Temperature-dependent changes in the host-seeking behaviors of parasitic nematodes

Olfactory plasticity occurs in individual infective juveniles (IJs), is not affected by cultivation density, and occurs in multiple strains of Steinernema carpocapsae. A. Temperature-induced changes in sensory valence occur in individual IJs. 25 °C IJs that were repelled by 2-propanone on day 0 were collected and cultured at either 15 °C or 25 °C for 2 weeks, and then re-tested on day 14 using a modified scoring method (left). The IJs that were temperature-swapped from 25 °C to 15 °C showed opposite olfactory preferences compared to those maintained at 25 °C. *** P < 0.001, unpaired t-test; n = 6 trials for each condition. Red bar = 1 cm. B. Cultivation density does not affect temperature-induced sensory valence changes; 25 °C day 0 Ste. carpocapsae IJs were collected and stored at 15 °C at low density (1 IJ/μL), medium density (6 IJ/μL), or high density (25 IJ/μL) and tested for their response to 2-propanone and 1-hexanol after 2 weeks of storage. No significant effects of cultivation density (F 2,62 = 0.2586, P = 0.7730) or interaction (F 2,62 = 1.912, P = 0.1565) were observed in a two-way ANOVA; n = 8–18 trials for each condition. C. Multiple strains of Ste. carpocapsae exhibit temperature-dependent olfactory plasticity. In addition to the standard All strain, the DD136 and Sal strains [101] also exhibited temperature-induced sensory valence changes. A comparison of day 0 IJs that were cultured at 25 °C, day 14 IJs that were temperature-swapped from 25 °C to 15 °C on day 0, and day 14 IJs that were cultured at 25 °C revealed both temperature- and age-dependent changes in olfactory responses. ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001 relative to 25 °C day 0 IJs, two-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post-test; n = 6–16 trials for each condition. For all graphs, error bars represent standard error of the mean (SEM). Mean, n, and SEM values for each assay are listed in Additional file 7: Dataset S1. (PDF 529 kb

Surface antigens and potential virulence factors from parasites detected by comparative genomics of perfect amino acid repeats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many parasitic organisms, eukaryotes as well as bacteria, possess surface antigens with amino acid repeats. Making up the interface between host and pathogen such repetitive proteins may be virulence factors involved in immune evasion or cytoadherence. They find immunological applications in serodiagnostics and vaccine development. Here we use proteins which contain perfect repeats as a basis for comparative genomics between parasitic and free-living organisms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed Reptile <url>http://reptile.unibe.ch</url>, a program for proteome-wide probabilistic description of perfect repeats in proteins. Parasite proteomes exhibited a large variance regarding the proportion of repeat-containing proteins. Interestingly, there was a good correlation between the percentage of highly repetitive proteins and mean protein length in parasite proteomes, but not at all in the proteomes of free-living eukaryotes. Reptile combined with programs for the prediction of transmembrane domains and GPI-anchoring resulted in an effective tool for in silico identification of potential surface antigens and virulence factors from parasites.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Systemic surveys for perfect amino acid repeats allowed basic comparisons between free-living and parasitic organisms that were directly applicable to predict proteins of serological and parasitological importance. An on-line tool is available at <url>http://genomics.unibe.ch/dora</url>.</p

Correspondence between conformal field theory and Calogero-Sutherland model

We use the Jack symmetric functions as a basis of the Fock space, and study the action of the Virasoro generators $L_n$. We calculate explicitly the matrix elements of $L_n$ with respect to the Jack-basis. A combinatorial procedure which produces these matrix elements is conjectured. As a limiting case of the formula, we obtain a Pieri-type formula which represents a product of a power sum and a Jack symmetric function as a sum of Jack symmetric functions. Also, a similar expansion was found for the case when we differentiate the Jack symmetric functions with respect to power sums. As an application of our Jack-basis representation, a new diagrammatic interpretation is presented, why the singular vectors of the Virasoro algebra are proportional to the Jack symmetric functions with rectangular diagrams. We also propose a natural normalization of the singular vectors in the Verma module, and determine the coefficients which appear after bosonization in front of the Jack symmetric functions.Comment: 23 pages, references adde

Exact solutions for KPZ-type growth processes, random matrices, and equilibrium shapes of crystals

Three models from statistical physics can be analyzed by employing space-time determinantal processes: (1) crystal facets, in particular the statistical properties of the facet edge, and equivalently tilings of the plane, (2) one-dimensional growth processes in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class and directed last passage percolation, (3) random matrices, multi-matrix models, and Dyson's Brownian motion. We explain the method and survey results of physical interest.Comment: Lecture Notes: Fundamental Problems in Statistical Mechanics XI, Leuven, September 4 - 16, 200

