Origins of Life: The Protein Folding Problem all over again?

How did specific useful protein sequences arise from simpler molecules at the origin of life? This seemingly needle-in-a-haystack problem has remarkably close resemblance to the old Protein Folding Problem, for which the solution is now known from statistical physics. Based on the logic that Origins must have come only after there was an operative evolution mechanism-which selects on phenotype, not genotype-we give a perspective that proteins and their folding processes are likely to have been the primary driver of the early stages of the origin of life.

The prebiotic emergence of biological evolution.

The origin of life must have been preceded by Darwin-like evolutionary dynamics that could propagate it. How did that adaptive dynamics arise? And from what prebiotic molecules? Using evolutionary invasion analysis, we develop a universal framework for describing any origin story for evolutionary dynamics. We find that autocatalysts, i.

Evaluation of the health-related quality of life in dogs following intracranial meningioma resection using a specifically developed questionnaire.

As advanced treatments are becoming increasingly feasible in veterinary medicine, the evaluation of the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of treated animals is becoming more relevant. We evaluated owner-perceived HRQOL of 10 dogs that underwent craniotomy for meningioma resection between 2002 and 2022 at our institution through telephone interview. For this purpose, we developed a disease-specific questionnaire containing 52 items (mostly of scoring nature) patterned after previously validated instruments and organised into eight domains.

First Dark Matter Search Results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment.

The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment is a dark matter detector centered on a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. This Letter reports results from LUX-ZEPLIN's first search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with an exposure of 60 live days using a fiducial mass of 5.5 t.

Origins of life: first came evolutionary dynamics.

When life arose from prebiotic molecules 3.5 billion years ago, what came first? Informational molecules (RNA, DNA), functional ones (proteins), or something else? We argue here for a different logic: rather than seeking a , we seek a Biology required an ability to evolve before it could choose and optimise materials. We hypothesise that the was rooted in the Modelling shows how short random peptides can collapse in water and catalyse the elongation of others, powering both increased folding stability and emergent autocatalysis through a disorder-to-order process.

Darwinian evolution as a dynamical principle.

Darwinian evolution (DE)-biology's powerful process of adaptation-is remarkably different from other known dynamical processes. It is antithermodynamic, driving away from equilibrium; it has persisted for 3.5 billion years; and its target, fitness, can seem like "Just So" stories.

Molecular Characterization by Multilocus Sequence Typing and Diversity Analysis of in Peru.

Despite several reports worldwide documenting the presence of in samples derived from ectoparasites, animals and more recently humans, genomic information of these specimens remains scarce, and when available, is usually limited to small genomic fragments of limited value. We generated complete sequences for two conserved (17-kDa antigen gene and ) and three variable (, and ) genes in five DNA samples detected in cat and dog fleas in Peru. Complete gene sequences were used to conduct multi-locus sequence typing and phylogenetic analyses to assess diversity and infer relationships among strains and other reference sequences.

Impact of an electronic alert on prescription patterns of meropenem, voriconazole and caspofungin.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs promote the appropriate use of antimicrobial substances through the implementation of evidence-based, active and passive interventions. We analyzed the effect of a computer-assisted intervention on antimicrobial use in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: Between 2011 and 2016 we introduced an electronic alert for patients being prescribed meropenem, voriconazole and caspofungin.

Nanoscale Catalyst Chemotaxis Can Drive the Assembly of Functional Pathways.

Recent experiments demonstrate molecular chemotaxis or altered diffusion rates of enzymes in the presence of their own substrates. We show here an important implication, namely, that if a nanoscale catalyst A produces a small-molecule ligand product L which is the substrate of another catalyst B, the two catalysts will attract each other. We explore this nonequilibrium producer recruitment force (ProRec) in a reaction-diffusion model.

Vitamin D Status in Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study.

Vitamin D has been claimed to be effective in the response to infections, including the respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is supposed that lockdown measures and fear of SARS-CoV-2 infection might reduce vitamin D levels through the modification of lifestyle. However, very few data exist on the association between lockdown measures and vitamin D status in humans.

Feasibility of feeding Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on dengue virus-infected human volunteers for vector competence studies in Iquitos, Peru.

Background: Transmission of dengue virus (DENV) from humans to mosquitoes represents a critical component of dengue epidemiology. Examinations of this process have generally been hampered by a lack of methods that adequately represent natural acquisition of DENV by mosquitoes from humans. In this study, we assessed artificial and natural blood feeding methods based on rates of DENV infection and dissemination within mosquitoes for use in a field-based epidemiological cohort study in Iquitos, Peru.

Rickettsia asembonensis Characterization by Multilocus Sequence Typing of Complete Genes, Peru.

While studying rickettsial infections in Peru, we detected Rickettsia asembonensis in fleas from domestic animals. We characterized 5 complete genomic regions (17kDa, gltA, ompA, ompB, and sca4) and conducted multilocus sequence typing and phylogenetic analyses. The molecular isolate from Peru is distinct from the original R.

