Course of seasonal influenza A/Brisbane/59/07 H1N1 infection in the ferret

Every year, influenza viruses infect approximately 5-20% of the population in the United States leading to over 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths from flu-related complications. In this study, we characterized the immune and pathological progression of a seasonal strain of H1N1 influenza virus, A/Brisbane/59/2007 in a ferret model. The immune response of the animals showed a dose-dependent increase with increased virus challenge, as indicated by the presence of virus specific IgG, IgM, and neutralizing antibodies. Animals infected with higher doses of virus also experienced increasing severity of clinical symptoms and fever at 2 days post-infection (DPI). Interestingly, weight loss was more pronounced in animals infected with lower doses of virus compared to those infected with a higher dose; these results were consistent with viral titers of swabs collected from the nares, but not the throat. Analyzed specimens included nasal and throat swabs from 1, 3, 5, and 7 DPI as well as tissue samples from caudal lung and nasal turbinates. Viral titers of the swab samples in all groups were higher on 1 and 3 DPI and returned to baseline levels by 7 DPI. Analysis of nasal turbinates indicated presence of virus at 3 DPI in all infected groups, whereas virus was only detected in the lungs of animals in the two highest dose groups. Histological analysis of the lungs showed a range of pathology, such as chronic inflammation and bronchial epithelial hypertrophy. The results provided here offer important endpoints for preclinical testing of the efficacy of new antiviral compounds and experimental vaccines

Uranium and neodymium partitioning in alkali chloride melts using low-melting gallium-based alloys

Partitioning of uranium and neodymium was studied in a ‘molten chloride salt – liquid Ga-X (X = In or Sn) alloy’ system. Chloride melts were based on the low-melting ternary LiCl-KCl-CsCl eutectic. Nd/U separation factors were calculated from the thermodynamic data as well as determined experimentally. Separation of uranium and neodymium was studied using reductive extraction with neodymium acting as a reducing agent. Efficient partitioning of lanthanides (Nd) and actinides (U), simulating fission products and fissile materials in irradiated nuclear fuels, was achieved in a single stage process. The experimentally observed Nd/U separation factor valued up to 106, depending on the conditions

Evolutionary Diversification of SPANX-N Sperm Protein Gene Structure and Expression

The sperm protein associated with nucleus in the X chromosome (SPANX) genes cluster at Xq27 in two subfamilies, SPANX-A/D and SPANX-N. SPANX-A/D is specific for hominoids and is fairly well characterized. The SPANX-N gave rise to SPANX-A/D in the hominoid lineage ∼7 MYA. Given the proposed role of SPANX genes in spermatogenesis, we have extended studies to SPANX-N gene evolution, variation, regulation of expression, and intra-sperm localization. By immunofluorescence analysis, SPANX-N proteins are localized in post-meiotic spermatids exclusively, like SPANX-A/D. But in contrast to SPANX-A/D, SPANX-N are found in all ejaculated spermatozoa rather than only in a subpopulation, are localized in the acrosome rather than in the nuclear envelope, and are expressed at a low level in several nongametogenic adult tissues as well as many cancers. Presence of a binding site for CTCF and its testis-specific paralogue BORIS in the SPANX promoters suggests, by analogy to MAGE-A1 and NY-ESO-1, that their activation in spermatogenesis is mediated by the programmed replacement of CTCF by BORIS. Based on the relative density of CpG, the more extended expression of SPANX-N compared to SPANX-A/D in nongametogenic tissues is likely attributed to differences in promoter methylation. Our findings suggest that the recent duplication of SPANX genes in hominoids was accompanied by different localization of SPANX-N proteins in post-meiotic sperm and additional expression in several nongonadal tissues. This suggests a corresponding functional diversification of SPANX gene families in hominoids. SPANX proteins thus provide unique targets to investigate their roles in the function of spermatozoa, selected malignancies, and for SPANX-N, in other tissues as well

Uranium and neodymium partitioning in alkali chloride melts using low-melting gallium-based alloys

Partitioning of uranium and neodymium was studied in a ‘molten chloride salt - liquid Ga-X (X = In or Sn) alloy’ system. Chloride melts were based on the low-melting ternary LiCl-KCl-CsCl eutectic. Nd/U separation factors were calculated from the thermodynamic data as well as determined experimentally. Separation of uranium and neodymium was studied using reductive extraction with neodymium acting as a reducing agent. Efficient partitioning of lanthanides (Nd) and actinides (U), simulating fission products and fissile materials in irradiated nuclear fuels, was achieved in a single stage process. The experimentally observed Nd/U separation factor valued up to 106, depending on the conditions

Uranium and neodymium partitioning in alkali chloride melts using low-melting gallium-based alloys

Partitioning of uranium and neodymium was studied in a ‘molten chloride salt – liquid Ga-X (X = In or Sn) alloy’ system. Chloride melts were based on the low-melting ternary LiCl-KCl-CsCl eutectic. Nd/U separation factors were calculated from the thermodynamic data as well as determined experimentally. Separation of uranium and neodymium was studied using reductive extraction with neodymium acting as a reducing agent. Efficient partitioning of lanthanides (Nd) and actinides (U), simulating fission products and fissile materials in irradiated nuclear fuels, was achieved in a single stage process. The experimentally observed Nd/U separation factor valued up to 106, depending on the conditions