Direct Potentiometric Determination of Penicillamine in Real Samples by Using Copper ISE

Direct potentiometric method for determination of penicillamine in pharmaceuticals by using commercial copper ISE is described. Proposed method is very inexpensive, simple and reasonably fast method for determination of Pen in acetic buffer, pH = 4 without pretreatment of pharmaceuticals. Determination is based on the reaction between Pen and Cu2+ from electrode membrane. Described method has linear response range for Pen from 2×10−6 to 1×10−2 mol L−1 with limit of detection of 1.1×10−6 mol L−1. Found concentrations of Pen are in very good agreement with declared ones with standard deviation values in range 4.00−4.50 %

Die Einstellung von Studenten zu sexueller Belästigung

Cilj istraživanja bio je provjeriti postojanje razlika u percepciji seksualnoga uznemiravanja između spolova, ovisno o spolu i reakciji žrtve. Ispitivanje je provedeno na uzorku 159 studenata i studentica Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Nađene su razlike u percepciji seksualnoga uznemiravanja između muških i ženskih ispitanika, kao i razlike u percepciji s obzirom na spol žrtve. Te razlike dobivene su procjenama hipotetskih priča koje opisuju seksualno uznemiravanje. Muški i ženski ispitanici su se razlikovali i po kaznama koje bi odredili za napadača te po onome što bi osjećali i učinili u takvoj situaciji.The goal of this study was to explore differences between male and female perceptions of sexual harassment, depending on the sex and the reaction of the victim. The participants in the study were 159 male and female students from the University of Zagreb. They assessed a hypothetical sexual harassment story on five 4-point Likert scales. The significant differences between men and women were found in their perception of the incident as well as differences concerning the sex of the victim. Women generally assessed the stories more negatively. The assessment was generally more negative if the victim was female. Male and female participants also differed in the kind of punishment they would see as just for the perpetrator, and in the way they would feel and act in such a situation.Ziel dieser Untersuchung war festzustellen, ob das Phänomen der sexuellen Belästigung von Männern und Frauen unterschiedlich wahrgenommen wird, d.h. je nach Geschlechtszugehörigkeit und Reaktion des Opfers. Grundlage dieser Studie ist eine Meinungsumfrage, die unter 159 StudentInnen der Universität Zagreb durchgeführt wurde. Es konnten Unterschiede in der Wahrnehmung sexueller Belästigung festgestellt werden, und zwar hinsichtlich der Geschlechtszugehörigkeit des Opfers. Die Angaben wurden mittels hypothetischer Beschreibungen ermittelt, die Fälle sexueller Belästigung zum Gegenstand hatten. Die Unter-schiede in den Sichtweisen männlicher und weiblicher Um-frageteilnehmer beziehen sich sowohl auf die suggerierten Strafen für den Angreifer als auch auf die Art und Weise, wie die Befragten, wenn sie selbst betroffen gewesen wären, empfunden und reagiert hätten

Die Einstellung von Studenten zu sexueller Belästigung

Cilj istraživanja bio je provjeriti postojanje razlika u percepciji seksualnoga uznemiravanja između spolova, ovisno o spolu i reakciji žrtve. Ispitivanje je provedeno na uzorku 159 studenata i studentica Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Nađene su razlike u percepciji seksualnoga uznemiravanja između muških i ženskih ispitanika, kao i razlike u percepciji s obzirom na spol žrtve. Te razlike dobivene su procjenama hipotetskih priča koje opisuju seksualno uznemiravanje. Muški i ženski ispitanici su se razlikovali i po kaznama koje bi odredili za napadača te po onome što bi osjećali i učinili u takvoj situaciji.The goal of this study was to explore differences between male and female perceptions of sexual harassment, depending on the sex and the reaction of the victim. The participants in the study were 159 male and female students from the University of Zagreb. They assessed a hypothetical sexual harassment story on five 4-point Likert scales. The significant differences between men and women were found in their perception of the incident as well as differences concerning the sex of the victim. Women generally assessed the stories more negatively. The assessment was generally more negative if the victim was female. Male and female participants also differed in the kind of punishment they would see as just for the perpetrator, and in the way they would feel and act in such a situation.Ziel dieser Untersuchung war festzustellen, ob das Phänomen der sexuellen Belästigung von Männern und Frauen unterschiedlich wahrgenommen wird, d.h. je nach Geschlechtszugehörigkeit und Reaktion des Opfers. Grundlage dieser Studie ist eine Meinungsumfrage, die unter 159 StudentInnen der Universität Zagreb durchgeführt wurde. Es konnten Unterschiede in der Wahrnehmung sexueller Belästigung festgestellt werden, und zwar hinsichtlich der Geschlechtszugehörigkeit des Opfers. Die Angaben wurden mittels hypothetischer Beschreibungen ermittelt, die Fälle sexueller Belästigung zum Gegenstand hatten. Die Unter-schiede in den Sichtweisen männlicher und weiblicher Um-frageteilnehmer beziehen sich sowohl auf die suggerierten Strafen für den Angreifer als auch auf die Art und Weise, wie die Befragten, wenn sie selbst betroffen gewesen wären, empfunden und reagiert hätten

