Nitro-fatty acid formation and metabolism

Nitro-fatty acids (NO 2 -FA) are pleiotropic modulators of redox signaling pathways. Their effects on inflammatory signaling have been studied in great detail in cell, animal and clinical models primarily using exogenously administered nitro-oleic acid. While we know a considerable amount regarding NO 2 -FA signaling, endogenous formation and metabolism is relatively unexplored. This review will cover what is currently known regarding the proposed mechanisms of NO 2 -FA formation, dietary modulation of endogenous NO 2 -FA levels, pathways of NO 2 -FA metabolism and the detection of NO 2 -FA and corresponding metabolites.Fil: Buchan, Gregory J.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Bonacci, Gustavo Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Fazzari, Marco. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. Fondazione Ri.Med; ItaliaFil: Salvatore, Sonia Rosana. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Gelhaus Wendell, Stacy. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unido

CpG oligodeoxyribonucleotides protect mice from Burkholderia pseudomallei but not Francisella tularensis Schu S4 aerosols

Studies have shown that CpG oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODN) protect mice from various bacterial pathogens, including Burkholderia pseudomallei and Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS), when administered before parenteral challenge. Given the potential to develop CpG ODN as a pre-treatment for multiple bacterial biological warfare agents, we examined survival, histopathology, and cytokine data from CpG ODN-treated C57BL/6 mice to determine whether previously-reported protection extended to aerosolized B. pseudomallei 1026b and highly virulent F. tularensis Schu S4 infections. We found that, although CpG ODN protected mice from aerosolized B. pseudomallei challenges, the immunostimulant failed to benefit the animals exposed to F. tularensis Schu S4 aerosols. Our results, which contrast with earlier F. tularensis LVS studies, highlight potential differences in Francisella species pathogenesis and underscore the need to evaluate immunotherapies against human pathogenic species

Complete genome sequence of the encephalomyelitic Burkholderia pseudomallei strain MSHR305

We describe the complete genome sequence of Burkholderia pseudomallei MSHR305, a clinical isolate taken from a fatal encephalomyelitis case, a rare form of melioidosis. This sequence will be used for comparisons to identify the genes that are involved in neurological cases

Complete genome sequence of the encephalomyelitic Burkholderia pseudomallei strain MSHR305

We describe the complete genome sequence of Burkholderia pseudomallei MSHR305, a clinical isolate taken from a fatal encephalomyelitis case, a rare form of melioidosis. This sequence will be used for comparisons to identify the genes that are involved in neurological cases

Genome sequence of Burkholderia pseudomallei NCTC 13392

Here, we describe the draft genome sequence of Burkholderia pseudomallei NCTC 13392. This isolate has been distributed as K96243, but distinct genomic differences have been identified. The genomic sequence of this isolate will provide the genomic context for previously conducted functional studies

Modeling the Space Debris Environment with MASTER-2009 and ORDEM2010

Spacecraft analysis using ORDEM2010 uses a high-fidelity population model to compute risk to on-orbit assets. The ORDEM2010 GUI allows visualization of spacecraft flux in 2-D and 1-D. The population was produced using a Bayesian statistical approach with measured and modeled environment data. Validation of sizes 1mm is on-going

Measurement of Semileptonic Branching Fractions of B Mesons to Narrow D** States

Using the data accumulated in 2002-2004 with the DO detector in proton-antiproton collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with centre-of-mass energy 1.96 TeV, the branching fractions of the decays B -> \bar{D}_1^0(2420) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X and B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0}(2460) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X and their ratio have been measured: BR(\bar{b}->B) \cdot BR(B-> \bar{D}_1^0 \mu^+ \nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_1^0 -> D*- pi+) = (0.087+-0.007(stat)+-0.014(syst))%; BR(\bar{b}->B)\cdot BR(B->D_2^{*0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_2^{*0} -> D*- \pi^+) = (0.035+-0.007(stat)+-0.008(syst))%; and (BR(B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X)BR(D2*0->D*- pi+)) / (BR(B -> \bar{D}_1^{0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X)\cdot BR(\bar{D}_1^{0}->D*- \pi^+)) = 0.39+-0.09(stat)+-0.12(syst), where the charge conjugated states are always implied.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

A simplified approach to analyze the space debris evolution in the low earth orbit

During the past 60 years the number of objects on Earth orbits has increased. So has the risk of collisions, which is likely to be the main driver for space debris generation in the future. This is important, for example, in densely populated regions like the sun-synchronous orbit at around 800 km altitude. In order to predict the future development of the debris environment numerical simulations can be used. These simulations are usually based on initial assumptions like the launch rate, the probability distribution of success of post mission disposal measures and the likelihood for catastrophic collisions. The computationally expensive Monte-Carlo method is employed for the random sampling of the defined events. Additionally, a propagator needs to process the objects to determine potential collision partners, increasing the demand for computing power even further. In this paper an analytical model is presented, which is based on source and sink mechanisms, like launches, collisions and explosions. In this approach different altitude shells and diameter bins, as well as four different object classes for intact objects and fragments, each on circular and eccentric orbits are considered. By using pre-computed tables for orbital lifetimes and decay rates, both the computational effort and complexity of the model are decreased. The model can be adjusted to reflect different forecasts by altering the decay and collision rates. The paper concludes by showing preliminary results and a discussion of the generic approach, which allows the model to be fitted against more computationally expensive Monte-Carlo simulations

Measurement of the Lifetime Difference in the B_s^0 System

We present a study of the decay B_s^0 -> J/psi phi We obtain the CP-odd fraction in the final state at time zero, R_perp = 0.16 +/- 0.10 (stat) +/- 0.02 (syst), the average lifetime of the (B_s, B_sbar) system, tau (B_s^0) =1.39^{+0.13}_{-0.16} (stat) ^{+0.01}_{-0.02} (syst) ps, and the relative width difference between the heavy and light mass eigenstates, Delta Gamma/Gamma = (Gamma_L - Gamma_H)/Gamma =0.24^{+0.28}_{-0.38} (stat) ^{+0.03}_{-0.04} (syst). With the additional constraint from the world average of the B_s^0$lifetime measurements using semileptonic decays, we find tau (B_s^0)= 1.39 +/- 0.06 ~ps and Delta Gamma/\Gamma = 0.25^{+0.14}_{-0.15}. For the ratio of the B_s^0 and B^0 lifetimes we obtain tau(B_s^0)/tau(B^0)} = 0.91 +/- 0.09 (stat) +/- 0.003 (syst).Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. FERMILAB-PUB-05-324-