20 research outputs found
Heterologous Expression of Membrane Proteins: Choosing the Appropriate Host
International audienceBACKGROUND: Membrane proteins are the targets of 50% of drugs, although they only represent 1% of total cellular proteins. The first major bottleneck on the route to their functional and structural characterisation is their overexpression; and simply choosing the right system can involve many months of trial and error. This work is intended as a guide to where to start when faced with heterologous expression of a membrane protein. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The expression of 20 membrane proteins, both peripheral and integral, in three prokaryotic (E. coli, L. lactis, R. sphaeroides) and three eukaryotic (A. thaliana, N. benthamiana, Sf9 insect cells) hosts was tested. The proteins tested were of various origins (bacteria, plants and mammals), functions (transporters, receptors, enzymes) and topologies (between 0 and 13 transmembrane segments). The Gateway system was used to clone all 20 genes into appropriate vectors for the hosts to be tested. Culture conditions were optimised for each host, and specific strategies were tested, such as the use of Mistic fusions in E. coli. 17 of the 20 proteins were produced at adequate yields for functional and, in some cases, structural studies. We have formulated general recommendations to assist with choosing an appropriate system based on our observations of protein behaviour in the different hosts. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Most of the methods presented here can be quite easily implemented in other laboratories. The results highlight certain factors that should be considered when selecting an expression host. The decision aide provided should help both newcomers and old-hands to select the best system for their favourite membrane protein
Personality profiles and the "russian soul": Literary and scholarly views evaluated
Many domestic and foreign observers have claimed that Russians have a unique constellation of personality traits that mirrors their distinctive historical and cultural experience. To examine the hypothesized uniqueness of Russian personality, members of the Russian Character and Personality Survey collected data from 39 samples in 33 administrative areas of the Russian Federation. Respondents (N = 7,065) identified an ethnically Russian adult or college-aged man or woman whom they knew well and rated the target using the Russian observer-rating version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The mean personality profile of Russians was very similar to the international average based on 50 different countries, debunking the myth of a unique Russian soul.The small variations from world norms did not converge with depictions of Russian national character in fiction and the scholarly literature. New items intended to capture distinctive, emic aspects of Russian personality provided no new information beyond the familiar Big Five dimensions. Religion, ethnicity, and beliefs about the uniqueness of the Russian character and the malleability of personality traits had little effect on personality ratings. Perceptions of the Russian soul do not seem to be based on the personality traits of Russians
One algorithm for branch and bound method for solving concave optimization problem
© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.The article describes the algorithm for branch and bound method for solving the concave programming problem, which is based on the idea of similarity the necessary and sufficient conditions of optimum for the original problem and for a convex programming problem with another feasible set and reverse the sign of the objective function. To find the feasible set of the equivalent convex programming problem we construct an algorithm using the idea of the branch and bound method. We formulate various branching techniques and discusses the construction of the lower objective function evaluations for the node of the decision tree. The article discusses the results of experiments of this algorithm for some famous test problems of a particular form
One algorithm for branch and bound method for solving concave optimization problem
© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.The article describes the algorithm for branch and bound method for solving the concave programming problem, which is based on the idea of similarity the necessary and sufficient conditions of optimum for the original problem and for a convex programming problem with another feasible set and reverse the sign of the objective function. To find the feasible set of the equivalent convex programming problem we construct an algorithm using the idea of the branch and bound method. We formulate various branching techniques and discusses the construction of the lower objective function evaluations for the node of the decision tree. The article discusses the results of experiments of this algorithm for some famous test problems of a particular form
La Patrie : journal quotidien, politique, commercial et littéraire
18 juillet 18751875/07/18 (A35)
The Wigner-Vlasov formalizm for time-dependent quantum oscillator
This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the problem of a
harmonic oscillator with time-depending frequencies in the framework of the
Vlasov theory and the Wigner function apparatus for quantum systems in the
phase space. A new method is proposed to find an exact solution of this problem
using a relation of the Vlasov equation chain with the Schr\"odinger equation
