Publications by authors named "M Lerch"

: Brain cancer is notoriously resistant to traditional treatments, including radiotherapy. Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT), arrays of ultra-fast synchrotron X-ray beams tens of micrometres wide (called peaks) and spaced hundreds of micrometres apart (valleys), is an effective alternative to conventional treatments. MRT's advantage is that normal tissues can be spared from harm whilst maintaining tumour control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ambidirectionality, which is the ability of structural elements to move beyond a reference state in two opposite directions, is common in nature. However, conventional soft materials are typically limited to a single, unidirectional deformation unless complex hybrid constructs are used. We exploited the combination of mesogen self-assembly, polymer chain elasticity, and polymerization-induced stress to design liquid crystalline elastomers that exhibit two mesophases: chevron smectic C (cSmC) and smectic A (SmA).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Site-directed spin labeling electron paramagnetic resonance (SDSL-EPR) using nitroxide spin labels is a well-established technology for mapping site-specific secondary and tertiary structure and for monitoring conformational changes in proteins of any degree of complexity, including membrane proteins, with high sensitivity. SDSL-EPR also provides information on protein dynamics in the timescale of ps-μs using continuous wave lineshape analysis and spin lattice relaxation time methods. However, the functionally important time domain of μs-ms, corresponding to large-scale protein motions, is inaccessible to those methods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Diet plays a significant role in metabolic syndrome (MetS), with a focus on both dietary diversity and quality being essential for obesity prevention and metabolic health.
  • Data from a study involving 6,753 individuals revealed that higher dietary diversity (DDS) is linked to a lower risk of MetS, while dietary quality (DQS) showed limited positive associations.
  • The findings suggest that while dietary diversity enhances gut microbiota diversity and leads to a healthier metabolic state, dietary quality may not be as influential, indicating that future dietary guidelines should prioritize a variety of foods over simply focusing on nutritional content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF