Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xinyu Liu, Samuel H. Gellman
Summary: The assembly of racemic beta-sheet-forming peptides is more avid due to their ability to self-associate better than single enantiomers, suggesting that rippled beta-sheet assemblies are stabilized by interactions between beta-sheet layers. Strong evidence supports the occurrence of rippled beta-sheets in some racemic peptide assemblies.
Article
Microbiology
Mohammad Khursheed Siddiqi, Chae Kim, Tracy Haldiman, Miroslava Kacirova, Benlian Wang, Jen Bohon, Mark R. Chance, Janna Kiselar, Jiri G. Safar
Summary: Research has found structural differences between different strains of human prions, which are correlated with their susceptibility to inactivation. The seeding activity of different prion strains is primarily determined by the structure of solvent-exposed domains. The structural characteristics of human prion strains suggest that subtle changes in surface domain organization play a critical role in the infectivity, propagation rate, and targeting of specific brain structures.
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Christopher J. Cleaver, Rishabh Arora, Evripides G. Loukaides, Julian M. Allwood
Summary: A novel sheet forming technique, folding-shearing, is used to produce shrink corners with minimal sheet metal wastage. The study investigates the limiting height of shrink corners and demonstrates that folding-shearing can produce shrink corners over twice as tall as conventional stamping. The study also reveals that necking is the ultimate limit and explores the influence of part size and material, die spacing, blank profile, and shear zone angle on necking.
CIRP ANNALS-MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Alessio Crestini, Francesca Santilli, Stefano Martellucci, Elena Carbone, Maurizio Sorice, Paola Piscopo, Vincenzo Mattei
Summary: Specific protein misfolding and aggregation are mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases such as prion disease and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The misfolded proteins contribute to the pathological features of AD, including the formation of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The cellular prion protein (PrPC) has an important role in the pathogenesis of AD.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thinh D. N. Luong, Suhani Nagpal, Mourad Sadqi, Victor Munoz
Summary: This article introduces a method called "Molecular LEGO" that allows for the dissection of conformational landscapes of unbound intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and provides insights into the functional mechanisms of these proteins. The method was applied to the protein NCBD and revealed specific energetic biases and conformational rheostatic behavior in NCBD's folding landscape, which are likely crucial for its function as a transcriptional coactivator.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Tasha R. Womack, Craig T. Vollert, Odochi Ohia-Nwoko, Monika Schmitt, Saghi Montazari, Tina L. Beckett, David Mayerich, Michael Paul Murphy, Jason L. Eriksen
Summary: Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia in aged populations, and chronic neuroinflammation accelerates the neurodegenerative pathologies. The role of prostacyclin in the brain is poorly understood. A study found that upregulated prostacyclin expression worsens Aβ disease pathologies and impairs learning, memory, and behavior in a mouse model of AD.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wen Kin Lim, Prameet Kaur, Huanyan Huang, Richard Shim Jo, Anupriya Ramamoorthy, Li Fang Ng, Jahnavi Suresh, Fahrisa Islam Maisha, Ajay S. Mathuru, Nicholas S. Tolwinski
Summary: Aging organisms experience a decrease in stem cells, leading to impaired tissue repair and the development of cellular and neurodegenerative diseases. Optogenetics, a technique using photosensitive molecules and genetic engineering, provides a precise way to study homeostasis and degeneration mechanisms.
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LIFE SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
F. Caballero Briones, J. Guerrero-Contreras, S. E. Benito-Santiago, J. L. Sanchez Llamazares, F. J. Espinosa-Faller
Summary: This study observed the formation of nanoscrolls after hydrazine treatment in iron oxide-decorated graphene oxide, leading to the formation of nanoribbons after HCl treatment. The proposed mechanism includes the decoration onto the epoxy/hydroxyl moieties and the reduction of carboxyl and carbonyl groups causing the sheet rolling, with nanoribbons forming upon iron oxide dissolution and breaking of iron-carbon bonds. The superparamagnetic materials exhibited maximum saturation magnetization of 30 and 20 A.m(2).kg(-1), respectively, and the formation of these structures in FeOx-GO appears to be a more general phenomenon not described in other reports.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Siddhartha Banerjee, Divya Baghel, Md Hasan Ul Iqbal, Ayanjeet Ghosh
Summary: Spontaneous aggregation of amyloid beta (Afi) proteins is a key pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease, but the structure of early-stage aggregates is not well understood. This study used atomic force microscopy-infrared nanospectroscopy to investigate the aggregation process of Afi 16-22 and found a structural transition from oligomers with parallel β-sheets to antiparallel fibrils.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Efrosini Artikis, Allison Kraus, Byron Caughey
Summary: The structures of infectious prion fibrils have been revealed using cryo-EM, providing insights into the structural features that contribute to pathogenicity. Variations in the conformation and sequence of PrP fibrils likely contribute to strain-dependent effects, while posttranslational modifications may play a role in membrane binding and pathogenesis.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Satyabrata Bandyopadhyay, Jagannath Mondal
Summary: This study introduces a method to map the conformational landscape of biomacromolecules into a latent space by using auto-encoders, identifying key metastable states and revealing conformational heterogeneities. The derived latent space variables were found to be optimal compared to traditional methods, and were able to predict folding behavior in different systems.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carlo Condello, Alison M. Maxwell, Erika Castillo, Atsushi Aoyagi, Caroline Graff, Martin Ingelsson, Lars Lannfelt, Thomas D. Bird, C. Dirk Keene, William W. Seeley, Daniel P. Perl, Elizabeth Head, Stanley B. Prusiner
Summary: Down syndrome is a common chromosomal disorder caused by abnormalities in chromosome 21. Individuals with Down syndrome are prone to developing dementia similar to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that both A beta and tau prions, which are associated with Alzheimer's disease, are present in the brains of individuals with Down syndrome. The levels of these prions increase with age in Down syndrome brains, while they decrease with age in Alzheimer's disease brains.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Shani Sharif, Russell Gentry
Summary: This research investigates how deductive engineering thinking influences the development of robotic methods for fabricating building components, emphasizing the importance of integrating creative thinking in alternative robotic fabrication techniques. By developing two robotic sheet metal folding projects, the study argues that both engineering and design are complementary processes in the development of new creative fabrication solutions.
AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jasvinder Singh Bhatti, Satinder Kaur, Jayapriya Mishra, Harikrishnareddy Dibbanti, Arti Singh, Arubala P. Reddy, Gurjit Kaur Bhatti, P. Hemachandra Reddy
Summary: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that involves synaptic damage, mitochondrial abnormalities, microRNA deregulation, hormonal imbalance, increased astrocytes & microglia, and accumulation of amyloid & beta; and phosphorylated Tau. Targeting mitochondrial proteins, including dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), may be a potential therapeutic approach for preventing AD pathology.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR BASIS OF DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Alyssa J. Block, Ronald A. Shikiya, Thomas E. Eckland, Anthony E. Kincaid, Ryan W. Walters, Jiyan Ma, Jason C. Bartz
Summary: Murine synthetic prions can efficiently establish infection in hamsters and quickly adapt, showing similar clinical and biochemical properties to known prion strains. This model could be valuable for exploring the structure-function relationships between PrPSc and PrP(C) from different species.