Socio-economic disparities and COVID-19 in the USA

COVID-19 is not a universal killer. We study the spread of COVID-19 at the county level for the United States up until the 15$^{th}$ of August, 2020. We show that the prevalence of the disease and the death rate are correlated with the local socio-economic conditions often going beyond local population density distributions, especially in rural areas. We correlate the COVID-19 prevalence and death rate with data from the US Census Bureau and point out how the spreading patterns of the disease show asymmetries in urban and rural areas separately and is preferentially affecting the counties where a large fraction of the population is non-white. Our findings can be used for more targeted policy building and deployment of resources for future occurrence of a pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2. Our methodology, based on interpretable machine learning and game theory, can be extended to study the spread of other diseases.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures and 1 tabl

Self-assembly of the S-layer protein of Sporosarcina ureae ATCC 13881

Increasing the integration density of electron device components will necessitate the use of new nanofabrication paradigms that complement and extend existing technologies. One potential approach to overcome the current limitations of electron-beam lithography may involve the use of hybrid systems, in which existing lithographic techniques are coupled with “bottom up” approaches such as supramolecular self-assembly. In this respect, biological systems offer some unique possibilities as they combine both self-organization and spatial patterning at the nanometer length scale. In particular, Surface Layer Proteins (S-layers) can facilitate high order organization and specific orientation of inorganic structures as they are two-dimensional porous crystalline membranes with regular structure at the nanometer scale. In this framework, the aim of the present work was the characterization of the S-layer of Sporosarcina ureae ATCC 13881 (SslA) with respect to its self-assembling properties and modification that would allow it to be employed as a patterning element and a new building block for nanobiotechnology. In vitro recrystallization experiments have shown that wild type SslA self-assembles into monolayers, multilayers or tubes. Factors such as initial monomer concentration, Ca2+ ions, pH of the recrystallization buffer and the presence of a silicon substrate have a strong influence on the recrystallization process. SslA monolayers proved to be an excellent biotemplate for ordered assembly of gold nanoparticle arrays. The recombinant SslA after expression and purification formed micrometer sized, crystalline monolayers exhibiting the same lattice structure as the wild type protein (p4 symmetry). This remarkable property of self-assembling has been preserved even when SslA was truncated. The deletion of both, N- and C-terminal SslA domains does not hinder self-assembly; the resulting protein is able to form extended monolayers that exhibit the p4 lattice symmetry. The central SslA-domain is self sufficient for the self-assembly. The possibility to change the natural properties of S-layers by genetic engineering techniques opens a new horizon for the tuning of their structural and functional features. The SslA-streptavidin fusion protein combines the remarkable property of self-assembling with the ligand i.e. biotin binding function. On silicon wafers, this chimeric protein recrystallized into coherent protein layers and exposes streptavidin, fact demonstrated by binding studies using biotinylated quantum dots. In this way, it can serve as a functional surface for controlled immobilization of biologically active molecules but also as a platform for the synthesis of planar arrays of quantum dots. Furthermore, the results open up exciting possibilities for construction of hybrid S-layers, structures that may ultimately promote the fabrication of miniaturized, nanosized electronic devices

GENERATION OF MOUSE INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS BY PROTEIN TRANSDUCTION.

Somatic cell reprogramming has generated enormous interest after the first report by Yamanaka and his coworkers in 2006 on the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from mouse fibroblasts. Here we report the generation of stable iPSCs from mouse fibroblasts by recombinant protein transduction (Klf4, Oct4, Sox2 and c-Myc), a procedure designed to circumvent the risks caused by integration of exogenous sequences in the target cell genome associated with gene delivery systems. The recombinant proteins were fused in frame to the GST tag for affinity purification and to the TAT-NLS polypeptide to facilitate membrane penetration and nuclear localization. We performed the reprogramming procedure on embryonic fibroblasts from inbred (C57BL6) and outbred (ICR) mouse strains. The cells were treated with purified proteins four times, at 48-hour intervals, and cultured on mitomycin C treated MEF (mouse embryonic fibroblast) cells in complete embryonic stem cell medium until colonies formed. The iPSCs generated from the outbred fibroblasts exhibited similar morphology and growth properties to embryonic stem (ESC) cells and were sustained in an undifferentiated state for more than 20 passages. The cells were checked for pluripotency-related markers (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, cMyc, Nanog) by immunocytochemistry and by RT-PCR. The protein iPSCs (piPSCs) formed EBs and subsequently differentiated towards all three germ layer lineages. Importantly the piPSCs could incorporate into the blastocyst and led to variable degrees of chimerism in newborn mice. These data show that recombinant purified cell-penetrating proteins are capable of reprogramming mouse embryonic fibroblasts to iPSCs. We also demonstrated that the cells of the generated cell line satisfied all the requirements of bona fide mouse ESC cells: form round colonies with defined boundaries; have a tendency to attach together with high nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio; express key pluripotency markers; and are capable of in vitro differentiation into ecto-, endo-, and mesoderm, and in vivo chimera formation

Optimizing conditions for sporulation of European mistletoe hyperparasitic fungus (Phaeobotryosphaeria visci): effect of light and different media

Volume: 50 Host publication title: 6th International Plant Protection Symposium at University of Debrecen Proceeding volume: 50European mistletoe (Viscum album), the hemiparasitic shrub, infects a wide range of woody species. It adversely affects the height and diameter growth and it is associated with increased mortality of its hosts. Currently there are no effective control methods against it. Therefor, we started to study a specific hyperparasitic fungus (Phaeobotryosphaeria visci), which can completely destroy European mistletoe by infecting its branches, leaves and berries. An important aspect of the initial phase of mycopesticide candidate is culturing of the organism on artificial or non-synthetic media, followed by the optimization of spore production. We focused to determinate the growth media and light conditions needed for sporulation of P. visci. We also tested the viability and pathogenecy of the spores, because these are important features for further processing and applications. The cultures were grown on seven different media (potato dextrose agar, sugar free potato dextrose agar, cellophane covered potato dextrose agar, oatmeal agar, V8 Juice agar, S medium and SNA medium) under constant dark, constant light (400-750 nm) and 12 h of alternating dark and light illumination. The best primary agar media were oatmeal and sugar free potato dextrose agar under permanent illumination, while constant dark inhibited the conidial production. The viability and virulence of harvested conidia were normal, and the symptoms of the disease appeared 7-14 days after the inoculation on mistletoe leaves. We will continue our experiments studying the effect of near UV (280–400 nm) light. Use of variable photoperiods supplemented with near UV and different media could help us to optimize the spore production and create a fast and cheap mass production technique.Peer reviewe

Moving towards high density clinical signature studies with a human proteome catalogue developing multiplexing mass spectrometry assay panels

A perspective overview is given describing the current development of multiplex mass spectrometry assay technology platforms utilized for high throughput clinical sample analysis. The development of targeted therapies with novel personalized medicine drugs will require new tools for monitoring efficacy and outcome that will rely on both the quantification of disease progression related biomarkers as well as the measurement of disease specific pathway/signaling proteins