Mechanisms of dengue virus neutralization by antibody

Dengue virus (DENV), the causative agent of dengue, is a group of viruses consisting of four different serotypes designated DENV1-4. Each serotype is further divided into different genotypes. Primary DENV infection induces a life-long type-specific immune response against the homologous DENV serotype. It is widely assumed that all the strains of a DENV serotype are equally neutralized by type-specific antibodies irrespective of the genetic variability within the serotype. Studies with mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have demonstrated that serotype-specific neutralization of DENV is mainly mediated by antibody binding to epitopes on domain III of the viral Envelope protein (EDIII). Although DENV3 has spread worldwide, neutralization mechanisms of DENV3 is poorly studied. Results of my studies with mouse mAbs demonstrate that type-specific neutralization of DENV3 was confined to EDIII lateral ridge as reported for other flaviviruses. I further demonstrated that DENV3 Envelope (E) protein sequences were variable between different genotypes of DENV3. Variable positions were located on or near the known antibody epitopes on E protein, and natural amino acid variations of DENV3 E protein led to complete or partial escape from antibody neutralization. These results suggest that natural intra-serotype variation should be considered when characterizing natural and vaccine induced immunity. The specificity and functionality of the human antibody response to DENV is poorly characterized. It is unknown if humans also develop antibodies to EDIII epitopes recognized by mouse mAbs. Using a panel of sera from people exposed to DENV, I demonstrate that people develop low levels of type-specific EDIII reactive antibodies after primary infection and low levels of serotype cross reactive EDIII antibodies after secondary infection. I further demonstrated that these low levels of EDIII reactive antibodies only make a minor contribution to the total neutralization potency of human immune sera. I conclude that the EDIII epitopes identified using mouse reagents, which have been the focus of much recent work, are not the primary target of human antibodies that neutralize DENV. I believe these results will stimulate investigators to study previously neglected regions of the DENV envelope to identify functionally important epitopes engaged by human antibodies

Estimating the Biomass and Carbon Stocks in Dominant Tree Species in Wet Zone Homegardens of Sri Lanka

Homegardens in Sri Lanka are a dynamic food production system and continues to be a major land use practice in the island evolving from one generation to another. Generally maintained as a family property, homegardens account for around 13% of the total land use in the country. Homegardens in general offer several ecosystem services including climate regulation, enhance biodiversity, as well as improve land productivity and increase crop diversity. Due to its rich tree diversity and density, smallholder homegardens in Sri Lanka can be considered as a system capable of contributing to the storage of atmospheric carbon at a significant level. The aim of the present study was to estimate the mean carbon stock of each dominant tree species in the homegardens of low, mid and up country wet zone. The specific districts selected for the study were Kalutara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya representing low, mid and up country wet zone. Three homegardens were selected from each district based on their visually observed diversity. These homegardens ranged from 0.5 acres to 3.0 acres and the entire homegarden was taken for assessment. The diameter at breast height (dbh) and Total height (up to the tip of the crown) were taken in all the trees and using Importance Value Index (IVI) equation; Important Value Index (IVI)=Relative Density+Relative Basal Area+Relative frequency the dominant trees in the homegarden which contribute significantly to the carbon stock were identified. The results indicated that the dominant trees in the low country wet zone were Cocos nucifera, Hevea brasiliensis, Mangifera indica, Swietenia macrophylla, Dillenia retusa, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Alstonia macrophylla, Areca catechu. The dominant tree species in the mid country wet zone homegardens were C. nucifera, A. heterophyllus, M. indica, S. macrophylla, Syzigium aromaticum, Durio zibethinus. The dominant tree species in the up country wet zone homegardens were A. macrophylla, A. heterophyllus, C. nucifera, M. indica, S. macrophylla, S. aromaticam. The aboveground biomass of each tree was estimated using an allometric equation which incorporated the wood density, dbh and tree height, where the wood density of each species was taken from literature. As the study did not use destructive sampling, the root shoot ratio was taken as 6:1. Finally the total biomass (sum of both the aboveground and below ground biomass) and the total carbon stock was calculated for each tree using the equation; WC=W*0.5 where, WC is the amount of carbon produced and W is the amount of total biomass produced.Keywords: Homegarden, Biomass, Carbon stock, Wet zone. Climate regulatio

Poliittinen toiminta ja tulokset fuusiopäätöksenteossa : säästöpankkifuusioiden valtapelaajat ja tulostyypit

fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Wahala Temi - Body Work

Catalog for the exhibition Wahala Temi - Body Work held at the Seton Hall University Walsh Gallery, May 10 - May 21, 2010. Curated by Jeanne Brasile. Includes an essay by Jeanne Brasile. Includes color illustrations

Päijänne ja muinaisten maalausten maailma

Tässä opinnäytetyössä tarkastellaan Päijänteen alueen (17 kpl) kalliomaalauksia ja tutkimuskysymyksenä on, voidaanko kalliomaalauksia luokitella niiden sijainnin ja kuva-aiheiden perusteella? Työssä tarkasteltavat kalliomaalauskohteet on valittu kivikautisten vesistöolosuhteiden perusteella ja ne kattavat koko Päijänteen järvialueen. Vertailevaksi luokitukseksi on valittu Robert James Davidin (2012) esittämä Kalifornian Klamath-tasangolle sijoittuva ja osittain etnografiseen aineistoon perustuva kalliotaidetyypittely. Työn tavoitteena on tarkastella, voidaanko Davidin esittämää kuva-aiheisiin ja sijaintiin perustuvaa luokitusta löytää Päijänteen kalliomaalauksista? David luokittelee kalliotaidekohteet seuraavasti: 1) asuinpaikoilla sijaitsevat, 2) usein käytettyjen ja 3) vaikeasti saavutettavien paikkojen kalliotaidekohteet. Davidin malli perustuu vahvasti shamanismiin, mutta tässä työssä keskeisenä vaikuttajana on kivikautinen kulttuuri. Kalliomaalaukset luodaan kivikauden yhteisöissä ja niiden kuva-aiheet valikoituvat metsästäjäkeräilijöiden elinpiiristä. Kulttuuri vaikuttaa myös kuvien valikoitumiseen tietyn tyyppisiin ympäristöihin. Päijänteen kalliomaalauskohteiden kartta-analyysia täydennetään Muinaisjäännösrekisterin kuvauksilla ja raporteilla sekä tarkastelemalla valokuvamateriaalia. Analyysin avulla pyritään ennallistamaan kivikautisia vesistö- ja ympäristöolosuhteita sekä selvittämään maalausten kuva-aiheita pääosin Muinaisjäännösrekisteriin tukeutuen. Päijänteen kalliomaalauksista löytyy Davidin mallin määrittelemiä kalliotaiteen yksittäisiä ominaispiirteitä runsaasti. Täysin Davidin luokitukseen soveltuvia kohteita on kuitenkin vain alle viidennes (3/17 kpl) ja soveltumattomia yli puolet (11/17 kpl). Suuren osan luokitteluun soveltumattomista maalauksista muodostavat vaurioituneet kohteet. Työn tuloksena esitetään, että Päijänteen kalliomaalauksia voidaan jaotella sijainnin ja kuva-aiheiden perusteella, mutta niitä ei voi jaotella Davidin esittämän tyypittelyn mukaisesti. Tämän tapaustutkimuksen perusteella ei voi tehdä yleistyksiä Suomen alueen muista kalliomaalauskohteista, mutta mahdollisten lisätutkimusten avulla saatetaan päästä määrittelemään omaa Suomen kalliomaalausten sijaintiin ja kuva-aiheisiin perustuvaa luokittelua

Antibodies targeting dengue virus envelope domain III are not required for serotype-specific protection or prevention of enhancement in vivo

The envelope (E) protein of dengue virus (DENV) is composed of three domains (EDI, EDII, EDIII) and is the main target of neutralizing antibodies. Many monoclonal antibodies that bind EDIII strongly neutralize DENV. However in vitro studies indicate that anti-EDIII antibodies contribute little to the neutralizing potency of human DENV-immune serum. In this study, we assess the role of anti-EDIII antibodies in mouse and human DENV-immune serum in neutralizing or enhancing DENV infection in mice. We demonstrate that EDIII-depleted human DENV-immune serum was protective against homologous DENV infection in vivo. Although EDIII-depleted DENV-immune mouse serum demonstrated decreased neutralization potency in vitro, reduced protection in some organs, and enhanced disease in vivo, administration of increased volumes of EDIII-depleted serum abrogated these effects. These data indicate that anti-EDIII antibodies contribute to protection and minimize enhancement when present, but can be replaced by neutralizing antibodies targeting other epitopes on the dengue virion

Estimation of Aboveground Carbon Stocks in Selected Homegardens in Five Agro Ecological Regions of the Low Country Intermediate Zone of Sri Lanka

Global warming is the most widespread problem of the new millennium. Carbon dioxide (CO2)is the most important greenhouse gas released as a result of human activities. As a consequence,global average temperature is projected to increase by 1.4 to 5.8 0C over the period of 1990 to2100. Forest based land use systems such as natural forests, forest plantations and agroforestrysystems store carbon in their biomass leading to reduction of the atmospheric Carbon dioxidelevels. Management of forests and agroforestry systems is identified as the most promisingoption to mitigate atmospheric Carbon dioxide (CO2). The objective of the present study was toinvestigate the carbon storage of homegardens located in the dry intermediate zone of Sri Lanka.Homegardens were selected based on the agro ecological regions and three homegardens eachwere taken for detailed studies in the 5 agro ecological regions (IL1), (IL2), (IL3), (IL1–L2),(IL1–L3) and the locations of the gardens were Kurunegala, Chilaw, Mahiyangana, Monergala,Wellawaya and Tangalle. In each garden transects were laid to capture the maximum diversityusing the Point Centre Quarter Method (PCQM) and a sampling intensity of around 60% wasobtained from each garden. Dbh and height were measured in each tree. Non woody trees andwoody trees having < 1cm dbh were excluded. Allometric regression equation AGB = 0.0509 xq D2H [AGB – abovegroud biomass (kg); D – dbh (cm) and H (height (m)] was used to estiamtethe aboveground biomass while Wc =W * 0.5 (Wc –carbon weight, W – above ground dryweight) was used to estimate the carbon content.According to the results, 55 woody species were recorded from the homegardens. Theaboveground carbon stock was highest in the gardens in Chilaw (345.88 t/ha) followed bygardens in Wellawaya (287.41 t/ha), gardens in Kurunegala (274.66 t/ha), gardens in Tangalle(229.57 t/ha), gardens in Mahiyangana (191.32 t/ha). The gardens in Moneragala recorded thelowest 9149.58 t/ha).

Water Footprint Assessment of a Tea Product in Sri Lanka A Case Study of Black Tea and Selected Tea Flavours

The rising global population and depleting aquifers will lead to a global water crisis indifferent perspectives. In this context business world will face physical risk, reputational risk,regulatory risk, and financial risk that may translate into increased costs and/or reducedrevenues. Presently most of the corporate sector is working towards to efficient watermanagement in their business operations to overcome the farseeing water related risks. Waterfootprint is the one of the emerging tool to assess the total impact to the water by an entity.This study emphasizes the business valve of estimation of product water footprint for a SriLankan tea product to capture the competitive advantage in global market.The aim of this study is to assess the ‘virtual water footprint’ through life cycle of a teaproduction, mainly focusing on the fresh water consumption starting from the cultivationstage of green tea leaves and continuing on to tea processing and transportation to finally thepackaging stage. The study distinguishes between three types of impact: evaporation ofinfiltrated rainwater for tea growth (green water use), withdrawal of ground- or surface waterfor irrigation or processing (blue water use) and water pollution during growth or processing.The latter impact is quantified in terms of the dilution volume necessary to assimilate thepollution (Gary water). For the study, virtual water footprints of six flavours of tea productswere analysed according to the water footprint manual published by water FootprintNetwork.According to the study, the average virtual water footprint of the 1.5 g tea bag from the greenleaf production up to the manufacturer’s gate for black tea is 19.8 liters (l), green tea is 18.46l and average virtual water footprint for flavoured tea is 20.22 l ± 7.04 l per tea bag. Averagevirtual water footprint for the ingredients including raw tea and flavours contribute 93.6% forthe total water footprint and the 6.4% of the total water footprint accountable for the virtualwater footprint of the packaging materials.

Product Carbon Footprint of a Fabric Manufactured in Sri Lanka

Quantification of total greenhouse gas emission of a product throughout its life cycle is known as Product Carbon Footprint (PCF). Assessment of PCF of a product system measures the climate change impact of a product either from cradle- to- gate (raw material extraction to factory gate) or from cradle-to-grave (raw material extraction to final disposal of the product) methodology. The product footprint was conducted in one of the leading fabric manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka. In this study, PCF was applied to measure the climate change impact of three different products from the knit fabric production process within the boundary level of cradle-to-gate. The selected product was a cotton fabric and three main products were considered which have different compositions of materials. Each product has different production process routes and the main process stages involved in fabric manufacturing process are; knitting, dyeing and finishing process. The functional unit of the study was 1 m2 of fabric. All the material inflows and outflows to the product systems were considered when preparing the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of the three knitted fabric products separately. The main activity data considered are indirect emissions from transportation of raw materials, purchase electricity and direct emissions from generators, boilers and other process related emissions. The climate change impacts of these selected knitted fabric products were assessed in accordance with PAS 2050 and ISO standards. Umberto for carbon footprint version 1.2 software which is a flexible modeling was used to create a multi-phase product life cycle model and calculate the carbon footprint. The analysis results shown that, product 3 has the highest impacting on climate change and its amount is 3.2733 kg CO2e on average and product 1 and 2 showed a carbon footprint of 3.1606 kg CO2e on average and 3.0581 kg CO2e on average respectively. According to this study, raw material extraction and material processing phase has the highest impact on climate change as the embedded carbon of raw material has an high impact. and the second highest impact is from knitting and greige preparation phase.Keywords: Knitted fabric, Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), PAS 2050, Umberto for carbon footprint v 1.

Food matrix and isoflavones bioavailability in early post menopausal women: A European clinical study

The estrogenic effects of soy isoflavones (IF) on symptoms of menopause are of particular interest. The aim of the present study was to improve compliance of IF in two IF-enriched foods providing the same IF circulating levels in postmenopausal women. Forty-two healthy postmenopausal women (mean age: 53.28 years) were recruited for a randomized, crossover, multicenter trial conducted in the Netherlands, Italy and France. Over 18 days, volunteers were assigned to two groups and supplemented with two different IF-enriched foods (100 mg IF aglycones/two servings). The first group had to eat two biscuits daily for three days. After a wash-out period (11 d), they received cereal bars for three days. The second group started with the cereal bars and finished with biscuits. After IF intake, plasma and urinary levels of genistein, daidzein, O desmethyl angolensin and equol significantly increased and returned to baseline level after the washout period. There was no difference between biscuits and cereals bars intake, as shown by group values at each end of experimental period (day 4 or day 18). Both matrixes are comparable in terms of IF-circulating levels and could be used independently