A phase III randomized-controlled study of safety and immunogenicity of DTwP-HepB-IPV-Hib vaccine (HEXASIIL®) in infants

A fully liquid hexavalent containing Diphtheria (D), Tetanus (T) toxoids, whole cell Pertussis (wP), Hepatitis B (Hep B), type 1, 2, 3 of inactivated poliovirus (IPV) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine (DTwP-HepB-IPV-Hib vaccine, HEXASIIL®) was tested for lot-to-lot consistency and non-inferiority against licensed DTwP-HepB-Hib + IPV in an open label, randomized Phase II/III study. In Phase III part, healthy infants received DTwP-HepB-IPV-Hib or DTwP-HepB-Hib + IPV vaccines at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age. Blood samples were collected prior to the first dose and 28 days, post dose 3. Non inferiority versus DTwP-HepB-Hib + IPV was demonstrated with 95% CIs for the treatment difference for seroprotection/seroconversion rates. For DTwP-HepB-IPV-Hib lots, limits of 95% CI for post-vaccination geometric mean concentration ratios were within equivalence limits (0.5 and 2). Vaccine was well-tolerated and no safety concerns observed.Clinical Trial Registration - CTRI/2019/11/022052.

Exploring the potential of neem and tamarind gum as release retardants: Design and statistical optimisation of vildagliptin extended release matrix systems using D-optimal quadratic mixture design

Exploring the significant role of natural polymers in developing drug delivery systems has been a promising area of research interest. The current investigation uses a D-optimal quadratic mixture design to design and evaluate neem and tamarind gum-based vildagliptin extended-release matrix tablets. Studying the combination effect of gums is one of the major objectives. Initial screening studies were performed to select the factors and their levels. The variables selected at different levels in mg/tablet are neem gum, tamarind gum, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and lactose monohydrate. Based on the screening experiments with both gums, the polymer content of 165 mg was chosen as the highest level in the DOE. Nineteen runs were generated to screen the desired parameters as responses. The total weight of the formulation was kept constant at 275 mg. Time (hours) required for 50 %, 90 % and 100 % of drug release and tablet hardness were selected as the responses for each run. The wet granulation method was adopted, and the critical variables were optimised using the design of experiments following Design Expert software. Statistical analysis was conducted, and the optimised formulations were prepared and evaluated to compare with the predicted responses. Stability studies were performed for the optimised batches. Results indicated that the prepared batches met the compendial limits and confirmed the application of neem and tamarind gum in the development of extended-release tablets of vildagliptin for 24 h. An optimised formulation comprising of 16.52 mg of neem gum and 148.48 mg of tamarind gum with a hardness of 7.5-8.5 kp produced 50 %, 90 % and 100 % drug release in 12, 22 and 25 h.

Recent Development of Heat and Mass Transport in the Presence of Hall, Ion Slip and Thermo Diffusion in Radiative Second Grade Material: Application of Micromachines

This article describes the incompressible two-dimensional heat and mass transfer of an electrically conducting second-grade fluid flow in a porous medium with Hall and ion slip effects, diffusion thermal effects, and radiation absorption effects. It is assumed that the fluid is a gray, absorbing-emitting but non-scattering medium and the Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. It is assumed that the liquid is opaque and absorbs and emits radiation in a manner that does not result in scattering. It is considered an unsteady laminar MHD convective rotating flow of heat-producing or absorbing second-grade fluid across a semi-infinite vertical moving permeable surface. The profiles of velocity components, temperature distribution, and concentration are studied to apply the regular perturbation technique. These profiles are shown as graphs for various fluid and geometric parameters such as Hall and ion slip parameters, radiation absorption, diffusion thermo, Prandtl number, Schmidt number, and chemical reaction rate. On the other hand, the skin friction coefficient and the Nusselt number are determined by numerical evaluation and provided in tables. These tables are then analysed and debated for various values of the flow parameters that regulate it. It may be deduced that an increase in the parameters of radiation absorption, Hall, and ion slip over the fluid region increases the velocity produced. The resulting momentum continually grows to a very high level, with contributions from the thermal and solutal buoyancy forces. The temperature distribution may be more concentrated by raising both the heat source parameter and the quantity of radiation. When one of the parameters for the chemical reaction is increased, the whole fluid area will experience a fall in concentration. Skin friction may be decreased by manipulating the rotation parameter, but the Hall effect and ion slip effect can worsen it. When the parameter for the chemical reaction increases, there is a concomitant rise in the mass transfer rate.

