Artistic Wind Turbines Along Greenways: The Concept

The contemporary built and industrial landscape - we can see every day - is filled with many industrial parks, logistic areas, power plants and other enormous structures and objects which ensure a living environment for humans. Actually, these structures cause many gaps and blind spots in an otherwise green network. Furthermore, in some cases there are abandoned industrial parks consuming enormous pieces of land. The reason for this is pretty clear in this case: there is no responsible owner who should take care of it or there is no budget to cover the costs for its demolition. So what we now see are huge industrial parks in the landscapes with no purpose, perpetuating a division and creating very unattractive scenic object. This paper proposes a concept for how to repurpose such forlorn industrial areas and how they can even become part of a greenway. The industrial function will be replaced by new one: the wind energy utilizing alternative design concepts

Effect of demographic characteristics of enterprises on the implementation of corporate social responsibility in SMEs context

The results confirm that the country in which a company conducts its business activities and company size are significant factors affecting perceptions concerning the implementation of CSR. Entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic are significantly less likely to agree with the importance and implementation of CSR than entrepreneurs in Poland. Similar results were attained when comparing micro-enterprises and medium-sized enterprises, with microenterprises significantly less likely to agree with statements on CSR. Between men and women, no significant differences were found in their attitudes towards the incorporation of CSR into business management practices. The result was likewise with regards to the entrepreneur’s age. However, the business sector in which a company operates and the entrepreneur’s educational attainment level do have an influence on selected CSR indicators, with the impact on financial performance most positively perceived by those companies operating in retail. Those companies operating in the services sector attached the least importance to the implementation of CSR for acquiring new customers and improving financial performance than other sectors. Of interest is also the finding that enterprises run by owners or managers with lower levels of educational attainment neither perceive the concept of CSR nor the implementation thereof as a significant element of future business management

Adamantane-1-ammonium acetate

In the title compound, C10H18N+·C2H3O2 −, the ammonium H atoms of the cation are linked to three acetate anions via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a chain structure extending along the b axis

Bis(adamantan-1-aminium) carbonate

In the title compound, 2C10H18N+·CO3 2−, the adamantan-1-aminium cation forms three N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds to three carbonate ions, resulting in a layer parallel to (001) with the adamantane groups located on its surface so that adjacent layers form only C—H⋯H—C contacts. The carbonate anions occupy special positions of 32 symmetry, whereas the adamantan-1-aminium cations occupy special positions of 3 symmetry

Four-gene-combination DNA vaccine protects mice against a lethal vaccinia virus challenge and elicits appropriate antibody responses in nonhuman primates

AbstractTwo major infectious forms of vaccinia virus (VACV) have been described: the intracellular mature virion (IMV), and the extracellular enveloped virion (EEV). Due to their stability in the environment, IMVs play a predominant role in host-to-host transmission, whereas EEVs play an important role in dissemination within the host. In a previous report, we demonstrated that mice vaccinated with VACV L1R (IMV immunogen) and A33R (EEV immunogen) were protected from a lethal poxvirus challenge. Vaccination with a combination of both genes conferred greater protection than either gene alone, suggesting that an immune response against both IMV and EEV is advantageous. Here, we report that in mice individually administered DNA vaccines with two different VACV immunogens, A27L (IMV immunogen) or B5R (EEV immunogen), failed to significantly protect; however, vaccination with a combination of both genes conferred a high level of protection. Mice were completely protected when vaccinated with a combination of four VACV genes (A27L + A33R + L1R + B5R). Rhesus macaques vaccinated with this four-gene-combination developed appropriate antibody responses to each protein. Antibody responses elicited by this vaccine cross-reacted with monkeypox virus orthologous proteins. These data indicate that a gene-based vaccine comprised of the VACV A27L + A33R + L1R + B5R genes may be a useful candidate to protect against other orthopoxviruses, including those that cause monkeypox and smallpox

Lipid Membranes in Poxvirus Replication

Poxviruses replicate in the cytoplasm, where they acquire multiple lipoprotein membranes. Although a proposal that the initial membrane arises de novo has not been substantiated, there is no accepted explanation for its formation from cellular membranes. A subsequent membrane-wrapping step involving modified trans-Golgi or endosomal cisternae results in a particle with three membranes. These wrapped virions traverse the cytoplasm on microtubules; the outermost membrane is lost during exocytosis, the middle one is lost just prior to cell entry, and the remaining membrane fuses with the cell to allow the virus core to enter the cytoplasm and initiate a new infection

Intracellular Proton Conductance of the Hepatitis C Virus p7 Protein and Its Contribution to Infectious Virus Production

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) p7 protein is critical for virus production and an attractive antiviral target. p7 is an ion channel when reconstituted in artificial lipid bilayers, but channel function has not been demonstrated in vivo and it is unknown whether p7 channel activity plays a critical role in virus production. To evaluate the contribution of p7 to organelle pH regulation and virus production, we incorporated a fluorescent pH sensor within native, intracellular vesicles in the presence or absence of p7 expression. p7 increased proton (H+) conductance in vesicles and was able to rapidly equilibrate H+ gradients. This conductance was blocked by the viroporin inhibitors amantadine, rimantadine and hexamethylene amiloride. Fluorescence microscopy using pH indicators in live cells showed that both HCV infection and expression of p7 from replicon RNAs reduced the number of highly acidic (pH<5) vesicles and increased lysosomal pH from 4.5 to 6.0. These effects were not present in uninfected cells, sub-genomic replicon cells not expressing p7, or cells electroporated with viral RNA containing a channel-inactive p7 point mutation. The acidification inhibitor, bafilomycin A1, partially restored virus production to cells electroporated with viral RNA containing the channel inactive mutation, yet did not in cells containing p7-deleted RNA. Expression of influenza M2 protein also complemented the p7 mutant, confirming a requirement for H+ channel activity in virus production. Accordingly, exposure to acid pH rendered intracellular HCV particles non-infectious, whereas the infectivity of extracellular virions was acid stable and unaffected by incubation at low pH, further demonstrating a key requirement for p7-induced loss of acidification. We conclude that p7 functions as a H+ permeation pathway, acting to prevent acidification in otherwise acidic intracellular compartments. This loss of acidification is required for productive HCV infection, possibly through protecting nascent virus particles during an as yet uncharacterized maturation process

Viroporins

Viroporins are a group of proteins that participate in several viral functions, including the promotion of release of viral particles from cells. These proteins also affect cellular functions, including the cell vesicle system, glycoprotein trafficking and membrane permeability. Viroporins are not essential for the replication of viruses, but their presence enhances virus growth. Comprising some 60-120 amino acids, viroporins have a hydrophobic transmembrane domain that interacts with and expands the lipid bilayer. Some viroporins also contain other motifs, such as basic amino acid residues or a domain rich in aromatic amino acids that confers on the protein the ability to interact with the interfacial lipid bilayer. Viroporin oligomerization gives rise to hydrophilic pores at the membranes of virus-infected cells. As the list of known viroporins steadily grows, recent research efforts focus on deciphering the actions of the viroporins poliovirus 2B, alphavirus 6K, HIV-1 Vpu and influenza virus M2. All these proteins can enhance the passage of ions and small molecules through membranes depending on their concentration gradient. Future work will lengthen the list of viroporins and will provide a deeper understanding of their mechanisms of action.This work was supported by the Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid (082‐0024/2000), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (01/0042) and the DGICYT (PM99‐0002). The authors also acknowledge the institutional grant awarded to the Centro de Biologı́a Molecular ‘Severo Ochoa’ by the Fundación Ramón Areces.S

Hybrid inorganic-organic capsules for efficient intracellular delivery of novel siRNAs against influenza A (H1N1) virus infection

This work was supported by ARUK project grant 21210 ‘Sustained and Controllable Local Delivery of Anti-inflammatory Therapeutics with Nanoengineered Microcapsules’. The work was also supported in part by Russian Foundation of Basic Research grants No. 16-33-50153 mol_nr, No. 16-33-00966 mol_a, Russian Science Foundation grant No. 15-15-00170 and Russian Governmental Program ‘‘Nauka’’, No. 1.1658.2016, 4002