Serologic Evidence of Scrub Typhus in the Peruvian Amazon.

Using a large, passive, febrile surveillance program in Iquitos, Peru, we retrospectively tested human blood specimens for scrub typhus group orientiae by ELISA, immunofluorescence assay, and PCR. Of 1,124 participants, 60 (5.3%) were seropositive, and 1 showed evidence of recent active infection.

Sexual dimorphism in obesity-related genes in the epicardial fat during aging.

Aging increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Alterations in epicardial fat play an important pathophysiological role in coronary artery disease and hypertension. We investigated the impact of normal aging on obesity-related genes in epicardial fat.

Stimulated Raman scattering microscopy by Nyquist modulation of a two-branch ultrafast fiber source.

A highly stable setup for stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is presented. It is based on a two-branch femtosecond Er:fiber laser operating at a 40 MHz repetition rate. One of the outputs is directly modulated at the Nyquist frequency with an integrated electro-optic modulator (EOM).

Rickettsial Disease in the Peruvian Amazon Basin.

Using a large, passive, clinic-based surveillance program in Iquitos, Peru, we characterized the prevalence of rickettsial infections among undifferentiated febrile cases and obtained evidence of pathogen transmission in potential domestic reservoir contacts and their ectoparasites. Blood specimens from humans and animals were assayed for spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) and typhus group rickettsiae (TGR) by ELISA and/or PCR; ectoparasites were screened by PCR. Logistic regression was used to determine associations between patient history, demographic characteristics of participants and symptoms, clinical findings and outcome of rickettsial infection.

The effects of work-reinforcer schedules on skill acquisition for children with autism.

This study evaluated the effects of continuous and discontinuous work-reinforcer schedule arrangements on skill acquisition for three students with autism. Participants were initially exposed to both schedules in an alternating schedules condition where they were taught different but equivalent skills for each schedule. In the discontinuous schedule condition, participants completed work in small increments to gain access to a reinforcer for short periods of time.

Cloned tomato golden mosaic virus back in tomatoes.

Clones of tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV), a key model for geminivirus research, have been transmitted back to their original host tomato for the first time. In contrast to the high pathogenicity in other solanaceous species, TGMV induced only very mild symptoms: a few chlorotic spots on the leaf lamina for the common variant (formerly strain cs), and limited vein yellowing for the yellow vein variant (yv). Symptoms disappeared over time, though viral DNA remained detectable in newly developed leaves.

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.

The reported prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) in Switzerland for the years 2008-2010 has been low at <5%. At the University Hospital Zurich, 17 cases of VRE were detected between 28 December 2009 and 15 February 2010. Nine cases were diagnosed clinically; eight cases were detected by rectal screening.

Skin lesions, malaise, and heart failure in a renal transplant recipient.

A male Caucasian patient developed nodular erythematous skin lesions, malaise, and clinical signs of progressive heart failure 4 months after renal transplantation. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage performed for a small infiltrate seen on a computed tomography scan revealed Trypanosoma, which had at this point not been suspected as a cause. Parasitemia was present, and reactivation rather than transmission of Chagas' disease was established by performing polymerase chain reaction and serology in the donor and recipient.

RNA viruses and their silencing suppressors boost Abutilon mosaic virus, but not the Old World Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus.

Mixed viral infections can induce different changes in symptom development, genome accumulation and tissue tropism. These issues were investigated for two phloem-limited begomoviruses, Abutilon mosaic virus (AbMV) and Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus (TYLCSV) in Nicotiana benthamiana plants doubly infected by either the potyvirus Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV) or the tombusvirus Artichoke mottled crinkle virus (AMCV). Both RNA viruses induced an increase of the amount of AbMV, led to its occasional egress from the phloem and induced symptom aggravation, while the amount and tissue tropism of TYLCSV were almost unaffected.

A case study of female genital tuberculosis in a Western European setting.

We have studied five women with genital tuberculosis (TB), which is an uncommon disease in Western European countries. However, young women that have emigrated from a country with high TB-prevalence and have complaints of unexplained infertility and nonspecific abdominal or pelvic symptoms should be checked for this disease. Because genital tuberculosis frequently causes infertility, early diagnosis and treatment are crucial, necessitating rapid microscopic, histological, and microbiological (culture) testing in suspected cases.

Expression dynamics and ultrastructural localization of epitope-tagged Abutilon mosaic virus nuclear shuttle and movement proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana cells.

The geminivirus Abutilon mosaic virus (AbMV) encodes two proteins which are essential for viral spread within plants. The nuclear shuttle protein (NSP) transfers viral DNA between the nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas the movement protein (MP) facilitates transport between cells through plasmodesmata and long-distance via phloem. An inducible overexpression system for epitope-tagged NSP and MP in plants yielded unprecedented amounts of both proteins.