Development of a Flow-Trough Microarray based Reverse Transcriptase Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification Assay for the Detection of European Bunyaviruses

It is suspected that apart from tick-borne encephalitis virus several additional European Arboviruses such as the sandfly borne Toscana virus, sandfly fever Sicilian virus and sandfly fever Naples virus, mosquito-borne Tahyna virus, Inkoo virus, Batai virus and tick-borne Uukuniemi virus cause aseptic meningo-encephalitis or febrile disease in Europe. Currently, the microarray technology is developing rapidly and there are many efforts to apply it to infectious diseases diagnostics. In order to arrive at an assay system useful for high throughput analysis of samples from aseptic meningo-encephalitis cases the authors developed a combined multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and flow-through microarray assay for the detection of European Bunyaviruses. These results show that this combined assay indeed is highly sensitive, and specific for the accurate detection of multiple viruses

Alphavirus replicon particles containing the gene for HER2/neu inhibit breast cancer growth and tumorigenesis

INTRODUCTION: Overexpression of the HER2/neu gene in breast cancer is associated with an increased incidence of metastatic disease and with a poor prognosis. Although passive immunotherapy with the humanized monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) has shown some effect, a vaccine capable of inducing T-cell and humoral immunity could be more effective. METHODS: Virus-like replicon particles (VRP) of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus containing the gene for HER2/neu (VRP-neu) were tested by an active immunotherapeutic approach in tumor prevention models and in a metastasis prevention model. RESULTS: VRP-neu prevented or significantly inhibited the growth of HER2/neu-expressing murine breast cancer cells injected either into mammary tissue or intravenously. Vaccination with VRP-neu completely prevented tumor formation in and death of MMTV-c-neu transgenic mice, and resulted in high levels of neu-specific CD8(+ )T lymphocytes and serum IgG. CONCLUSION: On the basis of these findings, clinical testing of this vaccine in patients with HER2/neu(+ )breast cancer is warranted

Measuring the burden of arboviral diseases: the spectrum of morbidity and mortality from four prevalent infections

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Globally, arthropod-borne virus infections are increasingly common causes of severe febrile disease that can progress to long-term physical or cognitive impairment or result in early death. Because of the large populations at risk, it has been suggested that these outcomes represent a substantial health deficit not captured by current global disease burden assessments.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We reviewed newly available data on disease incidence and outcomes to critically evaluate the disease burden (as measured by disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs) caused by yellow fever virus (YFV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV), and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). We searched available literature and official reports on these viruses combined with the terms "outbreak(s)," "complication(s)," "disability," "quality of life," "DALY," and "QALY," focusing on reports since 2000. We screened 210 published studies, with 38 selected for inclusion. Data on average incidence, duration, age at onset, mortality, and severity of acute and chronic outcomes were used to create DALY estimates for 2005, using the approach of the current Global Burden of Disease framework.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Given the limitations of available data, nondiscounted, unweighted DALYs attributable to YFV, JEV, CHIKV, and RVFV were estimated to fall between 300,000 and 5,000,000 for 2005. YFV was the most prevalent infection of the four viruses evaluated, although a higher proportion of the world's population lives in countries at risk for CHIKV and JEV. Early mortality and long-term, related chronic conditions provided the largest DALY components for each disease. The better known, short-term viral febrile syndromes caused by these viruses contributed relatively lower proportions of the overall DALY scores.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Limitations in health systems in endemic areas undoubtedly lead to underestimation of arbovirus incidence and related complications. However, improving diagnostics and better understanding of the late secondary results of infection now give a first approximation of the current disease burden from these widespread serious infections. Arbovirus control and prevention remains a high priority, both because of the current disease burden and the significant threat of the re-emergence of these viruses among much larger groups of susceptible populations.</p

Graphene Schottky diodes: an experimental review of the rectifying graphene/semiconductor heterojunction

In the past decade graphene has been one of the most studied material for several unique and excellent properties. Due to its two dimensional nature, physical and chemical properties and ease of manipulation, graphene offers the possibility of integration with the exiting semiconductor technology for next-generation electronic and sensing devices. In this context, the understanding of the graphene/semiconductor interface is of great importance since it can constitute a versatile standalone device as well as the building-block of more advanced electronic systems. Since graphene was brought to the attention of the scientific community in 2004, the device research has been focused on the more complex graphene transistors, while the graphene/semiconductor junction, despite its importance, has started to be the subject of systematic investigation only recently. As a result, a thorough understanding of the physics and the potentialities of this device is still missing. The studies of the past few years have demonstrated that graphene can form junctions with 3D or 2D semiconducting materials which have rectifying characteristics and behave as excellent Schottky diodes. The main novelty of these devices is the tunable Schottky barrier height, a feature which makes the graphene/semiconductor junction a great platform for the study of interface transport mechanisms as well as for applications in photo-detection, high-speed communications, solar cells, chemical and biological sensing, etc. In this paper, we review the state-of-the art of the research on graphene/semiconductor junctions, the attempts towards a modeling and the most promising applications.Comment: 85 pages. Review articl

Effects of Surface Band Bending and Scattering on Thermoelectric Transport in Suspended Bismuth Telluride Nanoplates

A microdevice was used to measure the in-plane thermoelectric properties of suspended bismuth telluride nanoplates from 9 to 25 nm thick. The results reveal a suppressed Seebeck coefficient together with a general trend of decreasing electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity with decreasing thickness. While the electrical conductivity of the nanoplates is still within the range reported for bulk Bi₂Te₃, the total thermal conductivity for nanoplates less than 20 nm thick is well below the reported bulk range. These results are explained by the presence of surface band bending and diffuse surface scattering of electrons and phonons in the nanoplates, where pronounced n-type surface band bending can yield suppressed and even negative Seebeck coefficient in unintentionally p-type doped nanoplates