INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PURE AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY A PATH FOR HORIZING YOUR INNOVATIVE WORK PLANAR PENTAGONAL WIDE BAND ANTENNA

Abstract: The area of focus in this thesis is to design a flexible antenna that removes the need for antenna designs with exact shape. The main content would be designing an antenna that would not only be used in harsh environments but also as biosensors with better performance as compared to the other metal antennas This paper proposes to design a planar pentagonal wideband microwave frequency antenna with PDMS as the substrate and liquid as conducting medium. This antenna can be folded and stretched in any direction without any damage to the antenna. The antenna is manufactured with a process in which conductors are realized by injecting room temperature liquid metal alloy into microstructured channels in an elastic dielectric material. [18]The presented antenna has return loss better than 10dB within 8-11GHz. This antenna is useful for body-centric wireless network and in applications in harsh environments where mechanical flexibility helps improve durabilty

Renal Pelviceal Keratinizing Squamous Metaplasia with Sparing of Pyramidal Zones

Metaplastic changes in the urothelium of the upper urinary tract are relatively infrequent. Metaplasia may present as either squamous or less often glandular differentiation. The process may be associated with chronic inflammation or associated chronic infections. There may be malignant transformation to either squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma. The demarcation of the metaplastic process in the minor calyces has not been well documented to date. We report the case of a 74-year-old female patient who presented with a history of chronic renal disease and acute pyohydronephrosis. The patient underwent a nephroureterectomy which revealed keratinizing desquamative squamous metaplasia throughout the renal pelvis and upper urinary tract with abrupt termination of metaplasia at the junction of the renal pelvis and the minor calyx (pyramidal zone). Immunohistochemical evaluation documents metaplastic urothelium stained positive for CK5, before converting sharply to simple cuboidal epithelium in the minor calyx (pyramidal zones) which stained positive CK7. At the junction of the metaplastic components and low cuboidal lined minor calyceal surfaces, the underlying stroma showed loss of ureteral muscularis mucosa with transition to renal parenchymal type stroma. We believe that this observation is unique and potentially relevant to the etiology and pathophysiology of pelviceal metaplasia

Application of particle filters to regional-scale wildfire spread

European Conference on Thermophysical Properties (ECTP)European Conference on Thermophysical Properties (ECTP), Porto, PORTUGALPorto, PORTUGAL, SEP 05-05, 2014SEP 05-05, 2014International audienceThis paper demonstrates the capability of particle filters for sequentially improving the simulation and forecast of wildfire propagation as new fire front observations become available. Particle filters, also called Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods, fit into the domain of inverse modeling procedures, where measurements are incorporated (assimilated) into a computational model so as to formulate some feedback information on the uncertain model state variables and/or parameters, through representations of their probability density functions (PDF). Based on a simple sampling importance distribution and resampling techniques, particle filters combine Monte Carlo samplings with sequential Bayesian filtering problems. This study compares the performance of the Sampling Importance Resampling (SIR) and of the Auxiliary Sampling Importance Resampling (ASIR) filters for the sequential estimation of a progress variable and of vegetation parameters of the Rate Of fire Spread (ROS) model, which are all treated as state variables. They are applied to a real-world case corresponding to a reduced-scale controlled grassland fire experiment for validation; results indicate that both the SIR and the ASIR filters are able to accurately track the observed fire fronts, with a moderate computational cost. Particle filters show, therefore, their good ability to predict the propagation of controlled fires and to significantly increase fire simulation accuracy. While still at an early stage of development, this data-driven strategy is quite promising for regional-scale wildfire spread forecasting

Report of the ICES\NAFO Joint Working Group on Deep-water Ecology (WGDEC), 11–15 March 2013, Floedevigen, Norway.

