Stimulation of baculovirus transcriptome expression in mammalian cells by baculoviral transcriptional activators

Autographa californica multiple n ucleopolyhedro virus (AcMNPV), the type species of the family Baculoviridae, is an insect-specific virus that can enter a variety of mammalian cells. The potential of this versatile virus for protein expression or gene therapy in mammalian cells has become the focus of many studies. In most mammalian cells, transduced AcMNPV genes are either not expressed or expressed at an extremely low level. Here, we studied the effects of the two major AcMNPV trans-activators, IE1 and IE2, on the activation of AcMNPV genome in Vero E6 cells. Microarray analysis showed that when IE1 was overexpressed, it significantly activated genes gp64 and pe38, and upregulated ie2, he65, pcna, orf16, orf17 and orf25. Although, there were only two genes, pe38 and orf 17, that were activated by IE2, we discovered interestingly that the combination of IE1 and IE2 factors had a synergistic effect on activation of the AcMNPV genome in mammalian cells, and activated around 38%, or 59 out of the 155 genes placed on the microarray. This is the first detailed study of baculoviral transcription regulation in mammalian cells, and it shows that the baculoviral genome can be activated in a mammalian system, and also that the two major trans-activators, IE1 and IE2, play a central role in this activation

Comparative analysis of full genomic sequences among different genotypes of dengue virus type 3

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the previous study demonstrated the envelope protein of dengue viruses is under purifying selection pressure, little is known about the genetic differences of full-length viral genomes of DENV-3. In our study, complete genomic sequencing of DENV-3 strains collected from different geographical locations and isolation years were determined and the sequence diversity as well as selection pressure sites in the DENV genome other than within the E gene were also analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, our phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Taiwan's indigenous DENV-3 isolated from 1994 and 1998 dengue/DHF epidemics and one 1999 sporadic case were of the three different genotypes – I, II, and III, each associated with DENV-3 circulating in Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, respectively. Sequence diversity and selection pressure of different genomic regions among DENV-3 different genotypes was further examined to understand the global DENV-3 evolution. The highest nucleotide sequence diversity among the fully sequenced DENV-3 strains was found in the nonstructural protein 2A (mean ± SD: 5.84 ± 0.54) and envelope protein gene regions (mean ± SD: 5.04 ± 0.32). Further analysis found that positive selection pressure of DENV-3 may occur in the non-structural protein 1 gene region and the positive selection site was detected at position 178 of the NS1 gene.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study confirmed that the envelope protein is under purifying selection pressure although it presented higher sequence diversity. The detection of positive selection pressure in the non-structural protein along genotype II indicated that DENV-3 originated from Southeast Asia needs to monitor the emergence of DENV strains with epidemic potential for better epidemic prevention and vaccine development.</p

Development of an economic wireless human motion analysis device for quantitative assessment of human body joint

In recent years, the study of human body dynamics has been attracting a significant amount of attention. Currently there are many camera or active sensor based motion analysis systems available on the market. They have been extensively adopted and used by the film and animation or entertainment industries such as film and video game producers. More recently their potential in studying human dynamics / motion for medical purposes has been realised to the extent that they are now used to study full body human biomechanics in the form of gait analysis systems. Most orthopaedic surgeries are usually about joint repair or implants. According health line, revision surgery is usually due to infection, continued pain, joint stiffness, wear, instability, loosening. Apart from infection, the rest can be linked to the operation itself. Currently, surgical planning and placing implants is performed in a subjective manner, relying on the surgeon’s experience and instinct, current systems to help the surgeon to place implant are also bulky, expensive, slow and not user friendly. The aim of this project is to develop an economic and portable motion assessment system which involves a wireless inertial measurement unit (IMU) dedicated to study and assess body joints. Through the data collected from the IMU, the system is capable real time measurement of relative position and orientation of the human joint. Several tests were conducted to validate the data extracted from gyroscope and accelerometer of the IMU. The joint motion results analysed using the device was compared with the results analysed using commercial video motion analysis software and it shows good correlation. It is found that the gyroscope of the IMU under DMP sensor fusion algorithm and calibration capability is able to give the angular velocity with less than 5% error. This has led to a more accurate orientation data which gives 7% error in average bending angle

