Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg

About: Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg is a education organization based out in Halle, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Liquid crystal. The organization has 20232 authors who have published 38773 publications receiving 965004 citations. The organization is also known as: MLU & University of Wittenberg.

Beyond the lipid-bilayer: interaction of polymers and nanoparticles with membranes

Abstract: Membranes can be fabricated either from lipid or polymer molecules, leading to the formation of liposomes or polymersomes. In all types of liposomal membranes, the issue of phase separation plays a central role not only in the membrane-formation itself, but also in the resulting structural features taking place within or at the surface of such membranes. When nanoparticles or polymers interact with lipid membranes, the final morphology is strongly determined by the charge, composition and size of the interacting components, which in turn induce phase separation processes. The present review assembles investigations on lipid/polymer/nanoparticle interaction with the main focus directed towards model membrane systems published in the recent literature starting from ∼2005, providing a deeper and more thorough understanding of these complex interactions and their effects on membrane properties.

TALEs of genome targeting.

Abstract: New tools for site-specific genome targeting in human cells are generated from TALE proteins.

Nutritional interventions for preventing and treating pressure ulcers

Abstract: Background Pressure ulcers affect approximately 10% of people in hospitals and older people are at highest risk A correlation between inadequate nutritional intake and the development of pressure ulcers has been suggested by several studies, but the results have been inconsistent Objectives To evaluate the effects of enteral and parenteral nutrition on the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers Search methods In March 2014, for this first update, we searched The Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Trials Register, the Cochrane Central register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library), the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) (The Cochrane Library), the Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA) (The Cochrane Library), the Cochrane Methodology Register (The Cochrane Library), NHS Economic Evaluation Database (The Cochrane Library), Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase and EBSCO CINAHL No date, language or publication status limits were applied Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of enteral or parenteral nutrition on the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, which measured the incidence of new ulcers, ulcer healing or changes in pressure ulcer severity There were no restrictions on types of patient, setting, date, publication status or language Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently screened for inclusion, and disagreement was resolved by discussion Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed quality using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias Main results We included 23 RCTs, many were small (between 9 and 4023 participants, median 88) and at high risk of bias Eleven trials compared a combination of nutritional supplements, consisting of a minimum of energy and protein in different dosages, for the prevention of pressure ulcers A meta-analysis of eight trials (6062 participants) that compared the effects of mixed nutritional supplements with standard hospital diet found no clear evidence of an effect of supplementation on pressure ulcer development (pooled RR 086; 95% CI 073 to 100; P value 005; I2 = 13%, random effects) This outcome is at unclear or high risk of bias Fourteen trials evaluated the effects of nutritional supplements on the healing of existing pressure ulcers: seven trials examined mixed nutritional supplements, three the effects of proteins, two trials examined zinc, and two studies examined ascorbic acid The included trials were heterogeneous with regard to participants, interventions, comparisons and outcomes and meta-analysis was not appropriate There was no clear evidence of an improvement in pressure ulcer healing from the nutritional supplements evaluated in any of these individual studies Authors' conclusions There is currently no clear evidence of a benefit associated with nutritional interventions for either the prevention or treatment of pressure ulcers Further trials of high methodological quality are necessary

Inclusion bodies: formation and utilisation

Abstract: The efficient in vivo folding of many heterologous proteins is a major bottleneck of high level production in bacterial hosts and simple optimisation protocols have not been available yet. Therefore, inclusion body (IB) based processes play a major role as a potential strategy for the production of complex recombinant proteins. These processes combine the advantages of a high accumulation of the target protein in well-characterised bacteria such as Escherichia coli, efficient strategies for IB isolation, purification and in vitro protein refolding without the need of complicated coexpression systems. Recent advances in the molecular physiology of IB formation and resolubilisation allow straight-forward optimisation of fermentation processes to obtain a high-quality product. In addition, simple strategies have been developed to optimise the purification and renaturation of disulfide bond containing proteins making a fast transfer of such processes into the industrial production scale realistic.