Biologic activity in a fragment of recombinant human interferon α

To attempt to locate functionally important regions of the interferon (IFN) molecule, recombinant human IFN-α2 was subjected to proteolytic digestion. The bacterial proteinase thermolysin produced two major complementary fragments, HuIFN-α2-(1-110) and HuIFN-α2-(111-153). After reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol and separation of the two major fragments on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, antiviral activity persisted in the larger, Mr 12,000, fragment consisting of the amino-terminal 110 amino acids

Effect of green manure crops and organic amendments on incidence of nematode-borne tobacco rattle virus

Tobacco rattle tobravirus (TRV) may infect several ornamental bulb crops and is transmitted by trichodorid nematodes. Paratrichodorus teres, P. pachydermus and Trichodorus similis are the main vectors in the Netherlands. In field experiments the effects of various pre-crops and organic amendments on the TRV Infection Potential of Soils (TRV-IPS) and on disease level in tulip and gladiolus were studied. Organic matter amendment of soil at a rate of 1% dry weight has been shown to reduce the host finding activity of P. teres under laboratory conditions. In a field containing viruliferous P. teres dahlia, italian ryegrass, white mustard and fodder radish were grown or the soil was kept fallow and the resulting TRV-IPS prior to the bulbous test crops was measured by a soil dilution bait test method. The application of organic matter was tested after dahlia as pre-crop. Household waste compost (GFT compost) was applied as a soil mix or planting furrow treatment at 12 tons dry weight per ha for tulip and gladiolus. Spent mushroom compost (Champost) was added as planting furrow treatment at 17 or 12 tons dw/ha, respectively, for tulip and gladiolus. The percentage of TRV diseased plants was determined at flowering in all pre-crop and organic amendment treatments. Champost in the planting furrow and fodder radish as a preceding crop reduced the percentage infection in tulip under favourable conditions for TRV infection. In gladiolus most organic amendments, fodder radish as pre-crop and keeping the soil fallow reduced the TRV infection rate of the plants during the first growing season, but not of the plants grown from the corms in the next year

Preparation and Analysis by Ion Exchange Techniques of Sodium Salts of Mandelic Acid Derivatives

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohioen sodium salts of mandelic acid derivatives were prepared and analyzed. Results obtained by an ion-exchange-titration method of analysis agreed with those obtained by a gravimetric procedur

Biologische beheersing van wortelknobbelaaltjes in de biologische teelt van groenten en bloemen onder glas : stand van kennis : verslag van onderzoek over de periode 2005 tot 2010

From 2005 to 2009, research was directed towards obtaining a solution for the damage caused by the root knot nematode Meloidogyne spp. in organically cultured flowers and vegetables. Soil steaming is often used and an effective method of control, however, requires substantial amounts of energy and eliminates beneficial soil organisms. Therefore, the research aimed at the development of alternative means of control. The research focused on means as well as methods, varying from biological means and soil desinfectation to system solutions such as use of crop rotation schemes. This project was financed by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV)

Addition of Interleukin-21 for Expansion of T-Cells for Adoptive Immunotherapy of Murine Melanoma

We previously demonstrated that interleukin (IL)-7/15 was superior to IL-2 for expansion of T cells in vitro for adoptive immunotherapy. We sought to ascertain whether IL-21 would further improve yield and therapeutic efficacy of T cells in culture. Naïve T cell receptor (TcR) transgenic splenocytes or antigen-sensitized lymph node cells were harvested from PMEL-1 mice and exposed to bryostatin-1 and ionomycin (B/I) for 18 h. Cells were then cultured in IL-2, IL-21, IL-7/15 or IL-7/15/21 for six days. Harvested cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and used to treat C57Bl/6 mice injected intravenously with B16 melanoma. Lungs were harvested and metastases counted 14 days after treatment. Culturing lymphocytes in IL-7/15/21 increased expansion compared to IL-2 or IL-7/15. IL-21 and IL-7/15/21 increased CD8+ cells compared to IL-2 or IL-7/15. IL-21 preferentially expanded a CD8+CD44−CD62L+ T “naïve” population, whereas IL-7/15/21 increased CD8+CD44+CD62Lhigh central-memory T cells. T cells grown in IL-7/15/21 were more effective at reducing metastases than IL-2. The addition of IL-21 to IL-7/15 induced greater expansion of lymphocytes in culture and increased the yield of CD8+ T central-memory cells vs. IL-7/15 alone. This may have significant impact on future clinical trials of adoptive immunotherapy, particularly for generating adequate numbers of lymphocytes for treatment

Addition of Interleukin-21 for Expansion of T-Cells for Adoptive Immunotherapy of Murine Melanoma

We previously demonstrated that interleukin (IL)-7/15 was superior to IL-2 for expansion of T cells in vitrofor adoptive immunotherapy. We sought to ascertain whether IL-21 would further improve yield and therapeutic efficacy of T cells in culture. Naïve T cell receptor (TcR) transgenic splenocytes or antigen-sensitized lymph node cells were harvested from PMEL-1 mice and exposed to bryostatin-1 and ionomycin (B/I) for 18 h. Cells were then cultured in IL-2, IL-21, IL-7/15 or IL-7/15/21 for six days. Harvested cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and used to treat C57Bl/6 mice injected intravenously with B16 melanoma. Lungs were harvested and metastases counted 14 days after treatment. Culturing lymphocytes in IL-7/15/21 increased expansion compared to IL-2 or IL-7/15. IL-21 and IL-7/15/21 increased CD8+ cells compared to IL-2 or IL-7/15. IL-21 preferentially expanded a CD8+CD44−CD62L+ T “naïve” population, whereas IL-7/15/21 increased CD8+CD44+CD62Lhigh central-memory T cells. T cells grown in IL-7/15/21 were more effective at reducing metastases than IL-2. The addition of IL-21 to IL-7/15 induced greater expansion of lymphocytes in culture and increased the yield of CD8+ T central-memory cells vs. IL-7/15 alone. This may have significant impact on future clinical trials of adoptive immunotherapy, particularly for generating adequate numbers of lymphocytes for treatment

Multi-node Address Event Ring Communication System for Spiking Neural Network implementation

This thesis has focused on introducing a multi node functionality on a spiking neural processor (HEENSMB) while maintaining the newly added features of the HEENS OneBoard system as well as keeping the array size as large as possible. In order to introduce the multi node functionality, the system has been enhanced to be able to reset all nodes and ensure a synchronous start, aiding in the scalability of the HEENS architecture and introducing a simple way of resynchronizing the entire system. In order to facilitate scalability within the HEENS architecture, the ID?s used and ring size are made configurable. The configuration of the program instructions and synapses can be loaded onto the system through the master node, which will then distribute it to all slave nodes, allowing easy reconfiguration within seconds. Synchronization during the emulation cycle is controlled by the master node and followed by all slave nodes. Through a second finish packet at the end of the distribution phase, it is ensured that all slaves stay in sync. Next to this, it is now possible to monitor up to four neuron potentials of any four neurons within the entire ring, while having a 9x16 array size (times 8 total layers) for a total of 1152 neurons per node. It is not required for any node to have the same array size as the master. The new HEENS-MB architecture described in VHDL has been implemented and verified using simulations in Questasim Advanced Simulator tool using three nodes and has been tested with two AMD Zync 7000 SoC ZC706 Evaluation boards. The evaluation boards have been connected with each other in a loop using the high-speed GTX interface and tested using four different neural networks. The networks used the LIF neural model, able to use global synapses (board-to-board connections). Overall, the Multi-node address event ring communication system implemented in the HEENS-MB architecture is fully functional now and can be expanded to also support Kintex family FPGA devices in order to create larger neural networks. In addition, further work can be done in the expansion of the HDMI display in order to display more than 1000 neurons and the system could be expanded with the logging capability for neuron potentials

Apathy as a syndrome:Focus on Parkinson’s disease and deep brain stimulation

Dit proefschrift onderzoekt de toegenomen prevalentie van apathie bij de ziekte van Parkinson nadat patiënten een behandeling met diepe hersenstimulatie ondergaan. Er zijn meerdere hypotheses voor het ontstaan van apathie na diepe hersenstimulatie, waardoor er verschillende subtypes van apathie worden gevormd die corresponderen met verschillende ontstaansmechanismen. Dit proefschrift bestudeert met name het directe stimulatie effect van diepe hersenstimulatie op apathie, waarbij een MRI studie aanwijzingen ziet voor suboptimale plaatsing van de diepe hersenstimulatie electrode, en hoofdstuk 8 suggereert dat er een subset van patiënten bestaat die profiteren van meer dorsale stimulatie van de nucleus subthalamicus

Apathy as a syndrome:Focus on Parkinson’s disease and deep brain stimulation

Dit proefschrift onderzoekt de toegenomen prevalentie van apathie bij de ziekte van Parkinson nadat patiënten een behandeling met diepe hersenstimulatie ondergaan. Er zijn meerdere hypotheses voor het ontstaan van apathie na diepe hersenstimulatie, waardoor er verschillende subtypes van apathie worden gevormd die corresponderen met verschillende ontstaansmechanismen. Dit proefschrift bestudeert met name het directe stimulatie effect van diepe hersenstimulatie op apathie, waarbij een MRI studie aanwijzingen ziet voor suboptimale plaatsing van de diepe hersenstimulatie electrode, en hoofdstuk 8 suggereert dat er een subset van patiënten bestaat die profiteren van meer dorsale stimulatie van de nucleus subthalamicus