Transcriptional cellular responses in midgut tissue of Aedes aegypti larvae following intoxication with Cry11Aa toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis.

BackgroundAlthough much is known about the mechanism of action of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins, the target tissue cellular responses to toxin activity is less understood. Previous transcriptomic studies indicated that significant changes in gene expression occurred during intoxication. However, most of these studies were done in organisms without a sequenced and annotated reference genome. A reference genome and transcriptome is available for the mosquito Aedes aegypti, and its importance as a disease vector has positioned its biological control as a primary health concern. Through RNA sequencing we sought to determine the transcriptional changes observed during intoxication by Cry11Aa in A. aegypti and to analyze possible defense and recovery mechanisms engaged after toxin ingestion.ResultsIn this work the changes in the transcriptome of 4(th) instar A. aegypti larvae exposed to Cry11Aa toxin for 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 h were analyzed. A total of 1060 differentially expressed genes after toxin ingestion were identified with two bioconductoR packages: DESeq2 and EdgeR. The most important transcriptional changes were observed after 9 or 12 h of toxin exposure. GO enrichment analysis of molecular function and biological process were performed as well as Interpro protein functional domains and pBLAST analyses. Up regulated processes include vesicular trafficking, small GTPase signaling, MAPK pathways, and lipid metabolism. In contrast, down regulated functions are related to transmembrane transport, detoxification mechanisms, cell proliferation and metabolism enzymes. Validation with RT-qPCR showed large agreement with Cry11Aa intoxication since these changes were not observed with untreated larvae or larvae treated with non-toxic Cry11Aa mutants, indicating that a fully functional pore forming Cry toxin is required for the observed transcriptional responses.ConclusionsThis study presents the first transcriptome of Cry intoxication response in a fully sequenced insect, and reveals possible conserved cellular processes that enable larvae to contend with Cry intoxication in the disease vector A. aegypti. We found some similarities of the mosquito responses to Cry11Aa toxin with previously observed responses to other Cry toxins in different insect orders and in nematodes suggesting a conserved response to pore forming toxins. Surprisingly some of these responses also correlate with transcriptional changes observed in Bti-resistant and Cry11Aa-resistant mosquito larvae

HSCR: High Speed Cubesat Radio

Software Defined Radios (SOR) are limited by their usable bandwidth, which restricts how quickly they can transmit or receive data. The High Speed Cubesat Radio (HSCR) is capable of transmitting and receiving higher bandwidth signals by combining the bandwidths of several individual SOR transceivers. The HSCR performs phase correction to seamlessly stitch the bandwidths of each individual SOR into a single larger bandwidth. By increasing the number of SDRs inside the HSCR, the bandwidth of the overall system will increase. This increase in bandwidth is limited only by the speed of the processing unit in working with received or transmitting data. The system developed in this document is a proof of concept design. It shows that bandwidth combination is feasible and can be performed in real time

A Course On Advanced Real-Time Embedded Systems

This thesis discusses the development of an advanced real-time embedded systems course offered at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, which aims to prepare students to design modern complex real-time embedded systems. It describes the goals of the real-time embedded systems curriculum, which includes an introductory and advanced course. Finally, this paper discusses the challenges of creating a successful advanced real-time embedded systems course and proposes changes to the current advanced real-time embedded systems course in response to those challenges

Contribution to the development of microwave remote sensing for UAV systems.

Microwave technology is very sensitive to Radio Frequency Interferences (RFI). Works previously done within this Master by Marc Jou [1] showed the impossibility to retrieve measurements using L-band radiometers on-board drones. After detecting such issue, Balamis first tried to solve it by hardware: a new antenna design and the extensive use of shielding on the drone were tried without success. Balamis started the development of its first digital radiometer based on the use of Software Defined Radio architecture on 2017, partially funded with the support of CDTI. The resulting minimum viable digital radiometer was ready by June 2019, but it did not include any RFI mitigation capability. Developments done my Master student Ahmad Daoud [2] demonstrated the identification of RFI using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) over RAW data but could not provide any efficient implementation of its mitigation on-board the L-band radiometer. The proposed solution is the implementation of the FFT and the RFI filters using Field Programmable Gate of Array (FPGA) for the input signals, and its concurrent performance. Filtering an analog signal by introducing in-system FFT of ZYNQ7000 FPGA is implemented in this project. Additionally, the power consumption of FPGA, and the need to dissipate it, forces the development of a temperature control system with cooling capabilities. It is done to improve the previous heating-only thermal control of Balamis radiometer. Such more advanced thermal control will be also used for the Interferometric Ground-based Synthetic Aperture Radar that Balamis is developing. Solving these two goals are therefore the purpose of this Master Thesis

Quantum control of an ultracold quantum gas

This thesis is devoted to the study of quantum control of an ultracold atomic ensemble of $^{87}$Rb. Stroboscopic probing is used to achieve real-time tracking of the collective spin magnitude and orientation via non-destructive Faraday probing. By means of an RF feedback scheme we achieve a reduction in angular dispersion of the precessing spin down to a circular standard deviation \textit{circ std}$(\phi)$=\SI{0.11(3)}{\radian}

