Alpha-solenoids are a significant and diverse subset of structured tandem repeat proteins (STRPs) that are important in various domains of life. This review examines their structural and functional diversity and highlights their role in critical cellular processes such as signaling, apoptosis, and transcriptional regulation. Alpha-solenoids can be classified into three geometric folds: low curvature, high curvature, and corkscrew, as well as eight subfolds: ankyrin repeats; Huntingtin, elongation factor 3, protein phosphatase 2A, and target of rapamycin; armadillo repeats; tetratricopeptide repeats; pentatricopeptide repeats; Pumilio repeats; transcription activator-like; and Sel-1 and Sel-1-like repeats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomimetics (Basel)
August 2024
Sustainable development is increasingly driving the trend toward the application of biomimicry as a strategy to generate environmentally friendly solutions in the design of industrial products. Nature-inspired design can contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by improving efficiency and minimizing the environmental impact of each design. This research conducted an analysis of available biomimetic knowledge, highlighting the most applied tools and methodologies in each industrial sector.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the COVID-19 pandemic, behavioural scientists aimed to illuminate reasons why people comply with (or not) large-scale cooperative activities. Here we investigated the motives that underlie support for COVID-19 preventive behaviours in a sample of 12,758 individuals from 34 countries. We hypothesized that the associations of empathic prosocial concern and fear of disease with support towards preventive COVID-19 behaviours would be moderated by trust in the government.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh fat diets have been used as complementary treatments for seizure disorders for more than a century. Moreover, many fatty acids and derivatives, including the broad-spectrum antiseizure medication valproic acid, have been explored and used as pharmacological agents to treat epilepsy. In this work, we have explored the anticonvulsant potential of a large library of fatty acids and fatty acid derivatives, the LIPID MAPS Structure Database, using structure-based virtual screening to assess their ability to block the voltage-gated sodium channel 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: to identify the perception of professional empowerment among midwives in selected Latin American countries (LA). Specifically, this study aimed to compare i) the global level of empowerment among midwives in different LA countries, ii) the scores according to the different dimensions of the scale, and iii) scores according to area the of expertise.
Design: A quantitative, observational, analytical, cross-sectional and multisite study using an adaptation of the Perceptions Midwifery Empowerment Scale (PEMS).