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Ilan EZ, Torres MR, Prudhomme J, Le Roch K, Jensen PR, Fenical W. Farnesides A and B, sesquiterpenoid nucleoside ethers from a marine-derived Streptomyces sp., strain CNT-372 from Fiji. J Nat Prod 2013; 76:1815-1818. [PMID: 23987585 PMCID: PMC3821698 DOI: 10.1021/np400351t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Farnesides A and B (1, 2), linear sesquiterpenoids connected by ether links to a ribose dihydrouracil nucleoside, were isolated from a marine-derived Streptomyces sp., strain CNT-372, grown in saline liquid culture. The structures of the new compounds were assigned by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis primarily involving 1D and 2D NMR analysis and by comparison of spectroscopic data to the recently reported ribose nucleoside JBIR-68 (3). The farnesides are only the second example of this exceedingly rare class of microbial terpenoid nucleoside metabolites. Farneside A (1) was found to have modest antimalarial activity against the parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella Zafrir Ilan
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA 92093-0204
| | - Manuel R. Torres
- The Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, Center for Disease Vector Research, and Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA USA 92521
| | - Jacques Prudhomme
- The Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, Center for Disease Vector Research, and Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA USA 92521
| | - Karine Le Roch
- The Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, Center for Disease Vector Research, and Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA USA 92521
| | - Paul R. Jensen
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA 92093-0204
| | - William Fenical
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA 92093-0204
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Abstract
Objective. This article offers a test of the normative explanation of collective behavior by examining the fire at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island that killed 100 and injured nearly 200 persons.Methods. Information on all persons at the club comes from content analysis of documents from the Rhode Island Police Department, the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, and The Providence Journal. We use negative binomial regression to test hypotheses about the effects of group-level predictors of the counts of dead and injured in 179 groups at the nightclub.Results. Results indicate that group-level factors such as distance of group members at the start of the fire, the number of intimate relations among them, the extent to which they had visited the nightclub prior to the incident, and the average length of the evacuation route they used predict counts of injured and dead. The research also looks at what behavioral differences exist between survivors and victims, ascertains the existence of role extension among employees of the nightclub, and provides support for the affirmation that dangerous contexts negate the protective influence of intimate relations in groups.Conclusion. We argue for the abandonment of current emphasis on irrationality and herd-like imitative behavior in studies of evacuation from structural fires in buildings and for the inclusion of group-level processes in social psychological explanations of these incidents.
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Barsky LE, Trainor JE, Torres MR, Aguirre BE. Managing volunteers: FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue programme and interactions with unaffiliated responders in disaster response. Disasters 2007; 31:495-507. [PMID: 18028166 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2007.01021.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
In the aftermath of disasters it is not uncommon for a large number of individuals, ranging from professional technical responders to untrained, albeit well meaning, volunteers, to converge on site of a disaster in order to offer to help victims or other responders. Because volunteers can be both a help and a hindrance in disaster response, they pose a paradox to professional responders at the scene. Through focus group interviews and in-depth structured interviews, this paper presents an extended example of how Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) task forces, a type of professional technical-responder organisation, interact with and utilise volunteers. Findings show that US&R task forces evaluate the volunteers in terms of their presumed legitimacy, utility, and potential liability or danger posed during the disaster response. Other responses to volunteers such as a feeling of powerlessness or the use of volunteers in non-technical ways are also explored. This paper demonstrates some key aspects of the relationship between volunteers and formal response organisations in disasters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Barsky
- Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, US.
