1,501 research outputs found
Suture Materials, 1980s: Properties, Uses, and Abuses
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66057/1/j.1365-4362.1982.tb03154.x.pd
Nanopore detection using supercharged polypeptide molecular carriers
The analysis at the single-molecule level of proteins and their interactions can provide critical information for understanding biological processes and diseases, particularly for proteins present in biological samples with low copy numbers. Nanopore sensing is an analytical technique that allows label-free detection of single proteins in solution and is ideally suited to applications, such as studying protein-protein interactions, biomarker screening, drug discovery, and even protein sequencing. However, given the current spatiotemporal limitations in protein nanopore sensing, challenges remain in controlling protein translocation through a nanopore and relating protein structures and functions with nanopore readouts. Here, we demonstrate that supercharged unstructured polypeptides (SUPs) can be genetically fused with proteins of interest and used as molecular carriers to facilitate nanopore detection of proteins. We show that cationic SUPs can substantially slow down the translocation of target proteins due to their electrostatic interactions with the nanopore surface. This approach enables the differentiation of individual proteins with different sizes and shapes via characteristic subpeaks in the nanopore current, thus facilitating a viable route to use polypeptide molecular carriers to control molecular transport and as a potential system to study protein-protein interactions at the single-molecule level
Spontaneous Stratification in Granular Mixtures
Granular materials size segregate when exposed to external periodic
perturbations such as vibrations. Moreover, mixtures of grains of different
sizes spontaneously segregate in the absence of external perturbations: when a
mixture is simply poured onto a pile, the large grains are more likely to be
found near the base, while the small grains are more likely to be near the top.
Here, we report a spontaneous phenomenon arising when we pour a mixture between
two vertical plates: the mixture spontaneously stratifies into alternating
layers of small and large grains whenever the large grains are rougher than the
small grains. In contrast, we find only spontaneous segregation when the large
grains are more rounded than the small grains. The stratification is related to
the occurrence of avalanches; during each avalanche the grains comprising the
avalanche spontaneously stratify into a pair of layers through a "kink"
mechanism, with the small grains forming a sublayer underneath the layer of
large grains.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, http://polymer.bu.edu/~hmakse/Home.htm
The Citation Field of Evolutionary Economics
Evolutionary economics has developed into an academic field of its own,
institutionalized around, amongst others, the Journal of Evolutionary Economics
(JEE). This paper analyzes the way and extent to which evolutionary economics
has become an interdisciplinary journal, as its aim was: a journal that is
indispensable in the exchange of expert knowledge on topics and using
approaches that relate naturally with it. Analyzing citation data for the
relevant academic field for the Journal of Evolutionary Economics, we use
insights from scientometrics and social network analysis to find that, indeed,
the JEE is a central player in this interdisciplinary field aiming mostly at
understanding technological and regional dynamics. It does not, however, link
firmly with the natural sciences (including biology) nor to management
sciences, entrepreneurship, and organization studies. Another journal that
could be perceived to have evolutionary acumen, the Journal of Economic Issues,
does relate to heterodox economics journals and is relatively more involved in
discussing issues of firm and industry organization. The JEE seems most keen to
develop theoretical insights
Sprint start kinetics of amputee and non-amputee sprinters
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the forces applied to the starting blocks and the start performances (SPs) of amputee sprinters (ASs) and non-amputee sprinters (NASs). SPs of 154 male and female NASs (100-m personal records [PRs], 9.58–14.00 s) and 7 male ASs (3 unilateral above knee, 3 unilateral below knee, 1 bilateral below knee; 100 m PRs, 11.70–12.70 s) with running specific prostheses (RSPs) were analysed during full-effort sprint starts using instrumented starting blocks that measured the applied forces in 3D. Using the NAS dataset and a combination of factor analysis and multiple regression techniques, we explored the relationship between force characteristics and SP (quantified by normalized average horizontal block power). Start kinetics were subsequently compared between ASs and NASs who were matched based on their absolute 100 m PR and their 100 m PR relative to the world record in their starting class. In NASs, 86% of the variance in SP was shared with five latent factors on which measured parameters related to force application to the rear and front blocks and the respective push-off directions in the sagittal plane of motion were loaded. Mediolateral force application had little influence on SP. The SP of ASs was significantly reduced compared to that of NASs matched on the basis of relative 100-m PR (−33.8%; d = 2.11, p < 0.001), while a non-significant performance reduction was observed when absolute 100-m PRs were used (−17.7%; d = 0.79, p = 0.09). These results are at least partially explained by the fact that force application to the rear block was clearly impaired in the affected legs of ASs
Boolean Dynamics with Random Couplings
This paper reviews a class of generic dissipative dynamical systems called
N-K models. In these models, the dynamics of N elements, defined as Boolean
variables, develop step by step, clocked by a discrete time variable. Each of
the N Boolean elements at a given time is given a value which depends upon K
elements in the previous time step.
We review the work of many authors on the behavior of the models, looking
particularly at the structure and lengths of their cycles, the sizes of their
basins of attraction, and the flow of information through the systems. In the
limit of infinite N, there is a phase transition between a chaotic and an
ordered phase, with a critical phase in between.
We argue that the behavior of this system depends significantly on the
topology of the network connections. If the elements are placed upon a lattice
with dimension d, the system shows correlations related to the standard
percolation or directed percolation phase transition on such a lattice. On the
other hand, a very different behavior is seen in the Kauffman net in which all
spins are equally likely to be coupled to a given spin. In this situation,
coupling loops are mostly suppressed, and the behavior of the system is much
more like that of a mean field theory.
We also describe possible applications of the models to, for example, genetic
networks, cell differentiation, evolution, democracy in social systems and
neural networks.Comment: 69 pages, 16 figures, Submitted to Springer Applied Mathematical
Sciences Serie
Vitamin B-12 deficiency stimulates osteoclastogenesis via increased homocysteine and methylmalonic acid
The risk of nutrient deficiencies increases with age in our modern Western society, and vitamin B(12) deficiency is especially prevalent in the elderly and causes increased homocysteine (Hcy) and methylmalonic acid (MMA) levels. These three factors have been recognized as risk factors for reduced bone mineral density and increased fracture risk, though mechanistic evidence is still lacking. In the present study, we investigated the influence of B(12), Hcy, and MMA on differentiation and activity of bone cells. B(12) deficiency did not affect the onset of osteoblast differentiation, maturation, matrix mineralization, or adipocyte differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). B(12) deficiency caused an increase in the secretion of Hcy and MMA into the culture medium by osteoblasts, but Hcy and MMA appeared to have no effect on hMSC osteoblast differentiation. We further studied the effect of B(12), Hcy, and MMA on the formation of multinucleated tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive osteoclasts from mouse bone marrow. We observed that B(12) did not show an effect on osteoclastogenesis. However, Hcy as well as MMA were found to induce osteoclastogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. On the basis of these results, we conclude that B(12) deficiency may lead to decreased bone mass by increased osteoclast formation due to increased MMA and Hcy levels
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