Extruded Expanded Polystyrene Sheets Coated by TiO2 as New Photocatalitic Materials for Foodstuffs Packaging

Nanostructured, photoactive anatase TiO2 sol prepared under very mild conditions using titanium tetraisopropoxide as the precursor is used to functionalise extruded expanded polystyrene (XPS) sheets by spray-coating resulting in stable and active materials functionalised by TiO2 nanoparticles. Photocatalytic tests of these sheets performed in a batch reactor in gas–solid system under UV irradiation show their successful activity in degrading probe molecules (2-propanol, trimethylamine and ethene). Raman spectra ensure the deposition of TiO2 as crystalline anatase phase on the polymer surface. The presence of TiO2 with respect to polymer surface can be observed in SEM images coupled to EDAX mapping allowing to monitor the surface morphology and the distribution of TiO2 particles. Finally thermoforming of these sheets in industrial standard equipment leads to useful containers for foodstuffs

Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Phenotypically Distinct Huh7 Cell Lines

In 2005, the first robust hepatitis C virus (HCV) infectious cell culture system was developed based on the HCV genotype 2a JFH-1 molecular clone and the human-derived hepatoma cell line Huh7. Although much effort has been made to dissect and expand the repertoire of JFH-1-derived clones, less attention has been given to the host cell despite the intriguing facts that thus far only Huh7 cells have been found to be highly permissive for HCV infection and furthermore only a limited number of Huh7 cell lines/stocks appear to be fully permissive. As such, we compiled a panel of Huh7 lines from disparate sources and evaluated their permissiveness for HCV infection. We found that although Huh7 lines from different laboratories do vary in morphology and cell growth, the majority (8 out of 9) were highly permissive for infection, as demonstrated by robust HCV RNA and de novo infectious virion production following infection. While HCV RNA levels achieved in the 8 permissive cell lines were relatively equivalent, three Huh7 lines demonstrated higher infectious virion production suggesting these cell lines more efficiently support post-replication event(s) in the viral life cycle. Consistent with previous studies, the single Huh7 line found to be relatively resistant to infection demonstrated a block in HCV entry. These studies not only suggest that the majority of Huh7 cell lines in different laboratories are in fact highly permissive for HCV infection, but also identify phenotypically distinct Huh7 lines, which may facilitate studies investigating the cellular determinants of HCV infection

CD81 Is Essential for the Re-entry of Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Quiescence following Stress-Induced Proliferation Via Deactivation of the Akt Pathway

A protein that is thought to orchestrate the distribution of other signaling molecules on the cell membrane, CD81, is critical to maintaining the functional integrity of hematopoietic stem cells during their regeneration

RNA Interference and Single Particle Tracking Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus Endocytosis

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) enters hepatocytes following a complex set of receptor interactions, culminating in internalization via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. However, aside from receptors, little is known about the cellular molecular requirements for infectious HCV entry. Therefore, we analyzed a siRNA library that targets 140 cellular membrane trafficking genes to identify host genes required for infectious HCV production and HCV pseudoparticle entry. This approach identified 16 host cofactors of HCV entry that function primarily in clathrin-mediated endocytosis, including components of the clathrin endocytosis machinery, actin polymerization, receptor internalization and sorting, and endosomal acidification. We next developed single particle tracking analysis of highly infectious fluorescent HCV particles to examine the co-trafficking of HCV virions with cellular cofactors of endocytosis. We observe multiple, sequential interactions of HCV virions with the actin cytoskeleton, including retraction along filopodia, actin nucleation during internalization, and migration of internalized particles along actin stress fibers. HCV co-localizes with clathrin and the ubiquitin ligase c-Cbl prior to internalization. Entering HCV particles are associated with the receptor molecules CD81 and the tight junction protein, claudin-1; however, HCV-claudin-1 interactions were not restricted to Huh-7.5 cell-cell junctions. Surprisingly, HCV internalization generally occurred outside of Huh-7.5 cell-cell junctions, which may reflect the poorly polarized nature of current HCV cell culture models. Following internalization, HCV particles transport with GFP-Rab5a positive endosomes, which is consistent with trafficking to the early endosome. This study presents technical advances for imaging HCV entry, in addition to identifying new host cofactors of HCV infection, some of which may be antiviral targets

A multi-element psychosocial intervention for early psychosis (GET UP PIANO TRIAL) conducted in a catchment area of 10 million inhabitants: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

Multi-element interventions for first-episode psychosis (FEP) are promising, but have mostly been conducted in non-epidemiologically representative samples, thereby raising the risk of underestimating the complexities involved in treating FEP in 'real-world' services

On a kinetic theory approach to modelling degradation phenomena in conservation sciences

This paper deals with the modelling of degradation phenomena for works of art under the action applied by external agents. The analysis is based on a suitable development of the methods of the kinetic theory for active particles. The model consists in an evolution equation for the probability distribution of the degradation stage. The interpretation of empirical data provides the identification of the parameters of the model and a quantitative prediction of degradation events

Folding and dimerization of Hepatitis C Virus E1 and E2 glycoproteins in stably transfected CHO cells

The recombinant E1E2 heterodimer of the hepatitis C virus is a candidate for a subunit vaccine. Folding analysis of E1 and E2 glycoproteins, stably expressed in CHO cells, showed that E1 folding was faster and more efficient than E2. The oxidized DTT-resistant conformation of E1 was completed within 2 h post-synthesis, while E2 not only required up to 6 h but also generated non-native species. Calnexin was found to assist E1 folding, whereas no chaperone association was found with E2. The assembly of E1 and E2 was assessed by co-immunoprecipitation and sedimentation velocity analysis. We found that the formation of native E1E2 heterodimers paralleled E2 oxidation kinetics, suggesting that E2 completed its folding process after association with E1. Once formed, sedimentation of the native E1E2 heterodimers was consistent with the absence of additional associated factors. Taken together, our data strongly suggest that productive folding of the major HCV spike protein E2 is assisted by E1

Assessing appearance in human dental colour space

The contribution of this paper is twofold. In the first part, we delimited the human dental colour subspace described within the Munsell space starting from the most used reference scales available on the market. This subspace has been determined reproducing the everyday working condition of dentists, enlarging the boundaries in order to reasonably include all the possible tooth colours. In the second part of the work, we have run a perceptual experiment in order to assess the visual colour discrimination within this subspace. The results presented in this paper can be the base of a machine vision application able to support dentists in the choice of the right enamel colour for restoration