Explore the vast range of titles available.

Doc number: 182 Abstract Background: Select cellulolytic bacteria produce multi-enzymatic cellulosome complexes that bind to the plant cell wall and catalyze its efficient degradation. The multi-modular interconnecting cellulosomal subunits comprise dockerin-containing enzymes that bind cohesively to cohesin-containing scaffoldins. The organization of the modules into functional polypeptides is achieved by intermodular linkers of different lengths and composition, which provide flexibility to the complex and determine its overall architecture. Results: Using a synthetic biology approach, we systematically investigated the spatial organization of the scaffoldin subunit and its effect on cellulose hydrolysis by designing a combinatorial library of recombinant trivalent designer scaffoldins, which contain a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) and 3 divergent cohesin modules. The positions of the individual modules were shuffled into 24 different arrangements of chimaeric scaffoldins. This basic set was further extended into three sub-sets for each arrangement with intermodular linkers ranging from zero (no linkers), 5 (short linkers) and native linkers of 27-35 amino acids (long linkers). Of the 72 possible scaffoldins, 56 were successfully cloned and 45 of them expressed, representing 14 full sets of chimaeric scaffoldins. The resultant 42-component scaffoldin library was used to assemble designer cellulosomes, comprising three model C. thermocellum cellulases. Activities were examined using Avicel as a pure microcrystalline cellulose substrate and pretreated cellulose-enriched wheat straw as a model substrate derived from a native source. All scaffoldin combinations yielded active trivalent designer cellulosome assemblies on both substrates that exceeded the levels of the free enzyme systems. A preferred modular arrangement for the trivalent designer scaffoldin was not observed for the three enzymes used in this study, indicating that they could be integrated at any position in the designer cellulosome without significant effect on cellulose-degrading activity. Designer cellulosomes assembled with the long-linker scaffoldins achieved higher levels of activity, compared to those assembled with short-and no-linker scaffoldins. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the robustness of the cellulosome system. Long intermodular scaffoldin linkers are preferable, thus leading to enhanced degradation of cellulosic substrates, presumably due to the increased flexibility and spatial positioning of the attached enzymes in the complex. These findings provide a general basis for improved designer cellulosome systems as a platform for bioethanol production.

In Somber Lust, Yair Mazor examines the work of the celebrated Israeli writer Amos Oz. In addition to providing a panoramic, comprehensive study of Oz's work, including his novels, novellas, short stories, and numerous essays on literary, social, and political subjects, Mazor also meticulously documents the evolution of Oz's aesthetic and ideological vision. The book concludes with an extensive interview with Oz himself, in which he offers insights into his own work as well as the creative process in general.

The extraordinary fidelity, sensory and regulatory capacity of natural intracellular machinery is generally confined to their endogenous environment. Nevertheless, synthetic bio-molecular components have been engineered to interface with the cellular transcription, splicing and translation machinery in vivo by embedding functional features such as promoters, introns and ribosome binding sites, respectively, into their design. Tapping and directing the power of intracellular molecular processing towards synthetic bio-molecular inputs is potentially a powerful approach, albeit limited by our ability to streamline the interface of synthetic components with the intracellular machinery in vivo. Here we show how a library of synthetic DNA devices, each bearing an input DNA sequence and a logical selection module, can be designed to direct its own probing and processing by interfacing with the bacterial DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system in vivo and selecting for the most abundant variant, regardless of its function. The device provides proof of concept for programmable, function-independent DNA selection in vivo and provides a unique example of a logical-functional interface of an engineered synthetic component with a complex endogenous cellular system. Further research into the design, construction and operation of synthetic devices in vivo may lead to other functional devices that interface with other complex cellular processes for both research and applied purposes.

[This corrects the article on p. e47795 in vol. 7.].

A rich union of image and word, this striking book introduces English-speaking audiences to a full range of poetry by Asher Reich, one of Israel's most celebrated contemporary poets, paired with evocative drawings by renowned Israeli artist Michael Kovner. Yair Mazor, a leading scholar of Hebrew literature, provides readers with an introduction to Reich's work and its prominent position within the panorama of modern literature in Hebrew. Asher Reich's poetry has been characterized as vivid, vibrant, passionate, and expressionistic. Dominated by themes of stormy sensuality and frank sexuality, his dramatic imagery and metaphors interweave Mishnaic, Talmudic, and Biblical references in a colorful, complex poetic texture. The beautiful simplicity of Kovner's drawings—depicting female figures and natural landscapes—resonates throughout the book. Tender, stark, and striking, the drawings illustrate life's fragility and grace with a subtlety and dignity that complements Reich's sensitive style. Presenting contemporary Hebrew poetry, modern Israeli art, and informed literary commentary in an engaging format, this book promises to delight a broad audience of readers.

A comprehensive study of Israel’s most internationally celebrated writer. 'In Somber Lust, Yair Mazor examines the work of the celebrated Israeli writer Amos Oz. In addition to providing a panoramic, comprehensive study of Oz’s work, including his novels, novellas, short stories, and numerous essays on literary, social, and political subjects, Mazor also meticulously documents the evolution of Oz’s aesthetic and ideological vision. The book concludes with an extensive interview with Oz himself, in which he offers insights into his own work as well as the creative process in general.

When I was a child Reed and masts were erecting by the seashore And I, while lying down there, Failed to tell the difference among them, Since all of them ascended to the sky over my head. Yehuda Amichai. “When I Was a Child”