Functional modes of proteins are among the most robust ones

It is shown that a small subset of modes which are likely to be involved in protein functional motions of large amplitude can be determined by retaining the most robust normal modes obtained using different protein models. This result should prove helpful in the context of several applications proposed recently, like for solving difficult molecular replacement problems or for fitting atomic structures into low-resolution electron density maps. Moreover, it may also pave the way for the development of methods allowing to predict such motions accurately.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Опухоль брюшной стенки - грыжа спигелевой линии, содержащая метастатическую карциному с невыявленным первичным очагом

АДЕНОКАРЦИНОМАБРЮШНАЯ СТЕНКАГРЫЖИКАРЦИНОМАКОЛОРЕКТАЛЬНЫЕ НОВООБРАЗОВАНИЯНОВООБРАЗОВАНИЯТОЛСТАЯ КИШК

1 cm2 CH3NH3PbI3 mesoporous solar cells with 17.8% steady-state efficiency by tailoring front FTO electrodes

In this article, we investigate the effects of atmospheric-pressure chemical vapour deposited fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films as front electrodes for the fabrication of mesoporous perovskite solar cells with an active area of 1 cm2 and compare them with the use of a commonly used commercial transparent conducting oxide. The effects of sheet resistance (Rs) and surface roughness are both closely linked to the film thickness. In order to separate out these effects the characteristics of the deposited FTOs were carefully controlled by changing the fluorine doping levels and the number of passes under the coating head to give films of specific thicknesses or Rs. Under AM 1.5 Sun illumination and maximum power point tracking, the optimised FTOs yielded a steady-state power conversion efficiency of 17.8%, higher than that of the reference cell fabricated from the commercial FTO. We attribute the improved cell efficiency to increased fill factor and a lower series resistance resulting from the lower Rs and increased thickness of these FTO substrates. This low-cost and viable methodology is the first such type of study looking independently at the significance of FTO roughness and resistance for highly efficient mesoporous perovskite solar cells

Nanoscale Analysis by EFTEM and FIB-Tomography for Optimization of Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 - August 5, 201

New Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments for ‘Old’ Patients : Results of a Systematic Review

Introduction: In the last 20 years, biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have become available for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and a treat-to-target strategy has been introduced. We hypothesise that these advances should have resulted in changes to the characteristics of patients with RA participating in clinical trials of the newest therapies. This study determined whether the baseline characteristics of patients with RA enrolled in clinical trials have changed in the past decade versus patients participating in earlier RA studies. Methods: This secondary analysis was based on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) identified in a systematic literature review. Baseline characteristics of patients with RA with inadequate response to conventional synthetic DMARDs were compared between RCTs published in 1999\u20132009 and those published in 2010\u20132017 using random-effects meta-analyses. Results: Forty RCTs were analysed: 22 from 1999\u20132009 and 18 from 2010\u20132017. No significant difference between the two timeframes and no obvious trend over time were observed for age, gender, disease duration, rheumatoid factor status, tender and swollen joint counts, physician and patient global assessments of disease activity, and pain scores. Variability between RCTs was high. Similar results were observed for Disease Activity Scores and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index scores, but with low variability between RCTs. Conclusion: The baseline characteristics of patients with RA participating in RCTs do not appear to have changed in the last decade despite the availability of new treatments and a different treatment approach. Further research should determine the impact of baseline patient characteristics on patients\u2019 response to RA treatments

Qualité microbiologique des fromages artisanaux fabriqués au lait cru en Région wallonne