and with the Moyal equation for the Wigner function. A method of averaging the
energy function over the Wigner function in the phase space can be used to
obtain time-dependent energy spectrum for a quantum system. The Vlasov equation
solution can be represented in the form of characteristics satisfying the Hill
equation. A particular case of the Hill equation, namely the Mathieu equation
with unstable solutions, has been considered in details. An analysis of the
dynamics of an unstable quantum system shows that the phase space square
bounded with the Wigner function level line conserves in time, but the phase
space square bounded with the energy function line increases. In this case the
Vlasov equation characteristic is situated on the crosspoint of the Wigner
function level line and the energy function line. This crosspoint moves in time
with a trajectory that represents the unstable system dynamics. Each such
trajectory has its own energy, and averaging these energies over the Wigner
function results in time-dependent discreet energy spectrum for the whole
system. An explicit expression has been obtained for the Wigner function of the
4th rank in the generalized phase space Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure
Moss monitoring in the study of the accumulation of trace elements in the Udmurt Republic, Russia
Estimation of the parameters of the Smoluchowski equation describing the occurrence of pores in a bilayer lipid membrane under soft poration
The conductive lipid pores occurring in planar bilayer membranes are known to manifest themselves experimentally as current fluctuations. Reliable recording of such fluctuations during phase transitions, as well as in membranes with various additives (for example, SDS), allows one to determine the characteristics of hypothetical hydrophilic pores, namely, their number, sizes, lifetimes, and duration of time intervals between pores. Because, in contrast with electroporation, the emergence of pores in a membrane does not require high voltages, this process is called soft poration. Studying the characteristics of pores under soft poration allows us to estimate the parameters of the Smoluchowski equation and compare them with the corresponding parameters used to describe electroporation. In this work, the experimental characteristics of current fluctuations in the membrane with the addition of SDS to the bulk solution were used to estimate the parameters of the Smoluchowski equation: the pore edge tension, the energy of the hydrophobic pore/hydrophilic pore barrier, the coefficient of pore diffusion in the radius space, the initial distribution density of the number of pores, and the attempt rate density of the lipids in a membrane. The obtained estimates are close to the parameter values used in studies of electroporation
Personality profiles and the "russian soul": Literary and scholarly views evaluated
Many domestic and foreign observers have claimed that Russians have a unique constellation of personality traits that mirrors their distinctive historical and cultural experience. To examine the hypothesized uniqueness of Russian personality, members of the Russian Character and Personality Survey collected data from 39 samples in 33 administrative areas of the Russian Federation. Respondents (N = 7,065) identified an ethnically Russian adult or college-aged man or woman whom they knew well and rated the target using the Russian observer-rating version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The mean personality profile of Russians was very similar to the international average based on 50 different countries, debunking the myth of a unique Russian soul.The small variations from world norms did not converge with depictions of Russian national character in fiction and the scholarly literature. New items intended to capture distinctive, emic aspects of Russian personality provided no new information beyond the familiar Big Five dimensions. Religion, ethnicity, and beliefs about the uniqueness of the Russian character and the malleability of personality traits had little effect on personality ratings. Perceptions of the Russian soul do not seem to be based on the personality traits of Russians
Personality profiles and the "russian soul": Literary and scholarly views evaluated
Many domestic and foreign observers have claimed that Russians have a unique constellation of personality traits that mirrors their distinctive historical and cultural experience. To examine the hypothesized uniqueness of Russian personality, members of the Russian Character and Personality Survey collected data from 39 samples in 33 administrative areas of the Russian Federation. Respondents (N = 7,065) identified an ethnically Russian adult or college-aged man or woman whom they knew well and rated the target using the Russian observer-rating version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The mean personality profile of Russians was very similar to the international average based on 50 different countries, debunking the myth of a unique Russian soul.The small variations from world norms did not converge with depictions of Russian national character in fiction and the scholarly literature. New items intended to capture distinctive, emic aspects of Russian personality provided no new information beyond the familiar Big Five dimensions. Religion, ethnicity, and beliefs about the uniqueness of the Russian character and the malleability of personality traits had little effect on personality ratings. Perceptions of the Russian soul do not seem to be based on the personality traits of Russians