Search results for "DISCOVERY"
showing 10 items of 4119 documents
An Augmented Campus Design for Context-aware Service Provision
2005
This paper deals with the design of a multi-modal system for pervasive context-aware service provision and human-environment interaction in augmented environments by the use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) or SmartPhones. The system enables mobile devices and remote displays to perform as interaction devices with pervasive applications which run on a dynamically composed server network. Visual interaction for service setup and provision are driven by appropriate graphical interfaces and XML-based protocols, which are dynamically composed according to the type of service and to the user current position by means of a mobile agent-based framework. The paper discusses both protocols, hard…
Oxidation of carbidopa by tyrosinase and its effect on murine melanoma
2009
Oxidation of the anti-Parkinsonian agent carbidopa by tyrosinase was investigated. The products of this reaction were identified as 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-methylpropanoic acid and 6,7-dihydroxy-3-methylcinnoline. These results demonstrate that after oxidation of the catechol moiety to an o-quinone either a redox exchange with the hydrazine group or a cyclization reaction occur. The cyclization product underwent additional oxidation reactions leading to aromatization. The cyclization reaction is undesired in the case of hydrazine-containing anti-melanoma prodrugs and will have to be taken into account in designing such compounds. Carbidopa was tested against B16(F10) melanoma cells in cul…
Indirect oxidation of the antitumor agent procarbazine by tyrosinase—Possible application in designing anti-melanoma prodrugs
2008
The interaction of tyrosinase with the anticancer drug procarbazine has been investigated. In the presence of the enzyme alone no oxidation of this dialkylhydrazine above the background level was observed. However, when phenolic substrates (4-tert-butylcatechol or N-acetyl-l-tyrosine) were included in the reaction mixture, procarbazine was rapidly degraded. Oxygen consumption measurements showed that in a mixture both the phenolic substrate and the drug were oxidized. The major product of procarbazine degradation was isolated and identified as azoprocarbazine, the first active metabolite of this drug detected in previous in vivo and in vitro studies. This indirect oxidation of the hydrazine…
A Spinal Muscular Atrophy Reporter System for in vivo Drug Discovery in Drosophila melanogaster
2018
Fondo La Atrofia Muscular Espinal es un desorden neuromuscular raro y fatal causado por la pérdida o reducción en los niveles de proteína de la Neurona Motor de Supervivencia (SMN). Los individuos afectados tienen el gen SMN1 mutado y la copia SMN2 específica de humanos no afectada, que se traduce solo parcialmente en una proteína SMN funcional. La activación farmacológica de la inclusión del exón 7 de SMN2 por moléculas pequeñas o oligonucleótidos antisentido modificados es un enfoque prometedor para tratar la SMA. Obtener nuevos compuestos potencialmente terapéuticos para los ensayos clínicos es un proceso largo y costoso. El enfoque de reposicionamiento de medicamentos puede reducir el t…
Novel inhibitors of mitochondrial respiratory chain: endoperoxides from the marine tunicate Stolonica socialis.
2001
The Mediterranean tunicate Stolonica socialis contains a new class of powerful cytotoxic acetogenins, generically named stolonoxides. In this paper, which also details the isolation and chemical characterization of a minor component (3a) of the tunicate extract, we report the potent inhibitory activity (IC(50) < 1 microM) of stolonoxides (1a and 3a) on mitochondrial electron transfer. The compounds affect specifically the functionality of complex II (succinate:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) and complex III (ubiquinol:cytochrome C oxidoreductase) in mammalian cells, thereby causing a rapid collapse of the whole energetic metabolism. This result, which differs from the properties of similar known…
Building a research prototype to provide pervasive services in hospitals
2008
Research into the nature of pervasive computing has now been around for more than a decade. Nowadays pervasive applications exploit mobile wireless communication technologies to interconnect computing devices along with various sensing technologies, setting up a new kind of intelligent environment where applications can transparently search and use services without userspsila intervention. However, there are few examples of real world deployment of pervasive computing moving out from academic laboratories into our everyday life. We present BlueHospital - a research prototype that provides context-aware information and location based services to clinicians in hospitalspsila recovery wards. T…
Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction, Centrifugation and Ultrafiltration: Multistage Process for Polyphenol Recovery from Purple Sweet Potatoes
2016
This work provides an evaluation of an ultrasound-assisted, combined extraction, centrifugation and ultrafiltration process for the optimal recovery of polyphenols. A purple sweet potato (PSP) extract has been obtained using ultrasonic circulating extraction equipment at a power of 840 W, a frequency of 59 kHz and using water as solvent. Extract ultrafiltration, using polyethersulfone (PES), was carried out for the recovery of polyphenol, protein and anthocyanin. Pre-treatment, via the centrifugation of purple sweet potato extract at 2500 rpm over 6 min, led to better polyphenol recovery, with satisfactory protein removal (reused for future purposes), than PSP extract filtration without cen…
Analytical methodologies for atomic spectrometric determination of metallic oxides in UV sunscreen creams.
2000
In this study, methodologies for determining titanium oxide, zinc oxide and iron oxide are proposed and assayed in commercial sunscreen products. The proposed methodology for TiO2, determination in sunscreens is based on a microwave-assisted treatment for digesting the organic components in a closed teflon reactor in presence of HNO3 and HCl. Titanium is determined by inductive coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The proposed methodologies for measuring ZnO and Fe2O3 are based on a sample emulsification in water with a non ionic tensioactive and IBMK, followed by Zn and Fe determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The methodologies allow a precise and accurat…
Pyrrolo[2,3-h]quinolinones: A new ring system with potent photoantiproliferative activity
2006
A new class of compounds, the pyrrolo[2,3-h]quinolin-2-ones, nitrogen isosters of the angular furocoumarin Angelicin, was synthesized with the aim of obtaining new photochemotherapeutic agents with increased antiproliferative activity and lower undesired toxic effects than the lead compound. Two synthetic pathways were approached to allow the isolation both of the dihydroderivatives 10-17 and of the aromatic ring system 23. Compounds 10-17 showed a remarkable phototoxicity and a great UVA dose dependence reaching IC(50) values at submicromolar level. Intracellular localization of these compounds has been evaluated by means of fluorescence microscopy using tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester a…
Nerve agent simulant detection by using chromogenic triaryl methane cation probes
2012
Two triaryl methane cations have been used as probes for colorimetric detection of nerve agent simulants. Buffered mixed aqueous solutions of 1 and 2 showed bathochromic shifts in the presence of DCNP (diethylcyanophosphonate) and DCP (diethylchlorophosphate). The colour modulation can be observed to the naked eye. Appropriate mechanisms for the recognition event are proposed. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.