Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2018 Dec 6;91:109-121. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

University of Granada, Faculty of Dentistry, Dental Materials Section, Colegio Máximo de Cartuja s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain.

The aim of this research was to ascertain the mechanical and chemical behavior of sound and caries-affected dentin (CAD), after the placement of Zn-free vs containing amalgam restorations. Peritubular and intertubular dentin were evaluated using, a) nanoindenter in scanning mode; the load and displacement responses were used to perform the nano-Dynamic mechanical analysis and to estimate the complex (E * ) and storage modulus (E'); b) Raman spectroscopy was used to describe the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Assessments were performed before restoration placement and after restoring, and after 3 months of storage with thermocycling (100,000cy/5 °C and 55 °C). Read More

Micron 2018 Nov 23;118:9-21. Epub 2018 Nov 23.

Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566, Japan. Electronic address:

Neural networking, including axon targeting and synapse formation, is the basis of various brain functions, including memory and learning. Diabetes-mellitus affects peripheral nerves and is known to cause fatty liver disease. Electron microscopy (EM) provides the resolution required to observe changes in fine subcellular structures caused by such physiological and pathological processes, but samples are observed in vacuum. Read More

Curr Opin Psychol 2018 Nov 28;29:71-75. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Icelandic Vision Laboratory, School of Humanitites and Social Sciences, University of Akureyri. Hafnarstræti 97, Akureyri IS600, Iceland.

Humans possess a primitive memory system for attention deployments that allows quick reorientation of visual attention to stimuli that are relevant to behavior at any given moment. We review recent evidence regarding such attentional priming effects from a number of different perspectives. We discuss recent findings on the time course and duration of such effects, the potential interaction of priming and top-down attentional guidance; how priming can be used to probe the nature of visual representations and attentional templates; findings on the basic nature of priming effects and recent relevant findings on so-called serial dependencies that share many characteristics with attentional priming. Read More

Bioresour Technol 2018 Dec 7;274:425-429. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Section of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft 2628CN, The Netherlands; Veolia Water Technologies Techno Center Netherlands B.V., Tanthofdreef 21, 2623 EW Delft, The Netherlands.

Deep treatment is a common approach to enhance pollutant removal for biological wastewater treatment technologies (BWTTs), and life cycle assessment (LCA) holds substantial advantages to support process optimization. However, there lacks of LCA-based benchmarks that cover human-nature nexuses and stakeholder involvement, which limits the guidance and eco-design of BWTTs. This study proposed a decision-support system (DSS) by linking LCA with Water Quality Model and Conjoint Analysis. Read More

Neuroimage 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Section on Functional Imaging Methods, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.

Interest in real-time fMRI neurofeedback has grown exponentially over the past few years, both for use as a basic science research tool, and as part of the search for novel clinical interventions for neurological and psychiatric illnesses. In order to expand the range of questions which can be addressed with this tool however, new neurofeedback methods must be developed, going beyond feedback of activations in a single region. These new methods, several of which have already been proposed, are by their nature complex, involving many possible parameters. Read More

Clin Microbiol Infect 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Department of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Miami, FL, 33133 USA.

Background: Since its sudden appearance and link to microcephaly in 2015, the number of PubMed references for Zika virus (ZIKV) has risen from 181 to 5,163, as of writing, with a vast proportion focused on the consequences of ZIKV infection during pregnancy. This level of attention underlies increased demand for sensitive and specific diagnostic tools able to assess risk to an unborn child, as well as to understand the dynamics and consequences of viral persistence.

Aim: Review the expanding knowledge on ZIKV persistence and diagnostic challenges and summarize current advancements in detection. Read More

Prog Retin Eye Res 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

In the eye immune defenses must take place in a plethora of differing microenvironments ranging from the corneal and conjunctival epithelia facing the external environment to the pigmented connective tissue of the uveal tract containing smooth muscle, blood vessels and peripheral nerves to the innermost and highly protected neural retina. The extravascular environment of the neural retina, like the brain parenchyma, is stringently controlled to maintain conditions required for neural transmission. The unique physiological nature of the neural retina can be attributed to the blood retinal barriers (BRB) of the retinal vasculature and the retinal pigment epithelium, which both tightly regulate the transport of small molecules and restrict passage of cells and macromolecules from the circulation into the retina in a similar fashion to the blood brain barrier (BBB). Read More

