Unraveling the stepwise activation mechanism of HacA, the key regulator of the unfolded protein response in Aspergillus niger

Accumulation of unfolded proteins within the lumen of the ER results in secretion stress in eukaryotic organisms. The industrial important filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger, responds to this stress by activating a transcriptional activator. This transcriptional activator, HacA, up- regulates its target genes by binding to UPR elements present in the promoters of those genes. These target genes include foldases and chaperones that assist protein folding in the ER. The thesis describes regulation of the A. niger UPR and activation of HacA, which involves a high degree of auto-regulation.LEI Universiteit LeidenMolecular Microbiolog

Influence of a mutltistrand cable design on its quench development process and stability

The quench development process was studied with two six-strand superconducting cable samples with insulated strands and different cabling design. One sample was the traditional ‘six-around-one’ cable, the other was of the ‘round-braid’ type. Quench was initiated by a heating pulse applied to a single strand. A significant difference was observed in the current redistribution among strands due to the different cabling designs. It has an important influence on the stability of multistrand cables. A new concept of the ‘single-strand stability’ was proposed and corresponding stability criteria were offered. A possible way to improve cable stability by using special cabling design is discussed

Vibration-free Cooler for the METIS Instrument Using Sorption Compressors

METIS is the “Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph” for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) that will cover the thermal/mid-infrared wavelength range from 3-14 micron. Starting from a pumped nitrogen line at 70K, it requires cryogenic cooling of detectors and optics at 40 K (1.4 W), 25 K (1.1 W), and 8 K (0.4 W). A vibration-free cooling technology for this instrument based on sorption coolers is under development at the University of Twente in collaboration with Dutch Space. We propose a sorption-based cooler with three cascaded Joule-Thomson coolers of which the sorption compressors are all heat sunk at the 70K platform. A helium-operated cooler is used to obtain the 8K level with a cooling power of 0.4 W. Here, three pre-cooling stages are used at 40K, 25K and 15K. The latter two levels are provided by a hydrogen-based cooler, whereas the 40K level is realized by a neon-based sorption cooler. Based on our space-cooler heritage, our preliminary design used sorption compressors equipped with gas-gap heat switches. These have maximum efficiency, but the gas-gap switches add significantly to the complexity of the system. Since in METIS relatively high cooling powers are required, and thus a high number of compressor cells, manufacturability is an important issue. We, therefore, developed an alternative cylindrical compressor design that uses short-pulse heating establishing a thermal wave in radial direction. This allows to omit the gas-gap heat switch. The paper discusses the adapted cell design and two METIS cooler demonstrator setups that are currently under construction

Гайдамацький кіш Слобідської України (грудень 1917 р. — грудень 1919 р.)

Стаття присвячена одному з перших регулярних підрозділів військ Центральної Ради — Гайдамацькому кошу Слобідської України. Висвітлено передумови утворення підрозділу, його формування, простежено особовий склад, матеріальну базу, участь вояків в боротьбі за українську державність, долі керівних осіб Гайдамацького коша.The article is devoted to one of the first regular subdivisions of the Army of the Central Rada — the Haydamaky Kish of Sloboda Ukraine. It shows preconditions, formation and development, personnel, resourses, depicts participation of the Kish in the struggle for independence of Ukraine and trace fates of its leaders

A critical analysis of the utility and compatibility of motivation theories in psychiatric treatment

The TransTheoretical Model (TTM), Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and the Integral Model of Treatment Motivation (IM) provide distinct but not incompatible conceptualisations of motivation. We discuss the utility of these theories as a basis for the improvement of psychiatric treatment engagement and treatment outcomes in patients with severe mental illness. It appears that all three theories have gained support for their predictions of outcomes in patients with severe mental illness, but important questions remain unanswered, such as which of these theories provides the best prediction of treatment engagement and treatment outcomes. We explain how these three theories could complete each other, based on their strong and unique assets. It is imperative that the theories are empirically tested and compared to confirm their utility, and to this end we propose several important research questions that should be addressed in future research. Theory comparisons can advance what is currently known about intrapersonal changes and interpersonal differences in treatment engagement and outcomes in severely mentally ill patients