Kinetics of UV254 inactivation of selected viral pathogens in a static system

Aims:  The objective of this study was to estimate UV254 inactivation constants for four viral pathogens: influenza virus type A, porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) and reovirus. Methods and Results:  Viruses in culture medium were exposed to one of nine doses of UV254 and then titrated for infectious virus. Analysis showed that viral inactivation by UV254 was more accurately described by a two-stage inactivation model vs a standard one-stage inactivation model. Conclusions:  The results provided evidence for the existence of two heterogeneous viral subpopulations among the viruses tested, one highly susceptible to UV254 inactivation and the other more resistant. Importantly, inactivation constants based on the one-stage inactivation model would have underestimated the UV254 dose required for the inactivation of these viruses under the conditions of the experiment. Significance and Impact of the Study:  To improve the accuracy of estimates, it is recommended that research involving the inactivation of micro-organisms evaluates inactivation kinetics using both one-stage and two-stage models. These results will be of interest to persons responsible for microbial agents under laboratory or field conditions

Black string corrections in variable tension braneworld scenarios

Braneworld models with variable tension are investigated, and the corrections on the black string horizon along the extra dimension are provided. Such corrections are encrypted in additional terms involving the covariant derivatives of the variable tension on the brane, providing profound consequences concerning the black string horizon variation along the extra dimension, near the brane. The black string horizon behavior is shown to be drastically modified by the terms corrected by the brane variable tension. In particular, a model motivated by the phenomenological interesting case regarding Eotvos branes is investigated. It forthwith provides further physical features regarding variable tension braneworld scenarios, heretofore concealed in all previous analysis in the literature. All precedent analysis considered uniquely the expansion of the metric up to the second order along the extra dimension, what is able to evince solely the brane variable tension absolute value. Notwithstanding, the expansion terms aftermath, further accomplished in this paper from the third order on, elicits the successive covariant derivatives of the brane variable tension, and their respective coupling with the extrinsic curvature, the Weyl tensor, and the Riemann and Ricci tensors, as well as the scalar curvature. Such additional terms are shown to provide sudden modifications in the black string horizon in a variable tension braneworld scenarioComment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted in PR

Structural model correlation using large admissible perturbations incognate space

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76957/1/AIAA-10863-901.pd

Mid-infrared imaging of the young binary star Hen 3-600: Evidence for a dust disk around the primary

We present high-resolution mid-infrared observations of the nearby late-type young binary system Hen 3-600. The binary, at a distance of $\sim$ 50 pc, could be a member of the TW Hydrae Association, the nearest known group of young stars, with an age of a few million years. Our images make it possible for the first time to determine which star in the pair, separated by 1.4'', harbors the mid-infrared excess detected by IRAS. In the near-infrared, where the radiation is primarily photospheric, Hen 3-600A (M3) and Hen 3-600B (M3.5) have a flux ratio of 1.6. At 4.8$\mu$m, 10.8$\mu$m, and 18.2$\mu$m, the primary becomes increasingly dominant over the secondary, suggesting that most of the circumstellar dust in the system resides around Hen 3-600A. Comparison of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of Hen 3-600A to the median SED of classical T Tauri stars suggests that its disk may be truncated by the secondary and provides tentative evidence for a central disk hole. The distribution of dust in the Hen 3-600 system may provide important clues to the formation and evolution of protoplanetary disks in close binaries.Comment: 9 pages, 2 PostScript figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter

Postpartum LARC use in low-risk women in CenteringPregnancy® versus traditional certified nurse midwife prenatal care

Contraception satisfaction and utilization is linked to pre-use clinical counseling. Group prenatal care may offer increased opportunity for education on postpartum contraception options. This study evaluated postpartum long acting reversible contraception (LARC) rates in women who attend CenteringPregnancy® group prenatal (CP) care versus individual prenatal care with Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM)

CHEMICALLY MODIFIED PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIAL REACTION CENTERS: CIRCULAR DICHROISM, RAMAN RESONANCE, LOW TEMPERATURE ABSORPTION, FLUORESCENCE AND ODMR SPECTRA AND POLYPEPTIDE COMPOSITION OF BOROHYDRIDE TREATED REACTION CENTERS FROM Rhodobacter sphaeroides R26

Reaction centers from Rhodobacter sphaeroides have been modified by treatment with sodium borohydride similar to the original procedure [Ditson et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 766, 623 (1984)], and investigated spectroscopically and by gel electrophoresis. (1) Low temperature (1.2 K) absorption, fluorescence, absorption- and fluorescence-detected ODMR, and microwave-induced singlet-triplet absorption difference spectra (MIA) suggest that the treatment produces a spectroscopically homogeneous preparation with one of the ‘additional’ bacteriochlorophylls being removed. The modification does not alter the zero field splitting parameters of the primary donor triplet (TP870). (2) From the circular dichroism and Raman resonance spectra in the1500–1800 cm-1 region, the removed pigment is assigned to BchlM, e.g. the "extra" Bchl on the "inactive" M-branch. (3) A strong coupling among all pigment molecules is deduced from the circular dichroism spectra, because pronounced band-shifts and/or intensity changes occur in the spectral components assigned to all pigments. This is supported by distinct differences among the MIA spectra of untreated and modified reaction centers, as well as by Raman resonance. (4) The modification is accompanied by partial proteolytic cleavage of the M-subunit. The preparation is thus spectroscopically homogeneous, but biochemically heterogenous

Mechanisms of nuclear content loading to exosomes.

Exosome cargoes are highly varied and include proteins, small RNAs, and genomic DNA (gDNA). The presence of gDNA suggests that different intracellular compartments contribute to exosome loading, resulting in distinct exosome subpopulations. However, the loading of gDNA and other nuclear contents into exosomes (nExo) remains poorly understood. Here, we identify the relationship between cancer cell micronuclei (MN), which are markers of genomic instability, and nExo formation. Imaging flow cytometry analyses reveal that 10% of exosomes derived from cancer cells and <1% of exosomes derived from blood and ascites from patients with ovarian cancer carry nuclear contents. Treatment with genotoxic drugs resulted in increased MN and nExos both in vitro and in vivo. We observed that multivesicular body precursors and exosomal markers, such as the tetraspanins, directly interact with MN. Collectively, this work provides new insights related to nExos, which have implications for cancer biomarker development