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de Andrade FM, Silveira FR, Arsand M, Antunes ALS, Torres MR, Zago AJ, Callegari-Jaques SM, Hutz MH. Association between −250G/A polymorphism of the hepatic lipase gene promoter and coronary artery disease and HDL-C levels in a Southern Brazilian population. Clin Genet 2004; 65:390-5. [PMID: 15099346 DOI: 10.1111/j.0009-9163.2004.00243.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Hepatic lipase (HL) is a glycoprotein that plays a major role in remodeling high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The effect of the -250G/A promoter polymorphism on coronary artery disease (CAD) and lipid levels was studied in 231 male CAD patients and in a population-based sample of men and women (n = 514). A sample of 140 men was chosen among those included in the population-based sample as controls for the CAD sample. In the total group of CAD patients, the frequency of the -250A allele was somewhat lower (25% in CAD patients and 32% in controls; p = 0.06), but when the control samples were compared only with the CAD(+) sample (more than 60% of luminal stenosis in at least one coronary artery or major branch segment) the -250A allele was significantly less frequent (23% in the patients vs 32% in controls; p = 0.02). A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that this association was independent of classical CAD risk factors [odds ratio (OR) = 1.79, p = 0.025]. Using multiple linear regression analyses, it has been shown that this polymorphism was a significant factor affecting HDL-C levels in men from the population-based sample (p = 0.001), an interaction between -250G/A variant and wine consumption was also detected (p = 0.001). Thus, our results show that the -250G/A polymorphism in the HL gene is associated with significant variations in HDL-C levels and CAD risk in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- F M de Andrade
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Faculdade de Farmacia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil
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Rios DLS, Vargas AF, Torres MR, Zago AJ, Callegari-Jacques SM, Hutz MH. Interaction between SREBP-1a and APOB polymorphisms influences total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in patients with coronary artery disease. Clin Genet 2003; 63:380-5. [PMID: 12752570 DOI: 10.1034/j.1399-0004.2003.00057.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we examined the insertion/deletion (Ins/Del) and XbaI polymorphisms of the apolipoprotein B (APOB) gene and the -36delG polymorphism in the sterol regulatory element binding protein-1a (SREBP-1a) gene in 298 patients with non-diabetic angiographically assessed coronary artery disease (CAD), and 188 healthy controls, from a Brazilian population of European descent. Del/X+ haplotype carriers had higher levels of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients (TC, p = 0.05; LDL-C, p = 0.049) and controls (TC, p = 0.004; LDL-C, p = 0.013). No association was detected between the SREBP-1a-36delG polymorphism and lipid levels, but a significant interaction effect between APOB and SREBP-1a polymorphisms was observed in the patient sample on TC (p = 0.005) and on LDL-C (p = 0.019) levels. Carriers of the APOB Del/X+ haplotype and SREBP-1a G-G- genotype showed the highest levels of these lipid parameters. This effect of interaction was not observed in the control sample. Despite the associations with lipids, these polymorphisms were not associated with CAD risk or severity in this sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- D L S Rios
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
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Torres MR, Ramos AJ, Soler J, Sanchis V, Marín S. SEM study of water activity and temperature effects on the initial growth of Aspergillus ochraceus, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium verticillioides on maize grain. Scanning electron microscopy. Int J Food Microbiol 2003; 81:185-93. [PMID: 12485744 DOI: 10.1016/s0168-1605(02)00226-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of the effect of water activity (a(w)), temperature and fungal interactions on the very early phases of Aspergillus ochraceus, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium verticillioides development on maize grains was carried out. Germination and growth of individual fungal strains were assayed at 0.92, 0.95 and 0.98 a(w), and 20 and 30 degrees C. Hyphal lengths were measured on micrographs taken by SEM at different periods of incubation. A. alternata had the highest linear growth at 0.98 a(w), and was the only species able to grow under all conditions tested, whereas A. ochraceus was not able to germinate at 0.92 a(w) at any temperature assayed. F. verticillioides demonstrated a different behaviour depending on growth temperature. Fungal interactions were studied at 0.95a(w) and 30 degrees C. A. ochraceus germination was inhibited when it was co-inoculated with one or two of the other species. A. alternata showed an increased growth rate when growing together with the other fungi, whereas growth of F. verticillioides was significantly inhibited when paired with A. ochraceus.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Torres
