In the present paper we show the preparation of polymersomes using ABA triblock copolymers with poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(2-methyloxazoline) blocks with the incorporation of SoPIP2;1 aquaporin in their structure. The presence of the protein in the polymersome membrane was demonstrated using imaging techniques, and the conformation of the protein into the membranes was assessed using Raman sp

Attapulgite (or palygorskite) is a magnesium aluminium phyllosilicate. Modified attapulgite-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) was created by a liquid-phase reduction method and then applied for nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) removal (transformation) in simulated groundwater. Nanoscale zero-valent iron was sufficiently dispersed on the surface of thermally modified attapulgite. The NO3-N remova

In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Peruzzotti-Jametti et al. (2018) demonstrate how neural stem cells, transplanted in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, respond to extracellular succinate and modulate neuroinflammation by releasing anti-inflammatory prostaglandin E2 and scavenging succinate. This mechanism reduces CNS damage and ameliorates motor impairment. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Peruz

Genome amplification in the form of rings or giant rod-shaped marker chromosomes (RGMs) is a common genetic alteration in soft tissue tumors. The mitotic stability of these structures is often rescued by perfectly functioning analphoid neocentromeres, which therefore significantly contribute to cancer progression. Here, we disentangled the genomic architecture of many neocentromeres stabilizing ma

Adaptation and mitigation are two key responses to climate change. In the global South; they prompt many questions: what is the direction and degree of change needed; how can new climate change policies be aligned with existing development initiatives; and how are core social relations such as gender understood and prioritized in relation to technical; and other; solutions? In search of synergies

In this work, the effects of Si doping in GaAs nanowires (NWs) grown on GaAs (111)B by molecular beam epitaxy with different Si doping levels (nominal free carrier concentrations of 1 × 1016, 8 × 1016, 1 × 1018 and 5 × 1018 cm-3) are deeply investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GID), photoluminescence (PL

We analyze the cross-sectional relation between expected idiosyncratic volatility and stock returns. The expected idiosyncratic volatility is conditioned on macro-finance factors as well as traditional asset pricing factors. The macro-finance factors are constructed from a large set of macroeconomic and financial variables. Our results show that the negative relation between expected idiosyncratic

Using South African Families (SAF), a new database of settler genealogies, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of women’s fertility in settler South Africa between 1700 and 1900. Differences in parity rates acrossgeographic regions suggest couples knew how to limit fertility prior to theglobal onset of the first fertility transition. We date the start of South Africa’s fertility transition

It is crucial to consider the effects of large-scale drivers on species presences and ecological interactions to understand what structures communities. In our study, we investigated how the species composition and the potential interaction networks of herbivore and parasitoid communities in oilseed rape fields are affected by agricultural landscape characteristics. Insect communities of 26 winter

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how integral and modular product architectures influence the design properties of the global operations network. Design/methodology/approach: The authors perform a multiple-case study of three global manufacturing companies, using interviews, seminars and structured questionnaires to identify ideal design properties. Findings: The authors find that

Therapeutic antibodies that block the programmed death-1 (PD-1)-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway can induce robust and durable responses in patients with various cancers, including metastatic urothelial cancer. However, these responses only occur in a subset of patients. Elucidating the determinants of response and resistance is key to improving outcomes and developing new treatment strat

The rate of water exchange across cell membranes is a parameter of biological interest and can be measured by diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI). In this work, we investigate a stochastic model for the diffusion-and-exchange of water molecules. This model provides a general solution for the temporal evolution of dMRI signal using any type of gradient waveform, thereby generalizing the sig

There is a widening gap between the fast advancement of computational methods for tomographic reconstruction and their successful implementation in production software at various synchrotron facilities. This is due in part to the lack of readily available instrument datasets and phantoms representative of real materials for validation and comparison of new numerical methods. Recent advancements in

Background: Norovirus is frequently introduced to the hospital and is a frequent cause of hospital outbreaks. Recognition of the factors that facilitate or impede norovirus transmission is an important step to effectively prevent hospital outbreaks. Aim: To investigate risk factors for norovirus outbreaks in hospital settings. Methods: Clinical data, ward setting, and norovirus genotype were colle

A questionnaire survey has been conducted in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden in 2016­2017. Once every third month through one year respondents have received a link to an online questionnaire which asked them about information on any traffic accidents they might have experienced in the period. The questionnaire contains questions on various aspects related to the accidents that

Objective: Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) in adolescence is associated with increased risk of future osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to study clinical and radiographic risk factors for early cartilage degeneration after SCFE. Design: 22 patients (44 hips) (mean age 24 years, range 18-27) treated with in situ fixation (The Hansson hook-pin) for stable SCFE on average 11

Objective The most common aetiologies of acute pancreatitis (AP) are gallstones, alcohol and idiopathic. The impact of the aetiology of AP on the extent and morphology of pancreatic and extrapancreatic necrosis (EXPN) has not been clearly established. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of aetiology on the presence and location of pancreatic necrosis in patients with AP. Patie

Lithium abundance in most of the warm metal-poor main sequence stars shows a constarnt plateau (A(Li) ~ 2.2 dex) and then the upper envelope of the lithium vs. metallicity distribution increases as we approach solar metallicity. Meteorites, which carry information about the chemical composition of the interstellar medium (ISM) at the solar system formation time, show a lithium abundance A(Li) ~ 3.

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with at least two hadronically decaying tau leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb- 1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant deviation from the expected Standard

Background: Diabetes is presently classified into two main forms, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but type 2 diabetes in particular is highly heterogeneous. A refined classification could provide a powerful tool to individualise treatment regimens and identify individuals with increased risk of complications at diagnosis. Methods: We did data-driven cluster analysis (k-means and hierarchical clusterin