J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Office of Translational Science, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Division of Applied Regulatory Science, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, White Oak Federal Research Center, 10903 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA. Electronic address:

Topical ophthalmic drugs are the most commonly used dosage form to treat diseases of the anterior segment of the eye. Although this dosage form has the advantages of ease of application, small volume dose, and rapid action and is largely devoid of systemic adverse effects, the bioavailability is low due to pre-corneal anatomical barriers and the nature of the drug formulation itself. Some complex generic formulations (suspensions, ointments, gels) for topical ophthalmic products face impediments to rapid regulatory approval because of the complex nature of the formulations and difficulties in determining bioequivalence with the innovator product. Read More

New Phytol 2018 Dec 15. Epub 2018 Dec 15.

Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Davis, CA, 95618.

Secondary growth from a vascular cambium, present today only in seed plants and isoetalean lycophytes, has a 400-million-year evolutionary history that involves considerably broader taxonomic diversity, most of it hidden in the fossil record. Approaching vascular cambial growth as a complex developmental process, we review data from living plants and fossils that reveal diverse modes of secondary growth. These are consistent with a modular nature of secondary growth, when considered as a tracheophyte-wide structural feature. Read More

J Comp Neurol 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA.

Interlaminar astrocytes (ILA) in the cerebral cortex possess a soma in layer I and extend an interlaminar process that runs perpendicular to the pia into deeper cortical layers. We examined cerebral cortex from 46 species that encompassed most orders of therian mammalians, including 22 primate species. We described two distinct cell types with interlaminar processes that have been referred to as ILA, that we termed pial ILA and supial ILA. Read More

Immunol Res 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

FGBU "St. Petersburg Scientific Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology" of the Ministry of Health of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Clinical and radiological features of tuberculosis and sarcoidosis are quite overlapping, and therefore, a diagnostic dilemma often persists. There are no commonly accepted criteria for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis due to the lack of data on the etiology of the disease. The exclusion of tuberculosis in every patient with suspected sarcoidosis is a mandatory stage of diagnosis, especially in countries with a high burden of tuberculosis. Read More

Ann Biomed Eng 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

Presented in this paper is an exploration into the efficacy of a plastic, four-cylinder piston pneumatic motor designed for driving medical instruments inside magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. Because of the increasing use of MRI for diagnostic and interventional purposes and the benefits that could be realized by operating with real-time MR image guidance, there exists a significant need for MRI compliant surgical devices. Some type of actuation mechanism is necessary to drive such devices. Read More

Eur Biophys J 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Biophysics Laboratories, School of Biology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2DT, UK.

The nature of water on the surface of a macromolecule is reflected in the temperature dependence of the heat effect, i.e., the heat capacity change, ΔCp, that accompanies its removal on forming a complex. Read More

Nature 2018 Dec;564(7736):356-357

Eur J Hum Genet 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

X-inactivation is a well-established dosage compensation mechanism ensuring that X-chromosomal genes are expressed at comparable levels in males and females. Skewed X-inactivation is often explained by negative selection of one of the alleles. We demonstrate that imbalanced expression of the paternal and maternal X-chromosomes is common in the general population and that the random nature of the X-inactivation mechanism can be sufficient to explain the imbalance. Read More

Nat Rev Neurosci 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, .

Sci Rep 2018 Dec 14;8(1):17848. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands.

Knowledge of the temporal trends and spatial patterns will have significant implications for effective preparedness in future epidemics. Our objective was to investigate the temporal trends and the nature of the spatial interaction of cholera incidences, dwelling on an outbreak in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. We developed generalized nonparametric and segmented regression models to describe the epidemic curve. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Dec 14;8(1):17845. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Laboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging, Paul Scherrer Institut, Zurich, Switzerland.

Structural properties of cohesive powders are dominated by their microstructural composition. Powders with a fractal microstructure show particularly interesting properties during compaction where a microstructural transition and a fractal breakdown happen before compaction and force transport. The study of this phenomenon has been challenging due to its long-range effect and the subsequent necessity to characterize these microstructural changes on a macroscopic scale. Read More

Nat Rev Rheumatol 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, .