Neutralization of Diverse Human Cytomegalovirus Strains Conferred by Antibodies Targeting Viral gH/gL/pUL128-131 Pentameric Complex

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading cause of congenital viral infection, and developing a prophylactic vaccine is of high priority to public health. We recently reported a replication-defective human cytomegalovirus with restored pentameric complex glycoprotein H (gH)/gL/pUL128-131 for prevention of congenital HCMV infection. While the quantity of vaccine-induced antibody responses can be measured in a viral neutralization assay, assessing the quality of such responses, including the ability of vaccine-induced antibodies to cross-neutralize the field strains of HCMV, remains a challenge. In this study, with a panel of neutralizing antibodies from three healthy human donors with natural HCMV infection or a vaccinated animal, we mapped eight sites on the dominant virus-neutralizing antigen-the pentameric complex of glycoprotein H (gH), gL, and pUL128, pUL130, and pUL131. By evaluating the site-specific antibodies in vaccine immune sera, we demonstrated that vaccination elicited functional antiviral antibodies to multiple neutralizing sites in rhesus macaques, with quality attributes comparable to those of CMV hyperimmune globulin. Furthermore, these immune sera showed antiviral activities against a panel of genetically distinct HCMV clinical isolates. These results highlighted the importance of understanding the quality of vaccine-induced antibody responses, which includes not only the neutralizing potency in key cell types but also the ability to protect against the genetically diverse field strains. IMPORTANCE HCMV is the leading cause of congenital viral infection, and development of a preventive vaccine is a high public health priority. To understand the strain coverage of vaccine-induced immune responses in comparison with natural immunity, we used a panel of broadly neutralizing antibodies to identify the immunogenic sites of a dominant viral antigen-the pentameric complex. We further demonstrated that following vaccination of a replication-defective virus with the restored pentameric complex, rhesus macaques can develop broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting multiple immunogenic sites of the pentameric complex. Such analyses of site-specific antibody responses are imperative to our assessment of the quality of vaccine-induced immunity in clinical studies

A systematic review of the safety of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate

BACKGROUND: Here we review the safety and tolerability profile of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX), the first long-acting prodrug stimulant for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: A PubMed search was conducted for English-language articles published up to 16 September 2013 using the following search terms: (lisdexamfetamine OR lisdexamphetamine OR SPD489 OR Vyvanse OR Venvanse OR NRP104 NOT review [publication type]). RESULTS: In short-term, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, phase III trials, treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in children, adolescents, and adults receiving LDX were typical for those reported for stimulants in general. Decreased appetite was reported by 25-39 % of patients and insomnia by 11-19 %. The most frequently reported TEAEs in long-term studies were similar to those reported in the short-term trials. Most TEAEs were mild or moderate in severity. Literature relating to four specific safety concerns associated with stimulant medications was evaluated in detail in patients receiving LDX. Gains in weight, height, and body mass index were smaller in children and adolescents receiving LDX than in placebo controls or untreated norms. Insomnia was a frequently reported TEAE in patients with ADHD of all ages receiving LDX, although the available data indicated no overall worsening of sleep quality in adults. Post-marketing survey data suggest that the rate of non-medical use of LDX was lower than that for short-acting stimulants and lower than or equivalent to long-acting stimulant formulations. Small mean increases were seen in blood pressure and pulse rate in patients receiving LDX. CONCLUSIONS: The safety and tolerability profile of LDX in individuals with ADHD is similar to that of other stimulants

Olfaction shapes host–parasite interactions in parasitic nematodes

Many parasitic nematodes actively seek out hosts in which to complete their lifecycles. Olfaction is thought to play an important role in the host-seeking process, with parasites following a chemical trail toward host-associated odors. However, little is known about the olfactory cues that attract parasitic nematodes to hosts or the behavioral responses these cues elicit. Moreover, what little is known focuses on easily obtainable laboratory hosts rather than on natural or other ecologically relevant hosts. Here we investigate the olfactory responses of six diverse species of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) to seven ecologically relevant potential invertebrate hosts, including one known natural host and other potential hosts collected from the environment. We show that EPNs respond differentially to the odor blends emitted by live potential hosts as well as to individual host-derived odorants. In addition, we show that EPNs use the universal host cue CO_2 as well as host-specific odorants for host location, but the relative importance of CO_2 versus host-specific odorants varies for different parasite–host combinations and for different host-seeking behaviors. We also identified host-derived odorants by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and found that many of these odorants stimulate host-seeking behaviors in a species-specific manner. Taken together, our results demonstrate that parasitic nematodes have evolved specialized olfactory systems that likely contribute to appropriate host selection

A universal tool for determining the time delay and the frequency shift of light: Synge's world function

