By changing the three-dimensional structure, a protein can attain new functions, distinct from those of the native protein. Amyloid-forming proteins are one example, in which conformational change may lead to fibril formation and, in many cases, neurodegenerative disease. We have proposed that partial unfolding provides a mechanism to generate new and useful functional variants from a given polype

The aim of this article is to introduce an integrative and more comprehensive approach to understanding and measuring perceived housing in old age. First, four conceptual domains of subjective housing were introduced, based on the assumption that each of the domains brings a unique perspective to the understanding of perceived housing: housing satisfaction, usability in the home, meaning of home a

Samples from the Boda Limestone and immediately overlying strata at Osmundsberget in de Siljan region have produced an excellent Hirnantian isotope excursion (HICE) curve, in which the excursion interval is about 22 m thick and the HICE reaches maximum delta C-13 values of between +5 parts per thousand and +6 parts per thousand. Both the HA and HB stratigraphic unconformities are recognized in the

[1] A unified scheme to assign pollen samples to vegetation types was used to reconstruct vegetation patterns north of 55degreesN at the last glacial maximum (LGM) and mid-Holocene (6000 years B. P.). The pollen data set assembled for this purpose represents a comprehensive compilation based on the work of many projects and research groups. Five tundra types (cushion forb tundra, graminoid and for

Objective: The precision of sound frequency discrimination in newborn infants in the 250-4000-Hz frequency range was determined using the neonatal electrophysiological mismatch response (MMR), the infant equivalent of adult mismatch negativity (MMN). Methods: The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in I 1 full-term sleeping newborn infants mostly in active sleep (67 % of the time). Pure tones

The two-photon spectrum of the 2(1)A(g)-->1(1)A(g) transition in trans-stilbene has been calculated at the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) level of theory. Energies were obtained at the complete active space second-order perturbation (CASPT2) level of theory, while the geometries of both the initial and final states were optimized at the CASSCF level. The energy and the geomet

A new heterosporous fern species, Azolla boliviensis sp. nov., is described from latest Maastrichtian (latest Cretaceous) to Paleocene (earliest Palaeogene) terrestrial sediments of the Eslabon and Flora Formations. Subandean belt, Bolivia. The species is represented by dissociated but abundantly co-preserved megasporocarps, megaspores, microsporangia, massulae and microspores. The genus consisten

The aims of this study were to analyse (1) whether informal care, provided by children or grandchildren to their elderly parents, and formal care are substitutes or complements, and (2) whether this relationship differs across Europe. The analyses Were based on cross-sectional data from the newly developed SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe) database. We found (1) that infor

Two studies investigated how decision makers characterize alternatives in important real-life decisions, which they themselves had made (to leave a partner, to choose an education and to choose a home). First, the participants indicated a very high degree of involvement in the decisions studied and about half of the participants gave maximum involvement ratings for the partner decision. Second, th

PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of smoking on the development of radiation-induced pneumonitis in patients treated for breast and oesophagus cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study on 405 females diagnosed with primary unilateral breast cancer stages 1 and 2 and 201 oesophagus carcinoma patients. The possibilities in Sweden to obtain detailed information from different m

The coastal zone of Norrbotten, northern Sweden, was gradually inundated by the Ancylus Lake following the retreating ice margin and forming a highest coastline approximately 210 m above the present sea level. The succeeding shore displacement is reconstructed based on lithological investigations and radiocarbon datings of identified isolation sequences from 12 cored lake basins. The highest lake

We consider the origin of the anomalously high intensity of theultraviolet Fe II lambda 2507/2509 A lines observed with high spatialand spectral resolutions from gas blobs (GBs) near Carinae. This rareeffect in stellar spectra is attributable to a combination of severalfactors: (1) the high hydrogen density (>10^{8} cm^{-3}) that ensuresthe blocking of the Lyman continuum by GBs and, accordingly,

Exposure of the skin to certain phenols or catechols such as 4-tert-butylphenol (TBP) and 4-tert-butylcatechol (TBC) may cause leukoderma. These substances are used in the polymer industry and numerous cases have been reported. Several theories of the mechanism for chemical leukoderma have been suggested. In the present study, TBP and TBC are shown to be oxidised by tyrosinase. The oxidation of TB

The capacity of regenerating nerve fibres to grow through a perforated silicon chip was tested using the silicone chamber model for nerve regeneration. The chips were fabricated as circular membranes, 4 mm in diameter, thickness 60 microns, with a perforated area, 2 mm in diameter, in the centre. Three types of chips were fabricated utilizing anisotropic etching. The chips were glued with silicone

Background: Among patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction, those with terminal QRS distortion (grade 3 ischemia) have higher mortality and larger infarct size (IS) than patients without QRS distortion (grade 2 ischemia). Methods: We assessed the relation of baseline electrocardiographic ischemia grades to area at risk (AR) and myocardial salvage [100 (AR - IS)/AR] in 79 patients who

Protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms are central components in intracellular networks that regulate a vast number of cellular processes. It has long been known that in most cell types, one or more PKC isoforms influences the morphology of the F-actin cytoskeleton and thereby regulates processes that are affected by remodelling of the microfilaments. These include cellular migration and neurite outgrowt

The protective effect of marriage on smoking has been extensively established in the literature. However, less is known about the dynamics of how smoking behaviour is connected to various marital life course events, and whether there are any gender discrepancies in this respect. In this article the connection between the marital life course and smoking is analysed from a stress-related perspective