Biosci Rep 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, 30324, United States

Influenza viruses cause seasonal epidemics and sporadic pandemics in humans. The virus's ability to change its antigenic nature through mutation and recombination, and the difficulty in developing highly effective universal vaccines against it, make it a serious global public health challenge. Influenza virus's surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, are all modified by the host cell's N-linked glycosylation pathways. Read More

Clin Colorectal Cancer 2018 Nov 16. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Department of Medical Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address:

Background: First-line adjuvant chemotherapy options for early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) include CapeOx (capecitabine, intravenous oxaliplatin) and FOLFOX (intravenous 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin). Capecitabine is an oral prodrug analog of 5-fluorouracil, and recent studies have suggested that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may detrimentally affect capecitabine efficacy. Conversely, some literature suggests that PPIs may negatively affect CRC itself. Read More

J Sex Med 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Division of Urology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, East Orange, NJ, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Removal of the penile prosthesis reservoir can be technically challenging because of its difficult locations either deep in the pelvis or high in the abdominal wall.

Aim: To describe a detailed surgical technique for reservoir removal through a penoscrotal approach.

Methods: We describe our preferred method for removal of prosthetic reservoir and present a retrospective review of patient outcomes after reservoir removal. Read More

Cytotherapy 2018 Dec 12. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

University-Hospital of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy and Chair, ISCT Presidential Task Force on Unproven and Unethical Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University Hospital of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.

Curr Opin Insect Sci 2018 Oct 28;29:56-63. Epub 2018 Jun 28.

Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.

Although crop domestication is considered a model system for understanding evolution, the eco-evolutionary effects of domesticated crops on higher trophic levels have rarely been discussed. Changes in size, shape, quality, or timing of plant traits during domestication can influence entire arthropod communities. The plant traits specific to crop plants can be rare in nature. Read More

Curr Opin Insect Sci 2018 Aug 16;28:98-104. Epub 2018 May 16.

Department of Entomology, 2475 TAMU, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.

Citizen-collected arthropod vectors are useful for epidemiological studies of vector-borne disease, especially since the vectors encountered by the public are the subset of vectors in nature that have a disproportionate impact on health. Programs integrating educational efforts with collecting efforts may be particularly effective for public health initiatives, resulting in an empowered public with knowledge of vector-borne disease prevention. Citizen science programs have been successfully implemented for the collection of unprecedented sample sets of mosquitos, ticks, and triatomines. Read More

Curr Opin Insect Sci 2018 Aug 10;28:1-7. Epub 2018 Mar 10.

Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS, University of Tours, Tours, France. Electronic address:

Mounting defences against pathogens is a necessity for all animals. Although these defences have long been known to rely on individual processes such as the immune system, recent studies have emphasized the importance of social defences for group-living hosts. These defences, called social immunity, have been mostly studied in eusocial insects such as bees, termites and ants, and include, for instance, mutual cleaning and waste management. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018 Dec 13;15(12). Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Sustainable Waste-To-Wealth, UTM-MPRC Institute for Oil & Gas, Resource Sustainability Research Alliance, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor 81310, Malaysia.

Inadequately treated or untreated wastewater greatly contribute to the release of unwanted toxic contaminants into water bodies. Some of these contaminants are persistent and bioaccumulative, becoming a great concern as they are released into the environment. Despite the abundance of wastewater treatment technologies, the adsorption method overall has proven to be an excellent way to treat wastewater from multiple industry sources. Read More

Molecules 2018 Dec 13;23(12). Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Semeling 8100, Bedong, Kedah, Malaysia.

In the present study, we have developed a green approach for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (DSAgNPs) using aqueous extract of seed and determined its antibacterial, photocatalytic and cytotoxic effects. Surface plasmon resonance confirmed the formation of DSAgNPs with a maximum absorbance (λ) of 420 nm. SEM and TEM images revealed DSAgNPs were spherical and rod shaped, with a size range of 20 nm and 75 nm. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2018 Dec 13;10(12). Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.

Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease that each year claims the lives of 80,000⁻140,000 victims worldwide. The only effective treatment against envenoming involves intravenous administration of antivenoms that comprise antibodies that have been isolated from the plasma of immunized animals, typically horses. The drawbacks of such conventional horse-derived antivenoms include their propensity for causing allergenic adverse reactions due to their heterologous and foreign nature, an inability to effectively neutralize toxins in distal tissue, a low content of toxin-neutralizing antibodies, and a complex manufacturing process that is dependent on husbandry and procurement of snake venoms. Read More

Materials (Basel) 2018 Dec 13;11(12). Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility, Henry Royce Institute, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.

