Manual Dexterity in Open-Water Wetsuited Swimmers: A Cohort Crossover Study.

Purpose: Laboratory studies have demonstrated that manual dexterity decreases with increasing cold, which may adversely affect performance. Dexterity may be impaired by cooling of the hand, cooling of the lower motor neurons, and cognitive impairment. Wetsuits are commonly used in open-water swimming and are mandated in some situations.

Virus-Shaped Mesoporous Silica Nanostars to Improve the Transport of Drugs across the Blood-Brain Barrier.

Conditions affecting the brain are the second leading cause of death globally. One of the main challenges for drugs targeting brain diseases is passing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here, the effectiveness of mesoporous silica nanostars (MSiNSs) with two different spike lengths to cross an BBB multicellular model was evaluated and compared to spherical nanoparticles (MSiNP).

Reconstitution of the alternative pathway of the complement system enables rapid delineation of the mechanism of action of novel inhibitors.

The complement system plays a critical role in the innate immune response, acting as a first line of defense against invading pathogens. However, dysregulation of the complement system is implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, ranging from Alzheimer's to age-related macular degeneration and rare blood disorders. As such, complement inhibitors have enormous potential to alleviate disease burden.

Valency of Ligand-Receptor Binding from Pair Potentials.

Coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations have been crucial for investigating the dynamics of nanoparticle uptake by cell membranes via ligand-receptor interactions. These models have enabled researchers to evaluate the effects of nanoparticle size, shape, and ligand distribution on cellular uptake. However, when pair potentials are used to represent ligand-receptor interactions, the number of receptors interacting with one ligand, valency, may vary.