HIV-1 Nucleocapsid Protein Unfolds Stable RNA G-Quadruplexes in the Viral Genome and Is Inhibited by G-Quadruplex Ligands

The G-quadruplexes that form in the HIV-1 RNA genome hinder progression of reverse transcriptase in vitro, but not in infected cells. We investigated the possibility that the HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein NCp7, which remains associated with the viral RNA during reverse transcription, modulated HIV-1 RNA G-quadruplex stability. By electrophoresis, circular dichroism, mass spectrometry, and reverse transcriptase stop assays, we demonstrated that NCp7 binds and unfolds the HIV-1 RNA G-quadruplexes and promotes DNA/RNA duplex formation, allowing reverse transcription to proceed. The G-quadruplex ligand BRACO-19 was able to partially counteract this effect. These results indicate NCp7 as the first known viral protein able to unfold RNA G-quadruplexes, and they explain how the extra-stable HIV-1 RNA G-quadruplexes are processed; they also point out that the reverse transcription process is hindered by G-quadruplex ligands at both reverse transcriptase and NCp7 level. This information can lead to the development of more effective anti-HIV-1 drugs with a new mechanism of action

ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕ СОСТАВА МАКРОМОЛЕКУЛЯРНЫХ КОМПЛЕКСОВ МИКРОЭЛЕМЕНТОВ С СОПОЛИМЕРОМ АКРИЛАМИДА И АКРИЛАТА НАТРИЯ МЕТОДОМ СПЕКТРОСКОПИИ ЯМР 13С

The structure of macromolecular complexes of microelements (copper, cobalt) with copolymers of acrylamide and sodium acrylate has been shown by 13C  NMR spectroscopy to include only the carboxylate functional group of the macromolecule as a ligand. The stoichiometry of the complexes studied could not be determined by 13C NMR spectroscopy due to a high lability of the complexes. In determining the qualitative structure of macromolecular complexes by 13C  NMR spectroscopy experimental conditions (primarily the concentration ratio of the functional groups of the copolymer involved in the complexation, and metal ions) must be selected considering a paramagnetism value of the metal ion. It was found that the solution’s pH influences on the interaction of copper ion with a carboxylate group of the copolymer to form a macromolecular complex. Interaction increasesin the transition from the neutral to acidic (pH  5) medium, and complex practically not formed in alkaline medium (pH 9).Методом спектроскопии ЯМР  13C установлено, что в состав макромолекулярных комплексов микроэлементов (меди, кобальта) с сополимерами акриламида и акрилата натрия в качестве лиганда входит только карбоксилатная функциональная группа макромолекулы. Показано, что высокая лабильность исследованных комплексов препятствует установлению их количественного состава методом спектроскопии ЯМР  13C. При определении качественного состава макромолекулярных комплексов методом спектроскопии ЯМР  13 C условия проведения эксперимента (в первую очередь отношение концентраций функциональных групп сополимера, участвующих в комплексообразовании, и ионов металлов) необходимо подбирать с учетом величины парамагнитности иона микроэлемента. Обнаружено, что на взаимодействие ионов меди с карбоксилатной группой сополимера с образованием макромолекулярного комплексавлияет рН раствора. При переходе от нейтральной среды к кислой (рН  5) взаимодействие усиливается, а в щелочной среде (рН  9) комплекс практически не образуется

Sex doll ownership: an agenda for research

Purpose of review: The topic of sex doll ownership is becoming an increasingly discussed issue from both a social and legal perspective. This review aims to examine the veracity of the existing psychological, sexological, and legal literature in relation to doll ownership. Recent findings: Strong views exist across the spectrum of potential socio-legal positions on sex doll ownership. However, there is an almost total lack of empirical analyses of the psychological characteristics or behavioral implications of doll ownership. As such, existing arguments appear to represent the philosophical positions of those scholars expressing them, rather than being rooted in any objective evidence base. Summary: Despite an absence of empirical data on the characteristics and subsequent effects of doll ownership, discussions about the ethical and legal status of doll ownership continue. This highlights a real and urgent need for a coherent research agenda to be advanced in this area of work

МЕХАНИЗМ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ПОЛИЛАКТИДНЫХ ПОКРЫТИЙ ИЗ АКТИВНОЙ ГАЗОВОЙ ФАЗЫ

The mechanism of deposition of a poly-L-lactide film from the active gas phase has been shown to be associated with destructing a macromolecule into large fragments rather than with depolymerizing a poly-L-lactide film to a monomer followed by its polycondensation on substrate. The transformation of the initial polymer powder into a thin film under the great energetic effect is accompanied by decreasing the molecule mass, while the D-isomer content increases from 4 to 12 %. In so doing, not only the phase state of the polymer changes from semi-crystalline to amorphous one, but the poly-L-lactide relaxation state is transformed from glass to rubber one; these changes could promote an accelerated release of different biocide additives from the film.Методами спектроскопии ЯМР 1 H и 13С и поляриметрии установлено, что при формировании тонких пленок поли-L-лактида путем осаждения из активной газовой фазы происходит деструкция исходного полимера до крупных фрагментов с сохранением полимерного состояния вещества. Одновременно конфигурационные превращения макромолекулы приводят к увеличению содержания в ней D-звеньев с 4 до 12 мол. %, в результате чего исходный аморфно-кристаллический полимер превращается в аморфный. Переход поли-L-лактида в тонкопленочное состояние сопровождается изменением не только фазового, но и релаксационного состояния полимера, что является дополнительной причиной ускорения высвобождения из пленки биоцидных добавок

Reasons for facebook usage: data from 46 countries

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Global study of social odor awareness

Olfaction plays an important role in human social communication, including multiple domains in which people often rely on their sense of smell in the social context. The importance of the sense of smell and its role can however vary inter-individually and culturally. Despite the growing body of literature on differences in olfactory performance or hedonic preferences across the globe, the aspects of a given culture as well as culturally universal individual differences affecting odor awareness in human social life remain unknown. Here, we conducted a large-scale analysis of data collected from 10,794 participants from 52 study sites from 44 countries all over the world. The aim of our research was to explore the potential individual and country-level correlates of odor awareness in the social context. The results show that the individual characteristics were more strongly related than country-level factors to self-reported odor awareness in different social contexts. A model including individual-level predictors (gender, age, material situation, education and preferred social distance) provided a relatively good fit to the data, but adding country-level predictors (Human Development Index, population density and average temperature) did not improve model parameters. Although there were some cross-cultural differences in social odor awareness, the main differentiating role was played by the individual differences. This suggests that people living in different cultures and different climate conditions may still share some similar patterns of odor awareness if they share other individual-level characteristics