Mitochondrial β-barrel proteins are synthesized on cytosolic ribosomes and must be specifically targeted to the organelle before their integration into the mitochondrial outer membrane. The signal that assures such precise targeting and its recognition by the organelle remained obscure. In the present study we show that a specialized β-hairpin motif is this long searched for signal. We demonstr...

To assess the impact of synaptic neurotransmitter release on neural circuit development, we analyzed barrel cortex formation after thalamic or cortical ablation of RIM1 and RIM2 proteins, which control synaptic vesicle fusion. Thalamus-specific deletion of RIMs reduced neurotransmission efficacy by 67%. A barrelless phenotype was found with a dissociation of effects on the presynaptic and posts...

Non-local hydrogen bonding interactions between main chain amide hydrogen atoms and polar side chain acceptors that bracket consecutive betaalpha or alphabeta elements of secondary structure in alphaTS from E. coli, a TIM barrel protein, have previously been found to contribute 4-6 kcal mol(-1) to the stability of the native conformation. Experimental analysis of similar betaalpha-hairpin clamp...

β-barrel membrane proteins play an important role in controlling the exchange and transport of ions and organic molecules across bacterial and mitochondrial outer membranes. They are also major regulators of apoptosis and are important determinants of bacterial virulence. In contrast to β-helical membrane proteins, their evolutionary pattern of residue substitutions has not been quantified, and...

Mitochondrial outer and inner membranes contain translocators that achieve protein translocation across and/or insertion into the membranes. Recent evidence has shown that mitochondrial beta-barrel protein assembly in the outer membrane requires specific translocator proteins in addition to the components of the general translocator complex in the outer membrane, the TOM40 complex. Here we repo...

Investigations on changes in a rifle's barrel temperature during shooting in a rhythm typical for practitioners of Olympic shooting sports are presented. Walther KK300 (cal. 5.6 mm), a typical rifle often used in Olympic competitions, R50 RWS ammunition and a high speed thermographic camera were used in the study. Altair version 5 software was used to process thermal images and a stationary wav...

The redistribution of neuronal activity across rat barrel cortex following an alteration in whisker usage has been investigated. In adult rats, two mystacial vibrissae - D(2) and one neighbor, D(1) or D(3) - were left intact while all other vibrissae on that side of the snout were clipped. Neurons in contralateral barrel cortex were sampled with a microelectrode array 3.5 days later. Stimulatio...

This study explores the nature of population coding in sensory cortex by applying information theoretic analyses to neuron pairs recorded simultaneously from rat barrel cortex. We quantified the roles of individual spikes and spike patterns in encoding whisker stimulus location. 82%-85% of the total information was contained in the timing of individual spikes: first spike time was particularly ...

INTRODUCTION Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a chemical often used as a solvent for water-insoluble drugs. In this study, we evaluated the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of DMSO on neural response characteristics (in 1200-1500 μm depth) of the rat barrel cortex. METHODS DMSO solution was prepared in 10% v/v concentration and injected into the lateral ventricle of rats. Ne...

Design methodology and criteria to configure sprue bush for enhancing functionality is systematically compiled from plastic injection moulding machine perspective. Sprue conduit’s sensitivity to moulding objectives are quantitatively ghettoised as expansion ratio on the basis of ubiquitous empirical relationships. This generic, simple, inexpensive preventive criterion enables sprue bush conduit...