Useful Methodology (useful + methodology)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Chemoselective synthesis of peptides containing major advanced glycation end-products of lysine and arginine

CHEMICAL BIOLOGY & DRUG DESIGN, Issue 3 2005
P. Gruber
Abstract:, Useful methodologies have been developed, enabling the straightforward synthesis of peptides containing N, -(carboxymethyl)- l -lysine (CML) and N, -(carboxyethyl)- l -lysine (CEL), the major glycation end-products of lysine. These lysine derivatives were successfully incorporated into growing peptide chains via standard Fmoc/Ot -Bu peptide synthesis procedures. For the synthesis of peptides containing major glycation end-products of arginine, synthetic routes have been developed enabling the transformation of ornithine residues in peptides into the well-known arginine-derived advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) Glarg, carboxymethyl- l -arginine (CMA), MG-H1, MG-H2, MG-H3, and carboxyethyl- l -arginine (CEA), respectively, by means of special modifying agents. Furthermore, it was shown that Glarg-containing peptides become quantitatively hydrolyzed into CMA-peptides under physiologic conditions. A similar reaction was observed in case of a MG-H3-peptide, which turned into a CEA-peptide under these conditions. [source]


Morphometric comparison of the cephalic region of cultured Acipenser baerii (Brandt, 1869), Acipenser naccarii (Bonaparte, 1836) and their hybrid,

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY, Issue 1 2006
C. Costa
Summary Geometric morphometric techniques were used in the characterization of morphological differences of the cranial region in cultured Acipenser baerii and A. naccarii and their hybrid. Species identification in sturgeons sometimes is difficult, because of the morphological plasticity of individual variability and the small differences between taxa. Identification is also complicated by human intervention and manipulation (e.g. aquaculture, hybridization, pollution). This study indicates how the differences between two species and their hybrids can be quantified and accurately visualized via geometric morphometrics. This technique may serve as a useful methodology to supplement analytical studies on morphometrics and systematics in Acipenseridae. [source]


CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTION OF CHOCOLATE MILK DESSERTS ENRICHED WITH ANTIOXIDANTS

JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 2010
GASTÓN ARES
ABSTRACT A study was carried out to identify consumers' previous expectations of chocolate milk desserts enriched with antioxidants and to determine if these expectations affected product perception. Seventy-five consumers participated in the study and were asked to complete a word association task before the evaluation. Then, consumers tried six milk desserts with different polyphenolic concentration, scored their overall liking and willingness to purchase and provided up to four words to describe each of the samples. Cluster analysis performed on consumer-elicited terms in the word association task allowed the identification of three consumer segments with different expectations and motivations toward chocolate milk desserts enriched with antioxidants. These groups also differed in their evaluation of the desserts when tasting them, showing different overall liking, willingness to purchase and sensory description of the samples. This suggests that consumers' prior expectations and motivations significantly affected their response when tasting the desserts. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Word association was used to get an insight on consumer expectations of chocolate milk desserts enriched with antioxidants, proving to be a useful methodology. This approach could be a simple technique to understand consumer expectations before tasting a product, and to study how these expectations affect their response after tasting the product, particularly interesting when novel products are considered. Consumer segmentation based on their previous thoughts about a product could help to assure that a product meets consumer expectations appropriately, leading to a higher satisfaction. [source]


High-resolution melt analysis for the detection of a mutation associated with permethrin resistance in a population of scabies mites

MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2008
C. PASAY
Abstract Permethrin as a topical acaricide cream is widely used to treat scabies. The neuronal voltage-sensitive sodium channel (Vssc), necessary for the generation of action potentials in excitable cells, is the target of pyrethroid acaricides such as permethrin. Pyrethroid resistance has been linked to specific mutations in the Vssc gene. Following the partial sequencing of the Vssc gene in the scabies mite Sarcoptes scabiei (L.) (Astigmata: Sarcoptidae), we compared Vssc gene sequences from permethrin-sensitive and -tolerant S. scabiei var. canis Gerlach mites, and identified a G to A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in permethrin-tolerant mites resulting in an amino acid change from glycine to aspartic acid in domain III S6. The mutation is in a region of the gene where mutations have been identified in a range of pyrethroid-resistant arthropods. Results of in vitro permethrin exposure assays showed that survival rates for mites bearing the mutation were similar to those previously reported for mites from human subjects where clinical tolerance to permethrin had been observed. A real-time polymerase chain reaction,high-resolution melt (PCR-HRM) assay was developed to detect this SNP. This assay provides a useful methodology for screening for this and other mutations associated with permethrin resistance in scabies mite populations and thus facilitates surveillance for acaricide resistance. [source]


Real-Time Data Collection for Pain: Appraisal and Current Status

PAIN MEDICINE, Issue 2007
Arthur A. Stone PhD
ABSTRACT Objective., Real-time data capture (RTDC) techniques have rapidly developed with the advent of computer and information technology. We plan to discuss the use of RTDC in the assessment of pain, including issues pertaining to its rationale, sampling protocols, and our opinion on the current status of the methodology. Design., This is "thought" piece involving no systematic data collection methods. Results., We described the rationale for using RTDC, including issues in recall bias, the desire for detailed information about pain, and the ability to examine within,person associations between pain and other variables. The mechanics of RTDC implementations were discussed with a focus on sampling protocols and data collection methods. The final section concerned the status of RTDC. Current acceptance of RTDC is evaluated and three issues in the science of RTDC were discussed: the interpretation of differences between recall and the average of momentary assessments for the same period; if RTDC is advancing our understanding of pain; and, the issue of what consumers of pain assessments actually desire. RTDC extensions to feedback based on momentary assessments are also discussed. Conclusion., Real-time data collection can be a useful methodology for improving our understanding of pain and especially of its dynamic nature in real-world settings. [source]


Experimental observations and numerical modelling of diffusion-driven crystallisation processes

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 10-1 2002
Luigi Carotenuto
This paper reports experimental results and modelling on the crystallisation processes induced by counter diffusion method of a precipitant agent in a lysozyme protein solution. Comparison between experimental observations and numerical simulations in the presence of convection and sedimentation and without them (suppressed using gel) provides a validation of the model. Different values of the initial protein concentration are used, in order to investigate the effects of supersaturation conditions on the process, and in particular on nucleation. The model and the experimental approach may represent a useful methodology for the determination of the parameters and conditions that may lead to protein crystallisation. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is used to monitor the transport dynamics insitu in the fluid phase by observing the compositional field. The effect of the solute transport gives rise to a "nucleation front" that propagates inside the protein solution. The crystal formation, caused by progressing of the front, results in a modulation in time and in space (similar to Liesegang patterns), due to the non-linear interplay among transport, crystal nucleation and growth. Both experimental observation and numerical modelling show spatial and size distributions of crystals that demonstrate comparable evidences of the phenomena. [source]