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When the world was faced with the enormous challenge of COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020 Nordic solidarity and cooperation does not seem to have materialized. The Nordic countries have a strong regional cooperation framework and a long tradition of collaboration and tend to be perceived as a unified region in the international arena. Therefore, when confronted with a global crisis of this magnitude one would expect them to act in solidarity. However, joint political messages at the beginning of the crisis only stressed regional solidarity in already existing areas of cooperation. This lack of cooperation goes against small state theories that predict that small states seek international and regional cooperation to compensate for their structural weaknesses. In this paper we will examine how the Nordic countries reacted at the beginning of the crisis and explore whether the responses to the crisis reveal limits to Nordic cooperation and solidarity specifically. ; peer-reviewed

Denne artikkelen inngår i en komparativ studie av de fem nordiske landenes utenrikspolitiske svar på internasjonale endringer, med det mål å systematisk kartlegge og sammenligne både policydiskusjoner og konkrete tilpasninger innen de fem landenes utenriksdepartementer. I dette bidraget vil fokuset være på Island og landets relasjoner med andre nordiske land. Hvordan har Islands utenrikspolitikk utviklet seg fra den kalde krigen til i dag? Hvem er Islands viktigste allierte, og hvordan har Island forsøkt å skape sin nisje i det internasjonale samfunnet? Analysen er basert på intervjuer med nøkkelinformanter i Utenriksdepartementet, offisielle dokumenter produsert av regjeringen, mediedekning, utenrikspolitiske debatter i Alltinget (det islandske parlamentet) samt utenriksministerens årlige redegjørelse til Alltinget.

In this study, we performed an extensive exploration of the ligand entry mechanism for members of the steroid nuclear hormone receptor family (androgen receptor, estrogen receptor α, glucocorticoid receptor, mineralocorticoid receptor, and progesterone receptor) and their endogenous ligands. The exploration revealed a shared entry path through the helix 3, 7, and 11 regions. Examination of the x-ray structures of the receptor-ligand complexes further showed two distinct folds of the helix 6–7 region, classified as "open" and "closed", which could potentially affect ligand binding. To improve sampling of the helix 6–7 loop, we incorporated motion modes based on principal component analysis of existing crystal structures of the receptors and applied them to the protein-ligand sampling. A detailed comparison with the anisotropic network model (an elastic network model) highlights the importance of flexibility in the entrance region. While the binding (interaction) energy of individual simulations can be used to score different ligands, extensive sampling further allows us to predict absolute binding free energies and analyze reaction kinetics using Markov state models and Perron-cluster cluster analysis, respectively. The predicted relative binding free energies for three ligands binding to the progesterone receptor are in very good agreement with experimental results and the Perron-cluster cluster analysis highlighted the importance of a peripheral binding site. Our analysis revealed that the flexibility of the helix 3, 7, and 11 regions represents the most important factor for ligand binding. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of the ligand influences the transition between the peripheral and the active binding site. ; This work has the support of the grant SEV-2011-00067 of Severo Ochoa Program, awarded by the Spanish Government. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (author's final draft)

In this study, we performed an extensive exploration of the ligand entry mechanism for members of the steroid nuclear hormone receptor family (androgen receptor, estrogen receptor α, glucocorticoid receptor, mineralocorticoid receptor, and progesterone receptor) and their endogenous ligands. The exploration revealed a shared entry path through the helix 3, 7, and 11 regions. Examination of the x-ray structures of the receptor-ligand complexes further showed two distinct folds of the helix 6–7 region, classified as "open" and "closed", which could potentially affect ligand binding. To improve sampling of the helix 6–7 loop, we incorporated motion modes based on principal component analysis of existing crystal structures of the receptors and applied them to the protein-ligand sampling. A detailed comparison with the anisotropic network model (an elastic network model) highlights the importance of flexibility in the entrance region. While the binding (interaction) energy of individual simulations can be used to score different ligands, extensive sampling further allows us to predict absolute binding free energies and analyze reaction kinetics using Markov state models and Perron-cluster cluster analysis, respectively. The predicted relative binding free energies for three ligands binding to the progesterone receptor are in very good agreement with experimental results and the Perron-cluster cluster analysis highlighted the importance of a peripheral binding site. Our analysis revealed that the flexibility of the helix 3, 7, and 11 regions represents the most important factor for ligand binding. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of the ligand influences the transition between the peripheral and the active binding site. ; This work has the support of the grant SEV-2011-00067 of Severo Ochoa Program, awarded by the Spanish Government. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (author's final draft)