Neuer Kopf, alte Ideen? : "Normalisierung" des Front National unter Marine Le Pen

In this article, it is investigated whether vibrational entropy (VE) is an important contribution to the free energy of globular proteins at ambient conditions. VE represents the major configurational-entropy contribution of these proteins. By definition, it is an average of the configurational entropies of the protein within single minima of the energy landscape, weighted by their occupation probabilities. Its large part originates from thermal motion of flexible torsion angles giving rise to the finite peak widths observed in torsion angle distributions. While VE may affect the equilibrium properties of proteins, it is usually neglected in numerical calculations as its consideration is difficult. Moreover, it is sometimes believed that all well-packed conformations of a globular protein have similar VE anyway. Here, we measure explicitly the VE for six different conformations from simulation data of a test protein. Estimates are obtained using the quasi-harmonic approximation for three coordinate sets, Cartesian, bond-angle-torsion (BAT), and a new set termed rotamer-degeneracy lifted BAT coordinates by us. The new set gives improved estimates as it overcomes a known shortcoming of the quasi-harmonic approximation caused by multiply populated rotamer states, and it may serve for VE estimation of macromolecules in a very general context. The obtained VE values depend considerably on the type of coordinates used. However, for all coordinate sets we find large entropy differences between the conformations, of the order of the overall stability of the protein. This result may have important implications on the choice of free energy expressions used in software for protein structure prediction, protein design, and NMR refinement

Reducing Calorie Intake May Not Help You Lose Body Weight

Background Previously a meta-analysis found that multi-vitamin/mineral supplementation reduced mild psychiatric symptoms. To establish mechanisms, and to pin-point the individuals most likely to benefit, the role of various polymorphisms were examined. Supplementation was found to influence mild-psychiatric symptoms depending on the form of particular genes: genes that are risk factors for psychiatric disease and influence mechanisms by which drugs act. Methods In a double-blind trial young healthy males rated psychiatric symptoms, before and after taking vitamin/mineral supplements for three months, and the response was related to single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with catecholamines and serotonin. Outcomes With rs1800497 (Taq1A; dopamine D2 receptor), those with the CT allele benefitted from a vitamin/mineral supplement. Similarly with rs1800955 (DRD4 – dopamine D4 receptor), the mood of those with the CC allele benefitted selectively. With rs6296 (HTR1B) only those with the GC alleles responded, and with rs6311 (HTR2A) supplementation produced a beneficial response in those with the GG allele. With rs1050565 (5HTT gene - Human Serotonin Transporter gene) supplementation increased the mental health of those with the AA allele. Interpretation In a situation where a substantial proportion of patients do not benefit from drug therapy, and there is an element of trial and error when prescribing, it was proposed that future work should consider distinguishing patients depending on various polymorphisms and micro-nutrient status. In those with particular alleles, we should consider if drug administration and vitamin / mineral status interact synergistically to influence the therapeutic outcom