Cellular Control of Dengue Virus Replication: Role of Interferon-Inducible Genes

Dengue, one of the most common mosquito‐borne viral infectious diseases in the world, is caused by the dengue virus (DENV). This enveloped RNA virus has immunologically distinct serotypes that increase the risk of life‐threatening diseases, such as dengue haemorrhagic fever. However, no effective antiviral therapy against DENV infection has yet been established. As seen in other RNA viruses, various cellular factors have been reported to participate in efficient DENV replication. On the other hand, increasing recent evidence demonstrates that host cells harbour inhibitory factors that limit the DENV replication. In particular, it is well known that the response of interferons (IFNs), the first line of a host defence system against invading pathogens, evokes the expression of a number of genes that negatively regulate various steps of virus replication. This set of inhibitory genes, called interferon‐stimulated genes (ISGs), is considered to be a central force in IFN‐mediated antiviral responses. In this chapter, we focus our attention on the cellular factors involved in DENV infection, particularly to those that modulate DENV replication through their association with viral RNA. In addition, we also summarize general experimental approaches for identifying the host factors of RNA viruses, including DENV

High-temperature thermoelectric properties of the double-perovskite ruthenium oxide (Sr1−x_{1-x}Lax_x)2_2ErRuO6_6

We have prepared polycrystalline samples of (Sr$_{1-x}$La$_x$)$_2$ErRuO$_6$ and (Sr$_{1-x}$La$_x$)$_2$YRuO$_6$, and have measured the resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, susceptibility and x-ray absorption in order to evaluate the electronic states and thermoelectric properties of the doped double-perovskite ruthenates. We have observed a large Seebeck coefficient of -160 $\mu$V/K and a low thermal conductivity of 7 mW/cmK for $x$=0.1 at 800 K in air. These two values are suitable for efficient oxide thermoelectrics, although the resistivity is still as high as 1 $\Omega$cm. From the susceptibility and x-ray absorption measurements, we find that the doped electrons exist as Ru$^{4+}$ in the low spin state. On the basis of the measured results, the electronic states and the conduction mechanism are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, J. Appl. Phys. (accepted

Similitude and scale effects of air entrainment in hydraulic jumps

A hydraulic jump is characterised by some strong turbulence and air entrainment in the roller. New measurements were performed in two channels in which similar experiments with identical inflow Froude numbers and relative channel widths were conducted with a geometric scaling ratio of 2:1. Void fraction distributions showed the presence of an advection/diffusion shear layer in which the data followed an analytical solution of the diffusion equation for air bubbles. The data indicated some scale effects in the small channel in terms of void fraction and bubble count rate. Void fraction distributions implied comparatively greater detrainment at low Reynolds numbers yielding to lesser overall aeration of the jump roller. Dimensionless bubble count rates were significantly lower in the smaller channel especially in the mixing layer. The study is believed to be the first systematic investigation of scale effects affecting air entrainment in hydraulic jumps using an accurate air-water measurement technique

Gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor blockade agent, shows additional or synergistic effects on the radiosensitivity of esophageal cancer cells in vitro.

Human esophageal cancers have been shown to express high levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and a relationship between high EGFR expression and local advance, the number of lymph node metastases, life expectancy, and sensitivity to chemo-radiotherapy has been demonstrated. We examined the use of gefitinib, an orally active EGFR-selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, as a new strategy for treatment of esophageal carcinoma. The effects of gefitinib were evaluated in monotherapy and in combination with radiotherapy in human esophageal carcinoma cell lines. Gefitinib produced a dose-dependent inhibition of cellular proliferation in all of the 8 esophageal carcinoma cell lines examined, with IC50 values ranging from 5.7 microM to 36.9 microM. In combination, gefitinib and radiotherapy showed a synergistic effect in 2 human esophageal carcinoma cell lines and an additive effect in 5 cell lines. Western blotting demonstrated that gefitinib blocked activation of the EGFR-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) pathway and the EGFR-phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)-Akt pathway after irradiation. These results suggest that further evaluation of EGFR blockade as a treatment for esophageal cancer should be performed, and that radiotherapy combined with EGFR blockade may enhance the response of esophageal carcinoma to therapy.</p

Quantitative Features of serum sIL-2R level in Patients with Mature B-Cell Lymphoma? Involvement of LDH

Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and soluble IL-2 Receptor-alpha (sIL-2R) levels are monitored as a marker ofdisease activity in patients with lymphoma. Although adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) cells are well known to release large amounts ofsIL-2R,it remains unclear to what extent B-cell lymphoma cells shed sIL-2R in sera. Subtypes of mature B-cell lymphoma, includingCD25+ hairy leukemic cells, were examined for the characteristics of sIL-2R levels in each subtype. In normal controls, theserum sIL-2R mean value was 260u/mL.The median serum sIL-2R value for 64 B-cell lymphoma cases was 506 u/mL;by subtypethe median values were as follows: 1157 u/mL for 7 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/hairy cell leukemia (CLL/HCL), 451u/mL for 38 cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and 456 u/mL for 19 cases of follicular Lymphoma (FL). The medianvalues of serum LDH activity by the above subtypes were 175 IU/mL, 204 IU/mL, and 198 IU/mL, respectively. There wasdistinct inter-subtype and inter-patient variation of serum sIL-2R.In particular, inter-case variation could be grouped into value forthree concentration ranges: less than 300 u/mL, 300-1000 u/mL, and greater than 1000 u/mL. Cases with serum sIL-2R valuesof 1000 u/mL or more tended to have an especially high sIL-2R to LDH ratio, suggesting a close relationship between high sIL-2Rand CD25-expressing lymphoma cells. With respect to sIL-2R and LDH levels, CLL/HCL, DLBCL, and FL showed similar distributions.Moreover, for sIL-2R levels exceeding 1000u/mL, sIL-2R levels were randomly high according to the LDH status. Conclusively,the combination of serum sIL-2R level and LDH activity can provide a better understanding of characteristics of subtypesof mature B-Cell Lymphoma and can be used as a reliable surrogate marker for evaluating numerical and biological data

Results of the search for inspiraling compact star binaries from TAMA300's observation in 2000-2004

We analyze the data of TAMA300 detector to search for gravitational waves from inspiraling compact star binaries with masses of the component stars in the range 1-3Msolar. In this analysis, 2705 hours of data, taken during the years 2000-2004, are used for the event search. We combine the results of different observation runs, and obtained a single upper limit on the rate of the coalescence of compact binaries in our Galaxy of 20 per year at a 90% confidence level. In this upper limit, the effect of various systematic errors such like the uncertainty of the background estimation and the calibration of the detector's sensitivity are included.Comment: 8 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses revtex4.sty The author list was correcte