Prevalence, molecular characterization, genetic heterogeneity and antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes associated with fish and fishery environment in Kerala, India

The prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in the retail fish markets of the Kerala, India was investigated by screening 227 samples comprising of marine finfish (n = 97) shellfish (n = 19), ready-to-cook fish products (n = 47), ready-to-eat fish products (n = 10), dried fish (n = 11) and retail ice (n = 43). The prevalence of L. monocytogenes and L. innocua was 2·7% and 17·2% respectively. Sample category wise, prevalence of L. monocytogenes was higher in marine finfish (1·8%) and retail ice (0·9%). All the L. monocytogenes isolates carried virulent genes namely inlA, inlC, inlJ, hlyA, iap, plcA, prfA genes and majority (82%) belonged to 1/2a, 3a serogroups. L. monocytogenes isolates were multidrug-resistant and showed resistance to ampicillin, penicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline and clindamycin. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) delineated 58% genetic heterogeneity among the L. monocytogenes strains. The study reports that genetic similarities of the isolates were interlinked to their serogroup and sample origin. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes, in the retail fish markets of Kerala, India was low but their relatively higher presence in marine finfish and retail ice and virulent nature of the isolates signifies food safety concerns. Moreover, multidrug-resistant nature of these isolates may potentially lead to spread of antimicrobial resistance. This study identified retail ice as a vehicle for entry of L. monocytogenes in retail fish and hence, there is a need to ensure quality of retail ice used for maintaining the cold-chain.

Synthesis of novel ethyl 2,4-disubstituted 8-(trifluoromethyl)pyrido[2',3':3,4]pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-9-carboxylate derivatives as promising anticancer agents

A series of novel pyrido[2',3':3,4] pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives 6-9 were prepared in single step starting from 3-amino-6-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine-5-carboxylate 5 on reaction with symmetrical and unsymmetrical aliphatic and aromatic 1,3-diketones/α,β unsaturated ketones/α,β unsaturated keto ethers under conventional method. All the final compounds 6a-c, 8a-b and 9a-l were screened for anticancer activity against five human cancer cell lines such as PC-3 (CRL-1435), MDA-MB-231 (HTB-26), Hep G2 (HB-8065), HeLa (CCL-2) and normal HUVEC (CRL-1730). Compounds 8a, 9f and 9k which showed promising anticancer activity have been identified. Further, the promising compounds (8a and 9f) were able to inhibit the human topoisomerase I (TopI) activity similar to that of camptothecin.

Temporomandibular pain

Temporomandibular joint pain has various medical and dental etiological factors. The etiology of the temporomandibular joint pain is enigmatic, no single etiological factor is regarded as the cause. Its distribution is also not confined to a single area. This article presents the basic etiologic factors, its epidemiology, distribution of pain, classification of patients and the psychosocial behavior of patients suffering with temporomandibular pain. As overwhelming majority of medical and dental conditions/issues related to etiology of temporomandibular pain in patients have traditionally been presented and interpreted from the clinician's point of view.

A retrospective analysis of osteochondroma of scapula following excision biopsy

Scapula is an uncommon site for osteochondroma. There is a paucity of information regarding postoperative complications, recurrence of osteochondroma, functional improvement. A retrospective analysis of 9 patients treated for osteochondroma scapula over a period of 4 years was undertaken to assess postoperative complications, recurrence, and functional improvement following excision biopsy for osteochondroma scapula. All patients of any age group who were diagnosed with osteochondroma scapula and treated with excision biopsy in the past 6 years were included in the study. Patients were followed up for recurrence, postoperative complications and functional assessment using modified UCLA shoulder rating scale. The mean age at presentation was 13.7 years. Boys were more commonly affected than girls with a male to female ratio of 7:2. There was no incidence of recurrence of osteochondroma, postoperative wound complications or functional limitation following excision biopsy of osteochondroma scapula. We conclude that preoperative functional restriction in osteochondroma of scapula is mainly due to location of tumour especially when present over ventral or ventromedial aspect scapula. After complete excision they do not cause any functional limitations.

