Tamiflu-Resistant but HA-Mediated Cell-to-Cell Transmission through Apical Membranes of Cell-Associated Influenza Viruses

The infection of viruses to a neighboring cell is considered to be beneficial in terms of evasion from host anti-virus defense systems. There are two pathways for viral infection to “right next door”: one is the virus transmission through cell-cell fusion by forming syncytium without production of progeny virions, and the other is mediated by virions without virus diffusion, generally designated cell-to-cell transmission. Influenza viruses are believed to be transmitted as cell-free virus from infected cells to uninfected cells. Here, we demonstrated that influenza virus can utilize cell-to-cell transmission pathway through apical membranes, by handover of virions on the surface of an infected cell to adjacent host cells. Live cell imaging techniques showed that a recombinant influenza virus, in which the neuraminidase gene was replaced with the green fluorescence protein gene, spreads from an infected cell to adjacent cells forming infected cell clusters. This type of virus spreading requires HA activation by protease treatment. The cell-to-cell transmission was also blocked by amantadine, which inhibits the acidification of endosomes required for uncoating of influenza virus particles in endosomes, indicating that functional hemagglutinin and endosome acidification by M2 ion channel were essential for the cell-to-cell influenza virus transmission. Furthermore, in the cell-to-cell transmission of influenza virus, progeny virions could remain associated with the surface of infected cell even after budding, for the progeny virions to be passed on to adjacent uninfected cells. The evidence that cell-to-cell transmission occurs in influenza virus lead to the caution that local infection proceeds even when treated with neuraminidase inhibitors

Living on Cold Substrata: New Insights and Approaches in the Study of Microphytobenthos Ecophysiology and Ecology in Kongsfjorden

Organisms in shallow waters at high latitudes are under pressure due to climate change. These areas are typically inhabited by microphytobenthos (MPB) communities, composed mainly of diatoms. Only sparse information is available on the ecophysiology and acclimation processes within MPBs from Arctic regions. The physico-chemical environment and the ecology and ecophysiology of benthic diatoms in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) are addressed in this review. MPB biofilms cover extensive areas of sediment. They show high rates of primary production, stabilise sediment surfaces against erosion under hydrodynamic forces,and affect the exchange of oxygen and nutrients across the sediment-water interface. Additionally, this phototrophic community represents a key component in the functioning of the Kongsfjorden trophic web, particularly as a major food source for benthic suspension- or deposit-feeders. MPB in Kongsfjorden is confronted with pronounced seasonal variations in solar radiation, low temperatures, and hyposaline (meltwater) conditions in summer, as well as long periods of ice and snow cover in winter. From the few data available, it seems that these organisms can easily cope with these environmental extremes. The underlying physiological mechanisms that allow growth and photosynthesis to continue under widely varying abiotic parameters, along with vertical migration and heterotrophy, and biochemical features such as a pronounced fatty-acid metabolism and silicate incorporation are discussed. Existing gaps in our knowledge of benthic diatoms in Kongsfjorden, such as the chemical ecology of biotic interactions, need to be filled. In addition, since many of the underlying molecular acclimation mechanisms are poorly understood, modern approaches based on transcriptomics, proteomics, and/or metabolomics, in conjunction with cell biological and biochemical techniques, are urgently needed. Climate change models for the Arctic predict other multifactorial stressors, such as an increase in precipitation and permafrost thawing, with consequences for the shallow-water regions. Both precipitation and permafrost thawing are likely to increase nutrient-enriched, turbid freshwater runoff and may locally counteract the expected increase in coastal radiation availability. So far, complex interactions among factors, as well as the full genetic diversity and physiological plasticity of Arctic benthic diatoms, have only rarely been considered. The limited existing information is described and discussed in this review

Der Papst ist schwanger: Ein Raum für religiöses Tauziehen?

Reading Dietrich Schönenberg's Spiel von Frau Jutten with its preface and epilogue, this article discusses how ideas of the Reformation are imposed by the paratext on the Catholic elements expressed in the play. Based on the composition, it can be demonstrated how the Catholic text in dialogues, called the play text (Spieltext), is transformed by these operations into a text for reading (Lesetext), promoting ideas of the Reformation. The purpose of this medial transformation is to be identified in the construction of a polemical affective space. The deconstruction of the Catholic and the construction of the Protestant perspective relies less on the mere reproduction of the Catholic play as a pamphlet associated with such paratexts, but rather on the fact that the ''Spieltext'' is entirely tailored to suit the religious polemic

Erfahrungen mit dem "Kölner Modell" des Werbeverfahrens

Wilson's Scat - Sc1a - photographed at night 1977

Legacy effects in radical innovation: A study of European Internet banking

How do firms cope with the challenges of disruptive change in their industry? Numerous studies have highlighted that success with any prior technology creates a negative legacy effect for the next radical technological shift. We question the overly pessimistic view of such legacy effects and ask how quickly firms embrace technological breakthroughs by radically innovating and who wins in the longer term? In this paper, we argue that legacy is a multi-faceted construct whose diverse aspects could simultaneously have different effects on innovation speed and market performance. We identify three main types of legacy related to technology, organizational, and country-level influences. Previous research tends to focus on technological or market effects in isolation, whereas we seek to study the effects of both firm and country legacy simultaneously on speed to radical innovation and market performance over time. Based on a conceptual framework we develop six hypotheses concerning the legacy effects on initial speed radical innovation and subsequent market performance. We chose the European retail banking industry and the focal innovation of transactional Internet banking as a suitable empirical context to employ quantitative hypothesis testing. Detailed and longitudinal (1996-2001) data were collected for a sample of 123 banks from six European countries: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. We specified a model and used threestage least squares (3SLS) as a method to estimate simultaneous regression equations due to endogeneity of a key variable. We show that the prevailing negative view of legacies is likely to be overstated.innovation, legacy, internet banking, europe

Clustering variation points in MATLAB/Simulink models using reverse signal propagation analysis

Model-based languages such as MATLAB/Simulink play an essential role in the model-driven development of software systems. During their development, these systems can be subject to modification numerous times. For large-scale systems, to manually identify performed modifications is infeasible. However, their precise identification and subsequent validation is essential for the evolution of model-based systems. If not fully identified, modifications may cause unaccountable behavior as the system evolves and their redress can significantly delay the entire development process. In this paper, we propose a fully automated technique called Reverse Signal Propagation Analysis, which identifies and clusters variations within evolving MATLAB/Simulink models. With each cluster representing a clearly delimitable variation point between models, we allow model engineers not only to specifically focus on single variations, but by using their domain knowledge, to also relate and verify them. By identifying variation points, we assist model engineers in validating the respective parts and reduce the risk of improper system behavior as the system evolves. To assess the applicability of our technique, we present a feasibility study with real-world models from the automotive domain and show our technique to be very fast and highly precise