Search results for "structural"

Dynamics and interactions of parvoviral NS1 protein in the nucleus

2007

Summary Nuclear positioning and dynamic interactions of viral proteins with nuclear substructures play essen- tial roles during infection with DNA viruses. Visual- ization of the intranuclear interactions and motility of the parvovirus replication protein (NS1) in living cells gives insight into specific parvovirus protein- cellular structure interactions. Confocal analysis of highly synchronized infected Norden Laboratory Feline Kidney cells showed accumulation of nuclear NS1 in discrete interchromosomal foci. NS1 fused with enhanced yellow fluorescence protein (NS1- EYFP) provided a marker in live cells for dynamics of NS1 traced by photobleaching techniques. Fluo- rescence Recovery after…

What monomeric nucleotide binding domains can teach us about dimeric ABC proteins

2020

The classic conceptualization of ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter function is an ATP-dependent conformational change coupled to transport of a substrate across a biological membrane via the transmembrane domains (TMDs). The binding of two ATP molecules within the transporter's two nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) induces their dimerization. Despite retaining the ability to bind nucleotides, isolated NBDs frequently fail to dimerize. ABC proteins without a TMD, for example ABCE and ABCF, have NBDs tethered via elaborate linkers, further supporting that NBD dimerization does not readily occur for isolated NBDs. Intriguingly, even in full-length transporters, the NBD-dimerized, outward-…

A closer look at the cholesterol sensor

2002

Abstract Transport of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) cleavage-activating protein (SCAP)–SREBP complex from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi is the central event mediating the cholesterol-feedback process in mammalian cells. A conformational change in SCAP is a crucial step; when cholesterol levels are high, the conformation of SCAP enables the SCAP–SREBP complex to associate with an insulin-induced gene (INSIG) retention protein in the ER. By contrast, when cholesterol levels are low, SCAP switches to a conformation that enables the dissociation of the retention protein and the association of SCAP–SREBP with COP II vesicles.

Interacting processes in protein coagulation

1999

A strong interest is currently focused on protein self-association and deposit. This usually involves conformational changes of the entire protein or of a fragment. It can occur even at low concentrations and is responsible for pathologies such as systemic amyloidosis, Alzheimer's and Prion diseases, and other neurodegenerative pathologies. Readily available proteins, exhibiting at low concentration self-association properties related to conformational changes, offer very convenient model systems capable of providing insight into this class of problems. Here we report experiments on bovine serum albumin, showing that the process of conformational change of this protein towards an intermedia…

Antigen recognition by T cells: a strong sense of structure

2001

Using change trajectories to study the impacts of multi-annual habitat loss on fledgling production in an old forest specialist bird

2017

The loss and subdivision of habitat into smaller and more spatially isolated units due to human actions has been shown to adversely affect species worldwide. We examined how changes in old forest cover during eight years were associated with the cumulative number of fledged offspring at the end of study period in Eurasian treecreepers (Certhia familiaris) in Central Finland. We were specifically interested in whether the initial level of old forest cover moderated this relation. We applied a flexible and powerful approach, latent growth curve modelling in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, to create trajectories describing changes in old forest cover through time, and studied h…

Stress-Strain Law for Confined Concrete with Hardening or Softening Behavior

2013

This paper provides a new general stress-strain law for concrete confined by steel, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP), or fiber reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM), obtained by a suitable modification of the well-known Sargin’s curve for steel confined concrete. The proposed law is able to reproduce stress-strain curve of any shape, having both hardening or softening behavior, by using a single closed-form simple algebraic expression with constant coefficients. The coefficients are defined on the basis of the stress and the tangent modulus of the confined concrete in three characteristic points of the curve, thus being related to physical meaningful parameters. It will be shown that if the v…

A fractional order theory of poroelasticity

2019

Abstract We introduce a time memory formalism in the flux-pressure constitutive relation, ruling the fluid diffusion phenomenon occurring in several classes of porous media. The resulting flux-pressure law is adopted into the Biot’s formulation of the poroelasticity problem. The time memory formalism, useful to capture non-Darcy behavior, is modeled by the Caputo’s fractional derivative. We show that the time-evolution of both the degree of settlement and the pressure field is strongly influenced by the order of Caputo’s fractional derivative. Also a numerical experiment aiming at simulating the confined compression test poroelasticity problem of a sand sample is performed. In such a case, …

Models and Phenomena: Bas van Fraassen’s Empiricist Structuralism

2013

Bas van Fraassen’s recent endorsement of empiricist structuralism is based on a particular approach to representation. He sharply distinguishes between what makes a scientific model M a successful representation of its target T from what makes M a representation of T and not of some other different target T’. van Fraassen maintains that embedment (i.e.: a particular sort of isomorphism which relates structures) gives the answer to the first question while the user’s decision to employ model M to represent T accounts for the representational link. After discussing the rationale for this approach, I defend that indexical constraints like those favoured by van Fraassen cannot be the last word …

Action Research as a Proactive Research Method for Construction Engineering and Management

2010

Academic research in applied disciplines such as construction engineering and management (CEM) has the dual mission of simultaneously contributing to the solution of practical problems and creating theoretical and conceptual knowledge. To do so, appropriate research approaches are needed. However, extant literature in the field has paid little attention to this issue and research methods used have been almost entirely either quantitative surveys or case studies. In this paper, action research (AR) is proposed as an answer to this knowledge gap. AR aims at building and testing theory within the context of solving an immediate practical problem in a real setting. The paper describes the under…