Influenza nucleoprotein delivered with aluminium salts protects mice from an influenza virus that expresses an altered nucleoprotein sequence

Influenza virus poses a difficult challenge for protective immunity. This virus is adept at altering its surface proteins, the proteins that are the targets of neutralizing antibody. Consequently, each year a new vaccine must be developed to combat the current recirculating strains. A universal influenza vaccine that primes specific memory cells that recognise conserved parts of the virus could prove to be effective against both annual influenza variants and newly emergent potentially pandemic strains. Such a vaccine will have to contain a safe and effective adjuvant that can be used in individuals of all ages. We examine protection from viral challenge in mice vaccinated with the nucleoprotein from the PR8 strain of influenza A, a protein that is highly conserved across viral subtypes. Vaccination with nucleoprotein delivered with a universally used and safe adjuvant, composed of insoluble aluminium salts, provides protection against viruses that either express the same or an altered version of nucleoprotein. This protection correlated with the presence of nucleoprotein specific CD8 T cells in the lungs of infected animals at early time points after infection. In contrast, immunization with NP delivered with alum and the detoxified LPS adjuvant, monophosphoryl lipid A, provided some protection to the homologous viral strain but no protection against infection by influenza expressing a variant nucleoprotein. Together, these data point towards a vaccine solution for all influenza A subtypes

Capsular profiling of the Cronobacter genus and the association of specific Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus capsule types with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis

Background: Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus can cause serious diseases especially in infants where they are associated with rare but fatal neonatal infections such as meningitis and necrotising enterocolitis. Methods: This study used 104 whole genome sequenced strains, covering all seven species in the genus, to analyse capsule associated clusters of genes involved in the biosynthesis of the O-antigen, colanic acid, bacterial cellulose, enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), and a previously uncharacterised K-antigen. Results: Phylogeny of the gnd and galF genes flanking the O-antigen region enabled the defining of 38 subgroups which are potential serotypes. Two variants of the colanic acid synthesis gene cluster (CA1 and CA2) were found which differed with the absence of galE in CA2. Cellulose (bcs genes) were present in all species, but were absent in C. sakazakii sequence type (ST) 13 and clonal complex (CC) 100 strains. The ECA locus was found in all strains. The K-antigen capsular polysaccharide Region 1 (kpsEDCS) and Region 3 (kpsMT) genes were found in all Cronobacter strains. The highly variable Region 2 genes were assigned to 2 homology groups (K1 and K2). C. sakazakii and C. malonaticus isolates with capsular type [K2:CA2:Cell+] were associated with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis. Other capsular types were less associated with clinical infections. Conclusion: This study proposes a new capsular typing scheme which identifies a possible important virulence trait associated with severe neonatal infections. The various capsular polysaccharide structures warrant further investigation as they could be relevant to macrophage survival, desiccation resistance, environmental survival, and biofilm formation in the hospital environment, including neonatal enteral feeding tubes

Large tunable valley splitting in edge-free graphene quantum dots on boron nitride

Coherent manipulation of binary degrees of freedom is at the heart of modern quantum technologies. Graphene offers two binary degrees: the electron spin and the valley. Efficient spin control has been demonstrated in many solid state systems, while exploitation of the valley has only recently been started, yet without control on the single electron level. Here, we show that van-der Waals stacking of graphene onto hexagonal boron nitride offers a natural platform for valley control. We use a graphene quantum dot induced by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and demonstrate valley splitting that is tunable from -5 to +10 meV (including valley inversion) by sub-10-nm displacements of the quantum dot position. This boosts the range of controlled valley splitting by about one order of magnitude. The tunable inversion of spin and valley states should enable coherent superposition of these degrees of freedom as a first step towards graphene-based qubits

Differences in parental attitudes and tolerance of child exposure to and participation in gambling, alcohol and nicotine use