Bone is a complex material comprising high stiffness, but brittle, crystalline bio-apatite combined with compliant, but tough, collagen fibres. It can accommodate significant deformation, and the bone microstructure inhibits crack propagation such that micro-cracks can be quickly repaired. Catastrophic failure (bone fracture) is a major cause of morbidity, particularly in aging populations, either through a succession of small fractures or because a traumatic event is sufficiently large to overcome the individual crack blunting/shielding mechanisms. Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2019 Jan 13;109:1462-1477. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Department of Biochemistry Basic Medical Science Block-II Sector-25, South Campus, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India. Electronic address:

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common carcinoma of the digestive tract. The slow growing nature of CRC offers a great opportunity for prevention strategies. The concept of chemoprevention of colorectal cancer using plant derived natural products is gaining substantial attention because it is an inherently safe and cost-effective alternative to conventional cancer therapies. Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2019 Jan 6;109:1148-1162. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Sunandan Divatia School of Science, NMIMS (Deemed-to-be University), Vile Parle (W), Mumbai, 400 056, Maharashtra, India. Electronic address:

Anxiety and depression, the most prevalent psychiatric disorders are co-morbid in nature affecting several people across the world. There is an increase in demand for complementary and alternative medicines, specifically herbal botanicals due to various side effects exhibited by conventional drugs. Herbal drugs mentioned in traditional medicines, face acceptance issues by the medical community due to lack of scientific data regarding their neurochemical pathways. Read More

Psychiatry Res 2018 Dec 28;270:815-821. Epub 2018 Oct 28.

School of Social Work, Ariel University, Ariel, 40700, Israel. Electronic address:

The current study aimed to explore Israelis' state anxiety due to a Syrian-Israeli incident that occurred on February 10, 2018, when an Israeli F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Syrian air defense forces. In line with the "looming vulnerability" model which emphasizes the importance of the dynamic nature of psychologically threatening situations, the following psychological factors were suggested: associative memory of prior events, worries of future war, sense of safety, and death anxiety. We employed two cross-sectional points of time in our assessment: 36 hours and three months after the incident. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2019 Jan 25;173:825-832. Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Nanobiotechnology for diagnostics group (Nb4D), Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Nanotechnology, Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC) of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Spain; CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.

Nanomaterials have been the focus of attention in several fields, including biomedicine, electronics, or catalysis, mainly due to the novel properties of the materials at the nanoscale. In the field of diagnosis, nanomaterials have been contemplated as an opportunity to improve sensitivity and time of response, therefore, facilitating early treatment and monitoring of the disease. For therapeutic applications, new drug delivery nanosystems aiming to provide enhanced efficiency have been proposed often addressing selective or controlled delivery of therapeutic agents to particular cells to maximize treatment efficacy minimizing adverse effects. Read More

Nihon Rinsho 2016 Dec;74(12):2003-2007

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), caused by infection with CCHF virus (CCHFV), is viral hemorrhagic fever with high case fatality rate. CCHFV is classified to Family Bunyaviridae, Genus Nairovirus. CCHF is endemic to Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, central Asia, and southern Asia. Read More

Pract Midwife 2017 May;20(5):22-24

Water immersion for labour and birth is a powerful, low cost intervention that facilitates physiological birth. However, for some midwives - students or qualified - a lack of exposure to water births can create fearful perceptions and reduce their willingness to support women in water. This article explores the nature of this fear, and how it was overcome from the perspectives of both the mentor and student, perhaps offering useful insights for others. Read More

Northwest Dent 2017 Jan;96(1):15-19

Polymerization shrinkage of methacrylate composites utilizing bisphenol-A glycidal methacylate or urethane dimethacrylate has typically been about 3-3.5% by volume. Though adjustments have been made to filler loading, filler size, filler particle distribution, and improved silanization, the polymerization contraction still creates some significant clinical problems. Read More

Nat Prod Commun 2016 Oct;11(10):1579-1586

Triterpenoids, an important group of secondary metabolites, are widely distributed in nature. Many triterpenoids have been found with potential therapeutic effect against diabetes mellitus. However, the use of triterpenoids for the treatment of diabetes has not been systematically discussed previously. Read More

Nat Prod Commun 2016 Oct;11(10):1527-1530

The composition of the volatile fraction of Malva sylvestris var. mauritiana (L.) Boiss. Read More

Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida.

