Step-by-step design of proteins for small molecule interaction: a review on recent milestones

Protein design is the field of synthetic biology that aims at developing de-novo custom made proteins and peptides for specific applications. Despite exploring an ambitious goal, recent computational advances in both hardware and software technologies have paved the way to high-throughput screening and detailed design of novel folds and improved functionalities. Modern advances in the field of protein design for small molecule targeting are described in this review, organized in a step-by-step fashion: from the conception of a new or upgraded active binding site, to scaffold design, sequence optimization and experimental expression of the custom protein. In each step, contemporary examples are described, and state-of-the art software is briefly explored.publishe

Low prevalence of significant carotid artery disease in Iranian patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting ranks as one of the most frequent operations worldwide. The presence of carotid artery stenosis may increase the stroke rate in the perioperative period. Routine preoperative noninvasive assessment of the carotid arteries are recommended in many institutions to reduce the stroke rate. METHODS: 271 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting at Shaheed Madani hospital of Tabriz, Iran (age, 58.5 Y; 73.1% male) underwent preoperative ultrasonography for assessment of carotid artery wall thickness. RESULTS: Plaque in right common, left common, right internal and left internal carotid arteries was detected in 4.8%, 7.4%, 43.2% and 42.1% of patients respectively. 5 patients (1.8%) had significant (<50%) and 3 (1.1%) patients had critical (<70%) stenosis in internal carotid arteries. Plaque formation in common carotid was not significantly different between two genders but the stenosis of left internal carotid was more frequently seen among men. Patients with plaques in right or left internal carotid arteries were significantly older. CONCLUSION: Consecutive Iranian patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery show a very low prevalence of significant carotid artery disease

Social Media, Gender and the Mediatisation of War: Exploring the German Armed Forces’ Visual Representation of the Afghanistan Operation on Facebook

Studies on the mediatisation of war point to attempts of governments to regulate the visual perspective of their involvements in armed conflict – the most notable example being the practice of ‘embedded reporting’ in Iraq and Afghanistan. This paper focuses on a different strategy of visual meaning-making, namely, the publication of images on social media by armed forces themselves. Specifically, we argue that the mediatisation of war literature could profit from an increased engagement with feminist research, both within Critical Security/Critical Military Studies and within Science and Technology Studies that highlight the close connection between masculinity, technology and control. The article examines the German military mission in Afghanistan as represented on the German armed forces’ official Facebook page. Germany constitutes an interesting, and largely neglected, case for the growing literature on the mediatisation of war: its strong antimilitarist political culture makes the representation of war particularly delicate. The paper examines specific representational patterns of Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan and discusses the implications which arise from what is placed inside the frame of visibility and what remains out of its view

Managing soil acidification through crop rotations in Southern Australia

This paper examines the agronomic management options available for use in crop rotations in southern Australia for minimizing soil acidification. These may be in addition to, but also associated with, lime use and the use of acidity-tolerant cultivars. Some long-term effects of soil acidification on soil properties and on crop production are reviewed, as well as soil acidification processes such as nitrogen transformation, carbon cycle and H+ balancing. Management of soil acidification involving efficient use of soil nitrogen and water, fertilizer and plant selection, tillage, stubble management and organic matter dynamics, and removal of products that contain organic anions (alkalinity), are discussed. Finally, some requirements for productivity growth and strategies to meet non-acidifying outcomes are given

Soil acidification as influenced by crop rotations, stubble management, and application of nitrogenous fertiliser, Tarlee, South Australia

Soil acidification, as influenced by N fertiliser, stubble management, and crop rotations, was investigated using soil samples from a long-term rotation trial at Tarlee, South Australia. With the effects of combination of treatment inputs (wheat–lupin, stubble retention and N-fertiliser application), the pHCa (0–10 cm depth) declined from the starting value of 6.12 to 4.50 after a 14-year period. All of the treatments caused the soil pH to decrease. The mean acidification rates for the period 1978–1992 varied from 0.5 to 2.22 kmol H+/ha.year for different treatments. Although the rainfall at Tarlee (483 mm) is not sufficient to cause regular drainage events, it is likely that downward movement of NO3– in the soil profile has caused acidification in the surface soil. Also the retention of stubble caused more acidification than where there was regular stubble burning or removal. The acidification resulted in an increase in soil exchangeable Al and Mn and extractable Al and Mn, and the decrease in soil exchangeable base cations. The values for soluble Al (extracted in CaCl2) in 1992 were 1.58 and 2.45 mg/kg (0–10 cm depth) for the wheat–bean and wheat–lupin rotations, but the percentage of Al in the ECEC was low. It is not known whether this acidity has any impact on yields of field crops at this stage. But with soluble Al and the percentage of Al in ECEC increasing, it is possible that Al toxicity may occur in the high input-output cropping soils in South Australia. acidity, pH, aluminium, manganese.</jats:p