- Pathology Laboratory, CeRTA Post-Harvest Area, UdL-IRTA Center. Av. Rovira Roure, 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
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Jerome KR, Chen Z, Lang R, Torres MR, Hofmeister J, Smith S, Fox R, Froelich CJ, Corey L. HSV and glycoprotein J inhibit caspase activation and apoptosis induced by granzyme B or Fas. J Immunol 2001; 167:3928-35. [PMID: 11564811 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.167.7.3928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
HSV-1 inhibits apoptosis of infected cells, presumably to ensure that the infected cell survives long enough to allow completion of viral replication. Because cytotoxic lymphocytes kill their targets via the induction of apoptosis, protection from apoptosis could constitute a mechanism of immune evasion for HSV. Several HSV genes are involved in the inhibition of apoptosis, including Us5, which encodes glycoprotein J (gJ). Viruses deleted for Us5 showed defects in inhibition of caspase activation after Fas ligation or UV irradiation. Transfected cells expressing the Us5 gene product gJ were protected from Fas- or UV-induced apoptosis, as measured by morphology, caspase activation, membrane permeability changes, or mitochondrial transmembrane potential. In contrast, caspase 3 activation in mitochondria-free cell lysates by granzyme (gr)B was inhibited equivalently by Us5 deletion and rescue viruses, suggesting that gJ is not required for HSV to inhibition this process. However, mitochondria-free lysates from transfected cells expressing Us5/gJ were protected from grB-induced caspase activation, suggesting that Us5/gJ is sufficient to inhibit this process. Transfected cells expressing Us5/gJ were also protected from death induced by incubation with purified grB and perforin. These findings suggest that HSV has a comprehensive set of immune evasion functions that antagonize both Fas ligand- and grB-mediated pathways of CTL-induced apoptosis. The understanding of HSV effects on killing by CTL effector mechanisms may shed light on the incomplete control of HSV infections by the immune system and may allow more rational approaches to the development of immune modulatory treatments for HSV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- K R Jerome
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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Barral MC, Jiménez-Aparicio R, Pérez-Quintanilla D, Priego JL, Royer EC, Torres MR, Urbanos FA. Magnetic properties of diruthenium(II,III) carboxylate compounds. Crystal structures of Ru2Cl(mu-O2CCH=CHCH=CHMe)4 and Ru2Cl(mu-O2CCH2OMe)4. Inorg Chem 2000; 39:65-70. [PMID: 11229036 DOI: 10.1021/ic9907462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The reaction of Ru2Cl(mu-O2CMe)4 with 2,4-hexadienoic and 2-methoxyacetic acids affords the compounds Ru2Cl(mu-O2CR)4 [R = CH=CHCH=CHCH3 (1), CH2OMe (2)]. The structures of both complexes have been determined by X-ray crystallography. 1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1 with a = 9.264(1) A, b = 12.661(8) A, c = 12.839(5) A, alpha = 106.09(3) degrees, beta = 77.89(2) degrees, gamma = 97.73(3) degrees, and Z = 2. 2 crystallizes in the nonstandard monoclinic space group P2(1)/c with a = 12.132(4) A, b = 11.570(2) A, c = 13.674(2) A, beta = 91.18(2) degrees, and Z = 4. Complexes 1 and 2 show [Ru2(mu-O2CR)4]+ units linked by chloride ions, giving zigzag chains with Ru-Cl-Ru angles of 119.43(4) degrees and 110.11(7) degrees, respectively. The Ru-Ru bond distances are 2.2857(9) A (1) and 2.290(1) A (2). A magnetic study, in the 2-300 K temperature range, of the new compounds and the previously described Ru2Cl(mu-O2CR)4 [R = CHMe2 (3), CMe3 (4), C4H4N (5)] is described. The polymeric complexes 1 and 2 and the nonpolymeric 3-5 show a large zero-field splitting which varies from 53.9 to 68.1 cm-1. These complexes also show a weak, but not negligible, through-space intermolecular antiferromagnetic coupling not observed in the previous magnetic studies carried out on these types of compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Barral
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica and Centro de Asistencia a la Investigación de Rayos X, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Abstract
This study describes the occurrence of fumonisin in a survey of 32 Spanish beers, including some non-alcoholic beers. The analysis was conducted using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method and, in the range assayed (0-100 ng fumonisin B1/ml spiked-beer), recovery rates were about 81%, with variation coefficients that did not exceed 4.2%. The detection limit with this method was 3 ng fumonisins/ml beer. Results for the fourteen positive samples (43.8% of total samples) showed that the lowest amount of fumonisins found in a positive sample was 4.76 ng/ml and the highest was 85.53 ng/ml.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Torres
- Department of Food Technology, CeRTA, University of Lleida, Spain
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