Canine distemper virus neutralization activity is low in human serum and it is sensitive to an amino acid substitution in the hemagglutinin protein

© 2015 Elsevier Inc.Serum was analyzed from 146 healthy adult volunteers in eastern Africa to evaluate measles virus (MV) and canine distemper virus (CDV) neutralizing antibody (nAb) prevalence and potency. MV plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) results indicated that all sera were positive for MV nAbs. Furthermore, the 50% neutralizing dose (ND50) for the majority of sera corresponded to antibody titers induced by MV vaccination. CDV nAbs titers were low and generally were detected in sera with high MV nAb titers. A mutant CDV was generated that was less sensitive to neutralization by human serum. The mutant virus genome had 10 nucleotide substitutions, which coded for single amino acid substitutions in the fusion (F) and hemagglutinin (H) glycoproteins and two substitutions in the large polymerase (L) protein. The H substitution occurred in a conserved region involved in receptor interactions among morbilliviruses, implying that this region is a target for cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies

Read-through Activation of Transcription in a Cellular Genomic Context

Read-through transcription from the adjacent E1a gene region is required for wild-type (wt) activity of the downstream adenovirus E1b promoter early after infection (read-through activation). However, whether a cellular chromosomal template can support read-through activation is not known. To address this issue, read-through activation was evaluated in the context of stably expressed templates in transfected cells. Inhibition of read-through transcription by insertion of a transcription termination sequence between the E1a and E1b promoters reduced downstream gene expression from stably integrated templates. The results indicate that the mechanism of read-through activation does not depend on the structure of early adenovirus nucleoprotein complexes, a structure that is likely to be different from that of cellular chromatin. Accordingly, this regulatory interaction could participate in the coordinated control of the expression of closely linked cellular genes

Profound early control of highly pathogenic SIV by an effector memory T-cell vaccine

Times Cited: 13

A novel LMNA mutation (R189W) in familial dilated cardiomyopathy: evidence for a 'hot spot' region at exon 3: a case report

We describe a case of a patient with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and cardiac conduction abnormalities who presented a strong family history of sudden cardiac death. Genetic screening of lamin A/C gene revealed in proband the presence of a novel missense mutation (R189W), near the most prevalent lamin A/C mutation (R190W), suggesting a "hot spot" region at exon 3

Evidence for the predictive remapping of visual attention

When attending an object in visual space, perception of the object remains stable despite frequent eye movements. It is assumed that visual stability is due to the process of remapping, in which retinotopically organized maps are updated to compensate for the retinal shifts caused by eye movements. Remapping is predictive when it starts before the actual eye movement. Until now, most evidence for predictive remapping has been obtained in single cell studies involving monkeys. Here, we report that predictive remapping affects visual attention prior to an eye movement. Immediately following a saccade, we show that attention has partly shifted with the saccade (Experiment 1). Importantly, we show that remapping is predictive and affects the locus of attention prior to saccade execution (Experiments 2 and 3): before the saccade was executed, there was attentional facilitation at the location which, after the saccade, would retinotopically match the attended location

Spatio-Temporal Interpolation Is Accomplished by Binocular Form and Motion Mechanisms

Spatio-temporal interpolation describes the ability of the visual system to perceive shapes as whole figures (Gestalts), even if they are moving behind narrow apertures, so that only thin slices of them meet the eye at any given point in time. The interpolation process requires registration of the form slices, as well as perception of the shape's global motion, in order to reassemble the slices in the correct order. The commonly proposed mechanism is a spatio-temporal motion detector with a receptive field, for which spatial distance and temporal delays are interchangeable, and which has generally been regarded as monocular. Here we investigate separately the nature of the motion and the form detection involved in spatio-temporal interpolation, using dichoptic masking and interocular presentation tasks. The results clearly demonstrate that the associated mechanisms for both motion and form are binocular rather than monocular. Hence, we question the traditional view according to which spatio-temporal interpolation is achieved by monocular first-order motion-energy detectors in favour of models featuring binocular motion and form detection

Predictive functional profiling of microbial communities using 16S rRNA marker gene sequences

Profiling phylogenetic marker genes, such as the 16S rRNA gene, is a key tool for studies of microbial communities but does not provide direct evidence of a community’s functional capabilities. Here we describe PICRUSt (Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States), a computational approach to predict the functional composition of a metagenome using marker gene data and a database of reference genomes. PICRUSt uses an extended ancestral-state reconstruction algorithm to predict which gene families are present and then combines gene families to estimate the composite metagenome. Using 16S information, PICRUSt recaptures key findings from the Human Microbiome Project and accurately predicts the abundance of gene families in host-associated and environmental communities, with quantifiable uncertainty. Our results demonstrate that phylogeny and function are sufficiently linked that this ‘predictive metagenomic’ approach should provide useful insights into the thousands of uncultivated microbial communities for which only marker gene surveys are currently available

The prevalence and correlates of physical inactivity among adults in Ho Chi Minh City

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Socioeconomic changes have led to profound changes in individuals' lifestyles, including the adoption of unhealthy food consumption patterns, prevalent tobacco use, alcohol abuse and physical inactivity, especially in large cities like Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). The Stepwise Approach to Surveillance of Non-communicable Disease Risk Factors survey was conducted to identify physical activity patterns and factors associated with 'insufficient' levels of physical activity for health in adults in HCMC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2005 among 1906 adults aged 25–64 years using a probability proportional to size cluster sampling method to estimate the prevalence of non-communicable disease risk factors including physical inactivity. Data on socioeconomic status, health behaviours, and time spent in physical activity during work, commuting and leisure time were collected. Physical activity was measured using the validated Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Responders were classified as 'sufficiently active' or 'insufficiently active' using the GPAQ protocol. Correlates of insufficient physical activity were identified using multivariable logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A high proportion of adults were physically inactive, with only 56.2% (95% CI = 52.1–60.4) aged 25–64 years in HCMC achieving the minimum recommendation of 'doing 30 minutes moderate-intensity physical activity for at least 5 days per week'. The main contributors to total physical activity among adults were from working and active commuting. Leisure-time physical activity represented a very small proportion (9.4%) of individuals' total activity level. Some differences in the pattern of physical activity between men and women were noted, with insufficient activity levels decreasing with age among women, but not among men. Physical inactivity was positively associated with high income (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.05–2.97) and high household wealth index (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.29–2.66) amongst men.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Public health policies and programs to preserve active commuting in HCMC and to promote time spent in recreational physical activity in both genders and across all age groups, but especially among young adults, will be critical in any comprehensive national plan to tackle inactivity. Clear and consistent national recommendations about how much physical activity Vietnamese people need for preventing and managing non-communicable diseases should also be part of this population-wide promotional effort.</p

PIF Genes Mediate the Effect of Sucrose on Seedling Growth Dynamics

As photoautotrophs, plants can use both the form and amount of fixed carbon as a measure of the light environment. In this study, we used a variety of approaches to elucidate the role of exogenous sucrose in modifying seedling growth dynamics. In addition to its known effects on germination, high-resolution temporal analysis revealed that sucrose could extend the number of days plants exhibited rapid hypocotyl elongation, leading to dramatic increases in ultimate seedling height. In addition, sucrose changed the timing of daily growth maxima, demonstrating that diel growth dynamics are more plastic than previously suspected. Sucrose-dependent growth promotion required function of multiple phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs), and overexpression of PIF5 led to growth dynamics similar to plants exposed to sucrose. Consistent with this result, sucrose was found to increase levels of PIF5 protein. PIFs have well-established roles as integrators of response to light levels, time of day and phytohormone signaling. Our findings strongly suggest that carbon availability can modify the known photomorphogenetic signaling network