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Popular Abstract in English Drizzle a thin stream of olive oil into water. The oil splashes into tiny little drops first, and in a fraction of a second, they emerge from bulk to the surface, and then coalesce to form a thin layer. This phenomenon relates to the molecular properties of the liquids. Olive oil is composed, in a large extent, of molecules with a fierce name, triglycerides, which are bSolid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to study molecular structure and dynamics in amphiphilic bilayers. This thesis reports on method development and practical applications to two types of bilayer systems: simple cell membrane models composed of phosphatidylcholine lipids and cholesterol; and liquid crystals composed of eth

Despite the potentially strong effect of wind on bird orientation, our understanding of how wind drift affects migrating birds is still very limited. Using data from satellite-based radio telemetry, we analysed the effect of changing winds on the variation of the track direction of individual birds. We studied adults and juveniles of two raptor species, osprey Pandion haliaetus and honey buzzard P

The calcium-releasing second messenger inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate is involved in the regulation of stomatal aperture by ABA. In other signalling pathways, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate is generated by the action of phospholipase C. We have studied the importance of phospholipase C in guard cell ABA-signalling pathways. Immunolocalisation of a calcium-activated phospholipase C confirmed the presen

Bacterial engagement of specific host tissue structures can be a means of targeting a pathogen to a particular niche, establishing persistent infections and inducing invasion. In this context, primary adhesion is often the first crucial colonization step allowing pathogens to withstand the mechanical clearing mechanisms of the host. As a consequence, bacteria have evolved adhesins with the capacit

Identifying mechanisms behind assortative mating is central to the understanding of ecological divergence and speciation. Recent studies show that populations of the freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus can rapidly become locally differentiated when submerged Chara vegetation expands in lakes. In the novel Chara habitat, isopods have become lighter pigmented and smaller than in ancestral reed stand

Background: Noise is typically conceived of as being detrimental to cognitive performance. However, given the mechanism of stochastic resonance, a certain amount of noise can benefit performance. We investigate cognitive performance in noisy environments in relation to a neurocomputational model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dopamine. The Moderate Brain Arousal model (MBA;

Syndecan-2 is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan that has a cell adhesion regulatory domain contained within its extracellular core protein. Cell adhesion to the syndecan-2 extracellular domain (S2ED) is β1 integrin dependent; however, syndecan-2 is not an integrin ligand. Here the protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor CD148 is shown to be a key intermediary in cell adhesion to S2ED, with downstream β

There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey conducted on representative samples in 15 West European countries (N = 15,414). We implemented an original instrument to elicit respondents’ views by asking them to rate

The association between having a sibling diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and risk for suicide attempt may be attributable to shared genetic liability between AUD and suicidal behavior, effects of environmental exposure to a sibling’s AUD, or both. To distinguish between these alternatives, we conducted a series of Cox regression models using data derived from Swedish population-based reg

Transcription factors involved in the specification and differentiation of neurons often continue to be expressed in the adult brain, but remarkably little is known about their late functions. Nurr1, one such transcription factor, is essential for early differentiation of midbrain dopamine (mDA) neurons but continues to be expressed into adulthood. In Parkinson's disease, Nurr1 expression is dimin