Investigation of a two-phase flow natural circulation loop with divergent microchannel evaporator

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.The development of microelectronics is toward high performance, high efficiency and yet small size. Thermal management of microelectronics is of critical concern and significant interest. Microchannel boiling is an advanced cooling technology for high heat flux devices. The present study explores heat removal capability of a two-phase natural circulation loop with divergent microchannel evaporator. Our previous studies revealed that a diverging cross section design significantly could stabilize and enhance the heat transfer of flow boiling. The temperatures at the inlet and outlet of both evaporator and condensing units are measured to evaluate the heat removal capability of the loop. Moreover, the pressure changes through the downcomer and lower horizontal tube are both measured to deduce the flow rate through the loop based on the relationship between flow rate and pressure drop. This study uses the high speed video camera to capture the flow patterns in the evaporator and riser. The working fluid employed in the present study is ethanol, as its boiling temperature at atmospheric pressure is 78.4 ℃, which is below the temperature limit of the most microelectronic materials. The results show that the loop mass flow rate increases monotonically with increasing the heating power of the evaporator after boiling incipience. The current experimental results indicate that the highest base heat flux could achieve is about 105 kWm-2 with no sign of dry-out and it has great potential to reach a higher heat flux. Moreover, it is found that the loop instability appears at low heating powers after boiling begins, while it can be suppressed if the input power is higher than 20W. Indeed, the present two-phase natural circulation loop with divergent microchannel evaporator demonstrates stable circulation with high heat transfer capability.dc201

Type 1 Diabetes in the BB Rat: A Polygenic Disease

OBJECTIVE-Two type 1 diabetes susceptibility genes have been identified in the spontaneously diabetic biobreeding diabetes-prone (BBDP) rat, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) (RT1) class II u haplotype (Iddm1) and Gimap5 (Iddm2). The strong effects of these have impeded previous efforts to map additional loci. We tested the hypothesis that type 1 diabetes is a polygenic disease in the BBDP rat. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-We performed the most comprehensive genome-wide linkage analysis for type 1 diabetes, age of disease onset (AOO), and insulitis subpheno- types in 574 F2 animals from a cross-intercross between BBDP and type 1 diabetes-resistant, double congenic ACI.BBDP- RT1u,Gimap5 (ACI.BB 1ulyp) rats, where both Iddm1 and Iddm2 were fixed as BBDP. RESULTS-A total of 19% of these F2 animals developed type 1 diabetes, and eight type 1 diabetes susceptibility loci were mapped, six showing significant linkage (chromosomes 1, 3, 6 [two loci], 12, and 14) and two (chromosomes 2 and 17) suggestive linkage. The chromosomes 6, 12, and 14 intervals were also linked to the severity of islet infiltration by immunocytes, while those on chromosomes 1, 6 (two loci), 14, 17, and a type 1 diabetes-unlinked chromosome 8 interval showed significant linkage to the degree of islet atrophy. Four loci exhibited suggestive linkage to AOO on chromosomes 2 (two loci), 7, and 18 but were unlinked to type 1 diabetes. INS, PTPN22, IL2/IL21, C1QTNF6, and C12orf30, associated with human type 1 diabetes, are contained within the chromosomes 1, 2, 7, and 12 loci. CONCLUSIONS-This study demonstrates that the BBDP diabetic syndrome is a complex, polygenic disease that may share additional susceptibility genes besides MHC class II with human type 1 diabetes

A Non-coding RNA of Insect HzNV-1 Virus Establishes Latent Viral Infection through MicroRNA

Heliothis zea nudivirus-1 (HzNV-1) is an insect virus previously known as Hz-1 baculovirus. One of its major early genes, hhi1, is responsible for the establishment of productive viral infection; another gene, pag1, which expresses a non-coding RNA, is the only viral transcript detectable during viral latency. Here we showed that this non-coding RNA was further processed into at least two distinct miRNAs, which targeted and degraded hhi1 transcript. This is a result strikingly similar to a recent report that herpes simplex virus produces tightly-regulated latent specific miRNAs to silence its own key early transcripts. Nevertheless, proof for the establishment of viral latency by miRNA is still lacking. We further showed that HzNV-1 latency could be directly induced by pag1-derived miRNAs in cells infected with a pag1-deleted, latency-deficient virus. This result suggests the existence of a novel mechanism, where miRNAs can be functional for the establishment of viral latency

OPEN XAL Status Report 2015

MOPW1050International audienceOpen XAL is an accelerator physics software platformdeveloped in collaboration among several facilitiesaround the world. The Open XAL collaboration wasformed in 2010 to port, improve and extend the successfulXAL platform used at the Spallation Neutron Source foruse in the broader accelerator community and to establishit as the standard platform for accelerator physicssoftware. The site-independent core is complete, activeapplications have been ported, and now we are in theprocess of verification and transitioning to using OpenXAL in production. This paper will present the currentstatus and a roadmap for this project

Study of CP violation in Dalitz-plot analyses of B0 --> K+K-KS, B+ --> K+K-K+, and B+ --> KSKSK+

We perform amplitude analyses of the decays $B^0 \to K^+K^-K^0_S$, $B^+ \rightarrow K^+K^-K^+$, and $B^+ \to K^0_S K^0_S K^+$, and measure CP-violating parameters and partial branching fractions. The results are based on a data sample of approximately $470\times 10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ decays, collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $B$ factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. For $B^+ \to K^+K^-K^+$, we find a direct CP asymmetry in $B^+ \to \phi(1020)K^+$ of $A_{CP}= (12.8\pm 4.4 \pm 1.3)$, which differs from zero by $2.8 \sigma$. For $B^0 \to K^+K^-K^0_S$, we measure the CP-violating phase $\beta_{\rm eff} (\phi(1020)K^0_S) = (21\pm 6 \pm 2)^\circ$. For $B^+ \to K^0_S K^0_S K^+$, we measure an overall direct CP asymmetry of $A_{CP} = (4 ^{+4}_{-5} \pm 2)$. We also perform an angular-moment analysis of the three channels, and determine that the $f_X(1500)$ state can be described well by the sum of the resonances $f_0(1500)$, $f_2^{\prime}(1525)$, and $f_0(1710)$.Comment: 35 pages, 68 postscript figures. v3 - minor modifications to agree with published versio

Destruction of chemical warfare surrogates using a portable atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Today’s reality is connected with mitigation of threats from the new chemical and biological warfare agents. A novel investigation of cold plasmas in contact with liquids presented in this paper demonstrated that the chemically reactive environment produced by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is potentially capable of rapid destruction of chemical warfare agents in a broad spectrum. The decontamination of three different chemical warfare agent surrogates dissolved in liquid is investigated by using an easily transportable APPJ. The jet is powered by a kHz signal source connected to a low-voltage DC source and with He as working gas. The detailed investigation of electrical properties is performed for various plasmas at different distances from the sample. The measurements of plasma properties in situ are supported by the optical spectrometry measurements, whereas the high performance liquid chromatography measurements before and after the treatment of aqueous solutions of Malathion, Fenitrothion and Dimethyl Methylphosphonate. These solutions are used to evaluate destruction and its efficiency for specific neural agent simulants. The particular removal rates are found to be from 56% up to 96% during 10 min treatment. The data obtained provide basis to evaluate APPJ’s efficiency at different operating conditions. The presented results are promising and could be improved with different operating conditions and optimization of the decontamination process

Strange Quark Contributions to Parity-Violating Asymmetries in the Backward Angle G0 Electron Scattering Experiment

We have measured parity-violating asymmetries in elastic electron-proton and quasi-elastic electron-deuteron scattering at Q2 = 0.22 and 0.63 GeV2. They are sensitive to strange quark contributions to currents in the nucleon, and to the nucleon axial current. The results indicate strange quark contributions of <∼ 10% of the charge and magnetic nucleon form factors at these four-momentum transfers. We also present the first measurement of anapole moment effects in the axial current at these four-momentum transfer