DNA-Interacting Characteristics of the Archaeal Rudiviral Protein SIRV2_Gp1

Whereas the infection cycles of many bacterial and eukaryotic viruses have been characterized in detail, those of archaeal viruses remain largely unexplored. Recently, studies on a few model archaeal viruses such as SIRV2 (Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus) have revealed an unusual lysis mechanism that involves the formation of pyramidal egress structures on the host cell surface. To expand understanding of the infection cycle of SIRV2, we aimed to functionally characterize gp1, which is a SIRV2 gene with unknown function. The SIRV2_Gp1 protein is highly expressed during early stages of infection and it is the only protein that is encoded twice on the viral genome. It harbours a helix-turn-helix motif and was therefore hypothesized to bind DNA. The DNA-binding behavior of SIRV2_Gp1 was characterized with electrophoretic mobility shift assays and atomic force microscopy. We provide evidence that the protein interacts with DNA and that it forms large aggregates, thereby causing extreme condensation of the DNA. Furthermore, the N-terminal domain of the protein mediates toxicity to the viral host Sulfolobus. Our findings may lead to biotechnological applications, such as the development of a toxic peptide for the containment of pathogenic bacteria, and add to our understanding of the Rudiviral infection cycle.status: publishe

Implementation and Reconfiguration of Robot Operating System on Human Follower Transporter Robot

Robotic Operation System (ROS) is an im- portant platform to develop robot applications. One area of applications is for development of a Human Follower Transporter Robot (HFTR), which can be considered as a custom mobile robot utilizing differential driver steering method and equipped with Kinect sensor. This study discusses the development of the robot navigation system by implementing Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM)

Fig. S1 Genus-level chronograms for Chiroptera, which were obtained using Bayesian and relaxed molecular clock approaches (inferred chronogram).

Fig. S1 Genus-level chronograms for Chiroptera, which were obtained using Bayesian and relaxed molecular clock approaches (inferred chronogram)

Fig. S4 Ancestral area reconstructions (AARs) of extant chiropteran genera under model TV2 with stratified dispersal probabilities between areas based on the inferred chronogram.

Fig. S4 Ancestral area reconstructions (AARs) of extant chiropteran genera under model TV2 with stratified dispersal probabilities between areas based on the inferred chronogram

Raw Data

Raw data included one DNA sequence alignment, two maximum clade credibility trees, and two chronograms for analyse

Fig. S5 Semi-logarithmic lineage-through-time (LTT) plots under different assumptions about the root age of Chiroptera.

Fig. S5 Semi-logarithmic lineage-through-time (LTT) plots under different assumptions about the root age of Chiroptera

Construction of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Microspheres by Using Helical Substituted Polyacetylene and Application in Enantio-Differentiating Release and Adsorption

Chiral molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres (MIPMs) reported so far are majorly limited to being constructed by using achiral polymer together with chiral template. The present contribution reports on a unique type of chiral MIPMs consisting of chirally helical substituted polyacetylene, which are prepared through suspension polymerization by using (a)­chiral acetylenics as monomer and chiral Boc-d/l-proline as template. The resulting MIPMs after removing the template show optical activity that is derived from the chirally helical structures of substituted polyacetylene. The microspheres demonstrate enantio-differentiating ability in releasing the enantiopure templates. A complete release of the template provides the chiral MIPMs. Worthy to mention is that the two chiral sources (chirally helical conformation and chiral template configuration) work in a synergistic way, obviously increasing the MIPMs’ enantiodiscrimination ability. The present study develops a strategy for preparing chiral MIPMs, which are expected to find significant applications in chiral separation, enantioselective release of chiral drugs, etc

Data S1 Additional details related to each procedure described in the Materials and Methods and the Result of temporal pattern of diversification.

Additional Supporting Information for additional details of each procedure in the Materials and Methods and the Result of temporal pattern of diversification (Data S1), and the related supplementary tables and figures (Tables S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, and S7; Figs S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5)

Bioinspired Design of Three-Dimensional Ordered Tribrachia-Post Arrays with Re-entrant Geometry for Omniphobic and Slippery Surfaces

Hydro- and oleophobic (namely, omniphobic) coatings or surfaces have many important applications, but tremendous challenges in fabrication aspects still remain. Herein, we report a bioinspired design and nanofabrication of three-dimensional (3D) tribrachia-post arrays with re-entrant geometry (3D TPARG) for superhydrophobic and oleophobic polymer films or surfaces. By simply controlling the temperatures and time to treat silica colloidal templates, we can readily fabricate 3D ordered polymer arrays of tribrachia-posts or hexagonal tribrachia-posts with re-entrant geometries that resemble the skin of a springtail insect after the template is removed. These polymer surfaces exhibit excellent and self-healing superhydrophobicity and oleophobicity even against temperature, acids, alkalis, and mechanical damage. Moreover, their liquid-infused nanostructured surfaces still display very good liquid-sliding ability for water and oils. Our 3D TPARG design strategy may help the development of omniphobic polymer coatings or surfaces for practical applications in self-cleaning surfaces, liquid transport, antifouling materials, and many other important fields

Effects of anti-ganglioside GD2 14G2a monoclonal antibody (mAb) alone or in combination with ET A receptor (ETAR) antagonist on osteosarcoma (OS) cell viability.

<p>Methlythiazoletetrazolium (MTT) cell viability assays were performed in Saos-2 (<i>A</i>), MG-63 (<i>B</i>) and SJSA-1 (<i>C</i>) OS cells treated with control IgG (PK136 mAb, 50 µg/mL), 14G2a mAb (50 µg/mL), selective ETAR antagonist BQ123 (5 µM), and 14G2a (50 µg/mL)+BQ123 (5 µM) for 24 or 48 hours. Cells with knockdown of ETAR (ETAR-shRNA) with or without 14G2a mAb treatment were also tested. Cells treated with selective phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor BKM120 (50 µM) was used as a positive control. Viability of the control cells was designated as 100%. The inhibition rate of cell viability was calculated and shown as a percentage of the control cell viability. Each experiment was repeated for three times in triplicates. Data values were expressed as Mean+SD.</p