This behavior appears to be due to the presence of an ionizable r

This behavior appears to be due to the presence of an ionizable residue in the enzyme active site. To identify this residue, the enzyme was derivatized with diethylpyrocarbonate to modify accessible histidine residues, which, according to structural data, are present in the active site of this enzyme. The kinetic behavior of the derivatized laccase was compared with that of the

native enzyme and the derivatized residues were identified by mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry and kinetic results suggest the main role of His-457 in the control of the catalytic activity of laccase from R. lignosus. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Alpine and subalpine ecosystems support many endemic species. These ecosystems are increasingly under threat from human-induced CT99021 solubility dmso disturbances such as habitat loss and fragmentation as a consequence of ski resort development and expansion. However, limited peer-reviewed research has investigated the impacts of ski-related disturbances on wildlife, particularly on reptiles. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted reptile surveys to determine the patterns of reptile distribution and abundance in Australian ski resorts. Then, using

a factorial https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mrt67307.html experimental design, we investigated 1) the influence of temperature and predation in driving observed distributions and 2) how a common ski resort management practice – mowing of modified ski slopes – affected thermal regimes and rates

of predation of reptiles on ski runs. We found that the removal of vegetation structural complexity through mowing resulted in significantly higher rates of predation on plasticine models, as well as significantly altered thermal regimes. Crucially, mown ski runs had higher maximum ground temperatures that frequently exceeded the recorded critical maximum body temperatures of the target species of lizards. Thus, mowing has the potential to render these areas unsuitable for thermoregulatory purposes for a large proportion of the potential activity period of reptiles. Together, modifications of the thermal environment and elevated rates of predation appear to explain the avoidance of ski runs by reptiles. To facilitate the Galardin cost persistence of reptiles in disturbed subalpine environments, management plans must focus on implementing strategies that reduce the impact of human activities that alter temperature regimes and predation rates on lizards.Synthesis and Applications. We suggest that the retention of structural complexity on ski runs (e.g. through the cessation of mowing during peak reptile activity periods) and/or revegetation with native plant communities will concurrently provide refuge from predators and buffer against extreme temperatures, making ski runs more hospitable to reptiles.

The effect of SLPI was tested on in vitro cell apoptosis and in v

The effect of SLPI was tested on in vitro cell apoptosis and in vivo tumor growth experiments. SLPI over-expressing human and murine mammary and colon tumor cells were generated by gene transfection. The administration of murine mammary tumor cells over-expressing high levels of SLPI did not develop tumors

in mice. On the contrary, the administration of murine colon tumor cells over-expressing SLPI, developed faster tumors than control cells. Intratumoral, but not intraperitoneal administration of SLPI, delayed the growth of tumors and increased the survival of mammary but not colon tumor bearing mice. In vitro culture of mammary tumor cell lines treated with SLPI, and SLPI producer clones were more prone to apoptosis than control cells, mainly under serum deprivation culture conditions. Herein we demonstrated Anlotinib order that SLPI induces the apoptosis of mammary tumor cells in vitro and decreases the mammary but not colon tumor growth in vivo. Therefore, SLPI may be a new potential therapeutic tool for certain tumors, such as mammary tumors. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 469475, 2013. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.”
“Cystic pancreatic neoplasms are rare and include mucinous

and microcystic cystadenoma STI571 chemical structure (carcinomas) and the recently described macrocystic adenoma. Their accurate diagnosis is difficult by radiology, and histopathology remains the modality of choice. The case of a 42-year-old woman presenting with a gradually enlarging abdominal mass is reported. Imaging studies revealed a large unilocular cystic lesion in the pancreas. An exploratory laparotomy was done with excision of the cyst along with pancreas. Numerous microscopic sections revealed a serous neoplasm with atypical nuclear features and focal invasion of the cyst wall. A final pathological diagnosis of macrocystic serous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas was made. The patient has GDC-0973 solubility dmso been doing well two years after surgery. This is the first case of a macrocystic serous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas, highlighting the need for extensive sampling of all cystic lesions

of the pancreas in order to reach a correct diagnosis.”
“Objective. The dual actions of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase comprise reduction of S-nitrosoglutathione, a potent endogenous airway smooth muscle relaxant that is depleted in asthmatics, and detoxification of formaldehyde to formate. Airway formate production is increased in children with asthma, suggesting increased activity of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase. We determined formate in exhaled breath condensate from adult atopic asthmatics with asthma exacerbation produced by inhaled allergen in vivo, Methods. Twenty-two adult atopic asthmatics underwent inhaled allergen challenge using specific allergen. Exhaled breath condensate was collected at baseline, 1 h after inhalation of the provocative dose of allergen, and then every 2 h for 8 h during the challenge. Formate was analyzed by ion chromatography, Results.

The CPT codes for open ankle arthrodesis (27870), arthroscopic an

The CPT codes for open ankle arthrodesis (27870), arthroscopic ankle

arthrodesis (29899), and total ankle replacement (27700, 27702) were searched for the years 2004 to 2009 to identify relative changes in the performance of ankle fusion and replacement over time.\n\nResults: The performance of ankle fusion was unchanged during the DMXAA ic50 6-year study period. In contrast, an increase in total ankle replacement was observed, from 0.63 cases per 10 000 patients searched in 2004 to 0.99 cases per 10 000 patients in 2009 (P<.05). Both ankle fusion and total ankle replacement were performed most commonly in patients aged 60 to 69 years (P<.05). Although an even gender distribution was observed in patients undergoing total ankle replacement, open and arthroscopic fusion were more commonly performed in males (P<.05). With regard to regional distribution,

open and arthroscopic fusion were most commonly performed in the western region of the United States, whereas total ankle replacement was performed most frequently in the Midwest (P<.001).\n\nConclusions: In the population studied, the performance of total ankle replacement increased 57% from 2004 to 2009 and was performed equally in male and female patients when compared to ankle fusion, which was more often performed in males and was unchanged beta-catenin assay with time.”
“Fractures are common in men and women with chronic kidney disease (CKD) but the best tool to identify those at high risk is unknown. Increased circulating osteoprotegerin (OPG) is associated with fractures Nutlin-3 in postmenopausal women. We determined if serum OPG was associated with prevalent fractures (self-reported low-trauma fractures since 40 years of age and/or prevalent vertebral fractures identified by radiographs) in men (n = 97) and women (n = 67) with stage 3-5 CKD. Analyses were performed unadjusted and adjusted for stage of CKD. Results are expressed as mean +/- A standard deviation (SD), and as odds ratio (OR)

per SD increase in OPG with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). The mean age was 62.7 +/- A 16.3 years, and mean weight was 78.9 +/- A 18.7 kg. Compared to those without fractures, those with fractures (n = 55) were older (p smaller than 0.01). Serum OPG increased as kidney function decreased, and OPG was higher in those with fractures compared to those without (9.42 +/- A 4.08 vs 8.06 +/- A 3.11 pmol/L, p = 0.02). After adjusting for stage of CKD, increased OPG was associated with an increased fracture risk (OR 1.13, 95 % CI 1.02-1.25); however, OPG did not discriminate fracture status well (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.61, 95 % CI 0.52-0.70).

The proposed estimators are investigated in simulation studies, a

The proposed estimators are investigated in simulation studies, and demonstrated empirically to have increased efficiency relative to some existing methods. The proposed methods are applied to a study of mortality among Canadian dialysis patients.”
“The currently recommended strategies for short nose elongation were designed primarily for the Caucasian nasal framework. For Oriental patients, more elongation often is required because a hypoplastic septal cartilage requires more elongation, resulting in a higher risk of complications. This report proposes a modified technique INCB28060 for Oriental nose elongation, which

adjusts the pressure points after nasal elongation using an L-shaped implant. Between January 2007 and December 2009, 58 patients underwent Oriental nose elongation using an L-shaped,

porous, high-density polyethylene sheet implant. Augmentation rhinoplasty click here and conchal cartilage shield grafts were performed depending on the nasal shape. Pre- and postoperative nasal length, height, and projection as well as columella-labial angle, columella-lobular angle, and nasal tip angle were measured and compared. A patient satisfaction survey was performed postoperatively. All occurring complications were recorded. The postoperative nasal length was significantly elongated from 47.0 +/- A 10.4 mm to 49.3 +/- A 10.1 mm (p = 0.003), and the nasal height increased significantly from 48.5 +/- A 9.1 mm to 50.4 +/- A 8.5 mm (p = 0.011). The initially obtuse columella-labial angle improved significantly from 100.8A degrees A A +/- A 12.1A degrees to 92.5A degrees A A +/- A 15.5A degrees (p = 0.014). No significant changes were found regarding nasal projection, nasal tip angle, or columella-lobular angle. The majority of the patients

(91.3 %) were highly satisfied or satisfied with the aesthetic results. A major complication in terms of implant exposure was observed in one case. The minor complications included stiffness of the nasal tip (3 patients) and tip redness (1 patient). In Oriental nose elongation, the use of an L-shaped MI-503 graft is a feasible and safe treatment option that allows for an excellent aesthetic outcome and reduces the incidence of complications. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.”
“BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors in women, their etiology is poorly understood. We have previously shown that multiple members of the retinoic acid (RA) pathway have altered expression in fibroids compared with normal myometrium.

To test the hypothesis of lateralized circuitry concerning spatia

To test the hypothesis of lateralized circuitry concerning spatial and language components involved in such action, we employed an fMRI paradigm including writing and drawing with each hand. In this way, writing-related contributions of dorsal and ventral premotor regions in each hemisphere

were assessed, together with effects in wider distributed circuitry. Given a right-hemisphere dominance for spatial action, right dorsal premotor cortex dominance was expected in left-hand writing while dominance www.selleckchem.com/products/apo866-fk866.html of the left ventral premotor cortex was expected during right-hand writing. Methods Sixteen healthy right-handed subjects were scanned during audition-guided writing of short sentences and simple figure drawing without visual feedback. Tapping with a pencil served as a basic control task for the two higher-order motor conditions. Activation differences were assessed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Results Writing and drawing showed parietal-premotor and posterior inferior temporal activations in both hemispheres when compared to Acalabrutinib in vitro tapping. Drawing activations were rather symmetrical for each hand. Activations in left-and right-hand writing were left-hemisphere dominant, while right

dorsal premotor activation only occurred in left-hand writing, supporting a spatial motor contribution of particularly the right hemisphere. Writing contrasted to drawing revealed left-sided activations in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex, Broca’s area, pre-Supplementary Motor Area and posterior middle and inferior temporal gyri, without parietal activation. Discussion The audition-driven postero-inferior temporal activations indicated retrieval of virtual visual form characteristics in writing and drawing, with additional activation concerning word form in the left hemisphere. Similar parietal processing in writing and drawing pointed at a common mechanism by which such visually formatted information is used for subsequent sensorimotor

integration along a dorsal visuomotor pathway. In this, the left posterior middle temporal gyrus subserves phonological-orthographical conversion, dissociating dorsal parietal-premotor circuitry from perisylvian circuitry Ispinesib supplier including Broca’s area.”
“Chalcone and chromene motifs are synthetic or naturally occurring scaffolds with significant cytotoxic profile. Two types of novel regioisomeric chromene-chalcone hybrids, namely 1-(6-chloro or 6-methoxy-2H-chromen-3-yl)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-one (Type A) and 3-(6-chloro or 6-methoxy-2H-chromen-3-yl)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one (Type B), both with different substituents on the phenyl ring attached to propenone linkage, have been evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). The results indicate that type A of chromene-chalcones demonstrated better cytotoxic profile than type B especially in MDA-MB-231 cell line.

