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The energy level structure and dynamics of biomolecules are important for understanding their photoinduced function. In particular, the role of carotenoids in light-harvesting is heavily studied, yet not fully understood. The conventional approach to investigate these processes involves analysis of the third-order optical polarization in one spectral dimension. Here, we record two-dimensional corr

Mast cell are found throughout the body, but are especially prominent in tissues that have direct contact with the external milieu such as the skin, gastrointestinal tract and lungs. Mast cells are commonly recognized for their detrimental role in allergic reactions and can, upon activation through the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI), rapidly produce and secrete many of the mediators respon

Most of the observed extrasolar planets are found on tight and often eccentric orbits. The high eccentricities are not easily explained by planet-formation models, which predict that planets should be on rather circular orbits. Here we explore whether fly-bys involving planetary systems with properties similar to those of the gas giants in the Solar system can produce planets with properties simil

Platelets are potent regulators of neutrophil accumulation in septic lung damage. We hypothesized that platelet-derived CXCL4 might support pulmonary neutrophilia in a murine model of abdominal sepsis.

The interplay between diet and immune-parameters which could affect type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathogenesis is not sufficiently clarified. Intestinal upregulation of the activating receptor NKG2D(CD314) and its ligands is a hallmark of celiac disease (CD). However, the direct effect of gluten on NKG2D expression is not known. We studied, by FACS (lymphoid tissues) and RT-qPCR (intestine and pancreatic

Background Group 5 allergens are small proteins that consist of two domains. They belong to the most potent respiratory allergens. Objective To determine the binding sites and to study allergic patients' IgE recognition of the group 5 allergen (Phl p 5) from timothy grass pollen using human monoclonal IgE antibodies that have been isolated from grass pollen allergic patients. Methods Using recom

In this article, we explore energy transfer processes within a series of Zn-porphyrin-appended dendrimers by means of excitation intensity dependent transient absorption measurements. We report singlet-singlet annihilation on two distinct time scales of 18 +/- 5 ps and 130 +/- 10 ps in the dimer and the dendrimers. The two distinct processes reflect the presence of two structural conformer distrib

Using near-infrared femtosecond absorption spectroscopy, we have determined the S-1 energies of the carotenoids spheroidene and rhodopin glucoside in LH2 complexes of purple bacteria. The S-1 energies in the LH2 complexes yield values of 13400 +/- 100 cm(-1) for spheroidene and 12550 +/- 150 cm(-1) for rhodopin glucoside, which are very close to the S-1 energies obtained for both carotenoids in so

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a persistent inflammation of the synovium, leading to the erosion of articular cartilage and bone. Synovial mast cells and their effector molecule, histamine, receive increased attention as mediators of joint inflammation. The aim of our study was to analyse levels of free histamine in serum and joint fluid of RA patients and to e

Background: It has been suggested that neuromuscular function is of importance in the overall outcome after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Hypothesis: Good neuromuscular function can be achieved and maintained over time in subjects with ACL injury treated with rehabilitation and activity modification but without reconstructive surgery. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Met

Bi-isonicotinic acid (2,2'-bipyridine-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid) is an important ligand in the chemistry of organometallic devices. Here, the adsorption of a monolayer of the molecule on in situ-grown anatase TiO2 nanoparticles has been investigated by means of X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The bonding geometry is determined to be 2M-bidentate. Furthermore, reson

Large-scale star formation in disk galaxies is hypothesized to be driven by global gravitational instability. The observed gas surface density is commonly used to compute the strength of gravitational instability, but according to this criterion, star formation often appears to occur in gravitationally stable regions. One possible reason is that the stellar contribution to the instability has been