The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes induced by a lypolytic enzyme on the surface properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Changes in surface hydrophilicity were monitored by means of water contact angle (WCA) measurements. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in the Attenuated Total Reflectance mode (ATR) was used to investigate the structural and conformat...

Hkx2 (hexokinase 2) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was one of the first metabolic enzymes described as a multifunctional protein. Hxk2 has a double subcellular localization: it functions as a glycolytic enzyme in the cytoplasm and as a regulator of gene transcription of several Mig1-regulated genes in the nucleus. To get more insights into the structure-function relationships of the Hxk2 protein...

MOTIVATION For genetic studies, statistically significant variants explain far less trait variance than 'sub-threshold' association signals. To dimension follow-up studies, researchers need to accurately estimate 'true' effect sizes at each SNP, e.g. the true mean of odds ratios (ORs)/regression coefficients (RRs) or Z-score noncentralities. Naïve estimates of effect sizes incur winner's curse ...

Ecological restoration plans in the Florida Everglades require detailed information about the status and change of thenutrient contentof the soil.The soil totalphosphorus (TP)content isofparticular importanceas the system is naturally P limited and the TP enrichment has led to changes in thewetland vegetation communities. Oneway to provide the relevant information is by geostatistical predictio...

In this paper we examine the phase behavior of the Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) potential with βε = 40. Crystal nucleation in this model system was recently studied by Kawasaki and Tanaka [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107, 14036 (2010)], who argued that the computed nucleation rates agree well with experiment, a finding that contradicted earlier simulation results. Here we report an extensive...

Weichang'an (WCA) pill, a traditional Chinese patent medicine consisting of ten Chinese medicinal herbs, has been used to treat irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia for several decades. In this study, twelve bioactive constituents in the methanol extract of WCA were accurately identified since MS/MS fragmentation behavior of the references and the standards by using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS...

Compared to other countries, work pressure, sickness absence and work incapacity rates due to work-related mental problems are quite high in the Netherlands. About a decade ago, a new Working Conditions Act (WCA) was introduced that had farreaching consequences for the way job stress is dealt with in organizations. The WCA emphasizes the central role to be played by commercially operating Occup...

Florida Everglades restoration plans are aimed at maintaining and restoring characteristic landscape features such as soil, vegetation, and hydrologic patterns. This study presents the results from an exhaustive spatial sampling of key soil properties in Water Conservation Area 1 (WCA 1), which is part of the northern Everglades. Three soil strata were sampled: floc, upper 0- to 10-cm soil laye...

THE FILIÈRE INTEGRÉE—AN AFRICAN SUCCESS STORY: Cotton production is an important smallholder export crop for Africa in general and for Francophone WCA in particular. From independence to the mid-1990s, the filière integrée approach to cotton sector organization in Francophone WCA was cited in the development literature as a success story. The defining characteristic of the filière integrée is t...

Hydrophobins are structural proteins produced by filamentous fungi that are amphiphilic and function through self-assembling into structures such as membranes. They have diverse roles in the growth and development of fungi, for example in adhesion to substrates, for reducing surface tension to allow aerial growth, in forming protective coatings on spores and other structures. Hydrophobin membra...