The catheter tip "granuloma" is a rare inflammatory mass that forms in about 3% of patients with an intradural catheter, most commonly from a morphine pump. It has also been seen with other narcotic pumps, narcotic-non-narcotic combinations, and baclofen pumps. Mass formation is associated with increased opioid dose and concentration. Read More

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2019 Jan;58(1):103-109

Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Objectives: To determine predictors of renal relapse and end-stage renal failure (ESRF) in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Methods: Data from four European Vasculitis Society randomized controlled trials, conducted roughly simultaneously between 15 March 1995 and 30 September 2002, was pooled to determine predictors of long-term renal outcome. The respective trial inclusion criteria covered the entire spectrum of disease severity. Read More

Hum Reprod 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Commenda, 12, 20122 Milan, Italy.

Elagolix, an orally active non-peptidic GnRH antagonist, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the management of moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis. As the degree of ovarian suppression obtained with elagolix is dose-dependent, pain relief may be achieved by modulating the level of hypo-oestrogenism while limiting side effects. Elagolix may thus be considered a novelty in terms of its endocrine and pharmacological properties but not for its impact on the pathogenic mechanisms of endometriosis, as the target of this new drug is, yet again, alteration of the hormonal milieu. Read More

J Pediatr Psychol 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Oklahoma State University.

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine parent and youth appraisals of illness uncertainty as potential serial mediators in the relation between disease severity and youth depressive symptoms in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: Participants were 85 adolescents 13-18 years of age (Mage = 15.75, SD =1. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.

Background: Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis are closely related bacteria that cause a significant global burden of disease. Control of gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly difficult due to widespread antibiotic resistance. While vaccines are routinely used for N. Read More

Mol Phylogenet Evol 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 416, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China; Missouri Botanical Garden,4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri 63110, U.S.A. Electronic address:

Arachniodes (Dryopteridaceae) is one of the most confusing and controversial fern genera in terms of its circumscription, nomenclature, and taxonomy. Estimates of species number range from 40 to 200. Previous molecular works included only 2-17 accessions representing 2-12 species of Arachniodes and allied genera, leaving most of the Asian species remain unsampled and the infragneric relationships unclear. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2018 Dec 3;657:517-534. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.

Global initiatives have been increasingly focusing on mainstreaming the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services into decision-making at all levels. Due to the accelerated rate at which biodiversity is declining and its consequences for the functioning of ecosystems and subsequently, the services they provide, there is need to develop comprehensive assessments of the services and the benefits nature delivers to society. Based on expert evaluation, we identified relevant flow linkages in the supply-side of the socio-ecological system, i. Read More

Life Sci 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Biophysics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India. Electronic address:

Aims: Idiopathic nature of male infertility disorder needs to be investigated by different horizons of molecular biology for its treatment and to device male contraceptive. Further, it can also aid in advancement of assisted reproductive technology (ART), as nowadays the failure and disquiets of ART are consistent. Herein, we have attempted to find out proteins responsible for male infertility by comparing proteome profile of sperms collected from normal control and asthenozoospermic (AS) males. Read More

Dev Biol 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

The University of Queensland, Queensland Brain Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia. Electronic address:

A neuron's contribution to the information flow within a neural circuit is governed by the structure of its dendritic arbor. The geometry of the dendritic arbor directly determines synaptic density and the size of the receptive field, both of which influence the firing pattern of the neuron. Importantly, the position of individual dendritic branches determines the identity of the neuron's presynaptic partner and thus the nature of the incoming sensory information. Read More

Chem Phys Lipids 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Bioinformatics Centre, Bose Institute, P-1/12 C.I.T. Scheme VII M, Kolkata, 700054, India. Electronic address:

The C-terminal helix of the Bcl-xl is known to initiate the membrane insertion of the protein by anchoring into the mitochondrial outer membrane. The C-terminal charged residues of that helix, R232, and K233, are reported to have an important structural role in the process of insertion. The present work provides a quantitative understanding of the thermodynamic contribution of these residues on the membrane insertion profile from Adaptive Biasing Force based MD simulations of 2. Read More

Antiviral Res 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.

Filoviruses, which include Ebola virus and Marburg virus, are negative-sense RNA viruses associated with sporadic outbreaks of severe viral hemorrhagic fever characterized by uncontrolled virus replication. The extreme virulence and emerging nature of these zoonotic pathogens make them a significant threat to human health. Replication of the filovirus genome and production of viral RNAs requires the function of a complex of four viral proteins, the nucleoprotein (NP), viral protein 35 (VP35), viral protein 30 (VP30) and large protein (L). Read More