This study investigated parental attitudes toward child exposure to alcohol, nicotine (smoking tobacco) and gambling, via a questionnaire that examined parental tolerance with regard to hypothetical scenarios of exposure and participation, alongside perceptions of the importance of associated health promotion for each activity. It was hypothesised that parents would indicate significantly less tolerance of, and rate health promotion activity of greater importance for, nicotine and alcohol in comparison to gambling. Results from a sample of 500 UK based parents, showed significantly less tolerance for nicotine versus alcohol and gambling in all hypothetical scenarios of exposure and direct participation. Parents also reported significantly less tolerance surrounding child consumption of alcohol than gambling. Health promotion activity surrounding nicotine was rated significantly more important than that of alcohol and gambling. It is argued that greater parental concern surrounding nicotine was attributable to increased availability of knowledge surrounding associated risks of smoking behaviour within existing regulation and health promotion activity. Arguments are made for increased public awareness of the potential harms that may be associated with gambling behaviour, which may assist parents in making informed decisions regarding their children’s exposure to and participation in gambling-related activities

Luddites, the industrial revolution, and the demographic transition

Technological change was unskilled-labor-biased during the early industrial revolution, but is skill-biased today. This implies a rich set of non-monotonic macroeconomic dynamics which are not embedded in extant unified growth models. We present historical evidence and develop a model which can endogenously account for these facts, where factor bias reflects profit-maximizing decisions by innovators. In a setup with directed technological change, and fixed as well as variable costs of education, initial endowments dictate that the early industrial revolution be unskilled-labor-biased. Increasing basic knowledge then causes a growth takeoff, an income-led demand for fewer but more educated children, and a transition to skill-biased technological change in the long run. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

CO2 FLUX IN INDONESIAN WATER DETERMINED BY SATELLITE DATA

The oceans was considered to be a major sink for CO2. The improving of quantitative and qualitative description about the ability of sea in uptaking or emitting CO2 is a great scientific concern in meteorological and climatological science. Measurement of the ability of sea in uptake or emitting CO2 could determined by measuring the CO2 exchange coefficient on sea interface and the measuring the different partial pressure of CO2 between the air and sea. In this study, CO2 flux distribution of Indonesian waters in 2007 to 2009 was computed using monthly CO2 exchange and the different partial pressure of CO2 estimated from wind speed, salinity, SST, and sea characteristic, which were obtained from satellite data. The carbon dioxide flux thus was estimated and discussed by two different designs of transfer velocity (k), of Wanninkhof (1992), kW92 relationship and by Nightingale et al. (2000), kN, relationship. The result indicated that generally, Indonesian water was emitting the CO2 to the air. Average CO2 emitting from sea to the air for recent year in 2007 to 2009 are 3.80 (mol m-2year-1) and 2.85 (mol m-2year-1) with kW92 relationship and kN relationship calculation, respectively. The total average CO2 emission from sea to the air in 2007 to 2009 for the Indonesian waters areas are 0.15 (PgC year-1) and 0.12 (PgC year-1) based on kW92 relationship and kN relationship calculations, respectively. Keywords: CO2 flux, salinity, SST, sink and sources of CO2

Theoretical and experimental investigations of graphitic and crystalline carbon nitrides

Solid-state carbon nitride materials are useful in a number of areas in industry, ranging from heat retardation, photocatalysis, electrochemistry, as well as the potential to form a new super hard material to rival diamond. The flexible nature of the chemical bonding and environment of C and N atoms in a carbon nitride system gives rise to wide structural diversity, which present challenges in characterisation of the material. Theoretical modeling for such a versatile system is an essential part of scientific research. Quantum mechanical computational methods are employed to study carbon nitride materials in dense sp3 bonded and planar polymeric graphitic phases. The computer codes used for this study are CRYSTAL and CASTEP, both based on DFT. Synthesis of dense and graphitic carbon nitride materials, using ionothermal and thermal methods were also conducted towards part of this research. The results from each theoretically calculated investigation in this thesis are compared with experimental data, to guide the understanding of the experimental results for the system under study. Experimentally synthesised and recovered carbon nitride material, with defective wurtzite structure and C2N3H stoichiometry, was investigated for its stability over a range of pressures. Three possible C2N3H phases arising from different proton arrangements were modeled to determine the most stable arrangement. A metastable C2N3H phase was detected experimentally; an ab initio structure prediction method was employed, which identified a structure that complied with experimental observations. CASTEP was tested and used to calculate NMR chemical shifts for 13C and 15N atoms for a number of carbon nitride materials. Predictions were focused on determining the atom connectivity and structural topology for thermal synthetic methods that yielded dense and graphitic carbon nitride solid‐state materials. Calculated NMR chemical shifts were also employed in a collaborative study to guide the understanding of planetary tholins, formed in Titan’s atmosphere