(Z)-2-(2-Hy-droxy-4-meth-oxy-benzyl-idene)-1-benzofuran-3(2H)-one

In the title compound, C(16)H(12)O(4), the 1-benzofuran-one unit is in a planar conformation [C-C-C-C = 179.69 (12)°]. The conformation around the C=C double bond [1.3370 (17) Å] is Z. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are stabilized by O-H⋯O (running parallel to the bc plane) and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

Ethyl 4-(2-fur-yl)-2-oxochroman-3-carboxyl-ate

The title compound, C(16)H(14)O(5), was prepared from the reaction of 3-carbethoxy-coumarin with furan in the presence of AlCl(3) as catalyst. In the crystal, inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between four mol-ecules lead to a tetra-mer in the unit cell. The furan ring is anti-periplanar [C-C-C-O = 167.9 (13)°] and the ethoxy-carbonyl group is (-)anti-clinal [C-C-C-O = -128.6 (14)°] to the lactone ring.

Influence of colon degradation of polysaccharide on the oral bioavailability of theophylline from controlled release hydrophilic matrices

Hydrophilic matrices of gum karaya (GK) and guar gum (GG) using theophylline (TH) as a model drug were prepared for oral controlled release. In vitro release studies were performed for these matrix systems to find out the suitable drug-carrier ratio, which extend the drug release up to 24 h. Promising matrix systems were subjected for in vitro degradation studies in the presence of rat caecal contents. These matrices were also evaluated for their in vivo performance in healthy human volunteers. Matrix systems containing 40% w/w of polysaccharide (GK or GG) have shown uniform and similar in vitro drug release profile for 24 h in the Sorenson's phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). However, TH release from GG-TH matrix system in the presence of rat caecal contents was significantly higher than that from GK-TH matrix system. This is because of the susceptibility of GG for degradation by microorganisms present in the rat caecal content. Though there was no significant difference between the peak plasma concentration (Cmax) and time of its occurrence (Tmax) for TH from GG-TH and GK-TH matrix systems, it was found that oral bioavailability of TH from former matrix was significantly higher than that of later. Therefore, the present study disclosed that the usage of colon degradable polymer offers an advantage in the design of controlled release dosage forms of drugs, which has good absorption properties throughout the gastrointestinal tract.

Nimesulide-Modified Gum Karaya Solid Mixtures: Preparation, Characterization, and Formulation Development

Solid mixtures of nimesulide (NS) and modified gum karaya (MGK) were prepared to improve the dissolution rate of NS. The effect of drug-carrier ratio on dissolution rate of NS was investigated by preparing the solid mixtures of different ratios by cogrinding method. Solid mixtures were also prepared by physical mixing, kneading, and solid dispersion techniques to study the influence of method of preparation. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and equilibrium solubility studies were performed to explain the results of in vitro dissolution rate studies. It was clearly evident from the results that the NS dissolution rate was dependent on the concentration of MGK in the solid mixtures, and optimum weight ratio was found to be 1:4 (NS:MGK). Though the dissolution rate of NS from all solid mixtures prepared by different methods improved significantly, maximum improvement in dissolution rate was observed with solid dispersions. The order of methods basing on their effect on dissolution efficiency is solid dispersion > kneading > cogrinding > physical mixing > pure NS. Tablets of pure drug and solid mixtures (1:4 w/w, NS:MGK) were prepared. Though the best results from the dissolution test were obtained for the tablets containing solid dispersions, tablets containing cogrinding mixture were found to be suitable, from a practical point of view, for commercialization.

Correlation of "in vitro" release and "in vivo" absorption characteristics of rifampicin from ethylcellulose coated nonpareil beads

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility to develop different levels of correlation between in vitro dissolution parameters and in vivo pharmacokinetic parameters for three rifampicin formulations. A level A correlation of in vitro release and in vivo absorption could be obtained for individual plasma level data by means of the Wagner and Nelson method. Linear correlation could be obtained when percent dose released in vitro was plotted vs percent dose absorbed in vivo with correlation coefficients between 0.954,0.983 and 0.997 for the formulations studied. A second level correlation between mean in vitro dissolution time (MDT) and mean in vivo residence time (MRT) was performed with a correlation coefficient of 0.536,0.420 and 0.335. Finally, it was also possible to establish a good in vitro-in vivo correlation when the T(50%hrs) (time taken to release 50% of rifampicin) in vitro and C(max),T(max) or AUC in vivo were compared.

