DNA-aptamer gating membranes.

This report describes a membrane barrier whose permeability is modulated through the recognition of a small-molecule target, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), by a DNA-aptamer. The gating function of the DNA-aptamer in the stimulus-responsive membrane was shown to be specific, concentration dependent, and reversible.

Controlling an electron-transfer reaction at a metal surface by manipulating reactant motion and orientation.

The loss or gain of vibrational energy in collisions of an NO molecule with the surface of a gold single crystal proceeds by electron transfer. With the advent of new optical pumping and orientation methods, we can now control all molecular degrees of freedom important to this electron-transfer-mediated process, providing the most detailed look yet into the inner workings of an electron-transfer reaction and showing how to control its outcome. We find the probability of electron transfer increases with increasing translational and vibrational energy as well as with proper orientation of the reactant.

Listening to music reduces eye movements.

Listening to music can change the way that people visually experience the environment, probably as a result of an inwardly directed shift of attention. We investigated whether this attentional shift can be demonstrated by reduced eye movement activity, and if so, whether that reduction depends on absorption. Participants listened to their preferred music, to unknown neutral music, or to no music while viewing a visual stimulus (a picture or a film clip).

How we remember the emotional intensity of past musical experiences.

Listening to music usually elicits emotions that can vary considerably in their intensity over the course of listening. Yet, after listening to a piece of music, people are easily able to evaluate the music's overall emotional intensity. There are two different hypotheses about how affective experiences are temporally processed and integrated: (1) all moments' intensities are integrated, resulting in an averaged value; (2) the overall evaluation is built from specific single moments, such as the moments of highest emotional intensity (peaks), the end, or a combination of these.

CO (a3Π) quenching at a metal surface: Evidence of an electron transfer mediated mechanism.

We observe a strong influence of molecular vibration and surface temperature on electron emission promoted by the de-excitation of metastable CO(a(3)Π) on a clean Au(111) surface using a molecular beam surface scattering apparatus. The de-excitation is independent of incidence translational energy. These observations appear incompatible with existing theories of metastable particle de-excitation on metal surfaces, which are based on the Auger effect.

DNA aptamers are functional molecular recognition sensors in protic ionic liquids.

The function and structural changes of an AMP molecular aptamer beacon and its molecular recognition capacity for its target, adenosine monophosphate (AMP), was systematically explored in solution with a protic ionic liquid, ethylammonium nitrate (EAN). It could be proven that up to 2 M of EAN in TBS buffer, the AMP molecular aptamer beacon was still capable of recognizing AMP while also maintaining its specificity. The specificity was proven by using the guanosine monophosphate (GMP) as target; GMP is structurally similar to AMP but was not recognized by the aptamer.

Surfactant kinetics and their importance in nucleation events in (mini)emulsion polymerization revealed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring.

Surfactants are vital components of almost all heterogeneous polymerizations for maintaining colloidal stability, but they also play an important role in the kinetics and mechanism of particle nucleation. Despite many decades of research, the knowledge of adsorption-desorption surfactant kinetics and their application in (mini)emulsion polymerization is largely based on qualitative arguments. In this paper we show that the use of a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring can provide quantitative information on both the adsorption equilibrium of ionic and nonionic surfactants, and also the kinetics of adsorption/desorption, that can be applied to the understanding of nucleation processes in (mini)emulsion polymerization.

NanoKeepers: stimuli responsive nanocapsules for programmed specific targeting and drug delivery.

Bacterial resistance is a high priority clinical issue worldwide. Thus, an effective system that rapidly provides specific treatment for bacterial infections using controlled dose release remains an unmet clinical need. Herein, we report on the NanoKeepers approach for the specific targeting of S.

Study of the interactions of proteins with a solid surface using complementary acoustic and optical techniques.