Sixty-nine articles published in peer reviewed journals were incl

Sixty-nine articles published in peer reviewed journals were included in this comprehensive review.\n\nAreas of agreement: Cheilectomy

and first metatarsal or phalangeal corrective osteotomy may provide better outcome for patients with early and intermediate hallux rigidus (Stages I-II), while arthrodesis or arthroplasty are indicated to manage more severe conditions. Akt inhibitor The Coleman Methodology Score showed great heterogeneity in terms of study design, patient characteristics, management methods and outcome assessment and generally low methodological quality.\n\nAreas of controversy: Definitive conclusions on the use of these techniques for routine management of patients with hallux rigidus are not possible. Given the limitations of the published literature, especially the extensive clinical heterogeneity, it is not possible to compare outcomes of patients

undergoing different surgical procedures and determine clear guidelines.\n\nGrowing points: To assess whether benefits from surgery, validated and standardized measures should be used to compare the outcomes of patients undergoing check details standard surgical procedures.\n\nResearch: There is a need to perform appropriately powered randomized clinical trials of using standard diagnostic assessment, common and validated scoring system comparing reported outcomes and duration of follow-up >2 years.”
“Keratins are cytoplasmic intermediate filament proteins preferentially expressed by epithelial tissues in a site-specific and differentiation-dependent manner. The complex network of keratin filaments in stratified

epithelia is tightly regulated during squamous cell differentiation. Keratin 14 (K14) is expressed in mitotically active basal layer cells, along with its partner keratin 5 (K5), and their expression is down-regulated as cells differentiate. Apart from the cytoprotective functions of K14, very little is known about selleck kinase inhibitor K14 regulatory functions, since the K14 knockout mice show postnatal lethality. In this study, K14 expression was inhibited using RNA interference in cell lines derived from stratified epithelia to study the K14 functions in epithelial homeostasis. The K14 knockdown clones demonstrated substantial decreases in the levels of the K14 partner K5. These cells showed reduction in cell proliferation and delay in cell cycle progression, along with decreased phosphorylated Akt levels. K14 knockdown cells also exhibited enhanced levels of activated Notch1, involucrin, and K1. In addition, K14 knockdown AW13516 cells showed significant reduction in tumorigenicity. Our results suggest that K5 and K14 may have a role in maintenance of cell proliferation potential in the basal layer of stratified epithelia, modulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt-mediated cell proliferation and/or Notch1-dependent cell differentiation.

Driving glucose to its complete oxidation inside the mitochondria

Driving glucose to its complete oxidation inside the mitochondria has potential in cancer therapy to reconstitute

apoptotic Competence in tumor cells and, in mitochondrial disease, to treat lactic acidosis. This minireview investigates Nutlin-3 clinical trial the development of small molecule agents for suppressing the Warburg effect in cancer therapy and lactic acidosis in mitochondrial disease. Drug Dev Res 70: 499-511, 2009. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.”
“Ubiquitin thioester is a key intermediate in the ubiquitylation of proteins and is formed enzymatically through the activation of alpha-COOH of ubiquitin in an ATP dependent manner using the E1 enzyme. The current methods used for the preparation of ubiquitin thioester rely on either the enzymatic machinery or on expressed protein ligation technology. In this article, we report a new chemical strategy, combining native chemical ligation and N-methylcysteine containing peptides, to chemically prepare ubiquitin thioester for the first time. The N-methylcysteine is utilized as an N -> S acyl transfer device, and in its protected form serves as a latent thioester functionality. This enabled us to trigger the formation of ubiquitin

thioester subsequent to the assembly of the ubiquitin polypeptide via native chemical GSK1904529A solubility dmso ligation. The synthetic ubiquitin thioester showed a similar behavior in peptide ubiquitylation to the one obtained via expression. This approach should allow for higher flexibility in the chemical manipulation of ubiquitin thioester in a wide variety of ubiquitylated peptides and proteins for structural and biochemical analysis and for the synthesis of ubiquitin chains.”
“Study objective:

This study sought to determine and compare the utility of the Airway scope (AWS; Pentax Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) and the conventional Macintosh laryngoscope (MLS) for intubation in the prehospital setting.\n\nMethods: In this randomized controlled trial in the prehospital setting, the primary outcome was time required for intubation, and the secondary outcomes were ultimate success, first attempt success, and difficulty of intubation. The intent-to-treat principle was used to analyze time to intubation. Ultimate success was defined as intubation click here completed within 600 s regardless of the device ultimately used.\n\nResults: A total of 109 patients, primarily with cardiac arrest, were randomly assigned to the AWS or MLS arms. Median time (interquartile range) to intubation was 155 (71-216) s with the AWS versus 120 (60-170) s with the MLS (P=.095). Ultimate success rate was slightly lower with the AWS (96.4%) than with the MLS (100%) (P=.496), while the first attempt success rate was significantly lower (46% and 75%, respectively; P=.002). There was no significant difference in difficulty of intubation (P=.066).

The ampulla was cannulated, and the

The ampulla was cannulated, and the SYN-117 procedure was successfully completed in 97% (37/38) of cases. General anesthesia and sedation were performed in 74% and 26% of procedures, respectively. Indications for ERCP were 29 recurrent or chronic pancreatitis (76%), 8 common

bile duct obstructions (21%), and 1 choledochal cyst (3%). Endoscopic treatment was done in 29% of cases. The complication rate was 13.5%, and 4 clinical acute pancreatitis resolved with conservatory treatment. No severe pancreatitis, perforation, or bleeding was noted. Of the patients, 79% had their follow-up at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Ste-Justine for a median length of 43 months (range, 1-53 months).\n\nConclusion: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is used as a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in children with

a complication rate similar BYL719 to that seen in adults. The need for general anesthesia is much more frequent with children. When performed by well-trained endoscopists, ERCP is useful and safe in children. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common cause of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) and is present in up to 60% of patients with NCCP in Western countries. In Korea, after a reasonable cardiac evaluation, GERD is reported to underlie 41% of NCCP cases. Typical reflux symptoms are frequent in Korean patients suffering from NCCP. Therefore, a careful history of the predominant symptoms, including heartburn and acid regurgitation, is relatively indicative of the GERD diagnosis in Korea. In Korea, in contrast to Western countries, patients aged 40 years and over who have been diagnosed with NCCP but who are without alarming features should selleck inhibitor undergo endoscopy to exclude gastric cancer or peptic

ulcers because of the higher prevalence of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancers in the region. In a primary care setting, in the absence of any alarming symptoms, a symptomatic response to a trial of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is sufficient for the presumptive diagnosis of GERD. In addition, the optimal duration of a PPI test may be at least 2 weeks, as GERD symptoms tend to be less frequent or atypical in Korean patients than in patients from Western countries. In patients diagnosed with GERD-related NCCP, long-term therapy (more than 2 months) with double the standard dose of a PPI is required to alleviate symptoms. Esophageal dysmotility is relatively uncommon, and pain modulators seem to offer significant improvement of chest pain control in non-GERD-related NCCP. Most traditionally available tricyclics or heterocyclics have many undesirable effects. Therefore, newer drugs with fewer side effects (for example, the serotonin – norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) may be needed.

In both groups none of the subjects did not have obstructive slee

In both groups none of the subjects did not have obstructive sleep apnea.\n\nResults: The baseline and the peak levels of salivary melatonin in the extensive nasal polyposis group were significantly lower than in the control group (p<0.001). However, no differences were found in the acrophase and the peak duration of salivary melatonin between the study and control groups (p>0.05). The highest values of melatonin were recorded at 04:00h in both the study https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Staurosporine.html and control groups. The amplitude and the 24h mean levels of salivary cortisol in the extensive nasal polyposis

group were significantly lower than in the control group (p<0.001). The acrophase was delayed by about 8h in extensive nasal polyposis patients (p<0.001).\n\nConclusion: The circadian rhythms of salivary melatonin and cortisol were found to be disrupted