Monitoring content of cadmium, calcium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium and manganese in tea leaves by electrothermal and flame atomizer atomic absorption spectrometry.

Due to the simplicity of tea preparation (pouring hot water onto different dried herbs) and its high popularity as a beverage, monitoring and developing a screening methodology for detecting the metal content is very important. The concentrations of Cd, Ca, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg and Mn in 11 different samples of sage (Salvia officinalis L.), linden (Tilia L.) and chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) purchased at local herbal pharmacy were determined using electrothermal atomizer atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) and flame atomizer atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The concentrations determined were: Cd (0.012 - 0.470 mg kg-1), Ca (5209 - 16340 mg kg-1), Cu (22.01 - 33.05 mg kg-1), Fe (114.2 - 440.3 mg kg-1), Pb (0.545 - 2.538 mg kg-1), Mg (2649 - 4325 mg kg-1) and Mn (34.00 - 189.6 mg kg-1). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to identify factors (soil and climate) influencing the content of the measured elements in herbal samples. The proposed methodology developed in this work was successfully applied to the detection of metals in herbal samples. The analysis showed that the content of toxic metals in herbal teas was below the maximum dose recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)

Environmental shaping of codon usage and functional adaptation across microbial communities.

Microbial communities represent the largest portion of the Earth's biomass. Metagenomics projects use high-throughput sequencing to survey these communities and shed light on genetic capabilities that enable microbes to inhabit every corner of the biosphere. Metagenome studies are generally based on (i) classifying and ranking functions of identified genes; and (ii) estimating the phyletic distribution of constituent microbial species. To understand microbial communities at the systems level, it is necessary to extend these studies beyond the species' boundaries and capture higher levels of metabolic complexity. We evaluated 11 metagenome samples and demonstrated that microbes inhabiting the same ecological niche share common preferences for synonymous codons, regardless of their phylogeny. By exploring concepts of translational optimization through codon usage adaptation, we demonstrated that community-wide bias in codon usage can be used as a prediction tool for lifestyle-specific genes across the entire microbial community, effectively considering microbial communities as meta-genomes. These findings set up a 'functional metagenomics' platform for the identification of genes relevant for adaptations of entire microbial communities to environments. Our results provide valuable arguments in defining the concept of microbial species through the context of their interactions within the community

Protein complexes are under evolutionary selection to assemble via ordered pathways

Is the order in which proteins assemble into complexes important for biological function? Here, we seek to address this by searching for evidence of evolutionary selection for ordered protein complex assembly. First, we experimentally characterize the assembly pathways of several heteromeric complexes and show that they can be simply predicted from their three-dimensional structures. Then, by mapping gene fusion events identified from fully sequenced genomes onto protein complex assembly pathways, we demonstrate evolutionary selection for conservation of assembly order. Furthermore, using structural and high-throughput interaction data, we show that fusion tends to optimize assembly by simplifying protein complex topologies. Finally, we observe protein structural constraints on the gene order of fusion that impact the potential for fusion to affect assembly. Together, these results reveal the intimate relationships among protein assembly, quaternary structure, and evolution and demonstrate on a genome-wide scale the biological importance of ordered assembly pathways