Recombinant human liver medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase: purification, characterization, and the mechanism of interactions with functionally diverse C8-CoA molecules

We offer a large scale purification procedure for the recombinant human liver medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HMCAD). This procedure routinely yield 100-150 mg of homogeneous preparation of the enzyme from 80 L of the Escherichia coli host cells. A comparative investigation of kinetic properties of the human liver and pig kidney enzymes revealed that, except for a few minor differences, both of these enzymes are nearly identical. We undertook detailed kinetic and thermodynamic investigations for the interaction of HMCAD-FAD with three C8-CoA molecules (viz., octanoyl-CoA, 2-octenoyl-CoA, and 2-octynoyl-CoA), which differ with respect to the extent of unsaturation of the alpha-beta carbon center; octanoyl-CoA and 2-octenoyl-CoA serve as the substrate and product of the enzyme, respectively, whereas 2-octynoyl-CoA is known to inactivate the enzyme. Our experimental results demonstrate that all three C8-CoA molecules first interact with HMCAD-FAD to form corresponding Michaelis complexes, followed by two subsequent isomerization reactions. The latter accompany either subtle changes in the electronic structures of the individual components (in case of 2-octenoyl-CoA and 2-octynoyl-CoA ligands), or a near-complete reduction of the enzyme-bound flavin (in case of octanoyl-CoA). The rate and equilibrium constants intrinsic to the above microscopic steps exhibit marked similarity with different C8-CoA molecules. However, the electronic structural changes accompanying the 2-octynoyl-CoA-dependent inactivation of enzyme is 3-4 orders of magnitude slower than the above isomerization reactions. Hence, the octanoyl-CoA-dependent reductive half-reaction and the 2-octynoyl-CoA-dependent covalent modification of the enzyme occur during entirely different microscopic steps. Arguments are presented that the origin of the above difference lies in the protein conformation-dependent orientation of Glu-376 in the vicinity of the C8-CoA binding site.

Facile and restricted pathways for the dissociation of octenoyl-CoA from the medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD)-FADH2-octenoyl-CoA charge-transfer complex: energetics and mechanism of suppression of the enzyme's oxidase activity

In a previous paper, we demonstrated that the reductive half-reaction of medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD), utilizing octanoyl-CoA as physiological substrate, generates two (kinetically distinct) forms of the reduced enzyme (MCAD-FADH2) - octenoyl-CoA charge-transfer complexes [Kumar, N.R., & Srivastava, D.K. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 8833-8841]. We present evidence that octenoyl-CoA dissociates from the second (most stable) charge-transfer complex (referred to as CT2) via two alternative ("facile" and "restricted") pathways. The dissociation of octenoyl-CoA via the facile pathway involves the reversal of the overall reductive half-reaction of the enzyme, generating MCAD-FAD - octanoyl-CoA as the Michaelis complex, followed by dissociation of the latter complex into MCAD-FAD + octanoyl-CoA. Hence, via this pathway, octenoyl-CoA is released from the enzyme site in the form of octanoyl-CoA. In contrast, the restricted pathway involves a direct (albeit slow) dissociation of octenoyl-CoA from CT2 to yield MCAD-FADH2 + octenoyl-CoA. The kinetic profile for the dissociation of octenoyl-CoA via the restricted pathway matches the rate of oxidation of the reduced flavin (within CT2) by O2. This suggests that the oxidase activity of the enzyme remains suppressed as long as the reduced enzyme predominates in the form of the charge-transfer complex(es). The oxidase activity of the enzyme emerges concomitantly with the conversion of CT2 to the MCAD-FADH2 - octenoyl-CoA Michaelis complex. The energetic basis for the dissociation of octenoyl-CoA via the facile and restricted pathways and the mechanism of suppression of the oxidase activity of the enzyme are discussed.

"Dehydrogenase" and "oxidase" reactions of medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase utilizing chromogenic substrates: role of the 3',5'-adenosine diphosphate moiety of the coenzyme A thioester in catalysis

We undertook a comparative investigation of the medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD)-catalyzed reaction utilizing indole-, furyl-, and 4-(dimethylamino)phenyl-substituted propionyl- and acryloyl-CoAs as potential substrate/product pairs. All these propionyl-CoA derivatives undergo MCAD-catalyzed conversion into their corresponding acryloyl-CoAs via both "dehydrogenase" (in the presence of "organic" electron acceptors) and "oxidase" (buffer-dissolved oxygen serving as the electron acceptor) pathways [Johnson, J. K., Wang, Z. X., & Srivastava, D. K. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 10564-10575]. The steady-state kinetic parameters for the enzyme utilizing these substrates reveal that the KmS (for the CoA substrates) and kcatS for the dehydrogenase reaction are at least an order of magnitude higher than those for the oxidase reaction. As with the CoA substrates, the enzyme catalyzes the conversion of indolepropionyl pantetheine phosphate (IPPP) into indoleacryloyl pantetheine phosphate (IAPP) via these two pathways. However, with IPPP as substrate, the Km (for IPPP) and kcat values of the dehydrogenase and oxidase reactions are the same. These, coupled with the spectral changes of the enzyme-product complexes as well as the binding affinities of the enzyme-substrate/product complexes, lead to the following conclusions: (1) The aromatic/heterocyclic group-containing substrates are converted into their corresponding products via both the dehydrogenase and the oxidase pathways. (2) The 3',5'-ADP moiety of the CoA thioester provides a significant fraction of the total binding energy in stabilizing the enzyme-substrate/product complexes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Reductive half-reaction of medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase utilizing octanoyl-CoA/octenoyl-CoA as a physiological substrate/product pair: similarity in the microscopic pathways of octanoyl-CoA oxidation and octenoyl-CoA binding

Of the different chain length fatty acyl-CoA substrates, octanoyl-CoA has been known as one of the most efficient (and physiological) substrates for the medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD)-catalyzed reaction. The reaction of MCAD-FAD with octanoyl-CoA ([MCAD-FAD] << [octanoyl-CoA]), measured via the stopped-flow technique, at 5 degrees C was characterized by a biphasic decrease and increase in absorptions at 450 and 545 nm, respectively. The average values of the fast (1/tau 1) and slow (1/tau 2) relaxation rate constants, derived from the data at these wavelengths, were found to be 319.7 +/- 33.5 and 28.8 +/- 12.5 s-1, respectively, and both of these relaxation rate constants remained invariant between 8 and 200 microM concentrations of octanoyl-CoA. Under identical experimental conditions, we measured time courses for the interaction of MCAD-FAD with octenoyl-CoA ([MCAD-FAD] << [octenoyl-CoA]) by monitoring the absorption changes at 299, 394, and 440 nm. The binding profile was consistent with a biphasic decrease (at 440 nm) and increase (at 299 and 394 nm) in absorbance, with similar magnitudes of fast [1/tau 1 (average) = 382.3 +/- 39.8 s-1] and slow [1/tau 2 (average) = 14.3 +/- 7.4 s-1] relaxation rate constants. The observed relaxation rate constants were, once again, found to be invariant with changes in the octenoyl-CoA concentration from 40 to 150 microM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Molecular basis of the medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase-catalyzed "oxidase" reaction: pH-dependent distribution of intermediary enzyme species during catalysis

In a previous paper, we demonstrated that the medium-chain fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenase-catalyzed (MCAD-catalyzed) reductive half-reaction of indolepropionyl-CoA proceeds via formation of a chromophoric intermediary species "X" (absorption maximum = 400 nm) and proposed that the decay of this species might limit the overall rate of the "oxidase" reaction [Johnson, J. K., & Srivastava, D. K. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 8004-8013]. During this latter reaction, the buffer-dissolved O2 served as an electron acceptor [Johnson, J. K., Wang, Z. X., & Srivastava, D. K. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 10564-10575]. To ascertain whether the intrinsic stability of X influences the oxidase activity, we undertook a detailed kinetic investigation of this enzyme at different pH values. The time-resolved spectra for the reductive half-reaction (obtained via the rapid-scanning stopped-flow method) at different pH values reveal that the amplitude of the intermediary (X) spectral band is more pronounced at a lower pH (pH 6.4) than at a higher pH (pH 9.0). Single-wavelength transient kinetic data for the reductive half-reaction (in both the forward and the reverse direction) at all pH values are consistent with fast (1/tau 1) and slow (1/tau 2) relaxation rate constants. Of these, whereas the fast relaxation rate constant for the reaction in the forward direction (1/tau 1f) decreases with an increase in pH, the corresponding slow relaxation rate constant (1/tau 2f) increases with an increase in pH. The pH-dependent steady-state kinetic data reveal that, like 1/tau 2f, kcat for the MCAD-catalyzed oxidase reaction increases with an increase in the pH of the buffer media.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Microscopic pathway for the medium-chain fatty acyl CoA dehydrogenase catalyzed oxidative half-reaction: changes in the electronic structures of flavin and CoA derivatives during catalysis

