Oxidative protein folding in the mitochondrial intermembrane space

Disulfide bond formation is a crucial step for oxidative folding and necessary for the acquisition of a protein's native conformation. Introduction of disulfide bonds is catalyzed in specialized subcellular compartments and requires the coordinated action of specific enzymes. The intermembrane space of mitochondria has recently been found to harbor a dedicated machinery that promotes the oxidative folding of substrate proteins by shuttling disulfide bonds. The newly identified oxidative pathway consists of the redox-regulated receptor Mia40 and the sulfhydryl oxidase Erv1. Proteins destined to the intermembrane space are trapped by a disulfide relay mechanism that involves an electron cascade from the incoming substrate to Mia40, then on to Erv1, and finally to molecular oxygen via cytochrome c. This thiol–disulfide exchange mechanism is essential for the import and for maintaining the structural stability of the incoming precursors. In this review we describe the mechanistic parameters that define the interaction and oxidation of the substrate proteins in light of the recent publications in the mitochondrial oxidative folding field

Optimization of Tetrapolar Impedance Electrodes in Microfluidic Devices for Point of Care Diagnostics using Finite Element Modeling

Electrophoresis is widely applied in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology. Tetrapolar electrical impedance sensing (TEIS) has been shown capable of replacing the conventional detection technology in order to develop a point of care electrophoretic analyzer. Besides the advantages of reduced influence of electrode polarization, TEIS is affected by sensitivity distribution depending on the electrode design. A well reported practice outside of electrophoresis, systematic investigation of the effects of sensitivity distribution on the TEIS in microfluidic devices has not been conducted. Here we utilize finite element modeling, backed by experimental results, to optimize the sensor design within an electrophoretic separation device. Numerous sensor designs were validated regarding detectability, sensitivity and spatial resolution. The results show, that minimizing the distance between the central/pick-up electrodes increases sensitivity and spatial resolution whereas the distance between the central electrodes and the outer electrode do not influence sensitivity and spatial resolution

Single leg drop jump is affected by physical capacities in male soccer players following ACL reconstruction

Single leg drop jump (SLDJ) assessment is commonly used during the later stages of rehabilitation to identify residual deficits in reactive strength but the effects of physical capacity on kinetic and kinematic variables in male soccer players following ACL reconstruction remains unknown. Isokinetic knee extension strength, kinematics from an inertial measurement unit 3D system and SLDJ performance variables and mechanics derived from a force plate were measured in 64 professional soccer players (24.7 ± 3.4 years) prior to return to sport (RTS). SLDJ between-limb differences were measured (part 1) and players were divided into tertiles based on isokinetic knee extension strength (weak, moderate and strong) and reactive strength index (RSI) (low, medium and high) (part 2). Moderate to large significant differences between the ACL reconstructed and uninjured limb in SLDJ performance (d = 0.92 – 1.05), kinetic (d = 0.62 – 0.71) and kinematic variables (d = 0.56) were evident. Stronger athletes jumped higher (p = 0.002; d = 0.85), produced greater concentric (p = 0.001; d = 0.85) and eccentric power (p = 0.002; d = 0.84). Similar findings were present for RSI, but the effects were larger (d = 1.52 – 3.84). Weaker players, and in particular those who had lower RSI, displayed landing mechanics indicative of a “stiff” knee movement strategy. SLDJ performance, kinetic and kinematic differences were identified between-limbs in soccer players at the end of their rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction. Players with lower knee extension strength and RSI displayed reduced performance and kinetic strategies associated with increased injury risk

Dispersion and collapse of wave maps

We study numerically the Cauchy problem for equivariant wave maps from 3+1 Minkowski spacetime into the 3-sphere. On the basis of numerical evidence combined with stability analysis of self-similar solutions we formulate two conjectures. The first conjecture states that singularities which are produced in the evolution of sufficiently large initial data are approached in a universal manner given by the profile of a stable self-similar solution. The second conjecture states that the codimension-one stable manifold of a self-similar solution with exactly one instability determines the threshold of singularity formation for a large class of initial data. Our results can be considered as a toy-model for some aspects of the critical behavior in formation of black holes.Comment: 14 pages, Latex, 9 eps figures included, typos correcte

Total score of athleticism: Profiling strength and power characteristics in professional soccer players following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction to assess return to sport readiness

Single leg drop jump (SLDJ) assessment is commonly used during the later stages of rehabilitation to identify residual deficits in reactive strength but the effects of physical capacity on kinetic and kinematic variables in male soccer players following ACL reconstruction remains unknown. Isokinetic knee extension strength, kinematics from an inertial measurement unit 3D system and SLDJ performance variables and mechanics derived from a force plate were measured in 64 professional soccer players (24.7 ± 3.4 years) prior to return to sport (RTS). SLDJ between-limb differences were measured (part 1) and players were divided into tertiles based on isokinetic knee extension strength (weak, moderate and strong) and reactive strength index (RSI) (low, medium and high) (part 2). Moderate to large significant differences between the ACL reconstructed and uninjured limb in SLDJ performance (d = 0.92 – 1.05), kinetic (d = 0.62 – 0.71) and kinematic variables (d = 0.56) were evident. Stronger athletes jumped higher (p = 0.002; d = 0.85), produced greater concentric (p = 0.001; d = 0.85) and eccentric power (p = 0.002; d = 0.84). Similar findings were present for RSI, but the effects were larger (d = 1.52 – 3.84). Weaker players, and in particular those who had lower RSI, displayed landing mechanics indicative of a “stiff” knee movement strategy. SLDJ performance, kinetic and kinematic differences were identified between-limbs in soccer players at the end of their rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction. Players with lower knee extension strength and RSI displayed reduced performance and kinetic strategies associated with increased injury risk

Global Solutions for Incompressible Viscoelastic Fluids

We prove the existence of both local and global smooth solutions to the Cauchy problem in the whole space and the periodic problem in the n-dimensional torus for the incompressible viscoelastic system of Oldroyd-B type in the case of near equilibrium initial data. The results hold in both two and three dimensional spaces. The results and methods presented in this paper are also valid for a wide range of elastic complex fluids, such as magnetohydrodynamics, liquid crystals and mixture problems.Comment: We prove the existence of global smooth solutions to the Cauchy problem for the incompressible viscoelastic system of Oldroyd-B type in the case of near equilibrium initial dat

Global exponential stability of classical solutions to the hydrodynamic model for semiconductors

In this paper, the global well-posedness and stability of classical solutions to the multidimensional hydrodynamic model for semiconductors on the framework of Besov space are considered. We weaken the regularity requirement of the initial data, and improve some known results in Sobolev space. The local existence of classical solutions to the Cauchy problem is obtained by the regularized means and compactness argument. Using the high- and low- frequency decomposition method, we prove the global exponential stability of classical solutions (close to equilibrium). Furthermore, it is also shown that the vorticity decays to zero exponentially in the 2D and 3D space. The main analytic tools are the Littlewood-Paley decomposition and Bony's para-product formula.Comment: 18 page

A comparison of strength and power characteristics prior to anterior cruciate ligament rupture and at the end of rehabilitation in professional soccer players

Background: Strength and power is often reduced on the involved vs. contralateral limb and healthy controls following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction but no study has compared to pre-injury values at the time of return to sport (RTS). Hypothesis: Divergent recovery patterns in strength and power characteristics will be present at RTS relative to pre-injury baseline data and healthy matched controls. Study design: Cohort study Level of evidence: Level 3 Methods: Isokinetic strength tests, bilateral and single leg countermovement jumps (CMJ; SLCMJ) were measured prior to ACL rupture in 20 professional soccer players. These then had surgical reconstruction (ACL group) and completed follow up testing prior to RTS. Healthy controls (uninjured group) were tested at the same time as the ACL group pre-injury. Values recorded at RTS of the ACL group were compared to pre-injury. We also compared the uninjured and ACL groups at baseline and RTS. Results: Compared to pre-injury, ACL normalised quadriceps peak torque of the involved limb (% difference = -7%), SLCMJ height (% difference = -12.08%) and Reactive Strength Index modified (RSImod) (% difference = -5.04%) were reduced following ACL reconstruction. No significant reductions in CMJ height, RSImod and relative peak power were indicated at RTS in the ACL group when compared to pre-injury values but deficits were present relative to controls. The uninvolved limb significantly improved quadriceps (% difference = 9.34%) and hamstring strength (% difference = 7.36%) from pre-injury to RTS. No significant differences from baseline were shown in SLCMJ height, power and reactive strength of the uninvolved limb following ACL reconstruction. Conclusion: Strength and power in professional soccer players at RTS following ACL reconstruction were often reduced compared to preinjury values and matched healthy controls. Clinical relevance: Deficits were more apparent in the SLCMJ suggesting dynamic and multijoint unilateral force production is an important component of rehabilitation. Use of the uninvolved limb and normative data to determine recovery may not always be appropriate