Cyclic AMP pathway activation and extracellular zinc induce rapid intracellular zinc mobilization in Candida albicans

LK was supported by Innovation Fund Denmark, DK (4019-00019B). Pcovery ApS received funding from Wellcome Trust, Research Councils, UK (100480/Z/12), Novo Seeds, DK and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, D. DW is supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (102549/Z/13/Z), the Medical Research Council and University of Aberdeen (MR/N006364/1) and received support from a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology (097377/Z/11/Z). The funders had no part in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Panayia Ematousa II: Political, cultural, ethnic and social relations in Cyprus: Approaches to regional studies

Edited by L. Wriedt Sorensen & K. Winther Jacobse

The effectiveness of a standardized rose hip powder, containing seeds and Shells of <em>Rosa canina, on cell longevity, skin wrinkles, moisture, and elasticity </em>

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a rose hip powder (Hyben Vital(®)) made from seeds and shells on cell senescence, skin wrinkling, and aging. METHODS: A total of 34 healthy subjects, aged 35–65 years, with wrinkles on the face (crow’s-feet) were subjected to a randomized and double-blinded clinical study of the effects of the rose hip powder, as compared to astaxanthin, a well-known remedy against wrinkles. During the 8-week study, half of the participants ingested the standardized rose hip product, while the other half ingested astaxanthin. Objective measurements of facial wrinkles, skin moisture, and elasticity were made by using Visioscan, Corneometer, and Cutometer at the beginning of the study, after 4 weeks, and after 8 weeks. Evaluation of participant satisfaction of both supplements was assessed using questionnaires. In addition, the effect of the rose hip preparation on cell longevity was measured in terms of leakage of hemoglobin through red cell membranes (hemolytic index) in blood samples kept in a blood bank for 5 weeks. Significance of all values was attained with P≤0.05. RESULTS: In the double-blinded study, the rose hip group showed statistically significant improvements in crow’s-feet wrinkles (P<0.05), skin moisture (P<0.05), and elasticity (P<0.05) after 8 weeks of treatment. A similar improvement was observed for astaxanthin, with P-values 0.05, 0.001, and 0.05. Likewise, both groups expressed equal satisfaction with the results obtained in their self-assessment. The rose hip powder further resulted in increased cell longevity of erythrocyte cells during storage for 5 weeks in a blood bank. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that intake of the standardized rose hip powder (Hyben Vital(®)) improves aging-induced skin conditions. The apparent stabilizing effects of the rose hip product on cell membranes of stored erythrocyte cells observed in this study may contribute to improve the cell longevity and obstructing skin aging

Introduction: Genomics and Philosophy of Race

This year’s topic is “Genomics and Philosophy of Race.” Different researchers might work on distinct subsets of the six thematic clusters below, which are neither mutually exclusive nor collectively exhaustive: (1) Concepts of ‘Race’; (2) Mathematical Modeling of Human History and Population Structure; (3) Data and Technologies of Human Genomics; (4) Biological Reality of Race; (5) Racialized Selves in a Global Context; (6) Pragmatic Consequences of ‘Race Talk’ among Biologists

ESPON TOWN spin-off Denmark. Small and medium sized towns in Denmark

This study “ESPON TOWN spin-off Denmark” provides supporting knowledge and evidence on the state and development of SMSTs in Denmark by using detailed datasets and by conducting an in-depth analysis of the local context . Based on a quantitative data-driven analysis, it describes the main characteristics of SMSTs in Denmark, how they differ from each other and what role various aspects including tourism and services play. Furthermore, it presents a short update of SMST research as well as a recap of recent Danish policies related to SMSTs. Finally, it provides perspectives on Denmark’s SMSTs within a European policy context

Case study in rapid product design and development

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 66).This thesis explores a new strategy in developing products quickly, cheaply and efficiently, with the hopes to redefine the paradigms behind the product design process. This was carried out through the development of the product "flatRat", a commemorative MIT novelty ring. With this product, we explored different prototyping techniques, manufacturing processes, and business strategies with the hope to optimize the process for others to carry out similar projects. This thesis summarizes a selection of work from the development of flatRat from concept generation to final product sales. The ultimate goal of this project was to bring a product to life with limited resources. From the project's beginning in June, 2009 to its capstone in February, 2011, flatRat was designed and developed fully into a marketable product followed by an initial manufacturing run of 500 units. These were sold to MIT's Class of 2013 Ring Committee and given away to attendants of the "Ring Premiere" Ceremony on February 11, 2011. This product is currently being developed further to be sold at the MIT Museum and Campus Bookstore. The process developed around this product is currently being implemented at Olin College of Engineering under Dr. Lawrence Neeley.by Garrett L. Winther.S.B

Real-time observations of single bacteriophage λ DNA ejections in vitro

The physical, chemical, and structural features of bacteriophage genome release have been the subject of much recent attention. Many theoretical and experimental studies have centered on the internal forces driving the ejection process. Recently, Mangenot et al. [Mangenot S, Hochrein M, Rädler J, Letellier L (2005) Curr Biol 15:430–435.] reported fluorescence microscopy of phage T5 ejections, which proceeded stepwise between DNA nicks, reaching a translocation speed of 75 kbp/s or higher. It is still unknown how high the speed actually is. This paper reports real-time measurements of ejection from phage {lambda}, revealing how the speed depends on key physical parameters such as genome length and ionic state of the buffer. Except for a pause before DNA is finally released, the entire 48.5-kbp genome is translocated in {approx}1.5 s without interruption, reaching a speed of 60 kbp/s. The process gives insights particularly into the effects of two parameters: a shorter genome length results in lower speed but a shorter total time, and the presence of divalent magnesium ions (replacing sodium) reduces the pressure, increasing ejection time to 8–11 s. Pressure caused by DNA–DNA interactions within the head affects the initiation of ejection, but the close packing is also the dominant source of friction: more tightly packed phages initiate ejection earlier, but with a lower initial speed. The details of ejection revealed in this study are probably generic features of DNA translocation in bacteriophages and have implications for the dynamics of DNA in other biological systems

Advanced asteroseismic modelling: breaking the degeneracy between stellar mass and initial helium abundance

Current stellar model predictions of adiabatic oscillation frequencies differ significantly from the corresponding observed frequencies due to the non-adiabatic and poorly understood near-surface layers of stars. However, certain combinations of frequencies -- known as frequency ratios -- are largely unaffected by the uncertain physical processes as they are mostly sensitive to the stellar core. Furthermore, the seismic signature of helium ionization provides envelope properties while being almost independent of the outermost layers. We have developed an advanced stellar modelling approach in which we complement frequency ratios with parameters of the helium ionization zone while taking into account all possible correlations to put the most stringent constraints on the stellar internal structure. We have tested the method using the Kepler benchmark star 16 Cyg A and have investigated the potential of the helium glitch parameters to constrain the basic stellar properties in detail. It has been explicitly shown that the initial helium abundance and mixing-length parameters are well constrained within our framework, reducing systematic uncertainties on stellar mass and age arising for instance from the well-known anti-correlation between the mass and initial helium abundance. The modelling of six additional Kepler stars including 16 Cyg B reinforces the above findings and also confirms that our approach is mostly independent from model uncertainties associated with the near-surface layers. Our method is relatively computationally expensive, however, it provides stellar masses, radii and ages precisely in an automated manner, paving the way for analysing numerous stars observed in the future during the ESA PLATO mission.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures (including 5 in the appendix), 3 tables, MNRAS in pres