Generating Diophantine Sets by Virus Machines

Virus Machines are a computational paradigm inspired by the manner in which viruses replicate and transmit from one host cell to another. This paradigm provides non-deterministic sequential devices. Non-restricted virus machines are unbounded virus machines, in the sense that no restriction on the number of hosts, the number of instructions and the number of viruses contained in any host along any computation is placed on them. The computational completeness of these machines has been obtained by simulating register machines. In this paper, virus machines as set generating devices are considered. Then, the universality of non-restricted virus machines is proved by showing that they can compute all diophantine sets, which the MRDP theorem proves that coincide with the recursively enumerable sets.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2012- 3743

Population dynamics of an RNA virus and its defective interfering particles in passage cultures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Viruses can fall prey to their defective interfering (DI) particles. When viruses are cultured by serial passage on susceptible host cells, the presence of virus-like DI particles can cause virus populations to rise and fall, reflecting predator-prey interactions between DI and virus particles. The levels of virus and DI particles in each population passage can be determined experimentally by plaque and yield-reduction assays, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To better understand DI and virus particle interactions we measured vesicular stomatitis virus and DI particle production during serial-passage culture on BHK cells. When the multiplicity of infection (MOI, or ratio of infectious virus particles to cells) was fixed, virus yields followed a pattern of progressive decline, with higher MOI driving earlier and faster drops in virus level. These patterns of virus decline were consistent with predictions from a mathematical model based on single-passage behavior of cells co-infected with virus and DI particles. By contrast, the production of virus during fixed-volume passages exhibited irregular fluctuations that could not be described by either the steady-state or regular oscillatory dynamics of the model. However, these irregularities were, to a significant degree, reproduced when measured host-cell levels were incorporated into the model, revealing a high sensitivity of virus and DI particle populations to fluctuations in available cell resources.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows how the development of mathematical models, when guided by quantitative experiments, can provide new insight into the dynamic behavior of virus populations.</p

Inducible viral receptor, A possible concept to induce viral protection in primitive immune animals

A pseudolysogen (PL) is derived from the lysogenic Vibrio harveyi (VH) which is infected with the VHS1 (Vibrio harveyi Siphoviridae-like 1) bacteriophage. The lysogenic Vibrio harveyi undergoes an unequivalent division of the extra-chromosomal VHS1 phage genome and its VH host chromosome and produces a true lysogen (TL) and pseudolysogen (PL). The PL is tolerant to super-infection of VHS1, as is of the true lysogen (TL), but the PL does not contain the VHS1 phage genome while the TL does. However, the PL can become susceptible to VHS1 phage infection if the physiological state of the PL is changed. It is postulated that this is due to a phage receptor molecule which can be inducible to an on-and-off regulation influence by an alternating condition of the bacterial host cell. This characteristic of the PL leads to speculate that this phenomenon can also occur in high organisms with low immunity such as shrimp. This article proposes a hypothesis that the viral receptor molecule on the target cell can play a crucial role in which the invertebrate aquaculture animals can become tolerant to viral infection. A possible mechanism may be that the target cell disrupts the viral receptor molecule to prevent super infection. This concept can explain a mechanism for the prevention of viral infection in invertebrate animals which do not have acquired immunity in response to pathogens. It can guide us to develop a mechanism of immunity to viral infection in low-evolved-immune animals. Also, it can be an additional mechanism that exists in high immune organism, as in human for the prevention of viral infectio

Protection in Macaques Immunized with HIV-1 Candidate Vaccines Can Be Predicted Using the Kinetics of Their Neutralizing Antibodies

A vaccine is needed to control the spread of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). An in vitro assay that can predict the protection induced by a vaccine would facilitate the development of such a vaccine. A potential candidate would be an assay to quantify neutralization of HIV-1.We have used sera from rhesus macaques that have been immunized with HIV candidate vaccines and subsequently challenged with simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV). We compared neutralization assays with different formats. In experiments with the standardized and validated TZMbl assay, neutralizing antibody titers against homologous SHIV(SF162P4) pseudovirus gave a variable correlation with reductions in plasma viremia levels. The target cells used in the assays are not just passive indicators of virus infection but are actively involved in the neutralization process. When replicating virus was used with GHOST cell assays, events during the absorption phase, as well as the incubation phase, determine the level of neutralization. Sera that are associated with protection have properties that are closest to the traditional concept of neutralization: the concentration of antibody present during the absorption phase has no effect on the inactivation rate. In GHOST assays, events during the absorption phase may inactivate a fixed number, rather than a proportion, of virus so that while complete neutralization can be obtained, it can only be found at low doses particularly with isolates that are relatively resistant to neutralization.Two scenarios have the potential to predict protection by neutralizing antibodies at concentrations that can be induced by vaccination: antibodies that have properties close to the traditional concept of neutralization may protect against a range of challenge doses of neutralization sensitive HIV isolates; a window of opportunity also exists for protection against isolates that are more resistant to neutralization but only at low challenge doses

Optoelectronic characterization of carrier extraction in a hot carrier photovoltaic cell structure

© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.A hot carrier photovoltaic cell requires extraction of electrons on a timescale faster than they can lose energy to the lattice. We optically and optoelectronically characterize two resonant tunneling structures, showing their compatability with hot carrier photovoltaic operation, demonstrating structural and carrier extraction properties necessary for such a device. In particular we use time resolved and temperature dependent photoluminescence to determine extraction timescales and energy levels in the structures and demonstrate fast carrier extraction by tunneling. We also show that such devices are capable of extracting photo-generated electrons at high carrier densities, with an open circuit voltage in excess of 1 V

A metallic hot-carrier photovoltaic device

Hot carrier solar cells overcome the fundamental limitations of conventional devices where charge carriers are photogenerated over a broad energy spectrum but rapidly lose energy to the lattice and are extracted at the lowest energy of the system. In a hot carrier photovoltaic cell, carriers are extracted at higher energies than the absorption threshold, and extraction proceeds sufficiently quickly to avoid dissipative energy loss. We demonstrate a new hot carrier photovoltaic device where a broad spectrum of light is absorbed in metallic layers tens of nanometers thick. Using a semiconductor quantum well resonant tunnel structure we demonstrate energy selective hot carrier extraction from the metal film and show a unique hot carrier signature in the device IV characteristics. Using a multiple beam experiment, we further prove that these carriers arise from a hot electron population rather than via internal photoemission; a necessary requirement for high efficiency photovoltaic operation