In almost all of the studies devoted to the time delay and the frequency shift of light, the calculations are based on the integration of the null geodesic equations. However, the above-mentioned effects can be calculated without integrating the geodesic equations if one is able to determine the bifunction $\Omega(x_A, x_B)$ giving half the squared geodesic distance between two points $x_A$ and $x_B$ (this bifunction may be called Synge's world function). In this lecture, $\Omega(x_A, x_B)$ is determined up to the order $1/c^3$ within the framework of the PPN formalism. The case of a stationary gravitational field generated by an isolated, slowly rotating axisymmetric body is studied in detail. The calculation of the time delay and the frequency shift is carried out up to the order $1/c^4$. Explicit formulae are obtained for the contributions of the mass, of the quadrupole moment and of the internal angular momentum when the only post-Newtonian parameters different from zero are $\beta$ and $\gamma$. It is shown that the frequency shift induced by the mass quadrupole moment of the Earth at the order $1/c^3$ will amount to $10^{-16}$ in spatial experiments like the ESA's Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space mission. Other contributions are briefly discussed.Comment: 18 pages, To appear in: "Lasers, Clocks and Drag-Free control: Exploration of Relativistic Gravity in Space", Springer Series on Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 349, p 15

Entangled Stories: The Red Jews in Premodern Yiddish and German Apocalyptic Lore

“Far, far away from our areas, somewhere beyond the Mountains of Darkness, on the other side of the Sambatyon River…there lives a nation known as the Red Jews.” The Red Jews are best known from classic Yiddish writing, most notably from Mendele's Kitser masoes Binyomin hashlishi (The Brief Travels of Benjamin the Third). This novel, first published in 1878, represents the initial appearance of the Red Jews in modern Yiddish literature. This comical travelogue describes the adventures of Benjamin, who sets off in search of the legendary Red Jews. But who are these Red Jews or, in Yiddish, di royte yidelekh? The term denotes the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, the ten tribes that in biblical times had composed the Northern Kingdom of Israel until they were exiled by the Assyrians in the eighth century BCE. Over time, the myth of their return emerged, and they were said to live in an uncharted location beyond the mysterious Sambatyon River, where they would remain until the Messiah's arrival at the end of time, when they would rejoin the rest of the Jewish people. This article is part of a broader study of the Red Jews in Jewish popular culture from the Middle Ages through modernity. It is partially based on a chapter from my book, Umstrittene Erlöser: Politik, Ideologie und jüdisch-christlicher Messianismus in Deutschland, 1500–1600 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011). Several postdoctoral fellowships have generously supported my research on the Red Jews: a Dr. Meyer-Struckmann-Fellowship of the German Academic Foundation, a Harry Starr Fellowship in Judaica/Alan M. Stroock Fellowship for Advanced Research in Judaica at Harvard University, a research fellowship from the Heinrich Hertz-Foundation, and a YIVO Dina Abramowicz Emerging Scholar Fellowship. I thank the organizers of and participants in the colloquia and conferences where I have presented this material in various forms as well as the editors and anonymous reviewers of AJS Review for their valuable comments and suggestions. I am especially grateful to Jeremy Dauber and Elisheva Carlebach of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia University, where I was a Visiting Scholar in the fall of 2009, for their generous encouragement to write this article. Sue Oren considerably improved my English. The style employed for Romanization of Yiddish follows YIVO's transliteration standards. Unless otherwise noted, translations from the Yiddish, Hebrew, German, and Latin are my own. Quotations from the Bible follow the JPS translation, and those from the Babylonian Talmud are according to the Hebrew-English edition of the Soncino Talmud by Isidore Epstein

Oxygen deficient layered double perovskite as an active cathode for CO2 electrolysis using a solid oxide conductor

A-site ordered PrBaMn2O5+?? was investigated as a potential cathode for CO2 electrolysis using a La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3 (LSGM) electrolyte. The A-site ordered layered double perovskite, PrBaMn2O5+??, was found to enhance electrocatalytic activity for CO2 reduction on the cathode side since it supports mixed valent transition metal cations such as Mn, which could provide high electrical conductivity and maintain a large oxygen vacancy content, contributing to fast oxygen ion diffusion. It was found that during the oxidation of the reduced PrBaMn2O5+?? (O5 phase) to PrBaMn2O6-?? (O6 phase), a reversible oxygen switchover in the lattice takes place. In addition, here the successful CO2 electrolysis was measured in LSGM electrolyte with this novel oxide electrode. It was found that this PrBaMn2O5+??, layered perovskite cathode exhibits a performance with a current density of 0.85 A cm-2 at 1.5 V and 850 ??C and the electrochemical properties were also evaluated by impedance spectroscopy.open0