Complete genome sequence of Frog virus 3, isolated from a strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) imported from Nicaragua into the Netherlands

Frog virus 3 was isolated from a strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) imported from Nicaragua via Germany to the Netherlands, and its complete genome sequence was determined. Frog virus 3 isolate Op/2015/Netherlands/UU3150324001 is 107,183 bp long and has a nucleotide similarity of 98.26% to the reference Frog virus 3 isolate

Pristine Multi-walled carbon nanotubes for a rapid and efficient plasmid DNA clarification

Therapeutic approaches based on nucleic acids to modulate cell activity have recently gained attention. These molecules arise from complex biotechnological processes, requiring effective manufacturing strategies, high purity, and precise quality control to be used as biopharmaceuticals. One of the most critical and time-consuming steps for nucleic acids-based biotherapeutics manufacturing is their purification, mainly due to the complexity of the extracts. In this study, a simple, efficient, and reliable method to isolate and clarify plasmid DNA (pDNA) from complex samples is described. The method is based on the selective capture of RNA and other impurities, using pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) with different diameters were studied to determine their adsorption capacity and to address their ability to interact and distinguish between nucleic acids. The results revealed that MWCNTs preferentially interact with RNA and that smaller MWCNTs present a higher adsorption capacity, as expected by the higher specific surface area. Overall, this study showed that MWCNTs significantly reduce the levels of impurities, namely RNA, gDNA, and proteins, by approximately 83.6 % compared to their initial level, enabling the recovery of clarified pDNA in solution while maintaining its stability throughout the recovery process. This method facilitates the pre-purification of pDNA for therapeutic applications.publishe

Influence of environmental conditions and oxidation on the coefficient of friction using microalloyed rail steels

© IMechE 2020. In railway systems, certain atmospheric conditions – mainly related to temperature and relative humidity – lead to the creation of iron oxides which can affect the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the rail. This can result in increased wear of the rail, reducing its service life and thus increasing replacement costs. Pin-on-disc tests were conducted in a climate chamber to study the influence of environmental conditions and iron oxides on the coefficient of friction. The iron oxides generated on the surface of specimens extracted from microalloyed rail steel during wear tests were analysed using X-ray diffraction. The results show that hematite (α-Fe2O3) is the predominant iron oxide among all the oxides generated on the worn surfaces. It was further noted that the oxide layer resulting from the rise in both temperature and relative humidity does not significantly affect the average coefficient of friction for each steel samples tested. High relative humidity combined with high temperature leads to the formation of α-Fe2O3, which tends to increase the coefficient of friction. However, a boundary lubrication effect is observed at higher relative humidity due to a condensed water film, which reduces the coefficient of friction and counteracts the increase of the coefficient of friction expected due to the presence of hematite

Dynamics of Simple Balancing Models with State Dependent Switching Control

Time-delayed control in a balancing problem may be a nonsmooth function for a variety of reasons. In this paper we study a simple model of the control of an inverted pendulum by either a connected movable cart or an applied torque for which the control is turned off when the pendulum is located within certain regions of phase space. Without applying a small angle approximation for deviations about the vertical position, we see structurally stable periodic orbits which may be attracting or repelling. Due to the nonsmooth nature of the control, these periodic orbits are born in various discontinuity-induced bifurcations. Also we show that a coincidence of switching events can produce complicated periodic and aperiodic solutions.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figure

Correlation Between Anti-TNF Serum Levels and Endoscopic Inflammation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients

Objectives: (a) To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of anti-TNF trough levels to predict mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); (b) to determine the best cut-off point to predict mucosal healing in IBD patients treated with anti-TNF. Methods: This is a multicenter, prospective study. IBD patients under anti-TNF treatment for at least 6 months that had to undergo an endoscopy were included. Mucosal healing was defined as: Simple endoscopic score for Crohn’s Disease < 3 for Crohn’s disease (CD), Rutgeerts score < i2 for CD in postoperative setting, or Mayo endoscopic score = 1 for ulcerative colitis (UC). Anti-TNF concentrations were measured using SMART ELISAs at trough. Results: A total of 182 patients were included. Anti-TNF trough levels were significantly higher among patients that had mucosal healing than among those who did not. The area under the curve of infliximab for mucosal healing was 0.63 (best cutoff value 3.4 µg/mL), and for adalimumab 0.60 (best cutoff value 7.2 µg/mL). In the multivariate analysis, having anti-TNF drug levels above the cutoff values [odds ratio (OR) 3.1]) and having UC instead of CD (OR 4) were associated with a higher probability of having mucosal healing. Additionally, the need for an escalated dosage (OR 0.2) and current smoking habit (OR 0.2) were also associated with a lower probability of mucosal healing. Conclusions: There was an association between anti-TNF trough levels and mucosal healing in IBD patients; however, the accuracy of the determination of infliximab and adalimumab concentrations able to predict mucosal healing was suboptimal

PPARGC1A gene promoter methylation as a biomarker of insulin secretion and sensitivity in response to glucose challenges

Methylation in CpG sites of the PPARGC1A gene (encoding PGC1-α) has been associated with adiposity, insulin secretion/sensitivity indexes and type 2 diabetes. We assessed the association between the methylation profile of the PPARGC1A gene promoter gene in leukocytes with insulin secretion/sensitivity indexes in normoglycemic women. A standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and an abbreviated version of the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) were carried out in n = 57 Chilean nondiabetic women with measurements of plasma glucose, insulin, and C-peptide. Bisulfite-treated DNA from leukocytes was evaluated for methylation levels in six CpG sites of the proximal promoter of the PPARGC1A gene by pyrosequencing (positions -816, -783, -652, -617, -521 and -515). A strong correlation between the DNA methylation percentage of different CpG sites of the PPARGC1A promoter in leukocytes was found, suggesting an integrated epigenetic control of this region. We found a positive association between the methylation levels of the CpG site -783 with the insulin sensitivity Matsuda composite index (rho = 0.31; p = 0.02) derived from the OGTT. The CpG hypomethylation in the promoter position -783 of the PPARGC1A gene in leukocytes may represent a biomarker of reduced insulin sensitivity after the ingestion of glucose

Social disadvantage, linguistic distance, ethnic minority status and first-episode psychosis: Results from the EU-GEI case-control study

BackgroundEthnic minority groups in Western countries face an increased risk of psychotic disorders. Causes of this long-standing public health inequality remain poorly understood. We investigated whether social disadvantage, linguistic distance and discrimination contributed to these patterns.MethodsWe used case-control data from the EUropean network of national schizophrenia networks studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) study, carried out in 16 centres in six countries. We recruited 1130 cases and 1497 population-based controls. Our main outcome measure was first-episode ICD-10 psychotic disorder (F20-F33), and exposures were ethnicity (white majority, black, mixed, Asian, North-African, white minority and other), generational status, social disadvantage, linguistic distance and discrimination. Age, sex, paternal age, cannabis use, childhood trauma and parental history of psychosis were included as a priori confounders. Exposures and confounders were added sequentially to multivariable logistic models, following multiple imputation for missing data.ResultsParticipants from any ethnic minority background had crude excess odds of psychosis [odds ratio (OR) 2.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.69-2.43], which remained after adjustment for confounders (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.31-1.98). This was progressively attenuated following further adjustment for social disadvantage (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.22-1.89) and linguistic distance (OR 1.22, 95% CI 0.95-1.57), a pattern mirrored in several specific ethnic groups. Linguistic distance and social disadvantage had stronger effects for first- A nd later-generation groups, respectively.ConclusionSocial disadvantage and linguistic distance, two potential markers of sociocultural exclusion, were associated with increased odds of psychotic disorder, and adjusting for these led to equivocal risk between several ethnic minority groups and the white majority