In a previous communication, we demonstrated that the medium-chain fatty acyl CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) catalyzed conversion of 3-indolepropionyl CoA (IPCoA) to trans-3-indoleacryloyl CoA (IACoA) proceeds via the formation of an intermediary species X that possesses the electronic properties of reduced flavin and highly conjugated CoA product. Since the steady-state turnover of the enzyme-catalyzed dehydrogenation reaction precisely matches with the rate of formation of X [Johnson, J. K., & Srivastava, D. K. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 8004-8013], the latter species appeared to be the likely site for the transfer of electrons to external electron acceptors (e.g., ferricenium hexafluorophosphate, FcPF6). To probe the microscopic pathway for the oxidative half-reaction, we employed a sequential mixing stopped-flow technique utilizing IPCoA as the enzyme substrate and FcPF6 as the electron acceptor. The time-dependent changes in absorption at 450, 415, and 367 nm were measured upon mixing FcPF6 with previously mixed and aged solutions of MCAD-FAD+IPCoA in the stopped-flow syringes. The kinetic traces show an increase (1/tau 1) followed by a decrease (1/tau 2) in absorption at 450 and 415 nm, and a lag (corresponding to the time regime of 1 u 1) followed by an increase in absorption (1/tau 2) at 367 nm. The relaxation rate constants (1/tau's) thus measured remain unaffected, with variations in the aging time; however, the amplitudes of these phases increase up to the aging time of 5 s, after which the amplitudes attain maxima. For an aging time of 5 s, 1/tau 1 and 1/tau 2 show a linear and a hyperbolic dependence on the FcPF6 concentration, respectively. These, coupled with the complementary studies involving butyryl CoA as a nonchromophoric substrate for this enzyme, lead us to propose the following sequence of events during the MCAD-catalyzed oxidative half-reaction: (1) The enzyme-catalyzed oxidative half-reaction proceeds via the formation of a collision complex between X and FcPF6 during the fast (1/tau 1) relaxation phase. (2) The reduced flavin moiety of X is oxidized via (rapid) transfer of electrons to FcPF6 within the collision complex, without formation of a detectable (metastable) flavin semiquinone intermediate. (3) The transfer of electrons is accompanied by changes in the electronic structures of both the flavin and IACoA moieties within the enzyme-IACoA complex. The electronic structure of this newly formed complex is exactly the same as that formed upon isomerization of the MCAD-FAD-IACoA complex [Johnson, J. K., Wang, Z. X., & Srivastava, D. K. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 10564-10575].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A novel spectroscopic titration method for determining the dissociation constant and stoichiometry of protein-ligand complex

We offer a new titration protocol for determining the dissociation constant and binding stoichiometry of protein-ligand complex, detectable by spectroscopic methods. This approach neither is limited to the range of protein or ligand concentrations employed during titration experiment nor relies on precise determinations of the titration "endpoint," i.e., the maximal signal changes upon saturation of protein by ligand (or vice versa). In this procedure, a fixed concentration of protein (or ligand) is titrated by increasing volumes of a stock ligand (or protein) solution, and the changes in the spectroscopic signal are recorded after each addition of the titrant. The signal for interaction between protein and ligand first increases, reaches a maximum value, and then starts decreasing due to dilution effect. The volume of the titrant required to achieve the maximum signal changes is utilized to calculate the dissociation constant and the binding stoichiometry of the protein-ligand complex according to the theoretical relationships developed herein. This procedure has been tested for the interaction of avidin with a chromophoric biotin analogue, 2-(4'-hydroxyazobenzene)benzoic acid by following the absorption signal of their interaction at 500 nm. The widespread applicability of this procedure to protein-ligand complexes detected by other spectroscopic techniques and its advantages over conventional methods are discussed.

Conservative medical management of traumatic pharyngoesophageal perforations

Traditionally, surgical treatment has been the acceptable management for perforation of the pharyngoesophageal tract secondary to blunt and penetrating trauma. From July 1983 to June 1990, we managed 10 patients with this type of lesion by a conservative medical management approach. Mirror or fiberoptic flexible laryngoscopy was performed in the majority of cases to ascertain the nature of the injury. An esophagogram is very helpful to locate and evaluate the extent of the injury. All patients were treated with broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotic therapy and no oral feeding. There were no complications or need for surgical treatment in any of the cases. The head and neck surgeon, in selected cases, should consider the possibility of using conservative management of pharyngoesophageal perforations. This approach has proven in our hands to be relatively safe and cost-effective, resulting in no disability or prolonged hospitalization of our patients. This study involves two institutions (two affiliated hospitals of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine) with different surgeons selecting appropriate antibiotic therapy. It is a retrospective review. No controls were made by random selection of cases treated surgically. These cases, if not properly managed, may lead to fatal outcomes.