Varicellovirus UL 49.5 proteins differentially affect the function of the transporter associated with antigen processing, TAP

Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes play an important role in the protection against viral infections, which they detect through the recognition of virus-derived peptides, presented in the context of MHC class I molecules at the surface of the infected cell. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays an essential role in MHC class I–restricted antigen presentation, as TAP imports peptides into the ER, where peptide loading of MHC class I molecules takes place. In this study, the UL49.5 proteins of the varicelloviruses bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), pseudorabies virus (PRV), and equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) are characterized as members of a novel class of viral immune evasion proteins. These UL49.5 proteins interfere with MHC class I antigen presentation by blocking the supply of antigenic peptides through inhibition of TAP. BHV-1, PRV, and EHV-1 recombinant viruses lacking UL49.5 no longer interfere with peptide transport. Combined with the observation that the individually expressed UL49.5 proteins block TAP as well, these data indicate that UL49.5 is the viral factor that is both necessary and sufficient to abolish TAP function during productive infection by these viruses. The mechanisms through which the UL49.5 proteins of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 block TAP exhibit surprising diversity. BHV-1 UL49.5 targets TAP for proteasomal degradation, whereas EHV-1 and EHV-4 UL49.5 interfere with the binding of ATP to TAP. In contrast, TAP stability and ATP recruitment are not affected by PRV UL49.5, although it has the capacity to arrest the peptide transporter in a translocation-incompetent state, a property shared with the BHV-1 and EHV-1 UL49.5. Taken together, these results classify the UL49.5 gene products of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 as members of a novel family of viral immune evasion proteins, inhibiting TAP through a variety of mechanisms

Data transfer between Cad system and RP system: a report

Rapid Prototyping (RP) is a technology that transform a design generated in Computer Aided Design (CAD) to a 3D model parts. CAD models are usually done on a CAD system and then transported into the RP system. A good interface between the CAD and the RP system is one of the key factors of producing a good quality prototype. This paper reports on the results of an experimentation carried out to identify the problems in transferring data between a CAD system (UNIGRAPHICS) and an RP system (QUICKSLICE). Based on the experimentation’s results and analysis, a basic guideline is proposed for a safer data transfer between the CAD system (UNIGRAPHICS) and an RP system (QUICKSLICE)

Transversus abdominis plane block reduces remifentanil and propofol consumption, evaluated by closed-loop titration guided by bispectral index.

The present prospective, randomized, double-blind study aimed to determine the impact of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block on propofol and remifentanil consumption, when administered by closed-loop titration guided by processed electroencephalography, i.e., bispectral index (BIS) values. Following institutional review board approval, 60 patients were scheduled for laparoscopic colectomy under general anesthesia. Patients were randomly assigned to receive bilateral TAP block with 20 ml 0.375% ropivacaine (TAP group) or 20 ml 0.9% saline [control (CON) group]. General anesthesia was maintained with propofol and remifentanil administration using closed-loop titration guided by BIS values. The primary outcome was perioperative propofol and remifentanil consumption. The secondary outcomes were hypertensive or hypotensive events requiring treatment, recovery time in PACU and time to first rescue analgesia following surgery. A total of 58 patients participated in the present study. At similar depths of anesthesia, as measured by BIS during the maintenance phase (45-55), patients who received TAP blocks required less propofol (4.2±1.3 vs. 5.5±1.6 mg/kg/h; P<0.001) and remifentanil (0.16±0.05 vs. 0.21±0.05 µg/kg/min; P<0.001). Time to extubation was significantly shorter in the TAP group (9.8±3.2 min) than in the CON group (14.2±4.9 min) (P<0.05). The requirement to treat hemodynamic change was also significantly lower (P<0.05). Pain score at 2 h after surgery was also significantly reduced in the TAP group compared with the CON group (P<0.05), whereas the time to first rescue analgesia was delayed in patients who received TAP block (P<0.05). Postoperative nausea and vomiting occurred at comparable rates in each group (P>0.05). In conclusion, TAP block combined with general anesthesia reduced propofol and remifentanil consumption, shortened time to tracheal extubation and promoted hemodynamic stability in laparoscopic colectomy

Quantum TAP equations

We derive Thouless-Anderson-Palmer (TAP) equations for quantum disordered systems. We apply them to the study of the paramagnetic and glassy phases in the quantum version of the spherical p spin-glass model. We generalize several useful quantities (complexity, threshold level, etc.) and various ideas (configurational entropy crisis, etc), that have been developed within the classical TAP approach, to quantum systems. The analysis of the quantum TAP equations allows us to show that the phase diagram (temperature-quantum parameter) of the p spin-glass model should be generic. In particular, we argue that a crossover from a second order thermodynamic transition close to the classical critical point to a first order thermodynamic transition close to the quantum critical point is to be expected in a large class of systems.Comment: 29 pages, 4 fi