305 research outputs found
On the analyticity and Gevrey class regularity up to the boundary for the Euler Equations
We consider the Euler equations in a three-dimensional Gevrey-class bounded
domain. Using Lagrangian coordinates we obtain the Gevrey-class persistence of
the solution, up to the boundary, with an explicit estimate on the rate of
decay of the Gevrey-class regularity radius
Mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Genetic Diversity Profiles in Tanzania and Other African Countries
The aim of this study was to assess and characterize Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) genotypic diversity in Tanzania, as well as in neighbouring East and other several African countries. We used spoligotyping to identify a total of 293 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates (one isolate per patient) collected in the Bunda, Dar es Salaam, Ngorongoro and Serengeti areas in Tanzania. The results were compared with results in the SITVIT2 international database of the Pasteur Institute of Guadeloupe. Genotyping and phylogeographical analyses highlighted the predominance of the CAS, T, EAI, and LAM MTBC lineages in Tanzania. The three most frequent Spoligotype International Types (SITs) were: SIT21/CAS1-Kili (n = 76; 25.94%), SIT59/LAM11-ZWE (n = 22; 7.51%), and SIT126/EAI5 tentatively reclassified as EAI3-TZA (n = 18; 6.14%). Furthermore, three SITs were newly created in this study (SIT4056/EAI5 n = 2, SIT4057/T1 n = 1, and SIT4058/EAI5 n = 1). We noted that the East-African-Indian (EAI) lineage was more predominant in Bunda, the Manu lineage was more common among strains isolated in Ngorongoro, and the Central-Asian (CAS) lineage was more predominant in Dar es Salaam (p-value<0.0001). No statistically significant differences were noted when comparing HIV status of patients vs. major lineages (p-value = 0.103). However, when grouping lineages as Principal Genetic Groups (PGG), we noticed that PGG2/3 group (Haarlem, LAM, S, T, and X) was more associated with HIV-positive patients as compared to PGG1 group (Beijing, CAS, EAI, and Manu) (p-value = 0.03). This study provided mapping of MTBC genetic diversity in Tanzania (containing information on isolates from different cities) and neighbouring East African and other several African countries highlighting differences as regards to MTBC genotypic distribution between Tanzania and other African countries. This work also allowed underlining of spoligotyping patterns tentatively grouped within the newly designated EAI3-TZA lineage (remarkable by absence of spacers 2 and 3, and represented by SIT126) which seems to be specific to Tanzania. However, further genotyping information would be needed to confirm this specificity
Distribution of CD133 reveals glioma stem cells self-renew through symmetric and asymmetric cell divisions
Malignant gliomas contain a population of self-renewing tumorigenic stem-like cells; however, it remains unclear how these glioma stem cells (GSCs) self-renew or generate cellular diversity at the single-cell level. Asymmetric cell division is a proposed mechanism to maintain cancer stem cells, yet the modes of cell division that GSCs utilize remain undetermined. Here, we used single-cell analyses to evaluate the cell division behavior of GSCs. Lineage-tracing analysis revealed that the majority of GSCs were generated through expansive symmetric cell division and not through asymmetric cell division. The majority of differentiated progeny was generated through symmetric pro-commitment divisions under expansion conditions and in the absence of growth factors, occurred mainly through asymmetric cell divisions. Mitotic pair analysis detected asymmetric CD133 segregation and not any other GSC marker in a fraction of mitoses, some of which were associated with Numb asymmetry. Under growth factor withdrawal conditions, the proportion of asymmetric CD133 divisions increased, congruent with the increase in asymmetric cell divisions observed in the lineage-tracing studies. Using single-cell-based observation, we provide definitive evidence that GSCs are capable of different modes of cell division and that the generation of cellular diversity occurs mainly through symmetric cell division, not through asymmetric cell division
The Inviscid Limit and Boundary Layers for Navier-Stokes Flows
The validity of the vanishing viscosity limit, that is, whether solutions of
the Navier-Stokes equations modeling viscous incompressible flows converge to
solutions of the Euler equations modeling inviscid incompressible flows as
viscosity approaches zero, is one of the most fundamental issues in
mathematical fluid mechanics. The problem is classified into two categories:
the case when the physical boundary is absent, and the case when the physical
boundary is present and the effect of the boundary layer becomes significant.