On 11 February 2013, the joint ICES/NAFO WGDEC, chaired by Francis Neat (UK) and attended by ten members met at the Institute for Marine Research in Floedevi-gen, Norway to consider the terms of reference (ToR) listed in Section 2. WGDEC was requested to update all records of deep-water vulnerable marine eco-systems (VMEs) in the North Atlantic. New data from a range of sources including multibeam echosounder surveys, fisheries surveys, habitat modelling and seabed imagery surveys was provided. For several areas across the North Atlantic, WGDEC makes recommendations for areas to be closed to bottom fisheries for the purposes of conservation of VMEs

A Clinically Relevant Variant of the Human Hydrogen Sulfide-Synthesizing Enzyme Cystathionine β -Synthase: Increased CO Reactivity as a Novel Molecular Mechanism of Pathogenicity?

The human disease classical homocystinuria results from mutations in the gene encoding the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate- (PLP-) dependent cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), a key enzyme in the transsulfuration pathway that controls homocysteine levels, and is a major source of the signaling molecule hydrogen sulfide (H2S). CBS activity, contributing to cellular redox homeostasis, is positively regulated by S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) but fully inhibited upon CO or NO• binding to a noncatalytic heme moiety. Despite extensive studies, the molecular basis of several pathogenic CBS mutations is not yet fully understood. Here we found that the ferrous heme of the reportedly mild p.P49L CBS variant has altered spectral properties and markedly increased affinity for CO, making the protein much more prone than wild type (WT) CBS to inactivation at physiological CO levels. The higher CO affinity could result from the slightly higher flexibility in the heme surroundings revealed by solving at 2.80-Å resolution the crystallographic structure of a truncated p.P49L. Additionally, we report that p.P49L displays impaired H2S-generating activity, fully rescued by PLP supplementation along the purification, despite a minor responsiveness to AdoMet. Altogether, the results highlight how increased propensity to CO inactivation of an otherwise WT-like variant may represent a novel pathogenic mechanism in classical homocystinuria

pUL21 is a viral phosphatase adaptor that promotes herpes simplex virus replication and spread.

The herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 protein pUL21 is essential for efficient virus replication and dissemination. While pUL21 has been shown to promote multiple steps of virus assembly and spread, the molecular basis of its function remained unclear. Here we identify that pUL21 is a virus-encoded adaptor of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). pUL21 directs the dephosphorylation of cellular and virus proteins, including components of the viral nuclear egress complex, and we define a conserved non-canonical linear motif in pUL21 that is essential for PP1 recruitment. In vitro evolution experiments reveal that pUL21 antagonises the activity of the virus-encoded kinase pUS3, with growth and spread of pUL21 PP1-binding mutant viruses being restored in adapted strains where pUS3 activity is disrupted. This study shows that virus-directed phosphatase activity is essential for efficient herpesvirus assembly and spread, highlighting the fine balance between kinase and phosphatase activity required for optimal virus replication.Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (219447/Z/19/Z), Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (106207/Z/14/Z), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Research Grant (BB/M021424/1), Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (098406/Z/12/B)

Integrative analysis identifies key molecular signatures underlying neurodevelopmental deficits in fragile X syndrome

BACKGROUND: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by epigenetic silencing of FMR1 and loss of FMRP expression. Efforts to understand the molecular underpinnings of the disease have been largely performed in rodent or nonisogenic settings. A detailed examination of the impact of FMRP loss on cellular processes and neuronal properties in the context of isogenic human neurons remains lacking. METHODS: Using CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 to introduce indels in exon 3 of FMR1, we generated an isogenic human pluripotent stem cell model of FXS that shows complete loss of FMRP expression. We generated neuronal cultures and performed genome-wide transcriptome and proteome profiling followed by functional validation of key dysregulated processes. We further analyzed neurodevelopmental and neuronal properties, including neurite length and neuronal activity, using multielectrode arrays and patch clamp electrophysiology. RESULTS: We showed that the transcriptome and proteome profiles of isogenic FMRP-deficient neurons demonstrate perturbations in synaptic transmission, neuron differentiation, cell proliferation and ion transmembrane transporter activity pathways, and autism spectrum disorder-associated gene sets. We uncovered key deficits in FMRP-deficient cells demonstrating abnormal neural rosette formation and neural progenitor cell proliferation. We further showed that FMRP-deficient neurons exhibit a number of additional phenotypic abnormalities, including neurite outgrowth and branching deficits and impaired electrophysiological network activity. These FMRP-deficient related impairments have also been validated in additional FXS patient-derived human-induced pluripotent stem cell neural cells. CONCLUSIONS: Using isogenic human pluripotent stem cells as a model to investigate the pathophysiology of FXS in human neurons, we reveal key neural abnormalities arising from the loss of FMRP.Peer reviewe

The Murid Herpesvirus-4 gH/gL Binds to Glycosaminoglycans

The first contact a virus makes with cells is an important determinant of its tropism. Murid Herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4) is highly dependent on glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) for cell binding. Its first contact is therefore likely to involve a GAG-binding virion glycoprotein. We have previously identified two such proteins, gp70 and gp150. Gp70 binds strongly to GAGs. However, deleting it makes little difference to MuHV-4 cell binding or GAG-dependence. Deleting gp150, by contrast, frees MuHV-4 from GAG dependence. This implies that GAGs normally displace gp150 to allow GAG-independent cell binding. But the gp150 GAG interaction is weak, and so would seem unlikely to make an effective first contact. Since neither gp70 nor gp150 matches the expected profile of a first contact glycoprotein, our understanding of MuHV-4 GAG interactions must be incomplete. Here we relate the seemingly disconnected gp70 and gp150 GAG interactions by showing that the MuHV-4 gH/gL also binds to GAGs. gH/gL-blocking and gp70-blocking antibodies individually had little effect on cell binding, but together were strongly inhibitory. Thus, there was redundancy in GAG binding between gp70 and gH/gL. Gp150-deficient MuHV-4 largely resisted blocks to gp70 and gH/gL binding, consistent with its GAG independence. The failure of wild-type MuHV-4 to do the same argues that gp150 is normally engaged only down-stream of gp70 or gH/gL. MuHV-4 GAG dependence is consequently two-fold: gp70 or gH/gL binding provides virions with a vital first foothold, and gp150 is then engaged to reveal GAG-independent binding

Biochemical Characterization and Evaluation of a Brugia malayi Small Heat Shock Protein as a Vaccine against Lymphatic Filariasis

Filarial nematodes enjoy one of the longest life spans of any human pathogen due to effective immune evasion strategies developed by the parasite. Among the various immune evasion strategies exhibited by the parasite, Interleukin 10 (IL-10) productions and IL-10 mediated immune suppression has significant negative impact on the host immune system. Recently, we identified a small heat shock protein expressed by Brugia malayi (BmHsp12.6) that can bind to soluble human IL-10 receptor alpha (IL-10R) and activate IL-10 mediated effects in cell lines. In this study we show that the IL-10R binding region of BmHsp12.6 is localized to its N-terminal region. This region has significant sequence similarity to the receptor binding region of human IL-10. In vitro studies confirm that the N-terminal region of BmHsp12.6 (N-BmHsp12.6) has IL-10 like activity and the region containing the alpha crystalline domain and C-terminus of BmHsp12.6 (BmHsp12.6αc) has no IL-10 like activity. However, BmHsp12.6αc contains B cell, T cell and CTL epitopes. Members of the sHSP families are excellent vaccine candidates. Evaluation of sera samples from putatively immune endemic normal (EN) subjects showed IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies against BmHsp12.6αc and these antibodies were involved in the ADCC mediated protection. Subsequent vaccination trials with BmHsp12.6αc in a mouse model using a heterologous prime boost approach showed that 83% protection can be achieved against B. malayi L3 challenge. Results presented in this study thus show that the N-BmHsp12.6 subunit of BmHsp12.6 has immunoregulatory function, whereas, the BmHsp12.6αc subunit of BmHsp12.6 has significant vaccine potential