Recovery of African horse sickness virus from synthetic RNA.

African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is an insect-vectored emerging pathogen of equine species. AHSV (nine serotypes) is a member of the genus Orbivirus, with a morphology and coding strategy similar to that of the type member, bluetongue virus. However, these viruses are distinct at the genetic level, in the proteins they encode and in their pathobiology. AHSV infection of horses is highly virulent with a mortality rate of up to 90 %. AHSV is transmitted by Culicoides, a common European insect, and has the potential to emerge in Europe from endemic countries of Africa. As a result, a safe and effective vaccine is sought urgently. As part of a programme to generate a designed highly attenuated vaccine, we report here the recovery of AHSV from a complete set of RNA transcripts synthesized in vitro from cDNA clones. We have demonstrated the generation of mutant and reassortant AHSV genomes, their recovery, stable passage, and characterization. Our findings provide a new approach to investigate AHSV replication, to design AHSV vaccines and to aid diagnosis

Association between Birth Weight and Serum Lipid Concentration in Premenopausal Japanese Women

BACKGROUND: The relationships between birth weight and serum lipid concentrations in premenopausal Japanese women were not well identified and also diet and serum hormone status in these women would be considered. METHODS: A total of 59 premenopausal Japanese women completed a self-administered questionnaire including basic demographic information, disease histories, and menstrual and reproductive histories. They were asked to obtain information on birth weight recorded in mother-and-baby notebook issued by municipality from their mother. Diet was assessed by daily diet records from day 2 through day 10 of the menstrual cycle. Blood sample was collected on day 11 of the cycle to measure serum lipid and hormone concentrations (total and high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterols, triglyceride, estrone, estradiol, and sex hormone-binding globulin). RESULTS: Birth weight was significantly correlated with HDL cholesterol (r=0.32, p=0.03), but no with total cholesterol and triglyceride after controlling for age. Neither estrogen nor sex hormone-binding globulin was significantly correlated with serum lipid concentrations after controlling for age and the number of days prior to the next menses. The correlation between birth weight and HDL cholesterol was not affected after additional adjustment for serum estrogen and intakes of protein, calcium, and iron. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that intrauterine growth may be associated with lipid profile

Immunogenicity of recombinant VP2 proteins of all nive serotypes of African horse sickness virus

African horse sickness (AHS) is an equine disease with a mortality of up to 90% for susceptible horses. The causative agent AHS virus (AHSV) is transmitted by species of Culicoides. AHSV serogroup within the genus Orbivirus of the Reoviridae family consists of nine serotypes that show no or very limited cross-neutralization. Of the seven structural proteins (VP1-VP7) of AHSV, VP2 is the serotype specific protein, and the major target for neutralizing antibodies. In this report, recombinant VP2 proteins of all nine serotypes were expressed individually by the baculovirus expression system and the immunogenicity of each was studied by immunization of guinea pigs with single VP2 as well as with cocktails of VP2 proteins. Homologous neutralizing antibodies measured by 50% plaque reduction assay showed varying degrees (from 37 to 1365) of titers for different VP2 proteins. A low cross-neutralizing antibody titer was found for genetically related AHSV serotypes. Immunization with VP2 cocktails containing equal amounts of each of the VP2 proteins also triggered neutralizing antibodies albeit to lower titers (4-117) to each of the serotypes in the cocktail. This study is a first step to develop a VP2 subunit vaccine for AHS and our results indicate that VP2 subunit vaccines are feasible individually or in a multi-serotype cocktail

Synthesis and Characterization of Octacyano-Fe-Phthalocyanine

Octacyano-metal-phthalocyanine MPc(CN)8 is a promising n-type stable organic semiconductor material with eight cyano groups, including a strong electron-withdrawing group at its molecular terminals. However, a thorough investigation of MPc(CN)8 has not yet been conducted. Therefore, we synthesized FePc(CN)8 and investigated its crystal structure, chemical and electronic states, electrical properties, photocatalytic activity, and magnetic properties. In this paper, we discuss the various properties of MPc(CN)8 in comparison with those of FePc. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that the crystal structure of FePc(CN)8 was strongly influenced by the cyano groups and differed from the α- and β-forms of FePc. The space group P4/mcc structure of FePc(CN)8 was similar to that of the x-form of LiPc. The ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectrum of FePc(CN)8 was observed at wavelengths longer than that of FePc. Density functional theory-based molecular orbital calculations indicated that the energy gap of FePc(CN)8 is smaller than that of FePc, which can lead to the observation of the Q-band in the UV–vis absorption spectrum of FePc(CN)8 at longer wavelengths than that of FePc. Because FePc(CN)8 has a wider optical absorption band in the visible region than FePc, its photocatalytic activity is approximately four times higher than that of FePc. The conductivity of FePc(CN)8 was also higher than that of FePc, which is due to the larger overlap of π-electron clouds of the molecules in the crystal structure of FePc(CN)8. Magnetic measurements revealed that FePc(CN)8 exists in an antiferromagnetic ground state. The magnetic properties of FePc(CN)8 are specific to its crystal structure, with direct exchange interactions between Fe2+ ions and π-electron-mediated interactions. In particular, the Pauli paramagnetic behavior at high temperatures and the antiferromagnetic behavior at low temperatures (Weiss temperature θ = −4.3 ± 0.1 K) are characteristic of the π–d system