88 research outputs found
Tracer diffusion inside fibrinogen layers
We investigate the obstructed motion of tracer (test) particles in crowded
environments by carrying simulations of two-dimensional Gaussian random walk in
model fibrinogen monolayers of different orientational ordering. The fibrinogen
molecules are significantly anisotropic and therefore they can form structures
where orientational ordering, similar to the one observed in nematic liquid
crystals, appears. The work focuses on the dependence between level of the
orientational order (degree of environmental crowding) of fibrinogen molecules
inside a layer and non-Fickian character of the diffusion process of spherical
tracer particles moving within the domain. It is shown that in general
particles motion is subdiffusive and strongly anisotropic, and its
characteristic features significantly change with the orientational order
parameter, concentration of fibrinogens and radius of a diffusing probe.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figure
Kinetics of random sequential adsorption of two-dimensional shapes on a one-dimensional line
7 pages, 10 figuresSaturated random sequential adsorption packings built of two-dimensional ellipses, spherocylinders, rectangles, and dimers placed on a one-dimensional line are studied to check analytical prediction concerning packing growth kinetics [A. Baule, Phys. Rev. Let. 119, 028003 (2017)]. The results show that the kinetics is governed by the power-law with the exponent and for packings built of ellipses and rectangles, respectively, which is consistent with analytical predictions. However, for spherocylinders and dimers of moderate width-to-height ratio, a transition between these two values is observed. We argue that this transition is a finite size effect that arises for spherocylinders due to the properties of the contact function. In general, it appears that the kinetics of packing growth can depend on packing size even for very large packings
Scaling Properties of the Number of Random Sequential Adsorption Iterations Needed to Generate Saturated Random Packing
DNA damage by lipid peroxidation products: implications in cancer, inflammation and autoimmunity
Oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation (LPO) induced by inflammation, excess metal storage and excess caloric intake cause generalized DNA damage, producing genotoxic and mutagenic effects. The consequent deregulation of cell homeostasis is implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of malignancies and degenerative diseases. Reactive aldehydes produced by LPO, such as malondialdehyde, acrolein, crotonaldehyde and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, react with DNA bases, generating promutagenic exocyclic DNA adducts, which likely contribute to the mutagenic and carcinogenic effects associated with oxidative stress-induced LPO. However, reactive aldehydes, when added to tumor cells, can exert an anticancerous effect. They act, analogously to other chemotherapeutic drugs, by forming DNA adducts and, in this way, they drive the tumor cells toward apoptosis. The aldehyde-DNA adducts, which can be observed during inflammation, play an important role by inducing epigenetic changes which, in turn, can modulate the inflammatory process. The pathogenic role of the adducts formed by the products of LPO with biological macromolecules in the breaking of immunological tolerance to self antigens and in the development of autoimmunity has been supported by a wealth of evidence. The instrumental role of the adducts of reactive LPO products with self protein antigens in the sensitization of autoreactive cells to the respective unmodified proteins and in the intermolecular spreading of the autoimmune responses to aldehyde-modified and native DNA is well documented. In contrast, further investigation is required in order to establish whether the formation of adducts of LPO products with DNA might incite substantial immune responsivity and might be instrumental for the spreading of the immunological responses from aldehyde-modified DNA to native DNA and similarly modified, unmodified and/or structurally analogous self protein antigens, thus leading to autoimmunity
Production of exopolysaccharide by Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii and its role in bacterial attachment and surface properties
Genome-wide analysis and expression profiling of calcium-dependent protein kinases in potato (Solanum tuberosum)
The effects of cadmium and copper on embryonic and larval development of ide Leuciscus idus L.
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