Helix-hairpin-helix (HhH) is a widespread motif involved in non-sequence-specific DNA binding. The majority of HhH motifs function as DNA-binding modules, however, some of them are used to mediate protein-protein interactions or have acquired enzymatic activity by incorporating catalytic residues (DNA glycosylases). From sequence and structural analysis of HhH-containing proteins we conclude th...

In the standard picture of the crust of a neutron star, matter there is simple: a body-centered-cubic lattice of nuclei immersed in an essentially uniform electron gas. We show that, at densities above that for neutron drip (∼ 4 × 1 0(11)  g cm(-3) or roughly one-thousandth of nuclear matter density), the interstitial neutrons give rise to an attractive interaction between nuclei that renders t...

soil surfaces in arid and semi-arid lands often lack photoautotrophic life but are covered by communities of soil surface covering organisms able to tolerate dehydration, and thus adapted to aridity. one important objective of multi-spectral remote sensing instruments is the detection of the optical characteristics of the earth’s surface using high spectral resolution bands. in this study aster...

Surface hoar crystals are commonon the surface ofmountain snowcovers.Onceburied, layers of large plate-shaped surface hoar crystals are prone to releasing dangerous snow-slab avalanches. Since snow microstructure influences the optical properties of snow, remote sensors could potentially detect the formation of surface hoar and other snow types associated with avalanche release. The spectral re...

Air pollution can have a significant impact on stone materials used in monuments, buildings, and sculptures. Sulfur nitrogen oxides are particularly harmful pollutants, especially carbonate stones. These oxides, reacting with moisture the air, result formation of acids able to erode surface gradually compromise its structural integrity. The also combine airborne particulate matter, heavy metals...

In this paper, we consider the problem of curve reconstruction from a finite planar set of points. To solve this problem, we propose to use a family of neighborhood graphs included in the Gabriel graph. The neighborhood that we use is the β-neighborhood, initially defined in the context of circle-based β-skeletons, but applied to edges of the Voronoi diagram. This family of graphs includes the ...