Homage to Richard M. Elliott

No abstract available

Mapping of transcription termination within the S segment of SFTS phlebovirus facilitated the generation of NSs-deletant viruses

SFTS phlebovirus (severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus; SFTSV) is an emerging tick-borne bunyavirus that was first reported in China in 2009. Here we report the generation of a recombinant SFTSV (rHB29NSsKO) that cannot express the viral non-structural protein (NSs) upon infection of cells in culture. We show that rHB29NSsKO replication kinetics are greater in interferon (IFN)-incompetent cells and that the virus is unable to suppress IFN induced in response to viral replication. The data confirm for the first time in the context of virus infection that NSs acts as a virally encoded IFN antagonist and that NSs is dispensable for virus replication. Using 3’ RACE we mapped the 3’ -end of the N and NSs mRNAs, showing that the mRNAs terminate within the coding region of the opposite open reading frame. We show that the 3’ end of the N mRNA terminates upstream of a 5’ -GCCAGCC-3’ motif present in the viral genomic RNA. With this knowledge, and using virus-like particles, we could demonstrate that the last 36 nt of the NSs ORF were needed to ensure the efficient termination of the N mRNA and were required for recombinant virus rescue. We demonstrate it is possible to recover viruses lacking NSs, expressing just a 12 amino acid NSs peptide or viruses encoding eGFP or a NSs-eGFP fusion protein in the NSs locus. This opens the possibility for further studies of NSs and potentially the design of attenuated viruses for vaccination studies

Browser that provides website navigational assistance

It is often not clear to a user of a web browser as to where to go next when viewing a website. This disclosure describes techniques to ease web navigation by providing the expected next link in a clear and useful way. The techniques include display of a prominent browser next button that allows the user to select and navigate to the next page from a webpage. The described techniques can be implemented in a web browser application or other applications that display webpages

Browser with smart search in page button

Web browsers offer find in page functionality to search for a phrase within the content of a webpage. However, this requires the user to access the menu option and type the phrase which is a cumbersome process on smartphones or other devices with small screens and/or limited input capabilities. Per techniques of this disclosure, a readily accessible option, e.g., a displayed button, corresponding to a likely search phrase is provided as part of the browser user interface, thus simplifying the search process. When the user permits, the likely search phrase is determined based on prior searches by the user

The molecular mechanisms of calicivirus-induced apoptosis

The Caliciviridae family are a group of small, non-enveloped viruses that contain a single stranded positive sense RNA genome approximately 7.5 kb in size. Several members of this virus family are significant pathogens of both animals and man. Perhaps the most well known member is Norovirus, which is reported to be the leading cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide (approx. 95% of cases). Despite this, the molecular effects of the virus on host cells and pathogenicity of the disease has not been well reported due to the inability to grow most of these viruses in cell culture. Two members of the Calciviridae,, however, have been shown to replicate efficiently in certain cell lines. For this reason, these viruses are being used as models to study virus/host interactions. The aim of this project was to (i) further characterise the molecular mechanisms of FCV-induced apoptosis by examining the events that occur upstream of bax translocation to the mitochondria; (ii) examine the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis occurring during infection of CRFK cells with virulent systemic disease causing isolates of FCV and (iii) perform preliminary investigations into the mechanism of cell death occurring during MNV-1 infection.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

An Ionic Liquid Based Sensor for Diclofenac Determination in Water

This paper details a miniaturised, solid state ion-selective electrode selective for diclofenac. The sensor comprises a novel ionic liquid electroactive material – an imidazolium–diclofenac ion associate. The ion associate is present in a plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane on planar carbon electrodes, with an intermediate poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) layer. The sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor were determined using chronopotentiometric methods. In response to diclofenac, a slope of −53.3 ± 3.6 mV/dec was observed. A limit of detection of 2.90 × 10−3 g L−1 is reported, with a linear range of 3.18 × 10−3 g L−1 to 3.18 g L−1. The sensors show good selectivity towards diclofenac against pertinent interferent molecules, with a response time of \u3c15 \u3es

Drought and Coastal Ecosystems: Identifying Impacts and Opportunities to Inform Management

2014 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Informing Strategic Water Planning to Address Natural Resource, Community and Economic Challenge

A role for glycolipid biosynthesis in severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus entry

A novel bunyavirus was recently found to cause severe febrile illness with high mortality in agricultural regions of China, Japan, and South Korea. This virus, named severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), represents a new group within the Phlebovirus genus of the Bunyaviridae. Little is known about the viral entry requirements beyond showing dependence on dynamin and endosomal acidification. A haploid forward genetic screen was performed to identify host cell requirements for SFTSV entry. The screen identified dependence on glucosylceramide synthase (ugcg), the enzyme responsible for initiating de novo glycosphingolipid biosynthesis. Genetic and pharmacological approaches confirmed that UGCG expression and enzymatic activity were required for efficient SFTSV entry. Furthermore, inhibition of UGCG affected a post-internalization stage of SFTSV entry, leading to the accumulation of virus particles in enlarged cytoplasmic structures, suggesting impaired trafficking and/or fusion of viral and host membranes. These findings specify a role for glucosylceramide in SFTSV entry and provide a novel target for antiviral therapies

Multicore Quantum Computing

Any architecture for practical quantum computing must be scalable. An attractive approach is to create multiple cores, computing regions of fixed size that are well-spaced but interlinked with communication channels. This exploded architecture can relax the demands associated with a single monolithic device: the complexity of control, cooling and power infrastructure as well as the difficulties of cross-talk suppression and near-perfect component yield. Here we explore interlinked multicore architectures through analytic and numerical modelling. While elements of our analysis are relevant to diverse platforms, our focus is on semiconductor electron spin systems in which numerous cores may exist on a single chip. We model shuttling and microwave-based interlinks and estimate the achievable fidelities, finding values that are encouraging but markedly inferior to intra-core operations. We therefore introduce optimsed entanglement purification to enable high-fidelity communication, finding that $99.5\%$ is a very realistic goal. We then assess the prospects for quantum advantage using such devices in the NISQ-era and beyond: we simulate recently proposed exponentially-powerful error mitigation schemes in the multicore environment and conclude that these techniques impressively suppress imperfections in both the inter- and intra-core operations.Comment: 26 pages, 16 Figure