The aim of this article is to review recent progress on the mathematical
analysis of this problem in each category.Comment: To appear in "Handbook of Mathematical Analysis in Mechanics of
Viscous Fluids", Y. Giga and A. Novotn\'y Ed., Springer. The final
publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co
Important problems in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune hepatitis (based on the Russian consensus 2017)
The analysis of publications devoted to the Russian Consensus on the Diagnostic and Treatment of Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH), which was considered at the 43rd annual Scientific Session of the CNIIG From Traditions to Innovation (March 4, 2017) is carried out. The presence of clear algorithms and recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of AIH significantly help the doctor in real clinical practice, but do not exclude a personified approach to the patient
Computational genes: a tool for molecular diagnosis and therapy of aberrant mutational phenotype
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A finite state machine manipulating information-carrying DNA strands can be used to perform autonomous molecular-scale computations at the cellular level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose a new finite state machine able to detect and correct aberrant molecular phenotype given by mutated genetic transcripts. The aberrant mutations trigger a cascade reaction: specific molecular markers as input are released and induce a spontaneous self-assembly of a wild type protein or peptide, while the mutational disease phenotype is silenced. We experimentally demostrated in <it>in vitro </it>translation system that a viable protein can be autonomously assembled.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our work demostrates the basic principles of computational genes and particularly, their potential to detect mutations, and as a response thereafter administer an output that suppresses the aberrant disease phenotype and/or restores the lost physiological function.</p
The Interplay between PolyQ and Protein Context Delays Aggregation by Forming a Reservoir of Protofibrils
Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases are inherited neurodegenerative disorders caused by the expansion of CAG codon repeats, which code for polyQ in the corresponding gene products. These diseases are associated with the presence of amyloid-like protein aggregates, induced by polyQ expansion. It has been suggested that the soluble aggregates rather than the mature fibrillar aggregates are the toxic species, and that the aggregation properties of polyQ can be strongly modulated by the surrounding protein context. To assess the importance of the protein carrier in polyQ aggregation, we have studied the misfolding pathway and the kinetics of aggregation of polyQ of lengths above (Q41) and below (Q22) the pathological threshold fused to the well-characterized protein carrier glutathione S-transferase (GST). This protein, chosen as a model system, is per se able to misfold and aggregate irreversibly, thus mimicking the behaviour of domains of naturally occurring polyQ proteins. We prove that, while it is generally accepted that the aggregation kinetics of polyQ depend on its length and are faster for longer polyQ tracts, the presence of GST alters the polyQ aggregation pathway and reverses this trend. Aggregation occurs through formation of a reservoir of soluble intermediates whose populations and kinetic stabilities increase with polyQ length. Our results provide a new model that explains the toxicity of expanded polyQ proteins, in which the interplay between polyQ regions and other aggregation-prone domains plays a key role in determining the aggregation pathway
Polyglutamine Induced Misfolding of Huntingtin Exon1 is Modulated by the Flanking Sequences
Polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion in exon1 (XN1) of the huntingtin protein is linked to Huntington's disease. When the number of glutamines exceeds a threshold of approximately 36–40 repeats, XN1 can readily form amyloid aggregates similar to those associated with disease. Many experiments suggest that misfolding of monomeric XN1 plays an important role in the length-dependent aggregation. Elucidating the misfolding of a XN1 monomer can help determine the molecular mechanism of XN1 aggregation and potentially help develop strategies to inhibit XN1 aggregation. The flanking sequences surrounding the polyQ region can play a critical role in determining the structural rearrangement and aggregation mechanism of XN1. Few experiments have studied XN1 in its entirety, with all flanking regions. To obtain structural insights into the misfolding of XN1 toward amyloid aggregation, we perform molecular dynamics simulations on monomeric XN1 with full flanking regions, a variant missing the polyproline regions, which are hypothesized to prevent aggregation, and an isolated polyQ peptide (Qn). For each of these three constructs, we study glutamine repeat lengths of 23, 36, 40 and 47. We find that polyQ peptides have a positive correlation between their probability to form a β-rich misfolded state and their expansion length. We also find that the flanking regions of XN1 affect its probability to^x_page_count=28 form a β-rich state compared to the isolated polyQ. Particularly, the polyproline regions form polyproline type II helices and decrease the probability of the polyQ region to form a β-rich state. Additionally, by lengthening polyQ, the first N-terminal 17 residues are more likely to adopt a β-sheet conformation rather than an α-helix conformation. Therefore, our molecular dynamics study provides a structural insight of XN1 misfolding and elucidates the possible role of the flanking sequences in XN1 aggregation
Comparative characteristics detection rate of chronic bronchitis depending on the age
The aim of study was to examine the prevalence ot chronic bronchitis among respondents of different age groups. Surveyed 1861 people (1050 men and 811 women), mean age was 36,82+9,6 years. Questionnaires filled out by the respondents (demographics, smoking history, the presence of respiratory complaints) and spirography. Revealed that among those with higher education, the prevalence of smoking was significantly lower than that of respondents with secondary education (29.9% and 44.9%, respectively). Level FEV1 among smokers younger respondents with chronic bronchitis significantly reduced relative to non-smokers that may predict the development of COPD in this category at an older age, the main risk factor for bronchitis in this category surveyed is smoking.Целью исследования явилось изучение распространенности хронического бронхита у респондентов различных возрастных групп. Обследовано 1861 человек (1050 мужчин и 811 женщин), средний возраст составил 36,82+9,6 года. Проводилось анкетирование респондентов (демографические данные, анамнез курения, наличие респираторных жалоб) и спирография. Выявлено, что среди лиц, имеющих высшее образование, распространенность курения достоверно ниже, чем у респондентов со средним образованием (29,9% и 44,9% соответственно). Уровень 0ФВ1 у курящих молодых респондентов с хроническим бронхитом достоверно снижен относительно некурящих лиц, что может быть предиктором развития ХОБЛ у данной категории в старшем возрасте, основным фактором риска развития бронхита у этой категории обследованных является курение
The SV40 Late Protein VP4 Is a Viroporin that Forms Pores to Disrupt Membranes for Viral Release
Nonenveloped viruses are generally released by the timely lysis of the host cell by a poorly understood process. For the nonenveloped virus SV40, virions assemble in the nucleus and then must be released from the host cell without being encapsulated by cellular membranes. This process appears to involve the well-controlled insertion of viral proteins into host cellular membranes rendering them permeable to large molecules. VP4 is a newly identified SV40 gene product that is expressed at late times during the viral life cycle that corresponds to the time of cell lysis. To investigate the role of this late expressed protein in viral release, water-soluble VP4 was expressed and purified as a GST fusion protein from bacteria. Purified VP4 was found to efficiently bind biological membranes and support their disruption. VP4 perforated membranes by directly interacting with the membrane bilayer as demonstrated by flotation assays and the release of fluorescent markers encapsulated into large unilamellar vesicles or liposomes. The central hydrophobic domain of VP4 was essential for membrane binding and disruption. VP4 displayed a preference for membranes comprised of lipids that replicated the composition of the plasma membranes over that of nuclear membranes. Phosphatidylethanolamine, a lipid found at high levels in bacterial membranes, was inhibitory against the membrane perforation activity of VP4. The disruption of membranes by VP4 involved the formation of pores of ∼3 nm inner diameter in mammalian cells including permissive SV40 host cells. Altogether, these results support a central role of VP4 acting as a viroporin in the perforation of cellular membranes to trigger SV40 viral release
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