A data comparison between a traditional and the single-step β-galactosidase assay

This article describes reproducibility of a single-step automated β-galactosidase, and the equivalence of its data to the traditional assay ("Experiments in Molecular Genetics" [1]). This was done via a pairwise comparison of both methods using strains with Miller Unit [MU] values ranging from 0 to over 2000. The data presented in this article is associated with the research article entitled "A single-step method for mid to high throughput β-galactosidase assays in Escherichia coli using a microplate reader" [2]

Compensatory responses to insulin resistance in obese A frican‐ A merican and L atina girls

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101770/1/ijpo184.pd

Salsalate treatment improves glycemia without altering adipose tissue in nondiabetic obese hispanics.

ObjectiveSalsalate treatment has well-known effects on improving glycemia, and the objective of this study was to examine whether the mechanism of this effect was related to changes in adipose tissue.MethodsA randomized double-blind and placebo-controlled trial in obese Hispanics (18-35 years) was conducted. The intervention consisted of 4 g day(-1) of salsalate (n = 11) versus placebo (n = 13) for 4 weeks. Outcome measures included glycemia, adiposity, ectopic fat, and adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation.ResultsIn those receiving salsalate, plasma fasting glucose decreased by 3.4% (P < 0.01), free fatty acids decreased by 42.5% (P = 0.06), and adiponectin increased by 27.7% (P < 0.01). Salsalate increased insulin AUC by 38% (P = 0.01) and HOMA-B by 47.2% (P < 0.01) while estimates of insulin sensitivity/resistance were unaffected. These metabolic improvements occurred without changes in total, abdominal, visceral, or liver fat. Plasma markers of inflammation/immune activation were unchanged following salsalate. Salsalate had no effects on adipose tissue including adipocyte size, presence of crown-like structures, or gene expression of adipokines, immune cell markers, or cytokines downstream of NF-κB with the exception of downregulation of IL-1β (P < 0.01).ConclusionsFindings suggest that metabolic improvements in response to salsalate occurred without alterations in adiposity, ectopic fat, or adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation

Soil acidity and mobile aluminum status in pseudogley soils in the Čačak-Kraljevo Basin

Soil acidity and aluminum toxicity are considered the most damaging soil conditions affecting the growth of most crops. This paper reviews the results of tests of pH, exchangeable acidity and the mobile aluminum (Al) concentration in profiles of pseudogley soils from the Čačak-Kraljevo Basin. For these purposes, 102 soil pits were dug in 2009 in several sites around the Čačak-Kraljevo Basin. The tests encompassed 54 field, 28 meadow, and 20 forest soil samples. Samples of soil in a disturbed state were taken from the Ah and Eg horizons (102 samples), from the B1tg horizon in 39 field, 24 meadow and 15 forest pits (a total of 78 samples) and from the B2tg horizon in 14 field, 11 meadow, and 4 forest pits (a total of 29 samples). The mean pH values (1 M KCl) of the tested soil profiles were 4.28, 3.90 and 3.80 for the Ah, Eg and B1tg horizons, respectively. The soil pH of the forest samples was lower than those in the meadow and arable land samples (mean values of 4.06, 3.97 and 3.85 for arable land, meadow and forest samples, respectively). The soil acidification was especially intensive in the deep horizons; thus, 27 (Ah), 77 (Eg) and 87 % (B1tg) of the soil samples had a pH value below 4.0. The mean values of the total exchangeable acidity (TEA) were 1.55, 2.33 and 3.40 meq (100 g)-1 for the Ah, Eg and B1tg horizons, respectively. The TEA values in the forest soils were considerably higher (3.39 meq (100 g)-1) than those in the arable and meadow soils (1.96 and 1.93 meq (100 g)-1, respectively). The mean mobile Al contents of the tested soil samples were 11.02, 19.58 and 28.33 mg Al (100 g)-1 for the Ah, Eg and B1tg horizons, respectively. According to the pH and TEA values, mobile Al was considerably higher in the forest soils (a mean value of 26.08 mg Al (100 g)-1) than in the arable and meadow soils (mean values of 16.85 and 16.00 mg Al (100 g) -1, respectively). The Eg and B1tg horizons of the forest soil had especially high mobile Al contents (mean values of 28.50 and 32.95 mg Al (100 g)-1, respectively). High levels of mobile Al were especially frequent in the forest soils, with 35 (Ah), 85.0 (Eg) and 93.3 % (B 1tg) of the tested samples ranging above 10 mg Al (100 g) -1

Effect of electron-electron scattering on magnetointersubband resistance oscillations of two-dimensional electrons in GaAs quantum wells

The low-temperature($4.2<T<12.5$ K) magnetotransport ($B<2$ T) of two-dimensional electrons occupying two subbands (with energy $E_1$ and $E_2$) is investigated in GaAs single quantum well with AlAs/GaAs superlattice barriers. Two series of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations are found to be accompanied by magnetointersubband (MIS) oscillations, periodic in the inverse magnetic field. The period of the MIS oscillations obeys condition $\Delta_{12}=(E_2-E_1)=k \cdot \hbar \omega_c$, where $\Delta_{12}$ is the subband energy separation, $\omega_c$ is the cyclotron frequency, and $k$ is the positive integer. At $T$=4.2 K the oscillations manifest themselves up to $k$=100. Strong temperature suppression of the magnetointersubband oscillations is observed. We show that the suppression is a result of electron-electron scattering. Our results are in good agreement with recent experiments, indicating that the sensitivity to electron-electron interaction is the fundamental property of magnetoresistance oscillations, originating from the second-order Dingle factor.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Optimizovana sinteza značajnog farmaceutskog intermedijera metil 4-[(1-oksopropil)fenilamino]piperidin-4-karboksilata

An efficient synthesis of methyl 4-[(1-oxopropyl)phenylamino]piperidine-4-carboxylate (7) has been developed starting from 1-benzylpiperidin-4-one (1). The compound is a key intermediate in the synthesis of new generation, highly active narcotic analgesics, such as remifintanil, as well as the novel classes of fentanyl analogues. An optimized Strecker-type condensation of piperidone 1 with aniline and HCN yielded the anilino-nitrile 2(≈90%) which, upon selective hydrolysis with conc. H2SO4, gave the anilino-amide 3.After vigorous basic hydrolysis of 3, followed by acidification and successive treatment with SOCl2 and MeOH, the anilino-ester 5 was obtained (40–45%, in 3 steps). N-Acylation of 5 with propionyl chloride yielded the anilido-ester 6(70–80%) In the final step, the catalytic N-debenzylation of 6 was examined under various conditions and optimized to yield 7 in near quantitative yields.U ovom radu razvijena je efikasna sinteza metil 4-[(1-oksopropil)fenilamino]piperidin-4-karboksilata (7), prolazeći od 1-benzil piperidin-4-on-1 (1). Jedinjenje 7 je ključni intermedijer u sintezi nove generacije visoko aktivnih narkotičkih analgetika, kao što je remifentanil a takođe i novih klasa analoga fentanyla. U optimizovanoj Strecker-ovoj kondenzaciji priperidona 1 sa anilinom i HCN, dobijen je anilino-nitril 2 (≈90%) prinos čijom je selektivnom hidrolizom pomoću konc. H2SO4 postao anilino-amid 3. Intenzivnom baznom hidrolizom ovog intermedijera, zakišeljavanjem a zatim sukcesivno reakcijom sa SOCl2 i MeOH sintetisan je anilino-estar 5 (≈40–45% prinos u 3 faze). N-acelovanjem anilino-estra 5 sa propionil hloridom postao je anilido-estar 6 (≈70–80% prinos). U poslednjom fazi sinteze izvršena je optimizacija katalitičkog N-debenzilovanja anilido-estra 6 do finalnog proizvoda 7, u približno kvantitativnom prinosu

Fasting Indicators of Insulin Sensitivity: Effects of Ethnicity and Pubertal Status

OBJECTIVE—To examine the relationship of fasting indicators of insulin sensitivity with a more invasive measure of insulin sensitivity (frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test [FSIVGTT]) and the effect of Tanner stage and ethnicity on that relationship. RESEARCHDESIGNANDMETHODS—Data were analyzed from 149 overweight girls (97 Hispanic and 52 African American) who were either in the early stages of maturation defined by Tanner stages 1 or 2 (52Hispanic and 18 African American) or in the later stages of maturation defined by Tanner stages 4 and 5 (45 Hispanic and 34 African American). Fasting indicators of insulin sensitivity (IS) included fasting insulin and glucose and the homeostasis model assess-ment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). IS was derived from an FSIVGTTwithminimalmodeling. RESULTS—In Tanner stages 1 and 2, all fasting indicators were significantly associatedwith IS

Virtual Enterprise integration management based on a Meta-enterprise - A PMBoK approach

A Virtual Enterprise (VE) can be viewed as a project, with a lifecycle corresponding to the period between its creation and integration of the constituting elements until its dissolution, comprehending its operation and including its reconfigurations. The authors propose that the VE lifecycle is aligned and can be managed using the frameworks provided by several bodies of knowledge, such as the PMBoK Guide. In this paper the authors propose an alignment referential between the Project Management phases defined by PMBoK and management processes during the VE lifecycle.This work has been supported by (1) COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 (2) FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Supersymmetry and Broken Symmetries at High Temperature

It is generally believed that internal symmetries are necessarily restored at high temperature in supersymmetric theories. We provide simple and natural counterexamples to this no-go theorem for systems having a net background charge. We exemplify our findings on abelian models, for both cases of global and local symmetries and discuss their possible implications.Comment: Four pages, LaTeX file; a couple of refs. added. Final version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let