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Group A Streptococcus (GAS)causes infections ranging from mild sore throats to severe invasive disease; however, no licensed vaccine is currently available. In this thesis, the author leverages streptolysin O (SLO), an important GAS protein and therapeutic/vaccine target, as a model system to develop a multimodal protein mass spectrometry(MS) strategy. Through an integrated approach of MS-based pr

Many studies have underscored the impacts of drought on ecosystems, and some researchers reported the effects of accumulated soil moisture deficit (ASMD) on light use efficiency (LUE) in grassland. However, the potential effects of ASMD on gross primary productivity (GPP) and LUE for both cropland and forest ecosystems are still not understood. This study elucidated the effects of accumulated and

Aims: Increased common carotid artery (CCA) intima media thickness (cIMT) is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. cIMT thickening has been described in patients with repaired aortic coarctation (CoA), but data on mechanism and clinical relevance in this population are scarce. Our aim was to gain mechanistic insights into cIMT thickening of patients with repaired CoA

Widespread autumn cooling occurred in the northern hemisphere (NH) during the period 2004-2018, primarily due to the strengthening of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Siberian High. Yet, while there has been considerable focus on the warming impacts, the effects of natural cooling on autumn leaf senescence and plant productivity have been largely overlooked. This gap in knowledge hinders our un

Background: The tumoricidal complex alpha1-oleate targets bladder cancer cells, triggering rapid, apoptosis-like tumor cell death. Clinical effects of alpha1-oleate were recently observed in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), using a randomized, placebo-controlled study protocol. Aims: To investigate if there are dose-dependent effects of alpha1-oleate. Materials and Methods

Mild reductive catalytic depolymerization (MRCD) of lignin offers a sustainable route to produce functionalized aromatic compounds. However, the economic viability is hindered by the need for expensive palladium (Pd) catalysts and the limited exploration of continuous flow reactors (CFRs), which are essential to achieve an adequate production scale. This study examines the impact of partial replac

The serine protease cathepsin G is synthesized during the promyelomonocytic stage of neutrophil and monocyte differentiation. After processing, including removal of an amino-terminal propeptide from the catalytically inactive proform, the active protease acquires a mature conformation and is stored in azurophil granules. To investigate the importance of the proform-conformation for targeting to gr

Background: In COPD, the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their natural inhibitors [tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs)] is shifted towards excessive degradation, reflected in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) as increased MMP concentrations. Because of their critical role in lung homeostasis, MMP activity is tightly regulated, but to what extent this regulation occurs t

Nanochains (NCs) made up of a one-dimensional arrangement of magnetic anoparticles (NPs) exhibit anisotropic properties with potential for various applications. Herein, using a novel self-assembly method we directly integrate single NCs onto desired substrates including devices. We present a nanoscopic analysis of magnetization reversal in 1D linear NP arrays by combining x-ray microscopy, magnet

Advances in Earth observation capabilities mean that there is now a multitude of spatially resolved data sets available that can support the quantification of water and carbon pools and fluxes at the land surface. However, such quantification ideally requires efficient synergistic exploitation of those data, which in turn requires carbon and water land-surface models with the capability to simulta

The emergence of the modern urban water system in Iran, albeit facilitated access to clean water and accelerated discharge of waste- and stormwater, it left some negative imprints on country’s urban and natural environment. Among which larger stress on natural water cycles and pollution of water resources are of great importance. More importantly, such impacts are occurring when cities are going t

The effects of dietary vitamin D, Ca and dairy products intakes on colorectal cancer risk remain controversial. The present study investigated the association between these dietary intakes and the risk of colorectal cancer in Guangdong, China. From July 2010 to December 2018, 2380 patients with colorectal cancer and 2389 sex- and age-matched controls were recruited. Dietary intake data were collec

β-Phosphoglucomutase (β-PGM) has served as an important model system for understanding biological phosphoryl transfer. This enzyme catalyzes the isomerization of β-glucose-1-phosphate to β-glucose-6-phosphate in a two-step process proceeding via a bisphosphate intermediate. The conventionally accepted mechanism is that both steps are concerted processes involving acid-base catalysis from a nearby

Triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) is a proficient catalyst of the reversible isomerization of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) to d-glyceraldehyde phosphate (GAP), via general base catalysis by E165. Historically, this enzyme has been an extremely important model system for understanding the fundamentals of biological catalysis. TIM is activated through an energetically demanding conformational cha

Diachronic and synchronic studies of linguistic landscapes of central streets and markets were conducted in five cities in Ukraine with different language use preferences in 2015 and 2017–19. The relationship between a monolingual state language policy and the reality of language use in public spaces was investigated. This study focuses on the dynamics of the linguistic landscape of Odesa, a Russi

Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive, uncommon malignancy, with variation in operative approaches adopted across centres and few large-scale studies to guide practice. We aimed to identify the extent of heterogeneity in GBC internationally to better inform the need for future multicentre studies. Methods: A 34-question online survey was disseminated to members of the European-Afri

Objective: Characterise the spatiotemporal trabecular and cortical bone responses to complete spinal cord injury (SCI) in young rats. Methods: 8-week-old male Wistar rats received T9-transection SCI and were euthanised 2-, 6-, 10-or 16-weeks post-surgery. Outcome measures were assessed using micro-computed tomography, mechanical testing, serum markers and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. R