Human olfactory receptor 17-40 as active part of a nanobiosensor: A microscopic investigation of its electrical properties

Increasing attention has been recently devoted to protein-based nanobiosensors. The main reason is the huge number of possible technological applications, going from drug detection to cancer early diagnosis. Their operating model is based on the protein activation and the corresponding conformational change, due to the capture of an external molecule, the so-called ligand. Recent measurements, performed with different techniques on human 17-40 olfactory receptor, evidenced a very narrow window of response in respect of the odour concentration. This is a crucial point for understanding whether the use of this olfactory receptor as sensitive part of a nanobiosensor is a good choice. In this paper we investigate the topological and electrical properties of the human olfactory receptor 17-40 with the objective of providing a microscopic interpretation of available experiments. To this purpose, we model the protein by means of a graph able to capture the mean features of the 3D backbone structure. The graph is then associated with an equivalent impedance network, able to evaluate the impedance spectra of the olfactory receptor, in its native and activated state. We assume a topological origin of the different protein electrical responses to different ligand concentrations: In this perspective all the experimental data are collected and interpreted satisfactorily within a unified scheme, also useful for application to other proteins.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, DOI:10.1039/c1ra0002

Strategic research and innovation agenda on circular economy

CICERONE aims to bring national, regional and local governments together to jointly tackle the circular economy transition needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions and meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement and EU Green Deal. This document represents one of the key outcomes of the project: a Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for Europe, to support owners and funders of circular economy programmes in aligning priorities and approaching the circular economy transition in a systemic way

The E-ELT first light spectrograph HARMONI: capabilities and modes

Trabajo presentado en SPIE Astronomical Telescopes, celebrado en San Diego (California), del 26 de junio al 1 de julio de 2016HARMONI is the E-ELT's first light visible and near-infrared integral field spectrograph. It will provide four different spatial scales, ranging from coarse spaxels of 60 × 30 mas best suited for seeing limited observations, to 4 mas spaxels that Nyquist sample the diffraction limited point spread function of the E-ELT at near-infrared wavelengths. Each spaxel scale may be combined with eleven spectral settings, that provide a range of spectral resolving powers (R 3500, 7500 and 20000) and instantaneous wavelength coverage spanning the 0.5 - 2.4 ¿m wavelength range of the instrument. In autumn 2015, the HARMONI project started the Preliminary Design Phase, following signature of the contract to design, build, test and commission the instrument, signed between the European Southern Observatory and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council. Crucially, the contract also includes the preliminary design of the HARMONI Laser Tomographic Adaptive Optics system. The instrument's technical specifications were finalized in the period leading up to contract signature. In this paper, we report on the first activity carried out during preliminary design, defining the baseline architecture for the system, and the trade-off studies leading up to the choice of baseline

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LYON1-BU Santé (693882101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Transcriptomic study of 39 ostreid herpesvirus 1 genes during an experimental infection

Massive mortality outbreaks have been reported in France since 2008 among Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, with the detection of a particular OsHV-1 variant called μVar. Virus infection can be induced in healthy spat in experimental conditions allowing to better understand the disease process, including viral gene expression. Although gene expression of other herpesviruses has been widely studied, we provide the first study following viral gene expression of OsHV-1 over time. In this context, an in vivo transcriptomic study targeting 39 OsHV-1 genes was carried out during an experimental infection of Pacific oyster spat. For the first time, several OsHV-1 mRNAs were detected by real-time PCR at 0 h, 2 h, 4 h, 18 h, 26 h and 42 h post injection. Several transcripts were detected at 2 h post infection and at 18 h post infection for all selected ORFs. Quantification of virus gene expression at different times of infection was also carried out using an oyster housekeeping gene, Elongation factor. Developing an OsHV-1-specific reverse transcriptase real time PCR targeting 39 viral gene appears a new tool in terms of diagnosis and can be used to complement viral DNA detection in order to monitor viral replication

New Insight for the Genetic Evaluation of Resistance to Ostreid Herpesvirus Infection, a Worldwide Disease, in Crassostrea gigas

