Transcription factors (TFs) are able to associate to their binding sites on DNA faster than the physical limit posed by diffusion. Such high association rates can be achieved by alternating between three-dimensional diffusion and one-dimensional sliding along the DNA chain, a mechanism-dubbed facilitated diffusion. By studying a collection of TF binding sites of Escherichia coli from the Regulo...

Membrane processes are used in various felds such as the environment, agriculture and different industrial sectors. These clean techniques are often adopted for directed processes such as treatment, recovery, valorization and separation. In this review article, the theoretical principles and the different classifcations of liquid membranes, such as supported liquid membra...

Here we introduce a technology for biomarker discovery in which (i) DNA aptamers to biomarkers differentially expressed on the surfaces of cells being in different states are selected; (ii) aptamers are used to isolate biomarkers from the cells; and (iii) the isolated biomarkers are identified by means of mass spectrometry. The technology is termed aptamer-facilitated biomarker discovery (AptaB...

Under dilute in vitro conditions transcription factors rapidly locate their target sequence on DNA by using the facilitated diffusion mechanism. However, whether this strategy of alternating between three-dimensional bulk diffusion and one-dimensional sliding along the DNA contour is still beneficial in the crowded interior of cells is highly disputed. Here we use a simple model for the bacteri...

L. Candy and S. Ferguson (eds.), Interactive Experience in the Digital Age: Evaluating New Art Practice, Springer Series on Cultural Computing, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-04510-8_7, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014 Abstract With the recent emergence of intimate Live Art and performance practices in the past decades, involving artists and audiences interacting in close physical pr...

Conventional security exploits have relied on overwriting the saved return pointer on the stack to hijack the path of execution. Under Sun Microsystem’s Sparc processor architecture, we were able to implement a kernel modification to transparently and automatically guard applications’ return pointers. Our implementation called StackGhost under OpenBSD 2.8 acts as a ghost in the machine. StackGh...

Using a calcium-containing heparin preparation for anticoagulation, we determined [Ca2+], the mean concentration of ionized calcium, in whole blood of 120 healthy blood-donors to be 1.23 (SD 0.04) mmol/L. Similarly, for 50 intensive-care patients selected without conscious bias, the correlation between [Ca2+] in serum (mean 1.15, SD 0.10 mmol/L) and in whole-blood samples anticoagulated with th...

The miscibility of carboxymethyl chitosan/polyethylenimine (CMCS/PEI) blends was analyzed by FT-IR, TGA and SEM. Defect-free CMCS/PEI blend membranes were prepared with polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration membranes as support layer for the separation of CO(2)/N(2) mixtures. The results demonstrate that the CMCS/PEI blend is miscible, due to the hydrogen bonding interaction between the two targete...

Introduction The facilitated transport of ions and polar molecules across biological membranes is essential for normal cell function and is also a major objective in the rapidly growing field of drug delivery. Researchers strive to simulate naturally occurring channel-forming proteins or carrier molecules. The resultant compounds may utilize endogenous peptide sequences or may be novel organic ...