Oral, nasal and pharyngeal exposure to lipopolysaccharide causes a fetal inflammatory response in sheep.

BackgroundA fetal inflammatory response (FIR) in sheep can be induced by intraamniotic or selective exposure of the fetal lung or gut to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The oral, nasal, and pharyngeal cavities (ONP) contain lymphoid tissue and epithelium that are in contact with the amniotic fluid. The ability of the ONP epithelium and lymphoid tissue to initiate a FIR is unknown.ObjectiveTo determine if FIR occurs after selective ONP exposure to LPS in fetal sheep.MethodsUsing fetal recovery surgery, we isolated ONP from the fetal lung, GI tract, and amniotic fluid by tracheal and esophageal ligation and with an occlusive glove fitted over the snout. LPS (5 mg) or saline was infused with 24 h Alzet pumps secured in the oral cavity (n = 7-8/group). Animals were delivered 1 or 6 days after initiation of the LPS or saline infusions.ResultsThe ONP exposure to LPS had time-dependent systemic inflammatory effects with changes in WBC in cord blood, an increase in posterior mediastinal lymph node weight at 6 days, and pro-inflammatory mRNA responses in the fetal plasma, lung, and liver. Compared to controls, the expression of surfactant protein A mRNA increased 1 and 6 days after ONP exposure to LPS.ConclusionONP exposure to LPS alone can induce a mild FIR with time-dependent inflammatory responses in remote fetal tissues not directly exposed to LPS

The Jacobi orientation and the two-variable elliptic genus

We explain the relationship between the sigma orientation and Witten genus on the one hand and the two-variable elliptic genus on the other. We show that if E is an elliptic spectrum, then the Theorem of the Cube implies the existence of canonical SU-orientation of the associated spectrum of Jacobi forms. In the case of the elliptic spectrum associated to the Tate curve, this gives the two-variable elliptic genus. We also show that the two-variable genus arises as an instance of the circle-equivariant sigma orientation.Comment: Revised to better exhibit complex orientation of MSU^(CP^\infty_{-infty}

Characterization of Rabensburg Virus, a Flavivirus Closely Related to West Nile Virus of the Japanese Encephalitis Antigenic Group

Rabensburg virus (RABV), a Flavivirus with ∼76% nucleotide and 90% amino acid identity with representative members of lineage one and two West Nile virus (WNV), previously was isolated from Culex pipiens and Aedes rossicus mosquitoes in the Czech Republic, and phylogenetic and serologic analyses demonstrated that it was likely a new lineage of WNV. However, no direct link between RABV and human disease has been definitively established and the extent to which RABV utilizes the typical WNV transmission cycle is unknown. Herein, we evaluated vector competence and capacity for vertical transmission (VT) in Cx. pipiens; in vitro growth on avian, mammalian, and mosquito cells; and infectivity and viremia production in birds. RABV infection and replication only were detected on mosquito cells. Experimentally inoculated birds did not become infected. Cx. pipiens had poor peroral vector competence and a higher VT rate as compared to US-WNV in Cx. pipiens. As a result, we postulate that RABV is an intermediate between the mosquito-specific and horizontally transmitted flaviviruses

Rapid Assessment of the Ce-Co-Fe-Cu System for Permanent Magnetic Applications

This work focuses on the rapid synthesis and characterization of quaternary Ce(CoFeCu)5 alloy libraries to assess their potential viability as permanent magnets. Arrays of bulk specimens with controlled compositions were synthesized via laser engineered net shaping (LENS) by feeding different ratios of alloy powders into a melt pool created by a laser. Based on the assessment of the magnetic properties of the LENS printed samples, arc-melted and cast ingots were prepared with varying Fe (5–20 at.%) and Co (60–45 at.%) compositions while maintaining constant Ce (16 at.%) and Cu (19 at.%) content. The evolution of the microstructure and phases with varying chemical compositions and their dependence on magnetic properties are analyzed in as-cast and heat-treated samples. In both the LENS printed and cast samples, we find the best magnetic properties correspond to a predominantly single-phase Ce(CoFeCu)5 microstructure in which high coercivity (Hc \u3e 10 kOe) can be achieved without any microstructural refinement

In Utero Exposure to Maternal Tobacco Smoke and Subsequent Obesity, Hypertension, and Gestational Diabetes Among Women in The MoBa Cohort

Background: Environmental factors influencing the developmental origins of health and disease need to be identified and investigated. In utero exposure to tobacco smoke has been associated with obesity and a small increase in blood pressure in children; however, whether there is a corresponding increased risk of conditions such as diabetes and hypertension during adulthood remains unclear

Development of MnBi permanent magnet: Neutron diffraction of MnBi powder

MnBi attracts great attention in recent years for its great potential as permanent magnetmaterials. MnBi phase is difficult to obtain because of the rather drastic peritectic reaction between Mn and Bi. In this paper, we report our effort on synthesizing high purity MnBi compound using conventional powder metallurgical approaches. Neutron diffraction was carried out to investigate the crystal and nuclear structure of the obtained powder. The result shows that the purity of the obtained powder is about 91 wt. % at 300 K, and the magnetic moment of the Mn atom in MnBi lattice is 4.424 and 4.013 μ B at 50 K and 300 K, respectively

West Nile Virus Epidemics in North America Are Driven by Shifts in Mosquito Feeding Behavior

West Nile virus (WNV) has caused repeated large-scale human epidemics in North America since it was first detected in 1999 and is now the dominant vector-borne disease in this continent. Understanding the factors that determine the intensity of the spillover of this zoonotic pathogen from birds to humans (via mosquitoes) is a prerequisite for predicting and preventing human epidemics. We integrated mosquito feeding behavior with data on the population dynamics and WNV epidemiology of mosquitoes, birds, and humans. We show that Culex pipiens, the dominant enzootic (bird-to-bird) and bridge (bird-to-human) vector of WNV in urbanized areas in the northeast and north-central United States, shifted its feeding preferences from birds to humans by 7-fold during late summer and early fall, coinciding with the dispersal of its preferred host (American robins, Turdus migratorius) and the rise in human WNV infections. We also show that feeding shifts in Cx. tarsalis amplify human WNV epidemics in Colorado and California and occur during periods of robin dispersal and migration. Our results provide a direct explanation for the timing and intensity of human WNV epidemics. Shifts in feeding from competent avian hosts early in an epidemic to incompetent humans after mosquito infection prevalences are high result in synergistic effects that greatly amplify the number of human infections of this and other pathogens. Our results underscore the dramatic effects of vector behavior in driving the transmission of zoonotic pathogens to humans