An evaluation tool kit of air quality micro-sensing units.

Recent developments in sensory and communication technologies have made the development of portable air-quality (AQ) micro-sensing units (MSUs) feasible. These MSUs allow AQ measurements in many new applications, such as ambulatory exposure analyses and citizen science. Typically, the performance of these devices is assessed using the mean error or correlation coefficients with respect to a laboratory equipment. However, these criteria do not represent how such sensors perform outside of laboratory conditions in large-scale field applications, and do not cover all aspects of possible differences in performance between the sensor-based and standardized equipment, or changes in performance over time. This paper presents a comprehensive Sensor Evaluation Toolbox (SET) for evaluating AQ MSUs by a range of criteria, to better assess their performance in varied applications and environments. Within the SET are included four new schemes for evaluating sensors' capability to: locate pollution sources; represent the pollution level on a coarse scale; capture the high temporal variability of the observed pollutant and their reliability. Each of the evaluation criteria allows for assessing sensors' performance in a different way, together constituting a holistic evaluation of the suitability and usability of the sensors in a wide range of applications. Application of the SET on measurements acquired by 25 MSUs deployed in eight cities across Europe showed that the suggested schemes facilitates a comprehensive cross platform analysis that can be used to determine and compare the sensors' performance. The SET was implemented in R and the code is available on the first author's website.CITI-SENSE, initiated in October 2012, is a four year Collaborative Project partly funded by the EU FP7-ENV-2012 under grant agreement 308524

A Herpesvirus Encoded Deubiquitinase Is a Novel Neuroinvasive Determinant

The neuroinvasive property of several alpha-herpesviruses underlies an uncommon infectious process that includes the establishment of life-long latent infections in sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system. Several herpesvirus proteins are required for replication and dissemination within the nervous system, indicating that exploiting the nervous system as a niche for productive infection requires a specialized set of functions encoded by the virus. Whether initial entry into the nervous system from peripheral tissues also requires specialized viral functions is not known. Here we show that a conserved deubiquitinase domain embedded within a pseudorabies virus structural protein, pUL36, is essential for initial neural invasion, but is subsequently dispensable for transmission within and between neurons of the mammalian nervous system. These findings indicate that the deubiquitinase contributes to neurovirulence by participating in a previously unrecognized initial step in neuroinvasion

Plus- and Minus-End Directed Microtubule Motors Bind Simultaneously to Herpes Simplex Virus Capsids Using Different Inner Tegument Structures

Many viruses depend on host microtubule motors to reach their destined intracellular location. Viral particles of neurotropic alphaherpesviruses such as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) show bidirectional transport towards the cell center as well as the periphery, indicating that they utilize microtubule motors of opposing directionality. To understand the mechanisms of specific motor recruitment, it is necessary to characterize the molecular composition of such motile viral structures. We have generated HSV1 capsids with different surface features without impairing their overall architecture, and show that in a mammalian cell-free system the microtubule motors dynein and kinesin-1 and the dynein cofactor dynactin could interact directly with capsids independent of other host factors. The capsid composition and surface was analyzed with respect to 23 structural proteins that are potentially exposed to the cytosol during virus assembly or cell entry. Many of these proteins belong to the tegument, the hallmark of all herpesviruses located between the capsid and the viral envelope. Using immunoblots, quantitative mass spectrometry and quantitative immunoelectron microscopy, we show that capsids exposing inner tegument proteins such as pUS3, pUL36, pUL37, ICP0, pUL14, pUL16, and pUL21 recruited dynein, dynactin, kinesin-1 and kinesin-2. In contrast, neither untegumented capsids exposing VP5, VP26, pUL17 and pUL25 nor capsids covered by outer tegument proteins such as vhs, pUL11, ICP4, ICP34.5, VP11/12, VP13/14, VP16, VP22 or pUS11 bound microtubule motors. Our data suggest that HSV1 uses different structural features of the inner tegument to recruit dynein or kinesin-1. Individual capsids simultaneously accommodated motors of opposing directionality as well as several copies of the same motor. Thus, these associated motors either engage in a tug-of-war or their activities are coordinately regulated to achieve net transport either to the nucleus during cell entry or to cytoplasmic membranes for envelopment during assembly

The Salivary Secretome of the Tsetse Fly Glossina pallidipes (Diptera: Glossinidae) Infected by Salivary Gland Hypertrophy Virus

Tsetse fly (Diptera; Glossinidae) transmits two devastating diseases to farmers (human African Trypanosomiasis; HAT) and their livestock (Animal African Trypanosomiasis; AAT) in 37 sub-Saharan African countries. During the rainy seasons, vast areas of fertile, arable land remain uncultivated as farmers flee their homes due to the presence of tsetse. Available drugs against trypanosomiasis are ineffective and difficult to administer. Control of the tsetse vector by Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has been effective. This method involves repeated release of sterilized males into wild tsetse populations, which compete with wild type males for females. Upon mating, there is no offspring, leading to reduction in tsetse populations and thus relief from trypanosomiasis. The SIT method requires large-scale tsetse rearing to produce sterile males. However, tsetse colony productivity is hampered by infections with the salivary gland hypertrophy virus, which is transmitted via saliva as flies take blood meals during membrane feeding and often leads to colony collapse. Here, we investigated the salivary gland secretome proteins of virus-infected tsetse to broaden our understanding of virus infection, transmission and pathology. By this approach, we obtain insight in tsetse-hytrosavirus interactions and identified potential candidate proteins as targets for developing biotechnological strategies to control viral infections in tsetse colonies

Primary cilia are required for the persistence of memory and stabilization of perineuronal nets

Summary: It is well established that the formation of episodic memories requires multiple hippocampal mechanisms operating on different time scales. Early mechanisms of memory formation (synaptic consolidation) have been extensively characterized. However, delayed mechanisms, which maintain hippocampal activity as memories stabilize in cortical circuits, are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that contrary to the transient expression of early- and delayed-response genes, the expression of cytoskeleton- and extracellular matrix-associated genes remains dynamic even at remote time points. The most profound expression changes clustered around primary cilium-associated and collagen genes. These genes most likely contribute to memory by stabilizing perineuronal nets in the dorsohippocampal CA1 subfield, as revealed by targeted disruptions of the primary cilium or perineuronal nets. The findings show that nonsynaptic, primary cilium-mediated mechanisms are required for the persistence of context memory

Measurements of oxidative potential of particulate matter at Belgrade tunnel; comparison of BPEAnit, DTT and DCFH assays

To estimate the oxidative potential (OP) of particulate matter (PM), two commonly used cell-free, molecular probes were applied: dithiothreitol (DTT) and dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA), and their performance was compared with 9,10-bis (phenylethynyl) anthracene-nitroxide (BPEAnit). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which the performance of the DTT and DCFH has been compared with the BPEAnit probe. The average concentrations of PM, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) for fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10) particles were determined. The results were 44.8 ± 13.7, 9.8 ± 5.1 and 9.3 ± 4.8 µg·m−3 for PM2.5 and 75.5 ± 25.1, 16.3 ± 8.7 and 11.8 ± 5.3 µg·m−3 for PM10, respectively, for PM, OC and EC. The water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) fraction accounted for 42 ± 14% and 28 ± 9% of organic carbon in PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. The average volume normalized OP values for the three assays depended on both the sampling periods and the PM fractions. The OPBPEAnit had its peak at 2 p.m.; in the afternoon, it was three times higher compared to the morning and late afternoon values. The DCFH and BPEAnit results were correlated (r = 0.64), while there was no good agreement between the BPEAnit and the DTT (r = 0.14). The total organic content of PM does not necessarily represent oxidative capacity and it shows varying correlation with the OP. With respect to the two PM fractions studied, the OP was mostly associated with smaller particles.</p

Excitatory VTA to DH projections provide a valence signal to memory circuits

The positive or negative value (valence) of past experiences is normally integrated into neuronal circuits that encode episodic memories and plays an important role in guiding behavior. Here, we show, using mouse behavioral models, that glutamatergic afferents from the ventral tegmental area to the dorsal hippocampus (VTA -> DH) signal negative valence to memory circuits, leading to the formation of fear-inducing context memories and to context-specific reinstatement of fear. To a lesser extent, these projections also contributed to opioid-induced place preference, suggesting a role in signaling positive valence as well, and thus a lack of dedicated polarity. Manipulations of VTA terminal activity were more effective in females and paralleled by sex differences in glutamatergic signaling. By prioritizing retrieval of negative and positive over neutral memories, the VTA -> DH circuit can facilitate the selection of adaptive behaviors when current and past experiences are valence congruent. The neuronal pathway that signals the positive or negative value of memories is not well understood. Here, the authors report that an excitatory projection from the ventral tegmental area to the dorsal hippocampus carries the valence information, contributing, especially in females, to the recurrence of fear and to drug seeking behavior.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]