Chaperone Activators.

Ageing is a complex yet universal and inevitable degenerative process that results in a decline in the cellular capacity for repair and adaptation to external stresses. Therefore, maintaining the appropriate balance of the cellular proteome is crucial. In addition to the ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy-lysosomal systems, molecular chaperones play a vital role in a sophisticated protein quality control system.

Green Wearable Sensors and Antennas for Bio-Medicine, Green Internet of Things, Energy Harvesting, and Communication Systems.

This paper presents innovations in green electronic and computing technologies. The importance and the status of the main subjects in green electronic and computing technologies are presented in this paper. In the last semicentennial, the planet suffered from rapid changes in climate.

Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) Variations in Relation to Lipid Profiles and Cardiovascular Diseases: An Update.

Lipid metabolism plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is a crucial glycoprotein involved in lipid metabolism by transferring cholesteryl esters (CE) and triglycerides (TG) between plasma lipoproteins. CETP activity results in reduced HDL-C and increased VLDL- and LDL-C concentrations, thus increasing the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Dynamic string-averaging CQ-methods for the split feasibility problem with percentage violation constraints arising in radiation therapy treatment planning.

We study a feasibility-seeking problem with percentage violation constraints (PVCs). These are additional constraints that are appended to an existing family of constraints, which single out certain subsets of the existing constraints and declare that up to a specified fraction of the number of constraints in each subset is allowed to be violated by up to a specified percentage of the existing bounds. Our motivation to investigate problems with PVCs comes from the field of radiation therapy treatment planning (RTTP) wherein the fully discretized inverse planning problem is formulated as a split feasibility problem and the PVCs give rise to nonconvex constraints.

Hypergraph geometry reflects higher-order dynamics in protein interaction networks.

Protein interactions form a complex dynamic molecular system that shapes cell phenotype and function; in this regard, network analysis is a powerful tool for studying the dynamics of cellular processes. Current models of protein interaction networks are limited in that the standard graph model can only represent pairwise relationships. Higher-order interactions are well-characterized in biology, including protein complex formation and feedback or feedforward loops.

Long-term effects of prophylactic MgSO in maternal immune activation rodent model at adolescence and adulthood.

The effects of MgSO as an anti-inflammatory agent in pregnant women have been investigated in the last few years. Infections can cause an inflammatory reaction involving the placenta membranes and amniotic cavity. They may have short-term effects on the mother and her fetuses, like preterm birth, cerebral palsy, and developmental delay.

Emerging role of pericytes in therapy of cardiovascular diseases.

Pericytes are mural vascular cells covering microvascular capillaries, where they contribute to the formation, maturation, maintenance, stabilisation and remodelling of vasculature. They actively interact and communicate with other cells to maintain the capillary structural integrity, vascular permeability and blood flow. Pericytes are crucial participants in the physiological and pathological processes of cardiovascular disease.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Pathological and Therapeutic Roles of Pericytes in Atherosclerosis.

Pericytes are multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells playing an active role in angiogenesis, vessel stabilisation, maturation, remodelling, blood flow regulation and are able to trans-differentiate into other cells of the mesenchymal lineage. In this review, we summarised recent data demonstrating that pericytes play a key role in the pathogenesis and development of atherosclerosis (AS). Pericytes are involved in lipid accumulation, inflammation, growth, and vascularization of the atherosclerotic plaque.

Recent updates on the physiology and evolution of plant TPK/KCO channels.

Plant vacuoles are the main cellular reservoirs to store K+ . The vacuolar K+ channels play a pivotal role in K+ exchange between cytosol and vacuolar sap. Among vacuolar K+ transporters, the Two Pore Potassium Channels (TPKs) are highly selective K+ channels present in most or all plant vacuoles and could be involved in various plant stress responses and developmental processes.

Electroencephalography functional connectivity-A biomarker for painful polyneuropathy.

Background And Purpose: Advanced analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) data has become an essential tool in brain research. Based solely on resting state EEG signals, a data-driven, predictive and explanatory approach is presented to discriminate painful from non-painful diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) patients.

Methods: Three minutes long, 64 electrode resting-state recordings were obtained from 180 DPN patients.

Structural Insights into Cellulose-Coated Oil in Water Emulsions.

Cellulose is a renewable biopolymer, abundant on Earth, with a multi-level supramolecular structure. There has been significant interest and advancement in utilizing natural cellulose to stabilize emulsions. In our research, we develop and examine oil in water emulsions surrounded by unmodified cellulose as microreactors for the process of transformation of cellulose into valuable chemicals such as biodiesel.

Evolution of the Membrane Transport Protein Domain.

Membrane transport proteins are widely present in all living organisms, however, their function, transported substrate, and mechanism of action are unknown. Here we use diverse bioinformatics tools to investigate the evolution of MTPs, analyse domain organisation and loop topology, and study the comparative alignment of modelled 3D structures. Our results suggest a high level of conservancy between MTPs from different taxa on both amino acids and structural levels, which imply some degree of functional similarities.

Interlaboratory comparison of the intensity of drinking water odor and taste by two-way ordinal analysis of variation without replication.

A case study of ordinal data from human organoleptic examination (sensory analysis) of drinking water obtained in an interlaboratory comparison of 49 ecological laboratories is described. The recently developed two-way ordinal analysis of variation (ORDANOVA) is applied for the first time for the treatment of responses on the intensity of chlorine and sulfurous odor of water at 20 and 60 °C, which is classified into the six categories from 'imperceptible' to 'very strong'. The one-way ORDANOVA is used for the analysis of the 'salty taste' intensity of the water.

Evaluation of the biocontrol activity of -derived metabolites against mollicutes.

is a candidate biocontrol agent that has been shown to reduce phytoplasma-related disease symptoms in grapevines and periwinkle plants. While a crude filtrate prepared from can inhibit mollicute growth, the specific growth parameters for this bacterium, necessary to enhance this protective inhibitory response, remain unknown. Moreover, the separation of filtrate preparations from bacterial cells via centrifugation and filtration is laborious and time-consuming.

Population-level implications of the Israeli booster campaign to curtail COVID-19 resurgence.

Israel was one of the first countries to administer mass vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Consequently, it was among the first countries to experience substantial breakthrough infections due to the waning of vaccine-induced immunity, which led to a resurgence of the epidemic. In response, Israel launched a booster campaign to mitigate the outbreak and was the first country to do so.

Inhibiting mutant KRAS G12D gene expression using novel peptide nucleic acid-based antisense: A potential new drug candidate for pancreatic cancer.

KRAS mutations, which are the main cause of the pathogenesis of lethal pancreatic adenocarcinomas, impair the functioning of the GTPase subunit, thus rendering it constitutively active and signaling intracellular pathways that end with cell transformation. In the present study, the AsPC-1 cell line, which has a G12D-mutated KRAS gene sequence, was utilized as a cellular model to test peptide nucleic acid-based antisense technology. The use of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) that are built to exhibit improved hybridization specificity and have an affinity for complementary RNA and DNA sequences, as well as a simple chemical structure and high biological stability that affords resistance to nucleases and proteases, enabled targeting of the KRAS-mutated gene to inhibit its expression at the translation level.

The role of childrens' vaccination for COVID-19-Pareto-optimal allocations of vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for children of age five and older in many countries. However, there is an ongoing debate as to whether children should be vaccinated and at what priority. In this work, we use mathematical modeling and optimization to study how vaccine allocations to different age groups effect epidemic outcomes.

Molecular self-assembly under nanoconfinement: indigo carmine scroll structures entrapped within polymeric capsules.

Molecular self-assembly forms structures of well-defined organization that allow control over material properties, affording many advanced technological applications. Although the self-assembly of molecules is seemingly spontaneous, the structure into which they assemble can be altered by carefully modulating the driving forces. Here we study the self-assembly within the constraints of nanoconfined closed spherical volumes of polymeric nanocapsules, whereby a mixture of polyester-polyether block copolymer and methacrylic acid methyl methacrylate copolymer forms the entrapping capsule shell of nanometric dimensions.

A binary effector module secreted by a type VI secretion system.

Gram-negative bacteria use type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) to deliver toxic effector proteins into neighboring cells. Cargo effectors are secreted by binding noncovalently to the T6SS apparatus. Occasionally, effector secretion is assisted by an adaptor protein, although the adaptor itself is not secreted.

A flexible anatomical set of mechanical models for the organ of Corti.

We build a flexible platform to study the mechanical operation of the organ of Corti (OoC) in the transduction of basilar membrane (BM) vibrations to oscillations of an inner hair cell bundle (IHB). The anatomical components that we consider are the outer hair cells (OHCs), the outer hair cell bundles, Deiters cells, Hensen cells, the IHB and various sections of the reticular lamina. In each of the components we apply Newton's equations of motion.

Formylglycine-Generating Enzyme-Like Proteins Constitute a Novel Family of Widespread Type VI Secretion System Immunity Proteins.

Competition is a critical aspect of bacterial life, as it enables niche establishment and facilitates the acquisition of essential nutrients. Warfare between Gram-negative bacteria is largely mediated by the type VI secretion system (T6SS), a dynamic nanoweapon that delivers toxic effector proteins from an attacking cell to adjacent bacteria in a contact-dependent manner. Effector-encoding bacteria prevent self-intoxication and kin cell killing by the expression of immunity proteins, which neutralize effector toxicity by specifically binding their cognate effector and either occluding its active site or preventing the structural rearrangements necessary for effector activation.

Advancing global health through engineering: a perspective on teaching an online global health course to engineers during a global pandemic.

Background: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education has been felt worldwide. There are many lessons to be learned about teaching and learning in the digital age. While we evaluate the full impact and prepare ourselves for the new normal, it is worth reflecting on some of the positive aspects of online teaching and learning and understanding how students, teachers and the wider faculty have been able to support each other through the challenges of the pandemic.

Reduced Placental CD24 in Preterm Preeclampsia Is an Indicator for a Failure of Immune Tolerance.

Introduction: CD24 is a mucin-like glycoprotein expressed at the surface of hematopoietic and tumor cells and was recently shown to be expressed in the first trimester placenta. As it was postulated as an immune suppressor, CD24 may contribute to maternal immune tolerance to the growing fetus. Preeclampsia (PE), a major pregnancy complication, is linked to reduced immune tolerance.

Cellulosic biofuel production using emulsified simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (eSSF) with conventional and thermotolerant yeasts.

Background: Future expansion of corn-derived ethanol raises concerns of sustainability and competition with the food industry. Therefore, cellulosic biofuels derived from agricultural waste and dedicated energy crops are necessary. To date, slow and incomplete saccharification as well as high enzyme costs have hindered the economic viability of cellulosic biofuels, and while approaches like simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and the use of thermotolerant microorganisms can enhance production, further improvements are needed.