Membrane water treatment processes suffer severely from (bio)fouling phenomena, defined as an undesired deposition and build-up of adsorbed materials, which alters the membrane performance. The control of membrane (bio)fouling is directly related to first the (bio)foulant agent-membrane surface interactions arising at a much earlier stage during the process. This study aims at real time characterization of interaction between proteins and polymeric membrane surface.

Epidemiology and impact of urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, and other lower urinary tract symptoms: results of the EPIC survey in Russia, Czech Republic, and Turkey.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI), overactive bladder (OAB), and other lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in the Czech Republic, Russia, and Turkey.

Methods: Stage one of this population-based survey consisted of computer-assisted telephone interviews to obtain prevalence estimates of storage, voiding, and post-micturition LUTS. Stage two face-to-face interviews evaluated subjects with mixed urinary incontinence (MUI), stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or OAB (case group) and a control group (subjects with other incontinence or LUTS complaints, or no symptoms).

Effects of charging on the chromophores of dissolved organic matter from the Rio Negro basin.

This study demonstrates that the deprotonation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) originating from a small creek characteristic for DOM-rich waters located in the Rio Negro basin can be quantified based on measurements of pH effects on its absorbance spectra. The method was ascertained by the data of Near-Edge X-Ray Absorbance Spectroscopy (NEXAFS), potentiometric titration to quantify the structural and compositional differences between the colloidal and hydrophobic fractions that contribute 91% of black-water creek DOM. Changes in the absorbance spectra of the DOM fractions caused by deprotonation quantified via numeric deconvolution which indicated the presence of six well-resolved Gaussian bands in the differential spectra.

German national consensus recommendations on nutrition and lifestyle in pregnancy by the 'Healthy Start - Young Family Network'.

Diet and physical activity before and during pregnancy affect short- and long-term health of mother and child. The energy needs at the end of pregnancy increase only by about 10% compared to nonpregnant women. An excessive energy intake is undesirable since maternal overweight and excessive weight gain can increase the risks for a high birth weight and later child overweight and diabetes.

Dynamical steering in an electron transfer surface reaction: oriented NO(v = 3, 0.08 < Ei < 0.89 eV) relaxation in collisions with a Au(111) surface.

We report measurements of the incidence translational energy dependence of steric effects in collisions of NO(v = 3) molecules with a Au(111) surface using a recently developed technique to orient beams of vibrationally excited NO molecules at incidence energies of translation between 0.08 and 0.89 eV.

Interaction with the Bardet-Biedl gene product TRIM32/BBS11 modifies the half-life and localization of Glis2/NPHP7.

Although the two ciliopathies Bardet-Biedl syndrome and nephronophthisis share multiple clinical manifestations, the molecular basis for this overlap remains largely unknown. Both BBS11 and NPHP7 are unusual members of their respective gene families. Although BBS11/TRIM32 represents a RING finger E3 ubiquitin ligase also involved in hereditary forms of muscular dystrophy, NPHP7/Glis2 is a Gli-like transcriptional repressor that localizes to the nucleus, deviating from the ciliary localization of most other ciliopathy-associated gene products.

Safety and feasibility of concomitant surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation in patients with severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction.

Objectives: Concomitant surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is a safe and feasible procedure. However, many surgeons are reluctant to perform it in patients with heart failure. We investigated the safety and efficacy of AF ablation in patients with a severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF <35%).

Ellipsometry with polarisation analysis at cryogenic temperatures inside a vacuum chamber.

In this paper we describe a new variant of null ellipsometry to determine thicknesses and optical properties of thin films on a substrate at cryogenic temperatures. In the PCSA arrangement of ellipsometry the polarizer and the compensator are placed before the substrate and the analyzer after it. Usually, in the null ellipsometry the polarizer and the analyzer are rotated to find the searched minimum in intensity.

S3-Guideline on allergy prevention: 2014 update: Guideline of the German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI) and the German Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ).

