Heparan sulphate mediates swine vesicular disease virus attachment to the host cell

Heparan sulphate (HS) has been found to serve as receptor for initial cell binding of numerous viruses. Different glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), including heparin and HS, were analysed for their ability to bind swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV), a picornavirus with close homology to human coxsackie B5 virus. Binding of SVDV was established by heparin-affinity chromatography. In addition, infection of IB-RS-2 epithelial porcine cells was inhibited by treating the virus with soluble HS, heparin, and chondroitin sulphate B (CS-B), as well as by enzymic digestion of cell surface GAGs. Analysis of the infection course showed that SVDV uses cellular HS for its binding to the cell surface and that this interaction occurs during attachment of the virus, prior to its internalization into the cell. Sequence analysis of SVDV variants selected for their lack of sensitivity to heparin inhibition in vitro led to the identification of two residues (A2135V and 11 266K) potentially involved in heparin/HS interaction. The location of these residues in a three-dimensional model shows that they are clustered in a well-exposed region of the capsid, providing a physical mechanism that could account for the heparin-binding phenotype

Roughness analysis applied to niobium thin films grown on MgO(001) surfaces for superconducting radio frequency cavity applications

This paper describes surface studies to address roughness issues inherent to thin film coatings deposited onto superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. This is particularly relevant for multilayered thin film coatings that are being considered as a possible scheme to overcome technical issues and to surpass the fundamental limit of similar to 50 MV/m accelerating gradient achievable with bulk niobium. In 2006, a model by Gurevich [Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 012511 (2006)] was proposed to overcome this limit that involves coating superconducting layers separated by insulating ones onto the inner walls of the cavities. Thus, we have undertaken a systematic effort to understand the dynamic evolution of the Nb surface under specific deposition thin film conditions onto an insulating surface in order to explore the feasibility of the proposed model. We examine and compare the morphology from two distinct Nb/MgO series, each with its own epitaxial registry, at very low growth rates and closely examine the dynamical scaling of the surface features during growth. Further, we apply analysis techniques such as power spectral density to the specific problem of thin film growth and roughness evolution to qualify the set of deposition conditions that lead to successful SRF coatings. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.16.02200

Localized surface plasmon resonance enhanced magneto-optical activity in core-shell Fe-Ag nanoparticles

Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) are suitable platforms for miniaturized biosensing based on their optical and magneto-opticalproperties. It is possible to enhance the sensitivity of specific kinds of NPs by exploiting their optical and magneto-opticalproperties under suitable external magnetic field modulation. Here, the magneto-opticalproperties of Fe–Ag core-shell ferromagnet-noble metal NPs have been investigated as a function of the incident light frequency. For Fe–Ag NPs with a concentration ratio around 25:75, an optical absorption band centered at 3 eV due to localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation is observed. A strong enhancement of the Faraday rotation is also observed, greatly exceeding the value estimated for pure Fe NPs, also associated with the LSPR excitation. Our findings open up the possibility of highly sensitive miniaturized magneto-optically modulated biosensing

Bulk and surface plasmon polariton excitation in RuO2 for low-loss plasmonic applications in NIR

Transition-metal oxides, such as RuO2, offer an exciting alternative to conventional metals for metamaterials and plasmonic applications due to their low optical losses in the visible and near-infrared ranges. In this manuscript we report observation of optically excited surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and bulk plasmons in RuO2 thin films grown using DC reactive magnetron sputtering on glass and TiO2 (001) substrates. We show that both plasmon modes can exist simultaneously for the infrared region of the optical spectrum, while only the bulk plasmons are supported at higher optical frequencies. Finally, we demonstrate that the film properties can be tailored to favor excitation of either SPP or bulk plasmons. (C) 2012 Optical Society of Americ

Desarrollo de metodologías analíticas para la cuantificación de imidazol en nanoesponjas de ciclodextrina para nuevos envases activos.

Las nanoesponjas de ciclodextrina (CD-NS) son polímeros entrecruzados formados por monómeros de ciclodextrina y agentes de entrecruzamiento como el carbonildiimidazol. Estos polímeros de ciclodextrina son insolubles en agua y disolventes orgánicos, no son tóxicos, son estables a temperaturas elevadas y presentan gran variedad de usos, como la eliminación de contaminantes en aguas residuales o aplicaciones en el campo farmacéutico. En este trabajo, se ha desarrollado y validado un método de HPLC-DAD (cromatografía de alta resolución con detección por diodo) para aplicarlo a la cuantificación de imidazol como contaminante en el proceso de síntesis de las CD-NS para la incorporación de estas en nuevos envases activos. Así, se han podido evaluar distintos métodos de extracción de imidazol de las CD-NS.La optimización y validación del método analítico ha incluido la determinación de la linealidad, precisión interdía, precisión intradía y precisión intermedia, además de los parámetros de coeficiente de variación, error relativo medio, límite de detección y de cuantificación. Para la extracción de imidazol, se han probado varias condiciones con agua a distintas temperaturas y velocidades de agitación, o en baño de ultrasonidos. La validación ha resultado exitosa puesto que, para todos los parámetros evaluados, los valores del coeficiente de variación y error relativo medio se han encontrado dentro de los límites de aceptabilidad; además de haber conseguido límites de detección (3,07 ppb) y cuantificación (0,1 ppm) muy bajos. Finalmente, el método validado se ha aplicado a la cuantificación de imidazol en el proceso de síntesis de las CD-NS analizando el agua de los lavados. Se ha podido determinar que las mejores condiciones de lavado son en agitación a 600 rpm, a una temperatura de 40ºC y en 4 ml de agua; ya que han sido las que han permitido una mayor extracción de imidazol. <br /

Multimorbidity patterns with K-means nonhierarchical cluster analysis

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMC via the DOI in this recordAvailability of data and materials: The datasets are not available because researchers have signed an agreement with the Information System for the Development of Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP) concerning confidentiality and security of the dataset that forbids providing data to third parties. This organization is subject to periodic audits to ensure the validity and quality of the data.BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to ascertain multimorbidity patterns using a non-hierarchical cluster analysis in adult primary patients with multimorbidity attended in primary care centers in Catalonia. METHODS: Cross-sectional study using electronic health records from 523,656 patients, aged 45-64 years in 274 primary health care teams in 2010 in Catalonia, Spain. Data were provided by the Information System for the Development of Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP), a population database. Diagnoses were extracted using 241 blocks of diseases (International Classification of Diseases, version 10). Multimorbidity patterns were identified using two steps: 1) multiple correspondence analysis and 2) k-means clustering. Analysis was stratified by sex. RESULTS: The 408,994 patients who met multimorbidity criteria were included in the analysis (mean age, 54.2 years [Standard deviation, SD: 5.8], 53.3% women). Six multimorbidity patterns were obtained for each sex; the three most prevalent included 68% of the women and 66% of the men, respectively. The top cluster included coincident diseases in both men and women: Metabolic disorders, Hypertensive diseases, Mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use, Other dorsopathies, and Other soft tissue disorders. CONCLUSION: Non-hierarchical cluster analysis identified multimorbidity patterns consistent with clinical practice, identifying phenotypic subgroups of patients.The project has been funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain) through the Network for Prevention and Health Promotion in Primary Health Care (redIAPP, RD12/0005), by a grant for research projects on health from ISCiii (PI12/00427) and co-financed with European Union ERDF funds). Jose M. Valderas was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Clinician Scientist Award NIHR/CS/010/024

Experimental data on SOA formation from mixtures of anthropogenic and biogenic organic compounds

AbstractSecondary organic aerosols (SOA) constitute a significant fraction of the atmospheric particulate matter. Theses particles are formed as a consequence of the oxidation reaction of certain organic gases that leads to the formation of low-volatility compounds. As for other pollutants, air quality models allow the simulation of particle levels and thus models constitute a powerful tool in air quality management. Nevertheless, the accepted use of models must be based on the validation of its capacity to reproduce observed concentrations. Air monitoring sites provide measured information of a large variety of ambient pollutants. Unfortunately, measurements on SOA are not normally available, as current monitoring networks do not include instrumentation to distinguish primary from secondary sources of organic carbonaceous aerosol. This paper presents a set of photooxidation experiments performed in the European Photorreactor (EUPHORE) smog chamber (CEAM, Spain) under different experimental conditions to investigate SOA formation. The use of chambers allows the isolation of atmospheric chemistry and aerosol formation processes. Thus, although these measurements were obtained at initial precursor concentrations higher than those in atmospheric conditions, they constitute a valuable set of information for SOA model evaluation purposes

Niobium thin film deposition studies on copper surfaces for superconducting radio frequency cavity applications

Thin film coatings have the potential to increase both the thermal efficiency and accelerating gradient in superconducting radio frequency accelerator cavities. However, before this potential can be realized, systematic studies on structure-property correlations in these thin films need to be carried out since the reduced geometry, combined with specific growth parameters, can modify the physical properties of the materials when compared to their bulk form. Here, we present our systematic studies of Nb thin films deposited onto Cu surfaces to clarify possible reasons for the limited success that this process exhibited in previous attempts. We compare these films with Nb grown on other surfaces. In particular, we study the crystal structure and surface morphology and their effect on superconducting properties, such as critical temperature and lower critical field. We found that higher deposition temperature leads to a sharper critical temperature transition, but also to increased roughness indicating that there are competing mechanisms that must be considered for further optimization

MediLabSecure: A virology and entomology laboratories network for a One Health approach of vector-borne and emerging viruses in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions

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