A Putative Cell Surface Receptor for White Spot Syndrome Virus Is a Member of a Transporter Superfamily

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), a large enveloped DNA virus, can cause the most serious viral disease in shrimp and has a wide host range among crustaceans. In this study, we identified a surface protein, named glucose transporter 1 (Glut1), which could also interact with WSSV envelope protein, VP53A. Sequence analysis revealed that Glut1 is a member of a large superfamily of transporters and that it is most closely related to evolutionary branches of this superfamily, branches that function to transport this sugar. Tissue tropism analysis showed that Glut1 was constitutive and highly expressed in almost all organs. Glut1's localization in shrimp cells was further verified and so was its interaction with Penaeus monodon chitin-binding protein (PmCBP), which was itself identified to interact with an envelope protein complex formed by 11 WSSV envelope proteins. In vitro and in vivo neutralization experiments using synthetic peptide contained WSSV binding domain (WBD) showed that the WBD peptide could inhibit WSSV infection in primary cultured hemocytes and delay the mortality in shrimps challenged with WSSV. These findings have important implications for our understanding of WSSV entry

Turmeric and black pepper spices decrease lipid peroxidation in meat patties during cooking.

Spices are rich in natural antioxidants and have been shown to be potent inhibitors of lipid peroxidation during cooking of meat. Turmeric contains unique conjugated curcuminoids with strong antioxidant activity. Piperine, one of the main constituents of black pepper, is known to increase the bioavailability of curcuminoids in mouse and human studies when consumed with turmeric. We investigated whether adding black pepper to turmeric powder may further inhibit lipid peroxidation when added to meat patties prior to cooking. The addition of black pepper to turmeric significantly decreased the lipid peroxidation in hamburger meat. When investigating the antioxidant activity of the main chemical markers, we determined that piperine did not exhibit any antioxidant activity. Therefore, we conclude that other black pepper ingredients are responsible for the increased antioxidant activity of combining black pepper with turmeric powder

EFFECTS OF SEAT POSITION ON JOINT LOADS OF THE UPPER EXTREMITIES DURING HANDCYCLING IN WHEELCHAIR-DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS

The current study aimed to quantify the joint moments of the upper extremities with different seat positions during handcycling in wheelchair-dependent individuals. Sixteen subjects performed handcycling while the handgrip reaction forces were measured by a handgrip instrumented with a six-component load cell and body segment kinematic data by a motion capture system. Both data sets were used to calculate joint moments of the upper limbs during a crank cycle. The loads at the shoulder were affected mostly by the vertical seat positions. The higher the seat, the greater loads transmitted by the muscles with relatively greater strength. The current data will be helpful for future handcycle design and fitting for wheelchair-dependent individuals

Hybrid quantum-classical and quantum-inspired classical algorithms for solving banded circulant linear systems

Solving linear systems is of great importance in numerous fields. In particular, circulant systems are especially valuable for efficiently finding numerical solutions to physics-related differential equations. Current quantum algorithms like HHL or variational methods are either resource-intensive or may fail to find a solution. We present an efficient algorithm based on convex optimization of combinations of quantum states to solve for banded circulant linear systems whose non-zero terms are within distance $K$ of the main diagonal. By decomposing banded circulant matrices into cyclic permutations, our approach produces approximate solutions to such systems with a combination of quantum states linear to $K$, significantly improving over previous convergence guarantees, which require quantum states exponential to $K$. We propose a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm using the Hadamard test and the quantum Fourier transform as subroutines and show its PromiseBQP-hardness. Additionally, we introduce a quantum-inspired algorithm with similar performance given sample and query access. We validate our methods with classical simulations and actual IBM quantum computer implementation, showcasing their applicability for solving physical problems such as heat transfer.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figure

First report of NDM-1-producing acinetobacter baumannii in East Africa

Background: The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) was observed in a Kenyan hospital from 2009 to 2010. Further investigation of the dissemination of CRAB isolates and the molecular characterization of associated resistance determinants were therefore performed. Methods: Antibiotic susceptibilities were determined by broth microdilution and Etest. Metallo-blactamases were detected by Etest method. Clonal relationships were studied by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). b-Lactam and aminoglycoside resistance determinants and the clonal relatedness to widespread European clones were studied by PCR and sequencing. Results: Sixteen CRAB isolates from 10 patients possessed six pulsotypes; half of the isolates belonged to the European clone II (ECII) lineage. ECII strains were typed as MLST sequence type 2 (ST2) and ST109, and non-ECII strains as ST25 and ST113. All isolates harbored ISAba1–blaOXA-23, blaOXA-51-like, blaADC, and class 1 integron, including one that also harbored blaNDM-1. ADC-57 and two integron cassettes (arr-2- cmlA5 and aadB-aadA2-cmlA6-aadA15) were newly-identified. Non-ECII isolates, designated non-ECII clone, carried armA and integron cassette arr-2-cmlA5. Conclusions: Two distinct clones of CRAB – ECII and non-ECII epidemic clones – were disseminated in Kenya. The concomitance of ISAba1–blaOXA-23 was the major mechanism contributing to CRAB. The first identification of ECII CRAB and New Delhi metallo-b-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) extensively drug-resistant A. baumannii in East Africa is of concern