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Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- Part I Response and Recovery -- 1 Preparing for the Aftermath of a Nuclear Detonation -- An Analytic Framework for Disaster Management -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Need for Planning Guidance -- 1.3 Methodology -- 1.4 Nuclear Detonation Effects -- 1.5 Recent Research -- 1.6 Key Response Planning Factors -- 1.7 Conclusion -- References -- 2 Response Tactics for the First 100 Minutes After the Outdoor Detonation of an Explosive Radiological Dispersal Device -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 RDD Planning Guidance Development and Piloting -- 2.3 Tactics for the First 100 Minutes -- 2.4 Conclusions -- References -- 3 Operational Framework for Recovery from an Attack Involving a Radiological Dispersal Device/Improvised Nuclear Device -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 A Decision Framework for Recovery from a Radiological Attack -- 3.3 Applications and Lessons Learned -- 3.4 Summary -- References -- 4 Responding to Nuclear Terrorism: Is Training of First Responders at Sites of Nuclear Disasters Enhancing Their Preparedness for Incidents Involving Nuclear and Radioactive Material? -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.1.1 `Train as You Fight' -- 4.2 The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone -- 4.3 "Train as You Fight" Systems Approach to Training for First Responders at Sites of Nuclear Disasters -- 4.4 Radiation Level Measurement in Pripyat -- 4.4.1 The Initial Phase -- 4.4.2 Generating the Radiation Map -- 4.4.3 Other Hazards -- 4.5 Conclusions -- References -- 5 Urban Response to CBRNe. Multi-service, Multi-jurisdictional, Response to Terror Events -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Terrorist Event -- 5.3 Multiple Response Waves -- 5.4 Multiple Response Waves - The Problem -- 5.5 Critical Policy and Linkages -- 5.6 Summary -- 6 Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute: R& -- D, Training, Crisis Response. Accomplishments, Opportunities and Policy Questions.

The book contains lectures of an international NATO-Russian Advanced Workshop about the detection of liquid explosives and flammable agents. The ARW was one of a series of workshops before, dealing with the detection of explosives and initiated by terrorist actions using liquid explosives. The aim of the workshop was to present and to discuss suitable methods about the feasibility and realization of the detection of liquid explosive charges and flammable agents

Catastrophic Terrorism: Risk Assessment of the New Threats to First Responders -- Current Threats to First Responders -- Current Detection Capabilities and Their Limitations -- Current Capabilities of First Responders in Different Countries -- Future Requirements of the First Responder Community -- EU/US Public-Private Partnerships in Developing Protective Countermeasures -- The Way Forward

The real-time analysis of single analytes in flow is becoming increasingly relevant in cell biology. In this work, we theoretically predict and experimentally demonstrate hydrodynamic focusing with hollow nanomechanical resonators by using an interferometric system which allows the optical probing of flowing particles and tracking of the fundamental mechanical mode of the resonator. We have characterized the hydrodynamic forces acting on the particles, which will determine their velocity depending on their diameter. By using the parameters simultaneously acquired: frequency shift, velocity and reflectivity, we can unambiguously classify flowing particles in real-time, allowing the measurement of the mass density: 1.35 ± 0.07 g·mL-1 for PMMA and 1.7 ± 0.2 g·mL-1 for silica particles, which perfectly agrees with the nominal values. Once we have tested our technique, MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells are characterized (1.11 ± 0.08 g·mL-1) with high throughput (300 cells/minute) observing a dependency with their size, opening the door for individual cell cycle studies. ; This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under European Research Council Grant 681275-LIQUIDMASS-ERC-CoG-2015, project CELLTANGLE reference RTI2018-099369-B-I00, project MOMPs reference TEC2017-89765-R, Asociación Elena Torres (contract OTR04893) and FERO Foundation (Grant OTR06145). The service from the Micro and Nanofabrication Laboratory (MiNa) and X-SEM Laboratory, is funded by MCIU (CSIC13-4E-1794) and EU (FEDER, FSE). ; Peer reviewed

26 p.-5 fig.-5 tab. ; Microtubules (MTs) are hollow cylinders made of tubulin, a GTPase responsible for essential functions during cell growth and division, and thus, key target for anti-tumor drugs. In MTs, GTP hydrolysis triggers structural changes in the lattice, which are responsible for interaction with regulatory factors. The stabilizing GTP-cap is a hallmark of MTs and the mechanism of the chemical-structural link between the GTP hydrolysis site and the MT lattice is a matter of debate. We have analyzed the structure of tubulin and MTs assembled in the presence of fluoride salts that mimic the GTP-bound and GDP•Pi transition states. Our results challenge current models because tubulin does not change axial length upon GTP hydrolysis. Moreover, analysis of the structure of MTs assembled in the presence of several nucleotide analogues and of taxol allows us to propose that previously described lattice expansion could be a post-hydrolysis stage involved in Pi release. ; This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad grants BFU2013-47014-P to MAO and BFU2016-75319-R to FDP (both AEI/FEDER, UE); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación RYC-2011–07900 to MAO; European Union H2020-MSCA-ITN-ETN/0582 ITN TubInTrain to FDP and AEP; Swiss National Science Foundation (31003A_166608) to MOS; JSPS KAKENHI (16K07328/17H03668) to SK; (FSE) ANR-16-CE11-0017-01 to DC and LD. JE-G was supported by Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte FPU15-03140 and SK by French Ministry of Higher Education of Research and Innovation (IGDR). Cryo-EM data were adquired on the MRic platform (Univ. Rennes, CNRS, Inserm, BIOSIT-UMS 3480, US_S 018, F-35000 Rennes, France). The authors acknowledge networking contribution by the COST Action CM1407 "Challenging organic syntheses inspired by nature - from natural products chemistry to drug discovery" ; Peer reviewed

11 p.-7 fig. ; The effects of Kil peptide from bacteriophage λ on the assembly of Escherichia coli FtsZ into one subunit thick protofilaments were studied using combined biophysical and biochemical methods. Kil peptide has recently been identified as the factor from bacteriophage λ responsible for the inhibition of bacterial cell division during lytic cycle, targeting FtsZ polymerization. Here, we show that this antagonist blocks FtsZ assembly into GTP-dependent protofilaments, producing a wide distribution of smaller oligomers compared with the average size of the intact protofilaments. The shortening of FtsZ protofilaments by Kil is detectable at concentrations of the peptide in the low micromolar range, the mid-point of the inhibition being close to its apparent affinity for GDP-bound FtsZ. This antagonist not only interferes with FtsZ assembly but also reverses the polymerization reaction. The negative regulation by Kil significantly reduces the GTPase activity of FtsZ protofilaments, and FtsZ polymers assembled in guanosine-5'-[(α,β)-methyleno]triphosphate are considerably less sensitive to Kil. Our results suggest that, at high concentrations, Kil may use an inhibition mechanism involving the sequestration of FtsZ subunits, similar to that described for other inhibitors like the SOS response protein SulA or the moonlighting enzyme OpgH. This mechanism is different from those employed by the division site selection antagonists MinC and SlmA. This work provides new insight into the inhibition of FtsZ assembly by phages, considered potential tools against bacterial infection. ; This work was supported, in whole or in part, by National Institutes of Health Grant GM61074 (to W. M.). This work was also supported by Human Frontier Science Program Grant RGP0050/2010 (to G. R. and W. M.) and Spanish Government Grant BIO2011-28941-C03 (to G. R. and S. Z.). ; Peer reviewed

Introduction to Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Volume 2 provides background information and knowledge on areas such as genes, enzymes and proteins. It is organized into these three important areas starting with the general properties, mechanisms, applications, production, immobilization, and purification of enzymes and ending with additional applications in biosensors and biotransformation reactions. Additionally, the book addresses the characteristics in genomics, genomes sequencing, comparative genomics, and genomic evolution. Other highlighted areas pertain to the rapidly developing area of protein engineering. Given the wide area of subjects covered, this book will be of interest to biochemists, biologists, microbiologists, biotechnologists, food technologists, and all others involved in the research and development of the biological applications of proteins and enzymes.

33 páginas, 10 figuras, 5 tablas ; In eukaryotic translation initiation, AUG recognition of the mRNA requires accommodation of Met-tRNAi in a 'PIN' state, which is antagonized by the factor eIF1. eIF5 is a GTPase activating protein (GAP) of eIF2 that additionally promotes stringent AUG selection, but the molecular basis of its dual function was unknown. We present a cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) reconstruction of a yeast 48S pre-initiation complex (PIC), at an overall resolution of 3.0 Å, featuring the N-terminal domain (NTD) of eIF5 bound to the 40S subunit at the location vacated by eIF1. eIF5 interacts with and allows a more accommodated orientation of Met-tRNAi. Substitutions of eIF5 residues involved in the eIF5-NTD/tRNAi interaction influenced initiation at near-cognate UUG codonsin vivo, and the closed/open PIC conformation in vitro, consistent with direct stabilization of the codon:anticodon duplex by the wild-type eIF5-NTD. The present structure reveals the basis for a key role of eIF5 in start-codon selection. ; We are grateful to CG Savva, G McMullan for technical support with cryo-EM, T Darling and J Grimmett for help with computing and J Brasa for help with figures/movies. JL was supported by a FEBS postdoctoral fellowship. TH acknowledges start-up funds from the Indian Institute of Science. This work was funded by grants to from the UK Medical Research Council (MC_U105184332), Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator award (WT096570), the Agouron Institute and the Jeantet Foundation to VR; by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India Grant [Int/NZ/P-2/13] to AKS; from the NIH (GM62128) formerly to JRL; the Human Frontiers in Science Program (RGP-0028/ 2009) to AGH, JRL and VR; and by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH (AGH, JRL). ; Peer reviewed

Laminins (LNs) are key components in the extracellular matrix of neuronal tissues in the developing brain and neural stem cell niches. LN-presenting hydrogels can provide a biologically relevant matrix for the 3D culture of neurons toward development of advanced tissue models and cell-based therapies for the treatment of neurological disorders. Biologically derived hydrogels are rich in fragmented LN and are poorly defined concerning composition, which hampers clinical translation. Engineered hydrogels require elaborate and often cytotoxic chemistries for cross-linking and LN conjugation and provide limited possibilities to tailor the properties of the materials. Here a modular hydrogel system for neural 3D cell cultures, based on hyaluronan and poly(ethylene glycol), that is cross-linked and functionalized with human recombinant LN-521 using bioorthogonal copper-free click chemistry, is shown. Encapsulated human neuroblastoma cells demonstrate high viability and grow into spheroids. Long-term neuroepithelial stem cells (lt-NES) cultured in the hydrogels can undergo spontaneous differentiation to neural fate and demonstrate significantly higher viability than cells cultured without LN. The hydrogels further support the structural integrity of 3D bioprinted structures and maintain high viability of bioprinted and syringe extruded lt-NES, which can facilitate biofabrication and development of cell-based therapies. ; Funding Agencies: Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SFF) [FFL15-0026]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University [2009-00971]; Carl Tryggers Foundation; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation [KAW 2016.0231, 2020.0206]

Abstract This tutorial is aimed to non-engineers using, or planning to use, surface electromyography (sEMG) as an assessment tool in the prevention, monitoring and rehabilitation fields. Its first purpose is to address the issues related to the origin and nature of the signal and to its detection (electrode size, distance, location) by one-dimensional (bipolar and linear arrays) and two-dimensional (grids) electrode systems while avoiding advanced mathematical, physical or physiological issues. Its second purpose is to outline best practices and provide general guidelines for proper signal detection. Issues related to the electrode-skin interface, signal conditioning and interpretation will be discussed in subsequent tutorials.

With a focus on practical applications of biophysical techniques, Biophysical Methods for Biotherapeutics helps formulation and analytical scientists in pharma and biotech better understand and use biophysical methods. Author Tapan K. Das links fundamental biophysics to the process of biopharmaceutical development using a chapter organization according to the steps of the drug development process. The text provides information to help organizations develop short- and long-term strategies for resource investment in biophysical research.