63 research outputs found
Wireless Stimulation of Antennal Muscles in Freely Flying Hawkmoths Leads to Flight Path Changes
Insect antennae are sensory organs involved in a variety of behaviors, sensing many different stimulus modalities. As mechanosensors, they are crucial for flight control in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. One of their roles is to mediate compensatory reflexes of the abdomen in response to rotations of the body in the pitch axis. Abdominal motions, in turn, are a component of the steering mechanism for flying insects. Using a radio controlled, programmable, miniature stimulator, we show that ultra-low-current electrical stimulation of antennal muscles in freely-flying hawkmoths leads to repeatable, transient changes in the animals' pitch angle, as well as less predictable changes in flight speed and flight altitude. We postulate that by deflecting the antennae we indirectly stimulate mechanoreceptors at the base, which drive compensatory reflexes leading to changes in pitch attitude.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agenc
Systematically probing the bottom-up synthesis of AuPAMAM conjugates for enhanced transfection efficiency
A novel covalent approach to bio-conjugate silver coated single walled carbon nanotubes with antimicrobial peptide
Multifunctional Biosensor Based on Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance for Monitoring Small Molecule–Protein Interaction
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Peripheral Blood Transcriptome in Patients with Sarcoidosis-Associated Uveitis
PurposeTo identify peripheral blood transcriptome differences in uveitis patients with sarcoidosis compared to those with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) syndrome and controls.MethodsTen patients with uveitis compatible with sarcoidosis (eight with pulmonary sarcoidosis, one with central nervous system sarcoidosis, and one with conjunctival sarcoidosis), nine patients with VKH, and nine healthy controls were prospectively enrolled.ResultsTen genes exhibited a four-fold difference in expression in sarcoidosis patients compared to controls, many being involved in regulating inflammatory processes or cellular responses to microbes.ConclusionsThis research suggests that the transcriptome in sarcoidosis is robust enough to be detected in the peripheral blood and that sarcoidosis can be distinguished from healthy controls. Differentially expressed genes may serve as candidates warranting further investigation with respect to disease pathophysiology and may provide additional information, such as ability to stratify patients based on associated disease severity and anatomical location of inflammation within the eye
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Metagenomic Deep Sequencing to Investigate for an Infectious Etiology of Iridocorneal Endothelial Syndrome.
PurposeIridocorneal endothelial (ICE) syndrome is a group of rare ocular conditions that result from abnormal corneal endothelial cells, leading to secondary glaucoma, iris distortions, and corneal edema. The etiology of ICE is unknown, although it has been associated with viral infections, such as herpes simplex virus. In this study, we sought to identify an infectious etiology for ICE using advanced molecular techniques.MethodsMetagenomic RNA sequencing (MDS) is a high-throughput sequencing approach that can identify all pathogens in any clinical sample, including RNA viruses. Descemet membrane and aqueous fluid from patients with ICE syndrome were subjected to MDS testing.ResultsSamples from 3 patients with ICE were analyzed. MDS was performed on the aqueous fluid of 3 patients and Descemet membrane and endothelial cell tissue from 1 patient. Viral pathogens were not identified in any of the samples.ConclusionsWe were unable to identify a viral etiology in the tissues of patients with the Chandler variant of ICE syndrome, although this study was limited by sample size
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Metagenomic Deep Sequencing to Investigate for an Infectious Etiology of Iridocorneal Endothelial Syndrome.
PurposeIridocorneal endothelial (ICE) syndrome is a group of rare ocular conditions that result from abnormal corneal endothelial cells, leading to secondary glaucoma, iris distortions, and corneal edema. The etiology of ICE is unknown, although it has been associated with viral infections, such as herpes simplex virus. In this study, we sought to identify an infectious etiology for ICE using advanced molecular techniques.MethodsMetagenomic RNA sequencing (MDS) is a high-throughput sequencing approach that can identify all pathogens in any clinical sample, including RNA viruses. Descemet membrane and aqueous fluid from patients with ICE syndrome were subjected to MDS testing.ResultsSamples from 3 patients with ICE were analyzed. MDS was performed on the aqueous fluid of 3 patients and Descemet membrane and endothelial cell tissue from 1 patient. Viral pathogens were not identified in any of the samples.ConclusionsWe were unable to identify a viral etiology in the tissues of patients with the Chandler variant of ICE syndrome, although this study was limited by sample size
Comprehensive pathogen detection for ocular infections
BackgroundMolecular diagnostics such as pathogen-directed PCRs have transformed testing for ocular infections since the late 1990s. Although these assays remain important diagnostic tools for samples with low biomass, the lack of diagnostic range motivates alternative molecular approaches for ocular infections. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of a high-throughput RNA sequencing approach, RNA-seq, to detect infectious agents in ocular samples from patients with presumed ocular infections.MethodsWe compared the performance of RNA-seq to pathogen-directed PCRs using remnant nucleic acids from 41 aqueous or vitreous samples of patients with presumed ocular infections. Pathogen-directed PCRs were performed at the CLIA-certified Stanford Clinical Virology Laboratory. RNA-seq was performed in a masked manner at the Proctor Foundation at the University of California San Francisco. Percent positive and negative agreement between the two testing approaches were calculated. Discordant results were subjected to orthogonal testing.ResultsThe positive percent agreement between RNA-seq and pathogen-directed PCRs was 100% (95% confidence interval (CI): 78.5%-100%). The negative percent agreement was 92.6% (95% CI: 76.6%-97.9%). RNA-seq identified pathogens not on the differential diagnosis for 9.7% (4/41) of the samples. Two pathogens solely identified with RNA-seq were confirmed with orthogonal testing.ConclusionsRNA-seq can accurately identify common and rare pathogens in aqueous and vitreous samples of patients with presumed ocular infections. Such an unbiased approach to testing has the potential to improve diagnostics although practical clinical utility warrants additional studies
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Unbiased Pathogen Detection and Host Gene Profiling for Conjunctivitis
PurposeThe etiology of conjunctivitis is often misdiagnosed. An ideal diagnostic test would identify all possible infectious causes. In this study, we apply unbiased metagenomic RNA deep sequencing (MDS) to identify pathogens causing conjunctivitis.DesignMolecular study of prospectively collected conjunctival swabs from patients with presumed infectious conjunctivitis.ParticipantsPatients with presumed acute infectious conjunctivitis.MethodsConjunctival swabs were collected from patients presenting with acute conjunctivitis. Swabs were processed for MDS. Pathogens were identified using a rapid computational pipeline to analyze the nonhost sequences obtained from MDS. Differential gene expression analysis was performed to evaluate for host transcriptome signatures for infectious types. Clinical samples were deidentified, and laboratory personnel handling the samples and interpreting the data were masked.Main outcome measuresPathogens and differential transcripts identified by MDS.ResultsMetagenomic RNA deep sequencing detected pathogens in 86% (12/14) of the patients tested. Swabs from 10 of 14 patients were positive for human adenovirus (HAdV) while swabs from 2 of 14 patients were positive for Vittaforma corneae (a parasitic fungal species of the microsporidia group). Samples positive for HAdV by RNA-seq were independently verified in a CLIA-certified laboratory. Pathogen-directed polymerase chain reaction confirmed the presence of V. corneae genome in the samples positive by RNA-seq. Local host transcriptome analysis identified 12 differentially expressed genes that provided distinct expression signatures for patients infected with HAdV compared with V. corneae.ConclusionsMetagenomic RNA deep sequencing can reliably detect and quantify common and rare pathogens causing conjunctivitis, and identify strains. The unbiased nature of metagenomic RNA deep sequencing allowed an expanded scope of pathogen detection, including fungal species not commonly associated with acute conjunctivitis. In addition, the identification of infection type-specific local host transcriptome signatures may allow for pathogen detection even when the pathogen load is too low for direct identification
Gold nanoparticle-conjugated pepsin for efficient solution-like heterogeneous biocatalysis in analytical sample preparation protocols
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