D-branes in PP-wave light cone string field theory

The cubic interaction vertex and the dynamical supercharges are constructed for open strings ending on D7-branes, in light-cone superstring field theory in PP-wave background. In this context, we write down the symmetry generators in terms of the relevant group structure: SU(2) x SU(2) x SO(2) x SO(2), originating from the eight transverse directions in the PP-wave background and use the expressions to explicitly construct the vertex at the level of stringy zero modes. The results are further generalized to include all the stringy excitations as well.Comment: 30 pages, correction in eqn. (4.28), few equations (appendix), Comments (p.17-18) and a reference (no. 58) added, typo is corrected in eqn. (4.5

The ventilation of buildings and other mitigating measures for COVID-19: a focus on wintertime.

The year 2020 has seen the emergence of a global pandemic as a result of the disease COVID-19. This report reviews knowledge of the transmission of COVID-19 indoors, examines the evidence for mitigating measures, and considers the implications for wintertime with a focus on ventilation.This work was undertaken as a contribution to the Rapid Assistance in Modelling the Pandemic (RAMP) initiative, coordinated by the Royal Society

Fully Resolved assembly of Cryptosporidium Parvum

BACKGROUND: Cryptosporidium parvum is an apicomplexan parasite commonly found across many host species with a global infection prevalence in human populations of 7.6%. Understanding its diversity and genomic makeup can help in fighting established infections and prohibiting further transmission. The basis of every genomic study is a high-quality reference genome that has continuity and completeness, thus enabling comprehensive comparative studies. FINDINGS: Here, we provide a highly accurate and complete reference genome of Cryptosporidium parvum. The assembly is based on Oxford Nanopore reads and was improved using Illumina reads for error correction. We also outline how to evaluate and choose from different assembly methods based on 2 main approaches that can be applied to other Cryptosporidium species. The assembly encompasses 8 chromosomes and includes 13 telomeres that were resolved. Overall, the assembly shows a high completion rate with 98.4% single-copy BUSCO genes. CONCLUSIONS: This high-quality reference genome of a zoonotic IIaA17G2R1 C. parvum subtype isolate provides the basis for subsequent comparative genomic studies across the Cryptosporidium clade. This will enable improved understanding of diversity, functional, and association studies

The ventilation of buildings and other mitigating measures for COVID-19: a focus on wintertime.

The year 2020 has seen the emergence of a global pandemic as a result of the disease COVID-19. This report reviews knowledge of the transmission of COVID-19 indoors, examines the evidence for mitigating measures, and considers the implications for wintertime with a focus on ventilation.This work was undertaken as a contribution to the Rapid Assistance in Modelling the Pandemic (RAMP) initiative, coordinated by the Royal Society

ADP Ribosylation Factor Like 2 (Arl2) Regulates Breast Tumor Aggressivity in Immunodeficient Mice

We have previously reported that ADP ribosylation factor like 2 (Arl2), a small GTPase, content influences microtubule dynamics and cell cycle distribution in breast tumor cells, as well as the degree and distribution of phosphorylated P53. Here we show, in two different human breast adenocarcinoma models, that Arl2 content has a major impact on breast tumor cell aggressivity both in vitro and in vivo. Cells with reduced content of Arl2 displayed reduced contact inhibition, increased clonogenic or cluster formation as well as a proliferative advantage over control cells in an in vitro competition assay. These cells also caused larger tumors in SCID mice, a phenotype which was mimicked by the in vivo administration of siRNA directed against Arl2. Cells with increased Arl2 content displayed reduced aggressivity, both in vitro and in vivo, with enhanced necrosis and were also found to contain increased PP2A phosphatase activity. A rt-PCR analysis of fresh human tumor breast samples suggested that low Arl2 expression was associated with larger tumor size and greater risk of lymph node involvement at diagnosis. These data underline the role of Arl2, a small GTPase, as an important regulator of breast tumor cell aggressivity, both in vitro and in vivo

Unraveling the function of Arabidopsis thaliana OS9 in the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation of glycoproteins

In the endoplasmic reticulum, immature polypeptides coincide with terminally misfolded proteins. Consequently, cells need a well-balanced quality control system, which decides about the fate of individual proteins and maintains protein homeostasis. Misfolded and unassembled proteins are sent for destruction via the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) machinery to prevent the accumulation of potentially toxic protein aggregates. Here, we report the identification of Arabidopsis thaliana OS9 as a component of the plant ERAD pathway. OS9 is an ER-resident glycoprotein containing a mannose-6-phosphate receptor homology domain, which is also found in yeast and mammalian lectins involved in ERAD. OS9 fused to the C-terminal domain of YOS9 can complement the ERAD defect of the corresponding yeast Δyos9 mutant. An A. thaliana OS9 loss-of-function line suppresses the severe growth phenotype of the bri1-5 and bri1-9 mutant plants, which harbour mutated forms of the brassinosteroid receptor BRI1. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that OS9 associates with Arabidopsis SEL1L/HRD3, which is part of the plant ERAD complex and with the ERAD substrates BRI1-5 and BRI1-9, but only the binding to BRI1-5 occurs in a glycan-dependent way. OS9-deficiency results in activation of the unfolded protein response and reduces salt tolerance, highlighting the role of OS9 during ER stress. We propose that OS9 is a component of the plant ERAD machinery and may act specifically in the glycoprotein degradation pathway

The ventilation of buildings and other mitigating measures for COVID-19: a focus on wintertime.

The year 2020 has seen the emergence of a global pandemic as a result of the disease COVID-19. This report reviews knowledge of the transmission of COVID-19 indoors, examines the evidence for mitigating measures, and considers the implications for wintertime with a focus on ventilation

Protein quality control: the who’s who, the where’s and therapeutic escapes

In cells the quality of newly synthesized proteins is monitored in regard to proper folding and correct assembly in the early secretory pathway, the cytosol and the nucleoplasm. Proteins recognized as non-native in the ER will be removed and degraded by a process termed ERAD. ERAD of aberrant proteins is accompanied by various changes of cellular organelles and results in protein folding diseases. This review focuses on how the immunocytochemical labeling and electron microscopic analyses have helped to disclose the in situ subcellular distribution pattern of some of the key machinery proteins of the cellular protein quality control, the organelle changes due to the presence of misfolded proteins, and the efficiency of synthetic chaperones to rescue disease-causing trafficking defects of aberrant proteins