in patients with extensive nasal polyposis. These results may be applicable as therapeutic tools in the future and melatonin drugs might be useful in the therapy of nasal polyposis like cortisol drugs. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“The interaction of ilaprazole (IPZ), ilaprazole sulfone (IPZO) and ilaprazole sulfide (IPZI) with bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the effect of IPZO and IPZI on the interaction CDK inhibitor of IPZ with BSA have been investigated by fluorescence, synchronous fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and circular

dichroism (CD). The results indicated that IPZ, IPZO and IPZI had a strong ability to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA, and the binding affinities were significantly affected by structures in the order IPZ > IPZO > IPZI, while the van der Waals force and hydrogen bond played major roles in their binding with BSA. The analysis of synchronous fluorescence, FT-IR and CD spectra showed the change in secondary structure of BSA upon interaction with IPZ, IPZO or IPZI. Site marker competitive experiments indicated that their binding to BSA primarily took place in subdomain IIA. The presence of IPZO and Selleckchem LOXO-101 IPZI decreased the quenching constants of IPZ with BSA by about 68.4% and 95.1%, respectively, which possibly resulted from the existence of competitive binding between IPZ and its metabolites with BSA. However, IPZO and IPZI did not change the quenching mechanism of IPZ with BSA, while all the fluorescence quenching was initiated by static quenching procedure combined with non-radiative energy transfer. Our results may have relevant insight into IPZ’s bioavailability and efficacy affected by its metabolites. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


“Alleles at the TPOX SIR locus have 6-14 different


“Alleles at the TPOX SIR locus have 6-14 different

numbers of a four-nucleotide (AATG) repeat motif arranged in tandem. Although tri-allelic genotypes are generally rare, the TPOX tri-allelic pattern has a higher frequency, varying widely among populations. Despite this, there are few accurate reports to disclose the nature of the TPOX third allele. In this work we present data obtained from 45 individuals belonging to the same pedigree, in which there are cases of tri-allelic TPOX genotypes. The subjects were apparently healthy with a normal biological development. Quisinostat cell line We noticed six tri-allelic cases in this family, and all of them were women. Karyotype analysis showed no occurrence of partial 2p trisomy. All the tri-allelic cases had the genotype 8-10-11, probably due to three copies of the TPOX SIR sequence in all cells (Type 2 tri-allelic pattern). Based on previous

data we assumed the allele 10 as the TPOX third allele. The pedigree analyses show evidences that the TPOX extra-allele was the allele10, it is placed far buy MDV3100 from the main TPOX locus, and that there is a potential linkage of the TPOX extra-allele-10 with Xq. This was the first study that included a large pedigree analysis in order to understand the nature TPOX tri-allelic pattern. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Resistant arterial hypertension in chronic hemodialysis patients is still a therapeutical challenge despite the development of modern antihypertensive drugs and dialysis procedures. Bilateral nephrectomy seems to be a forgotten option, although it has given good results. We present a case of a 39-year-old female chronic hemodialysis patient, in whom the problem of uncontrolled renal parenchymal hypertension remained despite

multiple drug therapy and the ultrafiltration intensification. The problem was solved by bilateral nephrectomy. We discuss the role of bilateral nephrectomy for arterial hypertension control in chronic hemodialysis patients and the surgical and non-surgical options Epigenetic pathway inhibitor of nephrectomy. (C) 2014 Association Societe de nephrologie. Publie par Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits reserves.”
“The antifungal activity of Streptomyces griseorubens E44G against Rhizoctonia solani, the causal agent of root rot disease of corn, was investigated. The mycelial growth of R. solani was inhibited by S. griseorubens E44G, indicating that it has an antifungal potential. The antagonist, S. griseorubens E44G, was detected to have proteolytic activity, using the method of casein hydrolysis. Moreover, the protease production was optimized under submerged conditions. The purification and precipitation of protease were achieved by ammonium sulphate and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography. Protease activity was detected spectrophotometrically based on the production of tyrosine. The molecular weight of the enzyme (35 kDa) was determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis .