Characterisation of mixed virus infections in Ribes species in Switzerland

Various virus disease-like symptoms are frequently observed in Ribes sp. in Switzerland but the aetiology remains poorly documented, although a number of viruses infecting Ribes sp. were described elsewhere. Therefore, symptomatic and apparently healthy plants from diverse origins were analysed by electron microscopy (EM), immunoprecipitation electron microscopy (IPEM), Western blot and (RT-)PCR. By EM, at least four different particle types, often in combination, were observed. (1) Bacilliform particles were typical for the Badnavirus genus with dimensions of 145 x 28 nm. This virus was identified by PCR as the Gooseberry vein banding associated virus (GVBaV). (2) Filamentous particles were mainly observed on black currants with downward rolling of leaves with interveinal reddening during summer and fall. We tentatively named this unknown virus Blackcurrant leafroll-associated virus 1 (BCLRaV-1). In phylogenetic analysis of HSP70h nucleotide sequences, BCLRaV-1 felt in the Closterovirus genus. In Western blot analysis, one dominant protein with an estimated molecular weight of about 28 kDa was detectable. The virus was shown to be different from the Raspberry mottle closterovirus (RMoV) by IPEM and RT-PCR. (3) RTPCR and sequencing of products also clearly demonstrated the presence in our Ribes samples of Rubus chlorotic mottle virus (RuCMV), a Sobemovirus recently described in Scotland. This finding correlates with the presence of the 30 nm diameter particles observed by EM. (4) A further structure with isometrical particles of 60 nm could not yet be attributed to a particular genus. Altogether, our data suggest the presence of multiple virus infections i

Progressive Meshes in an Operational Rate-Distortion Sense with Application to Terrain Data

This paper presents an efficient simplification method for regular meshes obtained with a binary subdivision scheme. Our mesh connectivity is constrained with a quadtree data structure. We propose a quadtree built especially for this class of meshes having a constant-time traversal property. We introduce a rate-distortion (RD) framework to decimate the mesh and build a progressive representation for the model. We propose to achieve the RD-optimal solutions for our quadtree-restricted setting: to obtain the optimal solutions, we show how to find the vertex in the quadtree yielding the best RD trade-off and then perform optimizations at variable rate, where the rate is given by a cost function (for example the number of triangles). All previous methods are restricted to constant rate optimization only. We compare the optimal approach to its greedy counterpart. We give computationally optimal formulations for all our algorithms on the quadtree. We apply our technique to a large dataset of terrains and give extensive experimental results

Computational Analysis of Mesh Simplification Using Global Error

Meshes with (recursive) subdivision connectivity, such as subdivision surfaces, are increasingly popular in computer graphics. They present several advantages over their Delaunay-type based counterparts, e.g., Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINs), such as efficient processing, compact storage and numerical robustness. A mesh having subdivision connectivity can be described using a tree structure and recent work exploits this inherent hierarchy in applications such as progressive terrain visualization, surface compression and transmission. We propose a hierarchical, fine to coarse (i.e., using vertex decimation) algorithm to reduce the number of vertices in meshes whose connectivity is based on quadrilateral quadrisection (e.g., subdivision surfaces obtained from Catmull–Clark or 4-8 subdivision rules). Our method is derived from optimal tree pruning algorithms used in modeling of adaptive quantizers for compression. The main advantage of our method is that it allows control of the global error of the approximation, whereas previous methods are based on local error heuristics only. We present a set of operations allowing the use of global error and use them to build an O(nlogn) simplification algorithm transforming an input mesh of n vertices into a multiresolution hierarchy. Note that a single approximation having k<n vertices is obtained in linear running time. We show that, without using these operations, mesh simplification using global error has O(n2) computational complexity in the RAM model. Our approach uses a generalized vertex decimation method which allows for choosing the optimal vertex in the rate-distortion sense. Additionally, our algorithm can also be applied to other types of subdivision connectivity such as triangular quadrisection, e.g., obtained from Loop subdivision

Highly analysable, reusable, and realisable architectural designs with XCD

Connector-Centric Design (XcD) is a new approach to specifying software architectures. XcD views complex connectors as highly significant in architectural designs, as it is the complex connectors that non-functional quality properties in systems can emanate from. So, XcD promotes in designs a clean separation of connectors (interaction behaviours) from components (functional behaviours). Designers can then specify connectors in detail explicitly thus easing the analysis of system designs for quality properties. Furthermore, XcD separates control behaviour from connectors as control strategies. Architectural designs in XcD thus become highly modular with re-usable components, connectors, and control strategies (representing design solutions for quality properties). The end result is the eased architectural experimentation with different design solutions by re-using components/connectors and formal analysis of these solutions to find out the optimal ones

Identification of classical swine fever virus protein E2 as a target for cytotoxic T cells by using mRNA-transfected antigen-presenting cells

Vaccination of pigs against Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) by using live-virus vaccines induces early protection before detectable humoral immune responses. Immunological analyses indicate that this is associated with T-cell activation, underlining the importance of targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses for vaccine improvement. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) transfected with mRNA encoding structural protein E2 or non-structural viral proteins NS3¿NS4A were used to identify viral genes encoding CTL epitopes. Monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) and fibrocytes served as the APCs. In vitro translation of the mRNA and microscopic analysis of transfected cells demonstrated that E2 and NS3¿NS4A could be identified. APCs transfected with either of the mRNA molecules restimulated CSFV-specific T cells to produce gamma interferon and specific cytotoxic activity against CSFV-infected target cells. The presence of CTL epitopes on E2 was confirmed by using d/d-haplotype MAX cells expressing E2 constitutively as target cells in d/d-haplotype CTL assays. A potent CTL activity against E2 was detected early (1¿3 weeks) after CSFV challenge. This work corroborates the existence of CTL epitopes within the non-structural protein domain NS3¿NS4A of CSFV. Furthermore, epitopes on the E2 protein can also now be classified as targets for CTLs, having important implications for vaccine design, especially subunit vaccines. As for the use of mRNA-transfected APCs, this represents a simple and efficient method to identify viral genes encoding CTL epitopes in outbred population

Lenvatinib in Advanced Radioiodine-Refractory Thyroid Cancer - A Retrospective Analysis of the Swiss Lenvatinib Named Patient Program.

javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@5a6991ed Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) accounts for approximately 95% of thyroid carcinomas. In the metastatic RAI-refractory disease, chemotherapy has very limited efficacy and is associated with substantial toxicity. With increasing knowledge of the molecular pathogenesis of DTC, novel targeted therapies have been developed. Lenvatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with promising clinical activity based on the randomized phase III SELECT trial. In Switzerland, a Named Patient Program (NPP) was installed to bridge the time gap to Swissmedic approval. Here, we report the results from the Swiss Lenvatinib NPP including patients with metastatic RAI-refractory DTC. javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@7407c55a Main inclusion criteria for the Swiss NPP were RAI-refractory DTC, documented disease progression, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-3. The number of previous therapies was not limited. The Swiss Lenvatinib NPP was initiated in June 2014 and was closed in October 2015 with the approval of the drug. javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@1c5cb2cc Between June 2014 and October 2015, 13 patients with a median age of 72 years have been enrolled. Most patients (69%) had at least one prior systemic therapy, mainly sorafenib. 31% of patients showed a PR and 31% SD. Median progression free survival was 7.2 months and the median overall survival was 22.7 months. Dose reduction due to adverse events was necessary in 7 patients (53%). At the time of analysis 6 patients (47%) were still on treatment with a median time on treatment of 9.98 months. javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@713fc2d4 Our results show that lenvatinib has reasonable clinical activity in unselected patients with RAI-refractory thyroid cancer with nearly two-third of patients showing clinical benefit. The toxicity profile of lenvatinib is manageable

MODELO DE ATENCIÓN DEL CÁNCER EN LA INFANCIA Y ADOLESCENCIA

La atención integral de niños y adolescentes con cáncer es uno de los grandes desafíos para el sistema de salud pública de nuestros países donde el cáncer infantil representa un problema de salud pública y un problema social. El cáncer pediátrico en Paraguay, un país de escasos recursos, es un problema social y de salud pública por las consecuencias que se infringen a los pacientes, sus familias, las comunidades y los sistemas de salud. Un modelo descentralizado con clínicas más cercanas y dedicadas a cuidados primarios y referencias de niños con diagnóstico potencial de cáncer mejoraron el acceso a cuidados especializados y seguimiento del cáncer. Estas clínicas, implementadas dentro de los hospitales regionales de los sistemas nacionales de salud, ofrecen soluciones sostenibles y efectivas para un mejor acceso y seguimiento del cuidado de los niños con cáncer. El análisis de los desafíos, el éxito y la rentabilidad de estas clínicas regionales de cáncer pediátrico para referencias y seguimiento, permite sugerir un modelo óptimo para tales clínicas en entornos de bajos ingresos. Este modelo podría ser replicado para el cuidado de otras enfermedades y en otros grupos de edad. Presentamos aquí el resultado de la evaluación de los resultados de los pacientes de las cuatro clínicas regionales desde su implementación inicial