Publications by authors named "Schulze W"

Background: Sperm DNA damage is associated with reduced male fertility after natural conception and intrauterine insemination. However, the impact on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and especially intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatments is still unclear. Few studies have focused on the intra-individual variation in DFI even though it may have an important role to play in terms of detection of thresholds and for misclassification rates.

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  • The study investigates how receptor kinases at the plasma membrane respond to environmental signals by forming heterodimers, which influence signaling pathways to the nucleus.
  • Through affinity enrichment mass spectrometry, the researchers analyzed the interactions of LRR receptor kinases (BRI1 and SIRK1) with their ligands and examined the structural influences on these interactions.
  • Using a machine learning algorithm, the team identified key domains in the receptor structure that dictate specific interactions and predictions for how different receptor combinations affect plant signaling outcomes.
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The Perdew-Zunger (PZ) self-interaction correction (SIC) is an established tool to correct unphysical behavior in density functional approximations. Yet, the PZ-SIC is well-known to sometimes break molecular symmetries. An example of this is the benzene molecule, for which the PZ-SIC predicts a symmetry-broken electron density and molecular geometry, since the method does not describe the two possible Kekulé structures on an even footing, leading to local minima [Lehtola et al.

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  • GLABRA2 (GL2) is a key transcription factor in Arabidopsis that regulates specialized cell types in the epidermis.
  • Mutations in the nuclear localization sequence (NLS) of GL2 disrupt its nuclear transport, causing loss-of-function phenotypes.
  • Interactions between GL2 and importin α isoforms are essential for GL2's nuclear localization and epidermal cell differentiation, as shown through various experimental methods.
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  • The HIV-1 capsid protein (CA) has different structural forms during replication, which have unique surfaces for interactions, but their specific functions are not well understood due to technical challenges in studying CA.
  • Researchers developed CA-targeting aptamers through a branched SELEX approach, identifying subsets that bind specifically either to the CA lattice or the CA hexamer.
  • The study evaluated these aptamers to understand binding mechanisms and showcased their ability to purify CA from cell lysates, highlighting their potential as valuable tools for investigating CA's diverse structures.
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Background: The increased availability of myositis autoantibodies represents new possibilities and challenges in clinical practice (Lundberg IE, Tjärnlund A, Bottai M, Werth VP, Pilkington C, de Visser M, et al. 2017 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for adult and juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and their major subgroups. Ann Rheum Dis.

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HIV-1 relies extensively on host cell machinery for replication. Identification and characterization of these host-virus interactions is vital to our understanding of viral replication and the consequences of infection in cells. Several prior screens have identified host factors important for HIV replication but with limited replication of findings, likely due to differences in experimental design and conditions.

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NRT1.1, a nitrate transceptor, plays an important role in nitrate binding, sensing, and nitrate-dependent lateral root (LR) morphology. However, little is known about NRT1.

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White lupin (lupinus albus L.) forms special bottlebrush-like root structures called cluster roots (CR) when phosphorus is low, to remobilise sparingly soluble phosphates in the soil. The molecular mechanisms that control the CR formation remain unknown.

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Introduction: Early postoperative reflux (PR) can compromise anastomotic healing after Ivor Lewis esophagectomy (ILE) and poses a risk for aspiration. Anastomotic insufficiency is the most threatening surgical complication. We present the protective method of pre-emptive active reflux drainage (PARD) with simultaneous enteral feeding.

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NRT2.1, the major high affinity nitrate transporter in roots, can be phosphorylated at five different sites within the N- and the C-terminus. Here, we characterized the functional relationship of two N-terminal phosphorylation sites, S21 and S28, in Arabidopsis.

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Unlabelled: GLABRA2 (GL2), a class IV homeodomain leucine-zipper (HD-Zip IV) transcription factor (TF) from , is a developmental regulator of specialized cell types in the epidermis. GL2 contains a putative monopartite nuclear localization sequence (NLS) partially overlapping with its homeodomain (HD). We demonstrate that NLS deletion or alanine substitution of its basic residues (KRKRKK) affects nuclear localization and results in a loss-of-function phenotype.

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Article Synopsis
  • Early postoperative reflux (PR) can threaten healing after an Ivor Lewis esophagectomy (ILE) and lead to complications like aspiration; a new method called pre-emptive active reflux drainage (PARD) aims to address this issue.
  • PARD utilizes a specialized double lumen drainage system to continuously aspirate reflux while simultaneously providing nutrition; it was used in 43 patients following ILE with a healing rate of 100% for anastomoses.
  • The findings suggest that PARD significantly aids anastomotic healing and minimizes complications, highlighting its potential for improving patient outcomes in esophageal surgeries.
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Changes in cytosolic calcium (Ca2+) concentration are among the earliest reactions to a multitude of stress cues. While a plethora of Ca2+-permeable channels may generate distinct Ca2+ signatures and contribute to response specificities, the mechanisms by which Ca2+ signatures are decoded are poorly understood. Here, we developed a genetically encoded Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based reporter that visualizes the conformational changes in Ca2+-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs/CPKs).

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The role of recovery after drought has been proposed to play a more prominent role during the whole drought-adaption process than previously thought. Two maize hybrids with comparable growth but contrasting physiological responses were investigated using physiological, metabolic, and lipidomic tools to understand the plants' strategies of lipid remodeling in response to repeated drought stimuli. Profound differences in adaptation between hybrids were discovered during the recovery phase, which likely gave rise to different degrees of lipid adaptability to the subsequent drought event.

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The behavior of electrons during bond formation and breaking cannot commonly be accessed from experiments. Thus, bond perception is often based on chemical intuition or rule-based algorithms. Utilizing computational chemistry methods, we present intrinsic bond descriptors for the Diels-Alder reaction, allowing for an automatic bond perception.

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Introduction: The death of an infant shortly after birth places a massive psychological burden on the parents involved. The availability of compassionate obstetric care is an important contributor to the prevention of sequelae.

Methods: The aim of this study is to survey the current practice of psychosocial care for parents in perinatal infant death in German hospitals and to investigate the association between hospital size and number of information services for parents and between support services for hospital staff and number of information services for bereaved parents.

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Plasmodesmata (PD) facilitate movement of molecules between plant cells. Regulation of this movement is still not understood. Plasmodesmata are hard to study, being deeply embedded within cell walls and incorporating several membrane types.

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Plant receptors constitute a large protein family that regulates various aspects of development and responses to external cues. Functional characterization of this protein family and the identification of their ligands remain major challenges in plant biology. Previously, we identified plasma membrane-intrinsic sucrose-induced receptor kinase 1 (SIRK1) and Qian Shou kinase 1 (QSK1) as receptor/co-receptor pair involved in the regulation of aquaporins in response to osmotic conditions induced by sucrose.

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We used the Legionella pneumophila effector SidK to affinity purify the endogenous vacuolar-type ATPases (V-ATPases) from lemon fruit. The preparation was sufficient for cryoelectron microscopy, allowing structure determination of the enzyme in two rotational states. The structure defines the ATP:H ratio of the enzyme, demonstrating that it can establish a maximum ΔpH of ∼3, which is insufficient to maintain the low pH observed in the vacuoles of juice sac cells in lemons and other citrus fruit.

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Most plant species can form symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs), which may enhance the host plant's acquisition of soil nutrients. In contrast to phosphorus nutrition, the molecular mechanism of mycorrhizal nitrogen (N) uptake remains largely unknown, and its physiological relevance is unclear. Here, we identified a gene encoding an AMF-inducible ammonium transporter, ZmAMT3;1, in maize (Zea mays) roots.

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Proteomics and phosphoproteomics are robust tools to analyze dynamics of post-transcriptional processes during growth and development. A variety of experimental methods and workflows have been published, but most of them were developed for model plants and have not been adapted to high-throughput platforms. Here, we describe an experimental workflow for proteome and phosphoproteome studies tailored to cereal crop tissues.

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Article Synopsis
  • Multi-omics data, particularly focusing on protein phosphorylation, are being utilized to understand how cells respond to environmental changes, with an emphasis on the effects of these modifications on metabolic processes.
  • A novel co-expression method was employed to analyze phosphoproteomics and metabolomics data from Arabidopsis shoots and roots, revealing intricate relationships between protein phosphorylation and metabolite levels, especially in plants with altered sugar metabolism.
  • Key findings highlighted the regulatory role of KING1 in linking protein phosphorylation to metabolism, alongside significant changes in fatty acid networks in sugar metabolism mutant plants, pointing towards new protein-metabolite relationships for further research.
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Phosphorus (P) limitation is a significant factor restricting crop production in agricultural systems, and enhancing the internal P utilization efficiency (PUE) of crops plays an important role in ensuring sustainable P use in agriculture. To better understand how P is remobilized to affect crop growth, we first screened P-efficient (B73 and GEMS50) and P-inefficient (Liao5114) maize genotypes at the same shoot P content, and then analyzed P pools and performed non-targeted metabolomic analyses to explore changes in cellular P fractions and metabolites in maize genotypes with contrasting PUE. We show that lipid P and nucleic acid P concentrations were significantly lower in lower leaves of P-efficient genotypes, and these P pools were remobilized to a major extent in P-efficient genotypes.

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