Unlabelled: The continued high prevalence of allergic diseases in Western industrialized nations combined with the limited options for causal therapy make evidence-based primary prevention necessary. The recommendations last published in the S3-guideline on allergy prevention in 2009 have been revised and a consensus reached on the basis of an up-to-date systematic literature search. Evidence was sought for the period between May 2008 and May 2013 in the Cochrane and MEDLINE electronic databases, as well as in the reference lists of recent review articles.

Trachea: anatomy and physiology.

The windpipe (trachea) is a tube of 12 cm length connecting the larynx to the principal bronchi that lead to the lungs. The main functions of the trachea comprise air flow into the lungs, mucociliary clearance, and humidification and warming of air. Mucociliary clearance is achieved by kinocilia and goblet cells in the mucosa, and by tracheal glands.

Visual Analysis of Biological Activity Data with Scaffold Hunter.

The growing interest in chemogenomics approaches over the last years has led to an increasing amount of data regarding chemical and the corresponding biological activity space. The resulting data, collected in either in-house or public databases, need to be analyzed efficiently to speed-up the increasingly difficult task of drug discovery. Unfortunately, the discovery of new chemical entities or new targets for known drugs ('drug repurposing') is not suitable to a fully automated analysis or a simple drill down process.

Evaluation of personality disorder workshops in Essex, England: reported impacts on clinical practice.

In this paper we examine the background and context for training related to working with people with personality disorders in England. People with a diagnosis of personality disorder often feel excluded from mainstream health, social and employment contexts, and sometimes experience negative and stigmatizing attitudes from people, including health and social care workers. An evaluation of a program of workshops for forensic nurses and other practitioners was carried out to ascertain how effective the workshops were in challenging attitudes and also in potentially promoting better practice in working with this client group.

Rhythm outcome predictors after concomitant surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation: a 9-year, single-center experience.

Objectives: Concomitant surgical ablation is a safe and feasible procedure, recommended by the guidelines for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing cardiac surgery. We performed a single-center data analysis to identify the predictors of rhythm outcome in such patients.

Methods: From January 2003 to January 2012, 503 patients with persistent (n = 296, 58.

3-D analysis of dictyosomes and multivesicular bodies in the green alga Micrasterias denticulata by FIB/SEM tomography.

In the present study we employ FIB/SEM tomography for analyzing 3-D architecture of dictyosomes and formation of multivesicular bodies (MVB) in high pressure frozen and cryo-substituted interphase cells of the green algal model system Micrasterias denticulata. The ability of FIB/SEM of milling very thin 'slices' (5-10 nm), viewing the block face and of capturing cytoplasmic volumes of several hundred μm(3) provides new insight into the close spatial connection of the ER-Golgi machinery in an algal cell particularly in z-direction, complementary to informations obtained by TEM serial sectioning or electron tomography. Our FIB/SEM series and 3-D reconstructions show that interphase dictyosomes of Micrasterias are not only closely associated to an ER system at their cis-side which is common in various plant cells, but are surrounded by a huge "trans-ER" sheath leading to an almost complete enwrapping of dictyosomes by the ER.

Real-time in vivo imaging of invasive- and biomaterial-associated bacterial infections using fluorescently labelled vancomycin.

Invasive and biomaterial-associated infections in humans are often difficult to diagnose and treat. Here, guided by recent advances in clinically relevant optical imaging technologies, we explore the use of fluorescently labelled vancomycin (vanco-800CW) to specifically target and detect infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria. The application potential of vanco-800CW for real-time in vivo imaging of bacterial infections is assessed in a mouse myositis model and a human post-mortem implant model.

Observation of orientation-dependent electron transfer in molecule-surface collisions.

Molecules typically must point in specific relative directions to participate efficiently in energy transfer and reactions. For example, Förster energy transfer favors specific relative directions of each molecule's transition dipole [Förster T (1948) Ann Phys 2(1-2):55-75] and electron transfer between gas-phase molecules often depends on the relative orientation of orbitals [Brooks PR, et al. (2007) J Am Chem Soc 129(50):15572-15580].