Los insectos de Puerto Rico

Treesearch

J.A. Torres; S. Medina Gaud

1998-01-01

This paper is a brief summary of the natural history and importance of the insects of Puerto Rico. We briefly discuss the orders of insects present in Puerto Rico and some of their families. Where possible, we have tried to avoid technical terms for better comprehension of a general audience. We present the observations or characteristics of insects that humans admire...

[Detection of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia].

PubMed

Cuéllar-Jiménez, María Elena; Velásquez-Escobar, Olga Lucía; González-Obando, Ranulfo; Morales-Reichmann, Carlos Andrés

2007-06-01

Aedes albopictus is the second most important dengue virus vector in the Asian southeast after Aedes aegypti. Its entrance into the Americas occurred in 1985, and laboratory studies performed show its potential as a vector in this continent as well. In Colombia, this species has been reported in Leticia (Amazonas) in 1998 and Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca) in 2001. The latest discoveries show that this mosquito continues to advance toward the country's interior. To inform that the presence of A. albopictus is documented in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Since 2002, weekly sampling has been performed using larval traps located at seventeen stations. The identification of the A. albopictus species, was carried out in the Unidad de Entomología, Laboratorio de Salud Pública Departamental. These identifications were confirmed in the Entomology Laboratory at Universidad del Valle and the National Institute of Health in Bogotá. From April to June of 2006, larvae of A. albopictus were found in six sampling stations located between northwest and northeast of Cali, one of them in the suburban area of the Yumbo city. The control of A. aegypti and A. albopictus must be integrated into a single program. The surveillance in the cities and nearest departments must be intensified with the objective of limiting the advancement of A. albopictus.

PubMed

Gómez, Luis Alberto; Montoya, Gladis; Rivera, Hernán Mauricio; Hernández, Juan Carlos

2017-04-01

Introducción. El virus del Zika (ZIKV) es un flavivirus con envoltura, transmitido a los seres humanos principalmente por el vector Aedes aegypti. La infección por ZIKV se ha asociado con un gran neurotropismo y con efectos neuropáticos, como el síndrome de Guillain-Barré en el adulto y la microcefalia fetal y posnatal, así como con un síndrome de infección congénita similar al producido por el virus de la rubéola (RV).Objetivo. Comparar las estructuras moleculares de la proteína de envoltura E del virus del Zika (E-ZIKV) y de la E1 del virus de la rubéola (E1-RV), y plantear posibles implicaciones en el neurotropismo y en las alteraciones del sistema nervioso asociadas con el ZIKV.Materiales y métodos. La secuencia de aminoácidos de la proteína E-ZIKV (PDB: 5iZ7) se alineó con la de la glucopreteína E1 del virus de la rubéola (PDB: 4ADG). Los elementos de la estructura secundaria se determinaron usando los programas Vector NTI Advance®, DSSP y POSA, así como herramientas de gestión de datos (AlignX®). Uno de los criterios principales de comparación y alineación fue la asignación de residuos estructuralmente equivalentes, con más de 70 % de identidad.Resultados. La organización estructural de la proteína E-ZIKV (PDB: 5iZ7) fue similar a la de E1-RV (PDB: 4ADG) (70 a 80 % de identidad), y se observó una correspondencia con la estructura definida para las glucoproteínas de fusión de membrana de clase II de los virus con envoltura. E-ZIKV y E1-RV exhibieron elementos estructurales de fusión muy conservados en la región distal del dominio II, asociados con la unión a los receptores celulares de entrada del virus de la rubéola (glucoproteína de mielina del oligodendrocito, Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein, MOG), y con los receptores celulares Axl del ZIKV y de otros flavivirus.Conclusión. La comparación de las proteínas E-ZIKV y E1-RV es un paso necesario hacia la definición de otros factores moleculares determinantes del neurotropismo y la patogenia del ZIKV, el cual puede contribuir a generar estrategias de diagnóstico, prevención y tratamiento de las complicaciones neurológicas inducidas por el ZIKV.

Demographic and quality control parameters of Anastrepha Fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) maintained under artificial rearing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vera, T.; Abraham, S.; Oviedo, A.

The integration of the sterile insect technique (SIT) in the management of the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a promising alternative to chemically-based control in those areas where it is sympatric with Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) or other tephritid species for which the SIT is being used. Implementation of the SIT requires the development of a cost effective mass-rearing protocol. In this work, we present demographic and quality control parameters for the A. fraterculus strain reared at the Estacion Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres, Tucuman, Argentina. Considering the rearing cage as the reproduction unit, wemore » observed that fecundity is optimal during the first 3 weeks after the onset of oviposition. Fertility was constant during this period. During 2003 and 2004, some improvements were made to the existing rearing protocol, which resulted in increased larval viability, pupal weight, and adult emergence. Current weekly egg production is 1 million per week. These eggs are used to maintain the colony and to assess quality parameters. Finally, research needs leading to improved yields and fly quality are discussed. (author) [Spanish] La integracion de la Tecnica del Insecto Esteril (TIE) en el combate integrado de la mosca Sudamericana de la fruta, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), es una alternativa interesante para reemplazar al control quimico en aquellas zonas donde esta especie es simpatrica con Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) u otros tefritidos para los que ya se utiliza la TIE. La implementacion de la TIE requiere del desarrollo de un protocolo de cria masiva que sea costo-efectivo. En este trabajo presentamos parametros demograficos y de control de calidad de la cepa criada en la Estacion Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres, Tucuman, Argentina. Considerando a la jaula de cria como unidad reproductiva, se observo que la fecundidad es optima durante las tres primeras semanas de iniciada la oviposicion y que la fertilidad se mantiene constante durante ese periodo. Durante 2003-2004 se implementaron mejoras en el protocolo de cria existente lo que resulto en un incremento de la viabilidad larvaria, del peso de pupas y del porcentaje de emergencia de adultos. La produccion actual semanal es de un millon de huevos. Los mismos son utilizados para mantener la colonia y realizar distintos estudios de calidad de esta cepa. Por ultimo, se sugieren necesidades de investigacion para alcanzar mejores rendimientos. (author)« less

Induction of sterility in Anastrepha Fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) by gamma radiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Allinghi, A.; Gramajo, C.; Willink, E.

In relation to the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) for the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), we analyzed the effect on adult fertility of different doses of gamma irradiation and the age of pupae at the time of irradiation. In a first experiment, we applied doses of 50, 70, and 90 Gy to pupae at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h before adult emergence. In a second experiment we irradiated pupae 48 h before emergence with 20, 40, and 60 Gy and estimated male and female fertility and sperm transfer by irradiated males. The results indicatedmore » pupal age at irradiation does not significantly affect male fertility. If males irradiated with 60 Gy are crossed to non-irradiated females the fertility is about 1%. Females irradiated with 40 Gy did not lay eggs independently of the male to which they mated. No significant effects of radiation were observed with respect to the ability of males to transfer sperm. A dose of 70 Gy applied 48 h before adult emergence induces 100% sterility in both males and females. (author) [Spanish] Para la aplicacion de la tecnica del insecto esteril (TIE) en Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), en este trabajo analizamos el efecto de diferentes dosis de irradiacion gamma y la edad optima de la pupa al momento de la irradiacion. En el primer experimento se evaluaron las dosis de 50, 70, y 90 Gy en pupas de 24, 48, 72, y 96 h antes de la emergencia del adulto. En el segundo experimento se irradiaron pupas 48 h antes de la emergencia con dosis de 20, 40, 60 Gy y se estimo la fertilidad de los machos y las hembras, y la transferencia de espermas por los machos irradiados. Los resultados indicaron que la irradiacion no modifico significativamente la fertilidad de los machos. En las cruzas de machos irradiados a 60 Gy con hembras no irradiadas se observo 1% de eclosion larvaria, mientras que las hembras irradiadas a 40 Gy no pusieron huevos. La irradiacion no afecto significativamente la transferencia de espermas de los machos tratados. Por lo tanto, una dosis de 70 Gy aplicada 48 h antes de la emergencia del adulto induce 100% de esterilidad tanto en machos como en hembras. (a0011uth.« less

Control System of a Three DOF Spacecraft Simulator by Vectorable Thrusters and Control Moment Gyros

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

1 s 1 s -K- -K- -K- -K- -K- -K- -K- -K- -K- 2 STATE 1 REF Tc urel Fx Fy Figure 42. Controller SIMULINK Model As an initial step in the...f1c a1c a1True a2c a2True f1act Thruster 1 Firing Logic [DelTrue] [a1True] [a2True] [DelTrue] Fx Fy T theta del F1c a1c F2c a2c Tcmg fcn Tc deltrue...cmgdd command CMG Steering Logic 3 theta 2 act_fb 1 uCOMMANDED Fx Fy Tc 52 to slew and fire independently, MSGCMG position is used to generate a

MALARIA VECTORS IN SAN JOSÉDEL GUAVIARE, ORINOQUIA, COLOMBIA

PubMed Central

JIMÉNEZ, IRENE P.; CONN, JAN E.; BROCHERO, HELENA

2015-01-01

This study was conducted to determine Anopheles species composition and their natural infectivity by human Plasmodium in 2 localities with the highest malaria transmission in San Jose del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia. A total of 1,009 Anopheles mosquitoes were collected using human landing catches during 8 months in 2010. Anopheles darlingi was the most abundant (83.2%) followed by An. albitarsis s.l. (8.6%), Anopheles braziliensis (3.8%), An. oswaldoi s.l. (1%), and An. rangeli (0.3%). Anopheles darlingi showed the highest human biting rate, and it was found naturally infected with Plasmodium vivax VK210 (0.119%) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. All species were collected biting both indoors and outdoors. Anopheles darlingi showed biting activity overnight with an indoor peak between 1200–0100 h. Therefore, we recommend that malaria prevention strategies focus on 1) insecticide-treated nets to reduce human–vector contact when people are most exposed and unprotected; 2) accurate diagnoses; 3) adequate treatment for patients; 4) more timely epidemiological notification; and 5) improved entomological surveillance. PMID:25102591

Adaptation of multidimensional group particle tracking and particle wall-boundary condition model to the FDNS code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Y. S.; Farmer, R. C.

1992-01-01

A particulate two-phase flow CFD model was developed based on the FDNS code which is a pressure based predictor plus multi-corrector Navier-Stokes flow solver. Turbulence models with compressibility correction and the wall function models were employed as submodels. A finite-rate chemistry model was used for reacting flow simulation. For particulate two-phase flow simulations, a Eulerian-Lagrangian solution method using an efficient implicit particle trajectory integration scheme was developed in this study. Effects of particle-gas reaction and particle size change to agglomeration or fragmentation were not considered in this investigation. At the onset of the present study, a two-dimensional version of FDNS which had been modified to treat Lagrangian tracking of particles (FDNS-2DEL) had already been written and was operational. The FDNS-2DEL code was too slow for practical use, mainly because it had not been written in a form amenable to vectorization on the Cray, nor was the full three-dimensional form of FDNS utilized. The specific objective of this study was to reorder to calculations into long single arrays for automatic vectorization on the Cray and to implement the full three-dimensional version of FDNS to produce the FDNS-3DEL code. Since the FDNS-2DEL code was slow, a very limited number of test cases had been run with it. This study was also intended to increase the number of cases simulated to verify and improve, as necessary, the particle tracking methodology coded in FDNS.

A protocol for storage and long-distance shipment of Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) eggs. 1. Effect of temperature, embryo age , and storage time on survival and quality

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Caceres, C.; Wornoayporn, V.; Islam, S.M.

The operational use of Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), genetic sexing strains in Sterile Insect Technique applications can be maximized by developing methods for effective shipment of eggs. This would enable a central production facility to maintain the relevant mother stocks and large colonies to supply eggs to satellite centers that would mass produce only males for irradiation and release. In order to achieve this, the survival of medfly embryos of different ages was assessed after storage at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 deg. C in water for different periods of time. Survival was affected by allmore » 3 variables, i.e., embryo age, water temperature, and length of storage. Storage of embryos at any temperature for 120 h resulted in almost no survival. Controlling the age of the embryo at the time of the temperature treatment is crucial for the success of this procedure. Embryos collected between 0 to 12 h after oviposition and pre-incubated at 25 deg. C for 12 h provide a suitable 72 h window for shipment when maintained between 10 to 15 deg. C. Under these conditions, no significant reductions in survival during all the developmental stages were observed. (author) [Spanish] El uso operacional de cepas de la mosca del mediterraneo Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) en las cuales es posible separar los sexos a traves de mecanismos geneticos para su utilizacion en la Tecnica del Insecto Esteril (TIE), puede ser maximizado con el desarrollo de metodos efectivos para el envio y transporte de huevos. Esto permite que un laboratorio de produccion centralizada mantenga las respectivas colonias responsables por la produccion de huevos para este abastecer laboratorios satelites responsables por la produccion masiva de solamente machos para subsiguiente irradiacion y liberacion. Para ser posible esta alternativa fue evaluada la supervivencia de embriones de diferentes edades despues de su almacenamiento en agua a 5, 10, 15, 20 y 25 deg. C por diferentes periodos de tiempo. La supervivencia fue afectada por las 3 variables evaluadas, la edad del embrion, la temperatura del agua y el periodo de almacenamiento. El almacenamiento de los embriones a cualquier temperatura por 120 horas dio como resultado la casi no supervivencia. Una edad controlada de los embriones a tratar es crucial para el exito de este protocolo. Embriones colectados entre 0 a 12 horas despues de la oviposicion y su previa incubacion a 25 deg. C por 12 horas brinda un margen de hasta de 72 horas de duracion del almacenamiento y transporte, siempre y cuando estos se mantengan en una temperatura de entre 10 a 15{sup o}C. En estas condiciones, fue registrada una reduccion no significante de la supervivencia de los diferentes estados de desarrollo. (author)« less

Insect Optic Glomeruli: Exploration of a Universal Circuit for Sensorimotor Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-20

based  on  an  algorithm   published  by  Cohen...Cajal,  SR,  Sánchez  D  (1915)  Contribucion  al   conocimiento  de  los  centros  nerviosos   de  los  insectos...Drosophila   revealed  by  green  fluorescent  protein-­‐ based  Ca2+  imaging.  J  Neurosci  24:   6507–6514.    

El virus de la mancha clorótica del tomate: Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tomato chlorotic spot virus has emerged as a major pathogen of vegetables in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Florida. This virus is transmitted by thrips making management difficult. Growers must be aware of the distribution, host range, insect vectors, symptoms, modes of transmission to successfully...

Lekking behavior of Anastrepha Fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Segura, D.; Petit-Marty, N.; Cladera, J.

Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) displays a lek mating system. Males form groups in which they simultaneously display signals (acoustical, visual, or chemical) to attract females with the purpose of mating. Females visit the lek and choose among signaling and courting males to mate. Scarce information is available in A. fraterculus about the main factors involved in female choice and the behavior of displaying males. This information could be important within the context of pest control programs with a sterile insect technique (SIT) component, because departures from normal sexual behavior caused by artificial rearing could affect males' performance in themore » field. In this study we assessed A. fraterculus male behavior within the leks and analyzed the importance of behavioral and morphological traits on their copulatory success. The existence of preferred places for lek formation was evaluated in field cages with trees inside and analyzed by dividing the trees in sectors according to a 3-dimensional system. Males were individually weighed, marked, and observed every 15 min. Morphometric and behavioral characteristics of successful and unsuccessful males were compared. Most successful males grouped in a region of the tree characterized by the highest light intensity in the first 2 h of the morning. Results showed that pheromone calling activity is positively associated with copulatory success. Copulations were more frequent for males calling inside the lek, indicating that pheromone calling activity and presence in the lek are key factors for copulatory success. A positive association between copulatory success and eye length was found; some characteristics of the face were also associated with copula duration and latency. (author) [Spanish] Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) presenta un sistema de apareamiento tipo lek. Los machos forman grupos y, en forma conjunta, emiten senales (acusticas, visuales, o quimicas) para atraer a las hembras con el proposito de aparearse. Las hembras visitan el lek y eligen entre los machos para copular. La informacion acerca de los principales factores involucrados en la eleccion de la hembra y de la influencia del comportamiento de los machos en los leks en esta eleccion es escasa para A. fraterculus . Esta informacion es importante en el contexto de programas de control que incluyen la Tecnica del Insecto Esteril. En el presente estudio se evaluo el comportamiento sexual de machos de A. fraterculus dentro de los leks, y la asociacion de su comportamiento y de rasgos morfometricos con el exito copulatorio. El lugar preferido de agrupamiento de los machos fue evaluado en jaulas de campo con arboles en su interior y dividiendo el arbol en sectores de acuerdo a un sistema de tres dimensiones. Los machos fueron individualmente pesados, marcados y observados cada quince minutos. Luego de finalizado el ensayo se midieron los rasgos morfometricos. El mayor exito correspondio a machos agrupados en una region del arbol caracterizada por tener la mayor intensidad de luz en las dos primeras horas de la manana. Los resultados mostraron que la actividad de llamado con feromonas esta asociada con el exito copulatorio. Las copulas fueron mas frecuentes para machos que llamaron dentro del lek, indicando que la actividad de llamado con feromonas y la presencia dentro del lek son factores importantes en la obtencion de la copula. Los analisis morfometricos revelaron una asociacion positiva entre el exito copulatorio y el largo del ojo, y que algunas caracteristicas de la cara estan asociadas ademas con la duracion de la copula y la latencia. (author)« less

Transfer of the Subgenus Davismyia from Wyeomyia to Sabethes and Description of the Type Species, Miamyia Petrocchiae (Diptera: Culicidae)

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

Ponte 1928) gave the following information about these specimens but did not indicate where they were deposited: “Localidad del tipo : Tucuman (Race...Balderama and R. Vargas. 1984. Associations of arbovirus vectors with gallery forests and domestic environments in south- eastern Bolivia. PAHO Bull . 18

Hawking radiation and propagation of massive charged scalar field on a three-dimensional Gödel black hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, P. A.; Övgün, Ali; Saavedra, Joel; Vásquez, Yerko

2018-06-01

In this paper we consider the three-dimensional Gödel black hole as a background and we study the vector particle tunneling from this background in order to obtain the Hawking temperature. Then, we study the propagation of a massive charged scalar field and we find the quasinormal modes analytically, which turns out be unstable as a consequence of the existence of closed time-like curves. Also, we consider the flux at the horizon and at infinity, and we compute the reflection and transmission coefficients as well as the absorption cross section. Mainly, we show that massive charged scalar waves can be superradiantly amplified by the three-dimensional Gödel black hole and that the coefficients have an oscillatory behavior. Moreover, the absorption cross section is null at the high frequency limit and for certain values of the frequency.

A straightforward characterization of non-modal effects from the evolution of linear dynamical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arratia, Cristobal

2014-11-01

A simple construction will be shown, which reveals a general property satisfied by the evolution in time of a state vector composed by a superposition of orthogonal eigenmodes of a linear dynamical system. This property results from the conservation of the inner product between such state vectors evolving forward and backwards in time, and it can be simply evaluated from the state vector and its first and second time derivatives. This provides an efficient way to characterize, instantaneously along any specific phase-space trajectory of the linear system, the relevance of the non-normality of the linearized Navier-Stokes operator on the energy (or any other norm) gain or decay of small perturbations. Examples of this characterization applied to stationary or time dependent base flows will be shown. CONICYT, Concurso de Apoyo al Retorno de Investigadores del Extranjero, folio 821320055.

Euler potentials of current-free fields expressed in spherical harmonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, David P.

1994-01-01

Given a magnetic field B = -del(vector differential operator)(sub gamma) with gamma expanded in spherical harmonics, it is shown that analytic Euler potentials may be derived for B if gamma is asymmetrical but contains only the contribution of a single index n. This work generalizes a result for sectorial harmonics with n = m, derived by Willis and Gardiner (1988).

Molecular identification of vectors of Leishmania in Colombia: mitochondrial introgression in the Lutzomyia townsendi series.

PubMed

Testa, J M; Montoya-Lerma, J; Cadena, H; Oviedo, M; Ready, P D

2002-12-01

The identity of the sandfly vectors of Leishmania braziliensis in Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia, was originally given as Lutzomyia townsendi, but then changed to L. youngi, another member of the L. townsendi series (Verrucarum group) with isomorphic females. To identify members of this series in Valle del Cauca, we analyzed the nuclear gene elongation factor-alpha (EF-alpha) and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b (Cyt b). DNA sequences from the L. verrucarum series (L. columbiana, L. evansi and L. ovallesi) were used as outgroups. Flies from two locations on the western cordillera of the Andes were identified as L. townsendi s.s., according to male morphology and distinctive gene lineages. In the third location, on the central cordillera of the Andes, most specimens were identified as belonging to a geographical population of L. youngi, according to male morphology, an EF-alpha lineage shared with L. youngi from the Venezuelan-type locality, and a distinctive Cyt b sub-lineage. All other specimens were identified as L. youngi with the introgressed Cyt b sequences of L. townsendi. Such interspecific introgression implies that vectorial traits and ecological associations may no longer be viewed as fixed properties of different morphospecies.

GENETIC STRUCTURE OF TRIATOMA INFESTANS POPULATIONS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OF SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, NORTHERN ARGENTINA

PubMed Central

Marcet, PL; Mora, MS; Cutrera, AP; Jones, L; Gürtler, RE; Kitron, U; Dotson, EM

2008-01-01

To gain an understanding of the genetic structure and dispersal dynamics of T. infestans populations, we analyzed the multilocus genotype of 10 microsatellite loci for 352 T. infestans collected in 21 houses of 11 rural communities in October 2002. Genetic structure was analyzed at the community and house compound levels. Analysis revealed that vector control actions affected the genetic structure of T. infestans populations. Bug populations from communities under sustained vector control (core area) were highly structured and genetic differentiation between neighboring house compounds was significant. In contrast, bug populations from communities with sporadic vector control actions were more homogeneous and lacked defined genetic clusters. Genetic differentiation between population pairs did not fit a model of isolation by distance at the microgeographical level. Evidence consistent with flight or walking bug dispersal was detected within and among communities, dispersal was more female-biased in the core area and results suggested that houses received immigrants from more than one source. Putative sources and mechanisms of re-infestation are described. These data may be use to design improved vector control strategies PMID:18773972

CONTAMINACIÓN AMBIENTAL, VARIABILIDAD CLIMÁTICA Y CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO: UNA REVISIÓN DEL IMPACTO EN LA SALUD DE LA POBLACIÓN PERUANA

PubMed Central

Gonzales, Gustavo F.; Zevallos, Alisson; Gonzales-Castañeda, Cynthia; Nuñez, Denisse; Gastañaga, Carmen; Cabezas, César; Naeher, Luke; Levy, Karen; Steenland, Kyle

2015-01-01

RESUMEN El presente artículo es una revisión sobre la contaminación del agua, el aire y el efecto del cambio climático en la salud de la población peruana. Uno de los principales contaminantes del aire es el material particulado menor de 2,5 μ (PM 2,5), en la ciudad de Lima, anualmente 2300 muertes prematuras son atribuibles a este contaminante. Otro problema es la contaminación del aire domiciliario por el uso de cocinas con combustible de biomasa, donde la exposición excesiva a PM 2,5 dentro de las casas es responsable de aproximadamente 3000 muertes prematuras anuales entre adultos, con otro número desconocido de muertes entre niños debido a infecciones respiratorias. La contaminación del agua tiene como principales causas los desagües vertidos directamente a los ríos, minerales (arsénico) de varias fuentes, y fallas de las plantas de tratamiento. En el Perú, el cambio climático puede impactar en la frecuencia y severidad del fenómeno de El Niño oscilación del sur (ENSO) que se ha asociado con un incremento en los casos de enfermedades como cólera, malaria y dengue. El cambio climático incrementa la temperatura y puede extender las áreas afectadas por enfermedades transmitidas por vectores, además de tener efecto en la disponibilidad del agua y en la contaminación del aire. En conclusión, el Perú, pasa por una transición de factores de riesgo ambientales, donde coexisten riesgos tradicionales y modernos, y persisten los problemas infecciosos y crónicos, algunos de los cuales se asocian con problemas de contaminación de agua y de aire. PMID:25418656

Block modeling of crustal deformation in Tierra del Fuego from GNSS velocities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendoza, L.; Richter, A.; Fritsche, M.; Hormaechea, J. L.; Perdomo, R.; Dietrich, R.

2015-05-01

The Tierra del Fuego (TDF) main island is divided by a major transform boundary between the South America and Scotia tectonic plates. Using a block model, we infer slip rates, locking depths and inclinations of active faults in TDF from inversion of site velocities derived from Global Navigation Satellite System observations. We use interseismic velocities from 48 sites, obtained from field measurements spanning 20 years. Euler vectors consistent with a simple seismic cycle are estimated for each block. In addition, we introduce far-field information into the modeling by applying constraints on Euler vectors of major tectonic plates. The difference between model and observed surface deformation near the Magallanes Fagnano Fault System (MFS) is reduced by considering finite dip in the forward model. For this tectonic boundary global plate circuits models predict relative movements between 7 and 9 mm yr- 1, while our regional model indicates that a strike-slip rate of 5.9 ± 0.2 mm yr- 1 is accommodated across the MFS. Our results indicate faults dipping 66- 4+ 6° southward, locked to a depth of 11- 5+ 5 km, which are consistent with geological models for the MFS. However, normal slip also dominates the fault perpendicular motion throughout the eastern MFS, with a maximum rate along the Fagnano Lake.

Visiting the Gödel universe.

PubMed

Grave, Frank; Buser, Michael

2008-01-01

Visualization of general relativity illustrates aspects of Einstein's insights into the curved nature of space and time to the expert as well as the layperson. One of the most interesting models which came up with Einstein's theory was developed by Kurt Gödel in 1949. The Gödel universe is a valid solution of Einstein's field equations, making it a possible physical description of our universe. It offers remarkable features like the existence of an optical horizon beyond which time travel is possible. Although we know that our universe is not a Gödel universe, it is interesting to visualize physical aspects of a world model resulting from a theory which is highly confirmed in scientific history. Standard techniques to adopt an egocentric point of view in a relativistic world model have shortcomings with respect to the time needed to render an image as well as difficulties in applying a direct illumination model. In this paper we want to face both issues to reduce the gap between common visualization standards and relativistic visualization. We will introduce two techniques to speed up recalculation of images by means of preprocessing and lookup tables and to increase image quality through a special optimization applicable to the Gödel universe. The first technique allows the physicist to understand the different effects of general relativity faster and better by generating images from existing datasets interactively. By using the intrinsic symmetries of Gödel's spacetime which are expressed by the Killing vector field, we are able to reduce the necessary calculations to simple cases using the second technique. This even makes it feasible to account for a direct illumination model during the rendering process. Although the presented methods are applied to Gödel's universe, they can also be extended to other manifolds, for example light propagation in moving dielectric media. Therefore, other areas of research can benefit from these generic improvements.

Management of pest mole crickets in Florida and Puerto Rico with a nematode and parasitic wasp

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leppla, N.C.; Frank, J.H.; Adjei, M.B.

Non-indigenous invasive mole crickets, Scapteriscus vicinus Scudder (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) in Florida and S. didactylus (Latreille) (the 'changa') in Puerto Rico, are being managed with an entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema scapterisci (Nguyen and Smart) (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae), and a parasitic wasp, Larra bicolor L. (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Pest mole cricket populations have declined by 95% in north central Florida since these specialist natural enemies were released and established in the 1980s. Commercial production of the nematode was initiated, nearly 70 billion were applied in 34 Florida counties, and their establishment, spread, and impact on mole crickets were monitored. The infected mole crickets dispersed themore » nematode rapidly, so that within 6 months these parasites were present in most of the insects trapped in experimental pastures. Three years later, mole cricket populations were reduced to acceptable levels and the bahiagrass had recovered. The nematode was released for the first time in Puerto Rico during 2001 and has persisted; the wasp was introduced in the late 1930s. The geographical distribution of the wasp is being expanded in Florida and Puerto Rico by planting plots of Spermacoce verticillata (L.), a wildflower indigenous to Puerto Rico and widely distributed in southern Florida. Pastures, sod farms, golf courses, landscapes, and vegetable farms in Florida and Puerto Rico are benefiting from biological control of invasive mole crickets. (author) [Spanish] Los grillotopos invasores no indigenas, Scapteriscus vicinus (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) en el estado de Florida y S. didactylus ('changa') en Puerto Rico, estan siendo manejados por el nematodo entomopathogeno, Steinernema scapterisci (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) y la avispa parasitica, Larra bicolor (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Las poblaciones de los grillotopo plagas han declinado un 95% en el norte central de la Florida desde que estos enemigos naturales especialistas fueron liberados y establecidos en los 80s. Consecuentemente, la produccion comercial del nematodo fue iniciada, casi 70 billones fueron aplicados en 34 condados de la Florida, y se realizo un monitoreo para evaluar su establecimiento, dispersion e impacto sobre los grillotopos. Los gillotopos infectados dispersaron los nematodos rapidamente, tanto que despues de 6 meses estos parasitos estaban presentes en la mayoria de los insectos atrapados en los pastos experimentales. Tres anos despues, las poblaciones de los grillotopos fueron reducidas a niveles aceptables y los campos de pasto 'bahia' se recuperaron. El nematodo fue liberado para la primera vez en Puerto Rico durante del 2001 y ha persistido; la avispa fue introducida al final de los 30s. La distribucion geografica de la avispa se esta extendiendo en la Florida y Puerto Rico por medio de la siembra de parcelas de Spermacoce verticillata, una flor silvestre indigena a Puerto Rico y distribuida ampliamente en el sur de la Florida. Los campos de pasto, las operaciones comerciales de cesped, los campos de golf, los paisajes y las fincas de hortalizas en la Florida y Puerto Rico se estan beneficiando del control biologico de los grillotopos invasores. (author)« less

Geometric and Topological Methods for Quantum Field Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardona, Alexander; Contreras, Iván.; Reyes-Lega, Andrés. F.

2013-05-01

Introduction; 1. A brief introduction to Dirac manifolds Henrique Bursztyn; 2. Differential geometry of holomorphic vector bundles on a curve Florent Schaffhauser; 3. Paths towards an extension of Chern-Weil calculus to a class of infinite dimensional vector bundles Sylvie Paycha; 4. Introduction to Feynman integrals Stefan Weinzierl; 5. Iterated integrals in quantum field theory Francis Brown; 6. Geometric issues in quantum field theory and string theory Luis J. Boya; 7. Geometric aspects of the standard model and the mysteries of matter Florian Scheck; 8. Absence of singular continuous spectrum for some geometric Laplacians Leonardo A. Cano García; 9. Models for formal groupoids Iván Contreras; 10. Elliptic PDEs and smoothness of weakly Einstein metrics of Hölder regularity Andrés Vargas; 11. Regularized traces and the index formula for manifolds with boundary Alexander Cardona and César Del Corral; Index.

Search for bosonic super-WIMP interactions with the XENON100 experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aprile, E.; Aalbers, J.; Agostini, F.; Alfonsi, M.; Althueser, L.; Amaro, F. D.; Anthony, M.; Arneodo, F.; Barrow, P.; Baudis, L.; Bauermeister, B.; Benabderrahmane, M. L.; Berger, T.; Breur, P. A.; Brown, A.; Brown, A.; Brown, E.; Bruenner, S.; Bruno, G.; Budnik, R.; Bütikofer, L.; Calvén, J.; Capelli, C.; Cardoso, J. M. R.; Cichon, D.; Coderre, D.; Colijn, A. P.; Conrad, J.; Cussonneau, J. P.; Decowski, M. P.; de Perio, P.; di Gangi, P.; di Giovanni, A.; Diglio, S.; Eurin, G.; Fei, J.; Ferella, A. D.; Fieguth, A.; Fulgione, W.; Gallo Rosso, A.; Galloway, M.; Gao, F.; Garbini, M.; Geis, C.; Goetzke, L. W.; Greene, Z.; Grignon, C.; Hasterok, C.; Hogenbirk, E.; Howlett, J.; Itay, R.; Kaminsky, B.; Kazama, S.; Kessler, G.; Kish, A.; Landsman, H.; Lang, R. F.; Lellouch, D.; Levinson, L.; Lin, Q.; Lindemann, S.; Lindner, M.; Lombardi, F.; Lopes, J. A. M.; Manfredini, A.; Maris, I.; Marrodán Undagoitia, T.; Masbou, J.; Massoli, F. V.; Masson, D.; Mayani, D.; Messina, M.; Micheneau, K.; Molinario, A.; Morâ, K.; Murra, M.; Naganoma, J.; Ni, K.; Oberlack, U.; Pakarha, P.; Pelssers, B.; Persiani, R.; Piastra, F.; Pienaar, J.; Pizzella, V.; Piro, M.-C.; Plante, G.; Priel, N.; Ramírez García, D.; Rauch, L.; Reichard, S.; Reuter, C.; Rizzo, A.; Rupp, N.; Dos Santos, J. M. F.; Sartorelli, G.; Scheibelhut, M.; Schindler, S.; Schreiner, J.; Schumann, M.; Scotto Lavina, L.; Selvi, M.; Shagin, P.; Silva, M.; Simgen, H.; Sivers, M. V.; Stein, A.; Thers, D.; Tiseni, A.; Trinchero, G.; Tunnell, C.; Vargas, M.; Wang, H.; Wang, Z.; Wei, Y.; Weinheimer, C.; Wittweg, C.; Wulf, J.; Ye, J.; Zhang, Y.; Zhu, T.; Xenon Collaboration

2017-12-01

We present results of searches for vector and pseudoscalar bosonic super-weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are dark matter candidates with masses at the keV-scale, with the XENON100 experiment. XENON100 is a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operated at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. A profile likelihood analysis of data with an exposure of 224.6 live days ×34 kg showed no evidence for a signal above the expected background. We thus obtain new and stringent upper limits in the (8 - 125 ) keV /c2 mass range, excluding couplings to electrons with coupling constants of ga e>3 ×10-13 for pseudo-scalar and α'/α >2 ×10-28 for vector super-WIMPs, respectively. These limits are derived under the assumption that super-WIMPs constitute all of the dark matter in our galaxy.

Transmission scenarios of major vector-borne diseases in Colombia, 1990-2016.

PubMed

Padilla, Julio César; Lizarazo, Fredy Eberto; Murillo, Olga Lucía; Mendigaña, Fernando Antonio; Pachón, Edwin; Vera, Mauricio Javier

2017-03-29

Introducción. Las enfermedades transmitidas por vectores representan más de 17 % de todas las enfermedades infecciosas y causan anualmente un millón de defunciones a nivel mundial. En Colombia, la malaria, el dengue, la enfermedad de Chagas y las leishmaniasis son condiciones endemoepidémicas persistentes.Objetivo. Determinar el comportamiento epidemiológico de las enfermedades transmitidas por vectores en zonas urbanas y rurales de Colombia entre 1990 y 2016.Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un estudio descriptivo del comportamiento epidemiológico de las principales enfermedades transmitidas por vectores en zonas urbanas y rurales de Colombia entre 1990 y 2016, con la información proveniente de fuentes oficiales secundarias.Resultados. En el periodo estudiado se registraron 5'360.134 casos de enfermedades transmitidas por vectores, de los cuales 54,7 % fueron de malaria y 24,9 % de dengue. Estos casos concentraron el 80 % de la carga acumulada de casos de enfermedades transmitidas por vectores. Las medianas de las tasas de incidencia fueron 1.371 y 188 por 100.00 habitantes para malaria y dengue, respectivamente. Además, los casos de chikungunya fueron 774.831 desde su introducción en el 2014 y, los de Zika, 117.674 desde su aparición en 2015. En las zonas rurales predominaron las enfermedades parasitarias transmitidas por vectores como la malaria, las leishmaniasis y la enfermedad de Chagas. A nivel urbano, predominaron el dengue, el chikungunya y el Zika.Conclusiones. La transmisión en Colombia de estas enfermedades es persistente en las zonas urbanas y en las rurales, y de tipo endemoepidémico en los casos de malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis y enfermedad de Chagas. Dicha transmisión se ha dado de manera focalizada y con patrones variables de intensidad. Asimismo, se mantienen las condiciones que han favorecido la transmisión emergente de nuevas arbovirosis.

Production and quality assurance in the SIT Africa Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) rearing facility in South Africa

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnes, B.; Rosenberg, S.; Arnolds, L.

A mass-rearing facility for Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) was commissioned in Stellenbosch in 1999 to produce sterile male fruit flies for a sterile insect technique (SIT) project in commercial fruit orchards and vineyards in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The mass-rearing procedure was largely based on systems developed by the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory, Seibersdorf, Austria. A number of genetic sexing strains were used to produce only males for release. Initial cramped rearing and quality management conditions were alleviated in 2001 with the construction of a new adult rearing room and quality control laboratory. Inmore » 2002 a comprehensive Quality Management System was implemented, and in 2003 an improved genetic sexing strain, VIENNA 8, was supplied by the FAO/IAEA Laboratory in Seibersdorf. For most of the first 3 years the facility was unable to supply the required number of sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies for the SIT program without importing sterile male pupae from another facility. From mid-2002, after the quality management system was implemented, both production and quality improved but remained below optimum. After the introduction of the VIENNA 8 genetic sexing strain, and together with an improvement in the climate control equipment, production stability, and quality assurance parameters improved substantially. The critical factors influencing production and quality were an inadequate rearing infrastructure, problems with the quality of the larval diet, and the initial absence of a quality management system. The results highlight the importance of effective quality management, the value of a stable and productive genetic sexing strain, and the necessity for a sound funding base for the mass-rearing facility. (author) [Spanish] La facilidad para criar en masa la mosca mediterranea de la fruta, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) fue comisionada en Stellenbosch en 1999 para producir machos esteriles de moscas para el proyecto de la tecnica del insecto esteril (TIE) en huertos de frutos y vinas comerciales en la provincia del Cabo Occidental del Sudafrica. El procedimiento de criar en masa fue en su mayor parte basado en los sistemas desarrollados por el Laboratorio de Agricultura y Biotecnologia de la FAO/IAEA, Seibersdorf, Austria. Un numero de razas que separara los sexos geneticamente fueron utilizadas para producir solo machos para la liberacion. La congestionada condicion inicial para criar las moscas y su manejo de calidad fueron aliviadas en 2001 con la construccion de un nuevo cuarto de cria para adultos y un laboratorio de control de calidad. En 2002, un Sistema de Manejo de Calidad comprensivo fue implementado, y en 2003 una raza mejorada que separa los sexos geneticamente, VIENNA 8, fue proveido por el Laboratorio de la FAO/IAEA en Seibersdorf. En la mayor parte de los primeros 3 anos la facilidad no pudo suplir el numero requerido de machos esteriles de la mosca mediterranea de la fruta para el programa de TIE sin la necesidad para importar machos esteriles de otra facilidad. Desde medio del ano de 2002, despues que el sistema de manejo de calidad fue implementado, la produccion y la calidad mejoraron pero aun quedaron por debajo del nivel optimo. Despues de la introduccion de la raza VIENNA 8 que separa los sexos geneticamente, y junto con el equipo mejorado de control de clima, la estabilidad y los parametros de seguridad de calidad mejoraron substancialmente. Los factores criticos que influyeron en la produccion y la calidad fueron la infraestructura inadecuada para criar las moscas, problemas con la calidad de la dieta para las larvas y la ausencia inicial de un sistema de manejo de calidad. Los resultados muestran claramente la importancia de un manejo efectivo de la calidad, el valor de una raza productiva que separa los sexos geneticamente y la necesidad de contar con una base solida de financimiento para la infraestructura de una cria en masa. (author)« less

A Population Genetics Study of Anopheles Darlingi (Diptera: Culicidae) from Colombia Based on Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Markers

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

Biology of Disease Vectors, University Press of Colorado. Niwot, co. p. 417-437. Tadei WI’, Santos JMN, Rabbani MG 1982. Biologia de anofelinos amazonicos...wR 4𔃼.0 Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 102(3): 255-262, June 2007 255 A population genetics study ofAnopheles darlingi (Diptera... de Ciencias y rdcullad de Salud. Universidad del Valle, (’.ali, Colombia *Depanment of Entomology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Silver

Bionomics of the Primary Malaria Vector, Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, in the Tapachula Foothill Area of Southern Mexico

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-02-04

GoozaJez 00. 1978. Programa de Emdicacion del Paludismo en Mexico y Nuevos Enfoques de su Estraltgia. Sal. Pub. Mex. XX(5):6I3-642. 51. Comision...Gutierrez, J, Neghme, A. 1949. Diez Anos de Lucha Antimalarica en Chile . Rev. Paras;IO!. Ch;le X(1): 5·24. 206. Nee J, Neghme, A. 1940...21): IOS-lI3. 211 . Paez R 1930. Indices Eptdemiologicos de Ia Malaria en el DeparwnenlO de Arica ( Chile ). Rev. InsL Bacterial., Chile 1:4148. 212

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Suárez, D. Orozco; Ramos, A. Asensio; Bueno, J. Trujillo, E-mail: dorozco@iac.es

Proving the magnetic configuration of solar spicules has hitherto been difficult due to the lack of spatial resolution and image stability during off-limb ground-based observations. We report spectropolarimetric observations of spicules taken in the He i 1083 nm spectral region with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter II at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope of the Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain). The data provide the variation with geometrical height of the Stokes I, Q, U, and V profiles, whose encoded information allows the determination of the magnetic field vector by means of the HAZEL inversion code. The inferred results showmore » that the average magnetic field strength at the base of solar spicules is about 80 gauss, and then it decreases rapidly with height to about 30 gauss at a height of 3000 km above the visible solar surface. Moreover, the magnetic field vector is close to vertical at the base of the chromosphere and has mid-inclinations (about 50°) above 2 Mm height.« less

Vector and Axial Form Factors Applied to Neutrino Quasielastic Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budd, H.; Bodek, A.; Arrington, J.

2005-02-01

We calculate the quasielastic cross sections for neutrino scattering on nucleons using up to date fits to the nucleon elastic electromagnetic form factors GEp, GEn, GMp, GMn, and weak form factors. We show the extraction of F(q). We show the that F(q) has a different contribution to the anti-neutrino cross section, and how the anti-neutrino data can be used to check F(q) extracted from neutrino scattering. (Presented by Howard Budd at NuInt04, Mar. 2004, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso - INFN - Assergi, Italy [ http://nuint04.lngs.infn.it/])

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meats, A.

Both wild and released (sterile) Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and wild Bactrocera papayae (Drew and Hancock) in Australia had patchy distributions and comparisons with predictions of the negative binomial model indicated that the degree of clumping was sometimes very high, particularly at low densities during eradication. An increase of mean recapture rate of sterile B. tryoni on either of 2 trap arrays was not accompanied by a reduction in its coefficient of variation and when recapture rates were high, the percentage of traps catching zero decreased only slightly with increase in recapture rate, indicating that it is not practicablemore » to decrease the heterogeneity of dispersion of sterile flies by increasing the number released. There was often a mismatch between the dispersion patterns of the wild and sterile flies, and the implications of this for the efficiency of the sterile insect technique (SIT) were investigated with a simulation study with the observed degrees of mismatch obtained from the monitoring data and assuming the overall ratio of sterile to wild flies to be 100:1. The simulation indicated that mismatches could result in the imposed rate of increase of wild flies being up to 3.5 times higher than that intended (i.e., 0.35 instead of 0.1). The effect of a mismatch always reduces the efficiency of SIT. The reason for this asymmetry is discussed and a comparison made with host-parasitoid and other systems. A release strategy to counter this effect is suggested. (author) [Spanish] Las moscas naturales y liberadas (esteriles) de Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae) y Bactrocera papayae (Drew and Hancock) en Australia tuvieron distribuciones en parches y sus compariciones con las predicciones de un modelo binomial negativo indicaron un nivel de agregacion a veces fue muy alto, particularmente en las densidades bajas durante de eradicacion. Un aumento en el promedio de la tasa de B. tryoni esteriles recapturadas en las dos formas de trampas no fue acompanado por una reduccion en su coeficiente de variacion y cuando las tasas de moscas recapturadas fue alto, el porcentaje de las trampas que capturaron ninguna mosca bajo solo un poco con un aumento en la tasa de las moscas recapturadas, esto indico que no es practicable bajar la heterogenicidad de dispersion de las moscas esteriles por medio de un aumento el numero de moscas liberadas. Muy a menudo se encontro un desajusto entre los patrones de dispersion de las moscas naturales y esteriles, y las implicaciones de esto para la eficiencia de la tecnica del insecto esteril (TIE) fueron investigadas en un estudio de simulacion con los grados de desajustes observados obtenidos de los datos del monitoreo y se considero que la razon general del numero de moscas esteriles a moscas naturales fueron 100:1. La simulacion indico que los desajustes en los patrones de dispersion pueden resultar en una tasa impuesta sobre el aumento de las moscas naturales de hasta 3.5 veces mas alta que la tasa intentada (i.e., 0.35 en vez de 0.1). El efecto de un desajuste siempre reduce la eficiencia de TIS. Se discute la razon para esta asimetria y una comparicion hecha con el sistema de hospedero-parasitoid y otros sistemas. Se sugiere una estrategia de liberacion para contrarrestar este efecto. (author)« less

Distribution and prevalence of vector-borne diseases in California chipmunks (Tamias spp.).

PubMed

Straub, Mary H; Roy, Austin N; Martin, Amanda; Sholty, Kathleen E; Stephenson, Nicole; Foley, Janet E

2017-01-01

California, with 13 chipmunk (Tamias) species, has more than any other state or country, occupying habitats ranging from chaparral to the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Chipmunks host zoonotic pathogens including Yersinia pestis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, relapsing fever (RF) Borrelia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, and spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia species. Chipmunk species are often not differentiated by public health workers, yet different species utilize different ecological niches and may have intrinsically different capacities for maintaining vector-borne pathogens and infecting vectors. We surveyed over 700 individuals from nine species of chipmunks throughout California for exposure to and infection by Y. pestis, A. phagocytophilum, RF Borrelia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, and SFG Rickettsia species. DNA of all five pathogens was found and all chipmunks except Merriam's chipmunk (T. merriami) were PCR-positive for at least one of the pathogens. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was most common (40.0%, 2/5) in Sonoma chipmunks (T. sonomae) from Marin county and B. burgdorferi most common (37.5%, 27/72) in redwood chipmunks (T. ochrogenys) from Mendocino county. RF Borrelia spp. was detected in 2% (6/297) of redwood chipmunks in Mendocino county and 10% (1/10) of both least (T. minimus) and lodgepole (T. speciosus) chipmunks in the western Sierra. Exposure to SFG Rickettsia spp. was found in the Northern Coastal region (Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties) and in the northern and western Sierra in several species of chipmunks. Y. pestis infection was found only in the western Sierra-in a yellow-pine (T. amoenus) and a long-eared (T. quadrimaculatus) chipmunk. Though more data are needed to thoroughly understand the roles that different chipmunk species play in disease transmission, our findings suggest that some chipmunk species may be more important to the maintenance of vector-borne diseases than others within each geographic area.

The magnetic field configuration of a solar prominence inferred from spectropolarimetric observations in the He i 10 830 Å triplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orozco Suárez, D.; Asensio Ramos, A.; Trujillo Bueno, J.

2014-06-01

Context. Determining the magnetic field vector in quiescent solar prominences is possible by interpreting the Hanle and Zeeman effects in spectral lines. However, observational measurements are scarce and lack high spatial resolution. Aims: We determine the magnetic field vector configuration along a quiescent solar prominence by interpreting spectropolarimetric measurements in the He i 1083.0 nm triplet obtained with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter installed at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope of the Observatorio del Teide. Methods: The He i 1083.0 nm triplet Stokes profiles were analyzed with an inversion code that takes the physics responsible for the polarization signals in this triplet into account. The results are put into a solar context with the help of extreme ultraviolet observations taken with the Solar Dynamic Observatory and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory satellites. Results: For the most probable magnetic field vector configuration, the analysis depicts a mean field strength of 7 gauss. We do not find local variations in the field strength except that the field is, on average, lower in the prominence body than in the prominence feet, where the field strength reaches ~25 gauss. The averaged magnetic field inclination with respect to the local vertical is ~77°. The acute angle of the magnetic field vector with the prominence main axis is 24° for the sinistral chirality case and 58° for the dextral chirality. These inferences are in rough agreement with previous results obtained from the analysis of data acquired with lower spatial resolutions. A movie is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

DrugECs: An Ensemble System with Feature Subspaces for Accurate Drug-Target Interaction Prediction

PubMed Central

Jiang, Jinjian; Wang, Nian; Zhang, Jun

2017-01-01

Background Drug-target interaction is key in drug discovery, especially in the design of new lead compound. However, the work to find a new lead compound for a specific target is complicated and hard, and it always leads to many mistakes. Therefore computational techniques are commonly adopted in drug design, which can save time and costs to a significant extent. Results To address the issue, a new prediction system is proposed in this work to identify drug-target interaction. First, drug-target pairs are encoded with a fragment technique and the software “PaDEL-Descriptor.” The fragment technique is for encoding target proteins, which divides each protein sequence into several fragments in order and encodes each fragment with several physiochemical properties of amino acids. The software “PaDEL-Descriptor” creates encoding vectors for drug molecules. Second, the dataset of drug-target pairs is resampled and several overlapped subsets are obtained, which are then input into kNN (k-Nearest Neighbor) classifier to build an ensemble system. Conclusion Experimental results on the drug-target dataset showed that our method performs better and runs faster than the state-of-the-art predictors. PMID:28744468

Robust method for TALEN-edited correction of pF508del in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells.

PubMed

Camarasa, María Vicenta; Gálvez, Víctor Miguel

2016-02-09

Cystic fibrosis is one of the most frequent inherited rare diseases, caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene. Apart from symptomatic treatments, therapeutic protocols for curing the disease have not yet been established. The regeneration of genetically corrected, disease-free epithelia in cystic fibrosis patients is envisioned by designing a stem cell/genetic therapy in which patient-derived pluripotent stem cells are genetically corrected, from which target tissues are derived. In this framework, we present an efficient method for seamless correction of pF508del mutation in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells by gene edited homologous recombination. Gene edition has been performed by transcription activator-like effector nucleases and a homologous recombination donor vector which contains a PiggyBac transposon-based double selectable marker cassette.This new method has been designed to partially avoid xenobiotics from the culture system, improve cell culture efficiency and genome stability by using a robust culture system method, and optimize timings. Overall, once the pluripotent cells have been amplified for the first nucleofection, the procedure can be completed in 69 days, and can be easily adapted to edit and change any gene of interest.

Detection of terahertz radiation in metamaterials: giant plasmonic ratchet effect (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudin, Sergey; Rupper, Greg; Kachorovski, Valentin; Shur, Michael S.

2017-05-01

The electromagnetic wave impinging on the spatially modulated two-dimensional electron liquid (2DEL) induces a direct current (DC) when the wave amplitude modulated with the same wave vector as the 2DEL but is shifted in phase (the ratchet effect). The recent theory of this phenomenon predicted a dramatic enhancement at the plasmonic resonances and a non-trivial polarization dependence [1]. We will present the results of the numerical simulations using a hydrodynamic model exploring the helicity dependence of the DC current for silicon, InGaAs, and GaN metamaterial structures at cryogenic and room temperatures. In particular we will report on the effect of the DEL viscosity and explore the nonlinear effects at large amplitudes of the helical electromagnetic radiation impinging on the ratchet structures. We will then discuss the applications of the ratchet effect for terahertz metamaterials in order to realize ultra-sensitive terahertz (THz) radiation detectors, modulators, phase shifters, and delay lines with cross sections matching the terahertz wavelength and capable of determining the electromagnetic wave polarization and helicity. To this end, we propose and analyze the four contact ratchet devices capable of registering the two perpendicular components of the electric currents induced by the elliptically or circularly polarized radiation and analyze the load impedance effects in the structures optimized for the ratchet metamaterial THz components. The analysis is based on the hydrodynamic model suitable for the multi-gated semiconductor structures, coupled self-consistently with Poisson's equation for the electric potential. The model accounts for the effects of pressure gradients and 2DEL viscosity. Our numerical solutions are applicable to the wide ranges of electron mobility and terahertz power. [1] I. V. Rozhansky, V. Yu. Kachorovskii, and M. S. Shur, Helicity-Driven Ratchet Effect Enhanced by Plasmons, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 246601, 15 June 2015

Emergent and Reemergent Arboviruses in South America and the Caribbean: Why So Many and Why Now?

PubMed

Marcondes, Carlos Brisola; Contigiani, Marta; Gleiser, Raquel Miranda

2017-05-01

Varios arbovirus han emergido y/o reemergido en el Nuevo Mundo en las últimas décadas. Los virus Zika y chikungunya, anteriormente restringidos a África y quizás Asia, invadieron el continente, causando gran preocupación; además siguen ocurriendo brotes causados por el virus dengue en casi todos los países, con millones de casos por año. El virus West Nile invadió rápidamente América del Norte, y ya se han encontrado casos en América Central y del Sur. Otros arbovirus, como Mayaro y el virus de la encefalitis equina del este han aumentado su actividad y se han encontrado en nuevas regiones. Se han documentado cambios en la patogenicidad de algunos virus que conducen a enfermedades inesperadas. Una fauna diversa de mosquitos, cambios climáticos y en la vegetación, aumento de los viajes, y urbanizaciones no planificadas que generan condiciones adecuadas para la proliferación de Aedes aegypti (L.), Culex quinquefasciatus Say y otros mosquitos vectores, se han combinado para influir fuertemente en los cambios en la distribución y la incidencia de varios arbovirus. Se enfatiza la necesidad de realizar estudios exhaustivos de la fauna de mosquitos y modificaciones de las condiciones ambientales, sobre todo en las zonas urbanas fuertemente influenciadas por factores sociales, políticos y económicos. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Geographical Variation of Deltamethrin Susceptibility of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Argentina With Emphasis on a Resistant Focus in the Gran Chaco.

PubMed

Fronza, G; Toloza, A C; Picollo, M I; Spillmann, C; Mougabure-Cueto, G A

2016-07-01

Chagas disease is one of the most important parasitic infections in Latin America. The main vector of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi in America is Triatoma infestans, a blood-sucking triatomine bug who is widely distributed in the Gran Chaco ecoregion. Control programs in endemic countries are focused in the elimination of triatomine vectors with pyrethroid insecticides. However, chemical control has failed in the Gran Chaco over the last two decades because of several factors. Previous studies have reported the evolution of different levels of resistance to deltamethrin in Tri. infestans Recently, very high resistance has been found in the central area of the Argentine Gran Chaco. However, the origin and the extension of this remarkably resistant focus remain unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the geographical variation of deltamethrin susceptibility of Tri. infestans in different endemic provinces of Argentina, with emphasis in the center of the Argentine Gran Chaco ecoregion where this main vector has not been reduced. Populations of Mendoza, San Juan, Santiago del Estero, and Tucumán provinces were all susceptible. Resistant populations were only detected in the province of Chaco, where a mosaic resistant focus was described at the Güemes Department. It was characterized into three pyrethroid resistance categories: susceptible, low, and highly resistant populations. We found the populations with the highest resistance levels to deltamethrin, with resistant ratios over 1000. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Distribution and prevalence of vector-borne diseases in California chipmunks (Tamias spp.)

PubMed Central

Roy, Austin N.; Martin, Amanda; Sholty, Kathleen E.; Stephenson, Nicole; Foley, Janet E.

2017-01-01

California, with 13 chipmunk (Tamias) species, has more than any other state or country, occupying habitats ranging from chaparral to the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Chipmunks host zoonotic pathogens including Yersinia pestis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, relapsing fever (RF) Borrelia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, and spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia species. Chipmunk species are often not differentiated by public health workers, yet different species utilize different ecological niches and may have intrinsically different capacities for maintaining vector-borne pathogens and infecting vectors. We surveyed over 700 individuals from nine species of chipmunks throughout California for exposure to and infection by Y. pestis, A. phagocytophilum, RF Borrelia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, and SFG Rickettsia species. DNA of all five pathogens was found and all chipmunks except Merriam’s chipmunk (T. merriami) were PCR-positive for at least one of the pathogens. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was most common (40.0%, 2/5) in Sonoma chipmunks (T. sonomae) from Marin county and B. burgdorferi most common (37.5%, 27/72) in redwood chipmunks (T. ochrogenys) from Mendocino county. RF Borrelia spp. was detected in 2% (6/297) of redwood chipmunks in Mendocino county and 10% (1/10) of both least (T. minimus) and lodgepole (T. speciosus) chipmunks in the western Sierra. Exposure to SFG Rickettsia spp. was found in the Northern Coastal region (Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties) and in the northern and western Sierra in several species of chipmunks. Y. pestis infection was found only in the western Sierra—in a yellow-pine (T. amoenus) and a long-eared (T. quadrimaculatus) chipmunk. Though more data are needed to thoroughly understand the roles that different chipmunk species play in disease transmission, our findings suggest that some chipmunk species may be more important to the maintenance of vector-borne diseases than others within each geographic area. PMID:29232397

Gelsolin functions as a metastasis suppressor in B16-BL6 mouse melanoma cells and requirement of the carboxyl-terminus for its effect.

PubMed

Fujita, H; Okada, F; Hamada , J; Hosokawa, M; Moriuchi, T; Koya, R C; Kuzumaki, N

2001-09-01

Gelsolin, an actin-binding protein, is implicated as a critical regulator in cell motility. In addition, we have reported that cellular levels of gelsolin are decreased in various tumor cells, and overexpression of gelsolin by gene transfer suppresses tumorigenicity. We sought to assess the effects of gelsolin overexpression on metastasis and to determine the importance of a carboxyl-terminus that confers Ca(2+) dependency on gelsolin for effects of its overexpression. Expression vectors with cDNA encoding either full-length wild-type or His321 mutant form, isolated from a flat revertant of Ras-transformed cells and a carboxyl-terminal truncate, C-del of gelsolin, were transfected into a highly metastatic murine melanoma cell line, B16-BL6. Expression of introduced cDNA in transfectants was confirmed using Western blotting, 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We characterized phenotypes of transfectants, such as growth rate, colony formation in soft agar, cell motility and metastasis formation in vivo. Transfectants expressing the wild-type, His321 mutant and C-del gelsolin exhibited reduced growth ability in soft agar. Although expression of integrin beta1 or alpha4 on the cell surface of transfectants was not changed, wild-type and His321 mutant gelsolin, except for C-del gelsolin, exhibited retardation of cell spreading, reduced chemotatic migration to fibronectin and suppressed lung colonization in spontaneous metastasis assay. Gelsolin may function as a metastasis suppressor as well as a tumor suppressor gene. The carboxyl-terminus of gelsolin is important for retardation of cell spreading, reduced chemotasis and metastasis suppression. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Breakfast of champions or kiss of death? Survival and sexual performance of protein-fed, sterile Mediterranean fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yuval, B.; Maor, M.; Levy, K.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is increasingly being used around the world to control Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), the Mediterranean fruit fly as part of an area-wide integrated approach. One option that may improve the effectiveness of the SIT, by increasing the sexual competitiveness of released sterile males, consists of feeding males protein during the post-teneral stage, a diet that increases sexual performance of wild males. We examine the effects of diet on the successive hurdles males must overcome in order to inseminate females, i.e., joining leks, copulating females, having their sperm stored and inhibition of female remating. Inmore » addition, we address the effects of diet on post-release foraging success, longevity, and the ability to withstand starvation. While protein feeding universally increases the sexual success of wild males, its effect on sterile males varies with strain, experimental settings, and environmental conditions. In some cases, treatments that resulted in the best sexual performance were significantly associated with increased vulnerability to starvation. However, no particular diet affected the ability of sterile males to find nutrients in the field when these where available. We suggest it may be better to release relatively short-lived flies that are highly competitive, rather than long-lived, sexually ineffective ones. (author) [Spanish] El uso de la tecnica de insecto esteril (TIE) esta aumentando alrededor del mundo para el control de Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), la mosca mediterranea de la fruta como parte de un enfoque integrado por toda el area. Una opcion que puede mejorar la eficiencia de TIE, por medio del aumento de la capacidad de los machos esteriles liberados para competir, consiste en la alimentacion de los machos con proteina durante la etapa de pos-teneral, una dieta que aumenta el desempeno sexual de los machos naturales. Nosotros examinamos los efectos de la dieta sobre los obstaculos sucesivos que los machos tienen que superar para inseminar las hembras, i.e., unir con otros machos en areas para el apareamiento, copula de las hembras, almacenar esperma e inhibir el re-apareamiento de hembras. Ademas discutimos los efectos de la dieta sobre el exito de su actividad forrajera despues de ser liberados, la longevidad y la habilidad para aguantar la inanicion. Mientras que la alimentacion con proteina universalmente aumentan el exito sexual de los machos naturales, su efecto sobre los machos esteriles varia segun la raza, el lugar de los experimentos y las condiciones ambientales. En algunos casos, los tratamientos que resultaron con mejor desempeno sexual fueron asociados significativamente con el aumento de la vulnerabilidad a la inanicion. Sin embargo, ninguna dieta en particular afecto la habilidad de los machos esteriles para encontrar nutrientes en el campo cuando fueron disponibles. Nosotros sugerimos que puede ser mejor el liberar moscas que tienen una vida relativamente corta y que son mas competidoras, en vez de moscas que tienen una vida larga y sexualmente inefectiva. (author)« less

Direct molecular identification of Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units in domestic and peridomestic Triatoma infestans and Triatoma sordida from the Argentine Chaco.

PubMed

Maffey, L; Cardinal, M V; Ordóñez-Krasnowski, P C; Lanati, L A; Lauricella, M A; Schijman, A G; Gürtler, R E

2012-10-01

We assessed the distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi Discrete Typing Units (DTUs) in domestic and peridomestic Triatoma infestans and Triatoma sordida specimens collected in a well-defined rural area in Pampa del Indio, northeastern Argentina. Microscopically-positive bugs were randomly selected with a multi-level sampling design, and DTUs were identified using direct PCR strategies. TcVI predominated in 61% of 69 T. infestans and in 56% of 9 T. sordida. TcV was the secondary DTU in T. infestans (16%) and was found in 1 T. sordida specimen (11%). Three T. sordida (33%) were found infected with TcI, a DTU also identified in local Didelphis albiventris opossums. Mixed DTU infections occurred rarely (5%) and were detected both directly from the bugs' rectal ampoule and parasite cultures. The identified DTUs and bug collection sites of T. infestans were significantly associated. Bugs infected with TcV were almost exclusively captured in domiciles whereas those with TcVI were found similarly in domiciles and peridomiciles. All mixed infections occurred in domiciles. TcV-infected bugs fed more often on humans than on dogs, whereas TcVI-infected bugs showed the reverse pattern. T. sordida is a probable sylvatic vector of TcI linked to D. albiventris, and could represent a secondary vector of TcVI and TcV in the domestic/peridomestic cycle.

Direct molecular identification of Trypanosoma cruzi Discrete Typing Units in domestic and peridomestic Triatoma infestans and Triatoma sordida from the Argentine Chaco

PubMed Central

MAFFEY, L.; CARDINAL, M.V.; ORDÓÑEZ-KRASNOWSKI, P.C.; LANATI, L.A.; LAURICELLA, M.A.; SCHIJMAN, A.G.; GÜRTLER, R.E.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY We assessed the distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi Discrete Typing Units (DTUs) in domestic and peridomestic Triatoma infestans and Triatoma sordida specimens collected in a well-defined rural area in Pampa del Indio, northeastern Argentina. Microscopically-positive bugs were randomly selected with a multi-level sampling design, and DTUs were identified using direct PCR strategies. TcVI predominated in 61% of 69 T. infestans and in 56% of 9 T. sordida. TcV was the secondary DTU in T. infestans (16%) and was found in one T. sordida specimen (11%). Three T. sordida (33%) were found infected with TcI, a DTU also identified in local Didelphis albiventris opossums. Mixed DTU infections occurred rarely (5%) and were detected both directly from the bugs’ rectal ampoule and parasite cultures. The identified DTUs and bug collection sites of T. infestans were significantly associated. Bugs infected with TcV were almost exclusively captured in domiciles whereas those with TcVI were found similarly in domiciles and peridomiciles. All mixed infections occurred in domiciles. TcV-infected bugs fed more often on humans than on dogs, whereas TcVI-infected bugs showed the reverse pattern. T. sordida is a probable sylvatic vector of TcI linked to D. albiventris, and could represent a secondary vector of TcVI and TcV in the domestic/peridomestic cycle. PMID:23036510

Tree hole mosquito species composition and relative abundances differ between urban and adjacent forest habitats in northwestern Argentina.

PubMed

Mangudo, C; Aparicio, J P; Rossi, G C; Gleiser, R M

2018-04-01

Water-holding tree holes are main larval habitats for many pathogen vectors, especially mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Along 3 years, the diversity and composition of mosquito species in tree holes of two neighbouring but completely different environments, a city and its adjacent forest, were compared using generalized linear mixed models, PERMANOVA, SIMPER and species association indexes. The city area (Northwest Argentina) is highly relevant epidemiologically due to the presence of Aedes aegypti L. (main dengue vector) and occurrence of dengue outbreaks; the Yungas rainforests are highly biologically diverse. In total seven mosquito species were recorded, in descending order of abundance: Ae. aegypti, Haemagogus spegazzinii Brèthes, Sabethes purpureus (Theobald), Toxorhynchites guadeloupensis Dyar and Knab, Aedes terrens Walker, Haemagogus leucocelaenus Dyar & Shannon and Sabethes petrocchiae (Shannon and Del Ponte). The seven mosquito species were recorded in both city sites and forested areas; however, their mosquito communities significantly diverged because of marked differences in the frequency and relative abundance of some species: Tx. guadeloupensis and Ae. aegypti were significantly more abundant in forest and urban areas, respectively. Positive significant associations were detected between Ae. aegypti, Hg. spegazzinii and Hg. leucocelaenus. The combined presence of Ae. aegypti, Haemagogus and Sabethes in the area also highlight a potential risk of yellow fever epidemics. Overall results show an impoverished tree hole mosquito fauna in urban environments, reflecting negative effects of urbanization on mosquito diversity.

Where do these bugs come from? Phenotypic structure of Triatoma infestans populations after control interventions in the Argentine Chaco

PubMed Central

Gaspe, María Sol; Provecho, Yael Mariana; Piccinali, Romina Valeria; Gürtler/, Ricardo Esteban

2015-01-01

House re-invasion by native triatomines after insecticide-based control campaigns represents a major threat for Chagas disease vector control. We conducted a longitudinal intervention study in a rural section (Area III, 407 houses) of Pampa del Indio, northeastern Argentina, and used wing geometric morphometry to compare pre-spray and post-spray (re-infestant bugs) Triatoma infestans populations. The community-wide spraying with pyrethroids reduced the prevalence of house infestation by T. infestans from 31.9% to < 1% during a four-year follow-up, unlike our previous studies in the neighbouring Area I. Two groups of bug collection sites differing in wing shape variables before interventions (including 221 adults from 11 domiciles) were used as a reference for assigning 44 post-spray adults. Wing shape variables from post-spray, high-density bug colonies and pre-spray groups were significantly different, suggesting that re-infestant insects had an external origin. Insects from one house differed strongly in wing shape variables from all other specimens. A further comparison between insects from both areas supported the existence of independent re-infestation processes within the same district. These results point to local heterogeneities in house re-infestation dynamics and emphasise the need to expand the geographic coverage of vector surveillance and control operations to the affected region. PMID:25946158

S-alkynyl esters of phosphorus thioacids as inhibitors of cholinesterases and as promising physiologically active compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brestkin, A. P.; Vikhreva, L. A.; Godovikov, Nikolai N.; Zhukovskii, Yu G.; Kabachnik, Martin I.; Moralev, S. N.; Rosengart, V. I.; Sherstobitov, O. E.

1991-08-01

Data are given in the review on the anticholinesterase activity of 58 specially synthesised esters of phosphorus thioacids containing an acetylenic bond in the thioester group. It was established that compounds containing an acetylenic group in the β and especially in the α position of the thioester residue display an inhibitory action many times greater than that of their saturated analogues. A phosphorylated enzyme is formed by the reaction of the acetylenic organophosphorus inhibitors (OPIs) with the enzymes as in the case of reaction with the saturated analogues. It was shown that the acetylenic organophosphorus inhibitors possess high biological activity both for mammals and for arthropods. On replacing the phosphoryl oxygen (P=O) by sulphur (P=S) the toxicity of the acetylenic organophosphorus inhibitors for mammals was sharply reduced but was little changed for arthropods. This raises the possibility of obtaining highly selective insecto-acaricides. The mechanism of the antienzymic action of the acetylenic OPIs and the mechanism of detoxication of diethyl S-hexynyl dithiophosphate are considered. The bibliography includes 44 references.

U(1) mediation of flux supersymmetry breaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grimm, Thomas W.; Klemm, Albrecht

2008-10-01

We study the mediation of supersymmetry breaking triggered by background fluxes in Type II string compactifications with Script N = 1 supersymmetry. The mediation arises due to an U(1) vector multiplet coupling to both a hidden supersymmetry breaking flux sector and a visible D-brane sector. The required internal manifolds can be constructed by non-Kähler resolutions of singular Calabi-Yau manifolds. The effective action encoding the U(1) coupling is then determined in terms of the global topological properties of the internal space. We investigate suitable local geometries for the hidden and visible sector in detail. This includes a systematic study of orientifold symmetries of del Pezzo surfaces realized in compact geometries after geometric transition. We construct compact examples admitting the key properties to realize flux supersymmetry breaking and U(1) mediation. Their toric realization allows us to analyze the geometry of curve classes and confirm the topological connection between the hidden and visible sector.

House Reinfestation With Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) After Community-Wide Spraying With Insecticides in the Argentine Chaco: A Multifactorial Process.

PubMed

Provecho, Yael M; Gaspe, M Sol; Fernández, M Del Pilar; Gürtler, Ricardo E

2017-05-01

We investigated the dynamics and underlying causes of house (re)infestation with Triatoma infestans (Klug 1834) after a community-wide residual spraying with pyrethroids in a well-defined rural section of Pampa del Indio municipality (northeastern Argentina) over a 4-yr period. House infestation was assessed by timed manual searches, during insecticide applications, and by opportunistic householders' bug collections. All reinfested houses were selectively re-sprayed with insecticides. The resident population comprised Qom (66.6%) and Creole (33.4%) households, whose sociodemographic profiles differed substantially. The prevalence of house infestation dropped, less than expected, from 20.5% at baseline to 5.0% at 14 months postspraying (MPS), and then fluctuated between 0.8 and 4.2% over 21-51 MPS. Postspraying house infestation was positively and highly significantly associated with prespraying infestation. Most of the foci detected over 14-21 MPS were considered persistent (residual), some of which were moderately resistant to pyrethroids and were suppressed with malathion. Infestation patterns over 27-51 MPS suggested bug invasion from internal or external foci, but the sources of most findings were unaccounted for. Local spatial analysis identified two hotspots of postspraying house infestation. Using multimodel inference with model averaging, we corroborated that baseline domestic infestation was closely related to refuge availability, housing quality, and occurrence of peridomestic infestation. The diminished effectiveness of single pyrethroid treatments, partly attributable to moderate resistance compounded with rather insensitive vector detection methods and poor housing conditions, contributed to vector persistence. Improved control strategies combined with broad social participation are needed for the sustainable elimination of vector-borne human Chagas disease from the Gran Chaco. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Life Cycle, Feeding, and Defecation Patterns of Panstrongylus chinai (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) Under Laboratory Conditions.

PubMed

Mosquera, Katherine D; Villacís, Anita G; Grijalva, Mario J

2016-07-01

Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi Panstrongylus chinai (Del Ponte) is highly domiciliated in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Andes and has been found naturally infected with T. cruzi The objective of this study was to describe the life cycle, feeding, and defecation patterns of P. chinai in the Loja province within southern Ecuador. To characterize its life cycle, a cohort of 70 individuals was followed from egg to adult. At each stage of development, prefeeding time, feeding time, weight of ingested meal, proportional weight increase, and the time to the first defecation were recorded. Panstrongylus chinai completed its development in 371.4 ± 22.3 d, (95% CI 355.4-387.4), which means that it is likely a univoltine species. Prefeeding time, feeding time, and weight of ingested meal increased as individuals developed through nymphal stages. Moreover, time to first defecation was shortest in the early nymphal stages, suggesting higher vector potential in the early developmental stages. Data obtained in this study represent an important advance in our knowledge of the biology of P. chinai, which should be considered as a secondary Chagas disease vector species in the Andean valleys of Loja (Ecuador) and in the north of Peru, and included in entomological surveillance programs. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Detection of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) in the municipality of Istmina, Chocó, Colombia].

PubMed

Carvajal, José Joaquín; Honorio, Nildimar Alves; Díaz, Silvia Patricia; Ruiz, Edinso Rafael; Asprilla, Jimmy; Ardila, Susanne; Parra-Henao, Gabriel

2016-09-01

Aedes albopictus is widely distributed around the world. Its introduction to the Americas occurred in 1985 and it is considered a potential vector of dengue viruses and one of the principal vectors of chikungunya virus. In Colombia, this species was reported for the first time in Leticia (Amazonas) in 1998, followed by Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca) in 2001, Barrancabermeja (Santander) in 2010, and Medellín (Antioquia) in 2011. So far, this species has been reported in ten departments of the country. Objective: To report the finding of A. albopictus in the city of Istmina, Chocó, and its implications for public health. Materials and methods: In January 2015, we conducted an inspection of immature stages of Aedes spp. in breeding sites in the neighborhoods of San Agustín, Santa Genoveva and Subestación in Istmina, Chocó. The immature stages collected in this municipality were identified at the Unidad de Entomología of the Laboratorio de Salud Pública Departamental de Chocó, and confirmed by the Laboratorio de Entomología, Red Nacional de Laboratorios, Instituto Nacional de Salud, in Bogotá. In January 2015, twelve A. albopictus larvae were found in the breeding sites located in Subestación and San Agustín neighborhoods. The occurrence of A. albopictus in the municipality of Istmina underlines the importance of strengthening continuous entomological surveillance strategies at national and local levels in the country, especially in Istmina and its surrounding municipalities.

Molecular phylogeography of the Chagas' disease vector Triatoma infestans in Argentina

PubMed Central

Pérez de Rosas, A R; Segura, E L; García, B A

2011-01-01

Triatoma infestans is the main vector of Chagas' disease in South America between latitudes 10°S and 46°S. A multilocus microsatellite data set of 836 individuals from 27 populations of T. infestans, from all its range of distribution in Argentina, was analyzed. Our results favor the hypothesis of two independent migration events of colonization in Argentina and secondary contacts. The majority of the populations of the western provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan and the west of Cordoba province, had almost no shared ancestry with the rest of the populations analyzed. Probably those populations, belonging to localities close to the Andean region, could have been established by the dispersal line of T. infestans that would have arrived to Argentina through the Andes, whereas most of the rest of the populations analyzed may have derived from the dispersal line of T. infestans in non-Andean lowlands. Among them, those from the provinces of Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero and Santa Fe shared different percentages of ancestry and presented lower degree of genetic differentiation. The migratory movement linked to regional economies and possibly associated with passive dispersal, would allow a higher genetic exchange among these populations of T. infestans. This study, using microsatellite markers, provides a new approach for evaluating the validity of the different hypotheses concerning the evolutionary history of this species. Two major lineages of T. infestans, an Andean and non-Andean, are suggested. PMID:21224874

Mean Flow Augmented Acoustics in Rocket Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischbach, Sean R.

2014-01-01

Oscillatory motion in solid rocket motors and liquid engines has long been a subject of concern. Many rockets display violent fluctuations in pressure, velocity, and temperature originating from the complex interactions between the combustion process and gas dynamics. The customary approach to modeling acoustic waves inside a rocket chamber is to apply the classical inhomogeneous wave equation to the combustion gas. The assumption of a linear, non-dissipative wave in a quiescent fluid remains valid while the acoustic amplitudes are small and local gas velocities stay below Mach 0.2. The converging section of a rocket nozzle, where gradients in pressure, density, and velocity become large, is a notable region where this approach is not applicable. The expulsion of unsteady energy through the nozzle of a rocket is identified as the predominate source of acoustic damping for most rocket systems. An accurate model of the acoustic behavior within this region where acoustic modes are influenced by the presence of a steady mean flow is required for reliable stability predictions. Recently, an approach to address nozzle damping with mean flow effects was implemented by French [1]. This new approach extends the work originated by Sigman and Zinn [2] by solving the acoustic velocity potential equation (AVPE) formulated by perturbing the Euler equations [3]. The acoustic velocity potential (psi) describing the acoustic wave motion in the presence of an inhomogeneous steady high-speed flow is defined by, (del squared)(psi) - (lambda/c)(exp 2)(psi) - M(dot)[M(dot)(del)(del(psi))] - 2(lambda(M/c) + (M(dot)del(M))(dot)del(psi)-2(lambda)(psi)[M(dot)del(1/c)]=0 (1) with M as the Mach vector, c as the speed of sound, and lambda as the complex eigenvalue. French apply the finite volume method to solve the steady flow field within the combustion chamber and nozzle with inviscid walls. The complex eigenvalues and eigenvector are determined with the use of the ARPACK eigensolver. The present study employs the COMSOL Multphysics framework to solve the coupled eigenvalue problem using the finite element approach. The study requires one way coupling of the CFD High Mach Number Flow (HMNF) and mathematics module. The HMNF module evaluated the gas flow inside of a solid rocket motor using St. Robert's law modeling solid propellant burn rate, slip boundary conditions, and the supersonic outflow condition. Results from the HMNF model are used by the coefficient form of the mathematics module to determine the eigenvalues of the AVPE. The mathematics model is truncated at the nozzle sonic line, where a zero flux boundary condition is self-satisfying. The remaining boundaries are modeled with a zero flux boundary condition, assuming zero acoustic absorption on all surfaces. Pertinent results from these analyses are the complex valued eigenvalue and eigenvectors. Comparisons are made to the French results to evaluate the modeling approach. A comparison of the French results with that of the present analysis is displayed in figures 1 and 2, respectively. The graphic shows the first tangential eigenvector's real (a) and imaginary (b) values.

Solid Rocket Motor Combustion Instability Modeling in COMSOL Multiphysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischbach, S. R.

2015-01-01

Combustion instability modeling of Solid Rocket Motors (SRM) remains a topic of active research. Many rockets display violent fluctuations in pressure, velocity, and temperature originating from the complex interactions between the combustion process, acoustics, and steady-state gas dynamics. Recent advances in defining the energy transport of disturbances within steady flow-fields have been applied by combustion stability modelers to improve the analysis framework. Employing this more accurate global energy balance requires a higher fidelity model of the SRM flow-field and acoustic mode shapes. The current industry standard analysis tool utilizes a one dimensional analysis of the time dependent fluid dynamics along with a quasi-three dimensional propellant grain regression model to determine the SRM ballistics. The code then couples with another application that calculates the eigenvalues of the one dimensional homogenous wave equation. The mean flow parameters and acoustic normal modes are coupled to evaluate the stability theory developed and popularized by Culick. The assumption of a linear, non-dissipative wave in a quiescent fluid remains valid while acoustic amplitudes are small and local gas velocities stay below Mach 0.2. The current study employs the COMSOL Multiphysics finite element framework to model the steady flow-field parameters and acoustic normal modes of a generic SRM. This work builds upon previous efforts to verify the use of the acoustic velocity potential equation (AVPE) laid out by Campos. The acoustic velocity potential (psi) describing the acoustic wave motion in the presence of an inhomogeneous steady high-speed flow is defined by, del squared psi - (lambda/c) squared psi - M x [M x del((del)(psi))] - 2((lambda)(M)/c + M x del(M) x (del)(psi) - 2(lambda)(psi)[M x del(1/c)] = 0. with M as the Mach vector, c as the speed of sound, and ? as the complex eigenvalue. The study requires one way coupling of the CFD High Mach Number Flow (HMNF) and mathematics module. The HMNF module evaluates the gas flow inside of a SRM using St. Robert's law to model the solid propellant burn rate, slip boundary conditions, and the supersonic outflow condition. Results from the HMNF model are verified by comparing the pertinent ballistics parameters with the industry standard code outputs (i.e. pressure drop, axial velocity, exit velocity). These results are then used by the coefficient form of the mathematics module to determine the complex eigenvalues of the AVPE. The mathematics model is truncated at the nozzle sonic line, where a zero flux boundary condition is self-satisfying. The remaining boundaries are modeled with a zero flux boundary condition, assuming zero acoustic absorption on all surfaces. The one way coupled analysis is perform four times utilizing geometries determined through traditional SRM modeling procedures. The results of the steady-state CFD and AVPE analyses are used to calculate the linear acoustic growth rate as is defined by Flandro and Jacob. In order to verify the process implemented within COMSOL we first employ the Culick theory and compare the results with the industry standard. After the process is verified, the Flandro/Jacob energy balance theory is employed and results displayed.

The Application of Support Vector Machine (svm) Using Cielab Color Model, Color Intensity and Color Constancy as Features for Ortho Image Classification of Benthic Habitats in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cubillas, J. E.; Japitana, M.

2016-06-01

This study demonstrates the application of CIELAB, Color intensity, and One Dimensional Scalar Constancy as features for image recognition and classifying benthic habitats in an image with the coastal areas of Hinatuan, Surigao Del Sur, Philippines as the study area. The study area is composed of four datasets, namely: (a) Blk66L005, (b) Blk66L021, (c) Blk66L024, and (d) Blk66L0114. SVM optimization was performed in Matlab® software with the help of Parallel Computing Toolbox to hasten the SVM computing speed. The image used for collecting samples for SVM procedure was Blk66L0114 in which a total of 134,516 sample objects of mangrove, possible coral existence with rocks, sand, sea, fish pens and sea grasses were collected and processed. The collected samples were then used as training sets for the supervised learning algorithm and for the creation of class definitions. The learned hyper-planes separating one class from another in the multi-dimensional feature space can be thought of as a super feature which will then be used in developing the C (classifier) rule set in eCognition® software. The classification results of the sampling site yielded an accuracy of 98.85% which confirms the reliability of remote sensing techniques and analysis employed to orthophotos like the CIELAB, Color Intensity and One dimensional scalar constancy and the use of SVM classification algorithm in classifying benthic habitats.

Development of Numerical Tools for the Investigation of Plasma Detachment from Magnetic Nozzles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sankaran, Kamesh; Polzin, Kurt A.

2007-01-01

A multidimensional numerical simulation framework aimed at investigating the process of plasma detachment from a magnetic nozzle is introduced. An existing numerical code based on a magnetohydrodynamic formulation of the plasma flow equations that accounts for various dispersive and dissipative processes in plasmas was significantly enhanced to allow for the modeling of axisymmetric domains containing three.dimensiunai momentum and magnetic flux vectors. A separate magnetostatic solver was used to simulate the applied magnetic field topologies found in various nozzle experiments. Numerical results from a magnetic diffusion test problem in which all three components of the magnetic field were present exhibit excellent quantitative agreement with the analytical solution, and the lack of numerical instabilities due to fluctuations in the value of del(raised dot)B indicate that the conservative MHD framework with dissipative effects is well-suited for multi-dimensional analysis of magnetic nozzles. Further studies will focus on modeling literature experiments both for the purpose of code validation and to extract physical insight regarding the mechanisms driving detachment.

Superconducting transition temperature of a boron nitride layer with a high niobium coverage.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez, Gerardo; Magana, Fernando

We explore the possibility of inducing superconductivity in a Boron Nitride (BN) sheet, by doping its surface with Nb atoms sitting on the center of the hexagons. We used first-principles density functional theory in the general gradient approximation. The Quantum-Espresso package was used with norm conserving pseudo potentials. The structure considered was relaxed to their minimum energy configuration. Phonon frequencies were calculated using the linear-response technique on several phonon wave-vector meshes. The electron-phonon coupling parameter was calculated for a number of k meshes. The superconducting critical temperature was estimated using the Allen-Dynes formula with μ* = 0.1 - 0.15. We note that Nb is a good candidate material to show a superconductor transition for the BN-metal system. We thank Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, partial financial support by Grant IN-106514 and we also thank Miztli Super-Computing center the technical assistance.

A Visual Reporter System for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Tomato Fruit Based on Anthocyanin Accumulation1[C][W

PubMed Central

Orzaez, Diego; Medina, Aurora; Torre, Sara; Fernández-Moreno, Josefina Patricia; Rambla, José Luis; Fernández-del-Carmen, Asun; Butelli, Eugenio; Martin, Cathie; Granell, Antonio

2009-01-01

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a powerful tool for reverse genetics in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). However, the irregular distribution of the effects of VIGS hampers the identification and quantification of nonvisual phenotypes. To overcome this limitation, a visually traceable VIGS system was developed for fruit, comprising two elements: (1) a transgenic tomato line (Del/Ros1) expressing Antirrhinum majus Delila and Rosea1 transcription factors under the control of the fruit-specific E8 promoter, showing a purple-fruited, anthocyanin-rich phenotype; and (2) a modified tobacco rattle virus VIGS vector incorporating partial Rosea1 and Delila sequences, which was shown to restore the red-fruited phenotype upon agroinjection in Del/Ros1 plants. Dissection of silenced areas for subsequent chemometric analysis successfully identified the relevant metabolites underlying gene function for three tomato genes, phytoene desaturase, TomloxC, and SlODO1, used for proof of concept. The C-6 aldehydes derived from lipid 13-hydroperoxidation were found to be the volatile compounds most severely affected by TomloxC silencing, whereas geranial and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one were identified as the volatiles most severely reduced by phytoene desaturase silencing in ripening fruit. In a third example, silencing of SlODO1, a tomato homolog of the ODORANT1 gene encoding a myb transcription factor, which regulates benzenoid metabolism in petunia (Petunia hybrida) flowers, resulted in a sharp accumulation of benzaldehyde in tomato fruit. Together, these results indicate that fruit VIGS, enhanced by anthocyanin monitoring, can be a powerful tool for reverse genetics in the study of the metabolic networks operating during fruit ripening. PMID:19429602

Mapping of High Value Crops Through AN Object-Based Svm Model Using LIDAR Data and Orthophoto in Agusan del Norte Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Candare, Rudolph Joshua; Japitana, Michelle; Cubillas, James Earl; Ramirez, Cherry Bryan

2016-06-01

This research describes the methods involved in the mapping of different high value crops in Agusan del Norte Philippines using LiDAR. This project is part of the Phil-LiDAR 2 Program which aims to conduct a nationwide resource assessment using LiDAR. Because of the high resolution data involved, the methodology described here utilizes object-based image analysis and the use of optimal features from LiDAR data and Orthophoto. Object-based classification was primarily done by developing rule-sets in eCognition. Several features from the LiDAR data and Orthophotos were used in the development of rule-sets for classification. Generally, classes of objects can't be separated by simple thresholds from different features making it difficult to develop a rule-set. To resolve this problem, the image-objects were subjected to Support Vector Machine learning. SVMs have gained popularity because of their ability to generalize well given a limited number of training samples. However, SVMs also suffer from parameter assignment issues that can significantly affect the classification results. More specifically, the regularization parameter C in linear SVM has to be optimized through cross validation to increase the overall accuracy. After performing the segmentation in eCognition, the optimization procedure as well as the extraction of the equations of the hyper-planes was done in Matlab. The learned hyper-planes separating one class from another in the multi-dimensional feature-space can be thought of as super-features which were then used in developing the classifier rule set in eCognition. In this study, we report an overall classification accuracy of greater than 90% in different areas.

The novel complex allele [A238V;F508del] of the CFTR gene: clinical phenotype and possible implications for cystic fibrosis etiological therapies.

PubMed

Diana, Anna; Polizzi, Angela Maria; Santostasi, Teresa; Ratclif, Luigi; Pantaleo, Maria Giuseppina; Leonetti, Giuseppina; Iusco, Danila Rosa; Gallo, Crescenzio; Conese, Massimo; Manca, Antonio

2016-06-01

Few mutations in cis have been annotated for F508del homozygous patients. Southern Italy patients who at a first analysis appeared homozygous for the F508del mutation (n=63) or compound heterozygous for the F508del and another mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (n=155) were searched for the A238V mutation in exon 6. The allelic frequency of the complex allele [A238V;F508del] was 0.04. When the whole data set was used (comprised also of 56 F508del/F508del and 34 F508del/other mutation controls), no differences reached the statistical significance in the clinical parameters, except chloride concentrations which were lower in [A238V;F508del]/other mutation compared with F508del/other mutation (P=0.03). The two study groups presented less complications than the control groups. Within the minimal data set (34 F508del/F508del, 27 F508del/other mutation, 4 [A238V;F508del]/F508del cases and 5 [A238V;F508del]/other mutation cases); that is, presenting all the variables in each patient, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity presented a trend to lower levels in the study groups in comparison with the F508del/F508del group, and C-reactive protein approximated statistically significant higher levels in the [A238V;F508del]/other mutation as compared with F508del/F508del patients (P=0.09). The analysis of statistical dependence among the variables showed a significant anticorrelation between chloride and body mass index in the [A238V;F508del]/other mutation group. In conclusion, the complex allele [A238V;F508del] seems to be associated with less general complications than in the control groups, on the other hand possibly giving a worse pulmonary phenotype and higher systemic/local inflammatory response. These findings have implications for the correct recruitment and clinical response of F508del patients in the clinical trials testing the new etiological drugs for cystic fibrosis.

Geographic variation of Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units from Triatoma infestans at different spatial scales.

PubMed

Fernández, María Del Pilar; Cecere, María Carla; Lanati, Leonardo Alejandro; Lauricella, Marta Alicia; Schijman, Alejandro Gabriel; Gürtler, Ricardo Esteban; Cardinal, Marta Victoria

2014-12-01

We assessed the diversity and distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units (DTU) in Triatoma infestans populations and its association with local vector-borne transmission levels at various geographic scales. At a local scale, we found high predominance (92.4%) of TcVI over TcV in 68 microscope-positive T. infestans collected in rural communities in Santiago del Estero province in northern Argentina. TcV was more often found in communities with higher house infestation prevalence compatible with active vector-borne transmission. Humans and dogs were the main bloodmeal sources of the TcV- and TcVI-infected bugs. At a broader scale, the greatest variation in DTU diversity was found within the Argentine Chaco (227 microscope-positive bugs), mainly related to differences in equitability between TcVI and TcV among study areas. At a country-wide level, a meta-analysis of published data revealed clear geographic variations in the distribution of DTUs across countries. A correspondence analysis showed that DTU distributions in domestic T. infestans were more similar within Argentina (dominated by TcVI) and within Bolivia (where TcI and TcV had similar relative frequencies), whereas large heterogeneity was found within Chile. DTU diversity was lower in the western Argentine Chaco region and Paraguay (D=0.14-0.22) than in the eastern Argentine Chaco, Bolivia and Chile (D=0.20-0.68). Simultaneous DTU identifications of T. cruzi-infected hosts and triatomines across areas differing in epidemiological status are needed to shed new light on the structure and dynamics of parasite transmission cycles. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DNA Barcode Reference Library for the African Citrus Triozid, Trioza erytreae (Hemiptera: Triozidae): Vector of African Citrus Greening.

PubMed

Khamis, F M; Rwomushana, I; Ombura, L O; Cook, G; Mohamed, S A; Tanga, C M; Nderitu, P W; Borgemeister, C; Sétamou, M; Grout, T G; Ekesi, S

2017-12-05

Citrus (Citrus spp.) production continues to decline in East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania, the two major producers in the region. This decline is attributed to pests and diseases including infestation by the African citrus triozid, Trioza erytreae (Del Guercio) (Hemiptera: Triozidae). Besides direct feeding damage by adults and immature stages, T. erytreae is the main vector of 'Candidatus Liberibacter africanus', the causative agent of Greening disease in Africa, closely related to Huanglongbing. This study aimed to generate a novel barcode reference library for T. erytreae in order to use DNA barcoding as a rapid tool for accurate identification of the pest to aid phytosanitary measures. Triozid samples were collected from citrus orchards in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa and from alternative host plants. Sequences generated from populations in the study showed very low variability within acceptable ranges of species. All samples analyzed were linked to T. erytreae of GenBank accession number KU517195. Phylogeny of samples in this study and other Trioza reference species was inferred using the Maximum Likelihood method. The phylogenetic tree was paraphyletic with two distinct branches. The first branch had two clusters: 1) cluster of all populations analyzed with GenBank accession of T. erytreae and 2) cluster of all the other GenBank accession of Trioza species analyzed except T. incrustata Percy, 2016 (KT588307.1), T. eugeniae Froggatt (KY294637.1), and T. grallata Percy, 2016 (KT588308.1) that occupied the second branch as outgroups forming sister clade relationships. These results were further substantiated with genetic distance values and principal component analyses. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Cholinesterase activity during embryonic development in the blood-feeding bug Triatoma patagonica.

PubMed

Visciarelli, E C; Chopa, C Sánchez; Picollo, M I; Ferrero, A A

2011-09-01

Triatoma patagonica Del Ponte (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), a vector of Chagas' disease, is widely distributed in Argentina and is found in sylvatic and peridomiciliary ecotopes, as well as occasionally in human dwellings after the chemical control of Triatoma infestans. Anti-cholinesteratic products can be applied in peridomiciliary areas and thus knowledge of cholinesterase activity during embryonic development in this species might contribute further information relevant to effective chemical control. Cholinesterase activity was characterized by reactions to eserine 10(-5) m, to increasing concentrations of substrate and to varying centrifugal speeds. Acetylcholinesterase activity was detected on day 4 and was significant from day 5. A reduction in cholinesterase activity towards acetylthiocholine (ATC) was observed on days 9 and 10 of development. Cholinesterase activity towards ATC and butyrylthiocholine (BTC) in homogenates of eggs was inhibited by eserine 10(-5) m. The shape of the curve indicating levels of inhibition at different concentrations of ATC was typical of acetylcholinesterase. Activity towards BTC did not appear to be inhibited by excess substrate, which parallels the behaviour of butyrylcholinesterases. Cholinesterase activity towards ATC was reduced in supernatant centrifuged at 15 000 g compared with supernatant centrifuged at 1100 g. The cholinesterase system that hydrolyzes mainly ATC seems to belong to the nervous system, as indicated by its behaviour towards the substrates assayed, its greater insolubility and the fact that it evolves parallel to the development of the nervous system. Knowledge of biochemical changes associated with the development and maturation of the nervous system during embryonic development would contribute to the better understanding of anti-cholinesteratic compounds with ovicidal action that might be used in control campaigns against vectors of Chagas' disease. © 2011 The Authors. Medical and Veterinary Entomology © 2011 The Royal Entomological Society.

The sylvatic transmission cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi in a rural area in the humid Chaco of Argentina.

PubMed

Alvarado-Otegui, J A; Ceballos, L A; Orozco, M M; Enriquez, G F; Cardinal, M V; Cura, C; Schijman, A G; Kitron, U; Gürtler, R E

2012-10-01

Little is known about the sylvatic transmission cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Gran Chaco ecoregion. We conducted surveys to identify the main sylvatic hosts of T. cruzi, parasite discrete typing units and vector species involved in Pampa del Indio, a rural area in the humid Argentinean Chaco. A total of 44 mammals from 14 species were captured and examined for infection by xenodiagnosis and polymerase chain reaction amplification of the hyper-variable region of kinetoplast DNA minicircles of T. cruzi (kDNA-PCR). Ten (22.7%) mammals were positive by xenodiagnosis or kDNA-PCR. Four of 11 (36%) Didelphis albiventris (white-eared opossums) and six of nine (67%) Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillos) were positive by xenodiagnosis and or kDNA-PCR. Rodents, other armadillo species, felids, crab-eating raccoons, hares and rabbits were not infected. Positive animals were highly infectious to the bugs that fed upon them as determined by xenodiagnosis. All positive opossums were infected with T. cruzi I and all positive nine-banded armadillos with T. cruzi III. Extensive searches in sylvatic habitats using 718 Noireau trap-nights only yielded Triatoma sordida whereas no bug was collected in 26 light-trap nights. Four armadillos or opossums fitted with a spool-and-line device were successfully tracked to their refuges; only one Panstrongylus geniculatus was found in an armadillo burrow. No sylvatic triatomine was infected with T. cruzi by microscopical examination or kDNA-PCR. Our results indicate that two independent sylvatic transmission cycles of T. cruzi occur in the humid Chaco. The putative vectors of both cycles need to be identified conclusively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The sylvatic transmission cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi in a rural area in the humid Chaco of Argentina

PubMed Central

Alvarado-Otegui, J.A.; Ceballos, L.A.; Orozco, M.M.; Enriquez, G.F.; Cardinal, M.V.; Cura, C.; Schijman, A.G.; Kitron, U.; Gürtler, R.E.

2012-01-01

Little is known about the sylvatic transmission cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Gran Chaco ecoregion. We conducted surveys to identify the main sylvatic hosts of T. cruzi, parasite discrete typing units and vector species involved in Pampa del Indio, a rural area in the humid Argentinean Chaco. A total of 44 mammals from 14 species was captured and examined for infection by xenodiagnosis and polymerase chain reaction amplification of the hyper-variable region of kinetoplast DNA minicircles of T. cruzi (kDNA-PCR). Ten (22.7%) mammals were positive by xenodiagnosis or kDNA-PCR. Four of 11 (36%) Didelphis albiventris (white-eared opossums) and six of nine (67%) Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillos) were positive by xenodiagnosis and or kDNA-PCR. Rodents, other armadillo species, felids, crab-eating raccoons, hares and rabbits were not infected. Positive animals were highly infectious to the bugs that fed upon them as determined by xenodiagnosis. All positive opossums were infected with T. cruzi I and all positive nine-banded armadillos with T. cruzi III. Extensive searches in sylvatic habitats using 718 Noireau trap-nights only yielded Triatoma sordida whereas no bug was collected in 26 light-trap nights. Four armadillos or opossums fitted with a spool-and-line device were successfully tracked to their refuges; only one Panstrongylus geniculatus was found in an armadillo burrow. No sylvatic triatomine was infected with T. cruzi by microscopical examination or kDNA-PCR. Our results indicate that two independent sylvatic transmission cycles of T. cruzi occur in the humid Chaco. The putative vectors of both cycles need to be identified conclusively. PMID:22771688

77 FR 31032 - National Institute on Aging; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-24

... applications. Place: Marina del Rey Hotel, 13534 Bali Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292. Contact Person: Bita... applications. Place: Marina del Rey Hotel, 13534 Bali Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292. Contact Person: Ramesh... and evaluate grant applications. Place: Marina del Rey Hotel, 13534 Bali Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292...

Development of nonhuman adenoviruses as vaccine vectors

PubMed Central

Bangari, Dinesh S.; Mittal, Suresh K.

2006-01-01

Human adenoviral (HAd) vectors have demonstrated great potential as vaccine vectors. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the feasibility of vector design, robust antigen expression and protective immunity using this system. However, clinical use of adenoviral vectors for vaccine purposes is anticipated to be limited by vector immunity that is either preexisting or develops rapidly following the first inoculation with adenoviral vectors. Vector immunity inactivates the vector particles and rapidly removes the transduced cells, thereby limiting the duration of transgene expression. Due to strong vector immunity, subsequent use of the same vector is usually less efficient. In order to circumvent this limitation, nonhuman adenoviral vectors have been proposed as alternative vectors. In addition to eluding HAd immunity, these vectors possess most of the attractive features of HAd vectors. Several replication-competent or replication-defective nonhuman adenoviral vectors have been developed and investigated for their potential as vaccine delivery vectors. Here, we review recent advances in the design and characterization of various nonhuman adenoviral vectors, and discuss their potential applications for human and animal vaccination. PMID:16297508

33 CFR 80.1118 - Marina Del Rey, CA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Pacific Coast § 80.1118 Marina Del Rey, CA. (a) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey Breakwater South Light 1 to Marina Del Rey Light 4. (b) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Marina Del Rey, CA. 80.1118...

33 CFR 80.1118 - Marina Del Rey, CA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Pacific Coast § 80.1118 Marina Del Rey, CA. (a) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey Breakwater South Light 1 to Marina Del Rey Light 4. (b) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Marina Del Rey, CA. 80.1118...

33 CFR 80.1118 - Marina Del Rey, CA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Pacific Coast § 80.1118 Marina Del Rey, CA. (a) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey Breakwater South Light 1 to Marina Del Rey Light 4. (b) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Marina Del Rey, CA. 80.1118...

33 CFR 80.1118 - Marina Del Rey, CA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Pacific Coast § 80.1118 Marina Del Rey, CA. (a) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey Breakwater South Light 1 to Marina Del Rey Light 4. (b) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Marina Del Rey, CA. 80.1118...

33 CFR 80.1118 - Marina Del Rey, CA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Pacific Coast § 80.1118 Marina Del Rey, CA. (a) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey Breakwater South Light 1 to Marina Del Rey Light 4. (b) A line drawn from Marina Del Rey... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Marina Del Rey, CA. 80.1118...

[Visceral leishmaniasis. Pediatric case report].

PubMed

Gomila H, Andrés; Vanzo, Carolina; Garnero, Analía; Peruzzo, Luisina; Badalotti, Mónica

2017-08-01

La leishmaniasis es una enfermedad causada por parásitos obligados intracelulares pertenecientes al género Leishmania y que reconoce tres formas clínicas principales: cutánea, visceral y mucocutánea. Es una patología del grupo de las "enfermedades desatendidas". Es la única enfermedad tropical transmitida a través de vectores que se ha mantenido endémica por décadas en el sur de Europa. La leishmaniasis visceral representa la forma más grave. Se caracteriza por fiebre, pérdida de peso, anemia y hepatoesplenomegalia. Su período de incubación oscila entre 2 semanas y 18 meses. La leishmaniasis se considera una enfermedad reemergente a nivel mundial. Algunos de los factores que favorecen esta situación son los cambios en las condiciones climáticas, migraciones y urbanizaciones deficitarias en saneamiento ambiental. Se presenta el caso de un niño europeo que estaba vacacionando en Córdoba y fue derivado a nuestro Hospital por fiebre y pancitopenia, lo que generó un abordaje multidisciplinario con resolución clínica favorable. Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría.

Co-occurrence and distribution of East (L1014S) and West (L1014F) African knock-down resistance in Anopheles gambiae sensu lato population of Tanzania

PubMed Central

Kabula, Bilali; Kisinza, William; Tungu, Patrick; Ndege, Chacha; Batengana, Benard; Kollo, Douglas; Malima, Robert; Kafuko, Jessica; Mohamed, Mahdi; Magesa, Stephen

2014-01-01

Objective Insecticide resistance molecular markers can provide sensitive indicators of resistance development in Anopheles vector populations. Assaying these makers is of paramount importance in the resistance monitoring programme. We investigated the presence and distribution of knock-down resistance (kdr) mutations in Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Tanzania. Methods Indoor-resting Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from 10 sites and tested for insecticide resistance using the standard WHO protocol. Polymerase chain reaction-based molecular diagnostics were used to genotype mosquitoes and detect kdr mutations. Results The An. gambiae tested were resistance to lambdacyhalothrin in Muheza, Arumeru and Muleba. Out of 350 An. gambiae s.l. genotyped, 35% were An. gambiae s.s. and 65% An. arabiensis. L1014S and L1014F mutations were detected in both An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis. L1014S point mutation was found at the allelic frequency of 4–33%, while L1014F was at the allelic frequency 6–41%. The L1014S mutation was much associated with An. gambiae s.s. (χ2 = 23.41; P < 0.0001) and L1014F associated with An. arabiensis (χ2 = 11.21; P = 0.0008). The occurrence of the L1014S allele was significantly associated with lambdacyhalothrin resistance mosquitoes (Fisher exact P < 0.001). Conclusion The observed co-occurrence of L1014S and L1014F mutations coupled with reports of insecticide resistance in the country suggest that pyrethroid resistance is becoming a widespread phenomenon among our malaria vector populations. The presence of L1014F mutation in this East African mosquito population indicates the spreading of this gene across Africa. The potential operational implications of these findings on malaria control need further exploration. Objectif Les marqueurs moléculaires de la résistance aux insecticides peuvent fournir des indicateurs sensibles du développement de la résistance dans les populations de vecteurs Anopheles. Le test de ces indicateurs est d'une importance énorme dans le programme de surveillance de la résistance. Nous avons étudié la présence et la répartition des mutations de résistance knockdown (kdr) chez Anopheles gambiae s.l. en Tanzanie. Méthodes Des anophèles d'intérieur, au repos ont été collectées dans 10 sites et testées pour la résistance aux insecticides en utilisant le protocole standard de l'OMS. Les diagnostics moléculaires basés sur la PCR ont été utilisés pour le génotypage des moustiques et la détection des génotypes kdr. Résultats Les An. gambiae testées étaient résistantes à la lambdacyhalothrine à Muheza, Arumeru et Muleba. Sur 350 An. gambiae s.l. génotypées, 35% étaient An. gambiae s.s. et 65% étaient An. arabiensis. Les mutations L1014S et L1014F ont été détectées à la fois chez An. gambiae s.s. et An. arabiensis. La mutation ponctuelle L1014S a été trouvée à la fréquence allélique de 4 à 33%, tandis que L1014F était à la fréquence allélique de 6 à 14%. La mutation L1014S a été fortement associée à An. gambiae s.s. (Chi carré = 23,41; P<0,0001) et L1014F était associée à An. arabiensis (chi carré = 11,21; P = 0,0008). L'allèle L1014S était significativement associé aux moustiques résistants à la lambdacyhalothrine (Fisher P exact <0,001). Conclusion La cooccurrence des mutations L1014S et L1014F couplées à des rapports sur la résistance aux insecticides suggèrent que la résistance aux pyréthrinoïdes est en train de devenir un phénomène répandu dans les populations de vecteurs du paludisme en Tanzanie. La présence de la mutation L1014F dans cette population de moustiques en Afrique de l'Est indique la propagation de ce gène à travers l'Afrique. L'investigation des implications opérationnelles potentielles de ces résultats sur le contrôle du paludisme devraient être approfondie. Objetivo Los marcadores moleculares de resistencia a insecticidas pueden ser indicadores sensibles del desarrollo de resistencias en las poblaciones de los vectores Anopheles. Evaluar dichos marcadores es crucial para los programas de monitorización de resistencias. Hemos investigado la presencia y la distribución de las mutaciones de resistencia knockdown (kdr) en Anopheles gambiae s.l. en Tanzania. Métodos Se recolectaron mosquitos Anopheles intradomiciliarios de 10 lugares diferentes y se evaluaron en busca de resistencia a insecticidas utilizando el protocolo estándar de la OMS. Mediante un diagnóstico molecular basado en la PCR se genotiparon los mosquitos y se detectaron los genotipos kdr. Resultados Los An. gambiae evaluados eran resistentes a lambdacialotrina en Muheza, Arumeru y Muleba. De 350 An. gambiae s.l. genotipados, 35% eran An. gambiae s.s. y 65% eran An. arabiensis. Se detectaron mutaciones L1014S y L1014F tanto en An. gambiae s.s. como en An. arabiensis. La mutación puntual L1014S se encontró con una frecuencia alélica de 4-33%, mientras que L1014F tenía una frecuencia alélica de 6-14%. La mutación L1014S estaba ampliamente asociada a An. gambiae s.s. (Chi-Cuadrado = 23.41; P < 0.0001) y la L1014F estaba asociada con An. arabiensis (Chi-Square = 11.21; P = 0.0008). El alelo L1014S estaba significativamente asociado con mosquitos resistentes a la lambdacialotrina (P < 0.001). Conclusión La simultaneidad de mutaciones de L1014S y L1014F junto con informes de resistencia a los insecticidas sugiere que la resistencia a piretroides se está convirtiendo en un fenómeno común entre las poblaciones del vector de la malaria en Tanzania. La presencia de la mutación L1014F en estas poblaciones del Este de África indican la diseminación del gen a lo largo del continente africano. Determinar las implicaciones potenciales a nivel operativo de estos hallazgos sobre el control de la malaria requiere de más estudios. PMID:24386946

8th Argentinean Bioengineering Society Conference (SABI 2011) and 7th Clinical Engineering Meeting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meschino, Gustavo Javier; Ballarin, Virginia L.

2011-12-01

In September 2011, the Eighteenth Edition of the Argentinean Bioengineering Society Conference (SABI 2011) and Seventh Clinical Engineering Meeting were held in Mar del Plata, Argetina. The Mar del Plata SABI Regional and the School of Engineering of the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata invited All bioengineers, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, biologists, physicians and health professionals working in the field of Bioengineering to participate in this event. The overall objectives of the Conference were: To provide discussion of scientific research results in Bioengineering and Clinical Engineering. To promote technological development experiences. To strengthen the institutional and scientific communication links in the area of Bioengineering, mainly between Universities of Latin America. To encourage students, teachers, researchers and professionals to establish exchanges of experiences and knowledge. To provide biomedical engineering technology solutions to the society and contributing ideas for low cost care. Conference photograph Conference photograph Conference photograph Conference photograph EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SABI 2011 Chair Dra Virginia L Ballarin Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Co-Chair Dra Teresita R Cuadrado Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Local Comittee Dr Gustavo Abraham Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dra Josefina Ballarre Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dr Eduardo Blotta Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dra Agustina Bouchet Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Marcel Brun Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dra Silvia Ceré Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dra Mariela Azul Gonzalez Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dra Lucia Isabel Passoni Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Juan Ignacio Pastore Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dra Adriana Scandurra Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE President Dr Gustavo Meschino Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Comittee Dr Gustavo Abraham Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Mg Rubén Acevedo Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos Ing Pablo Agüero Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Ing Mariela Ambrustolo Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Ricardo Armentano Universidad Favaloro Dra Virginia L Ballarin Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dra Josefina Ballarre Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dr Eduardo Blotta Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Ing Marco Benalcázar Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Mg Freddy Geovanny Benalcázar Palacios Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Ecuador Dr Roberto Boeri Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET - INTEMA Dra Agustina Bouchet Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Ariel Braidot Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos Dr Marcel Brun Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dra Silvia Ceré Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Ing Fernando Clara Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Raúl Correa Prado Universidad Nacional de San Juan Bioing Pablo Cortez Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dra Teresita R Cuadrado Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Ing Eduardo De Forteza Universidad Favaloro Dra Mariana Del Fresno Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires Dr Martín Diaz Informática Médica Hospital Aleman de Buenos Aires - GIBBA Ing Julio César Doumecq Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Mg Ana María Echenique Universidad Nacional de San Juan Bioing Pedro Escobar Universidad Nacional del Centro, Olavarría, Pcia de Buenos Aires Dr Fernando Daniel Farfán Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Dr Carmelo Felice Universidad Nacional de Tucumán - CONICET Dr Elmer Fernández Universidad Católica de Córdoba - CONICET Ing José Flores Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos Dr Arturo Gayoso Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dra Bioing Agustina Garcés Universidad Nacional de San Juan ¬- CONICET Bioing Luciano Gentile Universidad Favaloro Mg María Eugenia Gómez Universidad Nacional de San Juan Dr Claudio González Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Mg Esteban González Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dra Mariela A Gonzalez Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dr Juan Pablo Graffigna Universidad Nacional de San Juan Dra Myriam Herrera Universidad Nacional de Tucumán - CONICET Dr Roberto Hidalgo Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Roberto Isoardi Fundación Escuela de Medicina Nuclear de Mendoza - CNEA Dra Susana Jerez Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Dr Eric Laciar Universidad Nacional de San Juan - CONICET Bioing Roberto Leonarduzzi Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos Mg Norberto Lerendegui Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires Dra Natalia López Universidad Nacional de San Juan - CONICET Dra Rossana Madrid Universidad Nacional de Tucuman - CONICET Ing Florencia Montini Ballarin Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dra Emilce Moler Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Jorge Castiñieira Moreira Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Silvia Murialdo Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CIC Dr Juan Manuel Olivera Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Dra Lucia Isabel Passoni Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Juan Ignacio Pastore Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET Dra María Elisa Pérez Universidad Nacional de San Juan Mg Franco M Pessana Universidad Favaloro Dr Julio Politti Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Dr Marcelo Risk Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires - CONICET Ing Raúl Rivera Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Mg Luis Rocha Universidad Nacional de Tucumán - SIPROSA Dra Silvia Rodrigo Universidad Nacional de San Juan Dra Viviana Rotger Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Dr Leonardo Rufiner Universidad Nacional de Entre Rios - CONICET Dra Estela Ruiz Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Dr Martín Santiago Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires Dra Adriana Scandurra Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Ing Graciela Secreto Universidad Favaloro Mg Pablo Solarz Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Mg Carolina Tabernig Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos Ing Ricardo Taborda Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Dra María Eugenia Torres Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos - CONICET Ing Juan Carlos Tulli Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Dr Gerardo Tusman Hospital Privado de Comunidad, Mar del Plata Dr Santiago Urquiza Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Mg Andrés Valdez Universidad Nacional de San Juan Dr Máximo Valentinuzzi INSIBIO - CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Tucumán

The Human 343delT HSPB5 Chaperone Associated with Early-onset Skeletal Myopathy Causes Defects in Protein Solubility*

PubMed Central

Mitzelfelt, Katie A.; Limphong, Pattraranee; Choi, Melinda J.; Kondrat, Frances D. L.; Lai, Shuping; Kolander, Kurt D.; Kwok, Wai-Meng; Dai, Qiang; Grzybowski, Michael N.; Zhang, Huali; Taylor, Graydon M.; Lui, Qiang; Thao, Mai T.; Hudson, Judith A.; Barresi, Rita; Bushby, Kate; Jungbluth, Heinz; Wraige, Elizabeth; Geurts, Aron M.; Benesch, Justin L. P.; Riedel, Michael; Christians, Elisabeth S.; Minella, Alex C.; Benjamin, Ivor J.

2016-01-01

Mutations of HSPB5 (also known as CRYAB or αB-crystallin), a bona fide heat shock protein and molecular chaperone encoded by the HSPB5 (crystallin, alpha B) gene, are linked to multisystem disorders featuring variable combinations of cataracts, cardiomyopathy, and skeletal myopathy. This study aimed to investigate the pathological mechanisms involved in an early-onset myofibrillar myopathy manifesting in a child harboring a homozygous recessive mutation in HSPB5, 343delT. To study HSPB5 343delT protein dynamics, we utilize model cell culture systems including induced pluripotent stem cells derived from the 343delT patient (343delT/343delT) along with isogenic, heterozygous, gene-corrected control cells (WT KI/343delT) and BHK21 cells, a cell line lacking endogenous HSPB5 expression. 343delT/343delT and WT KI/343delT-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived skeletal myotubes and cardiomyocytes did not express detectable levels of 343delT protein, contributable to the extreme insolubility of the mutant protein. Overexpression of HSPB5 343delT resulted in insoluble mutant protein aggregates and induction of a cellular stress response. Co-expression of 343delT with WT prevented visible aggregation of 343delT and improved its solubility. Additionally, in vitro refolding of 343delT in the presence of WT rescued its solubility. We demonstrate an interaction between WT and 343delT both in vitro and within cells. These data support a loss-of-function model for the myopathy observed in the patient because the insoluble mutant would be unavailable to perform normal functions of HSPB5, although additional gain-of-function effects of the mutant protein cannot be excluded. Additionally, our data highlight the solubilization of 343delT by WT, concordant with the recessive inheritance of the disease and absence of symptoms in carrier individuals. PMID:27226619

Vaxvec: The first web-based recombinant vaccine vector database and its data analysis

PubMed Central

Deng, Shunzhou; Martin, Carly; Patil, Rasika; Zhu, Felix; Zhao, Bin; Xiang, Zuoshuang; He, Yongqun

2015-01-01

A recombinant vector vaccine uses an attenuated virus, bacterium, or parasite as the carrier to express a heterologous antigen(s). Many recombinant vaccine vectors and related vaccines have been developed and extensively investigated. To compare and better understand recombinant vectors and vaccines, we have generated Vaxvec (http://www.violinet.org/vaxvec), the first web-based database that stores various recombinant vaccine vectors and those experimentally verified vaccines that use these vectors. Vaxvec has now included 59 vaccine vectors that have been used in 196 recombinant vector vaccines against 66 pathogens and cancers. These vectors are classified to 41 viral vectors, 15 bacterial vectors, 1 parasitic vector, and 1 fungal vector. The most commonly used viral vaccine vectors are double-stranded DNA viruses, including herpesviruses, adenoviruses, and poxviruses. For example, Vaxvec includes 63 poxvirus-based recombinant vaccines for over 20 pathogens and cancers. Vaxvec collects 30 recombinant vector influenza vaccines that use 17 recombinant vectors and were experimentally tested in 7 animal models. In addition, over 60 protective antigens used in recombinant vector vaccines are annotated and analyzed. User-friendly web-interfaces are available for querying various data in Vaxvec. To support data exchange, the information of vaccine vectors, vaccines, and related information is stored in the Vaccine Ontology (VO). Vaxvec is a timely and vital source of vaccine vector database and facilitates efficient vaccine vector research and development. PMID:26403370

Logrank Test and Interval Overlap Test for Bactericera cockerelli (Hemiptera: Triozidae) Under Different Fertilization Treatments for 7705 Tomato Hybrid

PubMed Central

Vargas-Madríz, Haidel; Bautista-Martínez, Néstor; Vera-Graziano, Jorge; Sánchez-García, Prometeo; García-Gutiérrez, Cipriano; Sánchez-Soto, Saúl; de Jesús García-Avila, Clemente

2014-01-01

Abstract It is known that some nutrients can have both negative and positive effects on some populations of insects. To test this, the Logrank test and the Interval Overlap Test were evaluated for two crop cycles (February–May and May–August) of the 7705 tomato hybrid, and the effect on the psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc.) (Hemiptera: Triozidae), was examined under greenhouse conditions. Tomato plants were in polythene bags and irrigated with the following solutions: T1—Steiner solution, T2—Steiner solution with nitrogen reduced to 25%, T3—Steiner solution with potassium reduced to 25%, and T4—Steiner solution with calcium reduced to 25%. In the Logrank test, a significant difference was found when comparing the survival parameters of B. cockerelli generated from the treatment cohorts: T1–T2; T1–T3; T1–T4; T2–T3; and T3–T4, while no significant differences were found in the T2–T4 comparison in the February–May cycle. In the May–August cycle, significant differences were found when comparing the survival parameters generated from the treatment cohorts: T1–T2; T1–T3; and T1–T4, while no significant differences were found in the T2–T3; T2–T4; and T3–T4 comparisons of survival parameters of B. cockerelli fed with the 7705 tomato hybrid. Also, the Interval Overlap Test was done on the treatment cohorts (T1, T2, T3, and T4) in the February–May and May–August cycles. T1 and T2 compare similarly in both cycles when feeding on the treatments up to 36 d. Similarly, in T1 and T3, the behavior of the insect is similar when feeding on the treatments up to 40 and 73 d, respectively. Comparisons T2–T3 and T2–T4 are similar when feeding on both treatments up to 42, 38 and 37, 63 d, respectively. Finally, the T3–T4 comparison was similar when feeding in both treatments up to 20 and 46 d, respectively. RESUMEN. Se sabe que algunos nutrientes pueden tener efectos tanto negativos como positivos en algunas poblaciones de insectos. Para probar esto se evaluó la prueba de rango logarítmico y la prueba de Overlap intervalo de dos ciclos de cultivo (febrero–mayo y mayo–agosto) del híbrido de tomate 7705 y el efecto sobre el psílido, Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc) (Hemiptera: Triozidae) fue examinado bajo condiciones de invernadero. Las plantas de tomate estaban en bolsas de polietileno y regadas con las siguientes soluciones: T1: Solución de Steiner, T2: solución de Steiner con Nitrógeno a 25%, T3: solución de Steiner con Potasio a 25% y T4: solución de Steiner con Calcio a 25%. En la prueba de Logrank se encontró diferencia significativa al comparar los parámetros de supervivencia que se generaron en las cohortes de los tratamientos, T1 – T2; T1 – T3; T1 – T4; T2 – T3 y T3 – T4. En la comparación de T2 – T4, no se encontraron diferencias significativas, entre los parámetros de supervivencia de B. cockerelli ; para el ciclo Mayo-Agosto, se encontró diferencia significativa al comparar los parámetros de supervivencia que se generaron en las cohortes de los tratamientos, T1 - T2; T1 – T3; T1 – T4; en las comparaciones de T2 – T3; T2 – T4; T3 – T4, no se encontraron diferencias significativas, entre los parámetros de supervivencia de B. cockerelli alimentados con el hibrido de tomate 7705. De igual manera se realizó la Prueba de Traslape de Intervalos para las cohortes de los tratamientos (T1, T2, T3 y T4) en los ciclos de Febrero-Mayo y de Mayo-Agosto, se puede observar que la comparación de T1 con T2, son similares cuando se alimenta en ambos tratamientos hasta los 36 días, respectivamente. De igual manera, en la comparación (T1 y T3), siendo similar cuando el insecto se alimenta en ambos tratamientos hasta los 40 y 37 días, respectivamente. Las comparaciones (T2 y T3) y (T2 y T4) es similar cuando se alimenta en ambos tratamientos hasta los (42, 38) y (37, 63) días, respectivamente. Finalmente, la comparación para (T3 y T4) fue similar cuando se alimenta en ambos tratamientos hasta los 20 y 46 días, respectivamente. PMID:25527579

Proyecto para la medición sistemática de seeing en CASLEO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández Lajus, E.; Forte, J. C.

La calidad del seeing astronómico es ciertamente uno de los parámetros mas importantes que caracterizan el sitio de un observatorio. Por tanto se desea determinar si el alto valor de seeing observado con el telescopio de 2.15 m se debe a efectos internos y/o del entorno a la cupula o si se debe simplemente al seeing propio del lugar. El actual mecanismo de refrigeración del espejo primario del 2.15, parece haber mejorado notablemente la calidad del seeing. Sin embargo se hace necesario saber hasta que punto el valor del seeing puede ser mejorado. La primera etapa del proyecto consistió en la puesta a punto del telescopio emplazado para este propósito y la adquisición de las primeras medidas tentativas de seeing.

Intertextual Sexual Politics: Illness and Desire in Enrique Gomez Carrillo's "Del amor", "del dolor y del vicio" and Aurora Caceres's "La rosa muerta"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaGreca, Nancy

2012-01-01

This study explores the intertextuality between Aurora Caceres's "La rosa muerta" (1914) and the novel "Del amor, del dolor y del vicio" (1898) by her ex-husband, Enrique Gomez Carrillo. Caceres strategically mentions Gomez Carrillo's novel in "La rosa muerta" to invite a reading of her work in dialogue with his. Both narratives follow the sexual…

Associations between uncoupling protein 2, body composition, and resting energy expenditure in lean and obese African American, white, and Asian children.

PubMed

Yanovski, J A; Diament, A L; Sovik, K N; Nguyen, T T; Li, H; Sebring, N G; Warden, C H

2000-06-01

Little is known about genes that affect childhood body weight. The objective of this study was to examine the association between alleles of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) gene and obesity because UCP2 may influence energy expenditure. We related UCP2 genotype to body composition and resting energy expenditure in 105 children aged 6-10 y. Overweight children and nonoverweight children of overweight parents were genotyped for a 45-base pair deletion/insertion (del/ins) in 3'-untranslated region of exon 8 and for an exon 4 C to T transition. Eighty-nine children were genotyped for the exon 8 allele: 50 children had del/del, 33 had del/ins, and 6 had ins/ins. Mean (+/-SD) body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) was greater for children with del/ins (24.1 +/- 5.9) than for children with del/del (20.4 +/- 4.8; P < 0.001). BMI of ins/ins children (23.7 +/- 7.8) was not significantly different from that of del/ins children. A greater BMI in del/ins children was independent of race and sex. Body composition was also different according to UCP2 genotype. All body circumferences and skinfold thicknesses examined were significantly greater in del/ins than in del/del children. Body fat mass as determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was also greater in del/ins than in del/del children (P < 0.005). For 104 children genotyped at exon 4, no significant differences in BMI or body composition were found among the 3 exon 4 genotypes. Neither resting energy expenditure nor respiratory quotient were different according to UCP2 exon 4 or exon 8 genotype. The exon 8 ins/del polymorphism of UCP2 appears to be associated with childhood-onset obesity. The UCP2/UCP3 genetic locus may play a role in childhood body weight.

Versatile generation of optical vector fields and vector beams using a non-interferometric approach.

PubMed

Tripathi, Santosh; Toussaint, Kimani C

2012-05-07

We present a versatile, non-interferometric method for generating vector fields and vector beams which can produce all the states of polarization represented on a higher-order Poincaré sphere. The versatility and non-interferometric nature of this method is expected to enable exploration of various exotic properties of vector fields and vector beams. To illustrate this, we study the propagation properties of some vector fields and find that, in general, propagation alters both their intensity and polarization distribution, and more interestingly, converts some vector fields into vector beams. In the article, we also suggest a modified Jones vector formalism to represent vector fields and vector beams.

VectorBase: a home for invertebrate vectors of human pathogens

PubMed Central

Lawson, Daniel; Arensburger, Peter; Atkinson, Peter; Besansky, Nora J.; Bruggner, Robert V.; Butler, Ryan; Campbell, Kathryn S.; Christophides, George K.; Christley, Scott; Dialynas, Emmanuel; Emmert, David; Hammond, Martin; Hill, Catherine A.; Kennedy, Ryan C.; Lobo, Neil F.; MacCallum, M. Robert; Madey, Greg; Megy, Karine; Redmond, Seth; Russo, Susan; Severson, David W.; Stinson, Eric O.; Topalis, Pantelis; Zdobnov, Evgeny M.; Birney, Ewan; Gelbart, William M.; Kafatos, Fotis C.; Louis, Christos; Collins, Frank H.

2007-01-01

VectorBase () is a web-accessible data repository for information about invertebrate vectors of human pathogens. VectorBase annotates and maintains vector genomes providing an integrated resource for the research community. Currently, VectorBase contains genome information for two organisms: Anopheles gambiae, a vector for the Plasmodium protozoan agent causing malaria, and Aedes aegypti, a vector for the flaviviral agents causing Yellow fever and Dengue fever. PMID:17145709

Vaxvec: The first web-based recombinant vaccine vector database and its data analysis.

PubMed

Deng, Shunzhou; Martin, Carly; Patil, Rasika; Zhu, Felix; Zhao, Bin; Xiang, Zuoshuang; He, Yongqun

2015-11-27

A recombinant vector vaccine uses an attenuated virus, bacterium, or parasite as the carrier to express a heterologous antigen(s). Many recombinant vaccine vectors and related vaccines have been developed and extensively investigated. To compare and better understand recombinant vectors and vaccines, we have generated Vaxvec (http://www.violinet.org/vaxvec), the first web-based database that stores various recombinant vaccine vectors and those experimentally verified vaccines that use these vectors. Vaxvec has now included 59 vaccine vectors that have been used in 196 recombinant vector vaccines against 66 pathogens and cancers. These vectors are classified to 41 viral vectors, 15 bacterial vectors, 1 parasitic vector, and 1 fungal vector. The most commonly used viral vaccine vectors are double-stranded DNA viruses, including herpesviruses, adenoviruses, and poxviruses. For example, Vaxvec includes 63 poxvirus-based recombinant vaccines for over 20 pathogens and cancers. Vaxvec collects 30 recombinant vector influenza vaccines that use 17 recombinant vectors and were experimentally tested in 7 animal models. In addition, over 60 protective antigens used in recombinant vector vaccines are annotated and analyzed. User-friendly web-interfaces are available for querying various data in Vaxvec. To support data exchange, the information of vaccine vectors, vaccines, and related information is stored in the Vaccine Ontology (VO). Vaxvec is a timely and vital source of vaccine vector database and facilitates efficient vaccine vector research and development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antagonistic effects of IL-17 and D-resolvins on endothelial Del-1 expression through a GSK-3β-C/EBPβ pathway.

PubMed

Maekawa, Tomoki; Hosur, Kavita; Abe, Toshiharu; Kantarci, Alpdogan; Ziogas, Athanasios; Wang, Baomei; Van Dyke, Thomas E; Chavakis, Triantafyllos; Hajishengallis, George

2015-09-16

Del-1 is an endothelial cell-secreted anti-inflammatory protein. In humans and mice, Del-1 expression is inversely related to that of IL-17, which inhibits Del-1 through hitherto unidentified mechanism(s). Here we show that IL-17 downregulates human endothelial cell expression of Del-1 by targeting a critical transcription factor, C/EBPβ. Specifically, IL-17 causes GSK-3β-dependent phosphorylation of C/EBPβ, which is associated with diminished C/EBPβ binding to the Del-1 promoter and suppressed Del-1 expression. This inhibitory action of IL-17 can be reversed at the GSK-3β level by PI3K/Akt signalling induced by D-resolvins. The biological relevance of this regulatory network is confirmed in a mouse model of inflammatory periodontitis. Intriguingly, resolvin-D1 (RvD1) confers protection against IL-17-driven periodontal bone loss in a Del-1-dependent manner, indicating an RvD1-Del-1 axis against IL-17-induced pathological inflammation. The dissection of signalling pathways regulating Del-1 expression provides potential targets to treat inflammatory diseases associated with diminished Del-1 expression, such as periodontitis and multiple sclerosis.

DEL phenotype.

PubMed

Kwon, Dong H; Sandler, S G; Flegel, Willy A

2017-09-01

DEL red blood cells (RBCs) type as D- by routine serologic methods and are transfused routinely, without being identified as expressing a very weak D antigen, to D- recipients. DEL RBCs are detected only by adsorption and elution of anti-D or by molecular methods. Most DEL phenotypes have been reported in population studies conducted in East Asia, although DEL phenotypes have been detected also among Caucasian individuals. Approximately 98 percent of DEL phenotypes in East Asians are associated with the RHD*DEL1 or RHD*01EL.01 allele. The prevalence of DEL phenotypes has been reported among D- Han Chinese (30%), Japanese (28%), and Korean (17%) populations. The prevalence of DEL phenotypes is significantly lower among D- Caucasian populations (0.1%). Among the 3-5 percent of African individuals who are D-, there are no reports of the DEL phenotype. Case reports from East Asia indicate that transfusion of DEL RBCs to D- recipients has been associated with D alloimmunization. East Asian immigrants constitute 2.1 percent of the 318.9 million persons residing in the United States, and an estimated 2.8 percent are blood donors. Using these statistics, we estimate that 68-683 units of DEL RBCs from donors of East Asian ancestry are transfused as D- annually in the United States. Given the reports from East Asia of D alloimmunization attributed to transfusion of DEL RBCs, one would expect an occasional report of D alloimmunization in the United States following transfusion of DEL RBCs to a D- recipient. If such cases do occur, the most likely reason that they are not detected is the absence of active post-transfusion monitoring for formation of anti-D.

Complex matrix multiplication operations with data pre-conditioning in a high performance computing architecture

DOEpatents

Eichenberger, Alexandre E; Gschwind, Michael K; Gunnels, John A

2014-02-11

Mechanisms for performing a complex matrix multiplication operation are provided. A vector load operation is performed to load a first vector operand of the complex matrix multiplication operation to a first target vector register. The first vector operand comprises a real and imaginary part of a first complex vector value. A complex load and splat operation is performed to load a second complex vector value of a second vector operand and replicate the second complex vector value within a second target vector register. The second complex vector value has a real and imaginary part. A cross multiply add operation is performed on elements of the first target vector register and elements of the second target vector register to generate a partial product of the complex matrix multiplication operation. The partial product is accumulated with other partial products and a resulting accumulated partial product is stored in a result vector register.

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN UNCOUPLING PROTEIN 2, BODY COMPOSITION, AND RESTING ENERGY EXPENDITURE IN LEAN AND OBESE AFRICAN AMERICAN, CAUCASIAN, AND ASIAN CHILDREN

PubMed Central

Yanovski, J.A.; Diament, A.L.; Sovik, K.N.; Nguyen, T.T.; Li, H.; Sebring, N.G.; Warden, C.H.

2015-01-01

Background Little is known about genes affecting childhood body weight. Objective To examine alleles of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) gene for association with obesity, since UCP2 may influence energy expenditure. Design We related UCP2 genotype to body composition, and to resting energy expenditure, in 105 children aged 6–10y. Overweight children and non-overweight children of overweight parents were genotyped for a 45 bp deletion/insertion (del/ins) in 3’ UTR of exon 8 and for an exon 4 C to T transition. Results 89 children were genotyped for the exon 8 allele: 50 children had del/del, 33 del/ins, and 6 ins/ins. Body mass index (BMI) was greater for del/ins (24.1 ± 5.9 kg/m2) than for del/del (20.4 ± 4.8 kg/m2, p<0.001). BMI of ins/ins (23.7 ± 7.8 kg/m2) was not different from del/ins. This effect was independent of race and gender (ANOVAs, p< 0.05). Body composition was also different according to UCP2 genotype. All body circumferences and skin fold thicknesses examined were significantly greater in del/ins than in del/del. DXA body fat mass (p<0.005) was also greater in del/ins than del/del. For 104 children genotyped at exon 4, no significant differences in BMI or body composition were found among the three exon 4 genotypes. Neither resting energy expenditure nor respiratory quotient were different according to UCP2 exon 4 or exon 8 genotype. Conclusion The exon 8 ins/del polymorphism of UCP2 appears to be associated with childhood-onset obesity. The UCP2/UCP3 genetic locus may play a role in childhood body weight. PMID:10837279

Vigilando la Calidad del Agua de los Grandes Rios de la Nacion: El Programa NASQAN del Rio Grande (Rio Bravo del Norte)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lurry, Dee L.; Reutter, David C.; Wells, Frank C.; Rivera, M.C.; Munoz, A.

1998-01-01

La Oficina del Estudio Geologico de los Estados Unidos (U.S. Geological Survey, 0 USGS) ha monitoreado la calidad del agua de la cuenca del Rio Grande (Rio Bravo del Norte) desde 1995 como parte de la rediseiiada Red Nacional para Contabilizar la Calidad del Agua de los Rios (National Stream Quality Accounting Network, o NASOAN) (Hooper and others, 1997). EI programa NASOAN fue diseiiado para caracterizar las concentraciones y el transporte de sedimento y constituyentes quimicos seleccionados, encontrados en los grandes rios de los Estados Unidos - incluyendo el Misisipi, el Colorado y el Columbia, ademas del Rio Grande. En estas cuatro cuencas, el USGS opera actualmente (1998) una red de 40 puntos de muestreo pertenecientes a NASOAN, con un enfasis en cuantificar el flujo en masa (la cantidad de material que pasa por la estacion, expresado en toneladas por dial para cada constituyente. Aplicacando un enfoque consistente, basado en la cuantificacion de flujos en la cuenca del Rio Grande, el programa NASOAN esta generando la informacion necesaria para identificar fuentes regionales de diversos contaminantes, incluyendo sustancias qui micas agricolas y trazas elementos en la cuenca. EI efecto de las grandes reservas en el Rio Grande se puede observar segun los flujos de constituyentes discurren a 10 largo del rio. EI analisis de los flujos de constituyentes a escala de la cuenca proveera los medios para evaluar la influencia de la actividad humana sobre las condiciones de calidad del agua del Rio Grande.

Vector adaptive predictive coder for speech and audio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Juin-Hwey (Inventor); Gersho, Allen (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A real-time vector adaptive predictive coder which approximates each vector of K speech samples by using each of M fixed vectors in a first codebook to excite a time-varying synthesis filter and picking the vector that minimizes distortion. Predictive analysis for each frame determines parameters used for computing from vectors in the first codebook zero-state response vectors that are stored at the same address (index) in a second codebook. Encoding of input speech vectors s.sub.n is then carried out using the second codebook. When the vector that minimizes distortion is found, its index is transmitted to a decoder which has a codebook identical to the first codebook of the decoder. There the index is used to read out a vector that is used to synthesize an output speech vector s.sub.n. The parameters used in the encoder are quantized, for example by using a table, and the indices are transmitted to the decoder where they are decoded to specify transfer characteristics of filters used in producing the vector s.sub.n from the receiver codebook vector selected by the vector index transmitted.

The novel c.247_249delTTC (p.F83del) GJB2 mutation in a family with prelingual sensorineural deafness.

PubMed

Petersen, Michael B; Grigoriadou, Maria; Koutroumpe, Maria; Kokotas, Haris

2012-07-01

Non-syndromic hearing loss is one of the most common hereditary determined diseases in human, and the disease is a genetically heterogeneous disorder. Mutations in the GJB2 gene, encoding connexin 26 (Cx26), are a major cause of non-syndromic recessive hearing impairment in many countries and are largely dependent on ethnic groups. Due to the high frequency of the c.35delG GJB2 mutation in the Greek population, we have previously suggested that Greek patients with sensorineural, non-syndromic deafness should be tested for the c.35delG mutation and the coding region of the GJB2 gene should be sequenced in c.35delG heterozygotes. Here we present on the clinical and molecular genetic evaluation of a family suffering from prelingual, sensorineural, non-syndromic deafness. A novel c.247_249delTTC (p.F83del) GJB2 mutation was detected in compound heterozygosity with the c.35delG GJB2 mutation in the proband and was later confirmed in the father, while the mother was homozygous for the c.35delG GJB2 mutation. We conclude that compound heterozygosity of the novel c.247_249delTTC (p.F83del) and the c.35delG mutations in the GJB2 gene was the cause of deafness in the proband and his father. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Method and apparatus for optimized processing of sparse matrices

DOEpatents

Taylor, Valerie E.

1993-01-01

A computer architecture for processing a sparse matrix is disclosed. The apparatus stores a value-row vector corresponding to nonzero values of a sparse matrix. Each of the nonzero values is located at a defined row and column position in the matrix. The value-row vector includes a first vector including nonzero values and delimiting characters indicating a transition from one column to another. The value-row vector also includes a second vector which defines row position values in the matrix corresponding to the nonzero values in the first vector and column position values in the matrix corresponding to the column position of the nonzero values in the first vector. The architecture also includes a circuit for detecting a special character within the value-row vector. Matrix-vector multiplication is executed on the value-row vector. This multiplication is performed by multiplying an index value of the first vector value by a column value from a second matrix to form a matrix-vector product which is added to a previous matrix-vector product.

Comparative seroprevalence and immunogenicity of six rare serotype recombinant adenovirus vaccine vectors from subgroups B and D.

PubMed

Abbink, Peter; Lemckert, Angelique A C; Ewald, Bonnie A; Lynch, Diana M; Denholtz, Matthew; Smits, Shirley; Holterman, Lennart; Damen, Irma; Vogels, Ronald; Thorner, Anna R; O'Brien, Kara L; Carville, Angela; Mansfield, Keith G; Goudsmit, Jaap; Havenga, Menzo J E; Barouch, Dan H

2007-05-01

Recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5) vector-based vaccines are currently being developed for both human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and other pathogens. The potential limitations associated with rAd5 vectors, however, have led to the construction of novel rAd vectors derived from rare Ad serotypes. Several rare serotype rAd vectors have already been described, but a detailed comparison of multiple rAd vectors from subgroups B and D has not previously been reported. Such a comparison is critical for selecting optimal rAd vectors for advancement into clinical trials. Here we describe the construction of three novel rAd vector systems from Ad26, Ad48, and Ad50. We report comparative seroprevalence and immunogenicity studies involving rAd11, rAd35, and rAd50 vectors from subgroup B; rAd26, rAd48, and rAd49 vectors from subgroup D; and rAd5 vectors from subgroup C. All six rAd vectors from subgroups B and D exhibited low seroprevalence in a cohort of 200 individuals from sub-Saharan Africa, and they elicited Gag-specific cellular immune responses in mice both with and without preexisting anti-Ad5 immunity. The rAd vectors from subgroup D were also evaluated using rhesus monkeys and were shown to be immunogenic after a single injection. The rAd26 vectors proved the most immunogenic among the rare serotype rAd vectors studied, although all rare serotype rAd vectors were still less potent than rAd5 vectors in the absence of anti-Ad5 immunity. These studies substantially expand the portfolio of rare serotype rAd vectors that may prove useful as vaccine vectors for the developing world.

Modelo semi-empírico de protuberancia solar a partir del diagnóstico de densidades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cirigliano, D.; Vial, J. C.; Rovira, M.

A partir de la observación del espectro del quintuplete de C III alrededor de 1175 Å, se ha realizado el diagnóstico de la densidad y presión electrónica, basado en el cálculo del cociente de las intensidades observadas. Una vez establecida la densidad electrónica, y con el cálculo de las velocidades Doppler, hemos investigado el flujo de masa en la protuberancia en función de la temperatura. Estableciendo como hipótesis la conservación del número de partículas que ingresan y salen del cuerpo de la protuberancia, se investiga la variación del área de un tubo de flujo semi-empírico en función de la temperatura. A partir de dicho diagnóstico, se examina el comportamiento del radio del tubo magnético en función de la temperatura, los que dan cuenta de la abertura de las líneas de campo magnético que confinan el plasma y de la divergencia del campo magnético en diferentes alturas de la atmósfera solar.

Optimum instantaneous impulsive orbital injection to attain a specified asymptotic velocity vector.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bean, W. C.

1971-01-01

A nalysis of the necessary conditions of Battin for instantaneous orbital injection, with consideration of the uniqueness of his solution, and of the further problem which arises in the degenerate case when radius vector and asymptotic vector are separated by 180 deg. It is shown that when the angular separation between radius vector and asymptotic velocity vector satisfies theta not equal to 180 deg, there are precisely two insertion-velocity vectors which permit attainment of the target asymptotic velocity vector, one yielding posigrade, the other retrograde motion. When theta equals to 180 deg, there is a family of insertion-velocity vectors which permit attainment of a specified asymptotic velocity vector with a unique insertion-velocity vector for every arbitrary orientation of a target unit angular momentum vector.

Del(20q) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a therapy-related abnormality involving lymphoid or myeloid cells.

PubMed

Yin, C Cameron; Tang, Guilin; Lu, Gary; Feng, Xiaoli; Keating, Michael J; Medeiros, L Jeffrey; Abruzzo, Lynne V

2015-08-01

Deletion 20q (Del(20q)), a common cytogenetic abnormality in myeloid neoplasms, is rare in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. We report 64 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and del(20q), as the sole abnormality in 40, a stemline abnormality in 21, and a secondary abnormality in 3 cases. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed an additional high-risk abnormality, del(11q) or del(17p), in 25/64 (39%) cases. In most cases, the leukemic cells showed atypical cytologic features, unmutated IGHV (immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region) genes, and ZAP70 positivity. The del(20q) was detected only after chemotherapy in all 27 cases with initial karyotypes available. With a median follow-up of 90 months, 30 patients (47%) died, most as a direct consequence of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Eight patients developed a therapy-related myeloid neoplasm, seven with a complex karyotype. Combined morphologic and FISH analysis for del(20q) performed in 12 cases without morphologic evidence of a myeloid neoplasm localized the del(20q) to the chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells in 5 (42%) cases, and to myeloid/erythroid cells in 7 (58)% cases. The del(20q) was detected in myeloid cells in all 4 cases of myelodysplastic syndrome. In aggregate, these data indicate that chronic lymphocytic leukemia with del(20q) acquired after therapy is heterogeneous. In cases with morphologic evidence of dysplasia, the del(20q) likely resides in the myeloid lineage. However, in cases without morphologic evidence of dysplasia, the del(20q) may represent clonal evolution and disease progression. Combining morphologic analysis with FISH for del(20q) or performing FISH on immunomagnetically selected sub-populations to localize the cell population with this abnormality may help guide patient management.

Del(20q) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A therapy-related abnormality involving lymphoid or myeloid cells

PubMed Central

Yin, C. Cameron; Tang, Guilin; Lu, Gary; Feng, Xiaoli; Keating, Michael J.; Medeiros, L. Jeffrey; Abruzzo, Lynne V.

2015-01-01

Del(20q), a common cytogenetic abnormality in myeloid neoplasms, is rare in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. We report 64 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and del(20q), as the sole abnormality in 40, a stemline abnormality in 21, and a secondary abnormality in 3 cases. FISH analysis revealed an additional high-risk abnormality, del(11q) or del(17p), in 27/64 (42%) cases. In most cases, the leukemic cells showed atypical cytologic features, unmutated IGHV genes and ZAP70 positivity. The del(20q) was detected only after chemotherapy in all 27 cases with initial karyotypes available. With a median follow-up of 90 months, 30 patients (47%) died, most as a direct consequence of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Eight patients developed a therapy-related myeloid neoplasm, seven with a complex karyotype. Combined morphologic and FISH analysis for del(20q) performed in 12 cases without morphologic evidence of a myeloid neoplasm localized the del(20q) to the chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells in 5 (42%) cases, and to myeloid/erythroid cells in 7 (58)% cases. The del(20q) was detected in myeloid cells in all 4 cases of myelodysplastic syndrome. In aggregate, these data indicate that chronic lymphocytic leukemia with del(20q) acquired after therapy is heterogeneous. In cases with morphologic evidence of dysplasia, the del(20q) likely resides in the myeloid lineage. However, in cases without morphologic evidence of dysplasia, the del(20q) may represent clonal evolution and disease progression. Combining morphologic analysis with FISH for del(20q) or performing FISH on immunomagnetically-selected subpopulations to localize the cell population with this abnormality may help guide patient management. PMID:25953391

High-efficiency Transduction of Rhesus Hematopoietic Repopulating Cells by a Modified HIV1-based Lentiviral Vector

PubMed Central

Uchida, Naoya; Hargrove, Phillip W.; Lap, Coen J.; Evans, Molly E.; Phang, Oswald; Bonifacino, Aylin C.; Krouse, Allen E.; Metzger, Mark E.; Nguyen, Anh-Dao; Hsieh, Matthew M.; Wolfsberg, Tyra G.; Donahue, Robert E.; Persons, Derek A.; Tisdale, John F.

2012-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV1) vectors poorly transduce rhesus hematopoietic cells due to species-specific restriction factors, including the tripartite motif-containing 5 isoformα (TRIM5α) which targets the HIV1 capsid. We previously developed a chimeric HIV1 (χHIV) vector system wherein the vector genome is packaged with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) capsid for efficient transduction of both rhesus and human CD34+ cells. To evaluate whether χHIV vectors could efficiently transduce rhesus hematopoietic repopulating cells, we performed a competitive repopulation assay in rhesus macaques, in which half of the CD34+ cells were transduced with standard SIV vectors and the other half with χHIV vectors. As compared with SIV vectors, χHIV vectors achieved higher vector integration, and the transgene expression rates were two- to threefold higher in granulocytes and red blood cells and equivalent in lymphocytes and platelets for 2 years. A recipient of χHIV vector-only transduced cells reached up to 40% of transgene expression rates in granulocytes and lymphocytes and 20% in red blood cells. Similar to HIV1 and SIV vectors, χHIV vector frequently integrated into gene regions, especially into introns. In summary, our χHIV vector demonstrated efficient transduction for rhesus long-term repopulating cells, comparable with SIV vectors. This χHIV vector should allow preclinical testing of HIV1-based therapeutic vectors in large animal models. PMID:22871664

Increasing Naval Security Cooperation between the U.S., Chile and Peru

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

del Mar: La Marina de Guerra en la historia del Perú (Lima: Marina de Guerra del Perú, 1994), 184. 108 Ibid., 188. 109 Ibid., 191-193. 42 “the...La Marina de Guerra en la historia del Perú, 205. 111 Ibid. 112 Ibid., 210. 113 Ibid., 229. 114 Ibid., 230. 115 Ibid., 246. 43 contributed to...la Puente Brunke, Los Hombres del Mar: La Marina de Guerra en la historia del Perú, 252. 117 Ibid., 264. 118 Ibid., 302. 119 Ibid., 342. 44

Del-1 Expression as a Potential Biomarker in Triple-Negative Early Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Lee, Soo Jung; Lee, Jeeyeon; Kim, Wan Wook; Jung, Jin Hyang; Park, Ho Yong; Park, Ji-Young; Chae, Yee Soo

2018-01-01

A differential diagnostic role for plasma Del-1 was proposed for early breast cancer (EBC) in our previous study. We examined tumoral Del-1 expression and analyzed its prognostic impact among patients with EBC. Del-1 mRNA expression was assessed in breast epithelial and cancer cells. Meanwhile, the tumoral expression of Del-1 was determined based on tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry results from 440 patients. While a high Del-1 mRNA expression was found in all the breast cancer cell lines, the expression was significantly higher in MDA-MB-231. Tumoral expression of Del-1 was also significantly associated with a negative expression of estrogen receptor or progesterone receptor, and low expression of Ki-67, particularly in the case of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (p < 0.036). Furthermore, a correlation was found between Del-1 expression and an aggressive histological grade, nuclear mitosis, and polymorphism, suggesting a possible role in tumor progression. In the survival analysis, a worse distant disease-free survival trend was noted for the group overexpressing Del-1. While all the investigated breast cancer cell lines exhibited Del-1 expression, the expression rate and intensity were specifically prominent in TNBC. In addition, based on its relationship to an unfavorable histology and worse survival trend, Del-1 could act as a molecular target in TNBC patients. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Characteristics and outcome of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with isolated 20q deletion: a report on 62 cases.

PubMed

Braun, Thorsten; de Botton, Stéphane; Taksin, Anne-Laure; Park, Sophie; Beyne-Rauzy, Odile; Coiteux, Valérie; Sapena, Rosa; Lazareth, Anne; Leroux, Geneviève; Guenda, Khaled; Cassinat, Bruno; Fontenay, Michaela; Vey, Norbert; Guerci, Agnès; Dreyfus, François; Bordessoule, Dominique; Stamatoullas, Aspasia; Castaigne, Sylvie; Terré, Christine; Eclache, Virginie; Fenaux, Pierre; Adès, Lionel

2011-07-01

Isolated 20q deletion is common in MDS and considered of good prognosis, but no large series have been reported. We compared characteristics of 62 MDS patients with isolated del 20q, 36 patients with del 20q and other cytogenetic abnormalities, and 1335 MDS patients without del20q. Significant differences between MDS with isolated del 20q and patients without del 20q were lower platelet count (mean 144 vs. 196 G/l, p=0.005), lower marrow blast count (mean 3.9% vs. 5.6%, p=0.0008), and higher reticulocyte count (mean 72.5 vs. 51.7 G/l, p=0.04). Ten (16%) patients with isolated del 20q had Hb>12 g/dl and platelets <100 G/l, compared to 7.3% of patients without del 20q (p=0.025). Review of marrow slides of those 10 patients showed that could be readily identified as MDS prior to cytogenetics. Fourteen percent of patients with isolated del 20q progressed to AML compared to 11% with one and 24% with several additional abnormalities. Median survival was 54 months in patients with isolated del 20q, not reached and 12 months for del 20q with one and several additional abnormalities, respectively (p=0.035) confirming the favorable prognosis of del 20q without complex abnormalities. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Produccion Gaseosa del Cometa Halley: Erupciones Y Fotodisociacion del Radical OH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, A. M.; Mirabel, I. F.

1990-11-01

RESUMEN:En este trabajo informamos la detecci6n de 20 erupciones en la li'nea de =18cm (1667MHz) del radical OH en el Cometa Halley.Las observaciones incluyen todos los monitoreos existentes y se extienden desde 120 dias antes del perihelio hasta 90 dias despues.Se detectan bruscos crecimientos en el flujo medido,hasta un factor 1O,seguidos por decaimientos lentos asociados con la fotodisociaci6n del OH. Se obtuvieron valores para el tiempo de vida fotoquimico del OH y del H2O basandose en el modelo desarrollado previamente por Silva(1988). Esos tiempos de vida estan de acuerdo con predicciones teoricas y con las observaciones en el Ultravioleta, y los resultados, los que son fuertemente dependientes de la velocidad heliocentrica del Coineta (variando hasta un factor 6), han sido calculados para varios rangos de velocidad entre +28 y -28 km/seg. Key wo'L :

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Seung-Hwan; Kim, Dong-Young; Jing, Feifeng

Developmental endothelial locus-1 (Del-1) is an endogenous anti-inflammatory molecule that is highly expressed in the lung and the brain and limits leukocyte migration to these tissues. We previously reported that the expression of Del-1 is positively regulated by p53 in lung endothelial cells. Although several reports have implicated the altered expression of Del-1 gene in cancer patients, little is known about its role in tumor cells. We here investigated the effect of Del-1 on the features of human lung carcinoma cells. Del-1 mRNA was found to be significantly decreased in the human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines A549 (containing wild typemore » of p53), H1299 (null for p53) and EKVX (mutant p53), compared to in human normal lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells and MRC-5 fibroblasts. The decrease of Del-1 expression was dependent on the p53 activity in the cell lines, but not on the expression of p53. Neither treatment with recombinant human Del-1 protein nor the introduction of adenovirus expressing Del-1 altered the expression of the apoptosis regulators BAX, PUMA and Bcl-2. Unexpectedly, the adenovirus-mediated overexpression of Del-1 gene into the lung carcinoma cell lines promoted proliferation and invasion of the lung carcinoma cells, as revealed by BrdU incorporation and transwell invasion assays, respectively. In addition, overexpression of the Del-1 gene enhanced features of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), such as increasing vimentin while decreasing E-cadherin in A549 cells, and increases in the level of Slug, an EMT-associated transcription regulator. Our findings demonstrated for the first time that there are deleterious effects of high levels of Del-1 in lung carcinoma cells, and suggest that Del-1 may be used as a diagnostic or prognostic marker for cancer progression, and as a novel therapeutic target for lung carcinoma. - Highlights: • Developmental Endothelial Locus-1 (Del-1) expression is downregulated in human lung cancer cells. • Overexpression of the Del-1 gene potentiates proliferation and invasion of lung carcinoma cells. • Del-1 may be used as a diagnostic or prognostic marker for lung cancer progression.« less

Definition of Contravariant Velocity Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, Ching-moa; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

In this paper we have reviewed the basics of tensor analysis in an attempt to clarify some misconceptions regarding contravariant and covariant vector components as used in fluid dynamics. We have indicated that contravariant components are components of a given vector expressed as a unique combination of the covariant base vector system and, vice versa, that the covariant components are components of a vector expressed with the contravariant base vector system. Mathematically, expressing a vector with a combination of base vector is a decomposition process for a specific base vector system. Hence, the contravariant velocity components are decomposed components of velocity vector along the directions of coordinate lines, with respect to the covariant base vector system. However, the contravariant (and covariant) components are not physical quantities. Their magnitudes and dimensions are controlled by their corresponding covariant (and contravariant) base vectors.

Integral transformation solution of free-space cylindrical vector beams and prediction of modified Bessel-Gaussian vector beams.

PubMed

Li, Chun-Fang

2007-12-15

A unified description of free-space cylindrical vector beams is presented that is an integral transformation solution to the vector Helmholtz equation and the transversality condition. In the paraxial condition, this solution not only includes the known J(1) Bessel-Gaussian vector beam and the axisymmetric Laguerre-Gaussian vector beam that were obtained by solving the paraxial wave equations but also predicts two kinds of vector beam, called a modified Bessel-Gaussian vector beam.

Endogenous developmental endothelial locus-1 limits ischemia-related angiogenesis by blocking inflammation

PubMed Central

Klotzsche - von Ameln, Anne; Cremer, Sebastian; Hoffmann, Jedrzej; Schuster, Peggy; Khedr, Sherif; Korovina, Irina; Troulinaki, Maria; Neuwirth, Ales; Sprott, David; Chatzigeorgiou, Antonios; Economopoulou, Matina; Orlandi, Alessia; Hain, Andreas; Zeiher, Andreas M.; Deussen, Andreas; Hajishengallis, George; Dimmeler, Stefanie; Chavakis, Triantafyllos; Chavakis, Emmanouil

2017-01-01

We have recently identified endothelial cell-secreted developmental endothelial locus-1 (Del-1) as an endogenous inhibitor of β2-integrin–dependent leukocyte infiltration. Del-1 was previously also implicated in angiogenesis. Here, we addressed the role of endogenously produced Del-1 in ischemia-related angiogenesis. Intriguingly, Del-1–deficient mice displayed increased neovascularization in two independent ischemic models (retinopathy of prematurity and hind-limb ischemia), as compared to Del-1–proficient mice. On the contrary, angiogenic sprouting in vitro or ex vivo (aortic ring assay) and physiological developmental retina angiogenesis were not affected by Del-1 deficiency. Mechanistically, the enhanced ischemic neovascularization in Del-1-deficiency was linked to higher infiltration of the ischemic tissue by CD45+ hematopoietic and immune cells. Moreover, Del-1-deficiency promoted β2-integrin–dependent adhesion of hematopoietic cells to endothelial cells in vitro, and the homing of hematopoietic progenitor cells and of immune cell populations to ischemic muscles in vivo. Consistently, the increased hind limb ischemia-related angiogenesis in Del-1 deficiency was completely reversed in mice lacking both Del-1 and the β2-integrin LFA-1. Additionally, enhanced retinopathy-associated neovascularization in Del-deficient mice was reversed by LFA-1 blockade. Our data reveal a hitherto unrecognized function of endogenous Del-1 as a local inhibitor of ischemia-induced angiogenesis by restraining LFA-1–dependent homing of pro-angiogenic hematopoietic cells to ischemic tissues. Our findings are relevant for the optimization of therapeutic approaches in the context of ischemic diseases. PMID:28447099

RNAi in Arthropods: Insight into the Machinery and Applications for Understanding the Pathogen-Vector Interface

PubMed Central

Barnard, Annette-Christi; Nijhof, Ard M.; Fick, Wilma; Stutzer, Christian; Maritz-Olivier, Christine

2012-01-01

The availability of genome sequencing data in combination with knowledge of expressed genes via transcriptome and proteome data has greatly advanced our understanding of arthropod vectors of disease. Not only have we gained insight into vector biology, but also into their respective vector-pathogen interactions. By combining the strengths of postgenomic databases and reverse genetic approaches such as RNAi, the numbers of available drug and vaccine targets, as well as number of transgenes for subsequent transgenic or paratransgenic approaches, have expanded. These are now paving the way for in-field control strategies of vectors and their pathogens. Basic scientific questions, such as understanding the basic components of the vector RNAi machinery, is vital, as this allows for the transfer of basic RNAi machinery components into RNAi-deficient vectors, thereby expanding the genetic toolbox of these RNAi-deficient vectors and pathogens. In this review, we focus on the current knowledge of arthropod vector RNAi machinery and the impact of RNAi on understanding vector biology and vector-pathogen interactions for which vector genomic data is available on VectorBase. PMID:24705082

Optical implementation of inner product neural associative memory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Hua-Kuang (Inventor)

1995-01-01

An optical implementation of an inner-product neural associative memory is realized with a first spatial light modulator for entering an initial two-dimensional N-tuple vector and for entering a thresholded output vector image after each iteration until convergence is reached, and a second spatial light modulator for entering M weighted vectors of inner-product scalars multiplied with each of the M stored vectors, where the inner-product scalars are produced by multiplication of the initial input vector in the first iterative cycle (and thresholded vectors in subsequent iterative cycles) with each of the M stored vectors, and the weighted vectors are produced by multiplication of the scalars with corresponding ones of the stored vectors. A Hughes liquid crystal light valve is used for the dual function of summing the weighted vectors and thresholding the sum vector. The thresholded vector is then entered through the first spatial light modulator for reiteration of the process cycle until convergence is reached.

Vector nature of multi-soliton patterns in a passively mode-locked figure-eight fiber laser.

PubMed

Ning, Qiu-Yi; Liu, Hao; Zheng, Xu-Wu; Yu, Wei; Luo, Ai-Ping; Huang, Xu-Guang; Luo, Zhi-Chao; Xu, Wen-Cheng; Xu, Shan-Hui; Yang, Zhong-Min

2014-05-19

The vector nature of multi-soliton dynamic patterns was investigated in a passively mode-locked figure-eight fiber laser based on the nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM). By properly adjusting the cavity parameters such as the pump power level and intra-cavity polarization controllers (PCs), in addition to the fundamental vector soliton, various vector multi-soliton regimes were observed, such as the random static distribution of vector multiple solitons, vector soliton cluster, vector soliton flow, and the state of vector multiple solitons occupying the whole cavity. Both the polarization-locked vector solitons (PLVSs) and the polarization-rotating vector solitons (PRVSs) were observed for fundamental soliton and each type of multi-soliton patterns. The obtained results further reveal the fundamental physics of multi-soliton patterns and demonstrate that the figure-eight fiber lasers are indeed a good platform for investigating the vector nature of different soliton types.

Efficient mouse airway transduction following recombination between AAV vectors carrying parts of a larger gene.

PubMed

Halbert, Christine L; Allen, James M; Miller, A Dusty

2002-07-01

The small packaging capacity of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors limits the utility of this promising vector system for transfer of large genes. We explored the possibility that larger genes could be reconstituted following homologous recombination between AAV vectors carrying overlapping gene fragments. An alkaline phosphatase (AP) gene was split between two such AAV vectors (rec vectors) and packaged using AAV2 or AAV6 capsid proteins. Rec vectors having either capsid protein recombined to express AP in cultured cells at about 1-2% of the rate observed for an intact vector. Surprisingly, the AAV6 rec vectors transduced lung cells in mice almost as efficiently as did an intact vector, with 10% of airway epithelial cells, the target for treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF), being positive. Thus AAV rec vectors may be useful for diseases such as CF that require transfer of large genes.

Method and system for operating an electric motor

DOEpatents

Gallegos-Lopez, Gabriel; Hiti, Silva; Perisic, Milun

2013-01-22

Methods and systems for operating an electric motor having a plurality of windings with an inverter having a plurality of switches coupled to a voltage source are provided. A first plurality of switching vectors is applied to the plurality of switches. The first plurality of switching vectors includes a first ratio of first magnitude switching vectors to second magnitude switching vectors. A direct current (DC) current associated with the voltage source is monitored during the applying of the first plurality of switching vectors to the plurality of switches. A second ratio of the first magnitude switching vectors to the second magnitude switching vectors is selected based on the monitoring of the DC current associated with the voltage source. A second plurality of switching vectors is applied to the plurality of switches. The second plurality of switching vectors includes the second ratio of the first magnitude switching vectors to the second magnitude switching vectors.

Acerca del moho

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

El moho forma parte del medio ambiente natural. Afuera del hogar, el moho juega un papel en la naturaleza al desintegrar materias organicas tales como las hojas que se han caido o los arboles muertos. El moho puede crecer adentro del hogar cuando las espor

Syngeneic AAV pseudo-vectors potentiates full vector transduction

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An excessive amount of empty capsids are generated during regular AAV vector production process. These pseudo-vectors often remain in final vectors used for animal studies or clinical trials. The potential effects of these pseudo-vectors on AAV transduction have been a major concern. In the current ...

Misura de Massa e Larghezza degli Stati $$x_1$$ e $$x_2$$ del Charmonio Formati in Interazioni $$p - \\bar{p}$$

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pallavicini, Marco

1995-01-01

Oggetto di questa tesi è la misura di alcune caratteristiche fisiche ( massa, larghezza, e larghezza parziale in p - p) degli stati 3 Pi e 3 A del charmonio, - overo del sistema legato di un quark "charm" e del suo antiquark-, nell'ambito dell'esperimento E-760, installato nell'accumulatore di antiprotoni del Fermilab (U.S.A).

Development of novel types of plastid transformation vectors and evaluation of factors controlling expression.

PubMed

Herz, Stefan; Füssl, Monika; Steiger, Sandra; Koop, Hans-Ulrich

2005-12-01

Two new vector types for plastid transformation were developed and uidA reporter gene expression was compared to standard transformation vectors. The first vector type does not contain any plastid promoter, instead it relies on extension of existing plastid operons and was therefore named "operon-extension" vector. When a strongly expressed plastid operon like psbA was extended by the reporter gene with this vector type, the expression level was superior to that of a standard vector under control of the 16S rRNA promoter. Different insertion sites, promoters and 5'-UTRs were analysed for their effect on reporter gene expression with standard and operon-extension vectors. The 5'-UTR of phage 7 gene 10 in combination with a modified N-terminus was found to yield the highest expression levels. Expression levels were also strongly dependent on external factors like plant or leaf age or light intensity. In the second vector type, named "split" plastid transformation vector, modules of the expression cassette were distributed on two separate vectors. Upon co-transformation of plastids with these vectors, the complete expression cassette became inserted into the plastome. This result can be explained by successive co-integration of the split vectors and final loop-out recombination of the duplicated sequences. The split vector concept was validated with different vector pairs.

The ecological foundations of transmission potential and vector-borne disease in urban landscapes.

PubMed

LaDeau, Shannon L; Allan, Brian F; Leisnham, Paul T; Levy, Michael Z

2015-07-01

Urban transmission of arthropod-vectored disease has increased in recent decades. Understanding and managing transmission potential in urban landscapes requires integration of sociological and ecological processes that regulate vector population dynamics, feeding behavior, and vector-pathogen interactions in these unique ecosystems. Vectorial capacity is a key metric for generating predictive understanding about transmission potential in systems with obligate vector transmission. This review evaluates how urban conditions, specifically habitat suitability and local temperature regimes, and the heterogeneity of urban landscapes can influence the biologically-relevant parameters that define vectorial capacity: vector density, survivorship, biting rate, extrinsic incubation period, and vector competence.Urban landscapes represent unique mosaics of habitat. Incidence of vector-borne disease in urban host populations is rarely, if ever, evenly distributed across an urban area. The persistence and quality of vector habitat can vary significantly across socio-economic boundaries to influence vector species composition and abundance, often generating socio-economically distinct gradients of transmission potential across neighborhoods.Urban regions often experience unique temperature regimes, broadly termed urban heat islands (UHI). Arthropod vectors are ectothermic organisms and their growth, survival, and behavior are highly sensitive to environmental temperatures. Vector response to UHI conditions is dependent on regional temperature profiles relative to the vector's thermal performance range. In temperate climates UHI can facilitate increased vector development rates while having countervailing influence on survival and feeding behavior. Understanding how urban heat island (UHI) conditions alter thermal and moisture constraints across the vector life cycle to influence transmission processes is an important direction for both empirical and modeling research.There remain persistent gaps in understanding of vital rates and drivers in mosquito-vectored disease systems, and vast holes in understanding for other arthropod vectored diseases. Empirical studies are needed to better understand the physiological constraints and socio-ecological processes that generate heterogeneity in critical transmission parameters, including vector survival and fitness. Likewise, laboratory experiments and transmission models must evaluate vector response to realistic field conditions, including variability in sociological and environmental conditions.

Dissection of Insertion–Deletion Variants within Differentially Expressed Genes Involved in Wood Formation in Populus

PubMed Central

Gong, Chenrui; Du, Qingzhang; Xie, Jianbo; Quan, Mingyang; Chen, Beibei; Zhang, Deqiang

2018-01-01

Short insertions and deletions (InDels) are one of the major genetic variants and are distributed widely across the genome; however, few investigations of InDels have been conducted in long-lived perennial plants. Here, we employed a combination of RNA-seq and population resequencing to identify InDels within differentially expressed (DE) genes underlying wood formation in a natural population of Populus tomentosa (435 individuals) and utilized InDel-based association mapping to detect the causal variants under additive, dominance, and epistasis underlying growth and wood properties. In the present paper, 5,482 InDels detected from 629 DE genes showed uneven distributions throughout all 19 chromosomes, and 95.9% of these loci were diallelic InDels. Seventy-four InDels (positive false discovery rate q ≤ 0.10) from 68 genes exhibited significant additive/dominant effects on 10 growth and wood-properties, with an average of 14.7% phenotypic variance explained. Potential pleiotropy was observed in one-third of the InDels (representing 24 genes). Seven genes exhibited significantly differential expression among the genotypic classes of associated InDels, indicating possible important roles for these InDels. Epistasis analysis showed that overlapping interacting genes formed unique interconnected networks for each trait, supporting the putative biochemical links that control quantitative traits. Therefore, the identification and utilization of InDels in trees will be recognized as an effective marker system for molecular marker-assisted breeding applications, and further facilitate our understanding of quantitative genomics. PMID:29403506

Radio-Observaciones del OH EN la Coma del Cometa Halley Desde EL Hemisferio Sur

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, A. M.; Bajaja, E.; Morras, R.; Cersosimo, J. C.; Martin, M. C.; Arnal, E. M.; Poppel, W. G. L.; Colomb, F. R.; Mazzaro, J.; Olalde, J. C.; Boriakoff, V.; Mirabel, I. F.

1987-05-01

Se utilizó una antena de 30 metros del Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía para observaciones diarias Cf ebrero a abril de 1986) de la transición en 1667 MHz ( λ = 18 cm) del OH en la coma del cometa Halley. De las observaciones realizadas se concluye: 1) El número promedio de moléculas de OH en la coma durante 37 días de observación fue de (8.9±3.5)x1034 moléculas, lo que implica una tasa de producción promedio de OH de 1.8x1029 moléculas seg-1 y consecuentemente una pérdida de masa promedio de 17±6 toneladas seg-1 . Este valor está de acuerdo con las mediciones realizadas por las sondas Vega y Giotto. 2) El monitoreo desde el lAR revela la existencia de variaciones bruscas en los flujos de absorción del OH. Estas variaciones son consistentes con los modelos que representan la producción gaseosa a partir de ejecciones y/o desprendimientos discretos de materia congelada del núcleo. 3) Las variaciones en la densidad de flujo son consistentes con las estimaciones de los tiem- pos de vida medios del H2O y del OH en presencia del campo de radiación solar. 4) Se encuentra una correlación entre la intensidad del flujo absorbido y anisotropías en Ia dinamica de la coma.

An evaluation of Delaware's DelTrac program : building an integrated transportation management system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-06-01

The DelTrac deployment experience included both successes and unmet challenges. Programmatically, the DelTrac approach to managing ITS has been successful at creating a great deal of integration and cooperation between organizations at DelDOT. Stakeh...

An Annotated Bibliography of Latin American Military Journals.

DTIC Science & Technology

1965-12-01

CABALLERIA Y UNIDADES BLINDADAS) REVISTA DE INFANTERIA REVISTA DE INGENIERIA MILITÄR (Organo de la Academia Politecnica Militär) REVISTA DEL...Appendix--continued ■84- PERU BOLETIN DEL MINISTERIO DE GUERRA Y MARINA (Continued as MEMORIAL DEL EJERCITO) INFANTERIA INGENIERIA REVISTA DEL

The role of remote sensing and GIS for spatial prediction of vector-borne diseases transmission: a systematic review.

PubMed

Palaniyandi, M

2012-12-01

There have been several attempts made to the appreciation of remote sensing and GIS for the study of vectors, biodiversity, vector presence, vector abundance and the vector-borne diseases with respect to space and time. This study was made for reviewing and appraising the potential use of remote sensing and GIS applications for spatial prediction of vector-borne diseases transmission. The nature of the presence and the abundance of vectors and vector-borne diseases, disease infection and the disease transmission are not ubiquitous and are confined with geographical, environmental and climatic factors, and are localized. The presence of vectors and vector-borne diseases is most complex in nature, however, it is confined and fueled by the geographical, climatic and environmental factors including man-made factors. The usefulness of the present day availability of the information derived from the satellite data including vegetation indices of canopy cover and its density, soil types, soil moisture, soil texture, soil depth, etc. is integrating the information in the expert GIS engine for the spatial analysis of other geoclimatic and geoenvironmental variables. The present study gives the detailed information on the classical studies of the past and present, and the future role of remote sensing and GIS for the vector-borne diseases control. The ecological modeling directly gives us the relevant information to understand the spatial variation of the vector biodiversity, vector presence, vector abundance and the vector-borne diseases in association with geoclimatic and the environmental variables. The probability map of the geographical distribution and seasonal variations of horizontal and vertical distribution of vector abundance and its association with vector -borne diseases can be obtained with low cost remote sensing and GIS tool with reliable data and speed.

A diagram for evaluating multiple aspects of model performance in simulating vector fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhongfeng; Hou, Zhaolu; Han, Ying; Guo, Weidong

2016-12-01

Vector quantities, e.g., vector winds, play an extremely important role in climate systems. The energy and water exchanges between different regions are strongly dominated by wind, which in turn shapes the regional climate. Thus, how well climate models can simulate vector fields directly affects model performance in reproducing the nature of a regional climate. This paper devises a new diagram, termed the vector field evaluation (VFE) diagram, which is a generalized Taylor diagram and able to provide a concise evaluation of model performance in simulating vector fields. The diagram can measure how well two vector fields match each other in terms of three statistical variables, i.e., the vector similarity coefficient, root mean square length (RMSL), and root mean square vector difference (RMSVD). Similar to the Taylor diagram, the VFE diagram is especially useful for evaluating climate models. The pattern similarity of two vector fields is measured by a vector similarity coefficient (VSC) that is defined by the arithmetic mean of the inner product of normalized vector pairs. Examples are provided, showing that VSC can identify how close one vector field resembles another. Note that VSC can only describe the pattern similarity, and it does not reflect the systematic difference in the mean vector length between two vector fields. To measure the vector length, RMSL is included in the diagram. The third variable, RMSVD, is used to identify the magnitude of the overall difference between two vector fields. Examples show that the VFE diagram can clearly illustrate the extent to which the overall RMSVD is attributed to the systematic difference in RMSL and how much is due to the poor pattern similarity.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Reduces VX-809 Stimulated F508del-CFTR Chloride Secretion by Airway Epithelial Cells

PubMed Central

Stanton, Bruce A.; Coutermarsh, Bonita; Barnaby, Roxanna; Hogan, Deborah

2015-01-01

Background P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that chronically infects the lungs of 85% of adult patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Previously, we demonstrated that P. aeruginosa reduced wt-CFTR Cl secretion by airway epithelial cells. Recently, a new investigational drug VX-809 has been shown to increase F508del-CFTR Cl secretion in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells, and, in combination with VX-770, to increase FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 second) by an average of 3-5% in CF patients homozygous for the F508del-CFTR mutation. We propose that P. aeruginosa infection of CF lungs reduces VX-809 + VX-770- stimulated F508del-CFTR Cl secretion, and thereby reduces the clinical efficacy of VX-809 + VX-770. Methods and Results F508del-CFBE cells and primary cultures of CF-HBE cells (F508del/F508del) were exposed to VX-809 alone or a combination of VX-809 + VX-770 for 48 hours and the effect of P. aeruginosa on F508del-CFTR Cl secretion was measured in Ussing chambers. The effect of VX-809 on F508del-CFTR abundance was measured by cell surface biotinylation and western blot analysis. PAO1, PA14, PAK and 6 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa (3 mucoid and 3 non-mucoid) significantly reduced drug stimulated F508del-CFTR Cl secretion, and plasma membrane F508del-CFTR. Conclusion The observation that P. aeruginosa reduces VX-809 and VX-809 + VX-770 stimulated F508del CFTR Cl secretion may explain, in part, why VX-809 + VX-770 has modest efficacy in clinical trials. PMID:26018799

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Reduces VX-809 Stimulated F508del-CFTR Chloride Secretion by Airway Epithelial Cells.

PubMed

Stanton, Bruce A; Coutermarsh, Bonita; Barnaby, Roxanna; Hogan, Deborah

2015-01-01

P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that chronically infects the lungs of 85% of adult patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Previously, we demonstrated that P. aeruginosa reduced wt-CFTR Cl secretion by airway epithelial cells. Recently, a new investigational drug VX-809 has been shown to increase F508del-CFTR Cl secretion in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells, and, in combination with VX-770, to increase FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 second) by an average of 3-5% in CF patients homozygous for the F508del-CFTR mutation. We propose that P. aeruginosa infection of CF lungs reduces VX-809 + VX-770- stimulated F508del-CFTR Cl secretion, and thereby reduces the clinical efficacy of VX-809 + VX-770. F508del-CFBE cells and primary cultures of CF-HBE cells (F508del/F508del) were exposed to VX-809 alone or a combination of VX-809 + VX-770 for 48 hours and the effect of P. aeruginosa on F508del-CFTR Cl secretion was measured in Ussing chambers. The effect of VX-809 on F508del-CFTR abundance was measured by cell surface biotinylation and western blot analysis. PAO1, PA14, PAK and 6 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa (3 mucoid and 3 non-mucoid) significantly reduced drug stimulated F508del-CFTR Cl secretion, and plasma membrane F508del-CFTR. The observation that P. aeruginosa reduces VX-809 and VX-809 + VX-770 stimulated F508del CFTR Cl secretion may explain, in part, why VX-809 + VX-770 has modest efficacy in clinical trials.

Thyra Abstract Interface Package

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartlett, Roscoe A.

2005-09-01

Thrya primarily defines a set of abstract C++ class interfaces needed for the development of abstract numerical atgorithms (ANAs) such as iterative linear solvers, transient solvers all the way up to optimization. At the foundation of these interfaces are abstract C++ classes for vectors, vector spaces, linear operators and multi-vectors. Also included in the Thyra package is C++ code for creating concrete vector, vector space, linear operator, and multi-vector subclasses as well as other utilities to aid in the development of ANAs. Currently, very general and efficient concrete subclass implementations exist for serial and SPMD in-core vectors and multi-vectors. Codemore » also currently exists for testing objects and providing composite objects such as product vectors.« less

Vector 33: A reduce program for vector algebra and calculus in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harper, David

1989-06-01

This paper describes a package with enables REDUCE 3.3 to perform algebra and calculus operations upon vectors. Basic algebraic operations between vectors and between scalars and vectors are provided, including scalar (dot) product and vector (cross) product. The vector differential operators curl, divergence, gradient and Laplacian are also defined, and are valid in any orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system. The package is written in RLISP to allow algebra and calculus to be performed using notation identical to that for operations. Scalars and vectors can be mixed quite freely in the same expression. The package will be of interest to mathematicians, engineers and scientists who need to perform vector calculations in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates.

Efectos combinados de la ampliación de la atención primaria de salud y de las transferencias condicionadas de dinero en efectivo sobre la mortalidad infantil en Brasil, 1998–2010*

PubMed Central

Guanais, Frederico C.

2015-01-01

Objetivos. Examiné los efectos combinados del acceso a la atención primaria mediante el Programa de Salud Familiar (PSF) y las transferencias condicionadas de dinero en efectivo del Programa Bolsa Familia (PBF) sobre la mortalidad infantil posneonatal (MIPN) en Brasil. Métodos. Empleé un análisis ecológico longitudinal usando datos en panel de 4 583 municipios brasileños de 1998 al 2010, con 54 253 observaciones en total. Estimé modelos de regresión de efectos fijos por mínimos cuadrados ordinarios, con la tasa de MIPN como la variable dependiente y el PSF, el PBF y sus interacciones como las principales variables independientes de interés. Resultados. La asociación de una mayor cobertura del PSF con una menor tasa de MIPN se volvió más fuerte conforme aumentaba la cobertura del PBF. En los promedios de todas las demás variables, cuando la cobertura de PBF era 25%, la MIPN predicha fue 5,24 (intervalo de confianza [IC] de 95% = 4,95, 5,53) para una cobertura del PSF de 0%, y de 3,54 (IC de 95% = 2,77, 4,31) para una cobertura del PSF de 100%. Cuando la cobertura del PBF era de 60%, la MIPN predicha fue 4,65 (IC de 95% = 4,36, 4,94) para una cobertura del PSF de 0%, y de 1,38 (IC de 95% = 0,88, 1,89) para una cobertura del PSF de 100%. Conclusiones. El efecto del PSF depende de la ampliación del PBF. Para las poblaciones empobrecidas y subatendidas, la combinación de intervenciones tanto del lado de la oferta como del lado de la demanda podría ser necesaria para mejorar los resultados en salud.

Characterization of bottom sediments in the Río de la Plata estuary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simionato, Claudia G.; Moreira, Diego

2016-04-01

Bottom sediments and surface water samples were collected in the intermediate and outer Río de la Plata Estuary during 2009-2010, in six repeated cruises, with 26 stations each. Samples were processed for grain size using a laser particle size analyzer, and water and organic matter contents. The aim of this work is to analyze this data set to provide a comprehensive and objective characterization of the bottom sediments distribution, to study their composition and to progress in the construction of a conceptual model of the involved physical mechanisms. Principal Components Analysis is applied to the bottom sediments size histograms to investigate the spatial patterns. Variations in grain-size parameters contain information on possible sediment transport patterns, which were analyzed by means of trend vectors. Sediments show a gradational arrangement of textures, sand dominant at the head, silt in the intermediate estuary and clayey silt and clay at its mouth; textures become progressively more poorly sorted offshore, and the water and organic matter contents increase. And seem to be strongly related to the geometry and the hydrodynamics. Along the Northern coast of the intermediate estuary, well sorted medium and fine silt predominates, whereas in the Southern coast, coarser and less sorted silt prevails, due to differences in tidal currents and/or in water pathways. Around Barra del Indio, clay prevails over silt and sand, and the water and organic matter contents reach a maximum, probably due flocculation, and the reduction of the currents. Immediately seawards the salt wedge, net transport reverses its direction and well sorted coarser sand from the adjacent shelf dominates. Relict sediment is observed around the Santa Lucía River, consisting of poorly sorted fine silt and clay. The inferred net transport suggests convergence at the Barra del Indio shoal, which is consistent with the constant growing of the banks.

Analisis del contenido curricular de los Documentos Normativos del Programa de Ciencias en el area de biologia para la escuela superior del sistema de educacion publica de Puerto Rico: 1993-2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davila Montanez, Melissa

Esta investigacion de naturaleza cualitativa se ocupo de realizar un analisis de contenido documental de los Documentos Normativos del Programa de Ciencias en el area de biologia de la escuela superior del sistema de educacion publica de Puerto Rico del periodo 1993-2012. Los documentos analizados fueron: Guia Curricular, 1995; Marco Curricular, 2003; Estandares de Excelencia, 1996, 2000 y Estandares de Contenido y Expectativas de Grado, 2007. Se indago si hubo cambios en significados en los Componentes Estructurales: Naturaleza de la ciencia, Paradigmas para la ensenanza de la ciencia, Funcion del curriculo formal, Mision de la ensenanza de la ciencia; Contenidos, destrezas y competencias, Estrategias de ensenanza y Evaluacion/Assessment del aprendizaje. El analisis sugiere que no hubo cambios sustanciales en los significados de los Componentes Estructurales. Los documentos estudiados muestran mayormente caracteristicas similares, aunque los documentos mas recientes eran mas descriptivos, explicativos y especificos.

Increasing the Endoplasmic Reticulum Pool of the F508del Allele of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Leads to Greater Folding Correction by Small Molecule Therapeutics.

PubMed

Chung, W Joon; Goeckeler-Fried, Jennifer L; Havasi, Viktoria; Chiang, Annette; Rowe, Steven M; Plyler, Zackery E; Hong, Jeong S; Mazur, Marina; Piazza, Gary A; Keeton, Adam B; White, E Lucile; Rasmussen, Lynn; Weissman, Allan M; Denny, R Aldrin; Brodsky, Jeffrey L; Sorscher, Eric J

2016-01-01

Small molecules that correct the folding defects and enhance surface localization of the F508del mutation in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) comprise an important therapeutic strategy for cystic fibrosis lung disease. However, compounds that rescue the F508del mutant protein to wild type (WT) levels have not been identified. In this report, we consider obstacles to obtaining robust and therapeutically relevant levels of F508del CFTR. For example, markedly diminished steady state amounts of F508del CFTR compared to WT CFTR are present in recombinant bronchial epithelial cell lines, even when much higher levels of mutant transcript are present. In human primary airway cells, the paucity of Band B F508del is even more pronounced, although F508del and WT mRNA concentrations are comparable. Therefore, to augment levels of "repairable" F508del CFTR and identify small molecules that then correct this pool, we developed compound library screening protocols based on automated protein detection. First, cell-based imaging measurements were used to semi-quantitatively estimate distribution of F508del CFTR by high content analysis of two-dimensional images. We evaluated ~2,000 known bioactive compounds from the NIH Roadmap Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository in a pilot screen and identified agents that increase the F508del protein pool. Second, we analyzed ~10,000 compounds representing diverse chemical scaffolds for effects on total CFTR expression using a multi-plate fluorescence protocol and describe compounds that promote F508del maturation. Together, our findings demonstrate proof of principle that agents identified in this fashion can augment the level of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident "Band B" F508del CFTR suitable for pharmacologic correction. As further evidence in support of this strategy, PYR-41-a compound that inhibits the E1 ubiquitin activating enzyme-was shown to synergistically enhance F508del rescue by C18, a small molecule corrector. Our combined results indicate that increasing the levels of ER-localized CFTR available for repair provides a novel route to correct F508del CFTR.

Current Advances and Future Challenges in Adenoviral Vector Biology and Targeting

PubMed Central

Campos, Samuel K.; Barry, Michael A.

2008-01-01

Gene delivery vectors based on Adenoviral (Ad) vectors have enormous potential for the treatment of both hereditary and acquired disease. Detailed structural analysis of the Ad virion, combined with functional studies has broadened our knowledge of the structure/function relationships between Ad vectors and host cells/tissues and substantial achievement has been made towards a thorough understanding of the biology of Ad vectors. The widespread use of Ad vectors for clinical gene therapy is compromised by their inherent immunogenicity. The generation of safer and more effective Ad vectors, targeted to the site of disease, has therefore become a great ambition in the field of Ad vector development. This review provides a synopsis of the structure/function relationships between Ad vectors and host systems and summarizes the many innovative approaches towards achieving Ad vector targeting. PMID:17584037

Elliptic-symmetry vector optical fields.

PubMed

Pan, Yue; Li, Yongnan; Li, Si-Min; Ren, Zhi-Cheng; Kong, Ling-Jun; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

2014-08-11

We present in principle and demonstrate experimentally a new kind of vector fields: elliptic-symmetry vector optical fields. This is a significant development in vector fields, as this breaks the cylindrical symmetry and enriches the family of vector fields. Due to the presence of an additional degrees of freedom, which is the interval between the foci in the elliptic coordinate system, the elliptic-symmetry vector fields are more flexible than the cylindrical vector fields for controlling the spatial structure of polarization and for engineering the focusing fields. The elliptic-symmetry vector fields can find many specific applications from optical trapping to optical machining and so on.

Kinematic sensitivity of robot manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vuskovic, Marko I.

1989-01-01

Kinematic sensitivity vectors and matrices for open-loop, n degrees-of-freedom manipulators are derived. First-order sensitivity vectors are defined as partial derivatives of the manipulator's position and orientation with respect to its geometrical parameters. The four-parameter kinematic model is considered, as well as the five-parameter model in case of nominally parallel joint axes. Sensitivity vectors are expressed in terms of coordinate axes of manipulator frames. Second-order sensitivity vectors, the partial derivatives of first-order sensitivity vectors, are also considered. It is shown that second-order sensitivity vectors can be expressed as vector products of the first-order sensitivity vectors.

Genetic variation in arthropod vectors of disease-causing organisms: obstacles and opportunities.

PubMed Central

Gooding, R H

1996-01-01

An overview of the genetic variation in arthropods that transmit pathogens to vertebrates is presented, emphasizing the genetics of vector-pathogen relationships and the biochemical genetics of vectors. Vector-pathogen interactions are reviewed briefly as a prelude to a discussion of the genetics of susceptibility and refractoriness in vectors. Susceptibility to pathogens is controlled by maternally inherited factors, sex-linked dominant alleles, and dominant and recessive autosomal genes. There is widespread interpopulation (including intercolony) and temporal variation in susceptibility to pathogens. The amount of biochemical genetic variation in vectors is similar to that found in other invertebrates. However, the amount varies widely among species, among populations within species, and temporally within populations. Biochemical genetic studies show that there is considerable genetic structuring of many vectors at the local, regional, and global levels. It is argued that genetic variation in vectors is critical in understanding vector-pathogen interactions and that genetic variation in vectors creates both obstacles to and opportunities for application of genetic techniques to the control of vectors. PMID:8809462

A Subdivision-Based Representation for Vector Image Editing.

PubMed

Liao, Zicheng; Hoppe, Hugues; Forsyth, David; Yu, Yizhou

2012-11-01

Vector graphics has been employed in a wide variety of applications due to its scalability and editability. Editability is a high priority for artists and designers who wish to produce vector-based graphical content with user interaction. In this paper, we introduce a new vector image representation based on piecewise smooth subdivision surfaces, which is a simple, unified and flexible framework that supports a variety of operations, including shape editing, color editing, image stylization, and vector image processing. These operations effectively create novel vector graphics by reusing and altering existing image vectorization results. Because image vectorization yields an abstraction of the original raster image, controlling the level of detail of this abstraction is highly desirable. To this end, we design a feature-oriented vector image pyramid that offers multiple levels of abstraction simultaneously. Our new vector image representation can be rasterized efficiently using GPU-accelerated subdivision. Experiments indicate that our vector image representation achieves high visual quality and better supports editing operations than existing representations.

Chromosomal integration of adenoviral vector DNA in vivo.

PubMed

Stephen, Sam Laurel; Montini, Eugenio; Sivanandam, Vijayshankar Ganesh; Al-Dhalimy, Muhseen; Kestler, Hans A; Finegold, Milton; Grompe, Markus; Kochanek, Stefan

2010-10-01

So far there has been no report of any clinical or preclinical evidence for chromosomal vector integration following adenovirus (Ad) vector-mediated gene transfer in vivo. We used liver gene transfer with high-capacity Ad vectors in the FAH(Deltaexon5) mouse model to analyze homologous and heterologous recombination events between vector and chromosomal DNA. Intravenous injection of Ad vectors either expressing a fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) cDNA or carrying part of the FAH genomic locus resulted in liver nodules of FAH-expressing hepatocytes, demonstrating chromosomal vector integration. Analysis of junctions between vector and chromosomal DNA following heterologous recombination indicated integration of the vector genome through its termini. Heterologous recombination occurred with a median frequency of 6.72 x 10(-5) per transduced hepatocyte, while homologous recombination occurred more rarely with a median frequency of 3.88 x 10(-7). This study has established quantitative and qualitative data on recombination of adenoviral vector DNA with genomic DNA in vivo, contributing to a risk-benefit assessment of the biosafety of Ad vector-mediated gene transfer.

Adenoviral Vector Immunity: Its Implications and circumvention strategies

PubMed Central

Ahi, Yadvinder S.; Bangari, Dinesh S.; Mittal, Suresh K.

2014-01-01

Adenoviral (Ad) vectors have emerged as a promising gene delivery platform for a variety of therapeutic and vaccine purposes during last two decades. However, the presence of preexisting Ad immunity and the rapid development of Ad vector immunity still pose significant challenges to the clinical use of these vectors. Innate inflammatory response following Ad vector administration may lead to systemic toxicity, drastically limit vector transduction efficiency and significantly abbreviate the duration of transgene expression. Currently, a number of approaches are being extensively pursued to overcome these drawbacks by strategies that target either the host or the Ad vector. In addition, significant progress has been made in the development of novel Ad vectors based on less prevalent human Ad serotypes and nonhuman Ad. This review provides an update on our current understanding of immune responses to Ad vectors and delineates various approaches for eluding Ad vector immunity. Approaches targeting the host and those targeting the vector are discussed in light of their promises and limitations. PMID:21453277

Comparison of HIV- and EIAV-based vectors on their efficiency in transducing murine and human hematopoietic repopulating cells.

PubMed

Siapati, Elena K; Bigger, Brian W; Miskin, James; Chipchase, Daniel; Parsley, Kathryn L; Mitrophanous, Kyriacos; Themis, Mike; Thrasher, Adrian J; Bonnet, Dominique

2005-09-01

The use of lentiviral vectors for gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells has raised considerable interest as these vectors can permanently integrate their genome into quiescent cells. Vectors based on alternative lentiviruses would theoretically be safer than HIV-1-based vectors and could also be used in HIV-positive patients, minimizing the risk of generating replication-competent virus. Here we report the use of third-generation equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)- and HIV-1-based vectors with minimal viral sequences and absence of accessory proteins. We have compared their efficiency in transducing mouse and human hematopoietic stem cells both in vitro and in vivo to that of a previously documented second-generation HIV-1 vector. The third-generation EIAV- and HIV-based vectors gave comparable levels of transduction and transgene expression in both mouse and human NOD/SCID repopulating cells but were less efficient than the second-generation HIV-1 vector in human HSCs. For the EIAV vector this is possibly a reflection of the lower protein expression levels achieved in human cells, as vector copy number analysis revealed that this vector exhibited a trend to integrate equally efficiently compared to the third-generation HIV-1 vector in both mouse and human HSCs. Interestingly, the presence or absence of Tat in viral preparations did not influence the transduction efficiency of HIV-1 vectors in human HSCs.

Hexons from adenovirus serotypes 5 and 48 differentially protect adenovirus vectors from neutralization by mouse and human serum

PubMed Central

Harmon, Andrew W.; Moitra, Rituparna; Xu, Zhili

2018-01-01

Adenovirus vectors are widely used in gene therapy clinical trials, and preclinical studies with these vectors are often conducted in mice. It is therefore critical to understand whether mouse studies adequately predict the behavior of adenovirus vectors in humans. The most commonly-used adenovirus vectors are derived from adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5). The Ad5 hexon protein can bind coagulation factor X (FX), and binding of FX has a major impact on vector interactions with other blood proteins. In mouse serum, FX protects Ad5 vectors from neutralization by natural antibodies and complement. In the current study, we similarly find that human FX inhibits neutralization of Ad5 vectors by human serum, and this finding is consistent among individual human sera. We show that human IgM and human IgG can each induce complement-mediated neutralization when Ad5 vectors are not protected by FX. Although mouse and human serum had similar effects on Ad5 vectors, we found that this was not true for a chimeric Ad5 vector that incorporated hexon regions from adenovirus serotype 48. Interestingly, this hexon-chimeric vector was neutralized by human serum, but not by mouse serum. These findings indicate that studies in mouse serum accurately predict the behavior of Ad5 vectors in human serum, but mouse serum is not an accurate model system for all adenovirus vectors. PMID:29401488

An experiment of formation of charmoni states in annihilation P-Pbarra. Un esperimento di formazione di stati del charmonio in annichilazione P-Pbarra (in Italian)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pallavicini, Marco

1995-01-01

Oggetto di questa tesi e la misura di alcune caratteristiche fisiche (massa, larghezza, e larghezza parziale in p -more » $$\\bar{p}$$) degli stati 3P 1 e 3P 2 del charmonio, -ovvero del sistema legato di un quark "charm" e del suo antiquark-, nell'amito dell'esperimento E-760, installato nell'accumulatore di antiprotoni del Fermilab.« less

Anthropophily of Lutzomyia wellcomei (Diptera: Psychodidae) in an Atlantic Forest Conservation Unit in Northeast Brazil.

PubMed

Pinheiro, Marcos Paulo Gomes; Silva, José Hilário Tavares da; Inacio, Cássio Lázaro Silva; Ximenes, Maria de Fátima Freire de Melo

2016-11-01

Lutzomyia wellcomei (Fraiha, Shaw & Lainson) (Diptera: Psychodidae) can act as an important vector of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis This study presents the results of collections carried out in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in a Conservation Unit of Rio Grande do Norte state. Collections occurred over 12 consecutive months using Shannon and CDC traps. A total of 777 sand flies from eight species were collected: Lutzomyia walkeri (Newstead), Lutzomyia evandroi (Costa Lima & Antunes), Lutzomyia wellcomei (Fraiha, Shaw & Lainson), Lutzomyia sordellii (Shannon & Del Ponte), Lutzomyia brasiliensis (Costa Lima), Lutzomyia lenti (Mangabeira), Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva), and Lutzomyia abonnenci (Floch & Chassignet). Lutzomyia wellcomei was the most abundant species using the Shannon trap (97%) and L. walkeri in the CDC trap (81%). It is important to note the abundance of L. wellcomei in Shannon trap collections, which favors the capture of anthropophilic species. Lutzomyia wellcomei was only present in months where rainfall was above 100 mm, confirming it as a species adapted to wetter months. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Control trial of Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l. in the Island of Margarita, Venezuela.

PubMed

Feliciangeli, M Dora; Mazzarri, Milena B; Blas, Sonia San; Zerpa, Olga

2003-12-01

The incidence of the American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in the Island of Margarita, a major tourist centre in Venezuela, has been increasing between 1998 and 2001. Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l. is the recognized vector, which was found naturally infected with Leishmania spp, indistinguishable from the parasites recovered from dogs and children. In 1999-2000, we conducted a control trial in Santa Ana del Valle and Las Cabreras, which have similar epidemiological and ecological conditions. The trial was based on intradomestic residual spraying of lambda-cyhalothrin, E.C., 25 mg/m2 and spatial fogging of fenitrothion around the houses at 30 g/ha. Sandfly abundance was recorded using Centers for Disease Control (CDC) traps indoors and outdoors. We found significantly reduced sandfly populations in the target locality. Wall bioassays showed that the residual effect of the insecticide lasts for about 3 months. We believe that indoor spraying with lambda-cyhalothrin three times a year, at a dose slightly greater than 25 mg/m2, might reduce the L. longipalpis s.l. population to a level low enough for achieving a significant reduction of the indoor transmission, thus protecting small children from the disease.

Health Care Seeking Behavior of Persons with Acute Chagas Disease in Rural Argentina: A Qualitative View.

PubMed

Llovet, Ignacio; Dinardi, Graciela; Canevari, Cecilia; Torabi, Nahal

2016-01-01

Chagas disease (CD) is a tropical parasitic disease largely underdiagnosed and mostly asymptomatic affecting marginalized rural populations. Argentina regularly reports acute cases of CD, mostly young individuals under 14 years old. There is a void of knowledge of health care seeking behavior in subjects experiencing a CD acute condition. Early treatment of the acute case is crucial to limit subsequent development of disease. The article explores how the health outcome of persons with acute CD may be conditioned by their health care seeking behavior. The study, with a qualitative approach, was carried out in rural areas of Santiago del Estero Province, a high risk endemic region for vector transmission of CD. Narratives of 25 in-depth interviews carried out in 2005 and 2006 are analyzed identifying patterns of health care seeking behavior followed by acute cases. Through the retrospective recall of paths for diagnoses, weaknesses of disease information, knowledge at the household level, and underperformance at the provincial health care system level are detected. The misdiagnoses were a major factor in delaying a health care response. The study results expose lost opportunities for the health care system to effectively record CD acute cases.

Health Care Seeking Behavior of Persons with Acute Chagas Disease in Rural Argentina: A Qualitative View

PubMed Central

Dinardi, Graciela; Canevari, Cecilia; Torabi, Nahal

2016-01-01

Chagas disease (CD) is a tropical parasitic disease largely underdiagnosed and mostly asymptomatic affecting marginalized rural populations. Argentina regularly reports acute cases of CD, mostly young individuals under 14 years old. There is a void of knowledge of health care seeking behavior in subjects experiencing a CD acute condition. Early treatment of the acute case is crucial to limit subsequent development of disease. The article explores how the health outcome of persons with acute CD may be conditioned by their health care seeking behavior. The study, with a qualitative approach, was carried out in rural areas of Santiago del Estero Province, a high risk endemic region for vector transmission of CD. Narratives of 25 in-depth interviews carried out in 2005 and 2006 are analyzed identifying patterns of health care seeking behavior followed by acute cases. Through the retrospective recall of paths for diagnoses, weaknesses of disease information, knowledge at the household level, and underperformance at the provincial health care system level are detected. The misdiagnoses were a major factor in delaying a health care response. The study results expose lost opportunities for the health care system to effectively record CD acute cases. PMID:27829843

Iso-vector form factors of the delta and nucleon in QCD sum rules

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ozpineci, A.

Form factors are important non-perturbative properties of hadrons. They give information about the internal structure of the hadrons. In this work, iso-vector axial-vector and iso-vector tensor form factors of the nucleon and the iso-vector axial-vector {Delta}{yields}N transition form factor calculations in QCD Sum Rules are presented.

Orthogonal vector algorithm to obtain the solar vector using the single-scattering Rayleigh model.

PubMed

Wang, Yinlong; Chu, Jinkui; Zhang, Ran; Shi, Chao

2018-02-01

Information obtained from a polarization pattern in the sky provides many animals like insects and birds with vital long-distance navigation cues. The solar vector can be derived from the polarization pattern using the single-scattering Rayleigh model. In this paper, an orthogonal vector algorithm, which utilizes the redundancy of the single-scattering Rayleigh model, is proposed. We use the intersection angles between the polarization vectors as the main criteria in our algorithm. The assumption that all polarization vectors can be considered coplanar is used to simplify the three-dimensional (3D) problem with respect to the polarization vectors in our simulation. The surface-normal vector of the plane, which is determined by the polarization vectors after translation, represents the solar vector. Unfortunately, the two-directionality of the polarization vectors makes the resulting solar vector ambiguous. One important result of this study is, however, that this apparent disadvantage has no effect on the complexity of the algorithm. Furthermore, two other universal least-squares algorithms were investigated and compared. A device was then constructed, which consists of five polarized-light sensors as well as a 3D attitude sensor. Both the simulation and experimental data indicate that the orthogonal vector algorithms, if used with a suitable threshold, perform equally well or better than the other two algorithms. Our experimental data reveal that if the intersection angles between the polarization vectors are close to 90°, the solar-vector angle deviations are small. The data also support the assumption of coplanarity. During the 51 min experiment, the mean of the measured solar-vector angle deviations was about 0.242°, as predicted by our theoretical model.

Insulated Foamy Viral Vectors

PubMed Central

Browning, Diana L.; Collins, Casey P.; Hocum, Jonah D.; Leap, David J.; Rae, Dustin T.; Trobridge, Grant D.

2016-01-01

Retroviral vector-mediated gene therapy is promising, but genotoxicity has limited its use in the clinic. Genotoxicity is highly dependent on the retroviral vector used, and foamy viral (FV) vectors appear relatively safe. However, internal promoters may still potentially activate nearby genes. We developed insulated FV vectors, using four previously described insulators: a version of the well-studied chicken hypersensitivity site 4 insulator (650cHS4), two synthetic CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF)-based insulators, and an insulator based on the CCAAT box-binding transcription factor/nuclear factor I (7xCTF/NF1). We directly compared these insulators for enhancer-blocking activity, effect on FV vector titer, and fidelity of transfer to both proviral long terminal repeats. The synthetic CTCF-based insulators had the strongest insulating activity, but reduced titers significantly. The 7xCTF/NF1 insulator did not reduce titers but had weak insulating activity. The 650cHS4-insulated FV vector was identified as the overall most promising vector. Uninsulated and 650cHS4-insulated FV vectors were both significantly less genotoxic than gammaretroviral vectors. Integration sites were evaluated in cord blood CD34+ cells and the 650cHS4-insulated FV vector had fewer hotspots compared with an uninsulated FV vector. These data suggest that insulated FV vectors are promising for hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy. PMID:26715244

Construction and Evaluation of Novel Rhesus Monkey Adenovirus Vaccine Vectors

PubMed Central

Abbink, Peter; Maxfield, Lori F.; Ng'ang'a, David; Borducchi, Erica N.; Iampietro, M. Justin; Bricault, Christine A.; Teigler, Jeffrey E.; Blackmore, Stephen; Parenteau, Lily; Wagh, Kshitij; Handley, Scott A.; Zhao, Guoyan; Virgin, Herbert W.; Korber, Bette

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Adenovirus vectors are widely used as vaccine candidates for a variety of pathogens, including HIV-1. To date, human and chimpanzee adenoviruses have been explored in detail as vaccine vectors. The phylogeny of human and chimpanzee adenoviruses is overlapping, and preexisting humoral and cellular immunity to both are exhibited in human populations worldwide. More distantly related adenoviruses may therefore offer advantages as vaccine vectors. Here we describe the primary isolation and vectorization of three novel adenoviruses from rhesus monkeys. The seroprevalence of these novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vectors was extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa human populations, and these vectors proved to have immunogenicity comparable to that of human and chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vectors in mice. These rhesus monkey adenoviruses phylogenetically clustered with the poorly described adenovirus species G and robustly stimulated innate immune responses. These novel adenoviruses represent a new class of candidate vaccine vectors. IMPORTANCE Although there have been substantial efforts in the development of vaccine vectors from human and chimpanzee adenoviruses, far less is known about rhesus monkey adenoviruses. In this report, we describe the isolation and vectorization of three novel rhesus monkey adenoviruses. These vectors exhibit virologic and immunologic characteristics that make them attractive as potential candidate vaccine vectors for both HIV-1 and other pathogens. PMID:25410856

Construction and evaluation of novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vaccine vectors.

PubMed

Abbink, Peter; Maxfield, Lori F; Ng'ang'a, David; Borducchi, Erica N; Iampietro, M Justin; Bricault, Christine A; Teigler, Jeffrey E; Blackmore, Stephen; Parenteau, Lily; Wagh, Kshitij; Handley, Scott A; Zhao, Guoyan; Virgin, Herbert W; Korber, Bette; Barouch, Dan H

2015-02-01

Adenovirus vectors are widely used as vaccine candidates for a variety of pathogens, including HIV-1. To date, human and chimpanzee adenoviruses have been explored in detail as vaccine vectors. The phylogeny of human and chimpanzee adenoviruses is overlapping, and preexisting humoral and cellular immunity to both are exhibited in human populations worldwide. More distantly related adenoviruses may therefore offer advantages as vaccine vectors. Here we describe the primary isolation and vectorization of three novel adenoviruses from rhesus monkeys. The seroprevalence of these novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vectors was extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa human populations, and these vectors proved to have immunogenicity comparable to that of human and chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vectors in mice. These rhesus monkey adenoviruses phylogenetically clustered with the poorly described adenovirus species G and robustly stimulated innate immune responses. These novel adenoviruses represent a new class of candidate vaccine vectors. Although there have been substantial efforts in the development of vaccine vectors from human and chimpanzee adenoviruses, far less is known about rhesus monkey adenoviruses. In this report, we describe the isolation and vectorization of three novel rhesus monkey adenoviruses. These vectors exhibit virologic and immunologic characteristics that make them attractive as potential candidate vaccine vectors for both HIV-1 and other pathogens. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Regulation and Function of TIFAB in Myelodysplastic Syndrome

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

genomic alteration in MDS is deletion of chromosome 5q (del(5q)). MDS patients with an isolated del(5q) presenting with anemia, neutropenia , and...is deletion of chromosome 5q (del(5q)). MDS patients with an isolated del(5q) presenting with anemia, neutropenia , and elevated platelets associated

Vector Addition: Effect of the Context and Position of the Vectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barniol, Pablo; Zavala, Genaro

2010-10-01

In this article we investigate the effect of: 1) the context, and 2) the position of the vectors, on 2D vector addition tasks. We administered a test to 512 students completing introductory physics courses at a private Mexican university. In the first part, we analyze students' responses in three isomorphic problems: displacements, forces, and no physical context. Students were asked to draw two vectors and the vector sum. We analyzed students' procedures detecting the difficulties when drawing the vector addition and proved that the context matters, not only compared to the context-free case but also between the contexts. In the second part, we analyze students' responses with three different arrangements of the sum of two vectors: tail-to-tail, head-to-tail and separated vectors. We compared the frequencies of the errors in the three different positions to deduce students' conceptions in the addition of vectors.

Vectors and Rotations in 3-Dimensions: Vector Algebra for the C++ Programmer

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

Proving Ground, MD 21005-5068 This report describes 2 C++ classes: a Vector class for performing vector algebra in 3-dimensional space ( 3D ) and a Rotation...class for performing rotations of vectors in 3D . Each class is self-contained in a single header file (Vector.h and Rotation.h) so that a C...vector, rotation, 3D , quaternion, C++ tools, rotation sequence, Euler angles, yaw, pitch, roll, orientation 98 Richard Saucier 410-278-6721Unclassified

Effects of internal yaw-vectoring devices on the static performance of a pitch-vectoring nonaxisymmetric convergent-divergent nozzle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asbury, Scott C.

1993-01-01

An investigation was conducted in the static test facility of the Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel to evaluate the internal performance of a nonaxisymmetric convergent divergent nozzle designed to have simultaneous pitch and yaw thrust vectoring capability. This concept utilized divergent flap deflection for thrust vectoring in the pitch plane and flow-turning deflectors installed within the divergent flaps for yaw thrust vectoring. Modifications consisting of reducing the sidewall length and deflecting the sidewall outboard were investigated as means to increase yaw-vectoring performance. This investigation studied the effects of multiaxis (pitch and yaw) thrust vectoring on nozzle internal performance characteristics. All tests were conducted with no external flow, and nozzle pressure ratio was varied from 2.0 to approximately 13.0. The results indicate that this nozzle concept can successfully generate multiaxis thrust vectoring. Deflection of the divergent flaps produced resultant pitch vector angles that, although dependent on nozzle pressure ratio, were nearly equal to the geometric pitch vector angle. Losses in resultant thrust due to pitch vectoring were small or negligible. The yaw deflectors produced resultant yaw vector angles up to 21 degrees that were controllable by varying yaw deflector rotation. However, yaw deflector rotation resulted in significant losses in thrust ratios and, in some cases, nozzle discharge coefficient. Either of the sidewall modifications generally reduced these losses and increased maximum resultant yaw vector angle. During multiaxis (simultaneous pitch and yaw) thrust vectoring, little or no cross coupling between the thrust vectoring processes was observed.

Mineralogical, IR-spectral and geochemical monitoring of hydrothermal alteration in a deformed and metamorphosed Jurassic VMS deposit at Arroyo Rojo, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biel, C.; Subías, I.; Acevedo, R. D.; Yusta, I.; Velasco, F.

2012-04-01

The Arroyo Rojo Zn-Pb-Cu volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit is the main deposit of the Fin del Mundo District in the Fuegian Andes, Argentina. This deposit is hosted by a Middle Jurassic volcanic and volcanoclastic sequence forming the Lemaire Formation. The latter consists, from the base up, of the following: rhyolitic and dacitic porphyritic rocks, ignimbrite, tuff, and flow. It is underlain by a pre-Jurassic basement and overlain by the hyaloclastic andesites of the Yahgán Formation. The Arroyo Rojo consists of stacked lenticular lenses that are associated with disseminated mineralization in both the footwall and the hanging wall. The internal structure of the ore lenses is marked by the occurrence of massive, semi-massive and banded facies, along with stringer and brecciated zones and minor ore disseminations. The mineral assemblage comprises mainly pyrite and sphalerite, with minor amounts of galena and chalcopyrite and rare pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, tetrahedrite and bournonite. The ores and the volcanic host rocks have metamorphosed to greenschist facies and were overprinted by a penetrative tectonic foliation, which led to the development of mylonitic, and cataclastic textures, recrystallization and remobilization. Primary depositional characteristics and regional and hydrothermal alteration patterns were preserved despite deformation and metamorphism. Therefore, primary banding was preserved between facies boundaries. In addition, some remnants of magmatic origin are recognizable in preserved phenocrysts and volcaniclastic phenoclasts. Most of the volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the host sequence show a rhyolitic to rhyo-dacitic composition. Regional seafloor alteration, characterized by the presence of clinozoisite, Fe-chlorite and titanite, along with quartz and albite, is partially obliterated by hydrothermal alteration. The hydrothermal alteration is stratabound with the following assemblages, which developed from the base to top: (1) Quartz-Chlorite ± Sericite, (2) Quartz-Chlorite, (3) Chlorite ± Quartz-Sericite-Calcite, (4) Quartz-Chlorite ± Calcite and (5) Sericite + Quartz ± Chlorite ± Calcite. Magnesium-chlorite and phengitic white mica typically occur in the vicinity of the Arroyo Rojo ore lenses. To provide field criteria for exploration vectoring, the chemical composition of chlorite and the phengitic and paragonitic content of the white mica were determined and correlated with PIMA Fe-OH and Al-OH absorption wavelengths, respectively, relative to their proximity to the mineralized lenses. The results of this study can be used to help identify (1) felsic proximal facies associations, (2) ore horizons and (3) favorable hydrothermal alteration zones in other parts of the Fin del Mundo district.

Kurt Gödels Brünner Verwandte

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Dora

2007-11-01

The author of this memoir Dora Müller (born 1920) belongs - as well as Kurt Gödel-to the German minority playing an important role in the past life of Brno. The marriage of his son included her among the Gödels collaterals. She was chemist, but also pianist, historician, participant of antinacist movement and iniciator of Czech-German understanding after war. Following her personal experiences, remembrances of Gödels relatives and documental materials, she evokes the atmosphere of broader family milieu of Kurt Gödel.

Resolving the Orientation of Cylinders and Cuboids from Projected Area Measurements

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-01

fabs ( e1 ) + Ay * fabs ( e2...Az * fabs ( e3 ) - A_xy; 90 g = Ax * fabs ( e4 ) + Ay * fabs ( e5 ) + Az * fabs ( e6 ) - A_xz; 91 h = Ax * fabs ( e7 ) + Ay * fabs ( e8 ) + Az * fabs ( e9...b23 * h; 128 del_r = b31 * f + b32 * g + b33 * h; 129 130 p -= del_p; 131 y -= del_y; 132 r -= del_r; 133 134 if ( fabs ( del_p ) < TOL && fabs (

VectorBase: a data resource for invertebrate vector genomics

PubMed Central

Lawson, Daniel; Arensburger, Peter; Atkinson, Peter; Besansky, Nora J.; Bruggner, Robert V.; Butler, Ryan; Campbell, Kathryn S.; Christophides, George K.; Christley, Scott; Dialynas, Emmanuel; Hammond, Martin; Hill, Catherine A.; Konopinski, Nathan; Lobo, Neil F.; MacCallum, Robert M.; Madey, Greg; Megy, Karine; Meyer, Jason; Redmond, Seth; Severson, David W.; Stinson, Eric O.; Topalis, Pantelis; Birney, Ewan; Gelbart, William M.; Kafatos, Fotis C.; Louis, Christos; Collins, Frank H.

2009-01-01

VectorBase (http://www.vectorbase.org) is an NIAID-funded Bioinformatic Resource Center focused on invertebrate vectors of human pathogens. VectorBase annotates and curates vector genomes providing a web accessible integrated resource for the research community. Currently, VectorBase contains genome information for three mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus, a body louse Pediculus humanus and a tick species Ixodes scapularis. Since our last report VectorBase has initiated a community annotation system, a microarray and gene expression repository and controlled vocabularies for anatomy and insecticide resistance. We have continued to develop both the software infrastructure and tools for interrogating the stored data. PMID:19028744

Production, concentration and titration of pseudotyped HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors.

PubMed

Kutner, Robert H; Zhang, Xian-Yang; Reiser, Jakob

2009-01-01

Over the past decade, lentiviral vectors have emerged as powerful tools for transgene delivery. The use of lentiviral vectors has become commonplace and applications in the fields of neuroscience, hematology, developmental biology, stem cell biology and transgenesis are rapidly emerging. Also, lentiviral vectors are at present being explored in the context of human clinical trials. Here we describe improved protocols to generate highly concentrated lentiviral vector pseudotypes involving different envelope glycoproteins. In this protocol, vector stocks are prepared by transient transfection using standard cell culture media or serum-free media. Such stocks are then concentrated by ultracentrifugation and/or ion exchange chromatography, or by precipitation using polyethylene glycol 6000, resulting in vector titers of up to 10(10) transducing units per milliliter and above. We also provide reliable real-time PCR protocols to titrate lentiviral vectors based on proviral DNA copies present in genomic DNA extracted from transduced cells or on vector RNA. These production/concentration methods result in high-titer vector preparations that show reduced toxicity compared with lentiviral vectors produced using standard protocols involving ultracentrifugation-based methods. The vector production and titration protocol described here can be completed within 8 d.

Helper-Free Foamy Virus Vectors

PubMed Central

TROBRIDGE, GRANT D.; RUSSELL, DAVID W.

2010-01-01

Retroviral vectors based on human foamy virus (HFV) have been developed and show promise as gene therapy vehicles. Here we describe a method for the production of HFV vector stocks free of detectable helper virus. The helper and vector plasmid constructs used both lack the HFV bel genes, so recombination between these constructs cannot create a wild-type virus. A fusion promoter that combines portions of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate-early and HFV long terminal repeat (LTR) promoters was used to drive expression of both the helper and vector constructs. The CMV–LTR fusion promoter allows for HFV vector production in the absence of the Bel-1 trans-activator protein, which would otherwise be necessary for efficient transcription from the HFV LTR. Vector stocks containing either neomycin phosphotransferase or alkaline phosphatase reporter genes were produced by transient transfection at titers greater than 105 transducing units/ml. G418-resistant BHK-21 cells obtained by transduction with neo vectors contained randomly integrated HFV vector proviruses without detectable deletions or rearrangements. The vector stocks generated were free of replication-competent retrovirus (RCR), as determined by assays for LTR trans-activation and a marker rescue assay developed here for the detection of Bel-independent RCR. OVERVIEW SUMMARY Vectors based on human foamy virus have been developed but low titers and the presence of replication-competent retrovirus (RCR) in vector stocks have prevented their use in preclinical animal experiments. We have developed a transient transfection method that can be used to produce replication-incompetent HFV vector stocks at titers greater than 105/ml, and that does not produce contaminating RCR. The use of CMV-HFV LTR fusion promoters in the helper and vector constructs has circumvented the requirement for the HFV Bel-1 trans-activator protein. Consequently, the potential for generating wild-type HFV by recombination between helper and vector constructs during vector production has been eliminated. Here we describe HFV vector production using this Bel-independent system. PMID:9853518

Repeat Transduction in the Mouse Lung by Using Adeno-Associated Virus Vectors with Different Serotypes

PubMed Central

Halbert, Christine L.; Rutledge, Elizabeth A.; Allen, James M.; Russell, David W.; Miller, A. Dusty

2000-01-01

Vectors derived from adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) promote gene transfer and expression in the lung; however, we have found that while gene expression can persist for at least 8 months in mice, it was reduced dramatically in rabbits over a period of 2 months. The efficiency and persistence of AAV2-mediated gene expression in the human lung have yet to be determined, but it seems likely that readministration will be necessary over the lifetime of an individual. Unfortunately, we have found that transduction by a second administration of an AAV2 vector is blocked, presumably due to neutralizing antibodies generated in response to the primary vector exposure. Here, we have explored the use of AAV2 vectors pseudotyped with capsid proteins from AAV serotypes 2, 3, and 6 for readministration in the mouse lung. We found that an AAV6 vector transduced airway epithelial and alveolar cells in the lung at rates that were at least as high as those of AAV2 pseudotype vectors, while transduction rates mediated by AAV3 were much lower. AAV6 pseudotype vector transduction was unaffected by prior administration of an AAV2 or AAV3 vector, and transduction by an AAV2 pseudotype vector was unaffected by prior AAV6 vector administration, showing that cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies against AAV2 and AAV6 are not generated in mice. Interestingly, while prior administration of an AAV2 vector completely blocked transduction by a second AAV2 pseudotype vector, prior administration of an AAV6 vector only partially inhibited transduction by a second administration of an AAV6 pseudotype vector. Analysis of sera obtained from mice and humans showed that AAV6 is less immunogenic than AAV2, which helps explain this finding. These results support the development of AAV6 vectors for lung gene therapy both alone and in combination with AAV2 vectors. PMID:10627564

Ecological and Sociodemographic Determinants of House Infestation by Triatoma infestans in Indigenous Communities of the Argentine Chaco

PubMed Central

Gaspe, M. Sol; Provecho, Yael M.; Cardinal, M. Victoria; del Pilar Fernández, M.; Gürtler, Ricardo E.

2015-01-01

Background The Gran Chaco ecoregion, a hotspot for Chagas and other neglected tropical diseases, is home to >20 indigenous peoples. Our objective was to identify the main ecological and sociodemographic determinants of house infestation and abundance of Triatoma infestans in traditional Qom populations including a Creole minority in Pampa del Indio, northeastern Argentina. Methods A cross-sectional survey determined house infestation by timed-manual searches with a dislodging aerosol in 386 inhabited houses and administered questionnaires on selected variables before full-coverage insecticide spraying and annual vector surveillance. We fitted generalized linear models to two global models of domestic infestation and bug abundance, and estimated coefficients via multimodel inference with model averaging. Principal Findings Most Qom households were larger and lived in small-sized, recently-built, precarious houses with fewer peridomestic structures, and fewer livestock and poultry than Creoles’. Qom households had lower educational level and unexpectedly high residential mobility. House infestation (31.9%) was much lower than expected from lack of recent insecticide spraying campaigns and was spatially aggregated. Nearly half of the infested houses examined had infected vectors. Qom households had higher prevalence of domestic infestation (29.2%) than Creoles’ (10.0%), although there is large uncertainty around the adjusted OR. Factors with high relative importance for domestic infestation and/or bug abundance were refuge availability, distance to the nearest infested house, domestic insecticide use, indoor presence of poultry, residential overcrowding, and household educational level. Conclusions and Significance Our study highlights the importance of sociodemographic determinants of domestic infestation such as overcrowding, education and proximity to the nearest infested house, and corroborates the role of refuge availability, domestic use of insecticides and household size. These factors may be used for designing improved interventions for sustainable disease control and risk stratification. Housing instability, household mobility and migration patterns are key to understanding the process of house (re)infestation in the Gran Chaco. PMID:25785439

Ecological and sociodemographic determinants of house infestation by Triatoma infestans in indigenous communities of the Argentine Chaco.

PubMed

Sol Gaspe, M; Provecho, Yael M; Cardinal, M Victoria; del Pilar Fernández, M; Gürtler, Ricardo E

2015-03-01

The Gran Chaco ecoregion, a hotspot for Chagas and other neglected tropical diseases, is home to >20 indigenous peoples. Our objective was to identify the main ecological and sociodemographic determinants of house infestation and abundance of Triatoma infestans in traditional Qom populations including a Creole minority in Pampa del Indio, northeastern Argentina. A cross-sectional survey determined house infestation by timed-manual searches with a dislodging aerosol in 386 inhabited houses and administered questionnaires on selected variables before full-coverage insecticide spraying and annual vector surveillance. We fitted generalized linear models to two global models of domestic infestation and bug abundance, and estimated coefficients via multimodel inference with model averaging. Most Qom households were larger and lived in small-sized, recently-built, precarious houses with fewer peridomestic structures, and fewer livestock and poultry than Creoles'. Qom households had lower educational level and unexpectedly high residential mobility. House infestation (31.9%) was much lower than expected from lack of recent insecticide spraying campaigns and was spatially aggregated. Nearly half of the infested houses examined had infected vectors. Qom households had higher prevalence of domestic infestation (29.2%) than Creoles' (10.0%), although there is large uncertainty around the adjusted OR. Factors with high relative importance for domestic infestation and/or bug abundance were refuge availability, distance to the nearest infested house, domestic insecticide use, indoor presence of poultry, residential overcrowding, and household educational level. Our study highlights the importance of sociodemographic determinants of domestic infestation such as overcrowding, education and proximity to the nearest infested house, and corroborates the role of refuge availability, domestic use of insecticides and household size. These factors may be used for designing improved interventions for sustainable disease control and risk stratification. Housing instability, household mobility and migration patterns are key to understanding the process of house (re)infestation in the Gran Chaco.

The effects of noise due to random undetected tilts and paleosecular variation on regional paleomagnetic directions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Calderone, G.J.; Butler, R.F.

1991-01-01

Random tilting of a single paleomagnetic vector produces a distribution of vectors which is not rotationally symmetric about the original vector and therefore not Fisherian. Monte Carlo simulations were performed on two types of vector distributions: 1) distributions of vectors formed by perturbing a single original vector with a Fisher distribution of bedding poles (each defining a tilt correction) and 2) standard Fisher distributions. These simulations demonstrate that inclinations of vectors drawn from both distributions are biased toward shallow inclinations. The Fisher mean direction of the distribution of vectors formed by perturbing a single vector with random undetected tilts is biased toward shallow inclinations, but this bias is insignificant for angular dispersions of bedding poles less than 20??. -from Authors

The application of vector concepts on two skew lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alghadari, F.; Turmudi; Herman, T.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is knowing how to apply vector concepts on two skew lines in three-dimensional (3D) coordinate and its utilization. Several mathematical concepts have a related function for the other, but the related between the concept of vector and 3D have not applied in learning classroom. In fact, there are studies show that female students have difficulties in learning of 3D than male. It is because of personal spatial intelligence. The relevance of vector concepts creates both learning achievement and mathematical ability of male and female students enables to be balanced. The distance like on a cube, cuboid, or pyramid whose are drawn on the rectangular coordinates of a point in space. Two coordinate points of the lines can be created a vector. The vector of two skew lines has the shortest distance and the angle. Calculating of the shortest distance is started to create two vectors as a representation of line by vector position concept, next to determining a norm-vector of two vector which was obtained by cross-product, and then to create a vector from two combination of pair-points which was passed by two skew line, the shortest distance is scalar orthogonal projection of norm-vector on a vector which is a combination of pair-points. While calculating the angle are used two vectors as a representation of line to dot-product, and the inverse of cosine is yield. The utilization of its application on mathematics learning and orthographic projection method.