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is the most important commercial oyster species cultivated in the world. Meanwhile, the ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1) is one of the major pathogens affecting the Pacific oyster, and numerous mortality outbreaks related to this pathogen are now reported worldwide. To assess the genetic basis of resistance to OsHV-1 infection in spat C. gigas and to facilitate breeding programs for such a trait, if any exist, we compared the mortality of half- and full-sib families using three field methods and a controlled challenge by OsHV-1 in the laboratory. In the field, three methods were tested: (A) one family per bag; (B) one family per small soft mesh bag and all families inside one bag; (C) same as the previous methods but the oysters were individually labelled and then mixed. The mean mortality ranged from 80 to 82% and was related to OsHV-1 based on viral DNA detection. The narrow-sense heritability for mortality, and thus OsHV-1 resistance, ranged from 0.49 to 0.60. The high positive genetic correlations across the field methods suggested no genotype by environment interaction. Ideally, selective breeding could use method B, which is less time- and space-consuming. The narrow sense heritability for mortality under OsHV-1 challenge was 0.61, and genetic correlation between the field and the laboratory was ranged from 0.68 to 0.75, suggesting a weak genotype by environment interaction. Thus, most of families showing the highest survival performed well in field and laboratory conditions, and a similar trend was also observed for families with the lowest survival. In conclusion, this is the first study demonstrating a large additive genetic variation for resistance to OsHV-1 infection in C. gigas, regardless of the methods used, which should help in selective breeding to improve resistance to viral infection in C. gigas

Human olfactory receptor 17-40 as an active part of nanobiosensor: a microscopic investigation of its electrical properties

Increasing attention has been recently devoted to protein-based nanobiosensors. The main reason is the huge number of possible technological applications, going from drug detection to cancer early diagnosis. Their operating model is based on the protein activation and the corresponding conformational change, due to the capture of an external molecule, the so-called ligand. Recent measurements, performed with different techniques on human 17-40 olfactory receptor, evidenced a very narrow window of response in respect of the odour concentration. This is a crucial point for understanding whether the use of this olfactory receptor as sensitive part of a nanobiosensor is a good choice. In this paper we investigate the topological and electrical properties of the human olfactory receptor 17-40 with the objective of providing a microscopic interpretation of available experiments. To this purpose, we model the protein by means of a graph able to capture the mean features of the 3D backbone structure. The graph is then associated with an equivalent impedance network, able to evaluate the impedance spectra of the olfactory receptor, in its native and activated state. We assume a topological origin of the different protein electrical responses to different ligand concentrations: In this perspective all the experimental data are collected and interpreted satisfactorily within a unified scheme, also useful for application to other proteins

Défis de la surveillance des maladies chez les coquillages marins en France

The basic concepts and objectives of animal disease surveillance are common to all types of animal production. Yet, the procedures for implementation have been mostly developed for terrestrial animal productions. Disease surveillance in marine shellfish calls for specific measures in view of the peculiarities of marine biology and rearing techniques. The main objective of disease surveillance in marine shellfish is to detect as early as possible exotic and newly emerging diseases. With this objective in mind, a national surveillance network for surveillance of mollusc diseases called Repamo has been developed. It combines passive reporting and risk-based surveillance.Les enjeux de la surveillance épidémiologique sont globalement similaires entre les différentes filières de production animale, mais les modalités de surveillance ont été principalement conceptualisées pour les productions terrestres. Leur adaptation au contexte des productions aquacoles, conchylicoles en particulier, présente plusieurs défis tant par les caractéristiques biologiques des animaux que par celles de leur élevage en milieu marin. L’objectif prioritaire de la surveillance des maladies des coquillages marins est la détection précoce de l’apparition d’une maladie exotique ou nouvelle afin d’entreprendre rapidement une lutte. Pour atteindre cet objectif, des modalités de surveillance événementielle et ciblée sur le risque d’introduction ou d’émergence sont combinées et coordonnées par le Réseau de pathologie des mollusques (Repamo), réseau de surveillance de la santé des mollusques marins du littoral français

Doping characteristics of iodine on as-grown chemical vapor deposited graphene on Pt

Using laboratory X-ray photoelectron emission microscopy (XPEEM), we investigated the doping efficiency and thermal stability of iodine on as-grown graphene on Pt. After iodine adsorption of graphene in saturated vapor of I-2, monolayer and bilayer graphene exhibited work function of 4.93 eV and 4.87 eV, respectively. Annealing of the doped monolayer graphene at 100 degrees C led to desorption of hydrocarbons, which increased the work function of monolayer graphene by similar to 0.2 eV. The composition of the polyiodide complexes evolved upon a step-by-step annealing at temperatures from 100 degrees C to 300 degrees C while the work-function non-monotonically changed with decreasing iodine content. The iodine dopant was stable at relatively high temperature as a significant amount of iodine remained up to the annealing temperature of 350 degrees C. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved