APOBEC3G/3F mediates intrinsic resistance of monocyte-derived dendritic cells to HIV-1 infection

HIV-1 infects immature dendritic cells (iDCs), but infection is inefficient compared with activated CD4+ T cells and only involves a small subset of iDCs. We analyzed whether this could be attributed to specific cellular restrictions during the viral life cycle. To study env-independent restriction to HIV-1 infection, we used a single-round infection assay with HIV-1 pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (HIV-VSVG). Small interfering RNA–mediated depletion of APOBEC3G/3F (A3G/3F), but not TRIM5α, enhanced HIV-1 infection of iDCs, indicating that A3G/3F controls the sensitivity of iDCs to HIV-1 infection. Furthermore, sequences of HIV reverse transcripts revealed G-to-A hypermutation of HIV genomes during iDC infection, demonstrating A3G/3F cytidine deaminase activity in iDCs. When we separated the fraction of iDCs that was susceptible to HIV, we found the cells to be deficient in A3G messenger RNA and protein. We also noted that during DC maturation, which further reduces susceptibility to infection, A3G levels increased. These findings highlight a role for A3G/3F in explaining the resistance of most DCs to HIV-1 infection, as well as the susceptibility of a fraction of iDCs. An increase in the A3G/3F-mediated intrinsic resistance of iDCs could result in a block of HIV infection at its mucosal point of entry

The development of oral narrative in first nations students

Bibliography: p. 45-5

Storytelling as a foundation to literacy development for Aboriginal children: Culturally and developmentally appropriate practices

There is substantial evidence that Aboriginal youth face serious challenges in schooling, in general, and in literacy development, specifically. Thus, it is essential to design early literacy programmes that engage Aboriginal children and produce positive outcomes. In this article, the authors propose that such programmes include oral storytelling by teachers and students because it is a precursor to reading and writing across cultures and a traditional Aboriginal teaching tool. Moreover, storytelling fits with Aboriginal epistemology -- the nature of their knowledge, its foundations, scope, and validity. The authors begin by reviewing a representative sample of the research that has examined the outcomes of early literacy instruction with Aboriginal children. Next, the authors describe Aboriginal epistemology, highlighting the role of the oral tradition. Finally, the authors describe an ongoing study aimed at supporting early literacy development through a developmentally and culturally appropriate oral storytelling instruction programme

PC-based braille reading system

This study aims to aid the visually-impaired people by creating a system that is an alternative to braille translated books. The system is capable of translating text from a captured image to braille. The image, which is captured by a self-triggering camera but can also be operated manually, will be sent to the PC through a USB cable. An open-source Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is obtained to extract text from the image. The OCR is integrated in a GUI. The translated text will be sent to a PIC microcontroller through USB to UART. The PIC microcontroller will drive the braille reading device by converting the text to braille equivalent characters. This braille reading system is a reliable alternative to braille translated books for it has an option where the reader can choose between word-per-word mode or continuous mode of reading. Also, the system achieved an overall accuracy around 90%. With this technology, the visually impaired people will be given a chance to widen their knowledge and explore further on what the world has to offer

Development of a text to braille interpreter for printed documents through optical image processing

This paper presents the development of an optical text to braille converter device for aiding visually impaired individuals to read printed materials. This is a solution for the lag or even failure of translating or printing the braille version of everyday reading materials. The system utilized optical character recognition engine in which an image of the text to be translated into braille is captured. The digitized texts are then transferred electronically in a braille haptic device. This device are piezoelectric based haptic system which is composed of several haptic pins arranged in a way to resemble the braille writing system. Several experiments were conducted to determine the performance of the system. The overall system reliability obtained was 95.68%. The system is also capable of processing speed of 1 word in 2 seconds. The system performs at its best with a letter sized page reading material within the range of 15 to 20 cm from the camera, with the camera positioned at 0 degrees. © 2017 IEEE

Containment measures

OBSOLETE (project finished) - Description of containment measures during COVID'19 lockdown, in the context of SIlent Cities project. Please request access to Silent Cities if neede

Archived - General Information (DO NOT USE)

DO NOT USE - The goal of this component was to document the data collection process of the Silent Cities Dataset. This component is just left for archive