Unique Safety Issues Associated with Virus Vectored Vaccines: Potential for and Theoretical Consequences of Recombination with Wild Type Virus Strains

PubMed Central

Condit, Richard C.; Williamson, Anna-Lise; Sheets, Rebecca; Seligman, Stephen J.; Monath, Thomas P.; Excler, Jean-Louis; Gurwith, Marc; Bok, Karin; Robertson, James S.; Kim, Denny; Hendry, Michael; Singh, Vidisha; Mac, Lisa M.; Chen, Robert T.

2016-01-01

In 2003 and 2013, the World Health Organization convened informal consultations on characterization and quality aspects of vaccines based on live virus vectors. In the resulting reports, one of several issues raised for future study was the potential for recombination of virus-vectored vaccines with wild type pathogenic virus strains. This paper presents an assessment of this issue formulated by the Brighton Collaboration. To provide an appropriate context for understanding the potential for recombination of virus-vectored vaccines, we review briefly the current status of virus vectored vaccines, mechanisms of recombination between viruses, experience with recombination involving live attenuated vaccines in the field, and concerns raised previously in the literature regarding recombination of virus-vectored vaccines with wild type virus strains. We then present a discussion of the major variables that could influence recombination between a virus-vectored vaccine and circulating wild type virus and the consequences of such recombination, including intrinsic recombination properties of the parent virus used as a vector; sequence relatedness of vector and wild virus; virus host range, pathogenesis and transmission; replication competency of vector in target host; mechanism of vector attenuation; additional factors potentially affecting virulence; and circulation of multiple recombinant vectors in the same target population. Finally, we present some guiding principles for vector design and testing intended to anticipate and mitigate the potential for and consequences of recombination of virus-vectored vaccines with wild type pathogenic virus strains. PMID:27346303

The assisted prediction modelling frame with hybridisation and ensemble for business risk forecasting and an implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hui; Hong, Lu-Yao; Zhou, Qing; Yu, Hai-Jie

2015-08-01

The business failure of numerous companies results in financial crises. The high social costs associated with such crises have made people to search for effective tools for business risk prediction, among which, support vector machine is very effective. Several modelling means, including single-technique modelling, hybrid modelling, and ensemble modelling, have been suggested in forecasting business risk with support vector machine. However, existing literature seldom focuses on the general modelling frame for business risk prediction, and seldom investigates performance differences among different modelling means. We reviewed researches on forecasting business risk with support vector machine, proposed the general assisted prediction modelling frame with hybridisation and ensemble (APMF-WHAE), and finally, investigated the use of principal components analysis, support vector machine, random sampling, and group decision, under the general frame in forecasting business risk. Under the APMF-WHAE frame with support vector machine as the base predictive model, four specific predictive models were produced, namely, pure support vector machine, a hybrid support vector machine involved with principal components analysis, a support vector machine ensemble involved with random sampling and group decision, and an ensemble of hybrid support vector machine using group decision to integrate various hybrid support vector machines on variables produced from principle components analysis and samples from random sampling. The experimental results indicate that hybrid support vector machine and ensemble of hybrid support vector machines were able to produce dominating performance than pure support vector machine and support vector machine ensemble.

Learning with LOGO: Logo and Vectors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lough, Tom; Tipps, Steve

1986-01-01

This is the first of a two-part series on the general concept of vector space. Provides tool procedures to allow investigation of vector properties, vector addition and subtraction, and X and Y components. Lists several sources of additional vector ideas. (JM)

Systematically frameshifting by deletion of every 4th or 4th and 5th nucleotides during mitochondrial transcription: RNA self-hybridization regulates delRNA expression.

PubMed

Seligmann, Hervé

2016-01-01

In mitochondria, secondary structures punctuate post-transcriptional RNA processing. Recently described transcripts match the human mitogenome after systematic deletions of every 4th, respectively every 4th and 5th nucleotides, called delRNAs. Here I explore predicted stem-loop hairpin formation by delRNAs, and their associations with delRNA transcription and detected peptides matching their translation. Despite missing 25, respectively 40% of the nucleotides in the original sequence, del-transformed sequences form significantly more secondary structures than corresponding randomly shuffled sequences, indicating biological function, independently of, and in combination with, previously detected delRNA and thereof translated peptides. Self-hybridization decreases delRNA abundances, indicating downregulation. Systematic deletions of the human mitogenome reveal new, unsuspected coding and structural informations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Design of a Templated C++ Small Vector Class for Numerical Computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moran, Patrick J.

2000-01-01

We describe the design and implementation of a templated C++ class for vectors. The vector class is templated both for vector length and vector component type; the vector length is fixed at template instantiation time. The vector implementation is such that for a vector of N components of type T, the total number of bytes required by the vector is equal to N * size of (T), where size of is the built-in C operator. The property of having a size no bigger than that required by the components themselves is key in many numerical computing applications, where one may allocate very large arrays of small, fixed-length vectors. In addition to the design trade-offs motivating our fixed-length vector design choice, we review some of the C++ template features essential to an efficient, succinct implementation. In particular, we highlight some of the standard C++ features, such as partial template specialization, that are not supported by all compilers currently. This report provides an inventory listing the relevant support currently provided by some key compilers, as well as test code one can use to verify compiler capabilities.

F-35 Force Development Evaluation and Weapons School Beddown Environmental Impact Statement

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

deficiencias encontradas después del despliegue del sistema; ♦ explora medios no materiales (por ejemplo, tácticas) para satisfacer requisitos...del adecuado desempeño del avión en combate al proporcionar entrenamiento, información sobre las capacidades operativas y nuevos requisitos. Además

The quest for a non-vector psyllid: Natural variation in acquisition and transmission of the huanglongbing pathogen 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' by Asian citrus psyllid isofemale lines

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genetic variability in insect vectors is valuable to study vector competence determinants and to select non-vector populations that may help reduce the spread of vector-borne pathogens. We collected and tested vector competency of 15 isofemale lines of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri, v...

All That Glisters Is Not Gold: Sampling-Process Uncertainty in Disease-Vector Surveys with False-Negative and False-Positive Detections

PubMed Central

Abad-Franch, Fernando; Valença-Barbosa, Carolina; Sarquis, Otília; Lima, Marli M.

2014-01-01

Background Vector-borne diseases are major public health concerns worldwide. For many of them, vector control is still key to primary prevention, with control actions planned and evaluated using vector occurrence records. Yet vectors can be difficult to detect, and vector occurrence indices will be biased whenever spurious detection/non-detection records arise during surveys. Here, we investigate the process of Chagas disease vector detection, assessing the performance of the surveillance method used in most control programs – active triatomine-bug searches by trained health agents. Methodology/Principal Findings Control agents conducted triplicate vector searches in 414 man-made ecotopes of two rural localities. Ecotope-specific ‘detection histories’ (vectors or their traces detected or not in each individual search) were analyzed using ordinary methods that disregard detection failures and multiple detection-state site-occupancy models that accommodate false-negative and false-positive detections. Mean (±SE) vector-search sensitivity was ∼0.283±0.057. Vector-detection odds increased as bug colonies grew denser, and were lower in houses than in most peridomestic structures, particularly woodpiles. False-positive detections (non-vector fecal streaks misidentified as signs of vector presence) occurred with probability ∼0.011±0.008. The model-averaged estimate of infestation (44.5±6.4%) was ∼2.4–3.9 times higher than naïve indices computed assuming perfect detection after single vector searches (11.4–18.8%); about 106–137 infestation foci went undetected during such standard searches. Conclusions/Significance We illustrate a relatively straightforward approach to addressing vector detection uncertainty under realistic field survey conditions. Standard vector searches had low sensitivity except in certain singular circumstances. Our findings suggest that many infestation foci may go undetected during routine surveys, especially when vector density is low. Undetected foci can cause control failures and induce bias in entomological indices; this may confound disease risk assessment and mislead program managers into flawed decision making. By helping correct bias in naïve indices, the approach we illustrate has potential to critically strengthen vector-borne disease control-surveillance systems. PMID:25233352

Perk Ablation Ameliorates Myelination in S63del-Charcot–Marie–Tooth 1B Neuropathy

PubMed Central

Musner, Nicolò; Sidoli, Mariapaola; Zambroni, Desireè; Del Carro, Ubaldo; Ungaro, Daniela; D’Antonio, Maurizio; Feltri, Maria L.

2016-01-01

In peripheral nerves, P0 glycoprotein accounts for more than 20% of myelin protein content. P0 is synthesized by Schwann cells, processed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and enters the secretory pathway. However, the mutant P0 with S63 deleted (P0S63del) accumulates in the ER lumen and induces a demyelinating neuropathy in Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 1B (CMT1B)–S63del mice. Accumulation of P0S63del in the ER triggers a persistent unfolded protein response. Protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) is an ER stress sensor that phosphorylates eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2alpha) in order to attenuate protein synthesis. We have shown that increasing phosphophorylated-eIF2alpha (P-eIF2alpha) is a potent therapeutic strategy, improving myelination and motor function in S63del mice. Here, we explore the converse experiment: Perk haploinsufficiency reduces P-eIF2alpha in S63del nerves as expected, but surprisingly, ameliorates, rather than worsens S63del neuropathy. Motor performance and myelin abnormalities improved in S63del//Perk+/− compared with S63del mice. These data suggest that mechanisms other than protein translation might be involved in CMT1B/S63del neuropathy. In addition, Perk deficiency in other cells may contribute to demyelination in a non–Schwann-cell autonomous manner. PMID:27095827

Balancing aggregation and smoothing errors in inverse models

DOE PAGES

Turner, A. J.; Jacob, D. J.

2015-06-30

Inverse models use observations of a system (observation vector) to quantify the variables driving that system (state vector) by statistical optimization. When the observation vector is large, such as with satellite data, selecting a suitable dimension for the state vector is a challenge. A state vector that is too large cannot be effectively constrained by the observations, leading to smoothing error. However, reducing the dimension of the state vector leads to aggregation error as prior relationships between state vector elements are imposed rather than optimized. Here we present a method for quantifying aggregation and smoothing errors as a function ofmore » state vector dimension, so that a suitable dimension can be selected by minimizing the combined error. Reducing the state vector within the aggregation error constraints can have the added advantage of enabling analytical solution to the inverse problem with full error characterization. We compare three methods for reducing the dimension of the state vector from its native resolution: (1) merging adjacent elements (grid coarsening), (2) clustering with principal component analysis (PCA), and (3) applying a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) with Gaussian pdfs as state vector elements on which the native-resolution state vector elements are projected using radial basis functions (RBFs). The GMM method leads to somewhat lower aggregation error than the other methods, but more importantly it retains resolution of major local features in the state vector while smoothing weak and broad features.« less

Balancing aggregation and smoothing errors in inverse models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, A. J.; Jacob, D. J.

2015-01-01

Inverse models use observations of a system (observation vector) to quantify the variables driving that system (state vector) by statistical optimization. When the observation vector is large, such as with satellite data, selecting a suitable dimension for the state vector is a challenge. A state vector that is too large cannot be effectively constrained by the observations, leading to smoothing error. However, reducing the dimension of the state vector leads to aggregation error as prior relationships between state vector elements are imposed rather than optimized. Here we present a method for quantifying aggregation and smoothing errors as a function of state vector dimension, so that a suitable dimension can be selected by minimizing the combined error. Reducing the state vector within the aggregation error constraints can have the added advantage of enabling analytical solution to the inverse problem with full error characterization. We compare three methods for reducing the dimension of the state vector from its native resolution: (1) merging adjacent elements (grid coarsening), (2) clustering with principal component analysis (PCA), and (3) applying a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) with Gaussian pdfs as state vector elements on which the native-resolution state vector elements are projected using radial basis functions (RBFs). The GMM method leads to somewhat lower aggregation error than the other methods, but more importantly it retains resolution of major local features in the state vector while smoothing weak and broad features.

Balancing aggregation and smoothing errors in inverse models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, A. J.; Jacob, D. J.

2015-06-01

Inverse models use observations of a system (observation vector) to quantify the variables driving that system (state vector) by statistical optimization. When the observation vector is large, such as with satellite data, selecting a suitable dimension for the state vector is a challenge. A state vector that is too large cannot be effectively constrained by the observations, leading to smoothing error. However, reducing the dimension of the state vector leads to aggregation error as prior relationships between state vector elements are imposed rather than optimized. Here we present a method for quantifying aggregation and smoothing errors as a function of state vector dimension, so that a suitable dimension can be selected by minimizing the combined error. Reducing the state vector within the aggregation error constraints can have the added advantage of enabling analytical solution to the inverse problem with full error characterization. We compare three methods for reducing the dimension of the state vector from its native resolution: (1) merging adjacent elements (grid coarsening), (2) clustering with principal component analysis (PCA), and (3) applying a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) with Gaussian pdfs as state vector elements on which the native-resolution state vector elements are projected using radial basis functions (RBFs). The GMM method leads to somewhat lower aggregation error than the other methods, but more importantly it retains resolution of major local features in the state vector while smoothing weak and broad features.

Declining Prevalence of Disease Vectors Under Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escobar, Luis E.; Romero-Alvarez, Daniel; Leon, Renato; Lepe-Lopez, Manuel A.; Craft, Meggan E.; Borbor-Cordova, Mercy J.; Svenning, Jens-Christian

2016-12-01

More than half of the world population is at risk of vector-borne diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya, zika, yellow fever, leishmaniasis, chagas disease, and malaria, with highest incidences in tropical regions. In Ecuador, vector-borne diseases are present from coastal and Amazonian regions to the Andes Mountains; however, a detailed characterization of the distribution of their vectors has never been carried out. We estimate the distribution of 14 vectors of the above vector-borne diseases under present-day and future climates. Our results consistently suggest that climate warming is likely threatening some vector species with extinction, locally or completely. These results suggest that climate change could reduce the burden of specific vector species. Other vector species are likely to shift and constrain their geographic range to the highlands in Ecuador potentially affecting novel areas and populations. These forecasts show the need for development of early prevention strategies for vector species currently absent in areas projected as suitable under future climate conditions. Informed interventions could reduce the risk of human exposure to vector species with distributional shifts, in response to current and future climate changes. Based on the mixed effects of future climate on human exposure to disease vectors, we argue that research on vector-borne diseases should be cross-scale and include climatic, demographic, and landscape factors, as well as forces facilitating disease transmission at fine scales.

Multineuronal vectorization is more efficient than time-segmental vectorization for information extraction from neuronal activities in the inferior temporal cortex.

PubMed

Kaneko, Hidekazu; Tamura, Hiroshi; Tate, Shunta; Kawashima, Takahiro; Suzuki, Shinya S; Fujita, Ichiro

2010-08-01

In order for patients with disabilities to control assistive devices with their own neural activity, multineuronal spike trains must be efficiently decoded because only limited computational resources can be used to generate prosthetic control signals in portable real-time applications. In this study, we compare the abilities of two vectorizing procedures (multineuronal and time-segmental) to extract information from spike trains during the same total neuron-seconds. In the multineuronal vectorizing procedure, we defined a response vector whose components represented the spike counts of one to five neurons. In the time-segmental vectorizing procedure, a response vector consisted of components representing a neuron's spike counts for one to five time-segment(s) of a response period of 1 s. Spike trains were recorded from neurons in the inferior temporal cortex of monkeys presented with visual stimuli. We examined whether the amount of information of the visual stimuli carried by these neurons differed between the two vectorizing procedures. The amount of information calculated with the multineuronal vectorizing procedure, but not the time-segmental vectorizing procedure, significantly increased with the dimensions of the response vector. We conclude that the multineuronal vectorizing procedure is superior to the time-segmental vectorizing procedure in efficiently extracting information from neuronal signals. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Large Animal Models for Foamy Virus Vector Gene Therapy

PubMed Central

Trobridge, Grant D.; Horn, Peter A.; Beard, Brian C.; Kiem, Hans-Peter

2012-01-01

Foamy virus (FV) vectors have shown great promise for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy. Their ability to efficiently deliver transgenes to multi-lineage long-term repopulating cells in large animal models suggests they will be effective for several human hematopoietic diseases. Here, we review FV vector studies in large animal models, including the use of FV vectors with the mutant O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase, MGMTP140K to increase the number of genetically modified cells after transplantation. In these studies, FV vectors have mediated efficient gene transfer to polyclonal repopulating cells using short ex vivo transduction protocols designed to minimize the negative effects of ex vivo culture on stem cell engraftment. In this regard, FV vectors appear superior to gammaretroviral vectors, which require longer ex vivo culture to effect efficient transduction. FV vectors have also compared favorably with lentiviral vectors when directly compared in the dog model. FV vectors have corrected leukocyte adhesion deficiency and pyruvate kinase deficiency in the dog large animal model. FV vectors also appear safer than gammaretroviral vectors based on a reduced frequency of integrants near promoters and also near proto-oncogenes in canine repopulating cells. Together, these studies suggest that FV vectors should be highly effective for several human hematopoietic diseases, including those that will require relatively high percentages of gene-modified cells to achieve clinical benefit. PMID:23223198

Helminths as vectors of pathogens in vertebrate hosts: a theoretical approach.

PubMed

Perkins, Sarah E; Fenton, Andy

2006-07-01

Pathogens frequently use vectors to facilitate transmission between hosts and, for vertebrate hosts, the vectors are typically ectoparasitic arthropods. However, other parasites that are intimately associated with their hosts may also be ideal candidate vectors; namely the parasitic helminths. Here, we present empirical evidence that helminth vectoring of pathogens occurs in a range of vertebrate systems by a variety of helminth taxa. Using a novel theoretical framework we explore the dynamics of helminth vectoring and determine which host-helminth-pathogen characteristics may favour the evolution of helminth vectoring. We use two theoretical models: the first is a population dynamic model amalgamated from standard macro- and microparasite models, which serves as a framework for investigation of within-host interactions between co-infecting pathogens and helminths. The second is an evolutionary model, which we use to predict the ecological conditions under which we would expect helminth vectoring to evolve. We show that, like arthropod vectors, helminth vectors increase pathogen fitness. However, unlike arthropod vectors, helminth vectoring increases the pathogenic impact on the host and may allow the evolution of high pathogen virulence. We show that concomitant infection of a host with a helminth and pathogen are not necessarily independent of one another, due to helminth vectoring of microparasites, with profound consequences for pathogen persistence and the impact of disease on the host population.

The relationship of TP53 R72P polymorphism to disease outcome and TP53 mutation in myelodysplastic syndromes

PubMed Central

McGraw, K L; Zhang, L M; Rollison, D E; Basiorka, A A; Fulp, W; Rawal, B; Jerez, A; Billingsley, D L; Lin, H-Y; Kurtin, S E; Yoder, S; Zhang, Y; Guinta, K; Mallo, M; Solé, F; Calasanz, M J; Cervera, J; Such, E; González, T; Nevill, T J; Haferlach, T; Smith, A E; Kulasekararaj, A; Mufti, G; Karsan, A; Maciejewski, J P; Sokol, L; Epling-Burnette, P K; Wei, S; List, A F

2015-01-01

Nonsynonymous TP53 exon 4 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), R72P, is linked to cancer and mutagen susceptibility. R72P associations with specific cancer risk, particularly hematological malignancies, have been conflicting. Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with chromosome 5q deletion is characterized by erythroid hypoplasia arising from lineage-specific p53 accumulation resulting from ribosomal insufficiency. We hypothesized that apoptotically diminished R72P C-allele may influence predisposition to del(5q) MDS. Bone marrow and blood DNA was sequenced from 705 MDS cases (333 del(5q), 372 non-del(5q)) and 157 controls. Genotype distribution did not significantly differ between del(5q) cases (12.6% CC, 38.1% CG, 49.2% GG), non-del(5q) cases (9.7% CC, 44.6% CG, 45.7% GG) and controls (7.6% CC, 37.6% CG, 54.8% GG) (P=0.13). Allele frequency did not differ between non-del(5q) and del(5q) cases (P=0.91) but trended towards increased C-allele frequency comparing non-del(5q) (P=0.08) and del(5q) (P=0.10) cases with controls. Median lenalidomide response duration increased proportionate to C-allele dosage in del(5q) patients (2.2 (CC), 1.3 (CG) and 0.89 years (GG)). Furthermore, C-allele homozygosity in del(5q) was associated with prolonged overall and progression-free survival and non-terminal interstitial deletions that excluded 5q34, whereas G-allele homozygozity was associated with inferior outcome and terminal deletions involving 5q34 (P=0.05). These findings comprise the largest MDS R72P SNP analysis. PMID:25768405

PubMed

Martínez Carrión, José Miguel; Cámara, Antonio D; Pérez-Castroviejo, Pedro María

2016-12-12

Objetivo: analizar la geografía del estado nutricional en España y su evolución entre mediados del siglo xixy comienzos del siglo xx, etapa previa a la transición nutricional con alta prevalencia de malnutrición.Métodos: se utilizan datos antropométricos agregados (promedios provinciales de estatura) del reclutamiento militar en 1858 y 1913, así como promedios provinciales de estatura y peso procedentes de una revisión realizada entre 119.571 soldados en 1903-1906. Con estos datos se elaboran cartografía y estadísticos descriptivos.Resultados: los parámetros antropométricos de los españoles se situaban entre los valores de complexión más bajos de Europa antes de la transición nutricional. Entre 1858 y 1913, la altura media creció solo 1,43 cm. En ese periodo hubo cambios significativos en la geografía antropométrica marcados por la configuración de una polaridad nutricional a las puertas de la I Guerra Mundial: las provincias del centro y del sur de país exhiben mayor incidencia de la malnutrición crónica que las provincias del arco Noreste, que disfrutan de ventaja relativa en términos nutricionales.Conclusión:las desigualdades territoriales que configuraron una geografía polarizada del estado nutricional en España pueden asociarse en parte a los cambios ambientales del periodo, caracterizados por el inicio de la modernización y la industrialización y, asimismo, por la privación derivada de las crisis agrarias, las enfermedades y el relativo atraso tecnológico. Se destaca la relevancia de la historia antropométrica para el estudio de los niveles de vida en poblaciones del pasado y del proceso de transición nutricional.

Genesis of two most prevalent PROP1 gene variants causing combined pituitary hormone deficiency in 21 populations.

PubMed

Dusatkova, Petra; Pfäffle, Roland; Brown, Milton R; Akulevich, Natallia; Arnhold, Ivo J P; Kalina, Maria A; Kot, Karolina; Krzisnik, Ciril; Lemos, Manuel C; Malikova, Jana; Navardauskaite, Ruta; Obermannova, Barbora; Pribilincova, Zuzana; Sallai, Agnes; Stipancic, Gordana; Verkauskiene, Rasa; Cinek, Ondrej; Blum, Werner F; Parks, John S; Austerlitz, Frederic; Lebl, Jan

2016-03-01

Two variants (c.[301_302delAG];[301_302delAG] and c.[150delA];[150delA]) in the PROP1 gene are the most common genetic causes of recessively inherited combined pituitary hormones deficiency (CPHD). Our objective was to analyze in detail the origin of the two most prevalent variants. In the multicentric study were included 237 patients with CPHD and their 15 relatives carrying c.[301_302delAG];[301_302delAG] or c.[150delA];[150delA] or c.[301_302delAG];[ 150delA]. They originated from 21 different countries worldwide. We genotyped 21 single-nucleotide variant markers flanking the 9.6-Mb region around the PROP1 gene that are not in mutual linkage disequilibrium in the general populations--a finding of a common haplotype would be indicative of ancestral origin of the variant. Haplotypes were reconstructed by Phase and Haploview software, and the variant age was estimated using an allelic association method. We demonstrated the ancestral origin of both variants--c.[301_302delAG] was carried on 0.2 Mb-long haplotype in a majority of European patients arising ~101 generations ago (confidence interval 90.1-116.4). Patients from the Iberian Peninsula displayed a different haplotype, which was estimated to have emerged 23.3 (20.1-29.1) generations ago. Subsequently, the data indicated that both the haplotypes were transmitted to Latin American patients ~13.8 (12.2-17.0) and 16.4 (14.4-20.1) generations ago, respectively. The c.[150delA] variant that was carried on a haplotype spanning about 0.3 Mb was estimated to appear 43.7 (38.4-52.7) generations ago. We present strong evidence that the most frequent variants in the PROP1 gene are not a consequence of variant hot spots as previously assumed, but are founder variants.

Genesis of two most prevalent PROP1 gene variants causing combined pituitary hormone deficiency in 21 populations

PubMed Central

Dusatkova, Petra; Pfäffle, Roland; Brown, Milton R; Akulevich, Natallia; Arnhold, Ivo JP; Kalina, Maria A; Kot, Karolina; Krzisnik, Ciril; Lemos, Manuel C; Malikova, Jana; Navardauskaite, Ruta; Obermannova, Barbora; Pribilincova, Zuzana; Sallai, Agnes; Stipancic, Gordana; Verkauskiene, Rasa; Cinek, Ondrej; Blum, Werner F; Parks, John S; Austerlitz, Frederic; Lebl, Jan

2016-01-01

Two variants (c.[301_302delAG][301_302delAG] and c.[150delA][150delA]) in the PROP1 gene are the most common genetic causes of recessively inherited combined pituitary hormones deficiency (CPHD). Our objective was to analyze in detail the origin of the two most prevalent variants. In the multicentric study were included 237 patients with CPHD and their 15 relatives carrying c.[301_302delAG][301_302delAG] or c.[150delA][150delA] or c.[301_302delAG][ 150delA]. They originated from 21 different countries worldwide. We genotyped 21 single-nucleotide variant markers flanking the 9.6-Mb region around the PROP1 gene that are not in mutual linkage disequilibrium in the general populations – a finding of a common haplotype would be indicative of ancestral origin of the variant. Haplotypes were reconstructed by Phase and Haploview software, and the variant age was estimated using an allelic association method. We demonstrated the ancestral origin of both variants – c.[301_302delAG] was carried on 0.2 Mb-long haplotype in a majority of European patients arising ~101 generations ago (confidence interval 90.1–116.4). Patients from the Iberian Peninsula displayed a different haplotype, which was estimated to have emerged 23.3 (20.1–29.1) generations ago. Subsequently, the data indicated that both the haplotypes were transmitted to Latin American patients ~13.8 (12.2–17.0) and 16.4 (14.4–20.1) generations ago, respectively. The c.[150delA] variant that was carried on a haplotype spanning about 0.3 Mb was estimated to appear 43.7 (38.4–52.7) generations ago. We present strong evidence that the most frequent variants in the PROP1 gene are not a consequence of variant hot spots as previously assumed, but are founder variants. PMID:26059845

Impact of Vector Dispersal and Host-Plant Fidelity on the Dissemination of an Emerging Plant Pathogen

PubMed Central

Johannesen, Jes; Foissac, Xavier; Kehrli, Patrik; Maixner, Michael

2012-01-01

Dissemination of vector-transmitted pathogens depend on the survival and dispersal of the vector and the vector's ability to transmit the pathogen, while the host range of vector and pathogen determine the breath of transmission possibilities. In this study, we address how the interaction between dispersal and plant fidelities of a pathogen (stolbur phytoplasma tuf-a) and its vector (Hyalesthes obsoletus: Cixiidae) affect the emergence of the pathogen. Using genetic markers, we analysed the geographic origin and range expansion of both organisms in Western Europe and, specifically, whether the pathogen's dissemination in the northern range is caused by resident vectors widening their host-plant use from field bindweed to stinging nettle, and subsequent host specialisation. We found evidence for common origins of pathogen and vector south of the European Alps. Genetic patterns in vector populations show signals of secondary range expansion in Western Europe leading to dissemination of tuf-a pathogens, which might be newly acquired and of hybrid origin. Hence, the emergence of stolbur tuf-a in the northern range was explained by secondary immigration of vectors carrying stinging nettle-specialised tuf-a, not by widening the host-plant spectrum of resident vectors with pathogen transmission from field bindweed to stinging nettle nor by primary co-migration from the resident vector's historical area of origin. The introduction of tuf-a to stinging nettle in the northern range was therefore independent of vector's host-plant specialisation but the rapid pathogen dissemination depended on the vector's host shift, whereas the general dissemination elsewhere was linked to plant specialisation of the pathogen but not of the vector. PMID:23284774

Adeno-Associated Virus Type 6 (AAV6) Vectors Mediate Efficient Transduction of Airway Epithelial Cells in Mouse Lungs Compared to That of AAV2 Vectors

PubMed Central

Halbert, Christine L.; Allen, James M.; Miller, A. Dusty

2001-01-01

Although vectors derived from adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) promote gene transfer and expression in many somatic tissues, studies with animal models and cultured cells show that the apical surface of airway epithelia is resistant to transduction by AAV2 vectors. Approaches to increase transduction rates include increasing the amount of vector and perturbing the integrity of the epithelia. In this study, we explored the use of vectors based on AAV6 to increase transduction rates in airways. AAV vectors were made using combinations of rep, cap, and packaged genomes from AAV2 or AAV6. The packaged genomes encoded human placental alkaline phosphatase and contained terminal repeat sequences from AAV2 or AAV6. We found that transduction efficiency was primarily dependent on the source of Cap protein, defined here as the vector pseudotype. The AAV6 and AAV2 pseudotype vectors exhibited different tropisms in tissue-cultured cells, and cell transduction by AAV6 vectors was not inhibited by heparin, nor did they compete for entry in a transduction assay, indicating that AAV6 and AAV2 capsid bind different receptors. In vivo analysis of vectors showed that AAV2 pseudotype vectors gave high transduction rates in alveolar cells but much lower rates in the airway epithelium. In contrast, the AAV6 pseudotype vectors exhibited much more efficient transduction of epithelial cells in large and small airways, showing up to 80% transduction in some airways. These results, combined with our previous results showing lower immunogenicity of AAV6 than of AAV2 vectors, indicate that AAV6 vectors may provide significant advantages over AAV2 for gene therapy of lung diseases like cystic fibrosis. PMID:11413329

Unrestricted Hepatocyte Transduction with Adeno-Associated Virus Serotype 8 Vectors in Mice

PubMed Central

Nakai, Hiroyuki; Fuess, Sally; Storm, Theresa A.; Muramatsu, Shin-ichi; Nara, Yuko; Kay, Mark A.

2005-01-01

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors can mediate long-term stable transduction in various target tissues. However, with rAAV serotype 2 (rAAV2) vectors, liver transduction is confined to only a small portion of hepatocytes even after administration of extremely high vector doses. In order to investigate whether rAAV vectors of other serotypes exhibit similar restricted liver transduction, we performed a dose-response study by injecting mice with β-galactosidase-expressing rAAV1 and rAAV8 vectors via the portal vein. The rAAV1 vector showed a blunted dose-response similar to that of rAAV2 at high doses, while the rAAV8 vector dose-response remained unchanged at any dose and ultimately could transduce all the hepatocytes at a dose of 7.2 × 1012 vector genomes/mouse without toxicity. This indicates that all hepatocytes have the ability to process incoming single-stranded vector genomes into duplex DNA. A single tail vein injection of the rAAV8 vector was as efficient as portal vein injection at any dose. In addition, intravascular administration of the rAAV8 vector at a high dose transduced all the skeletal muscles throughout the body, including the diaphragm, the entire cardiac muscle, and substantial numbers of cells in the pancreas, smooth muscles, and brain. Thus, rAAV8 is a robust vector for gene transfer to the liver and provides a promising research tool for delivering genes to various target organs. In addition, the rAAV8 vector may offer a potential therapeutic agent for various diseases affecting nonhepatic tissues, but great caution is required for vector spillover and tight control of tissue-specific gene expression. PMID:15596817

Impact of vector dispersal and host-plant fidelity on the dissemination of an emerging plant pathogen.

PubMed

Johannesen, Jes; Foissac, Xavier; Kehrli, Patrik; Maixner, Michael

2012-01-01

Dissemination of vector-transmitted pathogens depend on the survival and dispersal of the vector and the vector's ability to transmit the pathogen, while the host range of vector and pathogen determine the breath of transmission possibilities. In this study, we address how the interaction between dispersal and plant fidelities of a pathogen (stolbur phytoplasma tuf-a) and its vector (Hyalesthes obsoletus: Cixiidae) affect the emergence of the pathogen. Using genetic markers, we analysed the geographic origin and range expansion of both organisms in Western Europe and, specifically, whether the pathogen's dissemination in the northern range is caused by resident vectors widening their host-plant use from field bindweed to stinging nettle, and subsequent host specialisation. We found evidence for common origins of pathogen and vector south of the European Alps. Genetic patterns in vector populations show signals of secondary range expansion in Western Europe leading to dissemination of tuf-a pathogens, which might be newly acquired and of hybrid origin. Hence, the emergence of stolbur tuf-a in the northern range was explained by secondary immigration of vectors carrying stinging nettle-specialised tuf-a, not by widening the host-plant spectrum of resident vectors with pathogen transmission from field bindweed to stinging nettle nor by primary co-migration from the resident vector's historical area of origin. The introduction of tuf-a to stinging nettle in the northern range was therefore independent of vector's host-plant specialisation but the rapid pathogen dissemination depended on the vector's host shift, whereas the general dissemination elsewhere was linked to plant specialisation of the pathogen but not of the vector.

La utilizacion de los mapas conceptuales en la ensenanza de biologia y su efecto sobre el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis en los estudiantes universitarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez Rivera, Maria M.

Se investigo el efecto de los mapas conceptuales sobre el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis en estudiantes universitarios. La investigacion utilizo dos estrategias: mapas conceptuales individuales y mapas conceptuales colaborativos, con el fin de investigar si existen diferencias significativas en el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis. El analisis de los datos incluyo aspectos cualitativos y cuantitativos. Se desprende del estudio que el 80% de los estudiantes describen la utilizacion de los mapas conceptuales como una experiencia beneficiosa. El 70% de los estudiantes expreso que los mapas conceptuales son utiles en el aprendizaje del proceso de fotosintesis y el 61% indico que facilitan la comprension de los conceptos. Los hallazgos mas importantes del analisis cuantitativo indican que los estudiantes que utilizaron los mapas conceptuales mejoraron significativamente su desempeno en la posprueba global. Se utilizo la prueba Mann-Whitney para investigar si existian diferencias significativas en la posprueba y preprueba global, el valor de W = 1945.0, para un valor p de 0.00, lo cual establece diferencias significativas. Para determinar si existian diferencias significativas entre la posprueba y preprueba del grupo individual, se realizo la prueba nuevamente. El valor de W correspondio a 490.5, que es significativo, con un valor p de 0.00. Se concluye que existen diferencias significativas entre la ejecucion de la posprueba y preprueba del grupo individual. Los datos proveen suficiente evidencia para sostener que los estudiantes que utilizaron la estrategia de mapas conceptuales individuales mejoraron el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis significativamente. Se realizo nuevamente la prueba para los resultados de posprueba y preprueba del grupo colaborativo. El valor de W correspondio a 446 con un valor p de 0.00. Se concluyo que existen diferencias significativas entre la ejecucion de la posprueba y preprueba del grupo colaborativo. Finalmente, se efectuo una prueba Mann-Whitney comparando la posprueba de ambos grupos. El valor de W fue de a 777, para un valor p de 0.2782. Aunque las puntuaciones de las pospruebas del grupo colaborativo fueron mayores que las puntuaciones de la posprueba del grupo individual, la diferencia no fue estadisticamente significativa.

Association of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR 677C>T) and thymidylate synthase (TSER and TS 1494del6) polymorphisms with premature ovarian failure in Korean women.

PubMed

Rah, HyungChul; Jeon, Young Joo; Choi, Youngsok; Shim, Sung Han; Yoon, Tae Ki; Choi, Dong Hee; Cha, Sun Hee; Kim, Nam Keun

2012-11-01

The aim of our study was to investigate whether methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene variant (MTHFR 677C>T) and thymidylate synthase (TS) gene variants (TS enhancer region [TSER] and TS 1494del6) confer a risk for premature ovarian failure (POF). We genotyped 136 POF patients and 236 controls among Korean women for the three single nucleotide polymorphism sites using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Differences in the MTHFR 677C>T, TSER, and TS 1494del6 genotype frequencies between POF patients and controls were compared, and odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were determined as a measure of the strength of the association between genotypes and POF. The MTHFR 677CT and CT + TT variant genotypes were more frequent in POF patients than in controls (OR, 2.249; 95% CI, 1.317-3.843; and OR, 2.132; 95% CI, 1.268-3.585, respectively). The combined genotype frequencies of MTHFR 677CT + TT/TSER 3R3R and 677CT + TT/TS 1494del6 del6/del6 were higher in patients than in controls (OR, 2.300; 95% CI, 1.219-4.337; and OR, 3.314; 95% CI, 1.623-6.767, respectively). The T-3R-del6 and T-2R-del6 (MTHFR 677C>T/TSER/TS 1494del6) haplotypes were more frequent in patients (OR, 1.450; 95% CI, 1.050-2.002; and OR, 2.911; 95% CI, 1.191-7.117, respectively), whereas the C-2R-del6 haplotype was less frequent in patients (OR, 0.372; 95% CI, 0.152-0.912). The T-del6 (MTHFR 677/TS 1494del6) haplotype frequency was higher among patients (OR, 1.653; 95% CI, 1.206-2.266), whereas the C-del6 haplotype frequency was lower among patients (OR, 0.700; 95% CI, 0.516-0.950). We did not find an association between TSER or TS 1494del6 polymorphisms and POF. Our data suggest that the MTHFR 677T allele may increase the risk for POF, which could lead to the development of novel genetic markers for predicting the risk of POF in patients.

Advances in Non-Viral DNA Vectors for Gene Therapy

PubMed Central

Hardee, Cinnamon L.; Arévalo-Soliz, Lirio Milenka; Hornstein, Benjamin D.; Zechiedrich, Lynn

2017-01-01

Uses of viral vectors have thus far eclipsed uses of non-viral vectors for gene therapy delivery in the clinic. Viral vectors, however, have certain issues involving genome integration, the inability to be delivered repeatedly, and possible host rejection. Fortunately, development of non-viral DNA vectors has progressed steadily, especially in plasmid vector length reduction, now allowing these tools to fill in specifically where viral or other non-viral vectors may not be the best options. In this review, we examine the improvements made to non-viral DNA gene therapy vectors, highlight opportunities for their further development, address therapeutic needs for which their use is the logical choice, and discuss their future expansion into the clinic. PMID:28208635

Non-coaxial superposition of vector vortex beams.

PubMed

Aadhi, A; Vaity, Pravin; Chithrabhanu, P; Reddy, Salla Gangi; Prabakar, Shashi; Singh, R P

2016-02-10

Vector vortex beams are classified into four types depending upon spatial variation in their polarization vector. We have generated all four of these types of vector vortex beams by using a modified polarization Sagnac interferometer with a vortex lens. Further, we have studied the non-coaxial superposition of two vector vortex beams. It is observed that the superposition of two vector vortex beams with same polarization singularity leads to a beam with another kind of polarization singularity in their interaction region. The results may be of importance in ultrahigh security of the polarization-encrypted data that utilizes vector vortex beams and multiple optical trapping with non-coaxial superposition of vector vortex beams. We verified our experimental results with theory.

Breast tumors from CHEK2 1100delC-mutation carriers: genomic landscape and clinical implications.

PubMed

Muranen, Taru A; Greco, Dario; Fagerholm, Rainer; Kilpivaara, Outi; Kämpjärvi, Kati; Aittomäki, Kristiina; Blomqvist, Carl; Heikkilä, Päivi; Borg, Ake; Nevanlinna, Heli

2011-09-20

Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) is a moderate penetrance breast cancer risk gene, whose truncating mutation 1100delC increases the risk about twofold. We investigated gene copy-number aberrations and gene-expression profiles that are typical for breast tumors of CHEK2 1100delC-mutation carriers. In total, 126 breast tumor tissue specimens including 32 samples from patients carrying CHEK2 1100delC were studied in array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and gene-expression (GEX) experiments. After dimensionality reduction with CGHregions R package, CHEK2 1100delC-associated regions in the aCGH data were detected by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. The linear model was fitted to GEX data with R package limma. Genes whose expression levels were associated with CHEK2 1100delC mutation were detected by the bayesian method. We discovered four lost and three gained CHEK2 1100delC-related loci. These include losses of 1p13.3-31.3, 8p21.1-2, 8p23.1-2, and 17p12-13.1 as well as gains of 12q13.11-3, 16p13.3, and 19p13.3. Twenty-eight genes located on these regions showed differential expression between CHEK2 1100delC and other tumors, nominating them as candidates for CHEK2 1100delC-associated tumor-progression drivers. These included CLCA1 on 1p22 as well as CALCOCO1, SBEM, and LRP1 on 12q13. Altogether, 188 genes were differentially expressed between CHEK2 1100delC and other tumors. Of these, 144 had elevated and 44, reduced expression levels.Our results suggest the WNT pathway as a driver of tumorigenesis in breast tumors of CHEK2 1100delC-mutation carriers and a role for the olfactory receptor protein family in cancer progression. Differences in the expression of the 188 CHEK2 1100delC-associated genes divided breast tumor samples from three independent datasets into two groups that differed in their relapse-free survival time. We have shown that copy-number aberrations of certain genomic regions are associated with CHEK2 mutation 1100delC. On these regions, we identified potential drivers of CHEK2 1100delC-associated tumorigenesis, whose role in cancer progression is worth investigating. Furthermore, poorer survival related to the CHEK2 1100delC gene-expression signature highlights pathways that are likely to have a role in the development of metastatic disease in carriers of the CHEK2 1100delC mutation.

Breast tumors from CHEK2 1100delC-mutation carriers: genomic landscape and clinical implications

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Introduction Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) is a moderate penetrance breast cancer risk gene, whose truncating mutation 1100delC increases the risk about twofold. We investigated gene copy-number aberrations and gene-expression profiles that are typical for breast tumors of CHEK2 1100delC-mutation carriers. Methods In total, 126 breast tumor tissue specimens including 32 samples from patients carrying CHEK2 1100delC were studied in array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and gene-expression (GEX) experiments. After dimensionality reduction with CGHregions R package, CHEK2 1100delC-associated regions in the aCGH data were detected by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. The linear model was fitted to GEX data with R package limma. Genes whose expression levels were associated with CHEK2 1100delC mutation were detected by the bayesian method. Results We discovered four lost and three gained CHEK2 1100delC-related loci. These include losses of 1p13.3-31.3, 8p21.1-2, 8p23.1-2, and 17p12-13.1 as well as gains of 12q13.11-3, 16p13.3, and 19p13.3. Twenty-eight genes located on these regions showed differential expression between CHEK2 1100delC and other tumors, nominating them as candidates for CHEK2 1100delC-associated tumor-progression drivers. These included CLCA1 on 1p22 as well as CALCOCO1, SBEM, and LRP1 on 12q13. Altogether, 188 genes were differentially expressed between CHEK2 1100delC and other tumors. Of these, 144 had elevated and 44, reduced expression levels. Our results suggest the WNT pathway as a driver of tumorigenesis in breast tumors of CHEK2 1100delC-mutation carriers and a role for the olfactory receptor protein family in cancer progression. Differences in the expression of the 188 CHEK2 1100delC-associated genes divided breast tumor samples from three independent datasets into two groups that differed in their relapse-free survival time. Conclusions We have shown that copy-number aberrations of certain genomic regions are associated with CHEK2 mutation 1100delC. On these regions, we identified potential drivers of CHEK2 1100delC-associated tumorigenesis, whose role in cancer progression is worth investigating. Furthermore, poorer survival related to the CHEK2 1100delC gene-expression signature highlights pathways that are likely to have a role in the development of metastatic disease in carriers of the CHEK2 1100delC mutation. PMID:21542898

An Algorithm for Converting Static Earth Sensor Measurements into Earth Observation Vectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harman, R.; Hashmall, Joseph A.; Sedlak, Joseph

2004-01-01

An algorithm has been developed that converts penetration angles reported by Static Earth Sensors (SESs) into Earth observation vectors. This algorithm allows compensation for variation in the horizon height including that caused by Earth oblateness. It also allows pitch and roll to be computed using any number (greater than 1) of simultaneous sensor penetration angles simplifying processing during periods of Sun and Moon interference. The algorithm computes body frame unit vectors through each SES cluster. It also computes GCI vectors from the spacecraft to the position on the Earth's limb where each cluster detects the Earth's limb. These body frame vectors are used as sensor observation vectors and the GCI vectors are used as reference vectors in an attitude solution. The attitude, with the unobservable yaw discarded, is iteratively refined to provide the Earth observation vector solution.

40 CFR 503.15 - Operational standards-pathogens and vector attraction reduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... vector attraction reduction. 503.15 Section 503.15 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... § 503.15 Operational standards—pathogens and vector attraction reduction. (a) Pathogens—sewage sludge... reclamation site. (c) Vector attraction reduction—sewage sludge. (1) One of the vector attraction reduction...

O Electromagnetic Power Waves and Power Density Components.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petzold, Donald Wayne

1980-12-01

On January 10, 1884 Lord Rayleigh presented a paper entitled "On the Transfer of Energy in the Electromagnetic Field" to the Royal Society of London. This paper had been authored by the late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Professor J. H. Poynting and in it he claimed that there was a general law for the transfer of electromagnetic energy. He argued that associated with each point in space is a quantity, that has since been called the Poynting vector, that is a measure of the rate of energy flow per unit area. His analysis was concerned with the integration of this power density vector at all points over an enclosing surface of a specific volume. The interpretation of this Poynting vector as a true measure of the local power density was viewed with great skepticism unless the vector was integrated over a closed surface, as the development of the concept required. However, within the last decade or so Shadowitz indicates that a number of prominent authors have argued that the criticism of the interpretation of Poynting's vector as a local power density vector is unjustified. The present paper is not concerned with these arguments but instead is concerned with a decomposition of Poynting's power density vector into two and only two components: one vector which has the same direction as Poynting's vector and which is called the forward power density vector, and another vector, directed opposite to the Poynting vector and called the reverse power density vector. These new local forward and reverse power density vectors will be shown to be dependent upon forward and reverse power wave vectors and these vectors in turn will be related to newly defined forward and reverse components of the electric and magnetic fields. The sum of these forward and reverse power density vectors, which is simply the original Poynting vector, is associated with the total electromagnetic energy traveling past the local point. Another vector which is the difference between the forward and reverse power density vectors and which will be shown to be associated with the total electric and magnetic field energy densities existing at a local point will also be introduced. These local forward and reverse power density vectors may be integrated over a surface to determine the forward and reverse powers and from these results problems related to maximum power transfer or efficiency of electromagnetic energy transmission in space may be studied in a manner similar to that presently being done with transmission lines, wave guides, and more recently with two port multiport lumped parameter systems. These new forward and reverse power density vectors at a point in space are analogous to the forward and revoltages or currents and power waves as used with the transmission line, waveguide, or port. These power wave vectors in space are a generalization of the power waves as developed by Penfield, Youla, and Kurokawa and used with the scattering parameters associated with transmission lines, waveguides and ports.

The Cross Product of Two Vectors Is Not Just Another Vector--A Major Misconception Being Perpetuated in Calculus and Vector Analysis Textbooks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elk, Seymour B.

1997-01-01

Suggests that the cross product of two vectors can be more easily and accurately explained by starting from the perspective of dyadics because then the concept of vector multiplication has a simple geometrical picture that encompasses both the dot and cross products in any number of dimensions in terms of orthogonal unit vector components. (AIM)

Application of Genomics for Understanding Plant Virus-Insect Vector Interactions and Insect Vector Control.

PubMed

Kaur, Navneet; Hasegawa, Daniel K; Ling, Kai-Shu; Wintermantel, William M

2016-10-01

The relationships between plant viruses and their vectors have evolved over the millennia, and yet, studies on viruses began <150 years ago and investigations into the virus and vector interactions even more recently. The advent of next generation sequencing, including rapid genome and transcriptome analysis, methods for evaluation of small RNAs, and the related disciplines of proteomics and metabolomics offer a significant shift in the ability to elucidate molecular mechanisms involved in virus infection and transmission by insect vectors. Genomic technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity to examine the response of insect vectors to the presence of ingested viruses through gene expression changes and altered biochemical pathways. This review focuses on the interactions between viruses and their whitefly or thrips vectors and on potential applications of genomics-driven control of the insect vectors. Recent studies have evaluated gene expression in vectors during feeding on plants infected with begomoviruses, criniviruses, and tospoviruses, which exhibit very different types of virus-vector interactions. These studies demonstrate the advantages of genomics and the potential complementary studies that rapidly advance our understanding of the biology of virus transmission by insect vectors and offer additional opportunities to design novel genetic strategies to manage insect vectors and the viruses they transmit.

Gene therapy using retrovirus vectors: vector development and biosafety at clinical trials.

PubMed

Doi, Knayo; Takeuchi, Yasuhiro

2015-01-01

Retrovirus vectors (gammaretroviral and lentiviral vectors) have been considered as promising tools to transfer therapeutic genes into patient cells because they can permanently integrate into host cellular genome. To treat monogenic, inherited diseases, retroviral vectors have been used to add correct genes into patient cells. Conventional gammaretroviral vectors achieved successful results in clinical trials: treated patients had therapeutic gene expression in target cells and had improved symptoms of diseases. However, serious side-effects of leukemia occurred, caused by retroviral insertional mutagenesis (IM). These incidences stressed the importance of monitoring vector integration sites in patient cells as well as of re-consideration on safer vectors. More recently lentiviral vectors which can deliver genes into non-dividing cells started to be used in clinical trials including neurological disorders, showing their efficacy. Vector integration site analysis revealed that lentiviruses integrate less likely to near promoter regions of oncogenes than gammaretroviruses and no adverse events have been reported in lentiviral vector-mediated gene therapy clinical trials. Therefore lentiviral vectors have promises to be applied to a wide range of common diseases in near future. For example, T cells from cancer patients were transduced to express chimeric T cell receptors recognizing their tumour cells enhancing patients' anti-cancer immunity.

Multi-perspective views of students’ difficulties with one-dimensional vector and two-dimensional vector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fauzi, Ahmad; Ratna Kawuri, Kunthi; Pratiwi, Retno

2017-01-01

Researchers of students’ conceptual change usually collects data from written tests and interviews. Moreover, reports of conceptual change often simply refer to changes in concepts, such as on a test, without any identification of the learning processes that have taken place. Research has shown that students have difficulties with vectors in university introductory physics courses and high school physics courses. In this study, we intended to explore students’ understanding of one-dimensional and two-dimensional vector in multi perspective views. In this research, we explore students’ understanding through test perspective and interviews perspective. Our research study adopted the mixed-methodology design. The participants of this research were sixty students of third semester of physics education department. The data of this research were collected by testand interviews. In this study, we divided the students’ understanding of one-dimensional vector and two-dimensional vector in two categories, namely vector skills of the addition of one-dimensionaland two-dimensional vector and the relation between vector skills and conceptual understanding. From the investigation, only 44% of students provided correct answer for vector skills of the addition of one-dimensional and two-dimensional vector and only 27% students provided correct answer for the relation between vector skills and conceptual understanding.

Mapping of Malaria Vectors at District Level in India: Changing Scenario and Identified Gaps.

PubMed

Singh, Poonam; Lingala, Mercy Aparna L; Sarkar, Soma; Dhiman, Ramesh C

2017-02-01

Malaria is one of the six major vector-borne diseases in India, the endemicity of which changes with changes in ecological, climatic, and sociodevelopmental conditions. The anopheline vectors are greatly affected by ecological conditions such as deforestation, urbanization, climate and lifestyle. Despite the advent of tools such as Geographic Information System (GIS), the updated information on the distribution of anopheline vectors of malaria is not available. In India, the plan for vector control is organized at subcentral level but information about vectors is unavailable even at the district level. Therefore, a systematic presentation of vector distribution has been made to provide maps in respect of major vector species. A search of the literature for major vector species, that is, Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles fluviatilis, Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles minimus, and Anopheles dirus sensu lato, since 1927 till 2015 was carried out. Data have been presented as present, absent, and no information about vector species during pre-eradication (1927-1958), posteradication (1959-1999), and current scenario (2000-2015). Vectors' distribution and malaria endemicity were mapped using Arc GIS. Of 630 districts of India, major vectors An. culicifacies, An. fluviatilis, and An. stephensi were present in 420, 241, and 243 districts, respectively. In 183 districts, there is no information on any major malaria vector species although 27 of them from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, and Mizoram are highly endemic for malaria, having incidences of 2-40 cases/1000/year. The identified gaps in vector distribution, particularly in malaria endemic areas, necessitate further surveys so as to generate the missing information.

A pair of new BAC and BIBAC vectors that facilitate BAC/BIBAC library construction and intact large genomic DNA insert exchange.

PubMed

Shi, Xue; Zeng, Haiyang; Xue, Yadong; Luo, Meizhong

2011-10-11

Large-insert BAC and BIBAC libraries are important tools for structural and functional genomics studies of eukaryotic genomes. To facilitate the construction of BAC and BIBAC libraries and the transfer of complete large BAC inserts into BIBAC vectors, which is desired in positional cloning, we developed a pair of new BAC and BIBAC vectors. The new BAC vector pIndigoBAC536-S and the new BIBAC vector BIBAC-S have the following features: 1) both contain two 18-bp non-palindromic I-SceI sites in an inverted orientation at positions that flank an identical DNA fragment containing the lacZ selection marker and the cloning site. Large DNA inserts can be excised from the vectors as single fragments by cutting with I-SceI, allowing the inserts to be easily sized. More importantly, because the two vectors contain different antibiotic resistance genes for transformant selection and produce the same non-complementary 3' protruding ATAA ends by I-SceI that suppress self- and inter-ligations, the exchange of intact large genomic DNA inserts between the BAC and BIBAC vectors is straightforward; 2) both were constructed as high-copy composite vectors. Reliable linearized and dephosphorylated original low-copy pIndigoBAC536-S and BIBAC-S vectors that are ready for library construction can be prepared from the high-copy composite vectors pHZAUBAC1 and pHZAUBIBAC1, respectively, without the need for additional preparation steps or special reagents, thus simplifying the construction of BAC and BIBAC libraries. BIBAC clones constructed with the new BIBAC-S vector are stable in both E. coli and Agrobacterium. The vectors can be accessed through our website http://GResource.hzau.edu.cn. The two new vectors and their respective high-copy composite vectors can largely facilitate the construction and characterization of BAC and BIBAC libraries. The transfer of complete large genomic DNA inserts from one vector to the other is made straightforward.

Recent advances on the encoding and selection methods of DNA-encoded chemical library.

PubMed

Shi, Bingbing; Zhou, Yu; Huang, Yiran; Zhang, Jianfu; Li, Xiaoyu

2017-02-01

DNA-encoded chemical library (DEL) has emerged as a powerful and versatile tool for ligand discovery in chemical biology research and in drug discovery. Encoding and selection methods are two of the most important technological aspects of DEL that can dictate the performance and utilities of DELs. In this digest, we have summarized recent advances on the encoding and selection strategies of DEL and also discussed the latest developments on DNA-encoded dynamic library, a new frontier in DEL research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rotations with Rodrigues' Vector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pina, E.

2011-01-01

The rotational dynamics was studied from the point of view of Rodrigues' vector. This vector is defined here by its connection with other forms of parametrization of the rotation matrix. The rotation matrix was expressed in terms of this vector. The angular velocity was computed using the components of Rodrigues' vector as coordinates. It appears…

Study of Equatorial Ionospheric irregularities and Mapping of Electron Density Profiles and Ionograms

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-09

equation is a product of a complex basis vector in Jackson and a linear combination of plane wave functions. We convert both the amplitudes and the...wave function arguments from complex scalars to complex vectors . This conversion allows us to separate the electric field vector and the imaginary...magnetic field vector , because exponentials of imaginary scalars convert vectors to imaginary vectors and vice versa, while ex- ponentials of imaginary

Elements of the quality management in the materials' industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ioana, Adrian; Semenescu, Augustin; Costoiu, Mihnea; Marcu, Dragoş

2017-12-01

The criteria function concept consists of transforming the criteria function (CF) in a quality-economical matrix math MQE. The levels of prescribing the criteria function was obtained by using a composition algorithm for three vectors: T¯ vector - technical parameters' vector (ti); Ē vector - economical parameters' vector (ej) and P¯ vector - weight vector (p1). For each product or service, the area of the circle represents the value of its sales. The BCG Matrix thus offers a very useful map of the organization's service strengths and weaknesses, at least in terms of current profitability, as well as the likely cash flows.

Vector-transmitted disease vaccines: targeting salivary proteins in transmission (SPIT).

PubMed

McDowell, Mary Ann

2015-08-01

More than half the population of the world is at risk for morbidity and mortality from vector-transmitted diseases, and emerging vector-transmitted infections are threatening new populations. Rising insecticide resistance and lack of efficacious vaccines highlight the need for novel control measures. One such approach is targeting the vector-host interface by incorporating vector salivary proteins in anti-pathogen vaccines. Debate remains about whether vector saliva exposure exacerbates or protects against more severe clinical manifestations, induces immunity through natural exposure or extends to all vector species and associated pathogens. Nevertheless, exploiting this unique biology holds promise as a viable strategy for the development of vaccines against vector-transmitted diseases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Effects of plant viruses on vector and non-vector herbivorous arthropods and their natural enemies: a mini review].

PubMed

He, Xiao-Chan; Xu, Hong-Xing; Zhou, Xiao-Jun; Zheng, Xu-Song; Sun, Yu-Jian; Yang, Ya-Jun; Tian, Jun-Ce; Lü, Zhong-Xian

2014-05-01

Plant viruses transmitted by arthropods, as an important biotic factor, may not only directly affect the yield and quality of host plants, and development, physiological characteristics and ecological performances of their vector arthropods, but also directly or indirectly affect the non-vector herbivorous arthropods and their natural enemies in the same ecosystem, thereby causing influences to the whole agro-ecosystem. This paper reviewed the progress on the effects of plant viruses on herbivorous arthropods, including vector and non-vector, and their natural enemies, and on their ecological mechanisms to provide a reference for optimizing the management of vector and non-vector arthropod populations and sustainable control of plant viruses in agro-ecosystem.

A Discriminant Distance Based Composite Vector Selection Method for Odor Classification

PubMed Central

Choi, Sang-Il; Jeong, Gu-Min

2014-01-01

We present a composite vector selection method for an effective electronic nose system that performs well even in noisy environments. Each composite vector generated from a electronic nose data sample is evaluated by computing the discriminant distance. By quantitatively measuring the amount of discriminative information in each composite vector, composite vectors containing informative variables can be distinguished and the final composite features for odor classification are extracted using the selected composite vectors. Using the only informative composite vectors can be also helpful to extract better composite features instead of using all the generated composite vectors. Experimental results with different volatile organic compound data show that the proposed system has good classification performance even in a noisy environment compared to other methods. PMID:24747735

Construction and Evaluation of Novel Rhesus Monkey Adenovirus Vaccine Vectors

DOE PAGES

Abbink, Peter; Maxfield, Lori F.; Ng'ang'a, David; ...

2014-11-19

Adenovirus vectors are widely used as vaccine candidates for a variety of pathogens, including HIV-1. To date, human and chimpanzee adenoviruses have been explored in detail as vaccine vectors. Furthermore, the phylogeny of human and chimpanzee adenoviruses is overlapping, and preexisting humoral and cellular immunity to both are exhibited in human populations worldwide. More distantly related adenoviruses may therefore offer advantages as vaccine vectors. We describe the primary isolation and vectorization of three novel adenoviruses from rhesus monkeys. The seroprevalence of these novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vectors was extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa human populations, and these vectors proved tomore » have immunogenicity comparable to that of human and chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vectors in mice. These rhesus monkey adenoviruses phylogenetically clustered with the poorly described adenovirus species G and robustly stimulated innate immune responses. These novel adenoviruses represent a new class of candidate vaccine vectors.« less

Construction and Evaluation of Novel Rhesus Monkey Adenovirus Vaccine Vectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abbink, Peter; Maxfield, Lori F.; Ng'ang'a, David

Adenovirus vectors are widely used as vaccine candidates for a variety of pathogens, including HIV-1. To date, human and chimpanzee adenoviruses have been explored in detail as vaccine vectors. Furthermore, the phylogeny of human and chimpanzee adenoviruses is overlapping, and preexisting humoral and cellular immunity to both are exhibited in human populations worldwide. More distantly related adenoviruses may therefore offer advantages as vaccine vectors. We describe the primary isolation and vectorization of three novel adenoviruses from rhesus monkeys. The seroprevalence of these novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vectors was extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa human populations, and these vectors proved tomore » have immunogenicity comparable to that of human and chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vectors in mice. These rhesus monkey adenoviruses phylogenetically clustered with the poorly described adenovirus species G and robustly stimulated innate immune responses. These novel adenoviruses represent a new class of candidate vaccine vectors.« less

Human action classification using procrustes shape theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Wanhyun; Kim, Sangkyoon; Park, Soonyoung; Lee, Myungeun

2015-02-01

In this paper, we propose new method that can classify a human action using Procrustes shape theory. First, we extract a pre-shape configuration vector of landmarks from each frame of an image sequence representing an arbitrary human action, and then we have derived the Procrustes fit vector for pre-shape configuration vector. Second, we extract a set of pre-shape vectors from tanning sample stored at database, and we compute a Procrustes mean shape vector for these preshape vectors. Third, we extract a sequence of the pre-shape vectors from input video, and we project this sequence of pre-shape vectors on the tangent space with respect to the pole taking as a sequence of mean shape vectors corresponding with a target video. And we calculate the Procrustes distance between two sequences of the projection pre-shape vectors on the tangent space and the mean shape vectors. Finally, we classify the input video into the human action class with minimum Procrustes distance. We assess a performance of the proposed method using one public dataset, namely Weizmann human action dataset. Experimental results reveal that the proposed method performs very good on this dataset.

Attenuation of Replication-Competent Adenovirus Serotype 26 Vaccines by Vectorization

PubMed Central

Maxfield, Lori F.; Abbink, Peter; Stephenson, Kathryn E.; Borducchi, Erica N.; Ng'ang'a, David; Kirilova, Marinela M.; Paulino, Noelix; Boyd, Michael; Shabram, Paul; Ruan, Qian; Patel, Mayank

2015-01-01

Replication-competent adenovirus (rcAd)-based vaccine vectors may theoretically provide immunological advantages over replication-incompetent Ad vectors, but they also raise additional potential clinical and regulatory issues. We produced replication-competent Ad serotype 26 (rcAd26) vectors by adding the E1 region back into a replication-incompetent Ad26 vector backbone with the E3 or E3/E4 regions deleted. We assessed the effect of vectorization on the replicative capacity of the rcAd26 vaccines. Attenuation occurred in a stepwise fashion, with E3 deletion, E4 deletion, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope (Env) gene insertion all contributing to reduced replicative capacity compared to that with the wild-type Ad26 vector. The rcAd26 vector with E3 and E4 deleted and containing the Env transgene exhibited 2.7- to 4.4-log-lower replicative capacity than that of the wild-type Ad26 in vitro. This rcAd26 vector is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 clinical trial. Attenuation as a result of vectorization and transgene insertion has implications for the clinical development of replication-competent vaccine vectors. PMID:26376928

Attenuation of Replication-Competent Adenovirus Serotype 26 Vaccines by Vectorization.

PubMed

Maxfield, Lori F; Abbink, Peter; Stephenson, Kathryn E; Borducchi, Erica N; Ng'ang'a, David; Kirilova, Marinela M; Paulino, Noelix; Boyd, Michael; Shabram, Paul; Ruan, Qian; Patel, Mayank; Barouch, Dan H

2015-11-01

Replication-competent adenovirus (rcAd)-based vaccine vectors may theoretically provide immunological advantages over replication-incompetent Ad vectors, but they also raise additional potential clinical and regulatory issues. We produced replication-competent Ad serotype 26 (rcAd26) vectors by adding the E1 region back into a replication-incompetent Ad26 vector backbone with the E3 or E3/E4 regions deleted. We assessed the effect of vectorization on the replicative capacity of the rcAd26 vaccines. Attenuation occurred in a stepwise fashion, with E3 deletion, E4 deletion, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope (Env) gene insertion all contributing to reduced replicative capacity compared to that with the wild-type Ad26 vector. The rcAd26 vector with E3 and E4 deleted and containing the Env transgene exhibited 2.7- to 4.4-log-lower replicative capacity than that of the wild-type Ad26 in vitro. This rcAd26 vector is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 clinical trial. Attenuation as a result of vectorization and transgene insertion has implications for the clinical development of replication-competent vaccine vectors. Copyright © 2015, Maxfield et al.

Epidemiological Implications of Host Biodiversity and Vector Biology: Key Insights from Simple Models.

PubMed

Dobson, Andrew D M; Auld, Stuart K J R

2016-04-01

Models used to investigate the relationship between biodiversity change and vector-borne disease risk often do not explicitly include the vector; they instead rely on a frequency-dependent transmission function to represent vector dynamics. However, differences between classes of vector (e.g., ticks and insects) can cause discrepancies in epidemiological responses to environmental change. Using a pair of disease models (mosquito- and tick-borne), we simulated substitutive and additive biodiversity change (where noncompetent hosts replaced or were added to competent hosts, respectively), while considering different relationships between vector and host densities. We found important differences between classes of vector, including an increased likelihood of amplified disease risk under additive biodiversity change in mosquito models, driven by higher vector biting rates. We also draw attention to more general phenomena, such as a negative relationship between initial infection prevalence in vectors and likelihood of dilution, and the potential for a rise in density of infected vectors to occur simultaneously with a decline in proportion of infected hosts. This has important implications; the density of infected vectors is the most valid metric for primarily zoonotic infections, while the proportion of infected hosts is more relevant for infections where humans are a primary host.

Predators indirectly reduce the prevalence of an insect-vectored plant pathogen independent of predator diversity.

PubMed

Long, Elizabeth Y; Finke, Deborah L

2015-04-01

A widely cited benefit of predator diversity is greater suppression of insect herbivores, with corresponding increases in plant biomass. In the context of a vector-borne pathogen system, predator species richness may also influence plant disease risk via the direct effects of predators on the abundance and behavior of herbivores that also act as pathogen vectors. Using an assemblage of generalist insect predators, we examined the relationship between predator species richness and the prevalence of the aphid-vectored cereal yellow dwarf virus in wheat. We found that increasing predator richness enhanced suppression of the vector population and that pathogen prevalence was reduced when predators were present, but the reduction in prevalence was independent of predator species richness. To determine the mechanism(s) by which predator species richness contributes to vector suppression, but not pathogen prevalence, we evaluated vector movement and host plant occupancy in response to predator treatments. We found that pathogen prevalence was unrelated to vector suppression because host plant occupancy by vectors did not vary as a function of vector abundance. However, the presence of predators reduced pathogen prevalence because predators stimulated greater plant-to-plant movement by vectors, which likely diminished vector feeding time and reduced the transmission efficiency of this persistent pathogen. We conclude that community structure (i.e., the presence of predators), but not predator diversity, is a potential factor influencing local plant infection by this insect-vectored pathogen.

Molecular analysis of vector genome structures after liver transduction by conventional and self-complementary adeno-associated viral serotype vectors in murine and nonhuman primate models.

PubMed

Sun, Xun; Lu, You; Bish, Lawrence T; Calcedo, Roberto; Wilson, James M; Gao, Guangping

2010-06-01

Vectors based on several new adeno-associated viral (AAV) serotypes demonstrated strong hepatocyte tropism and transduction efficiency in both small- and large-animal models for liver-directed gene transfer. Efficiency of liver transduction by AAV vectors can be further improved in both murine and nonhuman primate (NHP) animals when the vector genomes are packaged in a self-complementary (sc) format. In an attempt to understand potential molecular mechanism(s) responsible for enhanced transduction efficiency of the sc vector in liver, we performed extensive molecular studies of genome structures of conventional single-stranded (ss) and sc AAV vectors from liver after AAV gene transfer in both mice and NHPs. These included treatment with exonucleases with specific substrate preferences, single-cutter restriction enzyme digestion and polarity-specific hybridization-based vector genome mapping, and bacteriophage phi29 DNA polymerase-mediated and double-stranded circular template-specific rescue of persisted circular genomes. In mouse liver, vector genomes of both genome formats seemed to persist primarily as episomal circular forms, but sc vectors converted into circular forms more rapidly and efficiently. However, the overall differences in vector genome abundance and structure in the liver between ss and sc vectors could not account for the remarkable differences in transduction. Molecular structures of persistent genomes of both ss and sc vectors were significantly more heterogeneous in macaque liver, with noticeable structural rearrangements that warrant further characterizations.

Molecular Analysis of Vector Genome Structures After Liver Transduction by Conventional and Self-Complementary Adeno-Associated Viral Serotype Vectors in Murine and Nonhuman Primate Models

PubMed Central

Sun, Xun; Lu, You; Bish, Lawrence T.; Calcedo, Roberto; Wilson, James M.

2010-01-01

Abstract Vectors based on several new adeno-associated viral (AAV) serotypes demonstrated strong hepatocyte tropism and transduction efficiency in both small- and large-animal models for liver-directed gene transfer. Efficiency of liver transduction by AAV vectors can be further improved in both murine and nonhuman primate (NHP) animals when the vector genomes are packaged in a self-complementary (sc) format. In an attempt to understand potential molecular mechanism(s) responsible for enhanced transduction efficiency of the sc vector in liver, we performed extensive molecular studies of genome structures of conventional single-stranded (ss) and sc AAV vectors from liver after AAV gene transfer in both mice and NHPs. These included treatment with exonucleases with specific substrate preferences, single-cutter restriction enzyme digestion and polarity-specific hybridization-based vector genome mapping, and bacteriophage ϕ29 DNA polymerase-mediated and double-stranded circular template-specific rescue of persisted circular genomes. In mouse liver, vector genomes of both genome formats seemed to persist primarily as episomal circular forms, but sc vectors converted into circular forms more rapidly and efficiently. However, the overall differences in vector genome abundance and structure in the liver between ss and sc vectors could not account for the remarkable differences in transduction. Molecular structures of persistent genomes of both ss and sc vectors were significantly more heterogeneous in macaque liver, with noticeable structural rearrangements that warrant further characterizations. PMID:20113166

High-performance ultra-low power VLSI analog processor for data compression

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tawel, Raoul (Inventor)

1996-01-01

An apparatus for data compression employing a parallel analog processor. The apparatus includes an array of processor cells with N columns and M rows wherein the processor cells have an input device, memory device, and processor device. The input device is used for inputting a series of input vectors. Each input vector is simultaneously input into each column of the array of processor cells in a pre-determined sequential order. An input vector is made up of M components, ones of which are input into ones of M processor cells making up a column of the array. The memory device is used for providing ones of M components of a codebook vector to ones of the processor cells making up a column of the array. A different codebook vector is provided to each of the N columns of the array. The processor device is used for simultaneously comparing the components of each input vector to corresponding components of each codebook vector, and for outputting a signal representative of the closeness between the compared vector components. A combination device is used to combine the signal output from each processor cell in each column of the array and to output a combined signal. A closeness determination device is then used for determining which codebook vector is closest to an input vector from the combined signals, and for outputting a codebook vector index indicating which of the N codebook vectors was the closest to each input vector input into the array.

[What makes an insect a vector?].

PubMed

Kampen, Helge

2009-01-01

Blood-feeding insects transmit numerous viruses, bacteria, protozoans and helminths to vertebrates. The developmental cycles of the microorganisms in their vectors and the mechanisms of transmission are generally extremely complex and the result of a long-lasting coevolution of vector and vectored pathogen based on mutual adaptation. The conditions necessary for an insect to become a vector are multiple but require an innate vector competence as a genetic basis. Next to the vector competence plenty of entomological, ecological and pathogen-related factors are decisive, given the availability of infection sources. The various modes of pathogen transmission by vectors are connected to the developmental routes of the microorganisms in their vectors. In particular, pathogens transmitted by saliva encounter a lot of cellular and acellular barriers during their migration from the insect's midgut through the hemocele into the salivary fluid, including components of the insect's immune system. With regard to intracellular development, receptor-mediated invasion mechanisms are of relevance. As an environmental factor, the temperature has a paramount impact on the vectorial roles of hematophagous insects. Not only has it a considerable influence on the duration of a pathogen's development in its vector (extrinsic incubation period) but it can render putatively vector-incompetent insects to vectors ("leaky gut" phenomenon). Equally crucial are behavioural aspects of both the insect and the pathogen such as blood host preferences, seasonal appearance and circadian biting activity on the vector's side and diurnal/nocturnal periodicity on the pathogen's side which facilitate a contact in the first place.

Vector-Borne Bacterial Plant Pathogens: Interactions with Hemipteran Insects and Plants

PubMed Central

Perilla-Henao, Laura M.; Casteel, Clare L.

2016-01-01

Hemipteran insects are devastating pests of crops due to their wide host range, rapid reproduction, and ability to transmit numerous plant-infecting pathogens as vectors. While the field of plant–virus–vector interactions has flourished in recent years, plant–bacteria–vector interactions remain poorly understood. Leafhoppers and psyllids are by far the most important vectors of bacterial pathogens, yet there are still significant gaps in our understanding of their feeding behavior, salivary secretions, and plant responses as compared to important viral vectors, such as whiteflies and aphids. Even with an incomplete understanding of plant–bacteria–vector interactions, some common themes have emerged: (1) all known vector-borne bacteria share the ability to propagate in the plant and insect host; (2) particular hemipteran families appear to be incapable of transmitting vector-borne bacteria; (3) all known vector-borne bacteria have highly reduced genomes and coding capacity, resulting in host-dependence; and (4) vector-borne bacteria encode proteins that are essential for colonization of specific hosts, though only a few types of proteins have been investigated. Here, we review the current knowledge on important vector-borne bacterial pathogens, including Xylella fastidiosa, Spiroplasma spp., Liberibacter spp., and ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma spp.’. We then highlight recent approaches used in the study of vector-borne bacteria. Finally, we discuss the application of this knowledge for control and future directions that will need to be addressed in the field of vector–plant–bacteria interactions. PMID:27555855

Characteristics of Minimally Oversized Adeno-Associated Virus Vectors Encoding Human Factor VIII Generated Using Producer Cell Lines and Triple Transfection.

