A Scorpion Defensin BmKDfsin4 Inhibits Hepatitis B Virus Replication in Vitro

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major worldwide health problem which can cause acute and chronic hepatitis and can significantly increase the risk of liver cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nowadays, clinical therapies of HBV infection still mainly rely on nucleotide analogs and interferons, the usage of which is limited by drug-resistant mutation or side effects. Defensins had been reported to effectively inhibit the proliferation of bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. Here, we screened the anti-HBV activity of 25 scorpion-derived peptides most recently characterized by our group. Through evaluating anti-HBV activity and cytotoxicity, we found that BmKDfsin4, a scorpion defensin with antibacterial and Kv1.3-blocking activities, has a comparable high inhibitory rate of both HBeAg and HBsAg in HepG2.2.15 culture medium and low cytotoxicity to HepG2.2.15. Then, our experimental results further showed that BmKDfsin4 can dose-dependently decrease the production of HBV DNA and HBV viral proteins in both culture medium and cell lysate. Interestingly, BmKDfsin4 exerted high serum stability. Together, this study indicates that the scorpion defensin BmKDfsin4 also has inhibitory activity against HBV replication along with its antibacterial and potassium ion channel Kv1.3-blocking activities, which shows that BmKDfsin4 is a uniquely multifunctional defensin molecule. Our work also provides a good molecule material which will be used to investigate the link or relationship of its antiviral, antibacterial and ion channel–modulating activities in the future

Variation resolutions for CMOS sensing networks

proposed circuits can be combined with other techniques including high-Q impedance matching for input voltage boosting and hierarchical tandem stages for further improvement on operating conditions. With a Q=10 matching network, -27 dBm sensitivity and 22% efficiency can be achieved for about 0.5 V DC output to a 500 kΩ load at 570 MHz. On the other hand, the sensing variation can originate from the targeted biological sensing signal, which complicates both the sensor system design and the associated signal analysis. We will illustrate a spike-sorting method to reliably classify the enteric neural signals which have unique waveform features but large variation in magnitude, timing and duration. The proposed fastDTW spike classification algorithm provides improvements in accuracy and computational cost in comparison with Cross-correlation based template matching and PCA + k-means clustering without time warping. When appled to mouse ENS neurons in high noise and high variability environment, fastDTW successfully recognized spikes with variability is as large as 1.2 ms in width and a few milli-volt in magnitude. The captured waveform features are used for variation correlation analyses to better understand the operating principles of enteric nervous system. Although other variation sources can also affect the sensor system design, our approaches of device compensation based on operational feedback and signal tolerance based on time warping are able to give illustrations for sensor designers to successfully countermeasure uncontrollable variation sources

Supercritical branching processes in random environments

International audienceWe consider a supercritical branching process $(Z_n)$ in an independent and identically distributed random environment $\xi$, and present some recent results on the asymptotic properties of the limit variable $W$ of the natural martingale $W_n= Z_n/\mathbb{E}[Z_n|\xi]$, the convergence rates of $W - W_n$ (by considering the convergence in law with a suitable norming, the almost sure convergence, the convergence in $L^p$ and the convergence in probability), and limit theorems (such as central limit theorems, moderate and large deviations principles) on ($\log Z_n$)

Study on Low-Speed Steering Resistance Torque of Vehicles Considering Friction between Tire and Pavement

Electric power steering (EPS) systems under existing vehicle power systems cannot provide enough power for heavy-duty commercial vehicles under pivot or low-speed steering conditions. To solve this problem, the paper proposes an EPS system that is based on the hybrid power system constituted by the vehicle power system and the supercapacitor in parallel. In order to provide a theoretical basis for the intervention and withdrawal mechanisms of a super-capacitor in the new EPS, the law of steering resistance torque at a low or extremely low vehicle speed should be explored. Firstly, the finite element model of tire/pavement was established to conduct the simulation and calculation of the low-speed steering friction force between the tire and pavement, and to obtain the fitting expression of the equivalent steering friction coefficient with the running speed of the tire. Secondly, the expression of the steering friction torque was deduced based on the calculus theory and mathematical model of the low-speed steering resistance torque, including the steering friction torque and aligning torques, established to conduct the simulation of the equivalent resistance torque applied on a steering column under low-speed condition. Subsequently, the real vehicle experiments were carried out and comparisons of the experimental results and simulation results was performed. The consistency indicated that the model of low-speed steering resistance torque had a high accuracy. Finally, the law of low-speed steering resistance torque with a vehicle speed and steering wheel angle were analyzed according to the 3D surface plot drawn from the simulation results

A Transmissive Imaging Spectrometer for Ground-Based Oxygen A-Band Radiance Observation

The oxygen A-band (759–770 nm) is a commonly used band for atmospheric observations. The signal in this band has wide dynamic range and can be used to invert several atmospheric parameters, such as air pressure and atmospheric optical depth, at different altitudes. High-resolution oxygen A-band radiance imaging spectrometer (HARIS) is an imaging spectrometer that operates in the oxygen A-band, which is designed for the observation of the direct solar radiance that passes through the atmosphere. HARIS is a transmissive imaging spectrometer that uses a compact transmissive optical system combined with reflective grating spectroscopy, while an area scan CMOS detector is used as the photosensitive element for the observations. HARIS response is associated with the observed target through a calibration process, which uses a monochromator with a supercontinuum laser for the spectral calibration, an integrating sphere with a spectrophotometer for the radiometric calibration and a meridian for the geometric calibration is employed to correct for distortions. The calibration results show that HARIS has an average spectral resolution of 0.33 nm and a field-of-view of 3.085 × 0.03° with an average spatial sampling interval of 0.0138°. Finally, the performance of HARIS is verified through field tests, in which the solar radiance data with an average signal-to-noise ratio of 438.93 is obtained

Capivasertib restricts SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry: a potential clinical application for COVID-19.

International audienceCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has led to more than 150 million infections and about 3.1 million deaths up to date. Currently, drugs screened are urgently aiming to block the infection of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we explored the interaction networks of kinase and COVID-19 crosstalk, and identified phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway as the most important kinase signal pathway involving COVID-19. Further, we found a PI3K/AKT signal pathway inhibitor capivasertib restricted the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells under non-cytotoxic concentrations. Lastly, the signal axis PI3K/AKT/FYVE finger-containing phosphoinositide kinase (PIKfyve)/PtdIns(3,5)P2 was revealed to play a key role during the cellular entry of viruses including SARS-CoV-2, possibly providing potential antiviral targets. Altogether, our study suggests that the PI3K/AKT kinase inhibitor drugs may be a promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 strategy for clinical application, especially for managing cancer patients with COVID-19 in the pandemic era