Self-association of proteins is strongly affected by long-range electrostatic interactions caused by equilibrium adsorption of small ions such as protons and multivalent metals. By affecting the molecular net charge, solution pH is thus a widely used parameter to tune stability and phase behavior of proteins. We here review recent studies where the charge distribution is perturbed not only by prot

Physiological studies on olfaction frequently ignore the airborne quantities of stimuli reaching the sensory organ. We used a gas chromatography-calibrated photoionization detector to estimate quantities released from standard Pasteur pipette stimulus cartridges during repeated puffing of 27 compounds and verified how lack of quantification could obscure olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) affinities.

The aim of this study was to describe and elucidate patient experiences of autonomy in an intensive care context from a caring perspective.

The present study aimed at describing older persons' experiences of outdoor environments at nursing homes in Sweden in terms of what factors are important and in what way they are important. Twelve residents and seven next of kin from three nursing homes participated in 16 interviews. Two main themes were identified. The first theme, access to nature and surrounding life, describes the outdoor env

In this work, the intrinsic performance of InAs nanowire transistors is evaluated in the ballistic limit. A self-consistent Schrodinger-Poisson solver is utilized in the cylindrical geometry, while accounting for conduction band non-parabolicity. The transistor characteristics are derived from simulations of ballistic transport within the nanowire. Using this approach, the performance is calculate

Background: There is much interest in how the Amazon rainforest may respond to future rainfall reduction. However, there are relatively few ecosystem-scale studies to inform this debate. Aims: We described the carbon cycle in a 1 ha rainforest plot subjected to 8-10 consecutive years of ca. 50% through-fall reduction (TFR) and compare these results with those from a nearby, unmodified control plot

P>An alignment of upstream regions of anaerobically induced genes in Staphylococcus aureus revealed the presence of an inverted repeat, corresponding to Rex binding sites in Streptomyces coelicolor. Gel shift experiments of selected upstream regions demonstrated that the redox-sensing regulator Rex of S. aureus binds to this inverted repeat. The binding sequence - TTGTGAAW(4)TTCACAA - is highly co

Populations that undergo a process of rapid evolution present excellent opportunities to investigate the mechanisms driving or restraining adaptive divergence. The genetic variance-covariance matrix (G) is often considered to constrain adaptation but little is known about its potential to evolve during phenotypic divergence. We compared the G-matrices of ancestral and recently established ecotype

The practices around genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer in one major counselling centre in Austria are at the core of this article. Our study investigates how people undergoing genetic testing try to make sense of this experience that is perceived to be new and uncommon in Austria and that is thus taking place in a setting not validated through public insurance support and is

Old age is associated with an enhanced susceptibility to stroke and poor recovery from brain injury, but the cellular processes underlying these phenomena are only partly understood. Therefore, studying the basic mechanisms underlying structural and functional recovery after brain injury in aged subjects is of considerable clinical interest. Behavioral and cytological analyses of rodents that have

SufA, which belongs to the subtilisin-like serine protease family, contains a non-canonical Asp-His-Ser catalytic triad. Under in vitro conditions, SufA is capable of human fibrinogen hydrolysis leading to inhibition of fibrin network formation, thus suggesting its important role in the development and progression of Finegoldia magna infections. In addition, it has been demonstrated that SufA can

Heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of Al2O3/water and MWCNT/water nanofluids flowing in a chevron-type plate heat exchanger were experimentally investigated and compared with those of water. Results showed that heat transfer seemed to be improved by using nanofluids at constant Reynolds number. However, little heat transfer enhancement was observed based on a constant flow velocity. T

Abstract Lymphoedema treatment outcome can be evaluated by calculating estimated limb volumes directly by water displacement (plethysmography; PG), or indirectly by circumference measurements (CM) and using the formula for a truncated cone. This study assessed the correlation between PG and circumference volume measurements to assess whether the correlation is acceptable, and if circumference meas

The harmful effects of cyanotoxins in surface waters have led to increasing demands for accurate early warning methods. This study proposes a capacitive immunosensor for broad-spectrum detection of the group of toxic cyclic peptides called microcystins (∼80 congeners) at very low concentration levels. The novel analytical platform offers significant advances compared to the existing methods. Monoc

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are used to deliver potentially therapeutic genes in clinical trials in Parkinson's disease (PD). Pre-existing immunity to AAV and a local neuroinflammatory response might negatively affect the efficacy of such AAV-mediated gene delivery.

Because music holds a strong power over people, and its impact on consumers is relatively direct, it is invariably an interesting medium for marketers. Although Sonic Branding – branding with music and sound – has been seen as ’the next big thing’ in branding toward consumers for about a decade, it is a scattered field still waiting for its breakthrough. Addressing this problem, the present consum

A concept that lies at the heart of political rhetoric is that of ‘workfare’. The issue, however, is what types of arguments have been invoked to assert the value of the concept. During the 1960s and 1970s, extensive criticism emerged towards a working life that was said to hinder women’s emancipation; a working life that wasted resources and had a negative impact on the environment; a working lif

The present response time study investigated how a hypothesized time-based working memory constraint of 2–3 s affects the resolution of grammatical and semantic dependencies. Congruent and incongruent object relative (OR) and subject relative sentences were read at different presentation rates so that the distance between dependent words was either shorter or longer than 2–3 s. Incongruent OR sent

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a hormone with regulatory effects on mineral metabolism and arterial calcification. We aimed to study the association between FGF23 and risk of incident subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in a nested case-control study.