Hardware Software Co-Design for Protein Identification

Recently new technologies and research in computational bioinformatics have revolutionized the rate of biological data generation. A vast amount of proteomics and genomics data is contributed to the life science society by researchers especially in the domain of high throughput next generation sequencing methods and it is doubling at every 18 months. Protein identification is a fundamental step in protein sequence analysis and it needs efficient solutions to match the data growth. Rapid methods are focused in the quest for faster protein sequence analysis to scan databases and identify a protein accurately. This benefits the discipline of disease biomarker identification and aid disease diagnosis and prognosis

A comparative study of the sulfhydryl groups in the gastrocnemius of the normal and X-irradiated PET mouse

It has been recognized that hyperpigmentation of the skin is the result of eliminating the. -SH inhibition when treatment is by x-irraidiation. The results of a. study by fieams and Schaeffer indicate : a progressive increase of melanocytes in the skin with an increasing dosage of x-irradiation. However, it was also noted that the effect of x-irradiatin on the gastrocnemius of the PET mouse resulted in a decrease in the number of intramuscular melanocytes. The present study was designed to determine whether the changes in the x-irradiated muscle is related to possible changes in -SH concentration.The technique employed is a quantitative measurement of moles ~SH by azo-aryl mercaptide coupling in the normal and the x-irradiated muscles

Actualización en el manejo de la degeneración macular exudativa asociada a la edad

En aquest treball de final de grau s'ha obtingut la informació necessària sobre el maneig de la DMAE exudativa. La informació ha estat extreta dels cercadors Pubmed i Medline, sempre tenint com a referència els articles més actualitzats. La DMAE és la primera causa de ceguesa en països desenvolupats i es preveu que la prevalença vagi a l'alça a causa de l'augment de l'edat mitjana poblacional. Per a la interpretació dels signes patològics, s'ha utilitzat la classificació més actualitzada pel sistema AREDS. Durant tot el treball s'intenta diferenciar la DMAEn a la exudativa, tant per al seu diagnòstic com per al seu tractament. Existeix un tractament preventiu o alentiment que consta d'uns suplements vitamínics de zinc i antioxidants. En el tractament actual per a la DMAE exudativa s'utilitzen els fàrmacs anti-VEGF, ja que és el tractament que aconsegueix millorar la AV del pacient, desbancant els tractaments obsolets com són la TFD i la Fotocoagulación amb làser argó. Hi ha una gran esperança en els nous tractaments per a la DMAE que actualment segueixen en fases d'estudi. Els més esperançadors són el microbioma, els implants d'alliberament continuat i la teràpia, tant gènica com cel·lular, sent aquesta última de gran utilitat. Es preveu que pot arribar a regenerar la funció dels fotoreceptors.En este trabajo de final de grado se ha obtenido la información necesaria sobre el manejo de la DMAE exudativa. La información ha sido extraída de los buscadores Pubmed y Medline, siempre tomando como referencia los artículos más actualizados. La DMAE es la primera causa de ceguera en países desarrollados y se prevé que la prevalencia vaya al alza debido al aumento de la edad media poblacional. Para la interpretación de los signos patológicos, se ha utilizado la clasificación más actualizada por el sistema AREDS. Durante todo el trabajo se intenta diferenciar la DMAEn a la exudativa, tanto para su diagnóstico como para su tratamiento. Existe un tratamiento preventivo o ralentización que consta de unos suplementos vitamínicos de zinc y antioxidantes. En el tratamiento actual para la DMAE exudativa se utilizan los fármacos anti-VEGF, ya que es el tratamiento que consigue mejorar la AV del paciente, desbancando los tratamientos obsoletos como son la TFD y la Fotocoagulación con láser argón. Hay una gran esperanza en los nuevos tratamientos para la DMAE que actualmente siguen en fases de estudio. Los más esperanzadores son el microbioma, los implantes de liberación continuada y la terapia, tanto génica como celular, siendo esta última de gran utilidad. Se prevé que puede llegar a regenerar la función de los fotorreceptores.In this final degree thesis, the necessary information on the management of exudative DMAE has been obtained. The information has been extracted from the Pubmed and Medline search engines, always taking the most up-to-date articles as a reference. DMAE is the leading cause of blindness in developed countries and the prevalence is expected to rise due to the increase in the average age of the population. For the interpretation of the pathological signs, the most up-to-date classification by the AREDS system has been used. Throughout this study, an attempt is made to differentiate between DMAE and exudative DMAE for both diagnosis and treatment. There is a preventive or slowing treatment consisting of zync vitamin supplements and antioxidants. However, the current treatment for exudative DMAE is anti-VEGF drugs, as this is the treatment that manages to improve the patient's VA, replacing obsolete treatments such as TFD and argon laser photocoagulation. There is great hope in the new treatments for DMAE that are currently still in the study phases. The most promising are the microbiome, continuous release implants and both gene and cell therapy, the latter being of great utility. It is predicted that it may be able to regenerate photoreceptors’ function