Protective Effect Against Toxoplasmosis in BALB/c Mice Vaccinated With Toxoplasma gondii Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis, which can cause severe disease in the fetus and immunocompromised individuals. Developing an effective vaccine is crucial to control this disease. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has gained substantial attention as a pivotal upstream cytokine to mediate innate and adaptive immune responses. Homologs of MIF have been discovered in many parasitic species, and one homolog of MIF has been isolated from the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. In this study, the recombinant Toxoplasma gondii MIF (rTgMIF) as a protein vaccine was expressed and evaluated by intramuscular injection in BALB/c mice. We divided the mice into different dose groups of vaccines, and all immunizations with purified rTgMIF protein were performed at 0, 2, and 4 weeks. The protective efficacy of vaccination was analyzed by antibody assays, cytokine measurements and lymphoproliferative assays, respectively. The results obtained indicated that the rTgMIF vaccine elicited strong humoral and cellular immune responses with high levels of IgG antibody and IFN-γ production compared to those of the controls, in addition to slight higher levels of IL-4 production. After vaccination, a stronger lymphoproliferative response was also noted. Additionally, the survival time of mice immunized with rTgMIF was longer than that of the mice in control groups after challenge infection with virulent T. gondii RH tachyzoites. Moreover, the number of brain tissue cysts in vaccinated mice was reduced by 62.26% compared with the control group. These findings demonstrated that recombinant TgMIF protein is a potential candidate for vaccine development against toxoplasmosis

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Rhamnella wilsonii Schneid (Rhamnaceae)

AbstractRhamnella wilsonii Schneid 1914 is a member of the Rhamnaceae and endemic to China. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of R. wilsonii was sequenced and assembled. The complete chloroplast genome was 160,049 bp in length, including a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,502 bp, one large single copy (LSC) region of 88,274 bp and one small single copy (SSC) region of 18,771 bp. The genome contained 129 genes, including 8 rRNA genes, 37 tRNA genes and 84 protein-coding genes. The overall GC content of the complete chloroplast genome was 37.15%. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that R. wilsonii is closely related to R. martinni. This study provides basic information for further studies on the identification and evolution of R. wilsonii and Rhamnella from genomic perspective

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of <i>Rhamnella wilsonii</i> Schneid (Rhamnaceae)

Rhamnella wilsonii Schneid 1914 is a member of the Rhamnaceae and endemic to China. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of R. wilsonii was sequenced and assembled. The complete chloroplast genome was 160,049 bp in length, including a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,502 bp, one large single copy (LSC) region of 88,274 bp and one small single copy (SSC) region of 18,771 bp. The genome contained 129 genes, including 8 rRNA genes, 37 tRNA genes and 84 protein-coding genes. The overall GC content of the complete chloroplast genome was 37.15%. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that R. wilsonii is closely related to R. martinni. This study provides basic information for further studies on the identification and evolution of R. wilsonii and Rhamnella from genomic perspective.</p

Code for Multi-Animal Mesh Model ALignment (MAMMAL)

Three-dimensional surface motion capture of multiple freely moving pigs using MAMMAL A snapshot for the code and dataset used in the paper. Liang An, Jilong Ren, Tao Yu, Tang Hai*, Yichang Jia*, and Yebin Liu

Optimal Charging/discharging Strategy of Electric Vehicles in Residential Area Considering User Comprehensive Satisfaction

At present, the research on charging/discharging of electric vehicles (EVs) lacks consideration of the user experience, particularly with the aspects of user's convenience and profitability. Therefore, this paper analyses the travelling characteristics and travelling demand of EV users in a residential area and establishes the user comprehensive satisfaction model considering travel convenience and charging/discharging economy. Based on this model, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize the charging/discharging strategy of EVs with the aim of maximizing user comprehensive satisfaction, the validity of the proposed optimization model is verified by results of example. The model is also used to study the impact of large-scale EVs charging/discharging optimization strategy on grid load fluctuation. Based on the load data of a residential area, the simulation is carried out, and the influence of different peak-valley prices on EVs charging/discharging strategy is analysed. Our case analysis shows that the load peak-valley difference is reduced. With the increase of peak-valley electricity price, more users discharge during the peak hours and charge during the peak-off hours, the load peak-valley difference and the load fluctuation decrease accordingly

Three-dimensional surface motion capture of multiple freely moving pigs using MAMMAL

Abstract Understandings of the three-dimensional social behaviors of freely moving large-size mammals are valuable for both agriculture and life science, yet challenging due to occlusions in close interactions. Although existing animal pose estimation methods captured keypoint trajectories, they ignored deformable surfaces which contained geometric information essential for social interaction prediction and for dealing with the occlusions. In this study, we develop a Multi-Animal Mesh Model Alignment (MAMMAL) system based on an articulated surface mesh model. Our self-designed MAMMAL algorithms automatically enable us to align multi-view images into our mesh model and to capture 3D surface motions of multiple animals, which display better performance upon severe occlusions compared to traditional triangulation and allow complex social analysis. By utilizing MAMMAL, we are able to quantitatively analyze the locomotion, postures, animal-scene interactions, social interactions, as well as detailed tail motions of pigs. Furthermore, experiments on mouse and Beagle dogs demonstrate the generalizability of MAMMAL across different environments and mammal species

Optimal Charging/discharging Strategy of Electric Vehicles in Residential Area Considering User Comprehensive Satisfaction

At present, the research on charging/discharging of electric vehicles (EVs) lacks consideration of the user experience, particularly with the aspects of user's convenience and profitability. Therefore, this paper analyses the travelling characteristics and travelling demand of EV users in a residential area and establishes the user comprehensive satisfaction model considering travel convenience and charging/discharging economy. Based on this model, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize the charging/discharging strategy of EVs with the aim of maximizing user comprehensive satisfaction, the validity of the proposed optimization model is verified by results of example. The model is also used to study the impact of large-scale EVs charging/discharging optimization strategy on grid load fluctuation. Based on the load data of a residential area, the simulation is carried out, and the influence of different peak-valley prices on EVs charging/discharging strategy is analysed. Our case analysis shows that the load peak-valley difference is reduced. With the increase of peak-valley electricity price, more users discharge during the peak hours and charge during the peak-off hours, the load peak-valley difference and the load fluctuation decrease accordingly