Surface Aggregation of Urinary Proteins and Aspartic Acid-Rich Peptides on the Faces of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate Investigated by In Situ Force Microscopy

The growth of calcium oxalate monohydrate in the presence of Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP), osteopontin, and the 27-residue synthetic peptides (DDDS)6DDD and (DDDG)6DDD (D = aspartic acid, S = serine, and G = glycine) was investigated via in situ atomic force microscopy. The results show that these four growth modulators create extensive deposits on the crystal faces. Depending on the modulator and crystal face, these deposits can occur as discrete aggregates, filamentary structures, or uniform coatings. These proteinaceous films can lead to either the inhibition of or an increase in the step speeds (with respect to the impurity-free system), depending on a range of factors that include peptide or protein concentration, supersaturation, and ionic strength. While THP and the linear peptides act, respectively, to exclusively increase and inhibit growth on the \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\left( {\bar{1}01} \right)$$\end{document} face, both exhibit dual functionality on the (010) face, inhibiting growth at low supersaturation or high modulator concentration and accelerating growth at high supersaturation or low modulator concentration. Based on analyses of growth morphologies and dependencies of step speeds on supersaturation and protein or peptide concentration, we propose a picture of growth modulation that accounts for the observations in terms of the strength of binding to the surfaces and steps and the interplay of electrostatic and solvent-induced forces at the crystal surface

Tumour necrosis factor and PI3-kinase control oestrogen receptor alpha protein level and its transrepression function

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2410160

The role of short-term memory and visuo-spatial skills in numerical magnitude processing: evidence from Turner syndrome

Peer reviewe

A review of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and therapeutic strategies

Lung transplantation is an important treatment option for patients with advanced lung disease. Survival rates for lung transplant recipients have improved; however, the major obstacle limiting better survival is bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). In the last decade, survival after lung retransplantation has improved for transplant recipients with BOS. This manuscript reviews BOS along with the current therapeutic strategies, including recent outcomes for lung retransplantation

The Psychological Science Accelerator's COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

The Psychological Science Accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

QTL mapping for brown rot (Monilinia fructigena) resistance in an intraspecific peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) F1 progeny

Brown rot (BR) caused by Monilinia spp. leads to significant post-harvest losses in stone fruit production, especially peach. Previous genetic analyses in peach progenies suggested that BR resistance segregates as a quantitative trait. In order to uncover genomic regions associated with this trait and identify molecular markers for assisted selection (MAS) in peach, an F1 progeny from the cross "Contender" (C, resistant) 7 "Elegant Lady" (EL, susceptible) was chosen for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. Over two phenotyping seasons, skin (SK) and flesh (FL) artificial infections were performed on fruits using a Monilinia fructigena isolate. For each treatment, infection frequency (if) and average rot diameter (rd) were scored. Significant seasonal and intertrait correlations were found. Maturity date (MD) was significantly correlated with disease impact. Sixty-three simple sequence repeats (SSRs) plus 26 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were used to genotype the C 7 EL population and to construct a linkage map. C 7 EL map included the eight Prunus linkage groups (LG), spanning 572.92 cM, with an average interval distance of 6.9 cM, covering 78.73 % of the peach genome (V1.0). Multiple QTL mapping analysis including MD trait as covariate uncovered three genomic regions associated with BR resistance in the two phenotyping seasons: one containing QTLs for SK resistance traits near M1a (LG C 7 EL-2, R2 = 13.1-31.5 %) and EPPISF032 (LG C 7 EL-4, R2 = 11-14 %) and the others containing QTLs for FL resistance, near markers SNP_IGA_320761 and SNP_IGA_321601 (LG3, R2 = 3.0-11.0 %). These results suggest that in the C 7 EL F1 progeny, skin resistance to fungal penetration and flesh resistance to rot spread are distinguishable mechanisms constituting BR resistance trait, associated with different genomic regions. Discovered QTLs and their associated markers could assist selection of new cultivars with enhanced resistance to Monilinia spp. in fruit