Early neurological and motor function in infants born moderate to late preterm or small for gestational age at term: a prospective cohort study.

Background: There are inconsistent findings regarding neurological and motor development in infants born moderate to late preterm and infants born small for gestational age at term. The primary aim of this study was to compare neurological and motor function between preterm, term SGA and term AGA infants aged three to seven months corrected age using several common assessment tools. The secondary aim was to investigate their motor function at two years.

Lower iron stores were associated with suboptimal gross motor scores in infants at 3-7 months.

Aim: To investigate associations between iron status and gross motor scores in infants aged 3-7 months.

Methods: In a prospective study, 252 infants aged 3-7 months were examined using the age-standardised Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) prior to analysing iron status in 250 infants. Combined AIMS and ferritin results were assessed in 226 infants, whereas AIMS and reticulocyte haemoglobin (ret-Hb) results were obtained for 61 infants.

Magnetophotoselection in the Investigation of Excitonically Coupled Chromophores: The Case of the Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein.

A magnetophotoselection (MPS) investigation of the photoexcited triplet state of chlorophyll both in a frozen organic solvent and in a protein environment, provided by the water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) of , is reported. The MPS experiment combines the photoselection achieved by exciting with linearly polarized light with the magnetic selection of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, allowing the determination of the relative orientation of the optical transition dipole moment and the zero-field splitting tensor axes in both environments. We demonstrate the robustness of the proposed methodology for a quantitative description of the excitonic interactions among pigments.

Reference Material for Hammersmith Infant Neurologic Examination Scores Based on Healthy, Term Infants Age 3-7 Months.

Objective: To provide a valid, continuous reference interval, including a 10th percentile cut-off, for Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) scores based on 3- to 7-month-old term infants with weight appropriate for gestational age.

Study Design: In a prospective study, we examined 168 Norwegian infants at one timepoint with HINE at 3-7 months of age. In 134 of these infants Ages and Stages Questionnaire was completed by their parents at 2 years of age to ensure typical motor development.

The prevalence and clinical relevance of hyperhomocysteinemia suggesting vitamin B12 deficiency in presumed healthy infants.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of biochemical vitamin B12 deficiency in infants in Norway. Increased total homocysteine (tHcy) is the most important marker of B12 deficiency in infants. There is a need to evaluate its clinical relevance.

The Odorant-Binding Proteins of the Spider Mite .

Spider mites are one of the major agricultural pests, feeding on a large variety of plants. As a contribution to understanding chemical communication in these arthropods, we have characterized a recently discovered class of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in . As in other species of Chelicerata, the four OBPs of contain six conserved cysteines paired in a pattern (C1-C6, C2-C3, C4-C5) differing from that of insect counterparts (C1-C3, C2-C5, C4-C6).

A new non-classical fold of varroa odorant-binding proteins reveals a wide open internal cavity.

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), as they occur in insects, form a distinct class of proteins that apparently has no closely related representatives in other animals. However, ticks, mites, spiders and millipedes contain genes encoding proteins with sequence similarity to insect OBPs. In this work, we have explored the structure and function of such non-insect OBPs in the mite Varroa destructor, a major pest of honey bee.

In-Motion-App for remote General Movement Assessment: a multi-site observational study.

Objectives: To determine whether videos taken by parents of their infants' spontaneous movements were in accordance with required standards in the In-Motion-App, and whether the videos could be remotely scored by a trained General Movement Assessment (GMA) observer. Additionally, to assess the feasibility of using home-based video recordings for automated tracking of spontaneous movements, and to examine parents' perceptions and experiences of taking videos in their homes.

Design: The study was a multi-centre prospective observational study.

How water-soluble chlorophyll protein extracts chlorophyll from membranes.

Water-soluble chlorophyll proteins (WSCPs) found in Brassicaceae are non-photosynthetic proteins that bind only a small number of chlorophylls. Their biological function remains unclear, but recent data indicate that WSCPs are involved in stress response and pathogen defense as producers of reactive oxygen species and/or Chl-regulated protease inhibitors. For those functions, WSCP apoprotein supposedly binds Chl to become physiologically active or inactive, respectively.

The pigment binding behaviour of water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP).

Water-soluble chlorophyll proteins (WSCPs) are homotetrameric proteins that bind four chlorophyll (Chl) molecules in identical binding sites, which makes WSCPs a good model to study protein-pigment interactions. In a previous study, we described preferential binding of Chl a or Chl b in various WSCP versions. Chl b binding is preferred when a hydrogen bond can be formed between the C7 formyl of the chlorin macrocycle and the protein, whereas Chl a is preferred when Chl b binding is sterically unfavorable.

Plant, space and time - linked together in an integrative and scalable data management system for phenomic approaches in agronomic field trials.

Background: To ensure further genetic gain, genomic approaches in plant breeding rely on precise phenotypic data, describing plant structure, function and performance. A more precise characterization of the environment will allow a better dealing with genotype-by-environment-by-management interactions. Therefore, space and time dependencies of the crop production processes have to be considered.

How the Protein Environment Can Tune the Energy, the Coupling, and the Ultrafast Dynamics of Interacting Chlorophylls: The Example of the Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein.

The interplay between active molecules and the protein environment in light-harvesting complexes tunes the photophysics and the dynamical properties of pigment-protein complexes in a subtle way, which is not fully understood. Here we characterized the photophysics and the ultrafast dynamics of four variants of the water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) as an ideal model system to study the behavior of strongly interacting chlorophylls. We found that when coordinated by the WSCP protein, the presence of the formyl group in chlorophyll replacing the methyl group in chlorophyll strongly affects the exciton energy and the dynamics of the system, opening up the possibility of tuning the photophysics and the transport properties of multichromophores by engineering specific interactions with the surroundings.

How water-mediated hydrogen bonds affect chlorophyll a/b selectivity in Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein.

The Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein (WSCP) of Brassicaceae is a remarkably stable tetrapyrrole-binding protein that, by virtue of its simple design, is an exceptional model to investigate the interactions taking place between pigments and their protein scaffold and how they affect the photophysical properties and the functionality of the complexes. We investigated variants of WSCP from Lepidium virginicum (Lv) and Brassica oleracea (Bo), reconstituted with Chlorophyll (Chl) b, to determine the mechanisms by which the different Chl binding sites control their Chl a/b specificities. A combined Raman and crystallographic investigation has been employed, aimed to characterize in detail the hydrogen-bond network involving the formyl group of Chl b.

Similarity and Specificity of Chlorophyll Triplet State in Comparison to Chlorophyll as Revealed by EPR/ENDOR and DFT Calculations.

An investigation of the photoexcited triplet state of chlorophyll (Chl) has been carried out by means of electron nuclear double resonance, both in a frozen organic solvent and in a protein environment provided by the water-soluble chlorophyll protein of . Density functional theory calculations have allowed the complete assignment of the observed hyperfine couplings corresponding to the methine protons and the methyl groups, leading to a complete picture of the spin density distribution of the triplet state in the tetrapyrrole macrocycle. The triplet-state properties of Chl are found to be similar, in many respects, to those previously reported for Chl , although some specificities have been highlighted.

Stability of Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Protein (WSCP) Depends on Phytyl Conformation.

Water-soluble chlorophyll proteins (WSCP) from form homotetrameric chlorophyll (Chl)-protein complexes binding one Chl per apoprotein and no carotenoids. Despite the lack of photoprotecting pigments, the complex-bound Chls displays a remarkable stability toward photodynamic damage. On the basis of a mutational study, we show that not only the presence of the phytyls is necessary for photoprotection in WSCPs, as we previously demonstrated, but also is their correct conformation and localization.

Developments in the MPI-M Earth System Model version 1.2 (MPI-ESM1.2) and Its Response to Increasing CO.

A new release of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology Earth System Model version 1.2 (MPI-ESM1.2) is presented.

Integrated care in mental health: next steps after the NHS Long Term Plan.

Health and social care face growing and conflicting pressures: mounting complex needs of an ageing population, restricted funding and a workforce recruitment and retention crisis. In response, in the UK the NHS Long Term Plan promises increased investment and an emphasis on better 'integrated' care. We describe key aspects of integration that need addressing.

Deciphering crystal packing effects in the spin crossover of six [Fe(2-pic)]Cl solvatomorphs.

In this work we investigate how the crystal packing affects the spin crossover (SCO) of [FeII(2-pic)3]Cl2. Four alcohol solvatomorphs of this compound have been reported to present a transition from a singlet low spin (LS, S = 0) to a quintet high spin (HS, S = 5) state at different temperatures, whereas two other solvatomorphs remain in the HS state along the entire range of temperatures explored. Given that all these solvatomorphs are isostructural, this behavior hints at crystal packing effects playing an important role in the spin transition.

Chlorophyll a/b binding-specificity in water-soluble chlorophyll protein.

We altered the chlorophyll (Chl) binding sites in various versions of water-soluble chlorophyll protein (WSCP) by amino acid exchanges to alter their preferences for either Chl a or Chl b. WSCP is ideally suited for this mutational analysis since it forms a tetrameric complex with only four identical Chl binding sites. A loop of 4-6 amino acids is responsible for Chl a versus Chl b selectivity.

Cooperativity in Spin Crossover Systems. An Atomistic Perspective on the Devil's Staircase.

Cooperativity is key in defining the shape (i.e., gradual, abrupt, or hysteretic) of thermally driven spin transitions in magnetic switches.

Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance of Chlorophyll Triplet States in Water-Soluble Chlorophyll Proteins from Lepidium virginicum: Evidence for Excitonic Interaction among the Four Pigments.

Optically detected magnetic resonance of triplet states populated by photoexcitation in water-soluble chlorophyll proteins (WSCPs) from Lepidium virginicum has been performed using both absorption and fluorescence detection. Well resolved triplet-singlet (T-S) spectra have been obtained and interpreted in terms of electronic interactions among the four chlorophylls (Chls), forming two dimers in the WSCP tetramer. Localization of the triplet state on a single Chl leads to a redistribution of the oscillator strength in the remaining three Chls of the complex.

Single molecule FRET investigation of pressure-driven unfolding of cold shock protein A.

We demonstrate that fused silica capillaries are suitable for single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) measurements at high pressure with an optical quality comparable to the measurement on microscope coverslips. Therefore, we optimized the imaging conditions in a standard square fused silica capillary with an adapted arrangement and evaluated the performance by imaging the focal volume, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy benchmarks, and FRET measurements. We demonstrate single molecule FRET measurements of cold shock protein A unfolding at a pressure up to 2000 bars and show that the unfolded state exhibits an expansion almost independent of pressure.

The Nonbilayer Lipid MGDG and the Major Light-Harvesting Complex (LHCII) Promote Membrane Stacking in Supported Lipid Bilayers.

The thylakoid membrane of algae and land plants is characterized by its intricate architecture, comprising tightly appressed membrane stacks termed grana. The contributions of individual components to grana stack formation are not yet fully elucidated. As an in vitro model, we use supported lipid bilayers made of thylakoid lipid mixtures to study the effect of major light-harvesting complex (LHCII), different lipids, and ions on membrane stacking, seen as elevated structures forming on top of the planar membrane surface in the presence of LHCII protein.