Microbiological quality of craft raw milk cheeses produced in Wallonia. The main objective of this study was to evaluatethe bacteriological quality of raw milk cheeses produced in the southern part of Belgium (Wallonia) and to compare withsamples coming from other European countries. Results from bacteriological analyses of 153 cheese samples have beencompared with regard to food microbial standards (92/46 EC Directive). It can be concluded from this work that 69% of thesamples may be considered as acceptable, while 31% showed coliforms and Staplylococcus aureus counts exceeding thestandard values. As far as pathogens were concerned, 0.7% and 7.2% of the samples have were found unsatifactory with thecriteria related to Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, respectively. Enterobacteriaceae contamination has also beenevaluated and demonstrated an average log count of about 3.78 cfu/g. Cheeses produced from ewe milk showed anoutstanding microbiological quality since all samples turned out to be acceptable regarding the S. aureus counts and devoidof Salmonella and L. monocytogenes contamination. Although no seasonal effect on the bacteriological quality could beobserved, the microbial quality decreased after the production stage, i.e. mainly during the storage and the distribution.Cheese made by small producers seems to be better than those originating from industrial enterprises. By comparing theseresults with those obtained on cheese samples produced in some other European countries, it appears that the mean qualitylevel of Walloon raw milk cheeses is quite satifactory

Growth model of MOCVD polycrystalline ZnO

A growth model for the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) of polycrystalline ZnO thin films is proposed. This model is based on experimental observations of the surface morphology and crystallographic orientations of the layers at different thicknesses and growth temperatures. It is shown that the films preferred orientation evolves from c-axis to aaxis as the growth temperature is increased from 110 to 220 Cand then goes back to c-axis at 380 C. At the same time, when the film thickness increases, the surface morphology evolves from small rounded grains to large pyramids at a growth temperature of 150 C. The selection of various preferential orientations under different deposition conditions is attributed to growth competition between clusters initially formed with different crystallographic orientations

A Cluster of Legionnaires' Disease and Associated Pontiac Fever Morbidity in Office Workers, Dublin, June-July 2008

In June and July 2008, two office workers were admitted to a Dublin hospital with Legionnaires' disease. Investigations showed that cooling towers in the basement car park were the most likely source of infection. However, positive results from cooling tower samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) did not correlate with subsequent culture results. Also, many employees reported Pontiac fever-like morbidity following notification of the second case of Legionnaires' disease. In total, 54 employees attended their general practitioner or emergency department with symptoms of Legionnaires' disease or Pontiac fever. However, all laboratory tests for Legionnaires' disease or Pontiac fever were negative. In this investigation, email was used extensively for active case finding and provision of time information to employees and medical colleagues. We recommend clarification of the role of PCR in the diagnosis of legionellosis and also advocate for a specific laboratory test for the diagnosis of the milder form of legionellosis as in Pontiac fever

Adapting to the sea:Human habitation in the coastal area of the northern Netherlands before medieval dike building

Before medieval dike building, the coastal area of the northern Netherlands was a wide, regularly inundated salt-marsh area. Despite the dynamic natural conditions, the area was inhabited already in the Iron Age. The inhabitants adapted to this marine environment by living on artificial dwelling mounds, so-called terps. Terp habitation was a highly successful way of life for over 1500 years, and may be re-introduced as a useful strategy for present and future communities in low-lying coastal regions that are facing accelerated sea-level rise. This already has been recommended in several reports, but detailed knowledge of the technology of terp habitation is usually lacking. The aim of this paper is to present nearly two decades of archaeological research in the coastal region of the northern Netherlands, in order to inform the current debate on the possibilities of adapting to the effects of climate change in low-lying coastal areas. It presents the multi-disciplinary methods of this research and its results, supplying details of terp construction and other strategies such as the construction of low summer dikes that are still useful today. The results and discussion of the presented research also make it possible to describe the conditions that must be met to make terp habitation possible. Terp habitation could have continued, were it not for the considerable subsidence of inland areas due to peat reclamation. That made the entire coastal area increasingly vulnerable to the sea. In response to this threat, dike building began in the 11th or 12th century, but these increasingly higher dikes decreased the water storage capacity and caused impoundment of seawater during storm surges. Moreover, accretion through sedimentation was halted from then on. Unlike terp habitation, the construction of high dikes therefore cannot be considered a sustainable solution for living in low-lying coastal areas in the long term