Background: Over the past couple of decades, measuring immunological parameters has become widespread in studies of ecology and evolution. A combination of different immunological indices is useful for quantifying different parts of the immune system and comprehensively assessing immune function. Running multiple immune assays usually requires samples to be repeatedly thawed and re-frozen. There i

Prolidase is a ubiquitously distributed dipeptidase and the only dipeptidase in humans capable of cleaving the peptide bond preceding the amino acids proline (Pro) or hydroxyproline (Hyp). It is mainly implicated in the degradation of dietary and endogenous proteins. It is also involved in the terminal steps of collagen catabolism by hydrolyzing Pro and Hyp-containing dipeptides. Finally, it is be

Affective forecasting - predicting the emotional outcome of never-before experienced situations - is pervasive in our lives. When facing novel situations, we can quickly integrate bits and pieces of prior experiences to envisage possible scenarios and their outcomes, and what these might feel like. Such affective glimpses of the future often steer the decisions we make. By enabling principled deci

In Part I of this two-part paper, a formulation was developed to treat fragmentation in ice-ice collisions. In the present Part II, the formulation is implemented in two microphysically advanced cloud models simulating a convective line observed over the U.S. high plains. One model is 2D with a spectral bin microphysics scheme. The other has a hybrid bin-two-moment bulk microphysics scheme in 3D.

Metabolomics is now widely used to characterize metabolic phenotypes associated with lifestyle risk factors such as obesity. The objective of the present study was to explore the associations of body mass index (BMI) with 145 metabolites measured in blood samples in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Metabolites were measured in blood from 392 men from t

We have characterized the dissolution state of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in aqueous tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, TBAH(aq), at different concentrations of TBAH, by means of turbidity and small-angle X-ray scattering. The solubility of cellulose increases with increasing TBAH concentration, which is consistent with solubilization driven by neutralization. When comparing the two polymorphs, t

Experimental studies on protein dynamics at atomic resolution by NMR-spectroscopy in solution require isolated 1H-X spin pairs. This is the default scenario in standard 1H-15N backbone experiments. Side chain dynamic experiments, which allow to study specific local processes like proton-transfer, or tautomerization, require isolated 1H-13C sites which must be produced by site-selective 13C labelin

The aim of the user related assessment of the VCC demonstrator’s “Traffic Jam Assist” system was to study trust, usefulness, perceived advantages, disadvantages, acceptance, and willingness to pay for the driver assistance system. The system provides automated speed control and lane keeping. If a lead vehicle is present, the automated vehicle adapts its speed in order to maintain a pre-set time di

The aim of the user-related assessment was to evaluate the effects on driver behaviour, experiences, reactions, expected effects and acceptance of the Highway Automation” system, developed by VW in sub-project 6 of the AdaptIVe IP. The driving functions were developed as level 3 (conditional automation) functions so the driver does not have to monitor the system while driving. The system provides