The sensitivity and specificity of the mannitol bronchial challenge test to identify asthma in different populations: a systematic review.

Objective: Asthma is associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness, assessed by bronchial provocation tests such as the mannitol test. We aimed to assess the data on sensitivity and specificity of the mannitol test in diagnosing asthma.

Data Sources: We searched electronically the Medline, Embase and Central databases from 1997 to 2019.

Supramolecular organization of the main photosynthetic antenna complex LHCII: a monomolecular layer study.

The light-harvesting pigment-protein complex LHCII is a main antenna complex of the photosynthetic apparatus of plants, responsible for collecting light energy and also for photoprotection against overexcitation-induced damage. Realization of both functions depends on molecular organization of the complex. Monolayer technique has been applied to address the problem of supramolecular organization of LHCII.

Microstructured bioreactive surfaces: covalent immobilization of proteins on Au(1 1 1)/silicon via aminoreactive alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers.

Micrometer-scale patterns of a defined surface chemistry and structure were produced on both ultraflat Au(1 1 1) and on gold-coated monocrystalline silicon surfaces by a method combining microcontact printing, wet chemical etching and the replacement of etch-resist self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) by functionalized or reactive SAMs. Key steps in this methodology were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ellipsometry and contact angle measurements. The covalent immobilization of (functional) biological systems on these surfaces was tested using an N-hydroxysuccinimide ester omega-functionalized disulphide (DSU), which covalently binds primary amines without the need for further activation steps.

Organization of antibiotic amphotericin B in model lipid membranes. A mini review.

Amphotericin B (AmB) is a polyene antibiotic frequently applied in the treatment of fungal infections. According to the general understanding, the mode of action of AmB is directly related to the molecular organization of the drug in the lipid environment, in particular to the formation of pore-like molecular aggregates. Electronic absorption and fluorescence techniques were applied to investigate formation of molecular aggregates of AmB in the lipid environment of liposomes and monomolecular layers formed at the argon-water interface.

Polyene antibiotic amphotericin B in monomolecular layers: spectrophotometric and scanning force microscopic analysis.

Monolayers of amphotericin B (AmB) and monolayers composed of AmB and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were formed at the argon-water interface and deposited on a solid support by means of the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The hypsochromic shift observed in the absorption spectra of monolayers is indicative of aggregated structures of AmB. The exciton splitting theory allowed us to calculate the distance between neighboring molecules in the aggregates as 7.