapeutic Potential of Myristicin: A Literature Review

Natural products have been used by humanity for many centuries to treat various illnesses and with the advancement of technology, it became possible to isolate the substances responsible for the beneficial effects of these products, as well as to understand their mechanisms. In this context, myristicin, a substance of natural origin, has shown several promising activities in a large number of in vitro and in vivo studies carried out. This molecule is found in plants such as nutmeg, parsley, carrots, peppers, and several species endemic to the Asian continent. The purpose of this review article is to discuss data published in the last 10 years at Pubmed, Lilacs and Scielo databases, reporting beneficial effects, toxicity and promising data of myristicin for its future use in medicine. From 94 articles found in the literature, 68 were included. Exclusion criteria took into account articles whose tested extracts did not have myristicin as one of the major compounds.     

Copper and iron interactions with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. A study by fast-atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry

Fast atom bombardment, combined with high-energy collision-induced tandem mass spectrometry, has been used to investigate gas-phase metal-ion interactions with captopril, enalaprilat and lisinopril, all angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.Suggestions for the location of metal-binding sites are presented. For captopril, metal binding occurs most likely at both the sulphur and the nitrogen atom. For enalaprilat and lisinopril, binding preferably occurs at the amine nitrogen. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring of the synthesis ofcis andtrans ruthenium macrocyclic complexes by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary The synthesis of the complex [Ru(cyclam)Cl₂]Cl (cyclam=1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) has been monitored by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The analytical results obtained during the reaction have shown that it is feasible to identify and isolate the two isomerscis- andtrans- [Ru(cyclam)-Cl₂]Cl. The use of an octadecylsiloxy preparative column enabled the separation and purification of these two isomers and the compounds have been obtained in high purity. The use of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography has afforded complete analytical control of the syntheses of saturated nitrogendonor macrocyclic complexes of ruthenium, enabling identification of thecis andtrans isomers of the complex [Ru(cyclam)Cl₂]Cl.     

Effect of Initiator on the Incorporation of Graphite into Polymer Matrix During Suspension Polymerization

Summary: The incorporation of graphite into polystyrene (PS) particles produced by suspension polymerization was studied using a monofunctional and a bifunctional initiator, benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-bis(2-ethyl hexanoyl peroxide) hexane (L256), respectively. The results showed that the polymerization rate was affected by graphite concentration when BPO was used as the initiator while no such effect was observed for L256. Results also showed that the incorporation of graphite in the PS particles was higher when using BPO than when using L256. Molecular weight distribution showed that during the reaction with BPO and graphite oligomers were formed indicating that the free radicals generated by the decomposition of BPO presented a very high reactivity with the functional groups present at the graphite surface while no significant effect was observed for the reaction with L256.     

Continuous phase transition in a disordered eight-states Potts model

We investigate the two-dimensional eight-states ferromagnetic Potts model in the Voronoi-Delaunay tessellation. In this study, we assume that the coupling factor J varies with the distance r between the first neighbors as , with . The disordered system is simulated applying the single-cluster Monte-Carlo update algorithm and the reweighting technique. We find that this model displays a first-order phase transition if , in agreement with previous recent studies. For and 1.0, a typical second order transition is observed and the critical exponents for magnetization and susceptibility are calculated. Received 19 May 1999 and Received in final form 2 June 1999     

Trans‐Hydrogen‐Bond Scalar Couplings as a Source of Structural Constraints in NMR of Proteins: DFT Analysis

The conformational dependences of ¹⁵N,¹⁵N and ¹H,¹⁵N trans‐H‐bond spin‐spin scalar couplings, ^h2J(N,N) and ^h1J(N,H), have been investigated by sum‐over‐states density‐functional‐perturbation theory. The distance and angular dependence of the ^h2J(N,N) and ^h1J(N,H) coupling constants in the H‐bonded arrangement between acetylethylamine and imidazole molecules were examined for a wide range of mutual orientations. These molecules were used to model a structurally important H‐bond between the amide backbone of Arg7 and the remote imidazole side chain of His106 in the 44 kDa trimeric enzyme chorismate mutase from Bacillus subtilis. The magnitude of ^h1J(N,H) is relatively insensitive to the sampled rotations around three orthogonal axes centered on the tertiary N‐atom of the imidazole, whereas values of ^h2J(N,N) demonstrated a strong dependence on the value of the cone angle θ aligned with the amide group involved in the H‐bond. Simple functional approximations have been generated, enabling back calculations of the N⋅⋅⋅N distance and angle θ of the H‐bond, provided that the experimental values of both ^h2J(N,N) and ^h1J(N,H) coupling constants are available.