We have isolated a new muscarinic protein (MT-Mlα) from the venom of the Brazilian coral snake Mi... more We have isolated a new muscarinic protein (MT-Mlα) from the venom of the Brazilian coral snake Micrurus lemniscatus. This small protein, which had a molecular mass of 7,048Da, shared high sequence homology with three-finger proteins that act on cholinergic receptors. The first 12 amino acid residues of the N-terminal sequence were determined to be: Leu-Ile-Cys-Phe-Ile-Cys-Phe-Ser-Pro-Thr-Ala-His. The MT-Mlα was able to displace the [(3)H]QNB binding in the hippocampus of rats. The binding curve in competition experiments with MT-Mlα was indicative of two types of [(3)H]QNB-binding site with pK(i) values of 9.08±0.67 and 6.17±0.19, n=4, suggesting that various muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes may be the target proteins of MT-Mlα. The MT-Mlα and the M(1) antagonist pirenzepine caused a dose-dependent block on total [(3)H]inositol phosphate accumulation induced by carbachol. The IC(50) values for MT-Mlα and pirenzepine were, respectively, 33.1 and 2.26 nM. Taken toget...
Bladder dysfunction may lead to urinary incontinence and progressive kidney deterioration. When c... more Bladder dysfunction may lead to urinary incontinence and progressive kidney deterioration. When clinical treatment fails, bladder augmentation is the operation of choice in most cases. The purpose of this study was the standardization of the technique of videolaparoscopic ileocystoplasty in a porcine model and demonstration of a tutor-supervised learning curve. The study was conducted on 15 Large-White male pigs (20-25 kg) that underwent ileocystoplasty with 15 cm of distal ileum shaped into a using extracorporeal technique and laparoscopic ileovesical anastomosis. Operative time, ileovesical anastomosis time, intraoperative complications, and extravasation after anastomosis were evaluated. To assess the learning curve, the animals were divided into three groups of five: group I (operated on in collaboration with a tutor), group II (treated under the supervision of tutor), and group III (without the tutor's collaboration or supervision). Total surgical time and ileovesical anastomosis time revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) between groups I and III (70% reduction) as well as between groups II and III (64% reduction). Laparoscopic ileocystoplasty in pigs is feasible without special laparoscopic material. Ten initial procedures with a tutor's help were important for technique acquisition and mastery. A sharp increase in efficiency occurs between the tenth and fifteenth procedures. These procedures should be executed at least ten times in the presence of the tutor to enable the surgeon to overcome the learning curve.
There is an increasing interest in studying interspecies bacterial interactions in diseases of an... more There is an increasing interest in studying interspecies bacterial interactions in diseases of animals and plants as it is believed that the great majority of bacteria found in nature live in complex communities. Plant pathologists have thus far mainly focused on studies involving single species or on their interactions with antagonistic competitors. A bacterial disease used as model to study multispecies interactions is the olive knot disease, caused by Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi (Psv). Knots caused by Psv in branches and other aerial parts of the olive trees are an ideal niche not only for the pathogen but also for many other plant-associated bacterial species, mainly belonging to the genera Pantoea, Pectobacterium, Erwinia, and Curtobacterium. The non-pathogenic bacterial species Erwinia toletana, Pantoea agglomerans, and Erwinia oleae, which are frequently isolated inside the olive knots, cooperate with Psv in modulating the disease severity. Co-inoculations of these ...
Scheduling independent tasks on heterogeneous environments, like grids, is not trivial. To make a... more Scheduling independent tasks on heterogeneous environments, like grids, is not trivial. To make a good scheduling plan on this kind of environments, the scheduler usually needs some information such as host speed, host load, and task size. This kind of information is not always available and is often difficult to obtain. In this paper we propose a scheduling approach that
We have isolated a new muscarinic protein (MT-Mlα) from the venom of the Brazilian coral snake Mi... more We have isolated a new muscarinic protein (MT-Mlα) from the venom of the Brazilian coral snake Micrurus lemniscatus. This small protein, which had a molecular mass of 7,048Da, shared high sequence homology with three-finger proteins that act on cholinergic receptors. The first 12 amino acid residues of the N-terminal sequence were determined to be: Leu-Ile-Cys-Phe-Ile-Cys-Phe-Ser-Pro-Thr-Ala-His. The MT-Mlα was able to displace the [(3)H]QNB binding in the hippocampus of rats. The binding curve in competition experiments with MT-Mlα was indicative of two types of [(3)H]QNB-binding site with pK(i) values of 9.08±0.67 and 6.17±0.19, n=4, suggesting that various muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes may be the target proteins of MT-Mlα. The MT-Mlα and the M(1) antagonist pirenzepine caused a dose-dependent block on total [(3)H]inositol phosphate accumulation induced by carbachol. The IC(50) values for MT-Mlα and pirenzepine were, respectively, 33.1 and 2.26 nM. Taken toget...
Bladder dysfunction may lead to urinary incontinence and progressive kidney deterioration. When c... more Bladder dysfunction may lead to urinary incontinence and progressive kidney deterioration. When clinical treatment fails, bladder augmentation is the operation of choice in most cases. The purpose of this study was the standardization of the technique of videolaparoscopic ileocystoplasty in a porcine model and demonstration of a tutor-supervised learning curve. The study was conducted on 15 Large-White male pigs (20-25 kg) that underwent ileocystoplasty with 15 cm of distal ileum shaped into a using extracorporeal technique and laparoscopic ileovesical anastomosis. Operative time, ileovesical anastomosis time, intraoperative complications, and extravasation after anastomosis were evaluated. To assess the learning curve, the animals were divided into three groups of five: group I (operated on in collaboration with a tutor), group II (treated under the supervision of tutor), and group III (without the tutor's collaboration or supervision). Total surgical time and ileovesical anastomosis time revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) between groups I and III (70% reduction) as well as between groups II and III (64% reduction). Laparoscopic ileocystoplasty in pigs is feasible without special laparoscopic material. Ten initial procedures with a tutor's help were important for technique acquisition and mastery. A sharp increase in efficiency occurs between the tenth and fifteenth procedures. These procedures should be executed at least ten times in the presence of the tutor to enable the surgeon to overcome the learning curve.
There is an increasing interest in studying interspecies bacterial interactions in diseases of an... more There is an increasing interest in studying interspecies bacterial interactions in diseases of animals and plants as it is believed that the great majority of bacteria found in nature live in complex communities. Plant pathologists have thus far mainly focused on studies involving single species or on their interactions with antagonistic competitors. A bacterial disease used as model to study multispecies interactions is the olive knot disease, caused by Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi (Psv). Knots caused by Psv in branches and other aerial parts of the olive trees are an ideal niche not only for the pathogen but also for many other plant-associated bacterial species, mainly belonging to the genera Pantoea, Pectobacterium, Erwinia, and Curtobacterium. The non-pathogenic bacterial species Erwinia toletana, Pantoea agglomerans, and Erwinia oleae, which are frequently isolated inside the olive knots, cooperate with Psv in modulating the disease severity. Co-inoculations of these ...
Scheduling independent tasks on heterogeneous environments, like grids, is not trivial. To make a... more Scheduling independent tasks on heterogeneous environments, like grids, is not trivial. To make a good scheduling plan on this kind of environments, the scheduler usually needs some information such as host speed, host load, and task size. This kind of information is not always available and is often difficult to obtain. In this paper we propose a scheduling approach that
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Papers by Daniel da Silva