Entry pathways of herpes simplex virus type 1 into human keratinocytes are dynamin- and cholesterol-dependent

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) can enter cells via endocytic pathways or direct fusion at the plasma membrane depending on the cell line and receptor(s). Most studies into virus entry have used cultured fibroblasts but since keratinocytes represent the primary entry site for HSV-1 infection in its human host, we initiated studies to characterize the entry pathway of HSV-1 into human keratinocytes. Electron microscopy studies visualized free capsids in the cytoplasm and enveloped virus particles in vesicles suggesting viral uptake both by direct fusion at the plasma membrane and by endocytic vesicles. The ratio of the two entry modes differed in primary human keratinocytes and in the keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Inhibitor studies further support a role for endocytosis during HSV-1 entry. Infection was inhibited by the cholesterol-sequestering drug methyl-beta-cyclodextrin, which demonstrates the requirement for host cholesterol during virus entry. Since the dynamin-specific inhibitor dynasore and overexpression of a dominant-negative dynamin mutant blocked infection, we conclude that the entry pathways into keratinocytes are dynamin-mediated. Electron microscopy studies confirmed that virus uptake is completely blocked when the GTPase activity of dynamin is inhibited. Ex vivo infection of murine epidermis that was treated with dynasore further supports the essential role of dynamin during entry into the epithelium. Thus, we conclude that HSV-1 can enter human keratinocytes by alternative entry pathways that require dynamin and host cholesterol

Maternal fluoxetine exposure alters cortical hemodynamic and calcium response of offspring to somatosensory stimuli

Epidemiological studies have found an increased incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in populations prenatally exposed to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Optical imaging provides a minimally invasive way to determine if perinatal SSRI exposure has long-term effects on cortical function. Herein we probed the functional neuroimaging effects of perinatal SSRI exposure in a fluoxetine (FLX)-exposed mouse model. While resting-state homotopic contralateral functional connectivity was unperturbed, the evoked cortical response to forepaw stimulation was altered in FLX mice. The stimulated cortex showed decreased activity for FLX versus controls, by both hemodynamic responses [oxyhemoglobin (Hb

A quantum phase transition from triangular to stripe charge order in NbSe2_{2}

The competition between proximate electronic phases produces a complex phenomenology in strongly correlated systems. In particular, fluctuations associated with periodic charge or spin modulations, known as density waves, may lead to exotic superconductivity in several correlated materials. However, density waves have been difficult to isolate in the presence of chemical disorder, and the suspected causal link between competing density wave orders and high temperature superconductivity is not understood. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to image a previously unknown unidirectional (stripe) charge density wave (CDW) smoothly interfacing with the familiar tri-directional (triangular) CDW on the surface of the stoichiometric superconductor NbSe$_2$. Our low temperature measurements rule out thermal fluctuations, and point to local strain as the tuning parameter for this quantum phase transition. We use this discovery to resolve two longstanding debates about the anomalous spectroscopic gap and the role of Fermi surface nesting in the CDW phase of NbSe$_2$. Our results highlight the importance of local strain in governing phase transitions and competing phenomena, and suggest a new direction of inquiry for resolving similarly longstanding debates in cuprate superconductors and other strongly correlated materials.Comment: PNAS in pres

Educational Interpreter Services for Hearing-Impaired Students: Provider and Consumer Disagreements

Thirteen supervisors of educational programs for hearing-impaired students completed an assessment designed to determine the need for educational interpreters in a midwestern state and how well it was being met. The results suggested that the trend toward the integration of hearing-impaired students in to regular programs continues and that, with the higher incidence of integration, there is an associated unmet need for educational interpreters. Nine supervisors, 24 teachers, 27 interpreters and 18 hearing-impaired college students rated the characteristics and skills of interpreters which they perceived to be most important. Significant differences existed between and within groups in the characteristics and skills perceived important to educational interpreting (p\u3c .05). Major differences existed between the skills and characteristics cited as most important by hearing-impaired persons and those cited by teachers and interpreters

Exact Performance of Concatenated Quantum Codes

When a logical qubit is protected using a quantum error-correcting code, the net effect of coding, decoherence (a physical channel acting on qubits in the codeword) and recovery can be represented exactly by an effective channel acting directly on the logical qubit. In this paper we describe a procedure for deriving the map between physical and effective channels that results from a given coding and recovery procedure. We show that the map for a concatenation of codes is given by the composition of the maps for the constituent codes. This perspective leads to an efficient means for calculating the exact performance of quantum codes with arbitrary levels of concatenation. We present explicit results for single-bit Pauli channels. For certain codes under the symmetric depolarizing channel, we use the coding maps to compute exact threshold error probabilities for achievability of perfect fidelity in the infinite concatenation limit.Comment: An expanded presentation of the analytic methods and results from quant-ph/0111003; 13 pages, 6 figure

Agricultural Research at the Reed Ranch Substation: A Progress Report

Reed Ranch is located in Lyman County about midway between Pierre and Presho. It consists of 2,160 acres used for grazing and hay production. This ranch has been used for nearly 20 years as a field laboratory for selenium research. On November 16, 1936, an agreement between the South Dakota State College Agricultural Experiment Station and the South Central South Dakota Land Adjustment Project of the Resettlement Administration outlined a program of cooperative research dealing with selenium poisoning. The program was initiated during 1937 and has continued since. As governmental organization has changed over the intervening years, the cooperating agency representing the Federal Government has also changed from time to time. The present cooperating agency is the U. S. Forest Service. The agreement now in effect covers the period from 1954 to 1964, and renewal beyond that period is anticipated. The present long-range policy has permitted the Experiment Station to make much needed physical improvements that have made the work at Reed Ranch easier and more efficient since 1953. The facilities for handling cattle have been rebuilt, living facilities modernized, and some additional fencing has been done. A shelterbelt has been planted north of the farmstead and 80 acres of native hayland are being replanted to alfalfa. The purpose of this publication is to acquaint citizens of South Dakota with research at Reed Ranch. It summarizes past and present experimentation and outlines plans for the future. This ranch is unique as a substation in that it was provided and is maintained to obtain information concerning chronic selenium poisoning or “alkali disease” in range cattle

Concentration and δD of molecular hydrogen in boreal forests: Ecosystem-scale systematics of atmospheric H_2

We examined the concentration and δD of atmospheric H2 in a boreal forest in interior Alaska to investigate the systematics of high latitude soil uptake at ecosystem scale. Samples collected during nighttime inversions exhibited vigorous H_2 uptake, with concentration negatively correlated with the concentration of CO_2 (−0.8 to −1.2 ppb H_2 per ppm CO_2) and negatively correlated with δD of H_2. We derived H_2 deposition rates of between 2 to 12 nmol m^(−2) s^(−1). These rates are comparable to those observed in lower latitude ecosystems. We also derive an average fractionation factor, α = D:H_(residual)/D:H_(consumed) = 0.94 ± 0.01 and suggestive evidence that α depends on forest maturity. Our results show that high northern latitude soils are a significant sink of molecular hydrogen indicating that the record of atmospheric H_2 may be sensitive to changes in climate and land use

On Linear Congestion Games with Altruistic Social Context

We study the issues of existence and inefficiency of pure Nash equilibria in linear congestion games with altruistic social context, in the spirit of the model recently proposed by de Keijzer {\em et al.} \cite{DSAB13}. In such a framework, given a real matrix $\Gamma=(\gamma_{ij})$ specifying a particular social context, each player $i$ aims at optimizing a linear combination of the payoffs of all the players in the game, where, for each player $j$, the multiplicative coefficient is given by the value $\gamma_{ij}$. We give a broad characterization of the social contexts for which pure Nash equilibria are always guaranteed to exist and provide tight or almost tight bounds on their prices of anarchy and stability. In some of the considered cases, our achievements either improve or extend results previously known in the literature

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Impedance Spectroscopy Studies on Lithium Ion Diffusion in γ-LiAlO2

In this work we show conductivity spectra of γ-LiAlO2 single crystals purchased from CrysTec and microcrystalline powder prepared by solid state synthesis