Impacts from initialization techniques – An optimal computational resource allocation problem

postprin

Deterministic Polynomial-Time Algorithms for Designing Short DNA Words

postprin

Genetic diversity of ST5 Staphylococcus aureus isolated from swine veterinarians in the USA

The term livestock associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) has been synonymous with sequence type ST398 since the identification of this lineage of MRSA in Holland. Subsequent research indicates borader genetic diversity of MRSA strains in swine, with MRSA variants belonging to MLST sequence type ST9, and ST5 also being reported in studies of swine in varioust countries

Role of TRPM2 in H2O2-induced cell apoptosis in endothelial cells

Melastatin-like transient receptor potential channel 2 (TRPM2) is an oxidant-sensitive and cationic non-selective channel that is expressed in mammalian vascular endothelium. Here we investigated the functional role of TRPM2 channels in hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-induced cytosolic Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](i)) elavation, whole-cell current increase, and apoptotic cell death in murine heart microvessel endothelial cell line H5V. A TRPM2 blocking antibody (TM2E3), which targets the E3 region near the ion permeation pore of TRPM2, was developed. Treatment of H5V cells with TM2E3 reduced the [Ca(2+)](i) rise and whole-cell current change in response to H(2)O(2). Suppressing TRPM2 expression using TRPM2-specific short hairpin RNA (shRNA) had similar inhibitory effect. H(2)O(2)-induced apoptotic cell death in H5V cells was examined using MTT assay, DNA ladder formation analysis, and DAPI-based nuclear DNA condensation assay. Based on these assays, TM2E3 and TRPM2-specific shRNA both showed protective effect against H(2)O(2)-induced apoptotic cell death. TM2E3 and TRPM2-specific shRNA also protect the cells from tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced cell death in MTT assay. In contrast, overexpression of TRPM2 in H5V cells resulted in an increased response in [Ca(2+)](i) and whole-cell currents to H(2)O(2). TRPM2 overexpression also aggravated the H(2)O(2)-induced apoptotic cell death. Downstream pathways following TRPM2 activation was examined. Results showed that TRPM2 activity stimulated caspase-8, caspase-9 and caspase-3. These findings strongly suggest that TRPM2 channel mediates cellular Ca(2+) overload in response to H(2)O(2) and contribute to oxidant-induced apoptotic cell death in vascular endothelial cells. Down-regulating endogenous TRPM2 could be a means to protect the vascular endothelial cells from apoptotic cell death.published_or_final_versio

Genomic characterization of Staphylococcus aureus at the swine-human interface

The epidemiology of S. aureus in swine held little interest until the ST398 lineage of MRSA was found to be prevalent in pigs and pig farmers in the Netherlands in 2004 (Voss et al. 2005). ST398 MRSA have since been detected in multiple livestock species and in many countries (EFSA, 2009; Smith and Pearson, 2011), while genetically distinct variants of ST398 S. aureus occur in some human populations independent of livestock reservoirs (Carrel et al., 2017). Furthermore, other genotypes of MRSA can occur in pigs, particularly ST9 MRSA in Asia, and ST5 MRSA in North America (Chuang and Huang, 2015; Frana et al. 2013). In the USA, methicillin susceptible variants of the ST398, ST9 and ST5 lineages are widespread in commercial swine, yet MRSA variants appear to occur at relatively low prevalence (Sun, et al., 2015). Despite common exposure to, and colonization of, swine workers by livestock associated S. aureus, significant clinical infections appear to be uncommon in occupationally exposed people. However, invasive and even fatal infections are reported at relatively low incidence in some countries, and medically compromised people appear to be at particular risk, even in the absence of animal contact (Larsen et al., 2017). There is evidence that ST398 MRSA of livestock origin are less transmissible among humans than MRSA of human origin. Also, genomic studies typically have indicated that livestock associated MRSA (both ST398 and ST5) lack most virulence factors that occur in human clinical isolates (Schijffelen et al. 2010; Price et al. 2012; Hau et al, 2015). However, to date there has been little genomic characterization of methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) that are prevalent in swine populations. The purpose of this study was to describe the occurrence of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes in S. aureus isolates from pigs and swine veterinarians in the USA

Determinants of postnatal spleen tissue regeneration and organogenesis

Abstract The spleen is an organ that filters the blood and is responsible for generating blood-borne immune responses. It is also an organ with a remarkable capacity to regenerate. Techniques for splenic auto-transplantation have emerged to take advantage of this characteristic and rebuild spleen tissue in individuals undergoing splenectomy. While this procedure has been performed for decades, the underlying mechanisms controlling spleen regeneration have remained elusive. Insights into secondary lymphoid organogenesis and the roles of stromal organiser cells and lymphotoxin signalling in lymph node development have helped reveal similar requirements for spleen regeneration. These factors are now considered in the regulation of embryonic and postnatal spleen formation, and in the establishment of mature white pulp and marginal zone compartments which are essential for spleen-mediated immunity. A greater understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms which control spleen development will assist in the design of more precise and efficient tissue grafting methods for spleen regeneration on demand. Regeneration of organs which harbour functional white pulp tissue will also offer novel opportunities for effective immunotherapy against cancer as well as infectious diseases

Graphene Photonics and Optoelectronics

The richness of optical and electronic properties of graphene attracts enormous interest. Graphene has high mobility and optical transparency, in addition to flexibility, robustness and environmental stability. So far, the main focus has been on fundamental physics and electronic devices. However, we believe its true potential to be in photonics and optoelectronics, where the combination of its unique optical and electronic properties can be fully exploited, even in the absence of a bandgap, and the linear dispersion of the Dirac electrons enables ultra-wide-band tunability. The rise of graphene in photonics and optoelectronics is shown by several recent results, ranging from solar cells and light emitting devices, to touch screens, photodetectors and ultrafast lasers. Here we review the state of the art in this emerging field.Comment: Review Nature Photonics, in pres

Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in SLE

Background. A 19-year-old girl was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, based on findings of arthritis, malar rash, positive antinuclear antibody test and high levels of antibodies to double-stranded DNA. Two months after diagnosis, the patient presented with a sudden drop in blood hemoglobin level. Several days later, she developed bloody sputum, rapidly progressive dyspnea and hypoxemia. High-resolution CT showed diffuse alveolar infiltrates in both lung fields.Investigations. Physical examination, complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, urinalysis, 24-h urine protein excretion, fecal occult blood test, d-dimer test, acid hemolysis test, activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time, direct and indirect Coombs tests, bone marrow smear, arterial blood gas, sputum smear and culture, and high-resolution CT scan of the chest.Diagnosis. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage associated with systemic lupus erythematosus.Management. The patient did not respond to pulsed intravenous methylprednisolone (two courses of 500 mg per day for 3 days) and intravenous immunoglobulin (20 g per day for 5 days). The patient was referred to a specialist treatment center for allogenic transplantation using umbilical-cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells. She underwent transplantation with an infusion of 8 - 10 7 mesenchymal stem cells. After showing dramatic improvements in her clinical condition, oxygenation level, radiographic and hematological status, the patient was discharged from hospital approximately 5 weeks after undergoing transplantation. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited.postprin

Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay

The decay channel $\psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p})$ is studied using a sample of $1.06\times 10^8$ $\psi^\prime$ events collected by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is observed in the $p\bar{p}$ invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit with an $S$-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of $M=1861^{+6}_{-13} {\rm (stat)}^{+7}_{-26} {\rm (syst)} {\rm MeV/}c^2$ and a narrow width that is $\Gamma<38 {\rm MeV/}c^2$ at the 90% confidence level. These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics