Compatible solutes determine the heat resistance of conidia.

Background: Asexually developed fungal spores (conidia) are key for the massive proliferation and dispersal of filamentous fungi. Germination of conidia and subsequent formation of a mycelium network give rise to many societal problems related to human and animal fungal diseases, post-harvest food spoilage, loss of harvest caused by plant-pathogenic fungi and moulding of buildings. Conidia are highly stress resistant compared to the vegetative mycelium and therefore even more difficult to tackle.

Angiopoietin-like 3-derivative LNA043 for cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis: a randomized phase 1 trial.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, debilitating, chronic disease with no disease-modifying drug approved to date. We discovered LNA043-a derivative of angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3)-as a potent chondrogenesis inducer using a phenotypic screen with human mesenchymal stem cells. We show that LNA043 promotes chondrogenesis and cartilage matrix synthesis in vitro and regenerates hyaline articular cartilage in preclinical OA and cartilage injury models in vivo.

Resource sharing is sufficient for the emergence of division of labour.

Division of labour occurs in a broad range of organisms. Yet, how division of labour can emerge in the absence of pre-existing interindividual differences is poorly understood. Using a simple but realistic model, we show that in a group of initially identical individuals, division of labour emerges spontaneously if returning foragers share part of their resources with other group members.

Phase 1 study of the E-selectin inhibitor GMI 1070 in patients with sickle cell anemia.

Background: Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder of hemoglobin that leads to a variety of acute and chronic complications. Abnormal cellular adhesion, mediated in part by selectins, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of the vaso-occlusion seen in sickle cell anemia, and selectin inhibition was able to restore blood flow in a mouse model of sickle cell disease.

Methods: We performed a Phase 1 study of the selectin inhibitor GMI 1070 in patients with sickle cell anemia.

Efficacy, dose reduction, and resistance to high-dose fluticasone in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis.

Background & Aims: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of high-dose swallowed fluticasone propionate (FP) and dose reduction in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and analyzed esophageal transcriptomes to identify mechanisms.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, multisite, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of daily 1760 mcg FP in participants age 3-30 years with active EoE. Twenty-eight participants received FP, and 14 participants received placebo.

Dynamics of a domain wall and spin-wave excitations driven by a mesoscopic current.

The dynamics of a domain wall driven by a spin-polarized current in a mesoscopic system is studied numerically. Spin mixing in the states of the conduction electrons is fully taken into account. When the Fermi energy of the electrons is larger than the exchange energy (E(F) > J(sd)), the spin precession induces spin-wave excitations in the local spins which contribute towards the displacement of the domain wall.