Specificity and versatility in cyclic AMP (cAMP) signalling are governed by the spatial localisation and temporal dynamics of the signal. Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are important for shaping cAMP signals by hydrolyzing the nucleotide. In pancreatic beta-cells, glucose triggers sub-plasma-membrane cAMP oscillations, which are important for insulin secretion, but the mechanisms underlying the oscilla

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the validity over time of the fingertip-to-floor test (FTF) and the straight leg raising test (SLR) using the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and correlation coefficient (r), and to assess the predictive value of factors related to the change in RMDQ over 12 months using multivariate regression analysis. DESIGN: Longitudinal study. SETTING: Outpatient

This study investigates strategic voting for small parties in proportional representation systems, in previous work sometimes referred to as threshold insurance voting (Cox, 1997). Starting from theories of rational voting (Downs, 1957), three conditions for threshold insurance voting are developed: the voter considers potential government outcomes, votes for a party at risk of falling below an el

Three new species of Achrysocharoides are described, one from northern Europe, A. platanoidae sp. nov., one from central Europe and the U. S. A., A. robiniae sp. nov., and one from the U. S. A., A. robinicolus sp. nov. The descriptions are based on material reared from microlepidopterans of the genus Phyllonorycter Hubner (Gracillariidae): A. platanoidae from P. platanoidella (Joannis) on Acer pla

Structural chromosome rearrangements may result in the exchange of coding or regulatory DNA sequences between genes. Many such gene fusions are strong driver mutations in neoplasia and have provided fundamental insights into the disease mechanisms that are involved in tumorigenesis. The close association between the type of gene fusion and the tumour phenotype makes gene fusions ideal for diagnost

3C protease of Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) plays an essential role in the viral replication cycle, and therefore, emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of human diseases caused by CVB3 infection. In this study, we report the first account of the molecular impact of the T68A/N126Y double mutant (MutantBound) using an integrated computational approach. Molecular dynamics simulat

Biorefining of crops for production of power, transport fuels, and a diverse array of chemicals has potential for providing significant added economic value to biomass. A shift in the industrial resource base from fossil resources to biomass also requires a shift in the technology base for producing, handling, and processing of raw materials. Biotechnology will play an important role in providing

The morphogenesis of organs necessarily involves mechanical interactions and changes in mechanical properties of a tissue. A long standing question is how such changes are directed on a cellular scale while being coordinated at a tissular scale. Growing evidence suggests that mechanical cues are participating in the control of growth and morphogenesis during development. We introduce a mechanical

Context. Development of safety-critical systems is mostly governed by process-heavy paradigms, while increasing demands on flexibility and agility also reach this domain. Objectives. We wanted to explore in more detail the industrial needs and challenges when facing this trend. Method. We launched a qualitative survey, interviewing engineers from four companies in four different industry domains.

Topological insulators are a class of quantum materials in which time-reversal symmetry, relativistic effects and an inverted band structure result in the occurrence of electronic metallic states on the surfaces of insulating bulk crystals. These helical states exhibit a Dirac-like energy dispersion across the bulk bandgap, and they are topologically protected. Recent theoretical results have sugg

We show how one can back out implied forward volatility term structures from credit default swap spreads. Such forward stock volatility term structures are useful for instance in forward start option pricing. We find the term structure to be downward-sloping, and the credit market's volatility forecasts tend to vary more across time than across maturities. Long-term volatility expectations, in tur

The finger grip and the palm grip are the most common needle holder grips for hand suturing in surgery. The major advantages of the palm grip are an increased versatility and the possibility to apply controlled force. However, there is a risk for a potential loss of precision and uncontrolled movement of the needle when disengaging the ratchet mechanism of the palmed instrument. The purpose of thi

Introduction. Both short and long sleep duration may increase risk of type 2 diabetes (diabetes). We studied if short and long sleep durations were associated with insulin resistance (IR) and insulin secretion in individuals without diabetes, and if the associations remained after we excluded individuals who reported more frequent and severe complaints of sleep apnea and insomnia. Participants and

Light harvesting by photosynthetic organisms is nature’s way to use solar energy for biomass growth. The process starts with light absorption in so-called antenna pigments, and is followed by transfer of the excited-state energy to reaction center proteins, where the energy is converted to an electrochemical gradient across the photosynthetic membrane (1). This potential is used to drive all energ

In order to determine the cardioprotective efficacy of acute reperfusion therapy, assessed as myocardial salvage, in patients with acute coronary occlusion, the final myocardial infarct (MI) size needs to be related to the amount of ischemic myocardium during coronary occlusion, referred to as the myocardium at risk (MaR). There are currently several imaging approaches available for quantification

Species with a large adult-offspring size ratio and a preferred predator-prey mass ratio undergo ontogenetic trophic niche shift(s) throughout life. Trophic interactions between such species vary throughout life, resulting in different species-level interaction motifs depending on the maximum adult sizes and population size distributions. We explore the assembly and potential for coexistence of sm

The first experimental and theoretical evidence of the surface-catalyzed reaction of p,p'-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) produced from para-aminothiophenol (PATP) by local surface plasmons was reported in 2010, and since that time a series of investigations have supported these findings using different experimental and theoretical methods. Recent work has also found that local plasmons can drive a su

Why does the rate of population growth decline in the face of economic growth? We show that growing product variety may induce a permanent reduction in the demand for children and a continuous rise in income and consumption. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.