Change in BMI Accurately Predicted by Social Exposure to Acquaintances

Research has mostly focused on obesity and not on processes of BMI change more generally, although these may be key factors that lead to obesity. Studies have suggested that obesity is affected by social ties. However these studies used survey based data collection techniques that may be biased toward select only close friends and relatives. In this study, mobile phone sensing techniques were used to routinely capture social interaction data in an undergraduate dorm. By automating the capture of social interaction data, the limitations of self-reported social exposure data are avoided. This study attempts to understand and develop a model that best describes the change in BMI using social interaction data. We evaluated a cohort of 42 college students in a co-located university dorm, automatically captured via mobile phones and survey based health-related information. We determined the most predictive variables for change in BMI using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method. The selected variables, with gender, healthy diet category, and ability to manage stress, were used to build multiple linear regression models that estimate the effect of exposure and individual factors on change in BMI. We identified the best model using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and R[superscript 2]. This study found a model that explains 68% (p<0.0001) of the variation in change in BMI. The model combined social interaction data, especially from acquaintances, and personal health-related information to explain change in BMI. This is the first study taking into account both interactions with different levels of social interaction and personal health-related information. Social interactions with acquaintances accounted for more than half the variation in change in BMI. This suggests the importance of not only individual health information but also the significance of social interactions with people we are exposed to, even people we may not consider as close friends.MIT Masdar ProgramMIT Media Lab Consortiu

APLIKASI SISTEM INFORMASI GEOGRAFI (SIG) BERBASIS DATA RASTER UNTUK PENGKELASAN KEMAMPUAN LAHAN DI PROVINSI BALI DENGAN METODE NILAI PIKSEL PEMBEDA = (Application of Geographic Information System (GIS) based raster data

Penggunaan teknologi seperti SIG sangat baik untuk mengelompokkan data keruangan lahan berdasarkan faktor potensi dan penghambat penggunaannya. Dengan mengimprovisasi metode tumpang susun diharapkan mampu mempercepat proses studi tentang pengkelasan kemampuan lahan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah pengaplikasian SIG berbasis data raster untuk memetakan kelas kemampuan lahan di Provinsi Bali dengan menggunakan metode "nilai piksel pembeda". Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan SIG dapat memperlihatkan sebaran kelas kemampuan lahan yang heterogen dan kompleks sehingga mcmperjelas informasi lahan pada satuan unit lahan yang sempit. Selain itu penggunaan metode ini juga membantu mempercepat proses tumpang susun\u27 dan query data. Kelas kemampuan lahan di Provinsi Bali dapat dikelompokkan menjadi 8 kelas, dari kelas I sampai kelas VIII. Sebaran kelas kemampuan lahannya didominasi oleh lahan dengan kelas VI, VII dan VIII yaitu seluas 50,7% dari luas Provinsi Bali. Kabupatcn Buleleng, Jembrana, dan Karangasem berturut-turut merupakan daerah-daerah tcrluas- yang mcmiliki kemampuan lahan kelas VIII. Daerah-daerah tersebut harus lebih instensif dalam menjaga lahan-lahan berkelas VIII agar tidak beralih fungsi dari lahan hutan menjadi lahan non hutan