The so-called island model of protein structural transition holds that hydrophobic interactions are the key to both the folding and function of proteins. Herein, the genesis and statistical mechanical basis of the island model of transitions are reviewed, by presenting the results of simulations of such transitions. Elucidating the physicochemical mechanism of protein structural formation is th...

Wildlife populations have been introduced to new areas by people for centuries, but this human-mediated movement can disrupt natural patterns of genetic structure by altering patterns of gene flow. Insular populations are particularly prone to these influences due to limited opportunities for natural dispersal onto islands. Consequently, understanding how genetic patterns develop in island popu...

In the Ge on Si model heteroepitaxial system, metal patterns on the silicon surface provide unprecedented control over the morphology of highly ordered Ge islands. Island shape including nanorods and truncated pyramids is set by the metal species and substrate orientation. Analysis of island faceting elucidates the prominent role of the metal in promoting growth of preferred facet orientations ...

It is well-recognized that DNA methylation causes gene silencing. However, although DNA methylation is closely associated with alterations in chromatin structure, it is not clear whether methylation at a particular locus contributes to the formation of an inactive chromatin structure. In this study, we have investigated the chromatin structure of the CpG island of the human CDH1 gene in cancer ...

Following the electric current injection experiment carried out in 2009, a VLF-MT (Very Low Frequency Magnetotelluric) survey has been conducted in Kozu-shima Island to obtain further information on the subterranean electrical structure that might help understanding the results of our monitoring of geoelectric potentials. A number of VAN-type pre-seismic geoelectric potential anomalies were obs...

The absence of introduced browsing animals from Bench Island, located 5 km east of Stewart Island, provides the opportunity to compare forest structure and regeneration in these two areas of similar vegetation with and without browsing animals. The population structures of the main canopy tree species, rata (Metrosideros umbellata), kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa), and rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum)...

The radial structure of the shear Alfvén wave continuous spectrum is calculated inside the separatrix of a magnetic island. We find that, within a magnetic island, there is a continuous spectrum very similar to that of tokamak plasmas, where a generalized safety factor q can be defined and a wide frequency gap is formed, analogous to the ellipticity induced Alfvén eigenmode gap in tokamaks. Thi...

Predicting species presence and richness on islands is important for understanding the origins of communities and how likely it is that species will disperse and resist extinction. The equilibrium theory of island biogeography (ETIB) and, as a simple model of sampling abundances, the unified neutral theory of biodiversity (UNTB), predict that in situations where mainland to island migration is ...