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When grown in liquid cultures allowing the formation of nematode traps, the fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora produced two extracellular proteases hydrolysing the chromogenic substrate Azocoll. The protease activity was separated into two fractions (FI and FII) using anion-exchange chromatography. In bioassays, protease(s) present in FII immobilized the free-living nematode Panagrellus redivivus indi

Knowledge of the atomic structure of biomolecules, such as proteins, is paramount to understanding their function and interactions in the human body. For example, knowledge of the atomic structure of a target protein is crucial for developing drugs that bind strongly to it and thus help cure diverse diseases.Macromolecular crystallography is the forefront method for determining the atomic structur

Sml1 is a small ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) regulatory protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that binds to and inhibits RNR activation. NMR studies of 15N-labeled Sml1 (104 residues), as well as of a truncated variant (residues 50−104), have allowed characterization of their molecular properties. Sml1 belongs to the class of intrinsically disordered proteins with a high degree of dynamics and ver

Genomes of eusocial insects code for dramatic examples of phenotypic plasticity and social organization. We compared the genomes of seven ants, the honeybee, and various solitary insects to examine whether eusocial lineages share distinct features of genomic organization. Each ant lineage contains ∼4000 novel genes, but only 64 of these genes are conserved among all seven ants. Many gene families

The role of plant phenology as a regulator for gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) in peatlands is empirically not well constrained. This is because proxies to track vegetation development with daily coverage at the ecosystem scale have only recently become available and the lack of such data has hampered the disentangling of biotic and abiotic effects. This study aimed at unraveling the mechanisms

Purpose: Western societies are currently facing major demographic changes, due to megatrends such as urbanization, ageing of the population, and migration. These disruptions placea lot of pressure on public services, and consequently on municipal facilities includingschools, day-care centres, and hospitals. The purpose of this study is to examine the potentialof modular facility solutions to respo

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is one of the leading causes of transfusion-related fatalities and is characterized by the onset of acute respiratory distress within 6 hours of a blood transfusion. There are no specific therapies available and the pathogenesis remains unclear. Pre-existing inflammation is a risk factor for TRALI and neutrophils (PMNs) are considered to be the major p

OBJECTIVE: Decision-making concerning the extent of the repair of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) includes functional and anatomical assessment of the aortic valve. We hypothesized that bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) does not impact outcome after surgery for ATAAD. We therefore evaluated the outcome after ATAAD surgery in relation to the presence of BAV, acute aortic regurgitation (AR), and su

Lesions in the gene encoding steroid 21-hydroxylase result in congenital adrenal hyperplasia, with impaired secretion of cortisol and aldosterone from the adrenal cortex and overproduction of androgens. A limited number of mutations account for the majority of mutated alleles, but additional rare mutations are responsible for the symptoms in some patients. A total of 11 missense mutations has prev

Some lactic acid bacteria, especially Lactobacillus spp., possess adhesive properties enabling colonization of the human gastrointestinal tract. Two probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum strains, WCSF1 and 299v, display highly different mannose-specific adhesion, with L. plantarum 299v being superior to L. plantarum WCFS1 based on a yeast agglutination assay. A straightforward correlation between the

Thirty tumors from metastatic breast cancer patients were screened for mutations in the estrogen receptor (ER) gene using single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequence analysis. Three missense mutations, Ser47Thr, Lys531Glu, and Tyr537Asn, were identified in these lesions. To investigate these mutated ERs or altered transcriptional activation function, expression vectors containing wild-typ

Background: It has been established that patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) often have co-existing asthma. Objective: We aimed to test two hypotheses: (i) upper and lower airway inflammation in CRSwNP is uniform in agreement with the united airways concept; and (ii) bronchial inflammation exists in all CRSwNP patients irrespective of clinical asthma status. Methods: We

The calcium antagonistic properties of (+)‐T‐cadinol, some of its stereoisomers and related terpenes were investigated in both functional and radioligand binding studies, and the effects were compared with those of the dihydropyridine calcium antagonist (±)‐nimodipine. In the isolated rat aorta, the terpenes relaxed contractions induced by 60 mM K+ more potently than those induced by phenylephrine

Definitions and understandings of disease are to a large extent culturally dependent, even if there are also biological components to this. While many medieval religious orders nursed an interest for science and knowledge in general, their approach to medicine was complicated by the complex attitude towards illness and the tending of the body within Christendom. Archaeological artifacts from Ciste

We review the ecological and socio-economic impacts of the catastrophic dam failure in Mariana, Brazil. Tailing management practices by Samarco mining company ultimately caused a dam breach that abruptly discharged between 55 and 62 million m3 of tailings into the Doce River watershed. On November 5th, 2015, a tsunami of slurry engulfed the small district of Bento Rodrigues, loading the Doce River

The “bivalent domain,” a distinctive histone modification signature, is characterized by repressive trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3) and active trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me3) marks. Maintenance and dynamic resolution of these histone marks play important roles in regulating differentiation processes i