Serological profile of torque teno sus virus species 1 (TTSuV1) in pigs and antigenic relationships between two TTSuV1 genotypes (1a and 1b), between two species (TTSuV1 and -2), and between porcine and human anelloviruses

The family Anelloviridae includes human and animal torque teno viruses (TTVs) with extensive genetic diversity. The antigenic diversity among anelloviruses has never been assessed. Using torque teno sus virus (TTSuV) as a model, we describe here the first investigation of the antigenic relationships among different anelloviruses. Using a TTSuV genotype 1a (TTSuV1a) or TTSuV1b enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the respective putative ORF1 capsid antigen and TTSuV1-specific real-time PCR, the combined serological and virological profile of TTSuV1 infection in pigs was determined and compared with that of TTSuV2. TTSuV1 is likely not associated with porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD), because both the viral loads and antibody levels were not different between affected and unaffected pigs and because there was no synergistic effect of concurrent PCV2/TTSuV1 infections. We did observe a higher correlation of IgG antibody levels between anti-TTSuV1a and -TTSuV1b than between anti-TTSuV1a or -1b and anti-TTSuV2 antibodies in these sera, implying potential antigenic cross-reactivity. To confirm this, rabbit antisera against the putative capsid proteins of TTSuV1a, TTSuV1b, or TTSuV2 were generated, and the antigenic relationships among these TTSuVs were analyzed by an ELISA and by an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using PK-15 cells transfected with one of the three TTSuV ORF1 constructs. The results demonstrate antigenic cross-reactivity between the two genotypes TTSuV1a and TTSuV1b but not between the two species TTSuV1a or -1b and TTSuV2. Furthermore, an anti-genogroup 1 human TTV antiserum did not react with any of the three TTSuV antigens. These results have important implications for an understanding of the diversity of anelloviruses as well as for the classification and vaccine development of TTSuVs

Few-femtosecond resolved imaging of laser-driven nanoplasma expansion

The free expansion of a planar plasma surface is a fundamental non-equilibrium process relevant for various fields but as-yet experimentally still difficult to capture. The significance of the associated spatiotemporal plasma motion ranges from astrophysics and controlled fusion to laser machining, surface high-harmonic generation, plasma mirrors, and laser-driven particle acceleration. Here, we show that x-ray coherent diffractive imaging can surpass existing approaches and enables the quantitative real-time analysis of the sudden free expansion of laser-heated nanoplasmas. For laser-ionized SiO2 nanospheres, we resolve the formation of the emerging nearly self-similar plasma profile evolution and expose the so far inaccessible shell-wise expansion dynamics including the associated startup delay and rarefaction front velocity. Our results establish time-resolved diffractive imaging as an accurate quantitative diagnostic platform for tracing and characterizing plasma expansion and indicate the possibility to resolve various laser-driven processes including shock formation and wave-breaking phenomena with unprecedented resolution

Vibrational spectra of ferrocene, ferrocene-containing polymers and their oxidized compounds

Ferrocene-containing polymers are an important member in the class of redox- responsive polymers, changing e.g. their solubility or conformation upon external stimuli. We present a study of their vibrational spectra using inelastic neutron scattering, focusing on the central building block of these polymers, the organometallic ferrocene complex. The vibrational modes of a bulk ferrocene sample are compared to those of poly(vinylferrocene), poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane) and poly(ferrocenylmethylsilane). In the former polymer, the ferrocene complex is laterally attached to the polymer chain and the vibrational spectrum shows a slight shift and broadening of the fingerprint modes in the range of 100-800 cm −1 except for the ring-metal-ring stretching mode which was not detectable anymore. The latter two polymers, where the ferrocene complex is part of the polymer backbone, exhibit larger differences to the vibrational spectrum of bulk ferrocene. Moreover, several contributions to the spectra caused by methyl groups in these polymers could be identified. In order to study the influence of oxidation on ferrocene and redox-responsive polymers, we investigated the ionic compound ferrocenium triiodide and oxidized poly(vinylferrocene). It is observed that the weakening of the η 5 -complex bond by a missing electron leads to a significant shift of the fingerprint modes to lower frequencies