A SARS-CoV-2 protein interaction map reveals targets for drug repurposing

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 respiratory disease, has infected over 2.3 million people, killed over 160,000, and caused worldwide social and economic disruption1,2. There are currently no antiviral drugs with proven clinical efficacy, nor are there vaccines for its prevention, and these efforts are hampered by limited knowledge of the molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To address this, we cloned, tagged and expressed 26 of the 29 SARS-CoV-2 proteins in human cells and identified the human proteins physically associated with each using affinity-purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS), identifying 332 high-confidence SARS-CoV-2-human protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Among these, we identify 66 druggable human proteins or host factors targeted by 69 compounds (29 FDA-approved drugs, 12 drugs in clinical trials, and 28 preclinical compounds). Screening a subset of these in multiple viral assays identified two sets of pharmacological agents that displayed antiviral activity: inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the Sigma1 and Sigma2 receptors. Further studies of these host factor targeting agents, including their combination with drugs that directly target viral enzymes, could lead to a therapeutic regimen to treat COVID-19

Antioxidant Capacity of Herzegovinian Wildflowers Evaluated by UV–VIS and Cyclic Voltammetry Analysis

Considering the vast cultural and traditional heritage of the use of aromatic herbs and wildflowers for the treatment of light medical conditions in the Balkans, a comparison of the antioxidant capacity of wildflowers extracts from Herzegovina was studied using both cyclic voltammetry and spectrophotometry. The cyclic voltammograms taken in the potential range between 0 V and 800 mV and scan rate of 100 mV s−1 were used for the quantification of the electrochemical properties of polyphenols present in four aqueous plant extracts. Antioxidant capacity expressed as mmoL of gallic acid equivalents per gram of dried weight of the sample (mmoL GAE g−1 dw) was deduced from the area below the major anodic peaks (Q400 pH 6.0, Q500 pH 4.7, Q600 pH 3.6). The results of electrochemical measurements suggest that the major contributors of antioxidant properties of examined plants are polyphenolic compounds that contain ortho-dihydroxy-phenol or gallate groups. Using Ferric reducing-antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2′-azino-bis spectrophotometric methods (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical cation-scavenging activity (ABTS) additionally determined antioxidant capacity. The FRAP results ranged from 2.9702–9.9418 mmoL Fe/g dw, while the results for ABTS assays expressed as Trolox equivalents (TE) ranged from 14.1842–42.6217 mmoL TE/g dw. The Folin–Ciocalteu procedure was applied to determine the total phenolics content (TP). The TP content expressed as Gallic acid equivalents (GAE) ranged from 6.0343–9.472 mmoL GAE/g dw. The measurements of total flavonoid (TF) and total condensed tannin (TT) contents were also performed to obtain a broader polyphenolic profile of tested plant materials. Origanum vulgare L. scored the highest on each test, with the exception of TT content, followed by the Mentha × piperita L., Artemisia annua L., and Artemisia absinthium L., respectively. The highest TT content, expressed as mg of (−)catechin equivalents per gram of dried weight of sample (mg CE/g dw), was achieved with A. absinthium extract (119.230 mg CE/g dw) followed by O. vulgare (90.384 mg CE/g dw), A. annua (86.538 mg CE/g dw) and M. piperita (69.231 mg CE/g dw), respectively. In addition, a very good correlation between electrochemical and spectroscopic methods was achieved

A complete allosteric map of a GTPase switch in its native cellular network

Allosteric regulation is central to protein function in cellular networks. A fundamental open question is whether cellular regulation of allosteric proteins occurs only at a few defined positions or at many sites distributed throughout the structure. Here, we probe the regulation of GTPases-protein switches that control signaling through regulated conformational cycling-at residue-level resolution by deep mutagenesis in the native biological network. For the GTPase Gsp1/Ran, we find that 28% of the 4,315 assayed mutations show pronounced gain-of-function responses. Twenty of the sixty positions enriched for gain-of-function mutations are outside the canonical GTPase active site switch regions. Kinetic analysis shows that these distal sites are allosterically coupled to the active site. We conclude that the GTPase switch mechanism is broadly sensitive to cellular allosteric regulation. Our systematic discovery of new regulatory sites provides a functional map to interrogate and target GTPases controlling many essential biological processes