Computational Design of a Novel VLP-Based Vaccine for Hepatitis B Virus

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global virus responsible for a universal disease burden for millions of people. Various vaccination strategies have been developed using viral vector, nucleic acid, protein, peptide, and virus-like particles (VLPs) to stimulate favorable immune responses against HBV. Given the pivotal role of specific immune responses of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in infection control, we designed a VLP-based vaccine by placing the antibody-binding fragments of HBsAg in the major immunodominant region (MIR) epitope of HBcAg to stimulate multilateral immunity. A computational approach was employed to predict and evaluate the conservation, antigenicity, allergenicity, and immunogenicity of the construct. Modeling and molecular dynamics (MD) demonstrated the folding stability of HBcAg as a carrier in inserting Myrcludex and �a� determinant of HBsAg. Regions 1�50 and 118�150 of HBsAg were considered to have the highest stability to be involved in the designed vaccine. Molecular docking revealed appropriate interactions between the B cell epitope of the designed vaccine and the antibodies. Totally, the final construct was promising for inducing humoral and cellular responses against HBV. © Copyright © 2020 Mobini, Chizari, Mafakher, Rismani and Rismani

Transcriptome Sequencing and Characterization for the Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka, 1867)

Background: Sea cucumbers are a special group of marine invertebrates. They occupy a taxonomic position that is believed to be important for understanding the origin and evolution of deuterostomes. Some of them such as Apostichopus japonicus represent commercially important aquaculture species in Asian countries. Many efforts have been devoted to increasing the number of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for A. japonicus, but a comprehensive characterization of its transcriptome remains lacking. Here, we performed the large-scale transcriptome profiling and characterization by pyrosequencing diverse cDNA libraries from A. japonicus. Results: In total, 1,061,078 reads were obtained by 454 sequencing of eight cDNA libraries representing different developmental stages and adult tissues in A. japonicus. These reads were assembled into 29,666 isotigs, which were further clustered into 21,071 isogroups. Nearly 40 % of the isogroups showed significant matches to known proteins based on sequence similarity. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analyses recovered diverse biological functions and processes. Candidate genes that were potentially involved in aestivation were identified. Transcriptome comparison with the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus revealed similar patterns of GO term representation. In addition, 4,882 putative orthologous genes were identified, of which 202 were not present in the non-echinoderm organisms. More than 700 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 54,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the A. japonicu

Microbial Fuel Cells and Microbial Ecology: Applications in Ruminant Health and Production Research

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) systems employ the catalytic activity of microbes to produce electricity from the oxidation of organic, and in some cases inorganic, substrates. MFC systems have been primarily explored for their use in bioremediation and bioenergy applications; however, these systems also offer a unique strategy for the cultivation of synergistic microbial communities. It has been hypothesized that the mechanism(s) of microbial electron transfer that enable electricity production in MFCs may be a cooperative strategy within mixed microbial consortia that is associated with, or is an alternative to, interspecies hydrogen (H2) transfer. Microbial fermentation processes and methanogenesis in ruminant animals are highly dependent on the consumption and production of H2in the rumen. Given the crucial role that H2 plays in ruminant digestion, it is desirable to understand the microbial relationships that control H2 partial pressures within the rumen; MFCs may serve as unique tools for studying this complex ecological system. Further, MFC systems offer a novel approach to studying biofilms that form under different redox conditions and may be applied to achieve a greater understanding of how microbial biofilms impact animal health. Here, we present a brief summary of the efforts made towards understanding rumen microbial ecology, microbial biofilms related to animal health, and how MFCs may be further applied in ruminant research

Ceramic Microbial Fuel Cells Stack: Power generation in standard and supercapacitive mode

© 2018 The Author(s). In this work, a microbial fuel cell (MFC) stack containing 28 ceramic MFCs was tested in both standard and supercapacitive modes. The MFCs consisted of carbon veil anodes wrapped around the ceramic separator and air-breathing cathodes based on activated carbon catalyst pressed on a stainless steel mesh. The anodes and cathodes were connected in parallel. The electrolytes utilized had different solution conductivities ranging from 2.0 mScm-1 to 40.1 mScm-1, simulating diverse wastewaters. Polarization curves of MFCs showed a general enhancement in performance with the increase of the electrolyte solution conductivity. The maximum stationary power density was 3.2 mW (3.2 Wm-3) at 2.0 mScm-1 that increased to 10.6 mW (10.6 Wm-3) at the highest solution conductivity (40.1 mScm-1). For the first time, MFCs stack with 1 L operating volume was also tested in supercapacitive mode, where full galvanostatic discharges are presented. Also in the latter case, performance once again improved with the increase in solution conductivity. Particularly, the increase in solution conductivity decreased dramatically the ohmic resistance and therefore the time for complete discharge was elongated, with a resultant increase in power. Maximum power achieved varied between 7.6 mW (7.6 Wm-3) at 2.0 mScm-1 and 27.4 mW (27.4 Wm-3) at 40.1 mScm-1

Effect of pretreatment of Si interlayer by energetic C + ions on the improved nanotribological properties of magnetic head overcoat

10.1063/1.3699058Journal of Applied Physics1118-JAPI

Energy gradient carbon embedding in the magnetic media for improved tribological performance

10.1016/j.surfcoat.2014.01.035Surface and Coatings Technology242152-15

Ultra-thin overcoats for future hard disks

2012 Digest APMRC - Asia-Pacific Magnetic Recording Conference: A Strong Tradition. An Exciting New Look!

Effect of pre-treatment of the substrate surface by energetic C+ ion bombardment on structure and nano-tribological characteristics of ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) protective coatings

10.1088/0022-3727/44/11/115502Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics4411-JPAP

An ultrathin multilayer TiN/SiN wear resistant coating for advanced magnetic tape drive heads

10.1016/j.tsf.2014.01.061Thin Solid Films556354-360THSF