PubMed

Nambiar, Bindu; Cornell Sookdeo, Cathleen; Berthelette, Patricia; Jackson, Robert; Piraino, Susan; Burnham, Brenda; Nass, Shelley; Souza, David; O'Riordan, Catherine R; Vincent, Karen A; Cheng, Seng H; Armentano, Donna; Kyostio-Moore, Sirkka

2017-02-01

Several ongoing clinical studies are evaluating recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors as gene delivery vehicles for a variety of diseases. However, the production of vectors with genomes >4.7 kb is challenging, with vector preparations frequently containing truncated genomes. To determine whether the generation of oversized rAAVs can be improved using a producer cell-line (PCL) process, HeLaS3-cell lines harboring either a 5.1 or 5.4 kb rAAV vector genome encoding codon-optimized cDNA for human B-domain deleted Factor VIII (FVIII) were isolated. High-producing "masterwells" (MWs), defined as producing >50,000 vg/cell, were identified for each oversized vector. These MWs provided stable vector production for >20 passages. The quality and potency of the AAVrh8R/FVIII-5.1 and AAVrh8R/FVIII-5.4 vectors generated by the PCL method were then compared to those prepared via transient transfection (TXN). Southern and dot blot analyses demonstrated that both production methods resulted in packaging of heterogeneously sized genomes. However, the PCL-derived rAAV vector preparations contained some genomes >4.7 kb, whereas the majority of genomes generated by the TXN method were ≤4.7 kb. The PCL process reduced packaging of non-vector DNA for both the AAVrh8R/FVIII-5.1 and the AAVrh8R/FVIII-5.4 kb vector preparations. Furthermore, more DNA-containing viral particles were obtained for the AAVrh8R/FVIII-5.1 vector. In a mouse model of hemophilia A, animals administered a PCL-derived rAAV vector exhibited twofold higher plasma FVIII activity and increased levels of vector genomes in the liver than mice treated with vector produced via TXN did. Hence, the quality of oversized vectors prepared using the PCL method is greater than that of vectors generated using the TXN process, and importantly this improvement translates to enhanced performance in vivo.

Stability of Lentiviral Vector-Mediated Transgene Expression in the Brain in the Presence of Systemic Antivector Immune Responses

PubMed Central

ABORDO-ADESIDA, EVELYN; FOLLENZI, ANTONIA; BARCIA, CARLOS; SCIASCIA, SANDRA; CASTRO, MARIA G.; NALDINI, LUIGI; LOWENSTEIN, PEDRO R.

2009-01-01

Lentiviral vectors are promising tools for gene therapy in the CNS. It is therefore important to characterize their interactions with the immune system in the CNS. This work characterizes transgene expression and brain inflammation in the presence or absence of immune responses generated after systemic immunization with lentiviral vectors. We characterized transduction with SIN-LV vectors in the CNS. A dose—response curve using SIN-LV-GFP demonstrated detectable transgene expression in the striatum at a dose of 102, and maximum expression at 106, transducing units of lentiviral vector, with minimal increase in inflammatory markers between the lowest and highest dose of vector injected. Our studies demonstrate that injection of a lentiviral vector into the CNS did not cause a measurable inflammatory response. Systemic immunization after CNS injection, with the lentiviral vector expressing the same transgene as a vector injected into the CNS, caused a decrease in transgene expression in the CNS, concomitantly with an infiltration of inflammatory cells into the CNS parenchyma at the injection site. However, peripheral immunization with a lentiviral vector carrying a different transgene did not diminish transgene expression, or cause CNS inflammation. Systemic immunization preceding injection of lentiviral vectors into the CNS determined that preexisting antilentiviral immunity, regardless of the transgene, did not affect transgene expression. Furthermore, we showed that the transgene, but not the virion or vector components, is responsible for providing antigenic epitopes to the activated immune system, on systemic immunization with lentivirus. Low immunogenicity and prolonged transgene expression in the presence of preexisting lentiviral immunity are encouraging data for the future use of lentiviral vectors in CNS gene therapy. In summary, the lentiviral vectors tested induced undetectable activation of innate immune responses, and stimulation of adaptive immune responses against lentiviral vectors was effective in causing a decrease in transgene expression only if the immune response was directed against the transgene. A systemic immune response against vector components alone did not cause brain inflammation, possibly because vector-derived epitopes were not being presented in the CNS. PMID:15960605

CHEK2*1100delC homozygosity in the Netherlands—prevalence and risk of breast and lung cancer

PubMed Central

Huijts, Petra EA; Hollestelle, Antoinette; Balliu, Brunilda; Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine J; Meijers, Caro M; Blom, Jannet C; Ozturk, Bahar; Krol-Warmerdam, Elly MM; Wijnen, Juul; Berns, Els MJJ; Martens, John WM; Seynaeve, Caroline; Kiemeney, Lambertus A; van der Heijden, Henricus F; Tollenaar, Rob AEM; Devilee, Peter; van Asperen, Christi J

2014-01-01

The 1100delC mutation in the CHEK2 gene has a carrier frequency of up to 1.5% in individuals from North-West Europe. Women heterozygous for 1100delC have an increased breast cancer risk (odds ratio 2.7). To explore the prevalence and clinical consequences of 1100delC homozygosity in the Netherlands, we genotyped a sporadic breast cancer hospital-based cohort, a group of non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer families, and breast tumors from a tumor tissue bank. Three 1100delC homozygous patients were found in the cohort of 1434 sporadic breast cancer patients, suggesting an increased breast cancer risk for 1100delC homozygotes (odds ratio 3.4, 95% confidence interval 0.4–32.6, P=0.3). Another 1100delC homozygote was found in 592 individuals from 108 non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer families, and two more were found after testing 1706 breast tumors and confirming homozygosity on their wild-type DNA. Follow-up data was available for five homozygous patients, and remarkably, three of them had developed contralateral breast cancer. A possible relationship between 1100delC and lung cancer risk was investigated in 457 unrelated lung cancer patients but could not be confirmed. Due to the small number of 1100delC homozygotes identified, the breast cancer risk estimate associated with this genotype had limited accuracy but is probably higher than the risk in heterozygous females. Screening for CHEK2 1100delC could be beneficial in countries with a relatively high allele frequency. PMID:23652375

The -2549 insertion/deletion polymorphism in the promoter region of VEGF is associated with the risk of recurrent spontaneous abortion.

PubMed

Hashemi, Mohammad; Danesh, Hiva; Bizhani, Fatemeh; Mokhtari, Mojgan; Bahari, Gholamreza; Tabasi, Farhad; Taheri, Mohsen

2018-03-01

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a common health problem affecting women of reproductive age. Altered expression of vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF ) has been associated with spontaneous abortion. The present case-control study aimed to evaluate the impact of the 18-bp insertion/deletion (ins/del) polymorphism (rs35569394) in the promoter region of the VEGF gene on idiopathic RSA. Genomic DNA from 93 patients with RSA and 93 healthy fertile women of southeastern Iran was isolated using the salting-out method. Genotyping of the rs35569394 variant was performed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The findings indicated that the VEGF 18-bp ins/del variant significantly increased the risk of RSA under codominant (ins/ins vs. del/del; OR=2.85, 95% CI=1.31-6.22, P=0.019), dominant (del/ins+ins/ins vs. del/del; OR=2.19, 95% CI=1.20-4.01, P=0.015) and allelic (ins vs. del; OR=1.90, 95% CI=1.25-2.88, P=0.003) inheritance models. In summary, the findings propose a significant association between the VEGF 18-bp ins/del polymorphism and risk of RSA in a sample of the southeast Iranian population. Further studies on larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are required to validate the present findings.

Functional changes in Becker muscular dystrophy: implications for clinical trials in dystrophinopathies.

PubMed

Bello, Luca; Campadello, Paola; Barp, Andrea; Fanin, Marina; Semplicini, Claudio; Sorarù, Gianni; Caumo, Luca; Calore, Chiara; Angelini, Corrado; Pegoraro, Elena

2016-09-01

We performed a 1-year longitudinal study of Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA), and timed function tests in Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). Skeletal muscle dystrophin was quantified by immunoblot. We grouped deletions ending on exon 45 ("del 45-x", n = 28) or 51 ("del x-51", n = 10); isolated exon 48 deletion ("del 48", n = 10); and other mutations (n = 21). Only patients in the "del 45-x" or "other" groups became non-ambulatory (n = 5, log-rank p = n.s.) or unable to run (n = 22, p < 0.001). All measures correlated positively with dystrophin quantity and negatively with age, and were significantly more impaired in the "del 45-x" and "other" groups. After one year, NSAA score decreased significantly (-0.9 ± 1.6, p < 0.001); in the "del 45-x" group, both NSAA (-1.3 ± 1.7, p = 0.001) and 6MWT (-12 ± 31 m, p = 0.059) decreased. We conclude that patients with "del x-51" or "del 48" mutations have mild or asymptomatic BMD, while "del 45-x" mutations cause comparatively severe weakness, and functional deterioration in 1 year. Furthermore, exon 51 skipping could be more effective than exon 45 skipping in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Gene expression profiling assigns CHEK2 1100delC breast cancers to the luminal intrinsic subtypes.

PubMed

Nagel, Jord H A; Peeters, Justine K; Smid, Marcel; Sieuwerts, Anieta M; Wasielewski, Marijke; de Weerd, Vanja; Trapman-Jansen, Anita M A C; van den Ouweland, Ans; Brüggenwirth, Hennie; van I Jcken, Wilfred F J; Klijn, Jan G M; van der Spek, Peter J; Foekens, John A; Martens, John W M; Schutte, Mieke; Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne

2012-04-01

CHEK2 1100delC is a moderate-risk cancer susceptibility allele that confers a high breast cancer risk in a polygenic setting. Gene expression profiling of CHEK2 1100delC breast cancers may reveal clues to the nature of the polygenic CHEK2 model and its genes involved. Here, we report global gene expression profiles of a cohort of 155 familial breast cancers, including 26 CHEK2 1100delC mutant tumors. In line with previous work, all CHEK2 1100delC mutant tumors clustered among the hormone receptor-positive breast cancers. In the hormone receptor-positive subset, a 40-gene CHEK2 signature was subsequently defined that significantly associated with CHEK2 1100delC breast cancers. The identification of a CHEK2 gene signature implies an unexpected biological homogeneity among the CHEK2 1100delC breast cancers. In addition, all 26 CHEK2 1100delC tumors classified as luminal intrinsic subtype breast cancers, with 8 luminal A and 18 luminal B tumors. This biological make-up of CHEK2 1100delC breast cancers suggests that a relatively limited number of additional susceptibility alleles are involved in the polygenic CHEK2 model. Identification of these as-yet-unknown susceptibility alleles should be aided by clues from the 40-gene CHEK2 signature.

Unidades del paisaje de Puerto Rico: la influencia del clima, el substrato y la topografia

Treesearch

William Gould; Michael E. Jimenez; Gary Potts; Maya Quinones; Sebastian Martinuzzi

2008-01-01

El mapa de unidades del paisaje de Puerto Rico representa variaciones climaticas, topograficas y del substrato mediante la integracion de seis zonas climaticas (Ewel y Whitmore, 1973), seis substratos (Bawiec, 2001; USGS, 2005), cinco posiciones topograficas, o topoformas (Martinuzzi et al. 2007), y cuerpos de agua (USGS 2005). Los substratos representan el conjunto...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in children with heart disease and del22q11 syndrome: a review of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry.

PubMed

Prodhan, P; Gossett, J M; Rycus, P T; Gupta, P

2015-11-01

The study objective was to evaluate outcomes among children with del22q11 (DiGeorge) syndrome supported on ECMO for heart disease. The ELSO registry database was queried to include all children <18 years undergoing heart surgery for either common atrio-ventricular canal, tetralogy of Fallot, truncus arteriosus or transposition of the great vessels and interrupted aortic arch and requiring ECMO, from 1998-2011. The outcomes evaluated included mortality, ECMO duration and length of hospital stay in patients with del22q11 syndrome and with no del22q11 syndrome. Eighty-eight ECMO runs occurred in children with del22q11 syndrome while 2694 ECMO runs occurred in children without del22q11 syndrome. For patients with heart defects receiving ECMO, del22q11 syndrome did not confer a significant mortality risk or an increased risk of infectious complications before or while on ECMO support. Neither the duration of ECMO nor mechanical ventilation prior to ECMO deployment were prolonged in patients with del22q11 syndrome compared to the controls. © The Author(s) 2015.

Predators indirectly control vector-borne disease: linking predator-prey and host-pathogen models.

PubMed

Moore, Sean M; Borer, Elizabeth T; Hosseini, Parviez R

2010-01-06

Pathogens transmitted by arthropod vectors are common in human populations, agricultural systems and natural communities. Transmission of these vector-borne pathogens depends on the population dynamics of the vector species as well as its interactions with other species within the community. In particular, predation may be sufficient to control pathogen prevalence indirectly via the vector. To examine the indirect effect of predators on vectored-pathogen dynamics, we developed a theoretical model that integrates predator-prey and host-pathogen theory. We used this model to determine whether predation can prevent pathogen persistence or alter the stability of host-pathogen dynamics. We found that, in the absence of predation, pathogen prevalence in the host increases with vector fecundity, whereas predation on the vector causes pathogen prevalence to decline, or even become extinct, with increasing vector fecundity. We also found that predation on a vector may drastically slow the initial spread of a pathogen. The predator can increase host abundance indirectly by reducing or eliminating infection in the host population. These results highlight the importance of studying interactions that, within the greater community, may alter our predictions when studying disease dynamics. From an applied perspective, these results also suggest situations where an introduced predator or the natural enemies of a vector may slow the rate of spread of an emerging vector-borne pathogen.

Analytic calculation of finite-population reproductive numbers for direct- and vector-transmitted diseases with homogeneous mixing.

PubMed

Keegan, Lindsay; Dushoff, Jonathan

2014-05-01

The basic reproductive number, R0, provides a foundation for evaluating how various factors affect the incidence of infectious diseases. Recently, it has been suggested that, particularly for vector-transmitted diseases, R0 should be modified to account for the effects of finite host population within a single disease transmission generation. Here, we use a transmission factor approach to calculate such "finite-population reproductive numbers," under the assumption of homogeneous mixing, for both vector-borne and directly transmitted diseases. In the case of vector-borne diseases, we estimate finite-population reproductive numbers for both host-to-host and vector-to-vector generations, assuming that the vector population is effectively infinite. We find simple, interpretable formulas for all three of these quantities. In the direct case, we find that finite-population reproductive numbers diverge from R0 before R0 reaches half of the population size. In the vector-transmitted case, we find that the host-to-host number diverges at even lower values of R0, while the vector-to-vector number diverges very little over realistic parameter ranges.

Detection of ferromagnetic target based on mobile magnetic gradient tensor system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gang, Y. I. N.; Yingtang, Zhang; Zhining, Li; Hongbo, Fan; Guoquan, Ren

2016-03-01

Attitude change of mobile magnetic gradient tensor system critically affects the precision of gradient measurements, thereby increasing ambiguity in target detection. This paper presents a rotational invariant-based method for locating and identifying ferromagnetic targets. Firstly, unit magnetic moment vector was derived based on the geometrical invariant, such that the intermediate eigenvector of the magnetic gradient tensor is perpendicular to the magnetic moment vector and the source-sensor displacement vector. Secondly, unit source-sensor displacement vector was derived based on the characteristic that the angle between magnetic moment vector and source-sensor displacement is a rotational invariant. By introducing a displacement vector between two measurement points, the magnetic moment vector and the source-sensor displacement vector were theoretically derived. To resolve the problem of measurement noises existing in the realistic detection applications, linear equations were formulated using invariants corresponding to several distinct measurement points and least square solution of magnetic moment vector and source-sensor displacement vector were obtained. Results of simulation and principal verification experiment showed the correctness of the analytical method, along with the practicability of the least square method.

Large-scale adenovirus and poxvirus-vectored vaccine manufacturing to enable clinical trials.

PubMed

Kallel, Héla; Kamen, Amine A

2015-05-01

Efforts to make vaccines against infectious diseases and immunotherapies for cancer have evolved to utilize a variety of heterologous expression systems such as viral vectors. These vectors are often attenuated or engineered to safely deliver genes encoding antigens of different pathogens. Adenovirus and poxvirus vectors are among the viral vectors that are most frequently used to develop prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases as well as therapeutic cancer vaccines. This mini-review describes the trends and processes in large-scale production of adenovirus and poxvirus vectors to meet the needs of clinical applications. We briefly describe the general principles for the production and purification of adenovirus and poxvirus viral vectors. Currently, adenovirus and poxvirus vector manufacturing methods rely on well-established cell culture technologies. Several improvements have been evaluated to increase the yield and to reduce the overall manufacturing cost, such as cultivation at high cell densities and continuous downstream processing. Additionally, advancements in vector characterization will greatly facilitate the development of novel vectored vaccine candidates. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effects of Climate and Climate Change on Vectors and Vector-Borne Diseases: Ticks Are Different.

PubMed

Ogden, Nick H; Lindsay, L Robbin

2016-08-01

There has been considerable debate as to whether global risk from vector-borne diseases will be impacted by climate change. This has focussed on important mosquito-borne diseases that are transmitted by the vectors from infected to uninfected humans. However, this debate has mostly ignored the biological diversity of vectors and vector-borne diseases. Here, we review how climate and climate change may impact those most divergent of arthropod disease vector groups: multivoltine insects and hard-bodied (ixodid) ticks. We contrast features of the life cycles and behaviour of these arthropods, and how weather, climate, and climate change may have very different impacts on the spatiotemporal occurrence and abundance of vectors, and the pathogens they transmit. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A vectorization of the Jameson-Caughey NYU transonic swept-wing computer program FLO-22-V1 for the STAR-100 computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, R. E.; Pitts, J. I.; Lambiotte, J. J., Jr.

1978-01-01

The computer program FLO-22 for analyzing inviscid transonic flow past 3-D swept-wing configurations was modified to use vector operations and run on the STAR-100 computer. The vectorized version described herein was called FLO-22-V1. Vector operations were incorporated into Successive Line Over-Relaxation in the transformed horizontal direction. Vector relational operations and control vectors were used to implement upwind differencing at supersonic points. A high speed of computation and extended grid domain were characteristics of FLO-22-V1. The new program was not the optimal vectorization of Successive Line Over-Relaxation applied to transonic flow; however, it proved that vector operations can readily be implemented to increase the computation rate of the algorithm.

Critical Analysis of the Mathematical Formalism of Theoretical Physics. II. Foundations of Vector Calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalanov, Temur Z.

2014-03-01

A critical analysis of the foundations of standard vector calculus is proposed. The methodological basis of the analysis is the unity of formal logic and of rational dialectics. It is proved that the vector calculus is incorrect theory because: (a) it is not based on a correct methodological basis - the unity of formal logic and of rational dialectics; (b) it does not contain the correct definitions of ``movement,'' ``direction'' and ``vector'' (c) it does not take into consideration the dimensions of physical quantities (i.e., number names, denominate numbers, concrete numbers), characterizing the concept of ''physical vector,'' and, therefore, it has no natural-scientific meaning; (d) operations on ``physical vectors'' and the vector calculus propositions relating to the ''physical vectors'' are contrary to formal logic.

Detectable reporter gene expression following transduction of adenovirus and adeno-associated virus serotype 2 vectors within full-thickness osteoarthritic and unaffected canine cartilage in vitro and unaffected guinea pig cartilage in vivo.

PubMed

Santangelo, Kelly S; Baker, Sarah A; Nuovo, Gerard; Dyce, Jonathan; Bartlett, Jeffrey S; Bertone, Alicia L

2010-02-01

This study quantified and compared the transduction efficiencies of adenoviral (Ad), Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-modified Ad, adeno-associated viral serotype 2 (AAV2), and self-complementary AAV2 (scAAV2) vectors within full-thickness osteoarthritic (OA) and unaffected canine cartilage explants in vitro. Intraarticular administration of Ad and scAAV2 vectors was performed to determine the ability of these vectors to transduce unaffected guinea pig cartilage in vivo. Following explant exposure to vector treatment or control, the onset and surface distribution of reporter gene expression was monitored daily with fluorescent microscopy. At termination, explants were divided: one half was digested for analysis using flow cytometry; the remaining portion was used for histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Intact articular joints were collected for real-time RT-PCR and IHC to detect reporter gene expression following injection of selected vectors. Ad vector transduced focal areas along the perimeters of explants; the remaining vectors transduced chondrocytes across 100% of the surface. Greater mean transduction efficiencies were found with both AAV2 vectors as compared to the Ad vector (p < or = 0.026). Ad and Ad-RGD vectors transduced only superficial chondrocytes of OA and unaffected cartilage. Uniform reporter gene expression from AAV2 and scAAV2 was detected in the tangential and transitional zones of OA cartilage, but not deeper zones. AAV2 and scAAV2 vectors achieved partial and full-thickness transduction of unaffected cartilage. In vivo work revealed that scAAV2 vector, but not Ad vector, transduced deeper zones of cartilage and menisci. This study demonstrates that AAV2 and scAAV2 are reliable vectors for use in cartilage in vitro and in vivo. (c) 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society.

Video Vectorization via Tetrahedral Remeshing.

PubMed

Wang, Chuan; Zhu, Jie; Guo, Yanwen; Wang, Wenping

2017-02-09

We present a video vectorization method that generates a video in vector representation from an input video in raster representation. A vector-based video representation offers the benefits of vector graphics, such as compactness and scalability. The vector video we generate is represented by a simplified tetrahedral control mesh over the spatial-temporal video volume, with color attributes defined at the mesh vertices. We present novel techniques for simplification and subdivision of a tetrahedral mesh to achieve high simplification ratio while preserving features and ensuring color fidelity. From an input raster video, our method is capable of generating a compact video in vector representation that allows a faithful reconstruction with low reconstruction errors.

Percepcion de los profesores universitarios acerca del concepto cultura cientifica y de sus implicaciones en el nuevo bachillerato del Recinto de Rio Piedras de la Universidad de Puerto Rico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos Pastrana, Nilsa

El Senado Academico del Recinto de Rio Piedras de la Universidad de Puerto Rico aprobo en el ano academico 2005-2006 la Certificacion 46, que contiene los lineamientos de un nuevo bachillerato. Este nuevo bachillerato introdujo cambios significativos en el curriculo tradicional. Entre ellos se encuentra la reduccion del componente de educacion general y el de Ciencias Biologicas en particular. La reduccion de creditos en el componente de Ciencias Biologicas ha obligado a reevaluar el concepto de cultura cientifica que desarrollan esos cursos. El proposito del estudio consistio en auscultar las percepciones de los profesores de las Facultades de Administracion de Empresas, Humanidades, Ciencias Sociales, Ciencias Naturales, Educacion y Estudios Generales del Recinto de Rio Piedras de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en torno al concepto de cultura cientifica, los contenidos disciplinares del curso de Ciencias Biologicas y la reduccion de creditos en el nuevo bachillerato. Las preguntas que guiaron la investigacion fueron: ¿cuales son las percepciones que tienen los profesores de las Facultades de Administracion de Empresas, Ciencias Sociales, Estudios Generales, Ciencias Naturales, Humanidades y Educacion, en torno al concepto de cultura cientifica y los contenidos disciplinares del curso de Ciencias Biologicas? ¿cuales son las percepciones que tienen los profesores de Ciencias Biologicas en torno al concepto cultura cientifica y los contenidos disciplinares del curso de Ciencias Biologicas? ¿existen diferencias significativas por facultad, genero, experiencia, rango y nombramiento en las percepciones que tienen los profesores del Recinto de Rio Piedras de la Universidad de Puerto Rico sobre los elementos que caracterizan la cultura cientifica y los contenidos biologicos que deben tener los egresados del Recinto? ¿que implicaciones curriculares tienen estos testimonios en el desarrollo del concepto de cultura cientifica en el nuevo bachillerato? Para realizar la investigacion se utilizo una metodologia cuantitativa y la herramienta para lograrlo fue una encuesta. La encuesta se analizo estadisticamente mediante analisis de frecuencias y por cientos, prueba ANOVA, prueba t, pruebas Post Hoc de Tukey y de Levene. Tambien se realizo nuevamente una prueba de confiabilidad mediante el alfa de Cronbach. Los resultados reflejaron que los profesores de las Facultades de Administracion de Empresas, Ciencias Sociales, Ciencias Naturales, Educacion, Humanidades, Estudios Generales y el Departamento de Ciencias Biologicas tienen una percepcion muy positiva del concepto de cultura cientifica, los contenidos curriculares de Ciencias Biologicas y del nuevo bachillerato.

Interstitial 13q14 deletions detected in the karyotype and translocations with concomitant deletion at 13q14 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: different genetic mechanisms but equivalent poorer clinical outcome.

PubMed

Puiggros, Anna; Venturas, Marta; Salido, Marta; Blanco, Gonzalo; Fernandez-Rodriguez, Concepción; Collado, Rosa; Valiente, Alberto; Ruiz-Xivillé, Neus; Carrió, Ana; Ortuño, Francisco José; Luño, Elisa; Calasanz, María José; Ardanaz, María Teresa; Piñán, María Ángeles; Talavera, Elisabet; González, María Teresa; Ortega, Margarita; Marugán, Isabel; Ferrer, Ana; Gimeno, Eva; Bellosillo, Beatriz; Delgado, Julio; Hernández, José Ángel; Hernández-Rivas, Jesús María; Espinet, Blanca

2014-09-01

Deletion of 13q14 as the sole abnormality is a good prognostic marker in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Nonetheless, the prognostic value of reciprocal 13q14 translocations [t(13q)] with related 13q losses has not been fully elucidated. We described clinical and biological characteristics of 25 CLL patients with t(13q), and compared with 62 patients carrying interstitial del(13q) by conventional G-banding cytogenetics (CGC) [i-del(13q)] and 295 patients with del(13q) only detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) [F-del(13q)]. Besides from the CLL FISH panel (D13S319, CEP12, ATM, TP53), we studied RB1 deletions in all t(13q) cases and a representative group of i-del(13q) and F-del(13q). We analyzed NOTCH1, SF3B1, and MYD88 mutations in t(13q) cases by Sanger sequencing. In all, 25 distinct t(13q) were described. All these cases showed D13S319 deletion while 32% also lost RB1. The median percentage of 13q-deleted nuclei did not differ from i-del(13q) patients (73% vs. 64%), but both were significantly higher than F-del(13q) (52%, P < 0.001). Moreover, t(13q) patients showed an increased incidence of biallelic del(13q) (52% vs. 11.3% and 14.9%, P < 0.001) and higher rates of concomitant 17p deletion (37.5% vs. 8.6% and 7.2%, P < 0.001). RB1 involvement was significantly higher in the i-del(13q) group (79%, P < 0.001). Two t(13q) patients (11.8%) carried NOTCH1 mutations. Time to first treatment in t(13q) and i-del(13q) was shorter than F-del(13q) (67, 44, and 137 months, P = 0.029), and preserved significance in the multivariate analysis. In conclusion, t(13q) and del(13q) patients detected by CGC constitute a subgroup within the 13q-deleted CLL patients associated with a worse clinical outcome. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Scalar/Vector potential formulation for compressible viscous unsteady flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morino, L.

1985-01-01

A scalar/vector potential formulation for unsteady viscous compressible flows is presented. The scalar/vector potential formulation is based on the classical Helmholtz decomposition of any vector field into the sum of an irrotational and a solenoidal field. The formulation is derived from fundamental principles of mechanics and thermodynamics. The governing equations for the scalar potential and vector potential are obtained, without restrictive assumptions on either the equation of state or the constitutive relations or the stress tensor and the heat flux vector.

A Code Generation Approach for Auto-Vectorization in the Spade Compiler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Huayong; Andrade, Henrique; Gedik, Buğra; Wu, Kun-Lung

We describe an auto-vectorization approach for the Spade stream processing programming language, comprising two ideas. First, we provide support for vectors as a primitive data type. Second, we provide a C++ library with architecture-specific implementations of a large number of pre-vectorized operations as the means to support language extensions. We evaluate our approach with several stream processing operators, contrasting Spade's auto-vectorization with the native auto-vectorization provided by the GNU gcc and Intel icc compilers.

Vector systems for prenatal gene therapy: principles of retrovirus vector design and production.

PubMed

Howe, Steven J; Chandrashekran, Anil

2012-01-01

Vectors derived from the Retroviridae family have several attributes required for successful gene delivery. Retroviral vectors have an adequate payload size for the coding regions of most genes; they are safe to handle and simple to produce. These vectors can be manipulated to target different cell types with low immunogenicity and can permanently insert genetic information into the host cells' genome. Retroviral vectors have been used in gene therapy clinical trials and successfully applied experimentally in vitro, in vivo, and in utero.

High-capacity 'gutless' adenoviral vectors.

PubMed

Kochanek, S; Schiedner, G; Volpers, C

2001-10-01

Adenoviral vectors are promising gene transfer vehicles for different gene therapy applications. High-capacity adenoviral (HC-Ad) vectors address some of the problems that have been observed with replication-defective, E1-deleted first-generation adenoviral vectors: toxicity and immunogenicity due to viral gene expression and 7 to 8 kb capacity limit for the transport of therapeutic DNA. This review summarizes HC-Ad vector-related publications from the past 18 months that are mainly concerned with vector design/production and in vivo applications in different murine models.

El Alcalde José Carlos Aponte Dalmau del Municipio de Carolina es nombrado a formar parte del Comité Asesor de Gobiernos Locales de la EPA a nivel de todos los Estados Unidos

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Comunicado de prensa de la EPA: El Alcalde José Carlos Aponte Dalmau del Municipio de Carolina es nombrado a formar parte del Comité Asesor de Gobiernos Locales de la EPA a nivel de todos los Estados Unidos

Evidence that implicit assumptions of ‘no evolution’ of disease vectors in changing environments can be violated on a rapid timescale

PubMed Central

Egizi, Andrea; Fefferman, Nina H.; Fonseca, Dina M.

2015-01-01

Projected impacts of climate change on vector-borne disease dynamics must consider many variables relevant to hosts, vectors and pathogens, including how altered environmental characteristics might affect the spatial distributions of vector species. However, many predictive models for vector distributions consider their habitat requirements to be fixed over relevant time-scales, when they may actually be capable of rapid evolutionary change and even adaptation. We examine the genetic signature of a spatial expansion by an invasive vector into locations with novel temperature conditions compared to its native range as a proxy for how existing vector populations may respond to temporally changing habitat. Specifically, we compare invasions into different climate ranges and characterize the importance of selection from the invaded habitat. We demonstrate that vector species can exhibit evolutionary responses (altered allelic frequencies) to a temperature gradient in as little as 7–10 years even in the presence of high gene flow, and further, that this response varies depending on the strength of selection. We interpret these findings in the context of climate change predictions for vector populations and emphasize the importance of incorporating vector evolution into models of future vector-borne disease dynamics. PMID:25688024

Re-engineering adenovirus vector systems to enable high-throughput analyses of gene function.

PubMed

Stanton, Richard J; McSharry, Brian P; Armstrong, Melanie; Tomasec, Peter; Wilkinson, Gavin W G

2008-12-01

With the enhanced capacity of bioinformatics to interrogate extensive banks of sequence data, more efficient technologies are needed to test gene function predictions. Replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus (Ad) vectors are widely used in expression analysis since they provide for extremely efficient expression of transgenes in a wide range of cell types. To facilitate rapid, high-throughput generation of recombinant viruses, we have re-engineered an adenovirus vector (designated AdZ) to allow single-step, directional gene insertion using recombineering technology. Recombineering allows for direct insertion into the Ad vector of PCR products, synthesized sequences, or oligonucleotides encoding shRNAs without requirement for a transfer vector Vectors were optimized for high-throughput applications by making them "self-excising" through incorporating the I-SceI homing endonuclease into the vector removing the need to linearize vectors prior to transfection into packaging cells. AdZ vectors allow genes to be expressed in their native form or with strep, V5, or GFP tags. Insertion of tetracycline operators downstream of the human cytomegalovirus major immediate early (HCMV MIE) promoter permits silencing of transgenes in helper cells expressing the tet repressor thus making the vector compatible with the cloning of toxic gene products. The AdZ vector system is robust, straightforward, and suited to both sporadic and high-throughput applications.

Environmental management: a re-emerging vector control strategy.

PubMed

Ault, S K

1994-01-01

Vector control may be accomplished by environmental management (EM), which consists of permanent or long-term modification of the environment, temporary or seasonal manipulation of the environment, and modifying or changing our life styles and practices to reduce human contact with infective vectors. The primary focus of this paper is EM in the control of human malaria, filariasis, arboviruses, Chagas' disease, and schistosomiasis. Modern EM developed as a discipline based primarily in ecologic principles and lessons learned from the adverse environmental impacts of rural development projects. Strategies such as the suppression of vector populations through the provision of safe water supplies, proper sanitation, solid waste management facilities, sewerage and excreta disposal systems, water manipulation in dams and irrigation systems, vector diversion by zooprophylaxis, and vector exclusion by improved housing, are discussed with appropriate examples. Vectors of malaria, filariasis, Chagas' disease, and schistosomiasis have been controlled by drainage or filling aquatic breeding sites, improved housing and sanitation, the use of expanded polystyrene beads, zooprophylaxis, or the provision of household water supplies. Community participation has been effective in the suppression of dengue vectors in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Alone or combined with other vector control methods, EM has been proven to be a successful approach to vector control in a number of places. The future of EM in vector control looks promising.

Density-dependent host choice by disease vectors: epidemiological implications of the ideal free distribution.

PubMed

Basáñez, María-Gloria; Razali, Karina; Renz, Alfons; Kelly, David

2007-03-01

The proportion of vector blood meals taken on humans (the human blood index, h) appears as a squared term in classical expressions of the basic reproduction ratio (R(0)) for vector-borne infections. Consequently, R(0) varies non-linearly with h. Estimates of h, however, constitute mere snapshots of a parameter that is predicted, from evolutionary theory, to vary with vector and host abundance. We test this prediction using a population dynamics model of river blindness assuming that, before initiation of vector control or chemotherapy, recorded measures of vector density and human infection accurately represent endemic equilibrium. We obtain values of h that satisfy the condition that the effective reproduction ratio (R(e)) must equal 1 at equilibrium. Values of h thus obtained decrease with vector density, decrease with the vector:human ratio and make R(0) respond non-linearly rather than increase linearly with vector density. We conclude that if vectors are less able to obtain human blood meals as their density increases, antivectorial measures may not lead to proportional reductions in R(0) until very low vector levels are achieved. Density dependence in the contact rate of infectious diseases transmitted by insects may be an important non-linear process with implications for their epidemiology and control.

[Construction and selection of effective mouse Smad6 recombinant lenti-virus interference vectors].

PubMed

Yu, Jing; Qi, Mengchun; Deng, Jiupeng; Liu, Gang; Chen, Huaiqing

2010-10-01

This experiment was designed to construct mouse Smad6 recombinant RNA interference vectors and determine their interference effects on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Three recombinant Smad6 RNA interference vectors were constructed by molecular clone techniques with a lenti-virus vector expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP), and the correctness of recombinant vectors was verified by DNA sequencing. Mouse BMSCs were used for transfection experiments and BMP-2 was in use for osteogenic induction of MSCs. The transfection efficiency of recombinant vectors was examined by Laser confocal scanning microscope and the interference effect of recombinant vectors on Smad6 gene expression was determined by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Three Smad6 recombinant RNA interference vectors were successfully constructed and their correctness was proved by DNA sequencing. After transfection, GFPs were effectively expressed in MSCs and all of three recombinant vectors gained high transfection efficiency (> 95%). Both real-time PCR and Western blot examination indicated that among three recombinant vectors, No. 2 Svector had the best interference effect and the interference effect was nearly 91% at protein level. In conclusion, Mouse recombinant Smad6 RNA interference (RNAi) vector was successfully constructed and it provided an effective tool for further studies on BMP signal pathways.

Validation of SplitVectors Encoding for Quantitative Visualization of Large-Magnitude-Range Vector Fields

PubMed Central

Zhao, Henan; Bryant, Garnett W.; Griffin, Wesley; Terrill, Judith E.; Chen, Jian

2017-01-01

We designed and evaluated SplitVectors, a new vector field display approach to help scientists perform new discrimination tasks on large-magnitude-range scientific data shown in three-dimensional (3D) visualization environments. SplitVectors uses scientific notation to display vector magnitude, thus improving legibility. We present an empirical study comparing the SplitVectors approach with three other approaches - direct linear representation, logarithmic, and text display commonly used in scientific visualizations. Twenty participants performed three domain analysis tasks: reading numerical values (a discrimination task), finding the ratio between values (a discrimination task), and finding the larger of two vectors (a pattern detection task). Participants used both mono and stereo conditions. Our results suggest the following: (1) SplitVectors improve accuracy by about 10 times compared to linear mapping and by four times to logarithmic in discrimination tasks; (2) SplitVectors have no significant differences from the textual display approach, but reduce cluttering in the scene; (3) SplitVectors and textual display are less sensitive to data scale than linear and logarithmic approaches; (4) using logarithmic can be problematic as participants' confidence was as high as directly reading from the textual display, but their accuracy was poor; and (5) Stereoscopy improved performance, especially in more challenging discrimination tasks. PMID:28113469

Validation of SplitVectors Encoding for Quantitative Visualization of Large-Magnitude-Range Vector Fields.

PubMed

Henan Zhao; Bryant, Garnett W; Griffin, Wesley; Terrill, Judith E; Jian Chen

2017-06-01

We designed and evaluated SplitVectors, a new vector field display approach to help scientists perform new discrimination tasks on large-magnitude-range scientific data shown in three-dimensional (3D) visualization environments. SplitVectors uses scientific notation to display vector magnitude, thus improving legibility. We present an empirical study comparing the SplitVectors approach with three other approaches - direct linear representation, logarithmic, and text display commonly used in scientific visualizations. Twenty participants performed three domain analysis tasks: reading numerical values (a discrimination task), finding the ratio between values (a discrimination task), and finding the larger of two vectors (a pattern detection task). Participants used both mono and stereo conditions. Our results suggest the following: (1) SplitVectors improve accuracy by about 10 times compared to linear mapping and by four times to logarithmic in discrimination tasks; (2) SplitVectors have no significant differences from the textual display approach, but reduce cluttering in the scene; (3) SplitVectors and textual display are less sensitive to data scale than linear and logarithmic approaches; (4) using logarithmic can be problematic as participants' confidence was as high as directly reading from the textual display, but their accuracy was poor; and (5) Stereoscopy improved performance, especially in more challenging discrimination tasks.

Substitution of blood coagulation factor X-binding to Ad5 by position-specific PEGylation: Preventing vector clearance and preserving infectivity.

PubMed

Krutzke, L; Prill, J M; Engler, T; Schmidt, C Q; Xu, Z; Byrnes, A P; Simmet, T; Kreppel, F

2016-08-10

The biodistribution of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) vector particles is heavily influenced by interaction of the particles with plasma proteins, including coagulation factor X (FX), which binds specifically to the major Ad5 capsid protein hexon. FX mediates hepatocyte transduction by intravenously-injected Ad5 vectors and shields vector particles from neutralization by natural antibodies and complement. In mice, mutant Ad5 vectors that are ablated for FX-binding become detargeted from hepatocytes, which is desirable for certain applications, but unfortunately such FX-nonbinding vectors also become sensitive to neutralization by mouse plasma proteins. To improve the properties of Ad5 vectors for systemic delivery, we developed a strategy to replace the natural FX shield by a site-specific chemical polyethylene glycol shield. Coupling of polyethylene glycol to a specific site in hexon hypervariable region 1 yielded vector particles that were protected from neutralization by natural antibodies and complement although they were unable to bind FX. These vector particles evaded macrophages in vitro and showed significantly improved pharmacokinetics and hepatocyte transduction in vivo. Thus, site-specific shielding of Ad5 vectors with polyethylene glycol rendered vectors FX-independent and greatly improved their properties for systemic gene therapy. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Excess breast cancer risk in first degree relatives of CHEK2∗1100delC positive familial breast cancer cases.

PubMed

Adank, Muriel A; Verhoef, Senno; Oldenburg, Rogier A; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Hooning, Maartje J; Martens, John W M; Broeks, Annegien; Rookus, Matti; Waisfisz, Quinten; Witte, Birgit I; Jonker, Marianne A; Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne

2013-05-01

The CHEK2∗1100delC mutation confers a relative risk of two for breast cancer (BC) in the general population. This study aims to explore the excess cancer risk due to the CHEK2∗1100delC mutation within a familial non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer setting. Cancer incidences were compared between first degree relatives of 107 familial breast cancer patients positive for the CHEK2∗1100delC mutation (CHEK2 positive families) and first degree relatives of 314 familial breast cancer patients without the CHEK2∗1100delC mutation (CHEK2 negative families). All families were derived from the same pool of familial non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer families (n=2554). Medical information of 2188 first degree relatives of these families was analysed for cancer risk. CHEK2∗1100delC status of relatives was unknown. Increased breast cancer risk (hazard ratio (HR) 2.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4-2.7), p<0.001) was observed in sisters of CHEK2∗1100delC positive index cases compared to sisters of CHEK2∗1100delC negative index cases. HR was 1.6 (95% CI: 1.0-2.4) for mothers of CHEK2 positive versus negative index cases (p=0.041). For second primary breast cancers HR was increased in CHEK2∗1100delC positive index cases (HR 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3-3.3, p=0.003) and their sisters (HR 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1-6.1, p=0.025). There is an excess breast cancer risk in first degree relatives of CHEK2∗1100delC positive non-BRCA1/2 familial breast cancer patients compared to non-CHEK2∗1100delC familial breast cancer relatives. Genotyping for the CHEK2∗1100delC mutation in a familial breast cancer setting contributes to optimal clinical surveillance in countries in which this mutation is prevalent. Carriers and female relatives are eligible for stringent breast surveillance programs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Climate Change and Globalization on Mosquito Vectors: Evidence from Jeju Island, South Korea on the Potential for Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) Influxes and Survival from Vietnam Rather Than Japan

PubMed Central

Jeong, Ji Yeon; Yoo, Seung Jin; Koh, Young-Sang; Lee, Seogjae; Heo, Sang Taek; Seong, Seung-Yong; Lee, Keun Hwa

2013-01-01

Background Climate change affects the survival and transmission of arthropod vectors as well as the development rates of vector-borne pathogens. Increased international travel is also an important factor in the spread of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, chikungunya, and malaria. Dengue is the most important vector-borne viral disease. An estimated 2.5 billion people are at risk of infection in the world and there are approximately 50 million dengue infections and an estimated 500,000 individuals are hospitalized with dengue haemorrhagic fever annually. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is one of the vectors of dengue virus, and populations already exist on Jeju Island, South Korea. Currently, colder winter temperatures kill off Asian tiger mosquito populations and there is no evidence of the mosquitos being vectors for the dengue virus in this location. However, dengue virus-bearing mosquito vectors can inflow to Jeju Island from endemic area such as Vietnam by increased international travel, and this mosquito vector's survival during colder winter months will likely occur due to the effects of climate change. Methods and Results In this section, we show the geographical distribution of medically important mosquito vectors such as Ae. albopictus, a vector of both dengue and chikungunya viruses; Culex pipiens, a vector of West Nile virus; and Anopheles sinensis, a vector of Plasmodium vivax, within Jeju Island, South Korea. We found a significant association between the mean temperature, amount of precipitation, and density of mosquitoes. The phylogenetic analyses show that an Ae. albopictus, collected in southern area of Jeju Island, was identical to specimens found in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and not Nagasaki, Japan. Conclusion Our results suggest that mosquito vectors or virus-bearing vectors can transmit from epidemic regions of Southeast Asia to Jeju Island and can survive during colder winter months. Therefore, Jeju Island is no longer safe from vector borne diseases (VBDs) due to the effects of globalization and climate change, and we should immediately monitor regional climate change to identify newly emerging VBDs. PMID:23894312

Floral traits influence pollen vectors' choices in higher elevation communities in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains.

PubMed

Zhao, Yan-Hui; Ren, Zong-Xin; Lázaro, Amparo; Wang, Hong; Bernhardt, Peter; Li, Hai-Dong; Li, De-Zhu

2016-05-24

How floral traits and community composition influence plant specialization is poorly understood and the existing evidence is restricted to regions where plant diversity is low. Here, we assessed whether plant specialization varied among four species-rich subalpine/alpine communities on the Yulong Mountain, SW China (elevation from 2725 to 3910 m). We analyzed two factors (floral traits and pollen vector community composition: richness and density) to determine the degree of plant specialization across 101 plant species in all four communities. Floral visitors were collected and pollen load analyses were conducted to identify and define pollen vectors. Plant specialization of each species was described by using both pollen vector diversity (Shannon's diversity index) and plant selectiveness (d' index), which reflected how selective a given species was relative to available pollen vectors. Pollen vector diversity tended to be higher in communities at lower elevations, while plant selectiveness was significantly lower in a community with the highest proportion of unspecialized flowers (open flowers and clusters of flowers in open inflorescences). In particular, we found that plant species with large and unspecialized flowers attracted a greater diversity of pollen vectors and showed higher selectiveness in their use of pollen vectors. Plant species with large floral displays and high flower abundance were more selective in their exploitation of pollen vectors. Moreover, there was a negative relationship between plant selectiveness and pollen vector density. These findings suggest that flower shape and flower size can increase pollen vector diversity but they also increased plant selectiveness. This indicated that those floral traits that were more attractive to insects increased the diversity of pollen vectors to plants while decreasing overlap among co-blooming plant species for the same pollen vectors. Furthermore, floral traits had a more important impact on the diversity of pollen vectors than the composition of anthophilous insect communities. Plant selectiveness of pollen vectors was strongly influenced by both floral traits and insect community composition. These findings provide a basis for a better understanding of how floral traits and community context shape interactions between flowers and their pollen vectors in species-rich communities.

The effects of climate change and globalization on mosquito vectors: evidence from Jeju Island, South Korea on the potential for Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) influxes and survival from Vietnam rather than Japan.

PubMed

Lee, Su Hyun; Nam, Kwang Woo; Jeong, Ji Yeon; Yoo, Seung Jin; Koh, Young-Sang; Lee, Seogjae; Heo, Sang Taek; Seong, Seung-Yong; Lee, Keun Hwa

2013-01-01

Climate change affects the survival and transmission of arthropod vectors as well as the development rates of vector-borne pathogens. Increased international travel is also an important factor in the spread of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, chikungunya, and malaria. Dengue is the most important vector-borne viral disease. An estimated 2.5 billion people are at risk of infection in the world and there are approximately 50 million dengue infections and an estimated 500,000 individuals are hospitalized with dengue haemorrhagic fever annually. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is one of the vectors of dengue virus, and populations already exist on Jeju Island, South Korea. Currently, colder winter temperatures kill off Asian tiger mosquito populations and there is no evidence of the mosquitos being vectors for the dengue virus in this location. However, dengue virus-bearing mosquito vectors can inflow to Jeju Island from endemic area such as Vietnam by increased international travel, and this mosquito vector's survival during colder winter months will likely occur due to the effects of climate change. In this section, we show the geographical distribution of medically important mosquito vectors such as Ae. albopictus, a vector of both dengue and chikungunya viruses; Culex pipiens, a vector of West Nile virus; and Anopheles sinensis, a vector of Plasmodium vivax, within Jeju Island, South Korea. We found a significant association between the mean temperature, amount of precipitation, and density of mosquitoes. The phylogenetic analyses show that an Ae. albopictus, collected in southern area of Jeju Island, was identical to specimens found in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and not Nagasaki, Japan. Our results suggest that mosquito vectors or virus-bearing vectors can transmit from epidemic regions of Southeast Asia to Jeju Island and can survive during colder winter months. Therefore, Jeju Island is no longer safe from vector borne diseases (VBDs) due to the effects of globalization and climate change, and we should immediately monitor regional climate change to identify newly emerging VBDs.

Project Physics Programmed Instruction, Vectors 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Harvard Project Physics.

This programmed instruction booklet is an interim version of instructional materials being developed by Harvard Project Physics. It is the first in a series of three booklets on vectors and covers the definitions of vectors and scalars, drawing vector quantities to scale, and negative vectors. For others in this series, see SE 015 550 and SE 015…

Project Physics Programmed Instruction, Vectors 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Harvard Project Physics.

This is the second of a series of three programmed instruction booklets on vectors developed by Harvard Project Physics. It covers adding two or more vectors together, and finding a third vector that could be added to two given vectors to make a sum of zero. For other booklets in this series, see SE 015 549 and SE 015 551. (DT)

Two Small Molecules Restore Stability to a Subpopulation of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator with the Predominant Disease-causing Mutation.

PubMed

Meng, Xin; Wang, Yiting; Wang, Xiaomeng; Wrennall, Joe A; Rimington, Tracy L; Li, Hongyu; Cai, Zhiwei; Ford, Robert C; Sheppard, David N

2017-03-03

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations that disrupt the plasma membrane expression, stability, and function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl - channel. Two small molecules, the CFTR corrector lumacaftor and the potentiator ivacaftor, are now used clinically to treat CF, although some studies suggest that they have counteracting effects on CFTR stability. Here, we investigated the impact of these compounds on the instability of F508del-CFTR, the most common CF mutation. To study individual CFTR Cl - channels, we performed single-channel recording, whereas to assess entire CFTR populations, we used purified CFTR proteins and macroscopic CFTR Cl - currents. At 37 °C, low temperature-rescued F508del-CFTR more rapidly lost function in cell-free membrane patches and showed altered channel gating and current flow through open channels. Compared with purified wild-type CFTR, the full-length F508del-CFTR was about 10 °C less thermostable. Lumacaftor partially stabilized purified full-length F508del-CFTR and slightly delayed deactivation of individual F508del-CFTR Cl - channels. By contrast, ivacaftor further destabilized full-length F508del-CFTR and accelerated channel deactivation. Chronic (prolonged) co-incubation of F508del-CFTR-expressing cells with lumacaftor and ivacaftor deactivated macroscopic F508del-CFTR Cl - currents. However, at the single-channel level, chronic co-incubation greatly increased F508del-CFTR channel activity and temporal stability in most, but not all, cell-free membrane patches. We conclude that chronic lumacaftor and ivacaftor co-treatment restores stability in a small subpopulation of F508del-CFTR Cl - channels but that the majority remain destabilized. A fuller understanding of these effects and the characterization of the small F508del-CFTR subpopulation might be crucial for CF therapy development. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

BIM deletion polymorphisms in Hispanic patients with non-small cell lung cancer carriers of EGFR mutations

PubMed Central

Carranza, Hernán; Vargas, Carlos; Otero, Jorge; Corrales-Rodriguez, Luis; Martín, Claudio; Reguart, Noemí; Archila, Pilar; Rodríguez, July; Cuello, Mauricio; Ortíz, Carlos; Franco, Sandra; Rolfo, Christian; Rosell, Rafael

2016-01-01

Background Germline alterations in the proapoptotic protein Bcl-2-like 11 (BIM) can have a crucial role in diverse tumors. To determine the clinical utility of detecting BIM deletion polymorphisms (par4226 bp/ par363 bp) in EGFR positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) we examined the outcomes of patients with and without BIM alterations. Results BIM deletion was present in 14 patients (15.7%). There were no significant differences between patients with and without BIM-del in clinical characteristics or EGFR mutation type; however, those with BIM-del had a worse overall response rate (ORR) to erlotinib (42.9% vs. 73.3% in patients without BIM-del; p=0.024) as well as a significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (10.8 BIM-del+ vs. 21.7 months for patients without BIM-del; p=0.029) and overall survival (OS) (15.5 BIM-del+ vs. 34.0 months for patients without BIM-del; p=0.035). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that BIM-del+ was an independent indicator of shorter PFS (HR 3.0; 95%CI 1.2-7.6; p=0.01) and OS (HR 3.4; 95%CI 1.4-8.3; p=0.006). Methods We studied 89 NSCLC Hispanic patients with EGFR mutation who were treated with erlotinib between January 2009 and November 2014. BIM deletion polymorphisms (BIM-del) was analyzed by PCR in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues of tumor biopsies. We retrospectively analyzed clinical characteristics, response rate, toxicity, and outcomes among patients with and without BIM-del. Conclusions The incidence of BIM-del found in Hispanic patients is similar to that previously described in Asia. This alteration is associated with a poor clinical response to erlotinib and represents an independent prognostic factor for patients who had NSCLC with an EGFR mutation. PMID:27926478

BIM deletion polymorphisms in Hispanic patients with non-small cell lung cancer carriers of EGFR mutations.

PubMed

Cardona, Andrés F; Rojas, Leonardo; Wills, Beatriz; Arrieta, Oscar; Carranza, Hernán; Vargas, Carlos; Otero, Jorge; Corrales-Rodriguez, Luis; Martín, Claudio; Reguart, Noemí; Archila, Pilar; Rodríguez, July; Cuello, Mauricio; Ortíz, Carlos; Franco, Sandra; Rolfo, Christian; Rosell, Rafael; on behalf of the CLICaP

2016-09-19

Germline alterations in the proapoptotic protein Bcl-2-like 11 (BIM) can have a crucial role in diverse tumors. To determine the clinical utility of detecting BIM deletion polymorphisms (par4226 bp/ par363 bp) in EGFR positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) we examined the outcomes of patients with and without BIM alterations. BIM deletion was present in 14 patients (15.7%). There were no significant differences between patients with and without BIM-del in clinical characteristics or EGFR mutation type; however, those with BIM-del had a worse overall response rate (ORR) to erlotinib (42.9% vs. 73.3% in patients without BIM-del; p=0.024) as well as a significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (10.8 BIM-del+ vs. 21.7 months for patients without BIM-del; p=0.029) and overall survival (OS) (15.5 BIM-del+ vs. 34.0 months for patients without BIM-del; p=0.035). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that BIM-del+ was an independent indicator of shorter PFS (HR 3.0; 95%CI 1.2-7.6; p=0.01) and OS (HR 3.4; 95%CI 1.4-8.3; p=0.006). We studied 89 NSCLC Hispanic patients with EGFR mutation who were treated with erlotinib between January 2009 and November 2014. BIM deletion polymorphisms (BIM-del) was analyzed by PCR in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues of tumor biopsies. We retrospectively analyzed clinical characteristics, response rate, toxicity, and outcomes among patients with and without BIM-del. The incidence of BIM-del found in Hispanic patients is similar to that previously described in Asia. This alteration is associated with a poor clinical response to erlotinib and represents an independent prognostic factor for patients who had NSCLC with an EGFR mutation.

El uso de la neuromodulación para el tratamiento del temblor

PubMed Central

Bendersky, Damián; Ajler, Pablo; Yampolsky, Claudio

2014-01-01

Introducción: El temblor puede ser un desorden incapacitante y el tratamiento de primera línea para estos pacientes es farmacológico. Sin embargo, este tratamiento puede llevar a una reducción satisfactoria del temblor en sólo el 50% de los pacientes con temblor esencial. La talamotomía era el tratamiento de elección para el temblor refractario al tratamiento médico hasta que comenzó a utilizarse la estimulación cerebral profunda (ECP) del núcleo ventral intermedio (Vim) del tálamo. En la actualidad, raramente se realiza la talamotomía. Métodos: Este artículo es una revisión no sistemática de las indicaciones, resultados, parámetros de programación y técnica quirúrgica de la ECP del Vim para el tratamiento del temblor. Resultados: Aunque los resultados clínicos son similares usando la talamotomía o la ECP del Vim, la primera causa más efectos adversos que la última. Además, la ECP puede ser usada bilateralmente, mientras que la talamotomía tiene un alto riesgo de causar disartria cuando se realiza de ambos lados. La ECP del Vim logró una adecuada mejoría del temblor en varias series de pacientes con temblor causado por temblor esencial, enfermedad de Parkinson o esclerosis múltiple. Además del Vim, hay otros blancos que están siendo usados por varios autores, tales como la zona incerta y las radiaciones prelemniscales. Conclusión: La ECP del Vim es un tratamiento útil para el temblor incapacitante refractario al tratamiento médico. Es esencial realizar una precisa selección de pacientes, así como utilizar una técnica quirúrgica correcta. Aún se desconoce el mejor blanco estereotáctico para el temblor, aunque el Vim es el más usado. PMID:25165613

Fluorescent tagged episomals for stoichiometric induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming.

PubMed

Schmitt, Christopher E; Morales, Blanca M; Schmitz, Ellen M H; Hawkins, John S; Lizama, Carlos O; Zape, Joan P; Hsiao, Edward C; Zovein, Ann C

2017-06-05

Non-integrating episomal vectors have become an important tool for induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming. The episomal vectors carrying the "Yamanaka reprogramming factors" (Oct4, Klf, Sox2, and L-Myc + Lin28) are critical tools for non-integrating reprogramming of cells to a pluripotent state. However, the reprogramming process remains highly stochastic, and is hampered by an inability to easily identify clones that carry the episomal vectors. We modified the original set of vectors to express spectrally separable fluorescent proteins to allow for enrichment of transfected cells. The vectors were then tested against the standard original vectors for reprogramming efficiency and for the ability to enrich for stoichiometric ratios of factors. The reengineered vectors allow for cell sorting based on reprogramming factor expression. We show that these vectors can assist in tracking episomal expression in individual cells and can select the reprogramming factor dosage. Together, these modified vectors are a useful tool for understanding the reprogramming process and improving induced pluripotent stem cell isolation efficiency.

Increasing the Efficacy of Oncolytic Adenovirus Vectors

PubMed Central

Toth, Karoly; Wold, William S. M.

2010-01-01

Oncolytic adenovirus (Ad) vectors present a new modality to treat cancer. These vectors attack tumors via replicating in and killing cancer cells. Upon completion of the vector replication cycle, the infected tumor cell lyses and releases progeny virions that are capable of infecting neighboring tumor cells. Repeated cycles of vector replication and cell lysis can destroy the tumor. Numerous Ad vectors have been generated and tested, some of them reaching human clinical trials. In 2005, the first oncolytic Ad was approved for the treatment of head-and-neck cancer by the Chinese FDA. Oncolytic Ads have been proven to be safe, with no serious adverse effects reported even when high doses of the vector were injected intravenously. The vectors demonstrated modest anti-tumor effect when applied as a single agent; their efficacy improved when they were combined with another modality. The efficacy of oncolytic Ads can be improved using various approaches, including vector design, delivery techniques, and ancillary treatment, which will be discussed in this review. PMID:21994711

Generation of arbitrary vector fields based on a pair of orthogonal elliptically polarized base vectors.

PubMed

Xu, Danfeng; Gu, Bing; Rui, Guanghao; Zhan, Qiwen; Cui, Yiping

2016-02-22

We present an arbitrary vector field with hybrid polarization based on the combination of a pair of orthogonal elliptically polarized base vectors on the Poincaré sphere. It is shown that the created vector field is only dependent on the latitude angle 2χ but is independent on the longitude angle 2ψ on the Poincaré sphere. By adjusting the latitude angle 2χ, which is related to two identical waveplates in a common path interferometric arrangement, one could obtain arbitrary type of vector fields. Experimentally, we demonstrate the generation of such kind of vector fields and confirm the distribution of state of polarization by the measurement of Stokes parameters. Besides, we investigate the tight focusing properties of these vector fields. It is found that the additional degree of freedom 2χ provided by arbitrary vector field with hybrid polarization allows one to control the spatial structure of polarization and to engineer the focusing field.

Polarization ellipse and Stokes parameters in geometric algebra.

PubMed

Santos, Adler G; Sugon, Quirino M; McNamara, Daniel J

2012-01-01

In this paper, we use geometric algebra to describe the polarization ellipse and Stokes parameters. We show that a solution to Maxwell's equation is a product of a complex basis vector in Jackson and a linear combination of plane wave functions. We convert both the amplitudes and the wave function arguments from complex scalars to complex vectors. This conversion allows us to separate the electric field vector and the imaginary magnetic field vector, because exponentials of imaginary scalars convert vectors to imaginary vectors and vice versa, while exponentials of imaginary vectors only rotate the vector or imaginary vector they are multiplied to. We convert this expression for polarized light into two other representations: the Cartesian representation and the rotated ellipse representation. We compute the conversion relations among the representation parameters and their corresponding Stokes parameters. And finally, we propose a set of geometric relations between the electric and magnetic fields that satisfy an equation similar to the Poincaré sphere equation.

Expression of exon-8-skipped kindlin-1 does not compensate for defects of Kindler syndrome.

PubMed

Natsuga, Ken; Nishie, Wataru; Shinkuma, Satoru; Nakamura, Hideki; Matsushima, Yoichiro; Tatsuta, Aya; Komine, Mayumi; Shimizu, Hiroshi

2011-01-01

Kindler syndrome (KS) is a rare, inherited skin disease characterized by blister formation and generalized poikiloderma. Mutations in KIND1, which encodes kindlin-1, are responsible for KS. c.1089del/1089+1del is a recurrent splice-site deletion mutation in KS patients. To elucidate the effects of c.1089del/1089+1del at the mRNA and protein level. Two KS patients with c.1089del/1089+1del were included in this study. Immunofluorescence analysis of KS skin samples using antibodies against the dermo-epidermal junction proteins was performed. Exon-trapping experiments were performed to isolate the mRNA sequences transcribed from genomic DNA harbouring c.1089del/1089+1del. β1 integrin activation in HeLa cells transfected with truncated KIND1 cDNA was analyzed. Immunofluorescence study showed positive expression of kindlin-1 in KS skin with c.1089del/1089+1del mutation. We identified the exon-8-skipped in-frame transcript as the main product among multiple splicing variants derived from that mutation. HeLa cells transfected with KIND1 cDNA without exon 8 showed impaired β1 integrin activation. Exon-8-coding amino acids are located in the FERM F2 domain, which is conserved among species, and the unstructured region between F2 and the pleckstrin homology domain. This study suggests that exon-8-skipped truncated kindlin-1 is functionally defective and does not compensate for the defects of KS, even though kindlin-1 expression in skin is positive. Copyright © 2010 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Max Brödel: his art, legacy, and contributions to neurosurgery through medical illustration.

PubMed

Patel, Smruti K; Couldwell, William T; Liu, James K

2011-07-01

Max Brödel is considered the father of modern medical illustration. This report reviews his contributions to neurosurgery as a medical illustrator. Max Brödel, a young artist from Leipzig, Germany, was hired at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1894, where he illustrated an operative textbook of gynecology for Howard A. Kelly. Although Brödel did not have any formal medical training, he quickly acquired knowledge of anatomy, pathology, physiology, and surgery. Brödel's extraordinary illustrations were characterized by an aerial perspective that conveyed the surgeon's operative viewpoint and precise surgical anatomy. He masterfully incorporated tissue realism with cross-sectional anatomy to accentuate concepts while maintaining topographical accuracy. Brödel's reputation spread quickly and resulted in collaborations with prominent surgeons, such as Cushing, Halsted, and Dandy. Cushing, who also possessed artistic talent, became a pupil of Brödel and remained a very close friend. In 1911, Brödel was appointed the director of the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at Johns Hopkins, the first academic department of its kind in the world. For the next several decades, he trained generations of renowned medical illustrators. Just as Osler, Halsted, and Cushing passed their skills and knowledge to future leaders of medicine and surgery, Brödel did the same for the field of medical illustration. The advancement of neurosurgical education has been greatly facilitated by Max Brödel's artistic contributions. His unique ability to synthesize art and medicine resulted in timeless illustrations that remain indispensable to surgeons. The art produced by his legacy of illustrators continues to flourish in neurosurgical literature today.

Doping test results dependent on genotype of uridine diphospho-glucuronosyl transferase 2B17, the major enzyme for testosterone glucuronidation.

PubMed

Schulze, Jenny Jakobsson; Lundmark, Jonas; Garle, Mats; Skilving, Ilona; Ekström, Lena; Rane, Anders

2008-07-01

Testosterone abuse is conventionally assessed by the urinary testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio, levels above 4.0 being considered suspicious. The large variation in testosterone glucuronide (TG) excretion and its strong association with a deletion polymorphism in the uridine diphospho-glucuronosyl transferase (UGT) 2B17 gene challenge the accuracy of the T/E ratio test. Our objective was to investigate whether genotype-based cutoff values will improve the sensitivity and specificity of the test. This was an open three-armed comparative study. A total of 55 healthy male volunteers with either two, one, or no allele [insertion/insertion, insertion/deletion, or deletion/deletion (del/del)] of the UGT2B17 gene was included in the study. A single im dose of 500 mg testosterone enanthate was administered. Urinary excretion of TG after dose and the T/E ratio during 15 d were calculated. The degree and rate of increase in the TG excretion rate were highly dependent on the UGT2B17 genotype with a 20-fold higher average maximum increase in the insertion/insertion group compared with the del/del group. Of the del/del subjects, 40% never reached the T/E ratio of 4.0 on any of the 15 d after the dose. When differentiated cutoff levels for the del/del (1.0) and the other genotypes (6.0) were applied, the sensitivity increased substantially for the del/del group, and false positives in the other genotypes were eliminated. Consideration of the genetic variation in disposition of androgens will improve the sensitivity and specificity of the testosterone doping test. This is of interest not only for combating androgen doping in sports, but also for detecting and preventing androgen abuse in society.

Lack of effect of the alpha2C-adrenoceptor Del322-325 polymorphism on inhibition of cyclic AMP production in HEK293 cells.

PubMed

Montgomery, M D; Bylund, D B

2010-02-01

The alpha(2C)-adrenoceptor has multiple functions, including inhibiting release of noradrenaline from presynaptic nerve terminals. A human alpha(2C) polymorphism, Del322-325, a potential risk factor for heart failure, has been reported to exhibit reduced signalling in CHO cells. To further understand the role of the Del322-325 polymorphism on receptor signalling, we attempted to replicate and further study the reduced signalling in HEK293 cells. Human alpha(2C) wild-type (WT) and Del322-325 adrenoceptors were stably transfected into HEK293 cells. Radioligand binding was performed to determine affinities for both receptors. In intact cells, inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP production by WT and Del322-325 clones with a range of receptor densities (200-2320 fmol.mg(-1) protein) was measured following agonist treatment. Noradrenaline, brimonidine and clonidine exhibited similar binding affinities for WT and Del322-325. Brimonidine and clonidine also had similar efficacies and potencies for both receptors for the inhibition of cyclic AMP production at all receptor densities tested. A linear regression analysis comparing efficacy and potency with receptor expression levels showed no differences in slopes between WT and Del322-325. The alpha(2C) WT and Del322-325 adrenoceptors exhibited similar binding properties. Additionally, inhibition of cyclic AMP production by Del322-325 was similar to that of WT over a range of receptor densities. Therefore, in intact HEK293 cells, the alpha(2C)-Del322-325 polymorphism does not exhibit reduced signalling to adenylyl cyclase and may not represent a clinically important phenotype.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Cruz-Sáez, María Soledad; Pascual Jimeno, Aitziber; Wlodarczyk, Anna; Polo-López, Rocío; Echeburúa Odriozola, Enrique

2016-07-19

Introducción: los problemas relacionados con el peso constituyen un problema importante de salud pública debido a su alta prevalencia y a las adversas consecuencias que tienen para la salud.Objetivo: el objetivo principal de este estudio fue analizar si la depresión y la ansiedad tienen un papel mediador en la relación entre la insatisfacción corporal y las conductas de control del peso en chicas adolescentes con sobrepeso.Material y métodos: en el estudio participaron 140 mujeres de 16 a 20 años con sobrepeso. Las participantes tuvieron que cumplimentar la escala de insatisfacción corporal del EDI-2, las escalas de ansiedad y depresión del GHQ-28 y una adaptación de las escalas del EAT survey para evaluar las conductas de control del peso. Para los análisis estadísticos se utilizaron métodos de diferencias de medias, correlaciones y de mediación secuencial.Resultados: las adolescentes con sobrepeso y alta insatisfacción corporal presentaban más sintomatología ansiosa y depresiva, así como mayor cantidad de conductas de control del peso. Los resultados del análisis de mediación secuencial evidencian que el efecto de la insatisfacción corporal en las conductas de control del peso está parcialmente mediado por las variables depresión y ansiedad. Mientras que la sintomatología ansiosa presenta efectos directos e indirectos sobre las conductas de control de peso, la sintomatología depresiva solamente presenta un efecto indirecto.Conclusiones:los resultados del estudio destacan el rol mediador de la sintomatología depresiva y, especialmente, de la ansiedad en el desarrollo de conductas no saludables de control del peso.

Research on bearing fault diagnosis of large machinery based on mathematical morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yu

2018-04-01

To study the automatic diagnosis of large machinery fault based on support vector machine, combining the four common faults of the large machinery, the support vector machine is used to classify and identify the fault. The extracted feature vectors are entered. The feature vector is trained and identified by multi - classification method. The optimal parameters of the support vector machine are searched by trial and error method and cross validation method. Then, the support vector machine is compared with BP neural network. The results show that the support vector machines are short in time and high in classification accuracy. It is more suitable for the research of fault diagnosis in large machinery. Therefore, it can be concluded that the training speed of support vector machines (SVM) is fast and the performance is good.

Matrix multiplication operations using pair-wise load and splat operations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eichenberger, Alexandre E.; Gschwind, Michael K.; Gunnels, John A.

Mechanisms for performing a matrix multiplication operation are provided. A vector load operation is performed to load a first vector operand of the matrix multiplication operation to a first target vector register. A pair-wise load and splat operation is performed to load a pair of scalar values of a second vector operand and replicate the pair of scalar values within a second target vector register. An operation is performed on elements of the first target vector register and elements of the second target vector register to generate a partial product of the matrix multiplication operation. The partial product is accumulatedmore » with other partial products and a resulting accumulated partial product is stored. This operation may be repeated for a second pair of scalar values of the second vector operand.« less

Covariantized vector Galileons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hull, Matthew; Koyama, Kazuya; Tasinato, Gianmassimo

2016-03-01

Vector Galileons are ghost-free systems containing higher derivative interactions of vector fields. They break the vector gauge symmetry, and the dynamics of the longitudinal vector polarizations acquire a Galileon symmetry in an appropriate decoupling limit in Minkowski space. Using an Arnowitt-Deser-Misner approach, we carefully reconsider the coupling with gravity of vector Galileons, with the aim of studying the necessary conditions to avoid the propagation of ghosts. We develop arguments that put on a more solid footing the results previously obtained in the literature. Moreover, working in analogy with the scalar counterpart, we find indications for the existence of a "beyond Horndeski" theory involving vector degrees of freedom that avoids the propagation of ghosts thanks to secondary constraints. In addition, we analyze a Higgs mechanism for generating vector Galileons through spontaneous symmetry breaking, and we present its consistent covariantization.

VISA--Vector Integration Site Analysis server: a web-based server to rapidly identify retroviral integration sites from next-generation sequencing.

PubMed

Hocum, Jonah D; Battrell, Logan R; Maynard, Ryan; Adair, Jennifer E; Beard, Brian C; Rawlings, David J; Kiem, Hans-Peter; Miller, Daniel G; Trobridge, Grant D

2015-07-07

Analyzing the integration profile of retroviral vectors is a vital step in determining their potential genotoxic effects and developing safer vectors for therapeutic use. Identifying retroviral vector integration sites is also important for retroviral mutagenesis screens. We developed VISA, a vector integration site analysis server, to analyze next-generation sequencing data for retroviral vector integration sites. Sequence reads that contain a provirus are mapped to the human genome, sequence reads that cannot be localized to a unique location in the genome are filtered out, and then unique retroviral vector integration sites are determined based on the alignment scores of the remaining sequence reads. VISA offers a simple web interface to upload sequence files and results are returned in a concise tabular format to allow rapid analysis of retroviral vector integration sites.

Large-scale production of lentiviral vector in a closed system hollow fiber bioreactor

PubMed Central

Sheu, Jonathan; Beltzer, Jim; Fury, Brian; Wilczek, Katarzyna; Tobin, Steve; Falconer, Danny; Nolta, Jan; Bauer, Gerhard

2015-01-01

Lentiviral vectors are widely used in the field of gene therapy as an effective method for permanent gene delivery. While current methods of producing small scale vector batches for research purposes depend largely on culture flasks, the emergence and popularity of lentiviral vectors in translational, preclinical and clinical research has demanded their production on a much larger scale, a task that can be difficult to manage with the numbers of producer cell culture flasks required for large volumes of vector. To generate a large scale, partially closed system method for the manufacturing of clinical grade lentiviral vector suitable for the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), we developed a method employing a hollow fiber bioreactor traditionally used for cell expansion. We have demonstrated the growth, transfection, and vector-producing capability of 293T producer cells in this system. Vector particle RNA titers after subsequent vector concentration yielded values comparable to lentiviral iPSC induction vector batches produced using traditional culture methods in 225 cm2 flasks (T225s) and in 10-layer cell factories (CF10s), while yielding a volume nearly 145 times larger than the yield from a T225 flask and nearly three times larger than the yield from a CF10. Employing a closed system hollow fiber bioreactor for vector production offers the possibility of manufacturing large quantities of gene therapy vector while minimizing reagent usage, equipment footprint, and open system manipulation. PMID:26151065

Development of Peritoneal Tumor-Targeting Vector by In Vivo Screening with a Random Peptide-Displaying Adenovirus Library

PubMed Central

Yoshida, Kimiko; Goto, Naoko; Ohnami, Shumpei; Aoki, Kazunori

2012-01-01

The targeting of gene transfer at the cell-entry level is one of the most attractive challenges in vector development. However, attempts to redirect adenovirus vectors to alternative receptors by engineering the capsid-coding region have shown limited success, because the proper targeting ligands on the cells of interest are generally unknown. To overcome this limitation, we have constructed a random peptide library displayed on the adenoviral fiber knob, and have successfully selected targeted vectors by screening the library on cancer cell lines in vitro. The infection of targeted vectors was considered to be mediated by specific receptors on target cells. However, the expression levels and kinds of cell surface receptors may be substantially different between in vitro culture and in vivo tumor tissue. Here, we screened the peptide display-adenovirus library in the peritoneal dissemination model of AsPC-1 pancreatic cancer cells. The vector displaying a selected peptide (PFWSGAV) showed higher infectivity in the AsPC-1 peritoneal tumors but not in organs and other peritoneal tumors as compared with a non-targeted vector. Furthermore, the infectivity of the PFWSGAV-displaying vector for AsPC-1 peritoneal tumors was significantly higher than that of a vector displaying a peptide selected by in vitro screening, indicating the usefulness of in vivo screening in exploring the targeting vectors. This vector-screening system can facilitate the development of targeted adenovirus vectors for a variety of applications in medicine. PMID:23029088

Practical auxiliary basis implementation of Rung 3.5 functionals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Janesko, Benjamin G., E-mail: b.janesko@tcu.edu; Scalmani, Giovanni; Frisch, Michael J.

2014-07-21

Approximate exchange-correlation functionals for Kohn-Sham density functional theory often benefit from incorporating exact exchange. Exact exchange is constructed from the noninteracting reference system's nonlocal one-particle density matrix γ(r{sup -vector},r{sup -vector}′). Rung 3.5 functionals attempt to balance the strengths and limitations of exact exchange using a new ingredient, a projection of γ(r{sup -vector},r{sup -vector} ′) onto a semilocal model density matrix γ{sub SL}(ρ(r{sup -vector}),∇ρ(r{sup -vector}),r{sup -vector}−r{sup -vector} ′). γ{sub SL} depends on the electron density ρ(r{sup -vector}) at reference point r{sup -vector}, and is closely related to semilocal model exchange holes. We present a practical implementation of Rung 3.5 functionals, expandingmore » the r{sup -vector}−r{sup -vector} ′ dependence of γ{sub SL} in an auxiliary basis set. Energies and energy derivatives are obtained from 3D numerical integration as in standard semilocal functionals. We also present numerical tests of a range of properties, including molecular thermochemistry and kinetics, geometries and vibrational frequencies, and bandgaps and excitation energies. Rung 3.5 functionals typically provide accuracy intermediate between semilocal and hybrid approximations. Nonlocal potential contributions from γ{sub SL} yield interesting successes and failures for band structures and excitation energies. The results enable and motivate continued exploration of Rung 3.5 functional forms.« less

Undetectable Transcription of cap in a Clinical AAV Vector: Implications for Preformed Capsid in Immune Responses

PubMed Central

Hauck, Bernd; Murphy, Samuel L; Smith, Peter H; Qu, Guang; Liu, Xingge; Zelenaia, Olga; Mingozzi, Federico; Sommer, Jürg M; High, Katherine A; Wright, J. Fraser

2008-01-01

In a gene therapy clinical trial for hemophilia B, adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) capsid–specific CD8+ T cells were previously implicated in the elimination of vector-transduced hepatocytes, resulting in loss of human factor IX (hFIX) transgene expression. To test the hypothesis that expression of AAV2 cap DNA impurities in the AAV2-hFIX vector was the source of epitopes presented on transduced cells, transcription of cap was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription–PCR (Q-RT-PCR) following transduction of target cells with the vector used in the clinical trial. Transcriptional profiling was also performed for residual AmpR, and adenovirus E2A and E4. Although trace amounts of DNA impurities were present in the clinical vector, transcription of these sequences was not detected after transduction of human hepatocytes, nor in mice administered a dose 26-fold above the highest dose administered in the clinical study. Two methods used to minimize encapsidated DNA impurities in the clinical vector were: (i) a vector (cis) production plasmid with a backbone exceeding the packaging limit of AAV; and (ii) a vector purification step that achieved separation of the vector from vector-related impurities (e.g., empty capsids). In conclusion, residual cap expression was undetectable following transduction with AAV2-hFIX clinical vectors. Preformed capsid protein is implicated as the source of epitopes recognized by CD8+ T cells that eliminated vector-transduced cells in the clinical study. PMID:18941440

Mirror Coronograph for Argentina (MICA). Primera Luz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stenborg, G.; Epple, A.; Schwenn, R.; Francile, C.; Rovira, M.

En Julio de 1997 se terminó con la primera parte de la instalación del ``Coronógrafo de Espejo para la Argentina'' en la estación de altura Carlos U. Cesco (El Leoncito), gracias al esfuerzo de la gente del Max Planck Institut für Aeronomie (Alemania), del OAFA y del IAFE. Dicho coronógrafo forma parte de un programa de ciencia bilateral entre Alemania y Argentina. El propósito del mismo, en conjunción con otros telescopios solares y terrestres, es contribuir a un mejor entendimiento de cuestiones fundamentales de la física solar. Para ello, ya está observando la corona de emisión en el verde (Fe XIV), rojo (Fe X) y Hα entre 1.05 y 2 radios solares aproximadamente. El diseño del instrumento, el cual fuera ya presentado en esta misma reunión en La Plata en 1996, es esencialmente similar al del telescopio LASCO-C1 a bordo del Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). La adquisición de datos se realiza con un CCD de 1280x1024 pixels, codificando en 12 bits, pudiendo ser el mismo operado en forma remota. En esta reunión presentaremos algunas de las observaciones realizadas durante la puesta a punto del instrumento en el período julio-setiembre de 1997. Asimismo expondremos cómo y por qué sus resultados complementarán a los de su par en el espacio.

A link between torse-forming vector fields and rotational hypersurfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Bang-Yen; Verstraelen, Leopold

Torse-forming vector fields introduced by Yano [On torse forming direction in a Riemannian space, Proc. Imp. Acad. Tokyo 20 (1944) 340-346] are natural extension of concurrent and concircular vector fields. Such vector fields have many nice applications to geometry and mathematical physics. In this paper, we establish a link between rotational hypersurfaces and torse-forming vector fields. More precisely, our main result states that, for a hypersurface M of 𝔼n+1 with n ≥ 3, the tangential component xT of the position vector field of M is a proper torse-forming vector field on M if and only if M is contained in a rotational hypersurface whose axis of rotation contains the origin.

Vectorized Jiles-Atherton hysteresis model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szymański, Grzegorz; Waszak, Michał

2004-01-01

This paper deals with vector hysteresis modeling. A vector model consisting of individual Jiles-Atherton components placed along principal axes is proposed. The cross-axis coupling ensures general vector model properties. Minor loops are obtained using scaling method. The model is intended for efficient finite element method computations defined in terms of magnetic vector potential. Numerical efficiency is ensured by differential susceptibility approach.

Vector-Based Data Services for NASA Earth Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, J.; Roberts, J. T.; Ruvane, K.; Cechini, M. F.; Thompson, C. K.; Boller, R. A.; Baynes, K.

2016-12-01

Vector data sources offer opportunities for mapping and visualizing science data in a way that allows for more customizable rendering and deeper data analysis than traditional raster images, and popular formats like GeoJSON and Mapbox Vector Tiles allow diverse types of geospatial data to be served in a high-performance and easily consumed-package. Vector data is especially suited to highly dynamic mapping applications and visualization of complex datasets, while growing levels of support for vector formats and features in open-source mapping clients has made utilizing them easier and more powerful than ever. NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) is working to make NASA data more easily and conveniently accessible than ever by serving vector datasets via GeoJSON, Mapbox Vector Tiles, and raster images. This presentation will review these output formats, the services, including WFS, WMS, and WMTS, that can be used to access the data, and some ways in which vector sources can be utilized in popular open-source mapping clients like OpenLayers. Lessons learned from GIBS' recent move towards serving vector will be discussed, as well as how to use GIBS open source software to create, configure, and serve vector data sources using Mapserver and the GIBS OnEarth Apache module.

Interaction of Flavivirus with their mosquito vectors and their impact on the human health in the Americas.

PubMed

Valderrama, Anayansi; Díaz, Yamilka; López-Vergès, Sandra

2017-10-28

Some of the major arboviruses with public health importance, such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika and West Nile virus are mosquito-borne or mosquito-transmitted Flavivirus. Their principal vectors are from the family Culicidae, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus being responsible of the urban cycles of dengue, Zika and yellow fever virus. These vectors are highly competent for transmission of many arboviruses. The genetic variability of the vectors, the environment and the viral diversity modulate the vector competence, in this context, it is important to determine which vector species is responsible of an outbreak in areas where many vectors coexist. As some vectors can transmit several flaviviruses and some flaviviruses can be transmitted by different species of vectors, through this review we expose importance of yellow fever, dengue and Zika virus in the world and the Americas, as well as the updated knowledge about these flaviviruses in their interaction with their mosquito vectors, guiding us on what is probably the beginning of a new stage in which the simultaneity of outbreaks will occur more frequently. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vector and Raster Data Storage Based on Morton Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, G.; Pan, Q.; Yue, T.; Wang, Q.; Sha, H.; Huang, S.; Liu, X.

2018-05-01

Even though geomatique is so developed nowadays, the integration of spatial data in vector and raster formats is still a very tricky problem in geographic information system environment. And there is still not a proper way to solve the problem. This article proposes a method to interpret vector data and raster data. In this paper, we saved the image data and building vector data of Guilin University of Technology to Oracle database. Then we use ADO interface to connect database to Visual C++ and convert row and column numbers of raster data and X Y of vector data to Morton code in Visual C++ environment. This method stores vector and raster data to Oracle Database and uses Morton code instead of row and column and X Y to mark the position information of vector and raster data. Using Morton code to mark geographic information enables storage of data make full use of storage space, simultaneous analysis of vector and raster data more efficient and visualization of vector and raster more intuitive. This method is very helpful for some situations that need to analyse or display vector data and raster data at the same time.

Efecto del Programa de Entrenamiento “Manejo del Dolor” en la Documentación de Enfermería en el Expediente Electrónico

PubMed Central

Monsiváis, María Guadalupe Moreno; Guzmán, Ma. Guadalupe Interial; Flores, Paz Francisco Sauceda; Arreola, Leticia Vázquez

2012-01-01

Resumen En el presente trabajo se muestra la importancia de entrenar al personal de enfermería para mejorar la documentación en el expediente electrónico. Se eligió el manejo del dolor por ser un área prioritaria; una alta proporción de pacientes en período post operatorio cursa con dolor, por lo tanto, la documentación debe ser útil para la toma de decisiones clínicas. Se implementó un programa de entrenamiento denominado “Manejo del Dolor” dirigido al personal de enfermería. Se utilizó la tecnología de la información como herramienta para fortalecer el conocimiento con base en la revisión sistemática de la literatura; el personal de enfermería participante seleccionó la mejor evidencia; posteriormente se trabajó en la transferencia de este conocimiento a la práctica a través del diseño de un protocolo para el manejo del dolor. Se concluye que el conocimiento del manejo del dolor es fundamental para que enfermería documente con mayor precisión sus intervenciones. PMID:24199106

Administration of helper-dependent adenoviral vectors and sequential delivery of different vector serotype for long-term liver-directed gene transfer in baboons

PubMed Central

Morral, Núria; O’Neal, Wanda; Rice, Karen; Leland, Michele; Kaplan, Johanne; Piedra, Pedro A.; Zhou, Heshan; Parks, Robin J.; Velji, Rizwan; Aguilar-Córdova, Estuardo; Wadsworth, Samuel; Graham, Frank L.; Kochanek, Stefan; Carey, K. Dee; Beaudet, Arthur L.

1999-01-01

The efficiency of first-generation adenoviral vectors as gene delivery tools is often limited by the short duration of transgene expression, which can be related to immune responses and to toxic effects of viral proteins. In addition, readministration is usually ineffective unless the animals are immunocompromised or a different adenovirus serotype is used. Recently, adenoviral vectors devoid of all viral coding sequences (helper-dependent or gutless vectors) have been developed to avoid expression of viral proteins. In mice, liver-directed gene transfer with AdSTK109, a helper-dependent adenoviral (Ad) vector containing the human α1-antitrypsin (hAAT) gene, resulted in sustained expression for longer than 10 months with negligible toxicity to the liver. In the present report, we have examined the duration of expression of AdSTK109 in the liver of baboons and compared it to first-generation vectors expressing hAAT. Transgene expression was limited to approximately 3–5 months with the first-generation vectors. In contrast, administration of AdSTK109 resulted in transgene expression for longer than a year in two of three baboons. We have also investigated the feasibility of circumventing the humoral response to the virus by sequential administration of vectors of different serotypes. We found that the ineffectiveness of readministration due to the humoral response to an Ad5 first-generation vector was overcome by use of an Ad2-based vector expressing hAAT. These data suggest that long-term expression of transgenes should be possible by combining the reduced immunogenicity and toxicity of helper-dependent vectors with sequential delivery of vectors of different serotypes. PMID:10536005

Hybrid Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors Utilizing Transposase-Mediated Somatic Integration for Stable Transgene Expression in Human Cells

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wenli; Solanki, Manish; Müther, Nadine; Ebel, Melanie; Wang, Jichang; Sun, Chuanbo; Izsvak, Zsuzsanna; Ehrhardt, Anja

2013-01-01

Recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors have been shown to be one of the most promising vectors for therapeutic gene delivery because they can induce efficient and long-term transduction in non-dividing cells with negligible side-effects. However, as AAV vectors mostly remain episomal, vector genomes and transgene expression are lost in dividing cells. Therefore, to stably transduce cells, we developed a novel AAV/transposase hybrid-vector. To facilitate SB-mediated transposition from the rAAV genome, we established a system in which one AAV vector contains the transposon with the gene of interest and the second vector delivers the hyperactive Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposase SB100X. Human cells were infected with the AAV-transposon vector and the transposase was provided in trans either by transient and stable plasmid transfection or by AAV vector transduction. We found that groups which received the hyperactive transposase SB100X showed significantly increased colony forming numbers indicating enhanced integration efficiencies. Furthermore, we found that transgene copy numbers in transduced cells were dose-dependent and that predominantly SB transposase-mediated transposition contributed to stabilization of the transgene. Based on a plasmid rescue strategy and a linear-amplification mediated PCR (LAM-PCR) protocol we analysed the SB100X-mediated integration profile after transposition from the AAV vector. A total of 1840 integration events were identified which revealed a close to random integration profile. In summary, we show for the first time that AAV vectors can serve as template for SB transposase mediated somatic integration. We developed the first prototype of this hybrid-vector system which with further improvements may be explored for treatment of diseases which originate from rapidly dividing cells. PMID:24116154

Mosquito biting activity on humans & detection of Plasmodium falciparum infection in Anopheles stephensi in Goa, India.

PubMed

Korgaonkar, Nandini S; Kumar, Ashwani; Yadav, Rajpal S; Kabadi, Dipak; Dash, Aditya P

2012-01-01

Knowledge of the bionomics of mosquitoes, especially of disease vectors, is essential to plan appropriate vector avoidance and control strategies. Information on biting activity of vectors during the night hours in different seasons is important for choosing personal protection measures. This study was carried out to find out the composition of mosquito fauna biting on humans and seasonal biting trends in Goa, India. Biting activities of all mosquitoes including vectors were studied from 1800 to 0600 h during 85 nights using human volunteers in 14 different localities of three distinct ecotypes in Goa. Seasonal biting trends of vector species were analysed and compared. Seasonal biting periodicity during different phases of night was also studied using William's mean. A total of 4,191 mosquitoes of five genera and 23 species were collected. Ten species belonged to Anopheles, eight to Culex, three to Aedes and one each to Mansonia and Armigeres. Eleven vector species had human hosts, including malaria vectors Anopheles stephensi (1.3%), An. fluviatilis (1.8%), and An. culicifacies (0.76%); filariasis vectors Culex quinquefasciatus (40.8%) and Mansonia uniformis (1.8%); Japanese encephalitis vectors Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (17.4%), Cx. vishnui (7.7%), Cx. pseudovishnui (0.1%), and Cx. gelidus (2.4%); and dengue and chikungunya vectors Aedes albopictus (0.9%) and Ae. aegypti (0.6%). Two An. stephensi of the total 831 female anophelines, were found positive for P. falciparum sporozoites. The entomological inoculation rate (EIR) of P. falciparum was 18.1 and 2.35 for Panaji city and Goa, respectively. Most of the mosquito vector species were collected in all seasons and throughout the scotophase. Biting rates of different vector species differed during different phases of night and seasons. Personal protection methods could be used to stop vector-host contact.

Avidin-Based Targeting and Purification of a Protein IX-Modified, Metabolically Biotinylated Adenoviral Vector

PubMed Central

Campos, Samuel K.; Parrott, M. Brandon; Barry, Michael A.

2014-01-01

While genetic modification of adenoviral vectors can produce vectors with modified tropism, incorporation of targeting peptides/proteins into the structural context of the virion can also result in destruction of ligand targeting or virion integrity. To combat this problem, we have developed a versatile targeting system using metabolically biotinylated adenoviral vectors bearing biotinylated fiber proteins. These vectors have been demonstrated to be useful as a platform for avidin-based ligand screening and vector targeting by conjugating biotinylated ligands to the virus using high-affinity tetrameric avidin (Kd = 10−15 M). The biotinylated vector could also be purified by biotin-reversible binding on monomeric avidin (Kd = 10−7 M). In this report, a second metabolically biotinylated adenovirus vector, Ad-IX-BAP, has been engineered by fusing a biotin acceptor peptide (BAP) to the C-terminus of the adenovirus pIX protein. This biotinylated vector displays twice as many biotins and was markedly superior for single-step affinity purification on monomeric avidin resin. However, unlike the fiber-biotinylated vector, Ad-IX-BAP failed to retarget to cells with biotinylated antibodies including anti-CD71 against the transferrin receptor. In contrast, Ad-IX-BAP was retargeted if transferrin, the cognate ligand for CD71, was used as a ligand rather than the anti-CD71. This work demonstrates the utility of metabolic biotinylation as a molecular screening tool to assess the utility of different viral capsid proteins for ligand display and the biology and compatibility of different ligands and receptors for vector targeting applications. These results also demonstrate the utility of the pIX-biotinylated vector as a platform for gentle single-step affinity purification of adenoviral vectors. PMID:15194061

Co-occurrence of viruses and mosquitoes at the vectors' optimal climate range: An underestimated risk to temperate regions?

PubMed

Blagrove, Marcus S C; Caminade, Cyril; Waldmann, Elisabeth; Sutton, Elizabeth R; Wardeh, Maya; Baylis, Matthew

2017-06-01

Mosquito-borne viruses have been estimated to cause over 100 million cases of human disease annually. Many methodologies have been developed to help identify areas most at risk from transmission of these viruses. However, generally, these methodologies focus predominantly on the effects of climate on either the vectors or the pathogens they spread, and do not consider the dynamic interaction between the optimal conditions for both vector and virus. Here, we use a new approach that considers the complex interplay between the optimal temperature for virus transmission, and the optimal climate for the mosquito vectors. Using published geolocated data we identified temperature and rainfall ranges in which a number of mosquito vectors have been observed to co-occur with West Nile virus, dengue virus or chikungunya virus. We then investigated whether the optimal climate for co-occurrence of vector and virus varies between "warmer" and "cooler" adapted vectors for the same virus. We found that different mosquito vectors co-occur with the same virus at different temperatures, despite significant overlap in vector temperature ranges. Specifically, we found that co-occurrence correlates with the optimal climatic conditions for the respective vector; cooler-adapted mosquitoes tend to co-occur with the same virus in cooler conditions than their warmer-adapted counterparts. We conclude that mosquitoes appear to be most able to transmit virus in the mosquitoes' optimal climate range, and hypothesise that this may be due to proportionally over-extended vector longevity, and other increased fitness attributes, within this optimal range. These results suggest that the threat posed by vector-competent mosquito species indigenous to temperate regions may have been underestimated, whilst the threat arising from invasive tropical vectors moving to cooler temperate regions may be overestimated.

Autonomous Environment-Monitoring Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hand, Charles

2004-01-01

Autonomous environment-monitoring networks (AEMNs) are artificial neural networks that are specialized for recognizing familiarity and, conversely, novelty. Like a biological neural network, an AEMN receives a constant stream of inputs. For purposes of computational implementation, the inputs are vector representations of the information of interest. As long as the most recent input vector is similar to the previous input vectors, no action is taken. Action is taken only when a novel vector is encountered. Whether a given input vector is regarded as novel depends on the previous vectors; hence, the same input vector could be regarded as familiar or novel, depending on the context of previous input vectors. AEMNs have been proposed as means to enable exploratory robots on remote planets to recognize novel features that could merit closer scientific attention. AEMNs could also be useful for processing data from medical instrumentation for automated monitoring or diagnosis. The primary substructure of an AEMN is called a spindle. In its simplest form, a spindle consists of a central vector (C), a scalar (r), and algorithms for changing C and r. The vector C is constructed from all the vectors in a given continuous stream of inputs, such that it is minimally distant from those vectors. The scalar r is the distance between C and the most remote vector in the same set. The construction of a spindle involves four vital parameters: setup size, spindle-population size, and the radii of two novelty boundaries. The setup size is the number of vectors that are taken into account before computing C. The spindle-population size is the total number of input vectors used in constructing the spindle counting both those that arrive before and those that arrive after the computation of C. The novelty-boundary radii are distances from C that partition the neighborhood around C into three concentric regions (see Figure 1). During construction of the spindle, the changing spindle radius is denoted by h. It is the final value of h, reached before beginning construction on the next spindle, that is denoted by r. During construction of a spindle, if a new vector falls between C and the inner boundary, the vector is regarded as completely familiar and no action is taken. If the new vector falls into the region between the inner and outer boundaries, it is considered unusual enough to warrant the adjustment of C and r by use of the aforementioned algorithms, but not unusual enough to be considered novel. If a vector falls outside the outer boundary, it is considered novel, in which case one of several appropriate responses could be initiation of construction of a new spindle.

A unified development of several techniques for the representation of random vectors and data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bundick, W. T.

1973-01-01

Linear vector space theory is used to develop a general representation of a set of data vectors or random vectors by linear combinations of orthonormal vectors such that the mean squared error of the representation is minimized. The orthonormal vectors are shown to be the eigenvectors of an operator. The general representation is applied to several specific problems involving the use of the Karhunen-Loeve expansion, principal component analysis, and empirical orthogonal functions; and the common properties of these representations are developed.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Fernández Castillo, Rafael; Cañadas de la Fuente, Gustavo R; Cañadas de la Fuente, Guillermo A; De la Fuente Solana, Emilia Inmaculada; Esteban de la Rosa, Rafael José; Bravo Soto, Juan

2016-07-19

Introducción: la obesidad y el sobrepeso presentan efectos adversos sobre la salud, lo que contribuye a la aparición de enfermedades metabólicas y cardiovasculares que ponen en peligro la integridad del injerto.Objetivo: investigar la influencia del IMC pretrasplante renal sobre el funcionamiento del injerto renal al año de trasplante mediante el estudio de cuatro métodos distintos de medir la filtración glomerular.Material y métodos: en este trabajo se ha seguido a 1.336 pacientes de ambos sexos trasplantados renales; se les realizaron mediciones pretrasplante y postrasplante de parámetros bioquímicos, mediciones antropométricas y función renal mediante medidas de filtrado glomerular.Resultados: a mayor índice de masa corporal pretrasplante se produce una disminución del filtrado glomerular medido por cuatro métodos distintos, así como mayor porcentaje de rechazos.Conclusiones: un IMC elevado pretrasplante contribuye a la disfunción del injerto, a una disminución del filtrado glomerular y a complicaciones del injerto en el primer año postrasplante.

Espectroscopia del Cometa Halley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naranjo, O.; Fuenmayor, F.; Ferrin, L.; Bulka, P.; Mendoza, C.

1987-05-01

Se reportan observaciones espectroscópicas del cometa Halley. Los espectros fueron tomados usando el espectrógrafo del telescopio reflector de 1 metro del Observatorio Nacional de Venezuela. Se utilizó óptica azul, con una red de difracción de 600 lineas/min, obteniéndose una dispersión de 74.2 A/mm y una resolución de 2.5 A, en el rango espectral de 3500 a 6500 A. Seis placas fueron tomadas con emulsión IIa-O y dos con IIa-D. Los tiempos de exposición fueron entre 10 y 150 minutos. El cometa se encontraba entre 0.70 y 1.04 UA del Sol, y entre 1.28 y 0.73 UA de la Tierra. Las emisiones más prominentes en el espectro, son las del CN, C2, y C3. Otras emisiones detectadas corresponden a CH, NH2 y Na. Los espectros muestran un fuerte continuo, indicando un contenido significativo de polvo. Se detectó mayor intensidad del contínuo, en la dirección anti solar, lo cual es evidencia de la cola de polvo.

Impacto del Seguro Popular en el gasto catastrófico y de bolsillo en el México rural y urbano, 2005–2008

PubMed Central

Sosa-Rubí, Sandra G; Salinas-Rodríguez, Aarón; Galárraga, Omar

2016-01-01

Objetivo Estimar el efecto del Seguro Popular (SP) sobre la incidencia del gasto catastrófico en salud (GCS) y sobre el gasto de bolsillo en salud (GBS) en el mediano plazo. Material y métodos Con base en la Encuesta de Evaluación del Seguro Popular (2005–2008), se analizaron los resultados del efecto del SP en la cohorte rural para dos años de seguimiento (2006 y 2008) y en la cohorte urbana para un año (2008). Resultados A nivel conglomerado no se detectaron efectos del SP. A nivel hogar se encontró que el SP tiene un efecto protector en el GCS y en el GBS en consulta externa y hospitalización en zonas rurales; y efectos significativos en la reducción de GBS en consulta externa en zonas urbanas. Conclusiones El SP se muestra como un programa efectivo para proteger a los hogares contra gastos de bolsillo por motivos de salud en el mediano plazo. PMID:22282205

[Trattamento del disturbo da uso di alcol da un punto di vista psicologico].

PubMed

Coriale, Giovanna; Fiorentino, Daniela; De Rosa, Francesca; Solombrino, Simona; Scalese, Bruna; Ciccarelli, Rosaria; Attilia, Fabio; Vitali, Mario; Musetti, Alessia; Fiore, Marco; Ceccanti, Mauro

2018-01-01

RIASSUNTO. L'elaborazione del piano di trattamento rappresenta un momento molto delicato e complesso del processo terapeutico del disturbo da abuso di alcol (DUA). È la fase in cui le informazioni raccolte da un'équipe di professionisti (medici, psicologi e assistenti sociali) (modello bio-psico-sociale del DUA) vengono messe insieme per decidere il percorso terapeutico più adatto. Per quanto riguarda la parte psicologica, è di notevole importanza scegliere un trattamento clinico in grado di ridurre al minimo la mancata adesione al trattamento e, per i soggetti che rimangono in trattamento, di garantirne l'efficacia. Se da una parte, le tecniche psicoanalitiche e comportamentali hanno fornito le basi della terapia psicologica dell'alcolismo, dall'altra, gli approcci basati sull'evidenza scientifica sono stati elaborati a partire dai principi del colloquio motivazionale e della terapia cognitivo-comportamentale. In questo articolo viene fornita una panoramica dei trattamenti che sono risultati più efficaci nel trattare il DUA e delle modalità temporali più adeguate per monitorare l'efficacia del trattamento.

CHEK2 1100delC and male breast cancer in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Wasielewski, Marijke; den Bakker, Michael A; van den Ouweland, Ans; Meijer-van Gelder, Marion E; Portengen, Henk; Klijn, Jan G M; Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne; Foekens, John A; Schutte, Mieke

2009-07-01

Mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1, BRCA2, and CHEK2 are known risk factors for female breast cancer. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 also are associated with male breast cancer (MBC). Similarly, it had been suggested in the original CHEK2 identification report that the CHEK2 1100delC mutation confers an increased risk for MBC. Here, we have evaluated the risk of CHEK2 1100delC for MBC by genotyping CHEK2 1100delC in 23 familial and 71 unselected Dutch MBC cases. None of the 23 familial MBC cases carried the CHEK2 1100delC mutation. In contrast, CHEK2 1100delC was present in 3 of the 71 (4.2%) unselected MBC cases, which was significantly more prevalent than the 1.1% Dutch population frequency assessed in 1,692 individuals (P = 0.05, OR = 4.1, 95% CI 1.2-14.3). Our data suggest that, in the Netherlands, CHEK2 1100delC is associated with an increased risk for MBC.

Integrating vector control across diseases.

PubMed

Golding, Nick; Wilson, Anne L; Moyes, Catherine L; Cano, Jorge; Pigott, David M; Velayudhan, Raman; Brooker, Simon J; Smith, David L; Hay, Simon I; Lindsay, Steve W

2015-10-01

Vector-borne diseases cause a significant proportion of the overall burden of disease across the globe, accounting for over 10 % of the burden of infectious diseases. Despite the availability of effective interventions for many of these diseases, a lack of resources prevents their effective control. Many existing vector control interventions are known to be effective against multiple diseases, so combining vector control programmes to simultaneously tackle several diseases could offer more cost-effective and therefore sustainable disease reductions. The highly successful cross-disease integration of vaccine and mass drug administration programmes in low-resource settings acts a precedent for cross-disease vector control. Whilst deliberate implementation of vector control programmes across multiple diseases has yet to be trialled on a large scale, a number of examples of 'accidental' cross-disease vector control suggest the potential of such an approach. Combining contemporary high-resolution global maps of the major vector-borne pathogens enables us to quantify overlap in their distributions and to estimate the populations jointly at risk of multiple diseases. Such an analysis shows that over 80 % of the global population live in regions of the world at risk from one vector-borne disease, and more than half the world's population live in areas where at least two different vector-borne diseases pose a threat to health. Combining information on co-endemicity with an assessment of the overlap of vector control methods effective against these diseases allows us to highlight opportunities for such integration. Malaria, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, and dengue are prime candidates for combined vector control. All four of these diseases overlap considerably in their distributions and there is a growing body of evidence for the effectiveness of insecticide-treated nets, screens, and curtains for controlling all of their vectors. The real-world effectiveness of cross-disease vector control programmes can only be evaluated by large-scale trials, but there is clear evidence of the potential of such an approach to enable greater overall health benefit using the limited funds available.

"Triplet" polycistronic vectors encoding Gata4, Mef2c, and Tbx5 enhances postinfarct ventricular functional improvement compared with singlet vectors.

PubMed

Mathison, Megumi; Singh, Vivek P; Gersch, Robert P; Ramirez, Maricela O; Cooney, Austin; Kaminsky, Stephen M; Chiuchiolo, Maria J; Nasser, Ahmed; Yang, Jianchang; Crystal, Ronald G; Rosengart, Todd K

2014-10-01

The in situ reprogramming of cardiac fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes by the administration of gene transfer vectors encoding Gata4 (G), Mef2c (M), and Tbx5 (T) has been shown to improve ventricular function in myocardial infarction models. The efficacy of this strategy could, however, be limited by the need for fibroblast targets to be infected 3 times--once by each of the 3 transgene vectors. We hypothesized that a polycistronic "triplet" vector encoding all 3 transgenes would enhance postinfarct ventricular function compared with use of "singlet" vectors. After validation of the polycistronic vector expression in vitro, adult male Fischer 344 rats (n=6) underwent coronary ligation with or without intramyocardial administration of an adenovirus encoding all 3 major vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms (AdVEGF-All6A positive), followed 3 weeks later by the administration to AdVEGF-All6A-positive treated rats of singlet lentivirus encoding G, M, or T (1×10(5) transducing units each) or the same total dose of a GMT "triplet" lentivirus vector. Western blots demonstrated that triplet and singlet vectors yielded equivalent GMT transgene expression, and fluorescence activated cell sorting demonstrated that triplet vectors were nearly twice as potent as singlet vectors in generating induced cardiomyocytes from cardiac fibroblasts. Echocardiography demonstrated that GMT triplet vectors were more effective than the 3 combined singlet vectors in enhancing ventricular function from postinfarct baselines (triplet, 37%±10%; singlet, 13%±7%; negative control, 9%±5%; P<.05). These data have confirmed that the in situ administration of G, M, and T induces postinfarct ventricular functional improvement and that GMT polycistronic vectors enhance the efficacy of this strategy. Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An age-structured extension to the vectorial capacity model.

PubMed

Novoseltsev, Vasiliy N; Michalski, Anatoli I; Novoseltseva, Janna A; Yashin, Anatoliy I; Carey, James R; Ellis, Alicia M

2012-01-01

Vectorial capacity and the basic reproductive number (R(0)) have been instrumental in structuring thinking about vector-borne pathogen transmission and how best to prevent the diseases they cause. One of the more important simplifying assumptions of these models is age-independent vector mortality. A growing body of evidence indicates that insect vectors exhibit age-dependent mortality, which can have strong and varied affects on pathogen transmission dynamics and strategies for disease prevention. Based on survival analysis we derived new equations for vectorial capacity and R(0) that are valid for any pattern of age-dependent (or age-independent) vector mortality and explore the behavior of the models across various mortality patterns. The framework we present (1) lays the groundwork for an extension and refinement of the vectorial capacity paradigm by introducing an age-structured extension to the model, (2) encourages further research on the actuarial dynamics of vectors in particular and the relationship of vector mortality to pathogen transmission in general, and (3) provides a detailed quantitative basis for understanding the relative impact of reductions in vector longevity compared to other vector-borne disease prevention strategies. Accounting for age-dependent vector mortality in estimates of vectorial capacity and R(0) was most important when (1) vector densities are relatively low and the pattern of mortality can determine whether pathogen transmission will persist; i.e., determines whether R(0) is above or below 1, (2) vector population growth rate is relatively low and there are complex interactions between birth and death that differ fundamentally from birth-death relationships with age-independent mortality, and (3) the vector exhibits complex patterns of age-dependent mortality and R(0) ∼ 1. A limiting factor in the construction and evaluation of new age-dependent mortality models is the paucity of data characterizing vector mortality patterns, particularly for free ranging vectors in the field.

An Age-Structured Extension to the Vectorial Capacity Model

PubMed Central

Novoseltsev, Vasiliy N.; Michalski, Anatoli I.; Novoseltseva, Janna A.; Yashin, Anatoliy I.; Carey, James R.; Ellis, Alicia M.

2012-01-01

Background Vectorial capacity and the basic reproductive number (R0) have been instrumental in structuring thinking about vector-borne pathogen transmission and how best to prevent the diseases they cause. One of the more important simplifying assumptions of these models is age-independent vector mortality. A growing body of evidence indicates that insect vectors exhibit age-dependent mortality, which can have strong and varied affects on pathogen transmission dynamics and strategies for disease prevention. Methodology/Principal Findings Based on survival analysis we derived new equations for vectorial capacity and R0 that are valid for any pattern of age-dependent (or age–independent) vector mortality and explore the behavior of the models across various mortality patterns. The framework we present (1) lays the groundwork for an extension and refinement of the vectorial capacity paradigm by introducing an age-structured extension to the model, (2) encourages further research on the actuarial dynamics of vectors in particular and the relationship of vector mortality to pathogen transmission in general, and (3) provides a detailed quantitative basis for understanding the relative impact of reductions in vector longevity compared to other vector-borne disease prevention strategies. Conclusions/Significance Accounting for age-dependent vector mortality in estimates of vectorial capacity and R0 was most important when (1) vector densities are relatively low and the pattern of mortality can determine whether pathogen transmission will persist; i.e., determines whether R0 is above or below 1, (2) vector population growth rate is relatively low and there are complex interactions between birth and death that differ fundamentally from birth-death relationships with age-independent mortality, and (3) the vector exhibits complex patterns of age-dependent mortality and R0∼1. A limiting factor in the construction and evaluation of new age-dependent mortality models is the paucity of data characterizing vector mortality patterns, particularly for free ranging vectors in the field. PMID:22724022

Optimized Lentiviral Vector Design Improves Titer and Transgene Expression of Vectors Containing the Chicken β-Globin Locus HS4 Insulator Element

PubMed Central

Hanawa, Hideki; Yamamoto, Motoko; Zhao, Huifen; Shimada, Takashi; Persons, Derek A

2009-01-01

Hematopoietic cell gene therapy using retroviral vectors has achieved success in clinical trials. However, safety issues regarding vector insertional mutagenesis have emerged. In two different trials, vector insertion resulted in the transcriptional activation of proto-oncogenes. One strategy for potentially diminishing vector insertional mutagenesis is through the use of self-inactivating lentiviral vectors containing the 1.2-kb insulator element derived from the chicken β-globin locus. However, use of this element can dramatically decrease both vector titer and transgene expression, thereby compromising its practical use. Here, we studied lentiviral vectors containing either the full-length 1.2-kb insulator or the smaller 0.25-kb core element in both orientations in the partially deleted long-terminal repeat. We show that use of the 0.25-kb core insulator rescued vector titer by alleviating a postentry block to reverse transcription associated with the 1.2-kb element. In addition, in an orientation-dependent manner, the 0.25-kb core element significantly increased transgene expression from an internal promoter due to improved transcriptional termination. This element also demonstrated barrier activity, reducing variability of expression due to position effects. As it is known that the 0.25-kb core insulator has enhancer-blocking activity, this particular insulated lentiviral vector design may be useful for clinical application. PMID:19223867

An improved ternary vector system for Agrobacterium-mediated rapid maize transformation.

PubMed

Anand, Ajith; Bass, Steven H; Wu, Emily; Wang, Ning; McBride, Kevin E; Annaluru, Narayana; Miller, Michael; Hua, Mo; Jones, Todd J

2018-05-01

A simple and versatile ternary vector system that utilizes improved accessory plasmids for rapid maize transformation is described. This system facilitates high-throughput vector construction and plant transformation. The super binary plasmid pSB1 is a mainstay of maize transformation. However, the large size of the base vector makes it challenging to clone, the process of co-integration is cumbersome and inefficient, and some Agrobacterium strains are known to give rise to spontaneous mutants resistant to tetracycline. These limitations present substantial barriers to high throughput vector construction. Here we describe a smaller, simpler and versatile ternary vector system for maize transformation that utilizes improved accessory plasmids requiring no co-integration step. In addition, the newly described accessory plasmids have restored virulence genes found to be defective in pSB1, as well as added virulence genes. Testing of different configurations of the accessory plasmids in combination with T-DNA binary vector as ternary vectors nearly doubles both the raw transformation frequency and the number of transformation events of usable quality in difficult-to-transform maize inbreds. The newly described ternary vectors enabled the development of a rapid maize transformation method for elite inbreds. This vector system facilitated screening different origins of replication on the accessory plasmid and T-DNA vector, and four combinations were identified that have high (86-103%) raw transformation frequency in an elite maize inbred.

Cycles of Transient High-Dose Cyclophosphamide Administration and Oncolytic Adenovirus Vector Intratumoral Injection for Long Term Tumor Suppression in Syrian Hamsters

PubMed Central

Dhar, Debanjan; Toth, Karoly; Wold, William S.M.

2014-01-01

Immune responses against oncolytic adenovirus (Ad) vectors are thought to limit vector anti-tumor efficacy. In Syrian hamsters, which are immunocompetent and whose tumors and normal tissues are permissive for replication of Ad5-based oncolytic Ad vectors, treating with high-dose cyclophosphamide to suppress the immune system and exert chemotherapeutic effects enhances Ad vector anti-tumor efficacy. However, long term cyclophosphamide treatment and immunosuppression can lead to anemia and vector spread to normal tissues. Here we employed three cycles of transient high-dose cyclophosphamide administration plus intratumoral injection of the oncolytic Ad vector VRX-007 followed by withdrawal from cyclophosphamide. Each cycle lasted 4-6 weeks. This protocol allowed the hamsters to remain healthy so the study could be continued for ~100 days. The tumors were very well suppressed throughout the study. With immunocompetent hamsters, the vector retarded tumor growth initially, but after 3-4 weeks the tumors resumed rapid growth and further injections of vector were ineffective. Preimmunization of the hamsters with Ad5 prevented vector spillover from the tumor to the liver yet still allowed for effective long term anti-tumor efficacy. Our results suggest that a clinical protocol might be developed with cycles of transient chemotherapy plus intratumoral vector injection to achieve significant anti-tumor efficacy while minimizing the side effects of cytostatic treatment. PMID:24722357

Cycles of transient high-dose cyclophosphamide administration and intratumoral oncolytic adenovirus vector injection for long-term tumor suppression in Syrian hamsters.

PubMed

Dhar, D; Toth, K; Wold, W S M

2014-04-01

Immune responses against oncolytic adenovirus (Ad) vectors are thought to limit vector anti-tumor efficacy. With Syrian hamsters, which are immunocompetent and whose tumors and normal tissues are permissive for replication of Ad5-based oncolytic Ad vectors, treating with high-dose cyclophosphamide (CP) to suppress the immune system and exert chemotherapeutic effects enhances Ad vector anti-tumor efficacy. However, long-term CP treatment and immunosuppression can lead to anemia and vector spread to normal tissues. Here, we employed three cycles of transient high-dose CP administration plus intratumoral injection of the oncolytic Ad vector VRX-007 followed by withdrawal of CP. Each cycle lasted 4-6 weeks. This protocol allowed the hamsters to remain healthy so the study could be continued for ~100 days. The tumors were very well suppressed throughout the study. With immunocompetent hamsters, the vector retarded tumor growth initially, but after 3-4 weeks the tumors resumed rapid growth and further injections of vector were ineffective. Preimmunization of the hamsters with Ad5 prevented vector spillover from the tumor to the liver yet still allowed for effective long-term anti-tumor efficacy. Our results suggest that a clinical protocol might be developed with cycles of transient chemotherapy plus intratumoral vector injection to achieve significant anti-tumor efficacy while minimizing the side effects of cytostatic treatment.

Construction and production of oncotropic vectors, derived from MVM(p), that share reduced sequence homology with helper plasmids.

PubMed

Clément, Nathalie; Velu, Thierry; Brandenburger, Annick

2002-09-01

The production of currently available vectors derived from autonomous parvoviruses requires the expression of capsid proteins in trans, from helper sequences. Cotransfection of a helper plasmid always generates significant amounts of replication-competent virus (RCV) that can be reduced by the integration of helper sequences into a packaging cell line. Although stocks of minute virus of mice (MVM)-based vectors with no detectable RCV could be produced by transfection into packaging cells; the latter appear after one or two rounds of replication, precluding further amplification of the vector stock. Indeed, once RCVs become detectable, they are efficiently amplified and rapidly take over the culture. Theoretically RCV-free vector stocks could be produced if all homology between vector and helper DNA is eliminated, thus preventing homologous recombination. We constructed new vectors based on the structure of spontaneously occurring defective particles of MVM. Based on published observations related to the size of vectors and the sequence of the viral origin of replication, these vectors were modified by the insertion of foreign DNA sequences downstream of the transgene and by the introduction of a consensus NS-1 nick site near the origin of replication to optimize their production. In one of the vectors the inserted fragment of mouse genomic DNA had a synergistic effect with the modified origin of replication in increasing vector production.

Integrated pest management and allocation of control efforts for vector-borne diseases

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ginsberg, H.S.

2001-01-01

Applications of various control methods were evaluated to determine how to integrate methods so as to minimize the number of human cases of vector-borne diseases. These diseases can be controlled by lowering the number of vector-human contacts (e.g., by pesticide applications or use of repellents), or by lowering the proportion of vectors infected with pathogens (e.g., by lowering or vaccinating reservoir host populations). Control methods should be combined in such a way as to most efficiently lower the probability of human encounter with an infected vector. Simulations using a simple probabilistic model of pathogen transmission suggest that the most efficient way to integrate different control methods is to combine methods that have the same effect (e.g., combine treatments that lower the vector population; or combine treatments that lower pathogen prevalence in vectors). Combining techniques that have different effects (e.g., a technique that lowers vector populations with a technique that lowers pathogen prevalence in vectors) will be less efficient than combining two techniques that both lower vector populations or combining two techniques that both lower pathogen prevalence, costs being the same. Costs of alternative control methods generally differ, so the efficiency of various combinations at lowering human contact with infected vectors should be estimated at available funding levels. Data should be collected from initial trials to improve the effects of subsequent interventions on the number of human cases.

Vector Doppler: spatial sampling analysis and presentation techniques for real-time systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capineri, Lorenzo; Scabia, Marco; Masotti, Leonardo F.

2001-05-01

The aim of the vector Doppler (VD) technique is the quantitative reconstruction of a velocity field independently of the ultrasonic probe axis to flow angle. In particular vector Doppler is interesting for studying vascular pathologies related to complex blood flow conditions. Clinical applications require a real-time operating mode and the capability to perform Doppler measurements over a defined volume. The combination of these two characteristics produces a real-time vector velocity map. In previous works the authors investigated the theory of pulsed wave (PW) vector Doppler and developed an experimental system capable of producing off-line 3D vector velocity maps. Afterwards, for producing dynamic velocity vector maps, we realized a new 2D vector Doppler system based on a modified commercial echograph. The measurement and presentation of a vector velocity field requires a correct spatial sampling that must satisfy the Shannon criterion. In this work we tackled this problem, establishing a relationship between sampling steps and scanning system characteristics. Another problem posed by the vector Doppler technique is the data representation in real-time that should be easy to interpret for the physician. With this in mine we attempted a multimedia solution that uses both interpolated images and sound to represent the information of the measured vector velocity map. These presentation techniques were experimented for real-time scanning on flow phantoms and preliminary measurements in vivo on a human carotid artery.

Prevalence of GJB2 (connexin-26) and GJB6 (connexin-30) mutations in a cohort of 300 Brazilian hearing-impaired individuals: implications for diagnosis and genetic counseling.

PubMed

Batissoco, Ana Carla; Abreu-Silva, Ronaldo Serafim; Braga, Maria Cristina Célia; Lezirovitz, Karina; Della-Rosa, Valter; Alfredo, Tabith; Otto, Paulo Alberto; Mingroni-Netto, Regina Célia

2009-02-01

Hereditary nonsyndromic deafness is an autosomal recessive condition in about 80% of cases, and point mutations in the GJB2 gene (connexin 26) and two deletions in the GJB6 gene (connexin 30), del(GJB6-D13S1830) and del(GJB6-D13S1854), are reported to account for 50% of recessive deafness. Aiming at establishing the frequencies of GJB2 mutations and GJB6 deletions in the Brazilian population, we screened 300 unrelated individuals with hearing impairment, who were not affected by known deafness related syndromes. We firstly screened the most frequently reported mutations, c.35delG and c.167delT in the GJB2 gene, and del(GJB6-D13S1830) and del(GJB6-D13S1854) in the GJB6 gene, through specific techniques. The detected c.35delG and c.167delT mutations were validated by sequencing. Other mutations in the GJB2 gene were screened by single-strand conformation polymorphism and the coding region was sequenced when abnormal patterns were found. Pathogenic mutations in GJB2 and GJB6 genes were detected in 41 individuals (13.7%), and 80.5% (33/41) presented these mutations in homozygosis or compound heterozygosis, thus explaining their hearing defect. The c.35delG in the GJB2 gene was the most frequent mutation (37/300; 12.4%), detected in 23% familial and 6.2% the sporadic cases. The second most frequent mutation (1%; 3/300) was the del(GJB6-D13S1830), always found associated with the c.35delG mutation. Nineteen different sequence variations were found in the GJB2 gene. In addition to the c.35delG mutation, nine known pathogenic alterations were detected c.167delT, p.Trp24X, p.Val37Ile, c.176_191del16, c.235delC, p.Leu90Pro, p.Arg127His, c.509insA, and p.Arg184Pro. Five substitutions had been previously considered benign polymorphisms: c.-15C>T, p.Val27Ile, p.Met34Thr, p.Ala40Ala, and p.Gly160Ser. Two previously reported mutations of unknown pathogenicity were found (p.Lys168Arg, and c.684C>A), and two novel substitutions, p.Leu81Val (c.G241C) and p.Met195Val (c.A583G), both in heterozygosis without an accompanying mutation in the other allele. None of these latter four variants of undefined status was present in a sample of 100 hearing controls. The present study demonstrates that mutations in the GJB2 gene and del(GJB6 D13S1830) are important causes of hearing impairment in Brazil, thus justifying their screening in a routine basis. The diversity of variants in our sample reflects the ethnic heterogeneity of the Brazilian population.

A static investigation of yaw vectoring concepts on two-dimensional convergent-divergent nozzles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berrier, B. L.; Mason, M. L.

1983-01-01

The flow-turning capability and nozzle internal performance of yaw-vectoring nozzle geometries were tested in the NASA Langley 16-ft Transonic wind tunnel. The concept was investigated as a means of enhancing fighter jet performance. Five two-dimensional convergent-divergent nozzles were equipped for yaw-vectoring and examined. The configurations included a translating left sidewall, left and right sidewall flaps downstream of the nozzle throat, left sidewall flaps or port located upstream of the nozzle throat, and a powered rudder. Trials were also run with 20 deg of pitch thrust vectoring added. The feasibility of providing yaw-thrust vectoring was demonstrated, with the largest yaw vector angles being obtained with sidewall flaps downstream of the nozzle primary throat. It was concluded that yaw vector designs that scoop or capture internal nozzle flow provide the largest yaw-vector capability, but decrease the thrust the most.

A multistage motion vector processing method for motion-compensated frame interpolation.

PubMed

Huang, Ai- Mei; Nguyen, Truong Q

2008-05-01

In this paper, a novel, low-complexity motion vector processing algorithm at the decoder is proposed for motion-compensated frame interpolation or frame rate up-conversion. We address the problems of having broken edges and deformed structures in an interpolated frame by hierarchically refining motion vectors on different block sizes. Our method explicitly considers the reliability of each received motion vector and has the capability of preserving the structure information. This is achieved by analyzing the distribution of residual energies and effectively merging blocks that have unreliable motion vectors. The motion vector reliability information is also used as a prior knowledge in motion vector refinement using a constrained vector median filter to avoid choosing identical unreliable one. We also propose using chrominance information in our method. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme has better visual quality and is also robust, even in video sequences with complex scenes and fast motion.

TMV-Gate vectors: Gateway compatible tobacco mosaic virus based expression vectors for functional analysis of proteins

PubMed Central

Kagale, Sateesh; Uzuhashi, Shihomi; Wigness, Merek; Bender, Tricia; Yang, Wen; Borhan, M. Hossein; Rozwadowski, Kevin

2012-01-01

Plant viral expression vectors are advantageous for high-throughput functional characterization studies of genes due to their capability for rapid, high-level transient expression of proteins. We have constructed a series of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) based vectors that are compatible with Gateway technology to enable rapid assembly of expression constructs and exploitation of ORFeome collections. In addition to the potential of producing recombinant protein at grams per kilogram FW of leaf tissue, these vectors facilitate either N- or C-terminal fusions to a broad series of epitope tag(s) and fluorescent proteins. We demonstrate the utility of these vectors in affinity purification, immunodetection and subcellular localisation studies. We also apply the vectors to characterize protein-protein interactions and demonstrate their utility in screening plant pathogen effectors. Given its broad utility in defining protein properties, this vector series will serve as a useful resource to expedite gene characterization efforts. PMID:23166857

Assessment of Climate Change and Vector-borne Diseases in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monaghan, A. J.; Beard, C. B.; Eisen, R. J.; Barker, C. M.; Garofalo, J.; Hahn, M.; Hayden, M.; Ogden, N.; Schramm, P.

2016-12-01

Vector-borne diseases are illnesses that are transmitted by vectors, which include mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. The seasonality, distribution, and prevalence of vector-borne diseases are influenced significantly by climate factors, primarily high and low temperature extremes and precipitation patterns. In this presentation we summarize key findings from Chapter 5 ("Vector-borne Diseases") of the recently published USGCRP Scientific Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States. Climate change is expected to alter geographic and seasonal distributions of vectors and vector-borne diseases, leading to earlier activity and northward range expansion of ticks capable of carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and other pathogens, and influencing the distribution, abundance and prevalence of infection in mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus and other pathogens. The emergence or reemergence of vector-borne pathogens is also likely.

Genetic modification of hematopoietic cells using retroviral and lentiviral vectors: safety considerations for vector design and delivery into target cells.

PubMed

Dropulic, Boro

2005-07-01

The recent development of leukemia in three patients following retroviral vector gene transfer in hematopoietic stem cells, resulting in the death of one patient, has raised safety concerns for the use of integrating gene transfer vectors for human gene therapy. This review discusses these serious adverse events from the perspective of whether restrictions on vector design and vector-modified target cells are warranted at this time. A case is made against presently establishing specific restrictions for vector design and transduced cells; rather, their safety should be ascertained by empiric evaluation in appropriate preclinical models on a case-by-case basis. Such preclinical data, coupled with proper informed patient consent and a risk-benefit ratio analysis, provide the best available prospective evaluation of gene transfer vectors prior to their translation into the clinic.

Multiscale vector fields for image pattern recognition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Low, Kah-Chan; Coggins, James M.

1990-01-01

A uniform processing framework for low-level vision computing in which a bank of spatial filters maps the image intensity structure at each pixel into an abstract feature space is proposed. Some properties of the filters and the feature space are described. Local orientation is measured by a vector sum in the feature space as follows: each filter's preferred orientation along with the strength of the filter's output determine the orientation and the length of a vector in the feature space; the vectors for all filters are summed to yield a resultant vector for a particular pixel and scale. The orientation of the resultant vector indicates the local orientation, and the magnitude of the vector indicates the strength of the local orientation preference. Limitations of the vector sum method are discussed. Investigations show that the processing framework provides a useful, redundant representation of image structure across orientation and scale.

Coanda-Assisted Spray Manipulation Collar for a Commercial Plasma Spray Gun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mabey, K.; Smith, B. L.; Whichard, G.; McKechnie, T.

2011-06-01

A Coanda-assisted Spray Manipulation (CSM) collar was retrofitted to a Praxair SG-100 plasma spray gun. The CSM device makes it possible to change the direction of (vector) the plasma jet and powder without moving the gun. The two-piece retrofit device replaces the standard faceplate. Two separate collars were tested: one designed for small vector angles and one for larger vector angles. It was demonstrated that the small-angle device could modify the trajectory of zirconia powder up to several degrees. Doing so could realign the plasma with the powder resulting in increased powder temperature and velocity. The large-angle device was capable of vectoring the plasma jet up to 45°. However, the powder did not vector as much. Under large-angle vectoring, the powder velocity and temperature decreased steadily with vector angle. Both devices were tested using a supersonic configuration to demonstrate that CSM is capable of vectoring supersonic plasmas.

Light scattering of rectangular slot antennas: parallel magnetic vector vs perpendicular electric vector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Dukhyung; Kim, Dai-Sik

2016-01-01

We study light scattering off rectangular slot nano antennas on a metal film varying incident polarization and incident angle, to examine which field vector of light is more important: electric vector perpendicular to, versus magnetic vector parallel to the long axis of the rectangle. While vector Babinet’s principle would prefer magnetic field along the long axis for optimizing slot antenna function, convention and intuition most often refer to the electric field perpendicular to it. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that in accordance with vector Babinet’s principle, the incident magnetic vector parallel to the long axis is the dominant component, with the perpendicular incident electric field making a small contribution of the factor of 1/|ε|, the reciprocal of the absolute value of the dielectric constant of the metal, owing to the non-perfectness of metals at optical frequencies.

Tensor calculus: unlearning vector calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Wha-Suck; Engelbrecht, Johann; Moller, Rita

2018-02-01

Tensor calculus is critical in the study of the vector calculus of the surface of a body. Indeed, tensor calculus is a natural step-up for vector calculus. This paper presents some pitfalls of a traditional course in vector calculus in transitioning to tensor calculus. We show how a deeper emphasis on traditional topics such as the Jacobian can serve as a bridge for vector calculus into tensor calculus.

High-dimensional vector semantics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrecut, M.

In this paper we explore the “vector semantics” problem from the perspective of “almost orthogonal” property of high-dimensional random vectors. We show that this intriguing property can be used to “memorize” random vectors by simply adding them, and we provide an efficient probabilistic solution to the set membership problem. Also, we discuss several applications to word context vector embeddings, document sentences similarity, and spam filtering.

Tightly-wound miniknot vectors for gene therapy: a potential improvement over supercoiled minicircle DNA.

PubMed

Tolmachov, Oleg E

2010-04-01

Minimized derivatives of bacterial plasmids with removed bacterial backbones are promising vectors for the efficient delivery and for the long-term expression of therapeutic genes. The absence of the bacterial plasmid backbone, a known inducer of innate immune response and a known silencer of transgene expression, provides a partial explanation for the high efficiency of gene transfer using minimized DNA vectors. Supercoiled minicircle DNA is a type of minimized DNA vector obtained via intra-plasmid recombination in bacteria. Minicircle vectors seem to get an additional advantage from their physical compactness, which reduces DNA damage due to the mechanical stress during gene delivery. An independent topological means for DNA compression is knotting, with some knotted DNA isoforms offering superior compactness. I propose that, firstly, knotted DNA can be a suitable compact DNA form for the efficient transfection of a range of human cells with therapeutic genes, and, secondly, that knotted minimized DNA vectors without bacterial backbones ("miniknot" vectors) can surpass supercoiled minicircle DNA vectors in the efficiency of therapeutic gene delivery. Crucially, while the introduction of a single nick to a supercoiled DNA molecule leads to the loss of the compact supercoiled status, the introduction of nicks to knotted DNA does not change knotting. Tight miniknot vectors can be readily produced by the direct action of highly concentrated type II DNA topoisomerase on minicircle DNA or, alternatively, by annealing of the 19-base cohesive ends of the minimized vectors confined within the capsids of Escherichia coli bacteriophage P2 or its satellite bacteriophage P4. After reaching the nucleoplasm of the target cell, the knotted DNA is expected to be unknotted through type II topoisomerase activity and thus to become available for transcription, chromosomal integration or episomal maintenance. The hypothesis can be tested by comparing the gene transfer efficiency achieved with the proposed miniknot vectors, the minicircle vectors described previously, knotted plasmid vectors and standard plasmid vectors. Tightly-wound miniknots can be particularly useful in the gene administration procedures involving considerable forces acting on vector DNA: aerosol inhalation, jet-injection, electroporation, particle bombardment and ultrasound DNA transfer. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Improved Brome mosaic virus Silencing Vector: Greater Insert Stability and More Extensive VIGS1[OPEN

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is used extensively for gene function studies in plants. VIGS is inexpensive and rapid compared with silencing conducted through stable transformation, but many virus-silencing vectors, especially in grasses, induce only transient silencing phenotypes. A major reason for transient phenotypes is the instability of the foreign gene fragment (insert) in the vector during VIGS. Here, we report the development of a Brome mosaic virus (BMV)-based vector that better maintains inserts through modification of the original BMV vector RNA sequence. Modification of the BMV RNA3 sequence yielded a vector, BMVCP5, that better maintained phytoene desaturase and heat shock protein70-1 (HSP70-1) inserts in Nicotiana benthamiana and maize (Zea mays). Longer maintenance of inserts was correlated with greater target gene silencing and more extensive visible silencing phenotypes displaying greater tissue penetration and involving more leaves. The modified vector accumulated similarly to the original vector in N. benthamiana after agroinfiltration, thus maintaining a high titer of virus in this intermediate host used to produce virus inoculum for grass hosts. For HSP70, silencing one family member led to a large increase in the expression of another family member, an increase likely related to the target gene knockdown and not a general effect of virus infection. The cause of the increased insert stability in the modified vector is discussed in relationship to its recombination and accumulation potential. The modified vector will improve functional genomic studies in grasses, and the conceptual methods used to improve the vector may be applied to other VIGS vectors. PMID:29127260

Influence of vectors' risk-spreading strategies and environmental stochasticity on the epidemiology and evolution of vector-borne diseases: the example of Chagas' disease.

PubMed

Pelosse, Perrine; Kribs-Zaleta, Christopher M; Ginoux, Marine; Rabinovich, Jorge E; Gourbière, Sébastien; Menu, Frédéric

2013-01-01

Insects are known to display strategies that spread the risk of encountering unfavorable conditions, thereby decreasing the extinction probability of genetic lineages in unpredictable environments. To what extent these strategies influence the epidemiology and evolution of vector-borne diseases in stochastic environments is largely unknown. In triatomines, the vectors of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas' disease, juvenile development time varies between individuals and such variation most likely decreases the extinction risk of vector populations in stochastic environments. We developed a simplified multi-stage vector-borne SI epidemiological model to investigate how vector risk-spreading strategies and environmental stochasticity influence the prevalence and evolution of a parasite. This model is based on available knowledge on triatomine biodemography, but its conceptual outcomes apply, to a certain extent, to other vector-borne diseases. Model comparisons between deterministic and stochastic settings led to the conclusion that environmental stochasticity, vector risk-spreading strategies (in particular an increase in the length and variability of development time) and their interaction have drastic consequences on vector population dynamics, disease prevalence, and the relative short-term evolution of parasite virulence. Our work shows that stochastic environments and associated risk-spreading strategies can increase the prevalence of vector-borne diseases and favor the invasion of more virulent parasite strains on relatively short evolutionary timescales. This study raises new questions and challenges in a context of increasingly unpredictable environmental variations as a result of global climate change and human interventions such as habitat destruction or vector control.

Bioengineering a non-genotoxic vector for genetic modification of mesenchymal stem cells.

PubMed

Chen, Xuguang; Nomani, Alireza; Patel, Niket; Nouri, Faranak S; Hatefi, Arash

2018-01-01

Vectors used for stem cell transfection must be non-genotoxic, in addition to possessing high efficiency, because they could potentially transform normal stem cells into cancer-initiating cells. The objective of this research was to bioengineer an efficient vector that can be used for genetic modification of stem cells without any negative somatic or genetic impact. Two types of multifunctional vectors, namely targeted and non-targeted were genetically engineered and purified from E. coli. The targeted vectors were designed to enter stem cells via overexpressed receptors. The non-targeted vectors were equipped with MPG and Pep1 cell penetrating peptides. A series of commercial synthetic non-viral vectors and an adenoviral vector were used as controls. All vectors were evaluated for their efficiency and impact on metabolic activity, cell membrane integrity, chromosomal aberrations (micronuclei formation), gene dysregulation, and differentiation ability of stem cells. The results of this study showed that the bioengineered vector utilizing VEGFR-1 receptors for cellular entry could transfect mesenchymal stem cells with high efficiency without inducing genotoxicity, negative impact on gene function, or ability to differentiate. Overall, the vectors that utilized receptors as ports for cellular entry (viral and non-viral) showed considerably better somato- and genosafety profiles in comparison to those that entered through electrostatic interaction with cellular membrane. The genetically engineered vector in this study demonstrated that it can be safely and efficiently used to genetically modify stem cells with potential applications in tissue engineering and cancer therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sistema Planeta-Satélite. Simulación orbital y potenciales gravitatorios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medina, C.; Carrillo, M.

Se presenta un programa (desarrollado en Quick Basic 4.5) que simula, en tres dimensiones, el movimiento orbital de un satélite (o luna) alrededor de un planeta, al tiempo que calcula y grafica, en un plano, el potencial gravitatorio del sistema en función de la distancia al planeta. Para la simulación orbital, se emplea la matriz de transformación entre el sistema del planeta y el plano orbital. Para el cálculo y graficación del potencial se aplica un desarrollo en serie hasta el segundo orden, que da cuenta del efecto de achatamiento de los polos, en caso de que éste exista. Las longitudes de los ejes del planeta, la masa de éste y del satélite, sus tamaños aparentes, y los parámetros orbitales son introducidos por el usuario.

Internal performance of two nozzles utilizing gimbal concepts for thrust vectoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berrier, Bobby L.; Taylor, John G.

1990-01-01

The internal performance of an axisymmetric convergent-divergent nozzle and a nonaxisymmetric convergent-divergent nozzle, both of which utilized a gimbal type mechanism for thrust vectoring was evaluated in the Static Test Facility of the Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel. The nonaxisymmetric nozzle used the gimbal concept for yaw thrust vectoring only; pitch thrust vectoring was accomplished by simultaneous deflection of the upper and lower divergent flaps. The model geometric parameters investigated were pitch vector angle for the axisymmetric nozzle and pitch vector angle, yaw vector angle, nozzle throat aspect ratio, and nozzle expansion ratio for the nonaxisymmetric nozzle. All tests were conducted with no external flow, and nozzle pressure ratio was varied from 2.0 to approximately 12.0.

Fast Quaternion Attitude Estimation from Two Vector Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markley, F. Landis; Bauer, Frank H. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Many spacecraft attitude determination methods use exactly two vector measurements. The two vectors are typically the unit vector to the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field vector for coarse "sun-mag" attitude determination or unit vectors to two stars tracked by two star trackers for fine attitude determination. Existing closed-form attitude estimates based on Wahba's optimality criterion for two arbitrarily weighted observations are somewhat slow to evaluate. This paper presents two new fast quaternion attitude estimation algorithms using two vector observations, one optimal and one suboptimal. The suboptimal method gives the same estimate as the TRIAD algorithm, at reduced computational cost. Simulations show that the TRIAD estimate is almost as accurate as the optimal estimate in representative test scenarios.

Multidirectional Scanning Model, MUSCLE, to Vectorize Raster Images with Straight Lines

PubMed Central

Karas, Ismail Rakip; Bayram, Bulent; Batuk, Fatmagul; Akay, Abdullah Emin; Baz, Ibrahim

2008-01-01

This paper presents a new model, MUSCLE (Multidirectional Scanning for Line Extraction), for automatic vectorization of raster images with straight lines. The algorithm of the model implements the line thinning and the simple neighborhood methods to perform vectorization. The model allows users to define specified criteria which are crucial for acquiring the vectorization process. In this model, various raster images can be vectorized such as township plans, maps, architectural drawings, and machine plans. The algorithm of the model was developed by implementing an appropriate computer programming and tested on a basic application. Results, verified by using two well known vectorization programs (WinTopo and Scan2CAD), indicated that the model can successfully vectorize the specified raster data quickly and accurately. PMID:27879843

Multidirectional Scanning Model, MUSCLE, to Vectorize Raster Images with Straight Lines.

PubMed

Karas, Ismail Rakip; Bayram, Bulent; Batuk, Fatmagul; Akay, Abdullah Emin; Baz, Ibrahim

2008-04-15

This paper presents a new model, MUSCLE (Multidirectional Scanning for Line Extraction), for automatic vectorization of raster images with straight lines. The algorithm of the model implements the line thinning and the simple neighborhood methods to perform vectorization. The model allows users to define specified criteria which are crucial for acquiring the vectorization process. In this model, various raster images can be vectorized such as township plans, maps, architectural drawings, and machine plans. The algorithm of the model was developed by implementing an appropriate computer programming and tested on a basic application. Results, verified by using two well known vectorization programs (WinTopo and Scan2CAD), indicated that the model can successfully vectorize the specified raster data quickly and accurately.

[Sendai virus vector: vector development and its application to health care and biotechnology].

PubMed

Iida, Akihiro

2007-06-01

Sendai virus (SeV) is an enveloped virus with a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA genome and a member of the paramyxovirus family. We have developed SeV vector which has shown a high efficiently of gene transfer and expression of foreign genes to a wide range of dividing and non-dividing mammalian cells and tissues. One of the characteristics of the vector is that the genome is located exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells and does not go through a DNA phase; thus there is no concern about unwanted integration of foreign sequences into chromosomal DNA. Therefore, this new class of "cytoplasmic RNA vector", an RNA vector with cytoplasmic expression, is expected to be a safer and more efficient viral vector than existing vectors for application to human therapy in various fields including gene therapy and vaccination. In this review, I describe development of Sendai virus vector, its application in the field of biotechnology and clinical application aiming to treat for a large number of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and neurologic disorders.

Imer-product array processor for retrieval of stored images represented by bipolar binary (+1,-1) pixels using partial input trinary pixels represented by (+1,-1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Hua-Kuang (Inventor); Awwal, Abdul A. S. (Inventor); Karim, Mohammad A. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

An inner-product array processor is provided with thresholding of the inner product during each iteration to make more significant the inner product employed in estimating a vector to be used as the input vector for the next iteration. While stored vectors and estimated vectors are represented in bipolar binary (1,-1), only those elements of an initial partial input vector that are believed to be common with those of a stored vector are represented in bipolar binary; the remaining elements of a partial input vector are set to 0. This mode of representation, in which the known elements of a partial input vector are in bipolar binary form and the remaining elements are set equal to 0, is referred to as trinary representation. The initial inner products corresponding to the partial input vector will then be equal to the number of known elements. Inner-product thresholding is applied to accelerate convergence and to avoid convergence to a negative input product.

The Development of the Differential MEMS Vector Hydrophone

PubMed Central

Zhang, Guojun; Liu, Mengran; Shen, Nixin; Wang, Xubo; Zhang, Wendong

2017-01-01

To solve the problem that MEMS vector hydrophones are greatly interfered with by the vibration of the platform and flow noise in applications, this paper describes a differential MEMS vector hydrophone that could simultaneously receive acoustic signals and reject acceleration signals. Theoretical and simulation analyses have been carried out. Lastly, a prototype of the differential MEMS vector hydrophone has been created and tested using a standing wave tube and a vibration platform. The results of the test show that this hydrophone has a high sensitivity, Mv = −185 dB (@ 500 Hz, 0 dB reference 1 V/μPa), which is almost the same as the previous MEMS vector hydrophones, and has a low acceleration sensitivity, Mv = −58 dB (0 dB reference 1 V/g), which has decreased by 17 dB compared with the previous MEMS vector hydrophone. The differential MEMS vector hydrophone basically meets the requirements of acoustic vector detection when it is rigidly fixed to a working platform, which lays the foundation for engineering applications of MEMS vector hydrophones. PMID:28594384

GPU Accelerated Vector Median Filter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aras, Rifat; Shen, Yuzhong

2011-01-01

Noise reduction is an important step for most image processing tasks. For three channel color images, a widely used technique is vector median filter in which color values of pixels are treated as 3-component vectors. Vector median filters are computationally expensive; for a window size of n x n, each of the n(sup 2) vectors has to be compared with other n(sup 2) - 1 vectors in distances. General purpose computation on graphics processing units (GPUs) is the paradigm of utilizing high-performance many-core GPU architectures for computation tasks that are normally handled by CPUs. In this work. NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) paradigm is used to accelerate vector median filtering. which has to the best of our knowledge never been done before. The performance of GPU accelerated vector median filter is compared to that of the CPU and MPI-based versions for different image and window sizes, Initial findings of the study showed 100x improvement of performance of vector median filter implementation on GPUs over CPU implementations and further speed-up is expected after more extensive optimizations of the GPU algorithm .

International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF): mantenimiento y extensión

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, C.; Arias, E. F.; Eubanks, T.; Fey, A. L.; Gontier, A.-M.; Jacobs, C. S.; Sovers, O. J.; Archinal, B. A.; Charlot, P.

A partir de enero de 1998 el sistema de referencia celeste convencional está representado por el International Celestial Reference System (ICRS) y materializado a través de las coordenadas VLBI del conjunto de radiofuentes extragalácticas que conforman el International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). La primera realización del ICRF, fue elaborada en 1995 por un grupo de expertos designado por la IAU, la que encomendó al International Earth Rotation Service el mantenimiento del ICRS, del ICRF y del vínculo con marcos de referencia en otras frecuencias. Una primera extensión del ICRF se realizó entre abril y junio de 1999, con el objetivo primario de proveer posiciones de radiofuentes extragalácticas observadas a partir de julio de 1995 y de mejorar las posiciones de las fuentes ``candidatas" con la inclusión de observaciones adicionales. Objetivos secundarios fueron monitorear a las radiofuentes para verificar que siguen siendo adecuadas para realizar al ICRF y mejorar las técnicas de análisis de datos. Como resultado del nuevo análisis se obtuvo una solución a partir de la cual se construyó la primera extensión del ICRF, denominada ICRF - Ext.1. Ella representa al ICRS, sus fuentes de definición se mantienen con las mismas posiciones y errores que en la primera realización del ICRF; las demás radiofuentes tienen coordenadas mejor determinadas que en ICRF; el marco de referencia se densificó con el agregado de 59 nuevas radiofuentes.

Estimaciones de Prevalencia del VIH por Género y Grupo de Riesgo en Tijuana, México: 2006

PubMed Central

Iñiguez-Stevens, Esmeralda; Brouwer, Kimberly C.; Hogg, Robert S.; Patterson, Thomas L.; Lozada, Remedios; Magis-Rodriguez, Carlos; Elder, John P.; Viani, Rolando M.; Strathdee, Steffanie A.

2010-01-01

OBJETIVO Estimar la prevalencia del VIH en adultos de 15-49 años de edad en Tijuana, México - en la población general y en subgrupos de riesgo en el 2006. METODOS Se obtuvieron datos demográficos del censo Mexicano del 2005, y la prevalencia del VIH se obtuvo de la literatura. Se construyó un modelo de prevalencia del VIH para la población general y de acuerdo al género. El análisis de sensibilidad consistió en estimar errores estándar del promedio-ponderado de la prevalencia del VIH y tomar derivados parciales con respecto a cada parámetro. RESULTADOS La prevalencia del VIH es 0.54%(N = 4,347) (Rango: 0.22%–0.86%, (N = 1,750–6,944)). Esto sugiere que 0.85%(Rango: 0.39%–1.31%) de los hombres y 0.22%(Rango: 0.04%–0.40%) de las mujeres podrían ser VIH-positivos. Los hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH), las trabajadoras sexuales usuarias de drogas inyectables (MTS-UDI), MTS-noUDI, mujeres UDI, y los hombres UDI contribuyeron las proporciones más elevadas de personas infectadas por el VIH. CONCLUSIONES El número de adultos VIH-positivos entre subgrupos de riesgo en la población de Tijuana es considerable, marcando la necesidad de enforcar las intervenciones de prevención en sus necesidades específicas. El presente modelo estima que hasta 1 en cada 116 adultos podrían ser VIH-positivos. PMID:19685824

Forensic applicability of multi-allelic InDels with mononucleotide homopolymer structures.

PubMed

Zhang, Shu; Zhu, Qiang; Chen, Xiaogang; Zhao, Yuancun; Zhao, Xiaohong; Yang, Yiwen; Gao, Zehua; Fang, Ting; Wang, Yufang; Zhang, Ji

2018-04-27

Insertion/deletion polymorphisms (InDels), which possess the characteristics of low mutation rates and a short amplicon size, have been regarded as promising markers for forensic DNA analysis. InDels can be classified as bi-allelic or multi-allelic, depending on the number of alleles. Many studies have explored the use of bi-allelic InDels in forensic applications, such as individual identification and ancestry inference. However, multi-allelic InDels have received relatively little attention. In this study, InDels with 2-6 alleles and a minor allele frequency ≥0.01, in Chinese Southern Han (CHS), were retrieved from the 1000 Genomes Project Phase III. Based on the structural analysis of all retrieved InDels, 17 multi-allelic markers with mononucleotide homopolymer structures were selected and combined in one multiplex PCR reaction system. Sensitivity, species specificity and applicability in forensic case work of the multiplex were analyzed. A total of 218 unrelated individuals from a Chinese Han population were genotyped. The combined discriminatory power (CDP), the combined match probability (CMP) and the cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) were 0.9999999999609, 3.91E-13 and 0.9956, respectively. The results demonstrated that this InDel multiplex panel was highly informative in the investigated population and most of the 26 populations of the 1000 Genomes Project. The data also suggested that multi-allelic InDel markers with monomeric base pair expansions are useful for forensic applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Quasi-periodicity of vector solitons in a graphene mode-locked fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yu Feng; Li, Lei; Tang, Ding Yuan; Shen, De Yuan

2013-12-01

We report on the experimental observation of quasi-periodic dynamics of vector solitons in an erbium-doped fiber laser passively mode-locked with atomic layer graphene. Apart from the stable polarization-locked vector soliton emission, it was found that under certain conditions the fiber laser could also emit vector solitons with quasi-periodic pulse energy variation and polarization rotation during the cavity roundtrips. We show that the physical mechanism for the quasi-periodic vector soliton evolution is cavity-induced soliton modulation instability. Quasi-periodic evolution of multiple vector solitons was also observed in the same laser.

Observation of High-Order Polarization-Locked Vector Solitons in a Fiber Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, D. Y.; Zhang, H.; Zhao, L. M.; Wu, X.

2008-10-01

We report on the experimental observation of a new type of polarization-locked vector soliton in a passively mode-locked fiber laser. The vector soliton is characterized by the fact that not only are the two orthogonally polarized soliton components phase-locked, but also one of the components has a double-humped intensity profile. Multiple phase-locked high-order vector solitons with identical soliton parameters and harmonic mode locking of the vector solitons were also obtained in the laser. Numerical simulations confirmed the existence of stable high-order vector solitons in the fiber laser.

Observation of high-order polarization-locked vector solitons in a fiber laser.

PubMed

Tang, D Y; Zhang, H; Zhao, L M; Wu, X

2008-10-10

We report on the experimental observation of a new type of polarization-locked vector soliton in a passively mode-locked fiber laser. The vector soliton is characterized by the fact that not only are the two orthogonally polarized soliton components phase-locked, but also one of the components has a double-humped intensity profile. Multiple phase-locked high-order vector solitons with identical soliton parameters and harmonic mode locking of the vector solitons were also obtained in the laser. Numerical simulations confirmed the existence of stable high-order vector solitons in the fiber laser.

Bunch of restless vector solitons in a fiber laser with SESAM.

PubMed

Zhao, L M; Tang, D Y; Zhang, H; Wu, X

2009-05-11

We report on the experimental observation of a novel form of vector soliton interaction in a fiber laser mode-locked with SESAM. Several vector solitons bunch in the cavity and move as a unit with the cavity repetition rate. However, inside the bunch the vector solitons make repeatedly contractive and repulsive motions, resembling the contraction and extension of a spring. The number of vector solitons in the bunch is controllable by changing the pump power. In addition, polarization rotation locking and period doubling bifurcation of the vector soliton bunch are also experimentally observed.

Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus Envelope Efficiently Pseudotypes Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Based Lentiviral Vectors

PubMed Central

Liu, Shan-Lu; Halbert, Christine L.; Miller, A. Dusty

2004-01-01

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) infects lung epithelial cells in sheep, and oncoretroviral vectors bearing JSRV Env can mediate transduction of human cells, suggesting that such vectors might be useful for lung-directed gene therapy. Here we show that JSRV Env can also efficiently pseudotype a human immunodeficiency virus type 1-based lentiviral vector, a more suitable vector for transduction of slowly dividing lung epithelial cells. We created several chimeric Env proteins that, unlike the parental Env, do not transform rodent fibroblasts but are still capable of pseudotyping lentiviral and oncoretroviral vectors. PMID:14963173

Effects of Circular DNA Length on Transfection Efficiency by Electroporation into HeLa Cells.

PubMed

Hornstein, Benjamin D; Roman, Dany; Arévalo-Soliz, Lirio M; Engevik, Melinda A; Zechiedrich, Lynn

2016-01-01

The ability to produce extremely small and circular supercoiled vectors has opened new territory for improving non-viral gene therapy vectors. In this work, we compared transfection of supercoiled DNA vectors ranging from 383 to 4,548 bp, each encoding shRNA against GFP under control of the H1 promoter. We assessed knockdown of GFP by electroporation into HeLa cells. All of our vectors entered cells in comparable numbers when electroporated with equal moles of DNA. Despite similar cell entry, we found length-dependent differences in how efficiently the vectors knocked down GFP. As vector length increased up to 1,869 bp, GFP knockdown efficiency per mole of transfected DNA increased. From 1,869 to 4,257 bp, GFP knockdown efficiency per mole was steady, then decreased with increasing vector length. In comparing GFP knockdown with equal masses of vectors, we found that the shorter vectors transfect more efficiently per nanogram of DNA transfected. Our results rule out cell entry and DNA mass as determining factors for gene knockdown efficiency via electroporation. The length-dependent effects we have uncovered are likely explained by differences in nuclear translocation or transcription. These data add an important step towards clinical applications of non-viral vector delivery.

Alpharetroviral Self-inactivating Vectors: Long-term Transgene Expression in Murine Hematopoietic Cells and Low Genotoxicity

PubMed Central

Suerth, Julia D; Maetzig, Tobias; Brugman, Martijn H; Heinz, Niels; Appelt, Jens-Uwe; Kaufmann, Kerstin B; Schmidt, Manfred; Grez, Manuel; Modlich, Ute; Baum, Christopher; Schambach, Axel

2012-01-01

Comparative integrome analyses have highlighted alpharetroviral vectors with a relatively neutral, and thus favorable, integration spectrum. However, previous studies used alpharetroviral vectors harboring viral coding sequences and intact long-terminal repeats (LTRs). We recently developed self-inactivating (SIN) alpharetroviral vectors with an advanced split-packaging design. In a murine bone marrow (BM) transplantation model we now compared alpharetroviral, gammaretroviral, and lentiviral SIN vectors and showed that all vectors transduced hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), leading to comparable, sustained multilineage transgene expression in primary and secondary transplanted mice. Alpharetroviral integrations were decreased near transcription start sites, CpG islands, and potential cancer genes compared with gammaretroviral, and decreased in genes compared with lentiviral integrations. Analyzing the transcriptome and intragenic integrations in engrafting cells, we observed stronger correlations between in-gene integration targeting and transcriptional activity for gammaretroviral and lentiviral vectors than for alpharetroviral vectors. Importantly, the relatively “extragenic” alpharetroviral integration pattern still supported long-term transgene expression upon serial transplantation. Furthermore, sensitive genotoxicity studies revealed a decreased immortalization incidence compared with gammaretroviral and lentiviral SIN vectors. We conclude that alpharetroviral SIN vectors have a favorable integration pattern which lowers the risk of insertional mutagenesis while supporting long-term transgene expression in the progeny of transplanted HSCs. PMID:22334016

Effects of Circular DNA Length on Transfection Efficiency by Electroporation into HeLa Cells

PubMed Central

Hornstein, Benjamin D.; Roman, Dany; Arévalo-Soliz, Lirio M.; Engevik, Melinda A.

2016-01-01

The ability to produce extremely small and circular supercoiled vectors has opened new territory for improving non-viral gene therapy vectors. In this work, we compared transfection of supercoiled DNA vectors ranging from 383 to 4,548 bp, each encoding shRNA against GFP under control of the H1 promoter. We assessed knockdown of GFP by electroporation into HeLa cells. All of our vectors entered cells in comparable numbers when electroporated with equal moles of DNA. Despite similar cell entry, we found length-dependent differences in how efficiently the vectors knocked down GFP. As vector length increased up to 1,869 bp, GFP knockdown efficiency per mole of transfected DNA increased. From 1,869 to 4,257 bp, GFP knockdown efficiency per mole was steady, then decreased with increasing vector length. In comparing GFP knockdown with equal masses of vectors, we found that the shorter vectors transfect more efficiently per nanogram of DNA transfected. Our results rule out cell entry and DNA mass as determining factors for gene knockdown efficiency via electroporation. The length-dependent effects we have uncovered are likely explained by differences in nuclear translocation or transcription. These data add an important step towards clinical applications of non-viral vector delivery. PMID:27918590

Multiaxis control power from thrust vectoring for a supersonic fighter aircraft model at Mach 0.20 to 2.47

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Capone, Francis J.; Bare, E. Ann

1987-01-01

The aeropropulsive characteristics of an advanced twin-engine fighter aircraft designed for supersonic cruise have been studied in the Langley 16-Foot Tansonic Tunnel and the Lewis 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Tunnel. The objective was to determine multiaxis control-power characteristics from thrust vectoring. A two-dimensional convergent-divergent nozzle was designed to provide yaw vector angles of 0, -10, and -20 deg combined with geometric pitch vector angles of 0 and 15 deg. Yaw thrust vectoring was provided by yaw flaps located in the nozzle sidewalls. Roll control was obtained from differential pitch vectoring. This investigation was conducted at Mach numbers from 0.20 to 2.47. Angle of attack was varied from 0 to about 19 deg, and nozzle pressure ratio was varied from about 1 (jet off) to 28, depending on Mach number. Increments in force or moment coefficient that result from pitch or yaw thrust vectoring remain essentially constant over the entire angle-of-attack range of all Mach numbers tested. There was no effect of pitch vectoring on the lateral aerodynamic forces and moments and only very small effects of yaw vectoring on the longitudinal aerodynamic forces and moments. This result indicates little cross-coupling of control forces and moments for combined pitch-yaw vectoring.

Efficacy and safety of a clinically relevant foamy vector design in human hematopoietic repopulating cells.

PubMed

Everson, Elizabeth M; Hocum, Jonah D; Trobridge, Grant D

2018-06-23

Previous studies have shown that foamy viral (FV) vectors are a promising alternative to gammaretroviral and lentiviral vectors and insulators can improve FV vector safety. However, in a previous analysis of insulator effects on FV vector safety, strong viral promoters were used to elicit genotoxic events. Here we developed and analyzed the efficacy and safety of a high-titer, clinically relevant FV vector driven by the housekeeping promoter elongation factor-1α and insulated with an enhancer blocking A1 insulator (FV-EGW-A1). Human CD34 + cord blood cells were exposed to an enhanced green fluorescent protein expressing vector, FV-EGW-A1, at a multiplicity of infection of 10 and then maintained in vitro or transplanted into immunodeficient mice. Flow cytometry was used to measure engraftment and marking in vivo. FV vector integration sites were analyzed to assess safety. FV-EGW-A1 resulted in high-marking, multi-lineage engraftment of human repopulating cells with no evidence of silencing. Engraftment was highly polyclonal with no clonal dominance and a promising safety profile based on integration site analysis. An FV vector with an elongation factor-1α promoter and an A1 insulator is a promising vector design for use in the clinic. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Viral Vectors for Gene Delivery to the Central Nervous System

PubMed Central

Lentz, Thomas B.; Gray, Steven J.; Samulski, R. Jude

2011-01-01

The potential benefits of gene therapy for neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s are enormous. Even a delay in the onset of severe symptoms would be invaluable to patients suffering from these and other diseases. Significant effort has been placed in developing vectors capable of delivering therapeutic genes to the CNS in order to treat neurological disorders. At the forefront of potential vectors, viral systems have evolved to efficiently deliver their genetic material to a cell. The biology of different viruses offers unique solutions to the challenges of gene therapy, such as cell targeting, transgene expression and vector production. It is important to consider the natural biology of a vector when deciding whether it will be the most effective for a specific therapeutic function. In this review, we outline desired features of the ideal vector for gene delivery to the CNS and discuss how well available viral vectors compare to this model. Adeno-associated virus, retrovirus, adenovirus and herpesvirus vectors are covered. Focus is placed on features of the natural biology that have made these viruses effective tools for gene delivery with emphasis on their application in the CNS. Our goal is to provide insight into features of the optimal vector and which viral vectors can provide these features. PMID:22001604

The evolution of plant virus transmission pathways.

PubMed

Hamelin, Frédéric M; Allen, Linda J S; Prendeville, Holly R; Hajimorad, M Reza; Jeger, Michael J

2016-05-07

The evolution of plant virus transmission pathways is studied through transmission via seed, pollen, or a vector. We address the questions: under what circumstances does vector transmission make pollen transmission redundant? Can evolution lead to the coexistence of multiple virus transmission pathways? We restrict the analysis to an annual plant population in which reproduction through seed is obligatory. A semi-discrete model with pollen, seed, and vector transmission is formulated to investigate these questions. We assume vector and pollen transmission rates are frequency-dependent and density-dependent, respectively. An ecological stability analysis is performed for the semi-discrete model and used to inform an evolutionary study of trade-offs between pollen and seed versus vector transmission. Evolutionary dynamics critically depend on the shape of the trade-off functions. Assuming a trade-off between pollen and vector transmission, evolution either leads to an evolutionarily stable mix of pollen and vector transmission (concave trade-off) or there is evolutionary bi-stability (convex trade-off); the presence of pollen transmission may prevent evolution of vector transmission. Considering a trade-off between seed and vector transmission, evolutionary branching and the subsequent coexistence of pollen-borne and vector-borne strains is possible. This study contributes to the theory behind the diversity of plant-virus transmission patterns observed in nature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microwave Observations and Modeling of O2 (1-delta(sub g)) and O3 Diurnal Variation in the Mesosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandor, Brad J.; Clancy, R. Todd; Rusch, David W.; Randall, Cora E.; Eckman, Richard S.; Siskind, David S.; Muhleman, Duane O.

1997-01-01

The first microwave measurements of an electronically excited molecular species in the Earth's atmosphere are presented. Local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) rotational line emission from mesospheric O2(1-del(sub g)) was observed at a frequency of 255.01794 GHz (lambda is approx. 1.2 mm), employing the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) millimeter facility at Kitt Peak, Arizona (32 N, 111 W). The pressure broadened line shapes of the O2(1-del(sub g)) spectra, which were obtained in January and April 1992 and in January and November 1993, are inverted to retrieve O2(1-del(sub g)) mixing profiles over the 50-70 km altitude region. The observed daytime abundances exceed ozone abundances in the lower mesosphere, which are separately retrieved with coincident O3 spectral line (249.7886 GHz) observations. The January and November 1993 observations are binned into 20-60 min time intervals to study O2(1-del(sub g)) diurnal behavior. Derived abundances of O2(1-del(sub g)) between 50 and 70 km for the four observation dates are 9%, 31%, 3%, and 26%, respectively, each +/- 10% higher than predicted, based on the simple photochemistry of lower mesospheric O2(1-del(sub g)). Modeled variation of [O2(1-del(sub g))] with time of day agrees with observed variation in that the observed difference between model and data abundances is constant throughout the daylight hours of each observation date. Model underprediction Of [02(lAg)] is consistent with similar model underprediction of mesospheric [O3]. A perturbation to the photochemical model that forces decreased ozone chemical loss brings brings both model [O3] and [O2(1-del(sub g))] into agreement with the observations. O2(1-del(sub g)) abundances derived from these 1.2 mm observations agree with [O2(1-del(sub g))] values derived from comparable SME observations of the 1.27 micrometers emission, with assumption of a 3880 sec O2(1-del(sub g)) radiative lifetime. The 6800 sec O2(1-del(sub g)) radiative lifetime proposed by Mlynczak and Nesbitt is ruled out by the similar comparison.

Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, South America

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The Mitre Peninsula is the easternmost tip of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, (54.5S, 65.5W). Early winter snow can be seen on this south tip of the Andes Mountains. These same mountains continue underwater to Antarctica. The Strait of Magellan, separating the South American mainland from Tierra del Fuego is off the scene to the north and west, but the Strait of LeMaire, separating Tierra del Fuego from the Isla de los Estados can be seen.

Desgarros del epitelio pigmentario de la retina: factores de riesgo, mecanismo y control terapéutico.

PubMed

Clemens, Christoph R; Eter, Nicole

2017-07-11

Los desgarros del epitelio pigmentario de la retina (EPR) se asocian en la mayoría de los casos con los desprendimientos vascularizados del EPR debido a una degeneración macular asociada a la edad (DMAE), y normalmente implican una pérdida adversa de la agudeza visual. Estudios recientes indican que ha habido un aumento en la incidencia de desgarros del EPR desde la introducción de fármacos anti-factor de crecimiento del endotelio vascular (anti-VEGF) así como una asociación temporal entre el desgarro y la inyección intravítrea. Dado que el número de pacientes con DMAE y el número de inyecciones anti-VEGF va en aumento, tanto la dificultad de prevenir desgarros del EPR como el tratamiento tras la formación de los desgarros han adquirido una mayor relevancia. De forma paralela, la evolución de la imagenología de la retina ha contribuido de manera significativa a comprender mejor el desarrollo de los desgarros del EPR en los últimos años. Esta revisión resume los conocimientos que se poseen actualmente sobre el desarrollo, los factores pronósticos y las estrategias terapéuticas de los desgarros del EPR antes y después de que estos se formen. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Dengue Vectors and their Spatial Distribution

PubMed Central

Higa, Yukiko

2011-01-01

The distribution of dengue vectors, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, is affected by climatic factors. In addition, since their life cycles are well adapted to the human environment, environmental changes resulting from human activity such as urbanization exert a great impact on vector distribution. The different responses of Ae. aegypti and Ae albopictus to various environments result in a difference in spatial distribution along north-south and urban-rural gradients, and between the indoors and outdoors. In the north-south gradient, climate associated with survival is an important factor in spatial distribution. In the urban-rural gradient, different distribution reflects a difference in adult niches and is modified by geographic and human factors. The direct response of the two species to the environment around houses is related to different spatial distribution indoors and outdoors. Dengue viruses circulate mainly between human and vector mosquitoes, and the vector presence is a limiting factor of transmission. Therefore, spatial distribution of dengue vectors is a significant concern in the epidemiology of the disease. Current technologies such as GIS, satellite imagery and statistical models allow researchers to predict the spatial distribution of vectors in the changing environment. Although it is difficult to confirm the actual effect of environmental and climate changes on vector abundance and vector-borne diseases, environmental changes caused by humans and human behavioral changes due to climate change can be expected to exert an impact on dengue vectors. Longitudinal monitoring of dengue vectors and viruses is therefore necessary. PMID:22500133

Energy-exchange collisions of dark-bright-bright vector solitons.

PubMed

Radhakrishnan, R; Manikandan, N; Aravinthan, K

2015-12-01

We find a dark component guiding the practically interesting bright-bright vector one-soliton to two different parametric domains giving rise to different physical situations by constructing a more general form of three-component dark-bright-bright mixed vector one-soliton solution of the generalized Manakov model with nine free real parameters. Moreover our main investigation of the collision dynamics of such mixed vector solitons by constructing the multisoliton solution of the generalized Manakov model with the help of Hirota technique reveals that the dark-bright-bright vector two-soliton supports energy-exchange collision dynamics. In particular the dark component preserves its initial form and the energy-exchange collision property of the bright-bright vector two-soliton solution of the Manakov model during collision. In addition the interactions between bound state dark-bright-bright vector solitons reveal oscillations in their amplitudes. A similar kind of breathing effect was also experimentally observed in the Bose-Einstein condensates. Some possible ways are theoretically suggested not only to control this breathing effect but also to manage the beating, bouncing, jumping, and attraction effects in the collision dynamics of dark-bright-bright vector solitons. The role of multiple free parameters in our solution is examined to define polarization vector, envelope speed, envelope width, envelope amplitude, grayness, and complex modulation of our solution. It is interesting to note that the polarization vector of our mixed vector one-soliton evolves in sphere or hyperboloid depending upon the initial parametric choices.

Disruption of Vector Host Preference with Plant Volatiles May Reduce Spread of Insect-Transmitted Plant Pathogens.

PubMed

Martini, Xavier; Willett, Denis S; Kuhns, Emily H; Stelinski, Lukasz L

2016-05-01

Plant pathogens can manipulate the odor of their host; the odor of an infected plant is often attractive to the plant pathogen vector. It has been suggested that this odor-mediated manipulation attracts vectors and may contribute to spread of disease; however, this requires further broad demonstration among vector-pathogen systems. In addition, disruption of this indirect chemical communication between the pathogen and the vector has not been attempted. We present a model that demonstrates how a phytophathogen (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) can increase its spread by indirectly manipulating the behavior of its vector (Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama). The model indicates that when vectors are attracted to pathogen-infected hosts, the proportion of infected vectors increases, as well as, the proportion of infected hosts. Additionally, the peak of infected host populations occurs earlier as compared with controls. These changes in disease dynamics were more important during scenarios with higher vector mortality. Subsequently, we conducted a series of experiments to disrupt the behavior of the Asian citrus psyllid. To do so, we exposed the vector to methyl salicylate, the major compound released following host infection with the pathogen. We observed that during exposure or after pre-exposure to methyl salicylate, the host preference can be altered; indeed, the Asian citrus psyllids were unable to select infected hosts over uninfected counterparts. We suggest mechanisms to explain these interactions and potential applications of disrupting herbivore host preference with plant volatiles for sustainable management of insect vectors.

An Efficient Wait-Free Vector

DOE PAGES

Feldman, Steven; Valera-Leon, Carlos; Dechev, Damian

2016-03-01

The vector is a fundamental data structure, which provides constant-time access to a dynamically-resizable range of elements. Currently, there exist no wait-free vectors. The only non-blocking version supports only a subset of the sequential vector API and exhibits significant synchronization overhead caused by supporting opposing operations. Since many applications operate in phases of execution, wherein each phase only a subset of operations are used, this overhead is unnecessary for the majority of the application. To address the limitations of the non-blocking version, we present a new design that is wait-free, supports more of the operations provided by the sequential vector,more » and provides alternative implementations of key operations. These alternatives allow the developer to balance the performance and functionality of the vector as requirements change throughout execution. Compared to the known non-blocking version and the concurrent vector found in Intel’s TBB library, our design outperforms or provides comparable performance in the majority of tested scenarios. Over all tested scenarios, the presented design performs an average of 4.97 times more operations per second than the non-blocking vector and 1.54 more than the TBB vector. In a scenario designed to simulate the filling of a vector, performance improvement increases to 13.38 and 1.16 times. This work presents the first ABA-free non-blocking vector. Finally, unlike the other non-blocking approach, all operations are wait-free and bounds-checked and elements are stored contiguously in memory.« less

Method for indexing and retrieving manufacturing-specific digital imagery based on image content

DOEpatents

Ferrell, Regina K.; Karnowski, Thomas P.; Tobin, Jr., Kenneth W.

2004-06-15

A method for indexing and retrieving manufacturing-specific digital images based on image content comprises three steps. First, at least one feature vector can be extracted from a manufacturing-specific digital image stored in an image database. In particular, each extracted feature vector corresponds to a particular characteristic of the manufacturing-specific digital image, for instance, a digital image modality and overall characteristic, a substrate/background characteristic, and an anomaly/defect characteristic. Notably, the extracting step includes generating a defect mask using a detection process. Second, using an unsupervised clustering method, each extracted feature vector can be indexed in a hierarchical search tree. Third, a manufacturing-specific digital image associated with a feature vector stored in the hierarchicial search tree can be retrieved, wherein the manufacturing-specific digital image has image content comparably related to the image content of the query image. More particularly, can include two data reductions, the first performed based upon a query vector extracted from a query image. Subsequently, a user can select relevant images resulting from the first data reduction. From the selection, a prototype vector can be calculated, from which a second-level data reduction can be performed. The second-level data reduction can result in a subset of feature vectors comparable to the prototype vector, and further comparable to the query vector. An additional fourth step can include managing the hierarchical search tree by substituting a vector average for several redundant feature vectors encapsulated by nodes in the hierarchical search tree.

Germline incorporation of a replication-defective adenoviral vector in mice does not alter immune responses to adenoviral vectors.

PubMed

Camargo, F D; Huey-Louie, D A; Finn, A V; Sassani, A B; Cozen, A E; Moriwaki, H; Schneider, D B; Agah, R; Dichek, D A

2000-11-01

The utility of adenoviral vectors is limited by immune responses to adenoviral antigens. We sought to develop immune-competent mice in which the immune response to adenoviral antigens was selectively absent. To do so, we generated mice that were transgenic for a replication-defective vector. Adenoviral antigens might be seen as self-antigens by these mice, and the mice could exhibit immunologic tolerance after postnatal exposure to adenoviral vectors. In addition, characterization of these mice could reveal potential consequences of germline transmission of an adenoviral vector, as might occur in a gene therapy trial. Injection of a "null" (not containing a transgene) E1, E3-deleted vector genome into mouse zygotes yielded five founders that were capable of transmitting the vector genome. Among offspring of these mice, transgenic pups were significantly underrepresented: 108 of 255 pups (42%) were transgenic (P<0.02 versus expected frequency of 50%). Postnatal transgenic mice, however, had no apparent abnormalities. Persistence of an adenoviral vector after intravenous injection was equivalent in livers of transgenic mice and their nontransgenic littermates. Transgenic and nontransgenic mice also had equivalent humoral and cellular immune responses to adenoviral vector injection. Mice that are transgenic for an E1, E3-deleted adenoviral genome can be easily generated; however, they are not tolerant of adenovirus. Moreover, germline transmission of an adenoviral vector genome does not prevent generation of a robust immune response after exposure to adenoviral antigens.

Rortex—A new vortex vector definition and vorticity tensor and vector decompositions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chaoqun; Gao, Yisheng; Tian, Shuling; Dong, Xiangrui

2018-03-01

A vortex is intuitively recognized as the rotational/swirling motion of the fluids. However, an unambiguous and universally accepted definition for vortex is yet to be achieved in the field of fluid mechanics, which is probably one of the major obstacles causing considerable confusions and misunderstandings in turbulence research. In our previous work, a new vector quantity that is called vortex vector was proposed to accurately describe the local fluid rotation and clearly display vortical structures. In this paper, the definition of the vortex vector, named Rortex here, is revisited from the mathematical perspective. The existence of the possible rotational axis is proved through real Schur decomposition. Based on real Schur decomposition, a fast algorithm for calculating Rortex is also presented. In addition, new vorticity tensor and vector decompositions are introduced: the vorticity tensor is decomposed to a rigidly rotational part and a non-rotationally anti-symmetric part, and the vorticity vector is decomposed to a rigidly rotational vector which is called the Rortex vector and a non-rotational vector which is called the shear vector. Several cases, including the 2D Couette flow, 2D rigid rotational flow, and 3D boundary layer transition on a flat plate, are studied to demonstrate the justification of the definition of Rortex. It can be observed that Rortex identifies both the precise swirling strength and the rotational axis, and thus it can reasonably represent the local fluid rotation and provide a new powerful tool for vortex dynamics and turbulence research.

Text analysis devices, articles of manufacture, and text analysis methods

DOEpatents

Turner, Alan E; Hetzler, Elizabeth G; Nakamura, Grant C

2015-03-31

Text analysis devices, articles of manufacture, and text analysis methods are described according to some aspects. In one aspect, a text analysis device includes a display configured to depict visible images, and processing circuitry coupled with the display and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to access a first vector of a text item and which comprises a plurality of components, to access a second vector of the text item and which comprises a plurality of components, to weight the components of the first vector providing a plurality of weighted values, to weight the components of the second vector providing a plurality of weighted values, and to combine the weighted values of the first vector with the weighted values of the second vector to provide a third vector.

SSM/I and ECMWF Wind Vector Comparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wentz, Frank J.; Ashcroft, Peter D.

1996-01-01

Wentz was the first to convincingly show that satellite microwave radiometers have the potential to measure the oceanic wind vector. The most compelling evidence for this conclusion was the monthly wind vector maps derived solely from a statistical analysis of Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) observations. In a qualitative sense, these maps clearly showed the general circulation over the world's oceans. In this report we take a closer look at the SSM/I monthly wind vector maps and compare them to European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) wind fields. This investigation leads both to an empirical comparison of SSM/I calculated wind vectors with ECMWF wind vectors, and to an examination of possible reasons that the SSM/I calculated wind vector direction would be inherently more reliable at some locations than others.

A novel packaging system for the generation of helper-free oncolytic MVM vector stocks.

PubMed

Brandenburger, A; Russell, S

1996-10-01

MVM-based autonomous parvoviral vectors have been shown to target the expression of heterologous genes in neoplastic cells and are therefore of interest for cancer gene therapy. The traditional method for production of parvoviral vectors requires the cotransfection of vector and helper plasmids into MVM-permissive cell lines, but recombination between the cotransfected plasmids invariably gives rise to vector stocks that are heavily contaminated with wild-type MVM. Therefore, to minimise recombination between the vector and helper genomes we have utilised a cell line in which the MVM helper functions are expressed inducibly from a modified MVM genome that is stably integrated into the host cell chromosome. Using this MVM packaging cell line, we could reproducibly generate MVM vector stocks that contained no detectable helper virus.

Will integrated surveillance systems for vectors and vector-borne diseases be the future of controlling vector-borne diseases? A practical example from China.

PubMed

Wu, Y; Ling, F; Hou, J; Guo, S; Wang, J; Gong, Z

2016-07-01

Vector-borne diseases are one of the world's major public health threats and annually responsible for 30-50% of deaths reported to the national notifiable disease system in China. To control vector-borne diseases, a unified, effective and economic surveillance system is urgently needed; all of the current surveillance systems in China waste resources and/or information. Here, we review some current surveillance systems and present a concept for an integrated surveillance system combining existing vector and vector-borne disease monitoring systems. The integrated surveillance system has been tested in pilot programmes in China and led to a 21·6% cost saving in rodent-borne disease surveillance. We share some experiences gained from these programmes.

Matrix multiplication operations with data pre-conditioning in a high performance computing architecture

DOEpatents

Eichenberger, Alexandre E; Gschwind, Michael K; Gunnels, John A

2013-11-05

Mechanisms for performing matrix multiplication operations with data pre-conditioning in a high performance computing architecture are provided. A vector load operation is performed to load a first vector operand of the matrix multiplication operation to a first target vector register. A load and splat operation is performed to load an element of a second vector operand and replicating the element to each of a plurality of elements of a second target vector register. A multiply add operation is performed on elements of the first target vector register and elements of the second target vector register to generate a partial product of the matrix multiplication operation. The partial product of the matrix multiplication operation is accumulated with other partial products of the matrix multiplication operation.

Índice UV

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Información general sobre el Índice UV que proporciona un pronóstico del riesgo esperado de sobreexposición a la radiación ultravioleta (UV) del sol. El índice UV va acompañado de recomendaciones para protegerse del sol.

An Improved Brome mosaic virus Silencing Vector: Greater Insert Stability and More Extensive VIGS.

PubMed

Ding, Xin Shun; Mannas, Stephen W; Bishop, Bethany A; Rao, Xiaolan; Lecoultre, Mitchell; Kwon, Soonil; Nelson, Richard S

2018-01-01

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is used extensively for gene function studies in plants. VIGS is inexpensive and rapid compared with silencing conducted through stable transformation, but many virus-silencing vectors, especially in grasses, induce only transient silencing phenotypes. A major reason for transient phenotypes is the instability of the foreign gene fragment (insert) in the vector during VIGS. Here, we report the development of a Brome mosaic virus (BMV)-based vector that better maintains inserts through modification of the original BMV vector RNA sequence. Modification of the BMV RNA3 sequence yielded a vector, BMVCP5, that better maintained phytoene desaturase and heat shock protein70-1 ( HSP70-1 ) inserts in Nicotiana benthamiana and maize ( Zea mays ). Longer maintenance of inserts was correlated with greater target gene silencing and more extensive visible silencing phenotypes displaying greater tissue penetration and involving more leaves. The modified vector accumulated similarly to the original vector in N. benthamiana after agroinfiltration, thus maintaining a high titer of virus in this intermediate host used to produce virus inoculum for grass hosts. For HSP70 , silencing one family member led to a large increase in the expression of another family member, an increase likely related to the target gene knockdown and not a general effect of virus infection. The cause of the increased insert stability in the modified vector is discussed in relationship to its recombination and accumulation potential. The modified vector will improve functional genomic studies in grasses, and the conceptual methods used to improve the vector may be applied to other VIGS vectors. © 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Altering the selection capabilities of common cloning vectors via restriction enzyme mediated gene disruption

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The cloning of gene sequences forms the basis for many molecular biological studies. One important step in the cloning process is the isolation of bacterial transformants carrying vector DNA. This involves a vector-encoded selectable marker gene, which in most cases, confers resistance to an antibiotic. However, there are a number of circumstances in which a different selectable marker is required or may be preferable. Such situations can include restrictions to host strain choice, two phase cloning experiments and mutagenesis experiments, issues that result in additional unnecessary cloning steps, in which the DNA needs to be subcloned into a vector with a suitable selectable marker. Results We have used restriction enzyme mediated gene disruption to modify the selectable marker gene of a given vector by cloning a different selectable marker gene into the original marker present in that vector. Cloning a new selectable marker into a pre-existing marker was found to change the selection phenotype conferred by that vector, which we were able to demonstrate using multiple commonly used vectors and multiple resistance markers. This methodology was also successfully applied not only to cloning vectors, but also to expression vectors while keeping the expression characteristics of the vector unaltered. Conclusions Changing the selectable marker of a given vector has a number of advantages and applications. This rapid and efficient method could be used for co-expression of recombinant proteins, optimisation of two phase cloning procedures, as well as multiple genetic manipulations within the same host strain without the need to remove a pre-existing selectable marker in a previously genetically modified strain. PMID:23497512

Immune Recognition of Gene Transfer Vectors: Focus on Adenovirus as a Paradigm

PubMed Central

Aldhamen, Yasser Ali; Seregin, Sergey S.; Amalfitano, Andrea

2011-01-01

Recombinant Adenovirus (Ad) based vectors have been utilized extensively as a gene transfer platform in multiple pre-clinical and clinical applications. These applications are numerous, and inclusive of both gene therapy and vaccine based approaches to human or animal diseases. The widespread utilization of these vectors in both animal models, as well as numerous human clinical trials (Ad-based vectors surpass all other gene transfer vectors relative to numbers of patients treated, as well as number of clinical trials overall), has shed light on how this virus vector interacts with both the innate and adaptive immune systems. The ability to generate and administer large amounts of this vector likely contributes not only to their ability to allow for highly efficient gene transfer, but also their elicitation of host immune responses to the vector and/or the transgene the vector expresses in vivo. These facts, coupled with utilization of several models that allow for full detection of these responses has predicted several observations made in human trials, an important point as lack of similar capabilities by other vector systems may prevent detection of such responses until only after human trials are initiated. Finally, induction of innate or adaptive immune responses by Ad vectors may be detrimental in one setting (i.e., gene therapy) and be entirely beneficial in another (i.e., prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine based applications). Herein, we review the current understanding of innate and adaptive immune responses to Ad vectors, as well some recent advances that attempt to capitalize on this understanding so as to further broaden the safe and efficient use of Ad-based gene transfer therapies in general. PMID:22566830

Peridomestic Aedes malayensis and Aedes albopictus are capable vectors of arboviruses in cities.

PubMed

Mendenhall, Ian H; Manuel, Menchie; Moorthy, Mahesh; Lee, Theodore T M; Low, Dolyce H W; Missé, Dorothée; Gubler, Duane J; Ellis, Brett R; Ooi, Eng Eong; Pompon, Julien

2017-06-01

Dengue and chikungunya are global re-emerging mosquito-borne diseases. In Singapore, sustained vector control coupled with household improvements reduced domestic mosquito populations for the past 45 years, particularly the primary vector Aedes aegypti. However, while disease incidence was low for the first 30 years following vector control implementation, outbreaks have re-emerged in the past 15 years. Epidemiological observations point to the importance of peridomestic infection in areas not targeted by control programs. We investigated the role of vectors in peri-domestic areas. We carried out entomological surveys to identify the Aedes species present in vegetated sites in highly populated areas and determine whether mosquitoes were present in open-air areas frequented by people. We compared vector competence of Aedes albopictus and Aedes malayensis with Ae. aegypti after oral infection with sympatric dengue serotype 2 and chikungunya viruses. Mosquito saliva was tested for the presence of infectious virus particles as a surrogate for transmission following oral infection. We identified Aedes albopictus and Aedes malayensis throughout Singapore and quantified their presence in forested and opened grassy areas. Both Ae. albopictus and Ae. malayensis can occupy sylvatic niches and were highly susceptible to both arboviruses. A majority of saliva of infected Ae. malayensis contained infectious particles for both viruses. Our study reveals the prevalence of competent vectors in peri-domestic areas, including Ae. malayensis for which we established the vector status. Epidemics can be driven by infection foci, which are epidemiologically enhanced in the context of low herd immunity, selective pressure on arbovirus transmission and the presence of infectious asymptomatic persons, all these conditions being present in Singapore. Learning from Singapore's vector control success that reduced domestic vector populations, but has not sustainably reduced arboviral incidence, we suggest including peri-domestic vectors in the scope of vector management.

Large-scale Clinical-grade Retroviral Vector Production in a Fixed-Bed Bioreactor

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiuyan; Olszewska, Malgorzata; Qu, Jinrong; Wasielewska, Teresa; Bartido, Shirley; Hermetet, Gregory; Sadelain, Michel

2015-01-01

The successful genetic engineering of patient T cells with γ-retroviral vectors expressing chimeric antigen receptors or T-cell receptors for phase II clinical trials and beyond requires the large-scale manufacture of high-titer vector stocks. The production of retroviral vectors from stable packaging cell lines using roller bottles or 10- to 40-layer cell factories is limited by a narrow harvest window, labor intensity, open-system operations, and the requirement for significant incubator space. To circumvent these shortcomings, we optimized the production of vector stocks in a disposable fixed-bed bioreactor using good manufacturing practice–grade packaging cell lines. High-titer vector stocks were harvested over 10 days, representing a much broader harvest window than the 3-day harvest afforded by cell factories. For PG13 and 293Vec packaging cells, the average vector titer and the vector stocks’ yield in the bioreactor were higher by 3.2- to 7.3-fold, and 5.6- to 13.1-fold, respectively, than those obtained in cell factories. The vector production was 10.4 and 18.6 times more efficient than in cell factories for PG13 and 293Vec cells, respectively. Furthermore, the vectors produced from the fixed-bed bioreactors passed the release test assays for clinical applications. Therefore, a single vector lot derived from 293Vec is suitable to transduce up to 500 patients cell doses in the context of large clinical trials using chimeric antigen receptors or T-cell receptors. These findings demonstrate for the first time that a robust fixed-bed bioreactor process can be used to produce γ-retroviral vector stocks scalable up to the commercialization phase. PMID:25751502

Emergence and Prevalence of Human Vector-Borne Diseases in Sink Vector Populations

PubMed Central

Rascalou, Guilhem; Pontier, Dominique; Menu, Frédéric; Gourbière, Sébastien

2012-01-01

Vector-borne diseases represent a major public health concern in most tropical and subtropical areas, and an emerging threat for more developed countries. Our understanding of the ecology, evolution and control of these diseases relies predominantly on theory and data on pathogen transmission in large self-sustaining ‘source’ populations of vectors representative of highly endemic areas. However, there are numerous places where environmental conditions are less favourable to vector populations, but where immigration allows them to persist. We built an epidemiological model to investigate the dynamics of six major human vector borne-diseases in such non self-sustaining ‘sink’ vector populations. The model was parameterized through a review of the literature, and we performed extensive sensitivity analysis to look at the emergence and prevalence of the pathogen that could be encountered in these populations. Despite the low vector abundance in typical sink populations, all six human diseases were able to spread in 15–55% of cases after accidental introduction. The rate of spread was much more strongly influenced by vector longevity, immigration and feeding rates, than by transmission and virulence of the pathogen. Prevalence in humans remained lower than 5% for dengue, leishmaniasis and Japanese encephalitis, but substantially higher for diseases with longer duration of infection; malaria and the American and African trypanosomiasis. Vector-related parameters were again the key factors, although their influence was lower than on pathogen emergence. Our results emphasize the need for ecology and evolution to be thought in the context of metapopulations made of a mosaic of sink and source habitats, and to design vector control program not only targeting areas of high vector density, but working at a larger spatial scale. PMID:22629337

Polarization rotation locking of vector solitons in a fiber ring laser.

PubMed

Zhao, L M; Tang, D Y; Zhang, H; Wu, X

2008-07-07

Polarization rotation of vector solitons in a fiber ring laser was experimentally studied. It was observed that the period of vector soliton polarization rotation could be locked to the cavity roundtrip time or multiple of it. We further show that multiple vector solitons can be formed in a fiber laser, and all the vector solitons have the same group velocity in cavity, however, their instantaneous polarization ellipse orientations could be orthogonal.

Rapid construction of a Bacterial Artificial Chromosomal (BAC) expression vector using designer DNA fragments.

PubMed

Chen, Chao; Zhao, Xinqing; Jin, Yingyu; Zhao, Zongbao Kent; Suh, Joo-Won

2014-11-01

Bacterial artificial chromosomal (BAC) vectors are increasingly being used in cloning large DNA fragments containing complex biosynthetic pathways to facilitate heterologous production of microbial metabolites for drug development. To express inserted genes using Streptomyces species as the production hosts, an integration expression cassette is required to be inserted into the BAC vector, which includes genetic elements encoding a phage-specific attachment site, an integrase, an origin of transfer, a selection marker and a promoter. Due to the large sizes of DNA inserted into the BAC vectors, it is normally inefficient and time-consuming to assemble these fragments by routine PCR amplifications and restriction-ligations. Here we present a rapid method to insert fragments to construct BAC-based expression vectors. A DNA fragment of about 130 bp was designed, which contains upstream and downstream homologous sequences of both BAC vector and pIB139 plasmid carrying the whole integration expression cassette. In-Fusion cloning was performed using the designer DNA fragment to modify pIB139, followed by λ-RED-mediated recombination to obtain the BAC-based expression vector. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this method by rapid construction of a BAC-based expression vector with an insert of about 120 kb that contains the entire gene cluster for biosynthesis of immunosuppressant FK506. The empty BAC-based expression vector constructed in this study can be conveniently used for construction of BAC libraries using either microbial pure culture or environmental DNA, and the selected BAC clones can be directly used for heterologous expression. Alternatively, if a BAC library has already been constructed using a commercial BAC vector, the selected BAC vectors can be manipulated using the method described here to get the BAC-based expression vectors with desired gene clusters for heterologous expression. The rapid construction of a BAC-based expression vector facilitates heterologous expression of large gene clusters for drug discovery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Effects of canine IL-2 and IL-7 genes on enhancing immunogenicity of canine parvovirus VP2 gene vaccine in mice].

PubMed

Chen, Huihui; Zhong, Fei; Li, Xiujin; Wang, Lu; Sun, Yan; Neng, Changai; Zhang, Kao; Li, Wenyan; Wen, Jiexia

2012-11-04

To investigate the effects of canine interleukin-2 (cIL-2) and cIL-7 genes on enhancing the immunogenicity of canine parvovirus (CPV) VP2 DNA vaccine. The bicistronic vectors of cIL-2 and cIL-7 genes were constructed using the eukaryotic expression vector containing internal ribosome entry site (IRES). The cIL-2/ cIL-7 dicistronic vector plus previously constructed vectors, including CPV VP2 DNA vaccine vector, cIL-2 vector and cIL-7 vector, were used to co-immunize mice with different combinations, consisting of VP2 alone, VP2 + cIL-2, VP2 + cIL-7 and VP2 + cIL-2/cIL-7. The VP2-specific antibody levels in immunized mice were measured by ELISA at different time post-immunization. The proliferation indices and interferon-gamma expression were measured by lymphocyte proliferation assay and ELISA, respectively. The cIL-2/cIL-7 bicistronic vector was correct and could mediate cIL-2 and cIL-7 gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Immunization results revealed that the antibody titers and the neutralizing antibody levels of the mice co-immunized with VP2 + cIL-7/cIL-2 vectors were significantly higher than that with either VP2 + cIL-2 vectors or VP2 + cIL-7 vectors (P < 0.05). The lymphocyte proliferation indices of VP2 + cIL-7/cIL-2 vector-immunized mice were also higher than that of other two groups although not statistically significant. However, the IFN-gamma expression levels of VP2 + cIL-7/cIL-2 vector-immunized mice were significantly higher than other immunized mice (P < 0.05). The cIL-2 and cIL-7 genes showed the significant synergic effects on enhancing the immunogenecity of CPV VP2 DNA vaccine.

Genetic deletion of keratin 8 corrects the altered bone formation and osteopenia in a mouse model of cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Le Henaff, Carole; Faria Da Cunha, Mélanie; Hatton, Aurélie; Tondelier, Danielle; Marty, Caroline; Collet, Corinne; Zarka, Mylène; Geoffroy, Valérie; Zatloukal, Kurt; Laplantine, Emmanuel; Edelman, Aleksander; Sermet-Gaudelus, Isabelle; Marie, Pierre J

2016-04-01

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) display low bone mass and alterations in bone formation. Mice carrying the F508del genetic mutation in the cystic fibrosis conductance regulator (Cftr) gene display reduced bone formation and decreased bone mass. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms leading to these skeletal defects are unknown, which precludes the development of an efficient anti-osteoporotic therapeutic strategy. Here we report a key role for the intermediate filament protein keratin 8 (Krt8), in the osteoblast dysfunctions in F508del-Cftr mice. We found that murine and human osteoblasts express Cftr and Krt8 at low levels. Genetic studies showed that Krt8 deletion (Krt8(-/-)) in F508del-Cftr mice increased the levels of circulating markers of bone formation, corrected the expression of osteoblast phenotypic genes, promoted trabecular bone formation and improved bone mass and microarchitecture. Mechanistically, Krt8 deletion in F508del-Cftr mice corrected overactive NF-κB signaling and decreased Wnt-β-catenin signaling induced by the F508del-Cftr mutation in osteoblasts. In vitro, treatment with compound 407, which specifically disrupts the Krt8-F508del-Cftr interaction in epithelial cells, corrected the abnormal NF-κB and Wnt-β-catenin signaling and the altered phenotypic gene expression in F508del-Cftr osteoblasts. In vivo, short-term treatment with 407 corrected the altered Wnt-β-catenin signaling and bone formation in F508del-Cftr mice. Collectively, the results show that genetic or pharmacologic targeting of Krt8 leads to correction of osteoblast dysfunctions, altered bone formation and osteopenia in F508del-Cftr mice, providing a therapeutic strategy targeting the Krt8-F508del-CFTR interaction to correct the abnormal bone formation and bone loss in cystic fibrosis. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Relapsed or Refractory Double-Expressor and Double-Hit Lymphomas Have Inferior Progression-Free Survival After Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation.

PubMed

Herrera, Alex F; Mei, Matthew; Low, Lawrence; Kim, Haesook T; Griffin, Gabriel K; Song, Joo Y; Merryman, Reid W; Bedell, Victoria; Pak, Christine; Sun, Heather; Paris, Tanya; Stiller, Tracey; Brown, Jennifer R; Budde, Lihua E; Chan, Wing C; Chen, Robert; Davids, Matthew S; Freedman, Arnold S; Fisher, David C; Jacobsen, Eric D; Jacobson, Caron A; LaCasce, Ann S; Murata-Collins, Joyce; Nademanee, Auayporn P; Palmer, Joycelynne M; Pihan, German A; Pillai, Raju; Popplewell, Leslie; Siddiqi, Tanya; Sohani, Aliyah R; Zain, Jasmine; Rosen, Steven T; Kwak, Larry W; Weinstock, David M; Forman, Stephen J; Weisenburger, Dennis D; Kim, Young; Rodig, Scott J; Krishnan, Amrita; Armand, Philippe

2017-01-01

Purpose Double-hit lymphomas (DHLs) and double-expressor lymphomas (DELs) are subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) associated with poor outcomes after standard chemoimmunotherapy. Data are limited regarding outcomes of patients with relapsed or refractory (rel/ref) DEL or DHL who undergo autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). We retrospectively studied the prognostic impact of DEL and DHL status on ASCT outcomes in patients with rel/ref DLBCL. Methods Patients with chemotherapy-sensitive rel/ref DLBCL who underwent ASCT at two institutions and in whom archival tumor material was available were enrolled. Immunohistochemistry for MYC, BCL2, and BCL6 and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for MYC were performed. In cases with MYC rearrangement or copy gain, FISH for BCL2 and BCL6 was also performed. Results A total of 117 patients were included; 44% had DEL and 10% had DHL. DEL and DHL were associated with inferior progression-free survival (PFS), and DHL was associated with poorer overall survival (OS). The 4-year PFS in patients with DEL compared with those with non-DEL was 48% versus 59% ( P = .049), and the 4-year OS was 56% versus 67% ( P = .10); 4-year PFS in patients with DHL compared with those with non-DHL was 28% versus 57% ( P = .013), and 4-year OS was 25% versus 61% ( P = .002). The few patients with concurrent DEL and DHL had a poor outcome (4-year PFS, 0%). In multivariable models, DEL and DHL were independently associated with inferior PFS, whereas DHL and partial response ( v complete response) at transplant were associated with inferior OS. Conclusion DEL and DHL are both associated with inferior outcomes after ASCT in patients with rel/ref DLBCL. Although ASCT remains a potentially curative approach, these patients, particularly those with DHL, are a high-risk subset who should be targeted for investigational strategies other than standard ASCT.

Relapsed or Refractory Double-Expressor and Double-Hit Lymphomas Have Inferior Progression-Free Survival After Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation

PubMed Central

Herrera, Alex F.; Mei, Matthew; Low, Lawrence; Kim, Haesook T.; Griffin, Gabriel K.; Song, Joo Y.; Merryman, Reid W.; Bedell, Victoria; Pak, Christine; Sun, Heather; Paris, Tanya; Stiller, Tracey; Brown, Jennifer R.; Budde, Lihua E.; Chan, Wing C.; Chen, Robert; Davids, Matthew S.; Freedman, Arnold S.; Fisher, David C.; Jacobsen, Eric D.; Jacobson, Caron A.; LaCasce, Ann S.; Murata-Collins, Joyce; Nademanee, Auayporn P.; Palmer, Joycelynne M.; Pihan, German A.; Pillai, Raju; Popplewell, Leslie; Siddiqi, Tanya; Sohani, Aliyah R.; Zain, Jasmine; Rosen, Steven T.; Kwak, Larry W.; Weinstock, David M.; Forman, Stephen J.; Weisenburger, Dennis D.; Kim, Young; Rodig, Scott J.; Krishnan, Amrita

2017-01-01

Purpose Double-hit lymphomas (DHLs) and double-expressor lymphomas (DELs) are subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) associated with poor outcomes after standard chemoimmunotherapy. Data are limited regarding outcomes of patients with relapsed or refractory (rel/ref) DEL or DHL who undergo autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). We retrospectively studied the prognostic impact of DEL and DHL status on ASCT outcomes in patients with rel/ref DLBCL. Methods Patients with chemotherapy-sensitive rel/ref DLBCL who underwent ASCT at two institutions and in whom archival tumor material was available were enrolled. Immunohistochemistry for MYC, BCL2, and BCL6 and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for MYC were performed. In cases with MYC rearrangement or copy gain, FISH for BCL2 and BCL6 was also performed. Results A total of 117 patients were included; 44% had DEL and 10% had DHL. DEL and DHL were associated with inferior progression-free survival (PFS), and DHL was associated with poorer overall survival (OS). The 4-year PFS in patients with DEL compared with those with non-DEL was 48% versus 59% (P = .049), and the 4-year OS was 56% versus 67% (P = .10); 4-year PFS in patients with DHL compared with those with non-DHL was 28% versus 57% (P = .013), and 4-year OS was 25% versus 61% (P = .002). The few patients with concurrent DEL and DHL had a poor outcome (4-year PFS, 0%). In multivariable models, DEL and DHL were independently associated with inferior PFS, whereas DHL and partial response (v complete response) at transplant were associated with inferior OS. Conclusion DEL and DHL are both associated with inferior outcomes after ASCT in patients with rel/ref DLBCL. Although ASCT remains a potentially curative approach, these patients, particularly those with DHL, are a high-risk subset who should be targeted for investigational strategies other than standard ASCT. PMID:28034071

Naturally occurring deletions/insertions in HBV core promoter tend to decrease in hepatitis B e antigen-positive chronic hepatitis B patients during antiviral therapy.

PubMed

Peng, Yaqin; Liu, Baoming; Hou, Jinlin; Sun, Jian; Hao, Ran; Xiang, Kuanhui; Yan, Ling; Zhang, Jiangbo; Zhuang, Hui; Li, Tong

2015-01-01

Mutations in HBV core promoter (CP) are suggested to affect viral replication and disease progression. We investigated CP deletion/insertion mutations (Del/Ins) in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients before and during antiviral treatment. Direct and clone sequencings were used for detection of CP Del/Ins in 12 patients. The dynamic changes of CP Del/Ins were tracked in these cases until week 48 of treatment. The effects of Del/Ins on CP activities and hepatitis B X protein (HBx) were analysed using luciferase assay and sequence comparison, respectively. Furthermore, 292 untreated HBeAg-positive CHB cases were also analysed. Twelve cases with multi-peak PCR direct sequencing electropherograms at baseline were confirmed to have CP Del/Ins by clone sequencing, with detection rates varying from 14.8% to 93.3% of clones analysed. Follow-up studies showed the detection rates of CP Del/Ins in patients decreased from 100% (12/12) at baseline to 16.7% (2/12) at week 48 of treatment (P<0.001), in parallel with a decline in HBV DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels along with an increase in HBeAg loss. Luciferase assay results showed distinct promoter activities among Del/Ins-harbouring CP sequences. Importantly, 71.8% (148/206) of Del/Ins sequences potentially resulted in HBx carboxy-terminal truncations. CP Del/Ins mutations were also found in 27.4% (80/292) of untreated cases. Naturally occurring complex of CP Del/Ins mutants existed in untreated HBeAg-positive CHB patients. These mutations would affect HBV transcription activities and integrity of HBx, which might correlate with disease progression. Their prevalence decreases on antiviral therapy in parallel with the decline in HBV DNA, HBsAg and ALT and AST levels.

CDC25AQ110del: A Novel Cell Division Cycle 25A Isoform Aberrantly Expressed in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

PubMed Central

Younis, Rania H.; Cao, Wei; Lin, Ruxian; Xia, Ronghui; Liu, Zhenqiu; Edelman, Martin J.; Mei, Yuping; Mao, Li; Ren, Hening

2012-01-01

Objective Lung cancer remains number one cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Cell cycle deregulation plays a major role in the pathogenesis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). CDC25A represents a critical cell cycle regulator that enhances cell cycle progression. In this study we aimed to investigate the role of a novel CDC25A transcriptional variant, CDC25AQ110del, on the regulation of the CDC25A protein, and its impact on prognosis of NSCLC patients. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we report a novel CDC25A transcript variant with codon 110 (Glutamine) deletion, that we termed CDC25AQ110del in NSCLC cells. In 9 (75%) of the 12 NSCLC cell lines, CDC25AQ110del expression accounted for more than 20% of the CDC25A transcripts. Biological effects of CDC25AQ110del were investigated in H1299 and HEK-293F cells using UV radiation, flowcytometry, cyclohexamide treatment, and confocal microscopy. Compared to CDC25Awt, CDC25AQ110del protein had longer half-life; cells expressing CDC25AQ110del were more resistant to UV irradiation and showed more mitotic activity. Taqman-PCR was used to quantify CDC25AQ110del expression levels in 88 primary NSCLC tumor/normal tissue pairs. In patients with NSCLC, Kaplan Meier curves showed tumors expressing higher levels of CDC25AQ110del relative to the adjacent lung tissues to have significantly inferior overall survival (P = .0018). Significance Here we identified CDC25AQ110del as a novel transcriptional variant of CDC25A in NSCLC. The sequence-specific nature of the abnormality could be a prognostic indicator in NSCLC patients as well as a candidate target for future therapeutic strategies. PMID:23071577

Reduced Order Model Basis Vector Generation: Generates Basis Vectors fro ROMs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arrighi, Bill

2016-03-03

libROM is a library that implements order reduction via singular value decomposition (SVD) of sampled state vectors. It implements 2 parallel, incremental SVD algorithms and one serial, non-incremental algorithm. It also provides a mechanism for adaptive sampling of basis vectors.

Definition of Contravariant Velocity Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, Ching-Mao; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This is an old issue in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). What is the so-called contravariant velocity or contravariant velocity component? In the article, we review the basics of tensor analysis and give the contravariant velocity component a rigorous explanation. For a given coordinate system, there exist two uniquely determined sets of base vector systems - one is the covariant and another is the contravariant base vector system. The two base vector systems are reciprocal. The so-called contravariant velocity component is really the contravariant component of a velocity vector for a time-independent coordinate system, or the contravariant component of a relative velocity between fluid and coordinates, for a time-dependent coordinate system. The contravariant velocity components are not physical quantities of the velocity vector. Their magnitudes, dimensions, and associated directions are controlled by their corresponding covariant base vectors. Several 2-D (two-dimensional) linear examples and 2-D mass-conservation equation are used to illustrate the details of expressing a vector with respect to the covariant and contravariant base vector systems, respectively.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Vishal C.; Gopalakrishnan, Ganesh; Krishnamoorthy, Sriram

The systems resilience research community has developed methods to manually insert additional source-program level assertions to trap errors, and also devised tools to conduct fault injection studies for scalar program codes. In this work, we contribute the first vector oriented LLVM-level fault injector VULFI to help study the effects of faults in vector architectures that are of growing importance, especially for vectorizing loops. Using VULFI, we conduct a resiliency study of nine real-world vector benchmarks using Intel’s AVX and SSE extensions as the target vector instruction sets, and offer the first reported understanding of how faults affect vector instruction sets.more » We take this work further toward automating the insertion of resilience assertions during compilation. This is based on our observation that during intermediate (e.g., LLVM-level) code generation to handle full and partial vectorization, modern compilers exploit (and explicate in their code-documentation) critical invariants. These invariants are turned into error-checking code. We confirm the efficacy of these automatically inserted low-overhead error detectors for vectorized for-loops.« less

Chikungunya Virus–Vector Interactions

PubMed Central

Coffey, Lark L.; Failloux, Anna-Bella; Weaver, Scott C.

2014-01-01

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes chikungunya fever, a severe, debilitating disease that often produces chronic arthralgia. Since 2004, CHIKV has emerged in Africa, Indian Ocean islands, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, causing millions of human infections. Central to understanding CHIKV emergence is knowledge of the natural ecology of transmission and vector infection dynamics. This review presents current understanding of CHIKV infection dynamics in mosquito vectors and its relationship to human disease emergence. The following topics are reviewed: CHIKV infection and vector life history traits including transmission cycles, genetic origins, distribution, emergence and spread, dispersal, vector competence, vector immunity and microbial interactions, and co-infection by CHIKV and other arboviruses. The genetics of vector susceptibility and host range changes, population heterogeneity and selection for the fittest viral genomes, dual host cycling and its impact on CHIKV adaptation, viral bottlenecks and intrahost diversity, and adaptive constraints on CHIKV evolution are also discussed. The potential for CHIKV re-emergence and expansion into new areas and prospects for prevention via vector control are also briefly reviewed. PMID:25421891

Warps, grids and curvature in triple vector bundles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flari, Magdalini K.; Mackenzie, Kirill

2018-06-01

A triple vector bundle is a cube of vector bundle structures which commute in the (strict) categorical sense. A grid in a triple vector bundle is a collection of sections of each bundle structure with certain linearity properties. A grid provides two routes around each face of the triple vector bundle, and six routes from the base manifold to the total manifold; the warps measure the lack of commutativity of these routes. In this paper we first prove that the sum of the warps in a triple vector bundle is zero. The proof we give is intrinsic and, we believe, clearer than the proof using decompositions given earlier by one of us. We apply this result to the triple tangent bundle T^3M of a manifold and deduce (as earlier) the Jacobi identity. We further apply the result to the triple vector bundle T^2A for a vector bundle A using a connection in A to define a grid in T^2A . In this case the curvature emerges from the warp theorem.

A static investigation of the thrust vectoring system of the F/A-18 high-alpha research vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mason, Mary L.; Capone, Francis J.; Asbury, Scott C.

1992-01-01

A static (wind-off) test was conducted in the static test facility of the Langley 16-foot Transonic Tunnel to evaluate the vectoring capability and isolated nozzle performance of the proposed thrust vectoring system of the F/A-18 high alpha research vehicle (HARV). The thrust vectoring system consisted of three asymmetrically spaced vanes installed externally on a single test nozzle. Two nozzle configurations were tested: A maximum afterburner-power nozzle and a military-power nozzle. Vane size and vane actuation geometry were investigated, and an extensive matrix of vane deflection angles was tested. The nozzle pressure ratios ranged from two to six. The results indicate that the three vane system can successfully generate multiaxis (pitch and yaw) thrust vectoring. However, large resultant vector angles incurred large thrust losses. Resultant vector angles were always lower than the vane deflection angles. The maximum thrust vectoring angles achieved for the military-power nozzle were larger than the angles achieved for the maximum afterburner-power nozzle.

Invasiveness of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus and Vectorial Capacity for Chikungunya Virus

PubMed Central

Lounibos, Leon Philip; Kramer, Laura D.

2016-01-01

In this review, we highlight biological characteristics of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, 2 invasive mosquito species and primary vectors of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), that set the tone of these species' invasiveness, vector competence, and vectorial capacity (VC). The invasiveness of both species, as well as their public health threats as vectors, is enhanced by preference for human blood. Vector competence, characterized by the efficiency of an ingested arbovirus to replicate and become infectious in the mosquito, depends largely on vector and virus genetics, and most A. aegypti and A. albopictus populations thus far tested confer vector competence for CHIKV. VC, an entomological analog of the pathogen's basic reproductive rate (R0), is epidemiologically more important than vector competence but less frequently measured, owing to challenges in obtaining valid estimates of parameters such as vector survivorship and host feeding rates. Understanding the complexities of these factors will be pivotal in curbing CHIKV transmission. PMID:27920173

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fang, Xu-Qian; Liu, Xiang-Fan; Yao, Ling

Highlights: •A novel FAK splicing mutation identified in breast tumor. •FAK-Del33 mutation promotes cell migration and invasion. •FAK-Del33 mutation regulates FAK/Src signal pathway. -- Abstract: Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) regulates cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and survival. We identified a novel splicing mutant, FAK-Del33 (exon 33 deletion, KF437463), in both breast and thyroid cancers through colony sequencing. Considering the low proportion of mutant transcripts in samples, this mutation was detected by TaqMan-MGB probes based qPCR. In total, three in 21 paired breast tissues were identified with the FAK-Del33 mutation, and no mutations were found in the corresponding normal tissues. When introducedmore » into a breast cell line through lentivirus infection, FAK-Del33 regulated cell motility and migration based on a wound healing assay. We demonstrated that the expression of Tyr397 (main auto-phosphorylation of FAK) was strongly increased in FAK-Del33 overexpressed breast tumor cells compared to wild-type following FAK/Src RTK signaling activation. These results suggest a novel and unique role of the FAK-Del33 mutation in FAK/Src signaling in breast cancer with significant implications for metastatic potential.« less

Factors associated with poor sleep quality in women with cancer.

PubMed

Mansano-Schlosser, Thalyta Cristina; Ceolim, Maria Filomena

2017-03-02

to analyze the factors associated with poor sleep quality, its characteristics and components in women with breast cancer prior to surgery for removing the tumor and throughout the follow-up. longitudinal study in a teaching hospital, with a sample of 102 women. The following were used: a questionnaire for sociodemographic and clinical characterization, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; the Beck Depression Inventory; and the Herth Hope Scale. Data collection covered from prior to the surgery for removal of the tumor (T0) to T1, on average 3.2 months; T2, on average 6.1 months; and T3, on average 12.4 months. Descriptive statistics and the Generalized Estimating Equations model were used. depression and pain contributed to the increase in the score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and hope, to the reduction of the score - independently - throughout follow-up. Sleep disturbances were the component with the highest score throughout follow-up. the presence of depression and pain, prior to the surgery, contributed to the increase in the global score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which indicates worse quality of sleep throughout follow-up; greater hope, in its turn, influenced the reduction of the score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. analizar los factores asociados a la mala calidad del sueño, sus características y componentes en mujeres con cáncer de mama, antes de la cirugía de retirada del tumor y a lo largo del seguimiento. estudio longitudinal, en hospital universitario con muestra de 102 mujeres. Fueron utilizados: un cuestionario de caracterización sociodemográfica y clínica; el Índice de Calidad del Sueño de Pittsburgh; el Inventario de Depresión de Beck; y la Escala de Esperanza de Herth. La recolección comprendió los momentos: antes de la cirugía de retirada del tumor (T0), en (T1) en promedio 3,2 meses, en (T2) en promedio 6,1 meses y en (T3) en promedio 12,4 meses. Se utilizó estadística descriptiva y el modelo de Ecuaciones de Estimación Generalizada. la depresión y el dolor contribuyeron para el aumento del puntaje del Índice de Calidad del Sueño de Pittsburgh y la esperanza para la reducción del puntaje, de manera independiente, a lo largo del seguimiento. Los trastornos del sueño fueron el componente con puntuación más elevada, a lo largo del seguimiento. la presencia de la depresión y del dolor, previos a la cirugía, contribuyeron para el aumento del puntaje global del Índice de Calidad del Sueño de Pittsburgh, lo que indica peor calidad del sueño, a lo largo del seguimiento y, la mayor esperanza, a su vez, influenció en la reducción del puntaje del Índice de Calidad del Sueño de Pittsburgh. analisar os fatores associados à má qualidade do sono, suas características e componentes em mulheres com câncer de mama antes da cirurgia de retirada do tumor e ao longo do seguimento. estudo longitudinal, em hospital universitário com amostra de 102 mulheres. Foram utilizados: questionário de caracterização sociodemográfica e clínica, Índice de Qualidade do Sono de Pittsburgh; Inventário de Depressão de Beck; Escala de Esperança de Herth. Coleta compreendeu antes da cirurgia de retirada do tumor (T0) em T1, em média 3,2 meses; T2, em média 6,1 meses; T3, em média 12,4 meses. Utilizou-se estatística descritiva e o modelo de Equações de Estimação Generalizada. a depressão e a dor contribuíram para o aumento do escore do Índice de Qualidade de Sono de Pittsburgh, e a esperança, para a redução do escore, de maneira independente, ao longo do seguimento. Os transtornos do sono foram o componente com pontuação mais elevada, ao longo do seguimento. a presença de depressão e de dor, previamente à cirurgia, contribuiu para o aumento do escore global do Índice de Qualidade do Sono de Pittsburgh, o que indica pior qualidade do sono, ao longo do seguimento e, a maior esperança, por sua vez, influenciou na redução do escore do Índice de Qualidade do Sono de Pittsburgh.

Current vector control challenges in the fight against malaria.

PubMed

Benelli, Giovanni; Beier, John C

2017-10-01

The effective and eco-friendly control of Anopheles vectors plays a key role in any malaria management program. Integrated Vector Management (IVM) suggests making use of the full range of vector control tools available. The strategies for IVM require novel technologies to control outdoor transmission of malaria. Despite the wide number of promising control tools tested against mosquitoes, current strategies for malaria vector control used in most African countries are not sufficient to achieve successful malaria control. The majority of National Malaria Control Programs in Africa still rely on indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). These methods reduce malaria incidence but generally have little impact on malaria prevalence. In addition to outdoor transmission, growing levels of insecticide resistance in targeted vectors threaten the efficacy of LLINs and IRS. Larvicidal treatments can be useful, but are not recommended for rural areas. The research needed to improve the quality and delivery of mosquito vector control should focus on (i) optimization of processes and methods for vector control delivery; (ii) monitoring of vector populations and biting activity with reliable techniques; (iii) the development of effective and eco-friendly tools to reduce the burden or locally eliminate malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases; (iv) the careful evaluation of field suitability and efficacy of new mosquito control tools to prove their epidemiological impact; (v) the continuous monitoring of environmental changes which potentially affect malaria vector populations; (vi) the cooperation among different disciplines, with main emphasis on parasitology, tropical medicine, ecology, entomology, and ecotoxicology. A better understanding of behavioral ecology of malaria vectors is required. Key ecological obstacles that limit the effectiveness of vector control include the variation in mosquito behavior, development of insecticide resistance, presence of behavioral avoidance, high vector biodiversity, competitive and food web interactions, lack of insights on mosquito dispersal and mating behavior, and the impact of environmental changes on mosquito ecological traits. Overall, the trans-disciplinary cooperation among parasitologists and entomologists is crucial to ensure proper evaluation of the epidemiological impact triggered by novel mosquito vector control strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determinants of the domiciliary density of Triatoma infestans, vector of Chagas disease.

PubMed

Gürtler, R E; Cecere, M C; Rubel, D N; Schweigmann, N J

1992-01-01

In two heavily infested rural villages of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, where no indoor-spraying with residual insecticides had ever been carried out by official control services, we studied the influence of roof and wall structure, domestic use of insecticide, family size and the number of domestic dogs, on the domiciliary density of Triatoma infestans (Klug). Bug density was significantly associated with (1) the interaction between insecticide use and type of roof, (2) the structure of indoor walls, (3) the number of dogs sharing sleeping areas of people (room-mate dogs), and (4) the number of people plus room-mate dogs, but not with just the number of people resident in the house. The interaction between insecticide use and a roof made of 'simbol', a locally available grass (Pennisetum sp.), also reflected a younger age structure of domestic bug populations. In infested houses, the density of bugs infected with Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas was significantly correlated with overall bug density. Our data suggest that the application of environmental management measures by the affected people, such as plastering of walls and modification of roofs, coupled with keeping dogs away from bedrooms and application of insecticides, should limit the domestic population density of T. infestans and thus reduce the transmission of T. cruzi to people.

Calculation of the superconducting transition temperature of a graphene layer doped with titanium and palladium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez, Gerardo; Magana, Fernando; Salas-Torres, Osiris

We explore the structural interactions between graphene and transition metals such as palladium (Pd) and titanium (Ti) and the possibility of inducing superconductivity in a graphene sheet in two cases, one by doping its surface with palladium atoms sit on the center of the hexagons of the graphene layer and other by covering the graphene layer with two layers of titanium metal atoms. The results here were obtained from first-principles density functional theory in the local density approximation. The Quantum-Espresso package was used with norm conserving pseudopotentials. All of the structures considered were relaxed to their minimum energy configuration. Phonon frequencies were calculated using the linear-response technique on several phonon wave-vector mesh. The electron-phonon coupling parameter was calculated with several electron momentum k-mesh. The superconducting critical temperature was estimated using the Allen-Dynes formula with μ* = 0.1 - 0.15. We note that palladium and titanium are good candidate materials to show a metal-to-superconductor transition. We thank Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, partial financial support by Grant IN-106514 and we also thank Miztli Super-Computing center the technical assistance.

Cambios históricos en el aporte terrígeno de la cuenca del Río de la Plata sobre la plataforma interna Uruguaya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marrero, Analía; Tudurí, Adriana; Pérez, Laura; Cuña, Caroline; Muniz, Pablo; Lopes Figueira, Rubens; Michaelovitch de Mahiques, Michel; Alves de Lima Ferreira, Paulo; Pittauerová, Daniela; Hanebuth, Till; García Rodríguez, Felipe

2014-12-01

El Río de la Plata (RdlP) presenta significativas variaciones naturales (hidrodinámicas y oceanográficas) asociadas a diferentes condiciones climáticas. El propósito de este trabajo es inferir los cambios de aportes continentales de sedimentos y su relación con las variaciones hidrológicas del Río de la Plata, a través del análisis de proxies sedimentológicos y geoquímicos en testigos de sedimentos de la plataforma interna uruguaya que registran los últimos 100 años, aproximadamente. A partir de la datación por 210Pb de dos testigos de sedimentos (GeoB 13813-4 y BAR1) se reconstruyó la geocronología del ambiente, y se relacionó con datos de las forzantes climáticas Pacific Decadal Oscillation, El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation, Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, y las anomalías hidrológicas de los ríos Paraná y Uruguay. Los valores más positivos y estables del Southern Oscillation Index, los cuales corresponden a fases La Niña, se observan en el periodo correspondiente entre 1910-1970, respecto al resto de la serie, donde se aprecia una mayor variabilidad y una tendencia hacia valores más negativos (eventos El Niño). Se hicieron dendrogramas (clustering) jerárquicos para ambos testigos. Para el testigo GeoB 13813-4, se utilizó la relación Ca/Ti y la granulometría, mientras que para BAR1 se recurrió a variables granulométricas y la tasa de sedimentación. El mayor aporte continental hacia la región de la plataforma adyacente al Río de la Plata registrado a partir del año 1970, podría ser el factor principal de los agrupamientos observados en los clusters para ambos testigos. Las agrupaciones mostraron una diferenciación en la década de 1970, lo que estaría asociado al aumento de los caudales de los ríos Paraná y Uruguay, durante las últimas tres décadas del siglo XX. Por otra parte se observa que la granulometría del testigo BAR1 presentó un mayor tamaño de grano y más variabilidad que en el caso del testigo GeoB 13813-4. También se determinó una mayor acumulación de sedimentos a través del tiempo en el cinturón de barro del Río de la Plata (plataforma continental adyacente), comparado con aquel registrado en la Barra del Indio (límite entre zona intermedia y externa del estuario). Estas diferencias podrían estar relacionadas con la influencia del Río de la Plata, el cual genera un ambiente altamente dinámico sobre la Barra del Indio y un ambiente más estable sobre el cinturón de barro en la plataforma continental.

Reconversion Militar del Ejercito en la Frontera Dominico-Haitiana (Military Restructuring of the Army on the Dominican-Haitian Border)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-22

Estado Mayor del Ejército de EE. UU. en cumplimiento parcial de los requisitos para la obtención del grado de MAESTRÍA EN CIENCIAS Y ARTES...MILITARES Estudios Generales Por MAYOR FELIPE CÉSPEDES TEJERA, EJÉRCITO NACIONAL DOMINICANO Licenciado en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad...ANSI Std. Z39.18 ii MAESTRÍA EN ARTES Y CIENCIAS MILITARES PÁGINA DE APROBACIÓN DE LA TESIS Nombre del Candidato: Mayor Felipe Céspedes Tejera

CHEK2*1100delC Variant and BRCA1/2-Negative Familial Breast Cancer - A Family-Based Genetic Association Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-10-01

AD_________________ Award Number: DAMD17-03-1-0774 TITLE: CHEK2 *1100delC Variant and BRCA1/2...NUMBER CHEK2 *1100delC Variant and BRCA1/2-Negative Familial Breast Cancer - A Family- Based Genetic Association Study 5b. GRANT NUMBER DAMD17...association between the CHEK2 *1100delC gene variant and breast cancer among BRCA1/2-negative families. Vital to DNA replication and normal growth of breast

Workshop focuses on study of climate's effects on health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz, Henry F.; Epstein, Paul R.; Aron, Joan L.; Confalonieri, Ulisses E. C.

Changes in temperature, precipitation, humidity, and storm patterns influence upsurges of waterborne diseases such as hepatitis, shigella dysentery, typhoid, and cholera as well as vector-borne pathogens such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, encephalitis, schistosomiasis, plague, and hantavirus. Cycles of flooding and drought directly affect factors such as the multiplication rates of disease vectors, the biting rate of vectors, and the amount of host-vector interaction. Indirectly, climate influences parameters important to vector spread or survival such as agricultural practices, the disruption of ecosystems, or changes in social systems and practices, which in turn change the relationship between the parasite, the vector, its predators, and the host.

APOBEC3-mediated hypermutation of retroviral vectors produced from some retrovirus packaging cell lines.

PubMed

Miller, A D; Metzger, M J

2011-05-01

APOBEC3 proteins are packaged into retrovirus virions and can hypermutate retroviruses during reverse transcription. We found that HT-1080 human fibrosarcoma cells hypermutate retroviruses, and that the HT-1080 cell-derived FLYA13 retrovirus packaging cells also hypermutate a retrovirus vector produced using these cells. We found no hypermutation of the same vector produced by the mouse cell-derived packaging line PT67 or by human 293 cells transfected with the vector and retrovirus packaging plasmids. We expect that avoidance of vector hypermutation will be particularly important for vectors used in gene therapy, wherein mutant proteins might stimulate deleterious immune responses.

Electromagnetic potential vectors and the Lagrangian of a charged particle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shebalin, John V.

1992-01-01

Maxwell's equations can be shown to imply the existence of two independent three-dimensional potential vectors. A comparison between the potential vectors and the electric and magnetic field vectors, using a spatial Fourier transformation, reveals six independent potential components but only four independent electromagnetic field components for each mode. Although the electromagnetic fields determined by Maxwell's equations give a complete description of all possible classical electromagnetic phenomena, potential vectors contains more information and allow for a description of such quantum mechanical phenomena as the Aharonov-Bohm effect. A new result is that a charged particle Lagrangian written in terms of potential vectors automatically contains a 'spontaneous symmetry breaking' potential.

Video data compression using artificial neural network differential vector quantization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishnamurthy, Ashok K.; Bibyk, Steven B.; Ahalt, Stanley C.

1991-01-01

An artificial neural network vector quantizer is developed for use in data compression applications such as Digital Video. Differential Vector Quantization is used to preserve edge features, and a new adaptive algorithm, known as Frequency-Sensitive Competitive Learning, is used to develop the vector quantizer codebook. To develop real time performance, a custom Very Large Scale Integration Application Specific Integrated Circuit (VLSI ASIC) is being developed to realize the associative memory functions needed in the vector quantization algorithm. By using vector quantization, the need for Huffman coding can be eliminated, resulting in superior performance against channel bit errors than methods that use variable length codes.

Surveillance of Arthropod Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases Using Remote Sensing Techniques: A Review

PubMed Central

Kalluri, Satya; Gilruth, Peter; Rogers, David; Szczur, Martha

2007-01-01

Epidemiologists are adopting new remote sensing techniques to study a variety of vector-borne diseases. Associations between satellite-derived environmental variables such as temperature, humidity, and land cover type and vector density are used to identify and characterize vector habitats. The convergence of factors such as the availability of multi-temporal satellite data and georeferenced epidemiological data, collaboration between remote sensing scientists and biologists, and the availability of sophisticated, statistical geographic information system and image processing algorithms in a desktop environment creates a fertile research environment. The use of remote sensing techniques to map vector-borne diseases has evolved significantly over the past 25 years. In this paper, we review the status of remote sensing studies of arthropod vector-borne diseases due to mosquitoes, ticks, blackflies, tsetse flies, and sandflies, which are responsible for the majority of vector-borne diseases in the world. Examples of simple image classification techniques that associate land use and land cover types with vector habitats, as well as complex statistical models that link satellite-derived multi-temporal meteorological observations with vector biology and abundance, are discussed here. Future improvements in remote sensing applications in epidemiology are also discussed. PMID:17967056

Reversible vector ratchets for skyrmion systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, X.; Reichhardt, C. J. Olson; Reichhardt, C.

2017-03-01

We show that ac driven skyrmions interacting with an asymmetric substrate provide a realization of a class of ratchet system which we call a vector ratchet that arises due to the effect of the Magnus term on the skyrmion dynamics. In a vector ratchet, the dc motion induced by the ac drive can be described as a vector that can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise relative to the substrate asymmetry direction. Up to a full 360∘ rotation is possible for varied ac amplitudes or skyrmion densities. In contrast to overdamped systems, in which ratchet motion is always parallel to the substrate asymmetry direction, vector ratchets allow the ratchet motion to be in any direction relative to the substrate asymmetry. It is also possible to obtain a reversal in the direction of rotation of the vector ratchet, permitting the creation of a reversible vector ratchet. We examine vector ratchets for ac drives applied parallel or perpendicular to the substrate asymmetry direction, and show that reverse ratchet motion can be produced by collective effects. No reversals occur for an isolated skyrmion on an asymmetric substrate. Since a vector ratchet can produce motion in any direction, it could represent a method for controlling skyrmion motion for spintronic applications.

Peculiar liquid-feeding and pathogen transmission behavior of Aedes togoi and comparison with Anopheles sinensis.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Joon; Kang, Dooho; Lee, Seung Chul; Ha, Young-Ran

2016-02-03

Female mosquitoes transmit various diseases as vectors during liquid-feeding. Identifying the determinants of vector efficiency is a major scientific challenge in establishing strategies against these diseases. Infection rate and transmission efficiency are interconnected with the mosquito-induced liquid-feeding flow as main indexes of vector efficiency. However, the relationship between liquid-feeding characteristics and pathogen remains poorly understood. The liquid-feeding behavior of Aedes togoi and Anopheles sinensis was comparatively investigated in conjunction with vector efficiency via micro-particle image velocimetry. The flow rates and ratio of the ejection volume of Aedes togoi were markedly higher than those of Anophels sinensis. These differences would influence pathogen re-ingestion. Wall shear stresses of these mosquito species were also clearly discriminatory affecting the infective rates of vector-borne diseases. The variations in volume of two pump chambers and diameter of proboscis of these mosquito species were compared to determine the differences in the liquid-feeding process. Liquid-feeding characteristics influence vector efficiency; hence, this study can elucidate the vector efficiency of mosquitoes and the vector-pathogen interactions and contribute to the development of strategies against vector-borne diseases.

Peculiar liquid-feeding and pathogen transmission behavior of Aedes togoi and comparison with Anopheles sinensis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang Joon; Kang, Dooho; Lee, Seung Chul; Ha, Young-Ran

2016-02-01

Female mosquitoes transmit various diseases as vectors during liquid-feeding. Identifying the determinants of vector efficiency is a major scientific challenge in establishing strategies against these diseases. Infection rate and transmission efficiency are interconnected with the mosquito-induced liquid-feeding flow as main indexes of vector efficiency. However, the relationship between liquid-feeding characteristics and pathogen remains poorly understood. The liquid-feeding behavior of Aedes togoi and Anopheles sinensis was comparatively investigated in conjunction with vector efficiency via micro-particle image velocimetry. The flow rates and ratio of the ejection volume of Aedes togoi were markedly higher than those of Anophels sinensis. These differences would influence pathogen re-ingestion. Wall shear stresses of these mosquito species were also clearly discriminatory affecting the infective rates of vector-borne diseases. The variations in volume of two pump chambers and diameter of proboscis of these mosquito species were compared to determine the differences in the liquid-feeding process. Liquid-feeding characteristics influence vector efficiency; hence, this study can elucidate the vector efficiency of mosquitoes and the vector-pathogen interactions and contribute to the development of strategies against vector-borne diseases.

Mathematical modeling of Chikungunya fever control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hincapié-Palacio, Doracelly; Ospina, Juan

2015-05-01

Chikungunya fever is a global concern due to the occurrence of large outbreaks, the presence of persistent arthropathy and its rapid expansion throughout various continents. Globalization and climate change have contributed to the expansion of the geographical areas where mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Stegomyia) remain. It is necessary to improve the techniques of vector control in the presence of large outbreaks in The American Region. We derive measures of disease control, using a mathematical model of mosquito-human interaction, by means of three scenarios: a) a single vector b) two vectors, c) two vectors and human and non-human reservoirs. The basic reproductive number and critical control measures were deduced by using computer algebra with Maple (Maplesoft Inc, Ontario Canada). Control measures were simulated with parameter values obtained from published data. According to the number of households in high risk areas, the goals of effective vector control to reduce the likelihood of mosquito-human transmission would be established. Besides the two vectors, if presence of other non-human reservoirs were reported, the monthly target of effective elimination of the vector would be approximately double compared to the presence of a single vector. The model shows the need to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of vector control measures.

Age- and bite-structured models for vector-borne diseases.

PubMed

Rock, K S; Wood, D A; Keeling, M J

2015-09-01

The biology and behaviour of biting insects is a vitally important aspect in the spread of vector-borne diseases. This paper aims to determine, through the use of mathematical models, what effect incorporating vector senescence and realistic feeding patterns has on disease. A novel model is developed to enable the effects of age- and bite-structure to be examined in detail. This original PDE framework extends previous age-structured models into a further dimension to give a new insight into the role of vector biting and its interaction with vector mortality and spread of disease. Through the PDE model, the roles of the vector death and bite rates are examined in a way which is impossible under the traditional ODE formulation. It is demonstrated that incorporating more realistic functions for vector biting and mortality in a model may give rise to different dynamics than those seen under a more simple ODE formulation. The numerical results indicate that the efficacy of control methods that increase vector mortality may not be as great as predicted under a standard host-vector model, whereas other controls including treatment of humans may be more effective than previously thought. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiaxis Thrust-Vectoring Characteristics of a Model Representative of the F-18 High-Alpha Research Vehicle at Angles of Attack From 0 deg to 70 deg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asbury, Scott C.; Capone, Francis J.

1995-01-01

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel to determine the multiaxis thrust-vectoring characteristics of the F-18 High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV). A wingtip supported, partially metric, 0.10-scale jet-effects model of an F-18 prototype aircraft was modified with hardware to simulate the thrust-vectoring control system of the HARV. Testing was conducted at free-stream Mach numbers ranging from 0.30 to 0.70, at angles of attack from O' to 70', and at nozzle pressure ratios from 1.0 to approximately 5.0. Results indicate that the thrust-vectoring control system of the HARV can successfully generate multiaxis thrust-vectoring forces and moments. During vectoring, resultant thrust vector angles were always less than the corresponding geometric vane deflection angle and were accompanied by large thrust losses. Significant external flow effects that were dependent on Mach number and angle of attack were noted during vectoring operation. Comparisons of the aerodynamic and propulsive control capabilities of the HARV configuration indicate that substantial gains in controllability are provided by the multiaxis thrust-vectoring control system.

Novel method of finding extreme edges in a convex set of N-dimension vectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Chia-Lun J.

2001-11-01

As we published in the last few years, for a binary neural network pattern recognition system to learn a given mapping {Um mapped to Vm, m=1 to M} where um is an N- dimension analog (pattern) vector, Vm is a P-bit binary (classification) vector, the if-and-only-if (IFF) condition that this network can learn this mapping is that each i-set in {Ymi, m=1 to M} (where Ymithere existsVmiUm and Vmi=+1 or -1, is the i-th bit of VR-m).)(i=1 to P and there are P sets included here.) Is POSITIVELY, LINEARLY, INDEPENDENT or PLI. We have shown that this PLI condition is MORE GENERAL than the convexity condition applied to a set of N-vectors. In the design of old learning machines, we know that if a set of N-dimension analog vectors form a convex set, and if the machine can learn the boundary vectors (or extreme edges) of this set, then it can definitely learn the inside vectors contained in this POLYHEDRON CONE. This paper reports a new method and new algorithm to find the boundary vectors of a convex set of ND analog vectors.

Consolidating strategic planning and operational frameworks for integrated vector management in Eritrea.

PubMed

Chanda, Emmanuel; Ameneshewa, Birkinesh; Mihreteab, Selam; Berhane, Araia; Zehaie, Assefash; Ghebrat, Yohannes; Usman, Abdulmumini

2015-12-02

Contemporary malaria vector control relies on the use of insecticide-based, indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). However, malaria-endemic countries, including Eritrea, have struggled to effectively deploy these tools due technical and operational challenges, including the selection of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors. This manuscript outlines the processes undertaken in consolidating strategic planning and operational frameworks for vector control to expedite malaria elimination in Eritrea. The effort to strengthen strategic frameworks for vector control in Eritrea was the 'case' for this study. The integrated vector management (IVM) strategy was developed in 2010 but was not well executed, resulting in a rise in malaria transmission, prompting a process to redefine and relaunch the IVM strategy with integration of other vector borne diseases (VBDs) as the focus. The information sources for this study included all available data and accessible archived documentary records on malaria vector control in Eritrea. Structured literature searches of published, peer-reviewed sources using online, scientific, bibliographic databases, Google Scholar, PubMed and WHO, and a combination of search terms were utilized to gather data. The literature was reviewed and adapted to the local context and translated into the consolidated strategic framework. In Eritrea, communities are grappling with the challenge of VBDs posing public health concerns, including malaria. The global fund financed the scale-up of IRS and LLIN programmes in 2014. Eritrea is transitioning towards malaria elimination and strategic frameworks for vector control have been consolidated by: developing an integrated vector management (IVM) strategy (2015-2019); updating IRS and larval source management (LSM) guidelines; developing training manuals for IRS and LSM; training of national staff in malaria entomology and vector control, including insecticide resistance monitoring techniques; initiating the global plan for insecticide resistance management; conducting needs' assessments and developing standard operating procedure for insectaries; developing a guidance document on malaria vector control based on eco-epidemiological strata, a vector surveillance plan and harmonized mapping, data collection and reporting tools. Eritrea has successfully consolidated strategic frameworks for vector control. Rational decision-making remains critical to ensure that the interventions are effective and their choice is evidence-based, and to optimize the use of resources for vector control. Implementation of effective IVM requires proper collaboration and coordination, consistent technical and financial capacity and support to offer greater benefits.

Sexual competitiveness and compatibility between mass-reared sterile flies and wild populations of Anastrepha Ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) from different regions in Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Orozco-Davila, D.; Hernandez, R.; Meza, S.

The mass-reared colony of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) currently used in Mexico for suppression of the Mexican fruit fly has been in use for over 10 years. Sterile flies are released into a wide range of environmental conditions as part of an integrated area-wide approach to suppress diverse populations of this pest in the Mexican Republic. This paper assesses the performance of the sterile flies interacting with wild populations from the different environments. We investigated the sexual compatibility and competitiveness of the sterile flies when competing with wild populations from 6 representatives Mexican states: Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Michoacan, andmore » Chiapas. Results show that the males of the wild populations differed in the time to the onset and peak of sexual activity. Nevertheless, the index of sexual isolation (ISI) reflected sexual compatibility between the populations and the mass-reared strain, indicating that the sterile individuals mate satisfactorily with the wild populations from the 6 states. The male relative performance index (MRPI) showed that the sterile male is as effective in copulating as the wild males. The female relative performance index (FRPI) reflected a general tendency for wild females to copulate in greater proportion than the sterile females, except for the strains from Tamaulipas and Chiapas. In general, the lower participation of the sterile females in copulation increases the possibilities of sterile males to mate with wild females. The relative sterility index (RSI) showed that the acceptance by wild females of the sterile males (25-55%) was similar to that of wild males. Females of the Chiapas strain showed the lowest acceptance of sterile males. Finally, the results obtained in the Fried test (which measures induced sterility in eggs) showed a competitiveness coefficient ranging from 0.2 to 0.5. This suggests that sterile males successfully compete and are compatible with flies from different geographic origins. (author) [Spanish] La colonia actualmente usada para controlar la mosca mexicana de la fruta, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), en Mexico tiene mas de 10 anos en cria masiva. Los insectos esteriles son liberados en una gran variedad de condiciones ambientales como parte de un control integrado para suprimir diversas poblaciones de esta plaga dentro de la Republica Mexicana. El objetivo de este documento esta dirigido a revisar el desempeno de las moscas esteriles frente a poblaciones silvestres procedentes de diferentes ambientes y para esto se realizaron comparaciones de compatibilidad y competitividad sexual de las moscas esteriles contra poblaciones silvestres de seis estados representativos de la Republica Mexicana: Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Michoacan y Chiapas. Los resultados obtenidos manifiestan diferencias en el horario de inicio de llamado y mayor actividad sexual del macho entre las moscas provenientes de cada estado. Sin embargo el indice de aislamiento (ISI) reflejo compatibilidad sexual entre la cepa de laboratorio y todas las poblaciones analizadas, indicando que los individuos esteriles pueden aparearse satisfactoriamente con las poblaciones silvestres de los seis estados. El indice de efectividad de apareamiento del macho (MRPI) reflejo de manera global que los machos esteriles son tan efectivos para copular como los silvestres. El indice de efectividad de apareamiento de la hembra (FRPI) reflejo que en la mayoria de los estados las hembras silvestres copularon en mayor proporcion que las hembras esteriles, excepto para las poblaciones de Tamaulipas y Chiapas. En general, la baja participacion de las hembras esteriles en el campo permitio al macho esteril ampliar su probabilidad de apareamiento con las hembras silvestres. En cuanto al indice de esterilidad relativa (RSI), observamos que la aceptacion de las hembras silvestres al macho esteril (25-55%) fue similar a la de los machos silvestres. Las hembras de la poblacion de Chiapas registro la menor aceptacion. Finalmente, los resultados obtenidos en la prueba de Fried, la cual determina la esterilidad inducida presentaron un coeficiente de competitividad entre 0.2 y 0.5. Esto sugiere que los machos esteriles compliten exitosamente y son compatibles con moscas de diferentes origenes geograficos. (author)« less

Project Physics Programmed Instruction, Vectors 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Harvard Project Physics.

This is the third of a series of three programmed instruction booklets on vectors developed by Harvard Project Physics. Separating vectors into components and obtaining a vector from its components are the topics covered. For other booklets in this series, see SE 015 549 and SE 015 550. (DT)

Vector-borne Infections

PubMed Central

Ben Beard, C.

2011-01-01

Infections with vector-borne pathogens are a major source of emerging diseases. The ability of vectors to bridge spatial and ecologic gaps between animals and humans increases opportunities for emergence. Small adaptations of a pathogen to a vector can have profound effects on the rate of transmission to humans. PMID:21529382

Update of the GJB2/DFNB1 mutation spectrum in Russia: a founder Ingush mutation del(GJB2-D13S175) is the most frequent among other large deletions

PubMed Central

Bliznetz, Elena A; Lalayants, Maria R; Markova, Tatiana G; Balanovsky, Oleg P; Balanovska, Elena V; Skhalyakho, Roza A; Pocheshkhova, Elvira A; Nikitina, Natalya V; Voronin, Sergey V; Kudryashova, Elena K; Glotov, Oleg S; Polyakov, Alexander V

2017-01-01

Although mutations in the GJB2 gene sequence make up the majority of variants causing autosomal-recessive non-syndromic hearing loss, few large deletions have been shown to contribute to DFNB1 deafness. Currently, genetic testing for DFNB1 hearing loss includes GJB2 sequencing and DFNB1 deletion analysis for two common large deletions, del(GJB6-D13S1830) and del(GJB6-D13S1854). Here, we report frequency in Russia, clinical significance and evolutionary origins of a 101 kb deletion, del(GJB2-D13S175), recently identified by us. In multiethnic cohort of 1104 unrelated hearing loss patients with biallelic mutations at the DFNB1 locus, the del(GJB2-D13S175) allele frequency of up to 0.5% (11/2208) was determined and this allele was shown to be predominantly associated with profound sensorineural hearing loss. Additionally, eight previously unpublished GJB2 mutations were described in this study. All patients carrying del(GJB2-D13S175) were of the Ingush ancestry. Among normal hearing individuals, del(GJB2-D13S175) was observed in Russian Republic of Ingushetia with a carrier rate of ~1% (2/241). Analysis of haplotypes associated with the deletion revealed a common founder in the Ingushes, with age of the deletion being ~3000 years old. Since del(GJB2-D13S175) was missed by standard methods of GJB2 analysis, del(GJB2-D13S175) detection has been added to our routine testing strategy for DFNB1 hearing loss. PMID:28405014

Effect of the F508del genotype on outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery in children with cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Do, Bao Anh Julie; Lands, Larry C; Saint-Martin, Christine; Mascarella, Marco A; Manoukian, John J; Daniel, Sam J; Nguyen, Lily H P

2014-07-01

Numerous authors have sought to describe genotype-phenotype correlations in cystic fibrosis (CF), notably to pancreatic insufficiency and lung disease. However, few studies have focused on the association between the F508del genotype and response to sinus surgery. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of the F508del genotype on sinonasal disease severity and outcomes following functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in a pediatric population. A retrospective chart review of 153 children with CF seen at a tertiary care pediatric hospital from 1995 to 2008 was performed. Patients were classified into one of three groups according to F508del genotype, either as homozygous, heterozygous or not carrying a F508del mutation. The sinonasal disease phenotype of the three groups was compared based on clinical and radiological findings, extent of endoscopic sinus surgery and rate of revision surgery. The relationship between the F508del genotype and pancreatic insufficiency was confirmed (p<0.05). There was no association between the F508del genotype and increased need for FESS (p=0.75). Moreover, no association was established between F508del homozygosity and presence of nasal polyps, Lund-Mackay score, extent of surgery or length of postoperative hospitalization. The rates of revision surgery did not differ significantly among the three genotypes analyzed (p=0.59). There is no clear association between the F508del genotype and an increased need for FESS, extent of surgery, or revision surgery. Given the phenotypic variability of sinonasal disease in patients with CF, a prospective study is needed to better understand outcomes following FESS and the contribution of gene modifiers to this effect. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

14q deletions are associated with trisomy 12, NOTCH1 mutations and unmutated IGHV genes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma.

PubMed

Cosson, Adrien; Chapiro, Elise; Belhouachi, Nabila; Cung, Hong-Anh; Keren, Boris; Damm, Frederik; Algrin, Caroline; Lefebvre, Christine; Fert-Ferrer, Sandra; Luquet, Isabelle; Gachard, Nathalie; Mugneret, Francine; Terre, Christine; Collonge-Rame, Marie-Agnes; Michaux, Lucienne; Rafdord-Weiss, Isabelle; Talmant, Pascaline; Veronese, Lauren; Nadal, Nathalie; Struski, Stephanie; Barin, Carole; Helias, Catherine; Lafage, Marina; Lippert, Eric; Auger, Nathalie; Eclache, Virginie; Roos-Weil, Damien; Leblond, Veronique; Settegrana, Catherine; Maloum, Karim; Davi, Frederic; Merle-Beral, Helene; Lesty, Claude; Nguyen-Khac, Florence

2014-08-01

Deletions of the long arm of chromosome 14 [del(14q)] are rare but recurrently observed in mature B-cell neoplasms, particularly in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). To further characterize this aberration, we studied 81 cases with del(14q): 54 of CLL and 27 of small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), the largest reported series to date. Using karyotype and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), the most frequent additional abnormality was trisomy 12 (tri12), observed in 28/79 (35%) cases, followed by del13q14 (12/79, 15%), delTP53 (11/80, 14%) delATM (5/79, 6%), and del6q21 (3/76, 4%). IGHV genes were unmutated in 41/53 (77%) patients, with a high frequency of IGHV1-69 (21/52, 40%). NOTCH1 gene was mutated in 14/45 (31%) patients. There was no significant difference in cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities between CLL and SLL. Investigations using FISH and SNP-array demonstrated the heterogeneous size of the 14q deletions. However, a group with the same del(14)(q24.1q32.33) was identified in 48% of cases. In this group, tri12 (P = 0.004) and NOTCH1 mutations (P = 0.02) were significantly more frequent than in the other patients. In CLL patients with del(14q), median treatment-free survival (TFS) was 27 months. In conclusion, del(14q) is associated with tri12 and with pejorative prognostic factors: unmutated IGHV genes (with over-representation of the IGHV1-69 repertoire), NOTCH1 mutations, and a short TFS. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Performance Improvements of the Phoneme Recognition Algorithm.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-01

VECTOR NUNDIRt"tIVECTj Beginning vector ; of speech to be extracted INDEX * MOD(IVECT,4) ICheck for vector being ; last vector in block 63 ILE u ((JUICT...1fIER0) ; Read header block. CALL CHECK(IERO) IHEADER(57) : ICOfP ; Change a of freq. components ICHECK : (IHEADER(56) - ([LENGTH - 1)) * ILENGTH...ICONT .Al. ICHECK ) GO TO 55 ; Check to make sure correct ;amount of vectors have been created# INCR u INCR + 32 ;Jump over last set of components

Wheel speed management control system for spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodzeit, Neil E. (Inventor); Linder, David M. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A spacecraft attitude control system uses at least four reaction wheels. In order to minimize reaction wheel speed and therefore power, a wheel speed management system is provided. The management system monitors the wheel speeds and generates a wheel speed error vector. The error vector is integrated, and the error vector and its integral are combined to form a correction vector. The correction vector is summed with the attitude control torque command signals for driving the reaction wheels.

Evaluating the promise of recombinant transmissible vaccines

PubMed Central

Basinski, Andrew J.; Varrelman, Tanner J.; Smithson, Mark W.; May, Ryan H.; Remien, Christopher H.; Nuismer, Scott L.

2018-01-01

Transmissible vaccines have the potential to revolutionize infectious disease control by reducing the vaccination effort required to protect a population against a disease. Recent efforts to develop transmissible vaccines focus on recombinant transmissible vaccine designs (RTVs) because they pose reduced risk if intra-host evolution causes the vaccine to revert to its vector form. However, the shared antigenicity of the vaccine and vector may confer vaccine-immunity to hosts infected with the vector, thwarting the ability of the vaccine to spread through the population. We build a mathematical model to test whether a RTV can facilitate disease management in instances where reversion is likely to introduce the vector into the population or when the vector organism is already established in the host population, and the vector and vaccine share perfect cross-immunity. Our results show that a RTV can autonomously eradicate a pathogen, or protect a population from pathogen invasion, when cross-immunity between vaccine and vector is absent. If cross-immunity between vaccine and vector exists, however, our results show that a RTV can substantially reduce the vaccination effort necessary to control or eradicate a pathogen only when continuously augmented with direct manual vaccination. These results demonstrate that estimating the extent of cross-immunity between vector and vaccine is a critical step in RTV design, and that herpesvirus vectors showing facile reinfection and weak cross-immunity are promising. PMID:29279283

Monoclonal antibodies expression improvement in CHO cells by PiggyBac transposition regarding vectors ratios and design.

PubMed

Ahmadi, Samira; Davami, Fatemeh; Davoudi, Noushin; Nematpour, Fatemeh; Ahmadi, Maryam; Ebadat, Saeedeh; Azadmanesh, Kayhan; Barkhordari, Farzaneh; Mahboudi, Fereidoun

2017-01-01

Establishing stable Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) usually pass through the random integration of vectors to the cell genome, which is sensitive to gene silencing. One approach to overcome this issue is to target a highly transcribed region in the genome. Transposons are useful devices to target active parts of genomes, and PiggyBac (PB) transposon can be considered as a good option. In the present study, three PB transposon donor vectors containing both heavy and light chains were constructed, one contained independent expression cassettes while the others utilized either an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) or 2A element to express mAb. Conventional cell pools were created by transferring donor vectors into the CHO cells, whereas transposon-based cells were generated by transfecting the cells with donor vectors with a companion of a transposase-encoding helper vector, with 1:2.5 helper/donor vectors ratio. To evaluate the influence of helper/donor vectors ratio on expression, the second transposon-based cell pools were generated with 1:5 helper/donor ratio. Expression levels in the transposon-based cells were two to five -folds more than those created by conventional method except for the IRES-mediated ones, in which the observed difference increased more than 100-fold. The results were dependent on both donor vector design and vectors ratios.

Monoclonal antibodies expression improvement in CHO cells by PiggyBac transposition regarding vectors ratios and design

PubMed Central

Ahmadi, Samira; Davami, Fatemeh; Davoudi, Noushin; Nematpour, Fatemeh; Ahmadi, Maryam; Ebadat, Saeedeh; Azadmanesh, Kayhan; Barkhordari, Farzaneh

2017-01-01

Establishing stable Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) usually pass through the random integration of vectors to the cell genome, which is sensitive to gene silencing. One approach to overcome this issue is to target a highly transcribed region in the genome. Transposons are useful devices to target active parts of genomes, and PiggyBac (PB) transposon can be considered as a good option. In the present study, three PB transposon donor vectors containing both heavy and light chains were constructed, one contained independent expression cassettes while the others utilized either an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) or 2A element to express mAb. Conventional cell pools were created by transferring donor vectors into the CHO cells, whereas transposon-based cells were generated by transfecting the cells with donor vectors with a companion of a transposase-encoding helper vector, with 1:2.5 helper/donor vectors ratio. To evaluate the influence of helper/donor vectors ratio on expression, the second transposon-based cell pools were generated with 1:5 helper/donor ratio. Expression levels in the transposon-based cells were two to five -folds more than those created by conventional method except for the IRES-mediated ones, in which the observed difference increased more than 100-fold. The results were dependent on both donor vector design and vectors ratios. PMID:28662065

Lack of Humoral Immune Response to the Tetracycline (Tet) Activator in Rats Injected Intracranially with Tet-off rAAV Vectors

PubMed Central

Han, Ye; Chang, Qin A.; Virag, Tamas; West, Neva C.; George, David; Castro, Maria G.; Bohn, Martha C.

2010-01-01

The ability to safely control transgene expression from viral vectors is a long-term goal in the gene therapy field. We have previously reported tight regulation of GFP expression in rat brain using a self-regulating tet-off rAAV vector. The immune responses against tet regulatory elements observed by other groups in nonhuman primates after intramuscular injection of tet-on encoding vectors raise concerns about the clinical value of tet-regulated vectors. However, previous studies have not examined immune responses following injection of AAV vectors into brain. Therefore, rat striatum was injected with tet-off rAAV harboring a therapeutic gene for Parkinson's disease, either hAADC or hGDNF. The expression of each gene was tightly controlled by the tet-off regulatory system. Using an ELISA developed with purified GST-tTA protein, no detectable immunogenicity against tTA was observed in sera of rats that received an intrastriatal injection of either vector. In contrast, sera from rats intradermally injected with an adenovirus containing either tTA or rtTA, as positive controls, had readily detectable antibodies. These observations suggest that tet-off rAAV vectors do not elicit an immune response when injected into rat brain and that these may offer safer vectors for Parkinson's disease than vectors with constitutive expression. PMID:20164859

Modified Newcastle Disease virus as an improved vaccine vector against Simian Immunodeficiency virus.

PubMed

Manoharan, Vinoth K; Khattar, Sunil K; LaBranche, Celia C; Montefiori, David C; Samal, Siba K

2018-06-12

SIV infection in macaques is a relevant animal model for HIV pathogenesis and vaccine study in humans. To design a safe and effective vaccine against HIV, we evaluated the suitability of naturally-occurring avirulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains and several modified versions of NDV as vectors for the expression and immunogenicity of SIV envelope protein gp160. All the NDV vectors expressed gp160 protein in infected cells. The gp160 expressed by these vectors formed oligomers and was incorporated into the NDV envelope. All the NDV vectors expressing gp160 were attenuated in chickens. Intranasal immunization of guinea pigs with modified NDV vectors such as rNDV-APMV-2CS/gp160 and rNDV-APMV-8CS/gp160 (NDV strain LaSota containing the cleavage site sequences of F protein of avian paramyxovirus (APMV) serotype 2 and 8, respectively), and rNDV-BC-F-HN/gp160 (NDV strain BC containing LaSota F cleavage site and LaSota F and HN genes) elicited improved SIV-specific humoral and mucosal immune responses compared to other NDV vectors. These modified vectors were also efficient in inducing neutralizing antibody responses to tier 1 A SIVmac251.6 and tier 1B SIVmac251/M766 strains. This study suggests that our novel modified NDV vectors are safe and immunogenic and can be used as vaccine vector to control HIV.

Advancing vector biology research: a community survey for future directions, research applications and infrastructure requirements

PubMed Central

Kohl, Alain; Pondeville, Emilie; Schnettler, Esther; Crisanti, Andrea; Supparo, Clelia; Christophides, George K.; Kersey, Paul J.; Maslen, Gareth L.; Takken, Willem; Koenraadt, Constantianus J. M.; Oliva, Clelia F.; Busquets, Núria; Abad, F. Xavier; Failloux, Anna-Bella; Levashina, Elena A.; Wilson, Anthony J.; Veronesi, Eva; Pichard, Maëlle; Arnaud Marsh, Sarah; Simard, Frédéric; Vernick, Kenneth D.

2016-01-01

Vector-borne pathogens impact public health, animal production, and animal welfare. Research on arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies, and midges which transmit pathogens to humans and economically important animals is crucial for development of new control measures that target transmission by the vector. While insecticides are an important part of this arsenal, appearance of resistance mechanisms is increasingly common. Novel tools for genetic manipulation of vectors, use of Wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria, and other biological control mechanisms to prevent pathogen transmission have led to promising new intervention strategies, adding to strong interest in vector biology and genetics as well as vector–pathogen interactions. Vector research is therefore at a crucial juncture, and strategic decisions on future research directions and research infrastructure investment should be informed by the research community. A survey initiated by the European Horizon 2020 INFRAVEC-2 consortium set out to canvass priorities in the vector biology research community and to determine key activities that are needed for researchers to efficiently study vectors, vector-pathogen interactions, as well as access the structures and services that allow such activities to be carried out. We summarize the most important findings of the survey which in particular reflect the priorities of researchers in European countries, and which will be of use to stakeholders that include researchers, government, and research organizations. PMID:27677378

Global Transport Networks and Infectious Disease Spread

PubMed Central

Tatem, A.J.; Rogers, D.J.; Hay, S.I.

2011-01-01

Air, sea and land transport networks continue to expand in reach, speed of travel and volume of passengers and goods carried. Pathogens and their vectors can now move further, faster and in greater numbers than ever before. Three important consequences of global transport network expansion are infectious disease pandemics, vector invasion events and vector-borne pathogen importation. This review briefly examines some of the important historical examples of these disease and vector movements, such as the global influenza pandemics, the devastating Anopheles gambiae invasion of Brazil and the recent increases in imported Plasmodium falciparum malaria cases. We then outline potential approaches for future studies of disease movement, focussing on vector invasion and vector-borne disease importation. Such approaches allow us to explore the potential implications of international air travel, shipping routes and other methods of transport on global pathogen and vector traffic. PMID:16647974

Hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields.

PubMed

Gao, Xu-Zhen; Pan, Yue; Cai, Meng-Qiang; Li, Yongnan; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

2015-12-14

We present and construct a new kind of orthogonal coordinate system, hyperbolic coordinate system. We present and design a new kind of local linearly polarized vector fields, which is defined as the hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields because the points with the same polarization form a series of hyperbolae. We experimentally demonstrate the generation of such a kind of hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields. In particular, we also study the modified hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields with the twofold and fourfold symmetric states of polarization when introducing the mirror symmetry. The tight focusing behaviors of these vector fields are also investigated. In addition, we also fabricate micro-structures on the K9 glass surfaces by several tightly focused (modified) hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields patterns, which demonstrate that the simulated tightly focused fields are in good agreement with the fabricated micro-structures.

Helper-dependent adenoviral vectors for liver-directed gene therapy

PubMed Central

Brunetti-Pierri, Nicola; Ng, Philip

2011-01-01

Helper-dependent adenoviral (HDAd) vectors devoid of all viral-coding sequences are promising non-integrating vectors for liver-directed gene therapy because they have a large cloning capacity, can efficiently transduce a wide variety of cell types from various species independent of the cell cycle and can result in long-term transgene expression without chronic toxicity. The main obstacle preventing clinical applications of HDAd for liver-directed gene therapy is the host innate inflammatory response against the vector capsid proteins that occurs shortly after intravascular vector administration resulting in acute toxicity, the severity of which is dependent on vector dose. Intense efforts have been focused on elucidating the factors involved in this acute response and various strategies have been investigated to improve the therapeutic index of HDAd vectors. These strategies have yielded encouraging results with the potential for clinical translation. PMID:21470977

"Analytical" vector-functions I

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todorov, Vladimir Todorov

2017-12-01

In this note we try to give a new (or different) approach to the investigation of analytical vector functions. More precisely a notion of a power xn; n ∈ ℕ+ of a vector x ∈ ℝ3 is introduced which allows to define an "analytical" function f : ℝ3 → ℝ3. Let furthermore f (ξ )= ∑n =0 ∞ anξn be an analytical function of the real variable ξ. Here we replace the power ξn of the number ξ with the power of a vector x ∈ ℝ3 to obtain a vector "power series" f (x )= ∑n =0 ∞ anxn . We research some properties of the vector series as well as some applications of this idea. Note that an "analytical" vector function does not depend of any basis, which may be used in research into some problems in physics.

New signals for vector-like down-type quark in U(1) of E_6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Kasinath; Li, Tianjun; Nandi, S.; Rai, Santosh Kumar

2018-01-01

We consider the pair production of vector-like down-type quarks in an E_6 motivated model, where each of the produced down-type vector-like quark decays into an ordinary Standard Model light quark and a singlet scalar. Both the vector-like quark and the singlet scalar appear naturally in the E_6 model with masses at the TeV scale with a favorable choice of symmetry breaking pattern. We focus on the non-standard decay of the vector-like quark and the new scalar which decays to two photons or two gluons. We analyze the signal for the vector-like quark production in the 2γ +≥ 2j channel and show how the scalar and vector-like quark masses can be determined at the Large Hadron Collider.

Influence of Vectors’ Risk-Spreading Strategies and Environmental Stochasticity on the Epidemiology and Evolution of Vector-Borne Diseases: The Example of Chagas’ Disease

PubMed Central

Pelosse, Perrine; Kribs-Zaleta, Christopher M.; Ginoux, Marine; Rabinovich, Jorge E.; Gourbière, Sébastien; Menu, Frédéric

2013-01-01

Insects are known to display strategies that spread the risk of encountering unfavorable conditions, thereby decreasing the extinction probability of genetic lineages in unpredictable environments. To what extent these strategies influence the epidemiology and evolution of vector-borne diseases in stochastic environments is largely unknown. In triatomines, the vectors of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas’ disease, juvenile development time varies between individuals and such variation most likely decreases the extinction risk of vector populations in stochastic environments. We developed a simplified multi-stage vector-borne SI epidemiological model to investigate how vector risk-spreading strategies and environmental stochasticity influence the prevalence and evolution of a parasite. This model is based on available knowledge on triatomine biodemography, but its conceptual outcomes apply, to a certain extent, to other vector-borne diseases. Model comparisons between deterministic and stochastic settings led to the conclusion that environmental stochasticity, vector risk-spreading strategies (in particular an increase in the length and variability of development time) and their interaction have drastic consequences on vector population dynamics, disease prevalence, and the relative short-term evolution of parasite virulence. Our work shows that stochastic environments and associated risk-spreading strategies can increase the prevalence of vector-borne diseases and favor the invasion of more virulent parasite strains on relatively short evolutionary timescales. This study raises new questions and challenges in a context of increasingly unpredictable environmental variations as a result of global climate change and human interventions such as habitat destruction or vector control. PMID:23951018

The maximum vector-angular margin classifier and its fast training on large datasets using a core vector machine.

PubMed

Hu, Wenjun; Chung, Fu-Lai; Wang, Shitong

2012-03-01

Although pattern classification has been extensively studied in the past decades, how to effectively solve the corresponding training on large datasets is a problem that still requires particular attention. Many kernelized classification methods, such as SVM and SVDD, can be formulated as the corresponding quadratic programming (QP) problems, but computing the associated kernel matrices requires O(n2)(or even up to O(n3)) computational complexity, where n is the size of the training patterns, which heavily limits the applicability of these methods for large datasets. In this paper, a new classification method called the maximum vector-angular margin classifier (MAMC) is first proposed based on the vector-angular margin to find an optimal vector c in the pattern feature space, and all the testing patterns can be classified in terms of the maximum vector-angular margin ρ, between the vector c and all the training data points. Accordingly, it is proved that the kernelized MAMC can be equivalently formulated as the kernelized Minimum Enclosing Ball (MEB), which leads to a distinctive merit of MAMC, i.e., it has the flexibility of controlling the sum of support vectors like v-SVC and may be extended to a maximum vector-angular margin core vector machine (MAMCVM) by connecting the core vector machine (CVM) method with MAMC such that the corresponding fast training on large datasets can be effectively achieved. Experimental results on artificial and real datasets are provided to validate the power of the proposed methods. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vector-Borne Pathogen and Host Evolution in a Structured Immuno-Epidemiological System.

PubMed

Gulbudak, Hayriye; Cannataro, Vincent L; Tuncer, Necibe; Martcheva, Maia

2017-02-01

Vector-borne disease transmission is a common dissemination mode used by many pathogens to spread in a host population. Similar to directly transmitted diseases, the within-host interaction of a vector-borne pathogen and a host's immune system influences the pathogen's transmission potential between hosts via vectors. Yet there are few theoretical studies on virulence-transmission trade-offs and evolution in vector-borne pathogen-host systems. Here, we consider an immuno-epidemiological model that links the within-host dynamics to between-host circulation of a vector-borne disease. On the immunological scale, the model mimics antibody-pathogen dynamics for arbovirus diseases, such as Rift Valley fever and West Nile virus. The within-host dynamics govern transmission and host mortality and recovery in an age-since-infection structured host-vector-borne pathogen epidemic model. By considering multiple pathogen strains and multiple competing host populations differing in their within-host replication rate and immune response parameters, respectively, we derive evolutionary optimization principles for both pathogen and host. Invasion analysis shows that the [Formula: see text] maximization principle holds for the vector-borne pathogen. For the host, we prove that evolution favors minimizing case fatality ratio (CFR). These results are utilized to compute host and pathogen evolutionary trajectories and to determine how model parameters affect evolution outcomes. We find that increasing the vector inoculum size increases the pathogen [Formula: see text], but can either increase or decrease the pathogen virulence (the host CFR), suggesting that vector inoculum size can contribute to virulence of vector-borne diseases in distinct ways.

Current status of genome editing in vector mosquitoes: A review.

PubMed

Reegan, Appadurai Daniel; Ceasar, Stanislaus Antony; Paulraj, Michael Gabriel; Ignacimuthu, Savarimuthu; Al-Dhabi, Naif Abdullah

2017-01-16

Mosquitoes pose a major threat to human health as they spread many deadly diseases like malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis and Zika. Identification and use of novel molecular tools are essential to combat the spread of vector borne diseases. Genome editing tools have been used for the precise alterations of the gene of interest for producing the desirable trait in mosquitoes. Deletion of functional genes or insertion of toxic genes in vector mosquitoes will produce either knock-out or knock-in mutants that will check the spread of vector-borne diseases. Presently, three types of genome editing tools viz., zinc finger nuclease (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) and clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR associated protein 9 (Cas9) are widely used for the editing of the genomes of diverse organisms. These tools are also applied in vector mosquitoes to control the spread of vector-borne diseases. A few studies have been carried out on genome editing to control the diseases spread by vector mosquitoes and more studies need to be performed with the utilization of more recently invented tools like CRISPR/Cas9 to combat the spread of deadly diseases by vector mosquitoes. The high specificity and flexibility of CRISPR/Cas9 system may offer possibilities for novel genome editing for the control of important diseases spread by vector mosquitoes. In this review, we present the current status of genome editing research on vector mosquitoes and also discuss the future applications of vector mosquito genome editing to control the spread of vectorborne diseases.

What is the risk for exposure to vector-borne pathogens in United States national parks?

PubMed

Eisen, Lars; Wong, David; Shelus, Victoria; Eisen, Rebecca J

2013-03-01

United States national parks attract > 275 million visitors annually and collectively present risk of exposure for staff and visitors to a wide range of arthropod vector species (most notably fleas, mosquitoes, and ticks) and their associated bacterial, protozoan, or viral pathogens. We assessed the current state of knowledge for risk of exposure to vector-borne pathogens in national parks through a review of relevant literature, including internal National Park Service documents and organismal databases. We conclude that, because of lack of systematic surveillance for vector-borne pathogens in national parks, the risk of pathogen exposure for staff and visitors is unclear. Existing data for vectors within national parks were not based on systematic collections and rarely include evaluation for pathogen infection. Extrapolation of human-based surveillance data from neighboring communities likely provides inaccurate estimates for national parks because landscape differences impact transmission of vector-borne pathogens and human-vector contact rates likely differ inside versus outside the parks because of differences in activities or behaviors. Vector-based pathogen surveillance holds promise to define when and where within national parks the risk of exposure to infected vectors is elevated. A pilot effort, including 5-10 strategic national parks, would greatly improve our understanding of the scope and magnitude of vector-borne pathogen transmission in these high-use public settings. Such efforts also will support messaging to promote personal protection measures and inform park visitors and staff of their responsibility for personal protection, which the National Park Service preservation mission dictates as the core strategy to reduce exposure to vector-borne pathogens in national parks.

Inhalation of Nebulized Perfluorochemical Enhances Recombinant Adenovirus and Adeno-Associated Virus-Mediated Gene Expression in Lung Epithelium

PubMed Central

Beckett, Travis; Bonneau, Laura; Howard, Alan; Blanchard, James; Borda, Juan; Weiner, Daniel J.; Wang, Lili; Gao, Guang Ping; Kolls, Jay K.; Bohm, Rudolf; Liggitt, Denny

2012-01-01

Abstract Use of perfluorochemical liquids during intratracheal vector administration enhances recombinant adenovirus and adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated lung epithelial gene expression. We hypothesized that inhalation of nebulized perfluorochemical vapor would also enhance epithelial gene expression after subsequent intratracheal vector administration. Freely breathing adult C57BL/6 mice were exposed for selected times to nebulized perflubron or sterile saline in a sealed Plexiglas chamber. Recombinant adenoviral vector was administered by transtracheal puncture at selected times afterward and mice were killed 3 days after vector administration to assess transgene expression. Mice tolerated the nebulized perflubron without obvious ill effects. Vector administration 6 hr after nebulized perflubron exposure resulted in an average 540% increase in gene expression in airway and alveolar epithelium, compared with that with vector alone or saline plus vector control (p<0.05). However, vector administration 1 hr, 1 day, or 3 days after perflubron exposure was not different from either nebulized saline with vector or vector alone and a 60-min exposure to nebulized perflubron is required. In parallel pilot studies in macaques, inhalation of nebulized perflubron enhanced recombinant AAV2/5 vector expression throughout the lung. Serial chest radiographs, bronchoalveolar lavages, and results of complete blood counts and serum biochemistries demonstrated no obvious adverse effects of nebulized perflubron. Further, one macaque receiving nebulized perflubron only was monitored for 1 year with no obvious adverse effects of exposure. These results demonstrate that inhalation of nebulized perflubron, a simple, clinically more feasible technique than intratracheal administration of liquid perflubron, safely enhances lung gene expression. PMID:22568624

40 CFR 258.22 - Disease vector control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Disease vector control. 258.22 Section... MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Operating Criteria § 258.22 Disease vector control. (a) Owners or operators of all MSWLF units must prevent or control on-site populations of disease vectors using techniques...

40 CFR 258.22 - Disease vector control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Disease vector control. 258.22 Section... MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Operating Criteria § 258.22 Disease vector control. (a) Owners or operators of all MSWLF units must prevent or control on-site populations of disease vectors using techniques...

40 CFR 258.22 - Disease vector control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Disease vector control. 258.22 Section... MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Operating Criteria § 258.22 Disease vector control. (a) Owners or operators of all MSWLF units must prevent or control on-site populations of disease vectors using techniques...

40 CFR 258.22 - Disease vector control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Disease vector control. 258.22 Section... MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Operating Criteria § 258.22 Disease vector control. (a) Owners or operators of all MSWLF units must prevent or control on-site populations of disease vectors using techniques...

40 CFR 258.22 - Disease vector control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Disease vector control. 258.22 Section... MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Operating Criteria § 258.22 Disease vector control. (a) Owners or operators of all MSWLF units must prevent or control on-site populations of disease vectors using techniques...

40 CFR 503.25 - Operational standards-pathogens and vector attraction reduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... vector attraction reduction. 503.25 Section 503.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... § 503.25 Operational standards—pathogens and vector attraction reduction. (a) Pathogens—sewage sludge... active sewage sludge unit, unless the vector attraction reduction requirement in § 503.33(b)(11) is met...

40 CFR 503.25 - Operational standards-pathogens and vector attraction reduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... vector attraction reduction. 503.25 Section 503.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... § 503.25 Operational standards—pathogens and vector attraction reduction. (a) Pathogens—sewage sludge... active sewage sludge unit, unless the vector attraction reduction requirement in § 503.33(b)(11) is met...

Vector-borne pathogens: New and emerging arboviral diseases affecting public health

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Dengue and Zika have quickly become two of the most important vector-borne diseases affecting Public health around the world. This presentation will introduce vector-borne diseases and all the vectors implicated. A focus will be made on the most important arboviral diseases (Zika and dengue) describ...

The mosquito battlefield: understanding the mosquito’s molecular weaponry against pathogens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This presentation will introduce vector-borne diseases and all the vectors implicated. A focus will be made on the most important vector-borne diseases: Malaria and Dengue. Describing the epidemiology of arboviral diseases, and how each vector responds to protozoan, bacterial and viral pathogens. In...

The mean-square error optimal linear discriminant function and its application to incomplete data vectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, H. F.

1979-01-01

In many pattern recognition problems, data vectors are classified although one or more of the data vector elements are missing. This problem occurs in remote sensing when the ground is obscured by clouds. Optimal linear discrimination procedures for classifying imcomplete data vectors are discussed.

A Rice PECTATE LYASE-LIKE Gene Is Required for Plant Growth and Leaf Senescence1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Leng, Yujia; Yang, Yaolong; Ren, Deyong; Dai, Liping; Wang, Yuqiong; Chen, Long; Tu, Zhengjun; Gao, Yihong; Zhu, Li; Hu, Jiang; Gao, Zhenyu; Guo, Longbiao; Lin, Yongjun

2017-01-01

To better understand the molecular mechanisms behind plant growth and leaf senescence in monocot plants, we identified a mutant exhibiting dwarfism and an early-senescence leaf phenotype, termed dwarf and early-senescence leaf1 (del1). Histological analysis showed that the abnormal growth was caused by a reduction in cell number. Further investigation revealed that the decline in cell number in del1 was affected by the cell cycle. Physiological analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and TUNEL assays showed that leaf senescence was triggered by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. The DEL1 gene was cloned using a map-based approach. It was shown to encode a pectate lyase (PEL) precursor that contains a PelC domain. DEL1 contains all the conserved residues of PEL and has strong similarity with plant PelC. DEL1 is expressed in all tissues but predominantly in elongating tissues. Functional analysis revealed that mutation of DEL1 decreased the total PEL enzymatic activity, increased the degree of methylesterified homogalacturonan, and altered the cell wall composition and structure. In addition, transcriptome assay revealed that a set of cell wall function- and senescence-related gene expression was altered in del1 plants. Our research indicates that DEL1 is involved in both the maintenance of normal cell division and the induction of leaf senescence. These findings reveal a new molecular mechanism for plant growth and leaf senescence mediated by PECTATE LYASE-LIKE genes. PMID:28455404

A Rice PECTATE LYASE-LIKE Gene Is Required for Plant Growth and Leaf Senescence.

PubMed

Leng, Yujia; Yang, Yaolong; Ren, Deyong; Huang, Lichao; Dai, Liping; Wang, Yuqiong; Chen, Long; Tu, Zhengjun; Gao, Yihong; Li, Xueyong; Zhu, Li; Hu, Jiang; Zhang, Guangheng; Gao, Zhenyu; Guo, Longbiao; Kong, Zhaosheng; Lin, Yongjun; Qian, Qian; Zeng, Dali

2017-06-01

To better understand the molecular mechanisms behind plant growth and leaf senescence in monocot plants, we identified a mutant exhibiting dwarfism and an early-senescence leaf phenotype, termed dwarf and early-senescence leaf1 ( del1 ). Histological analysis showed that the abnormal growth was caused by a reduction in cell number. Further investigation revealed that the decline in cell number in del1 was affected by the cell cycle. Physiological analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and TUNEL assays showed that leaf senescence was triggered by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. The DEL1 gene was cloned using a map-based approach. It was shown to encode a pectate lyase (PEL) precursor that contains a PelC domain. DEL1 contains all the conserved residues of PEL and has strong similarity with plant PelC. DEL1 is expressed in all tissues but predominantly in elongating tissues. Functional analysis revealed that mutation of DEL1 decreased the total PEL enzymatic activity, increased the degree of methylesterified homogalacturonan, and altered the cell wall composition and structure. In addition, transcriptome assay revealed that a set of cell wall function- and senescence-related gene expression was altered in del1 plants. Our research indicates that DEL1 is involved in both the maintenance of normal cell division and the induction of leaf senescence. These findings reveal a new molecular mechanism for plant growth and leaf senescence mediated by PECTATE LYASE-LIKE genes. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Computational model of a vector-mediated epidemic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dickman, Adriana Gomes; Dickman, Ronald

2015-05-01

We discuss a lattice model of vector-mediated transmission of a disease to illustrate how simulations can be applied in epidemiology. The population consists of two species, human hosts and vectors, which contract the disease from one another. Hosts are sedentary, while vectors (mosquitoes) diffuse in space. Examples of such diseases are malaria, dengue fever, and Pierce's disease in vineyards. The model exhibits a phase transition between an absorbing (infection free) phase and an active one as parameters such as infection rates and vector density are varied.

Vector breather-to-soliton transitions and nonlinear wave interactions induced by higher-order effects in an erbium-doped fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wen-Rong; Wang, Lei; Xie, Xi-Yang

2018-06-01

Vector breather-to-soliton transitions for the higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger-Maxwell-Bloch (NLS-MB) system with sextic terms are investigated. The Lax pair and Darboux transformation (DT) of such system are constructed. With the DT, analytic vector breather solutions up to the second order are obtained. With appropriate choices of the spectra parameters, vector breather-to-soliton transitions happen. Interaction mechanisms of vector nonlinear waves (breather-soliton or soliton-soliton interactions) are displayed.

Reflections on the early development of poxvirus vectors.

PubMed

Moss, Bernard

2013-09-06

Poxvirus expression vectors were described in 1982 and quickly became widely used for vaccine development as well as research in numerous fields. Advantages of the vectors include simple construction, ability to accommodate large amounts of foreign DNA and high expression levels. Numerous poxvirus-based veterinary vaccines are currently in use and many others are in human clinical trials. The early reports of poxvirus vectors paved the way for and stimulated the development of other viral vectors and recombinant DNA vaccines. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Adenovirus-based genetic vaccines for biodefense.

PubMed

Boyer, Julie L; Kobinger, Gary; Wilson, James M; Crystal, Ronald G

2005-02-01

The robust host responses elicited against transgenes encoded by (E1-)(E3-) adenovirus (Ad) gene transfer vectors can be used to develop Ad-based vectors as platform technologies for vaccines against potential bioterror pathogens. This review focuses on pathogens of major concern as bioterror agents and why Ad vectors are ideal as anti-bioterror vaccine platforms, providing examples from our laboratories of using Ad vectors as vaccines against potential bioterror pathogens and how Ad vectors can be developed to enhance vaccine efficacy in the bioterror war.

A Family of LIC Vectors for High-Throughput Cloning and Purification of Proteins1

PubMed Central

Eschenfeldt, William H.; Stols, Lucy; Millard, Cynthia Sanville; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Donnelly, Mark I.

2009-01-01

Summary Fifteen related ligation-independent cloning vectors were constructed for high-throughput cloning and purification of proteins. The vectors encode a TEV protease site for removal of tags that facilitate protein purification (his-tag) or improve solubility (MBP, GST). Specialized vectors allow coexpression and copurification of interacting proteins, or in vivo removal of MBP by TVMV protease to improve screening and purification. All target genes and vectors are processed by the same protocols, which we describe here. PMID:18988021

Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) Measurements in the Western Alboran Sea, October 1982

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-01

aircraft, shore- based radar, and shore- based meteorological stations cooperated in an intense measurement effort. As one part of this effort USNS BARTLETT...de Castillejo (1972). Contribucion a1 Conocimiento del mar de Alboran: III. Variaciones del Remolino Anticiclonico. Boletin del Institute Espanol

Successes and failures of sixty years of vector control in French Guiana: what is the next step?

PubMed

Epelboin, Yanouk; Chaney, Sarah C; Guidez, Amandine; Habchi-Hanriot, Nausicaa; Talaga, Stanislas; Wang, Lanjiao; Dusfour, Isabelle

2018-03-12

Since the 1940s, French Guiana has implemented vector control to contain or eliminate malaria, yellow fever, and, recently, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Over time, strategies have evolved depending on the location, efficacy of the methods, development of insecticide resistance, and advances in vector control techniques. This review summarises the history of vector control in French Guiana by reporting the records found in the private archives of the Institute Pasteur in French Guiana and those accessible in libraries worldwide. This publication highlights successes and failures in vector control and identifies the constraints and expectations for vector control in this French overseas territory in the Americas.

An affine projection algorithm using grouping selection of input vectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, JaeWook; Kong, NamWoong; Park, PooGyeon

2011-10-01

This paper present an affine projection algorithm (APA) using grouping selection of input vectors. To improve the performance of conventional APA, the proposed algorithm adjusts the number of the input vectors using two procedures: grouping procedure and selection procedure. In grouping procedure, the some input vectors that have overlapping information for update is grouped using normalized inner product. Then, few input vectors that have enough information for for coefficient update is selected using steady-state mean square error (MSE) in selection procedure. Finally, the filter coefficients update using selected input vectors. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has small steady-state estimation errors comparing with the existing algorithms.

Production of non viral DNA vectors.

PubMed

Schleef, Martin; Blaesen, Markus; Schmeer, Marco; Baier, Ruth; Marie, Corinne; Dickson, George; Scherman, Daniel

2010-12-01

After some decades of research, development and first clinical approaches to use DNA vectors in gene therapy, cell therapy and DNA vaccination, the requirements for the pharmaceutical manufacturing of gene vectors has improved significantly step by step. Even the expression level and specificity of non viral DNA vectors were significantly modified and followed the success of viral vectors. The strict separation of "viral" and "non viral" gene transfer are historic borders between scientist and we will show that both fields together are able to allow the next step towards successful prevention and therapy. Here we summarize the features of producing and modifying these non-viral gene vectors to ensure the required quality to modify cells and to treat human and animals.

Other vector-borne parasitic diseases: animal helminthiases, bovine besnoitiosis and malaria.

PubMed

Duvallet, G; Boireau, P

2015-08-01

The parasitic diseases discussed elsewhere in this issue of the Scientific and Technical Review are not the only ones to make use of biological vectors (such as mosquitoes or ticks) or mechanical vectors (such as horse flies or Stomoxys flies). The authors discuss two major groups of vector-borne parasitic diseases: firstly, helminthiasis, along with animal filariasis and onchocerciasis, which are parasitic diseases that often take a heavytoll on artiodactylsthroughoutthe world; secondly, parasitic diseases caused by vector-borne protists, foremost of which is bovine besnoitiosis (or anasarca of cattle), which has recently spread through Europe by a dual mode of transmission (direct and by vector). Other protists, such as Plasmodium and Hepatozoon, are also described briefly.

Teaching Vectors Through an Interactive Game Based Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, James; Sirokman, Gergely

2014-03-01

In recent years, science and particularly physics education has been furthered by the use of project based interactive learning [1]. There is a tremendous amount of evidence [2] that use of these techniques in a college learning environment leads to a deeper appreciation and understanding of fundamental concepts. Since vectors are the basis for any advancement in physics and engineering courses the cornerstone of any physics regimen is a concrete and comprehensive introduction to vectors. Here, we introduce a new turn based vector game that we have developed to help supplement traditional vector learning practices, which allows students to be creative, work together as a team, and accomplish a goal through the understanding of basic vector concepts.

Auto and hetero-associative memory using a 2-D optical logic gate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chao, Tien-Hsin (Inventor)

1992-01-01

An optical system for auto-associative and hetero-associative recall utilizing Hamming distance as the similarity measure between a binary input image vector V(sup k) and a binary image vector V(sup m) in a first memory array using an optical Exclusive-OR gate for multiplication of each of a plurality of different binary image vectors in memory by the input image vector. After integrating the light of each product V(sup k) x V(sup m), a shortest Hamming distance detection electronics module determines which product has the lowest light intensity and emits a signal that activates a light emitting diode to illuminate a corresponding image vector in a second memory array for display. That corresponding image vector is identical to the memory image vector V(sup m) in the first memory array for auto-associative recall or related to it, such as by name, for hetero-associative recall.

The simulation on diode-clamped five-level converters common-mode voltage suppression with zero-vector PWM strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yonggao; Gao, Yanli; Long, Lizhong

2012-04-01

More and more researchers have great concern on the issue of Common-mode voltage (CMV) in high voltage large power converter. A novel common-mode voltage suppression scheme based on zero-vector PWM strategy (ZVPWM) is present in this paper. Taking a diode-clamped five-level converter as example, the principle of zero vector PWM common-mode voltage (ZCMVPWM) suppression method is studied in detail. ZCMVPWM suppression strategy is including four important parts, which are locating the sector of reference voltage vector, locating the small triangular sub-sector of reference voltage vector, reference vector synthesis, and calculating the operating time of vector. The principles of four important pars are illustrated in detail and the corresponding MATLAB models are established. System simulation and experimental results are provided. It gives some consultation value for the development and research of multi-level converters.

Vector assembly of colloids on monolayer substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Lingxiang; Yang, Shenyu; Tsang, Boyce; Tu, Mei; Granick, Steve

2017-06-01

The key to spontaneous and directed assembly is to encode the desired assembly information to building blocks in a programmable and efficient way. In computer graphics, raster graphics encodes images on a single-pixel level, conferring fine details at the expense of large file sizes, whereas vector graphics encrypts shape information into vectors that allow small file sizes and operational transformations. Here, we adapt this raster/vector concept to a 2D colloidal system and realize `vector assembly' by manipulating particles on a colloidal monolayer substrate with optical tweezers. In contrast to raster assembly that assigns optical tweezers to each particle, vector assembly requires a minimal number of optical tweezers that allow operations like chain elongation and shortening. This vector approach enables simple uniform particles to form a vast collection of colloidal arenes and colloidenes, the spontaneous dissociation of which is achieved with precision and stage-by-stage complexity by simply removing the optical tweezers.

The evolution of adenoviral vectors through genetic and chemical surface modifications.

PubMed

Capasso, Cristian; Garofalo, Mariangela; Hirvinen, Mari; Cerullo, Vincenzo

2014-02-17

A long time has passed since the first clinical trial with adenoviral (Ad) vectors. Despite being very promising, Ad vectors soon revealed their limitations in human clinical trials. The pre-existing immunity, the marked liver tropism and the high toxicity of first generation Ad (FG-Ad) vectors have been the main challenges for the development of new approaches. Significant effort toward the development of genetically and chemically modified adenoviral vectors has enabled researchers to create more sophisticated vectors for gene therapy, with an improved safety profile and a higher transduction ability of different tissues. In this review, we will describe the latest findings in the high-speed, evolving field of genetic and chemical modifications of adenoviral vectors, a field in which different disciplines, such as biomaterial research, virology and immunology, co-operate synergistically to create better gene therapy tools for modern challenges.

Evolving lessons on nanomaterial-coated viral vectors for local and systemic gene therapy

PubMed Central

Kasala, Dayananda; Yoon, A-Rum; Hong, Jinwoo; Kim, Sung Wan; Yun, Chae-Ok

2016-01-01

Viral vectors are promising gene carriers for cancer therapy. However, virus-mediated gene therapies have demonstrated insufficient therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials due to rapid dissemination to nontarget tissues and to the immunogenicity of viral vectors, resulting in poor retention at the disease locus and induction of adverse inflammatory responses in patients. Further, the limited tropism of viral vectors prevents efficient gene delivery to target tissues. In this regard, modification of the viral surface with nanomaterials is a promising strategy to augment vector accumulation at the target tissue, circumvent the host immune response, and avoid nonspecific interactions with the reticuloendothelial system or serum complement. In the present review, we discuss various chemical modification strategies to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of viral vectors delivered either locally or systemically. We conclude by highlighting the salient features of various nanomaterial-coated viral vectors and their prospects and directions for future research. PMID:27348247

Vectoring of parallel synthetic jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berk, Tim; Ganapathisubramani, Bharathram; Gomit, Guillaume

2015-11-01

A pair of parallel synthetic jets can be vectored by applying a phase difference between the two driving signals. The resulting jet can be merged or bifurcated and either vectored towards the actuator leading in phase or the actuator lagging in phase. In the present study, the influence of phase difference and Strouhal number on the vectoring behaviour is examined experimentally. Phase-locked vorticity fields, measured using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), are used to track vortex pairs. The physical mechanisms that explain the diversity in vectoring behaviour are observed based on the vortex trajectories. For a fixed phase difference, the vectoring behaviour is shown to be primarily influenced by pinch-off time of vortex rings generated by the synthetic jets. Beyond a certain formation number, the pinch-off timescale becomes invariant. In this region, the vectoring behaviour is determined by the distance between subsequent vortex rings. We acknowledge the financial support from the European Research Council (ERC grant agreement no. 277472).

Static internal performance of a single expansion ramp nozzle with multiaxis thrust vectoring capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Capone, Francis J.; Schirmer, Alberto W.

1993-01-01

An investigation was conducted at static conditions in order to determine the internal performance characteristics of a multiaxis thrust vectoring single expansion ramp nozzle. Yaw vectoring was achieved by deflecting yaw flaps in the nozzle sidewall into the nozzle exhaust flow. In order to eliminate any physical interference between the variable angle yaw flap deflected into the exhaust flow and the nozzle upper ramp and lower flap which were deflected for pitch vectoring, the downstream corners of both the nozzle ramp and lower flap were cut off to allow for up to 30 deg of yaw vectoring. The effects of nozzle upper ramp and lower flap cutout, yaw flap hinge line location and hinge inclination angle, sidewall containment, geometric pitch vector angle, and geometric yaw vector angle were studied. This investigation was conducted in the static-test facility of the Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel at nozzle pressure ratios up to 8.0.

HSV as a vector in vaccine development and gene therapy.

PubMed

Marconi, Peggy; Argnani, Rafaela; Epstein, Alberto L; Manservigi, Roberto

2009-01-01

The very deep knowledge acquired on the genetics and molecular biology of herpes simplex virus (HSV), major human pathogen whose lifestyle is based on a long-term dual interaction with the infected host characterized by the existence of lytic and latent infections, has allowed the development of potential vectors for several applications in human healthcare. These include delivery and expression of human genes to cells of the nervous system, selective destruction of cancer cells, prophylaxis against infection with HSV or other infectious diseases and targeted infection of specific tissues or organs. Three different classes of vectors can be derived from HSV-1: replication-competent attenuated vectors, replication-incompetent recombinant vectors and defective helper-dependent vectors known as amplicons. This chapter highlights the current knowledge concerning design, construction and recent applications, as well as the potential and current limitations of the three different classes of HSV-1-based vectors.

A selective-update affine projection algorithm with selective input vectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, NamWoong; Shin, JaeWook; Park, PooGyeon

2011-10-01

This paper proposes an affine projection algorithm (APA) with selective input vectors, which based on the concept of selective-update in order to reduce estimation errors and computations. The algorithm consists of two procedures: input- vector-selection and state-decision. The input-vector-selection procedure determines the number of input vectors by checking with mean square error (MSE) whether the input vectors have enough information for update. The state-decision procedure determines the current state of the adaptive filter by using the state-decision criterion. As the adaptive filter is in transient state, the algorithm updates the filter coefficients with the selected input vectors. On the other hand, as soon as the adaptive filter reaches the steady state, the update procedure is not performed. Through these two procedures, the proposed algorithm achieves small steady-state estimation errors, low computational complexity and low update complexity for colored input signals.

VectorBase: an updated bioinformatics resource for invertebrate vectors and other organisms related with human diseases

PubMed Central

Giraldo-Calderón, Gloria I.; Emrich, Scott J.; MacCallum, Robert M.; Maslen, Gareth; Dialynas, Emmanuel; Topalis, Pantelis; Ho, Nicholas; Gesing, Sandra; Madey, Gregory; Collins, Frank H.; Lawson, Daniel

2015-01-01

VectorBase is a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases supported Bioinformatics Resource Center (BRC) for invertebrate vectors of human pathogens. Now in its 11th year, VectorBase currently hosts the genomes of 35 organisms including a number of non-vectors for comparative analysis. Hosted data range from genome assemblies with annotated gene features, transcript and protein expression data to population genetics including variation and insecticide-resistance phenotypes. Here we describe improvements to our resource and the set of tools available for interrogating and accessing BRC data including the integration of Web Apollo to facilitate community annotation and providing Galaxy to support user-based workflows. VectorBase also actively supports our community through hands-on workshops and online tutorials. All information and data are freely available from our website at https://www.vectorbase.org/. PMID:25510499

A Simple Method to Increase the Transduction Efficiency of Single-Stranded Adeno-Associated Virus Vectors In Vitro and In Vivo

PubMed Central

Ma, Wenqin; Li, Baozheng; Ling, Chen; Jayandharan, Giridhara R.; Byrne, Barry J.

2011-01-01

Abstract We have recently shown that co-administration of conventional single-stranded adeno-associated virus 2 (ssAAV2) vectors with self-complementary (sc) AAV2-protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) vectors leads to a significant increase in the transduction efficiency of ssAAV2 vectors in human cells in vitro as well as in murine hepatocytes in vivo. In the present study, this strategy has been further optimized by generating a mixed population of ssAAV2-EGFP and scAAV2-PP5 vectors at a 10:1 ratio to achieve enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgene expression at approximately 5- to 10-fold higher efficiency, both in vitro and in vivo. This simple coproduction method should be adaptable to any ssAAV serotype vector containing transgene cassettes that are too large to be encapsidated in scAAV vectors. PMID:21219084

From puddles to planet: modeling approaches to vector-borne diseases at varying resolution and scale.

PubMed

Eckhoff, Philip A; Bever, Caitlin A; Gerardin, Jaline; Wenger, Edward A; Smith, David L

2015-08-01

Since the original Ross-Macdonald formulations of vector-borne disease transmission, there has been a broad proliferation of mathematical models of vector-borne disease, but many of these models retain most to all of the simplifying assumptions of the original formulations. Recently, there has been a new expansion of mathematical frameworks that contain explicit representations of the vector life cycle including aquatic stages, multiple vector species, host heterogeneity in biting rate, realistic vector feeding behavior, and spatial heterogeneity. In particular, there are now multiple frameworks for spatially explicit dynamics with movements of vector, host, or both. These frameworks are flexible and powerful, but require additional data to take advantage of these features. For a given question posed, utilizing a range of models with varying complexity and assumptions can provide a deeper understanding of the answers derived from models. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Regulation of the Immune Response to α-Gal and Vector-borne Diseases.

PubMed

Cabezas-Cruz, Alejandro; Mateos-Hernández, Lourdes; Pérez-Cruz, Magdiel; Valdés, James J; Mera, Isabel G Fernández de; Villar, Margarita; de la Fuente, José

2015-10-01

Vector-borne diseases (VBD) challenge our understanding of emerging diseases. Recently, arthropod vectors have been involved in emerging anaphylactic diseases. In particular, the immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody response to the carbohydrate Galα1-3Galβ1-(3)4GlcNAc-R (α-gal) following a tick bite was associated with allergies to red meat, cetuximab, and gelatin. By contrast, an anti-α-gal IgM antibody response was shown to protect against mosquito-borne malaria. Herein, we highlight the interplay between the gut microbiota, vectors, transmitted pathogens, and the regulation of the immune response as a model to understand the protective or allergic effect of α-gal. Establishing the source of α-gal in arthropod vectors and the immune response to vector bites and transmitted pathogens will be essential for diagnosing, treating, and ultimately preventing these emerging anaphylactic and other vector-borne diseases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Novel Adenoviral Vectors to Overcome Challenges Observed With HAdV-5–based Constructs

PubMed Central

Alonso-Padilla, Julio; Papp, Tibor; Kaján, Győző L; Benkő, Mária; Havenga, Menzo; Lemckert, Angelique; Harrach, Balázs; Baker, Andrew H

2016-01-01

Recombinant vectors based on human adenovirus serotype 5 (HAdV-5) have been extensively studied in preclinical models and clinical trials over the past two decades. However, the thorough understanding of the HAdV-5 interaction with human subjects has uncovered major concerns about its product applicability. High vector-associated toxicity and widespread preexisting immunity have been shown to significantly impede the effectiveness of HAdV-5–mediated gene transfer. It is therefore that the in-depth knowledge attained working on HAdV-5 is currently being used to develop alternative vectors. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of data obtained in recent years disqualifying the HAdV-5 vector for systemic gene delivery as well as novel strategies being pursued to overcome the limitations observed with particular emphasis on the ongoing vectorization efforts to obtain vectors based on alternative serotypes. PMID:26478249

Extended vector-tensor theories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kimura, Rampei; Naruko, Atsushi; Yoshida, Daisuke, E-mail: rampei@th.phys.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: naruko@th.phys.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: yoshida@th.phys.titech.ac.jp

Recently, several extensions of massive vector theory in curved space-time have been proposed in many literatures. In this paper, we consider the most general vector-tensor theories that contain up to two derivatives with respect to metric and vector field. By imposing a degeneracy condition of the Lagrangian in the context of ADM decomposition of space-time to eliminate an unwanted mode, we construct a new class of massive vector theories where five degrees of freedom can propagate, corresponding to three for massive vector modes and two for massless tensor modes. We find that the generalized Proca and the beyond generalized Procamore » theories up to the quartic Lagrangian, which should be included in this formulation, are degenerate theories even in curved space-time. Finally, introducing new metric and vector field transformations, we investigate the properties of thus obtained theories under such transformations.« less

Pre-existing immunity against vaccine vectors – friend or foe?

PubMed Central

Saxena, Manvendra; Van, Thi Thu Hao; Baird, Fiona J.; Coloe, Peter J.

2013-01-01

Over the last century, the successful attenuation of multiple bacterial and viral pathogens has led to an effective, robust and safe form of vaccination. Recently, these vaccines have been evaluated as delivery vectors for heterologous antigens, as a means of simultaneous vaccination against two pathogens. The general consensus from published studies is that these vaccine vectors have the potential to be both safe and efficacious. However, some of the commonly employed vectors, for example Salmonella and adenovirus, often have pre-existing immune responses in the host and this has the potential to modify the subsequent immune response to a vectored antigen. This review examines the literature on this topic, and concludes that for bacterial vectors there can in fact, in some cases, be an enhancement in immunogenicity, typically humoral, while for viral vectors pre-existing immunity is a hindrance for subsequent induction of cell-mediated responses. PMID:23175507

Models for discrete-time self-similar vector processes with application to network traffic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Seungsin; Rao, Raghuveer M.; Narasimha, Rajesh

2003-07-01

The paper defines self-similarity for vector processes by employing the discrete-time continuous-dilation operation which has successfully been used previously by the authors to define 1-D discrete-time stochastic self-similar processes. To define self-similarity of vector processes, it is required to consider the cross-correlation functions between different 1-D processes as well as the autocorrelation function of each constituent 1-D process in it. System models to synthesize self-similar vector processes are constructed based on the definition. With these systems, it is possible to generate self-similar vector processes from white noise inputs. An important aspect of the proposed models is that they can be used to synthesize various types of self-similar vector processes by choosing proper parameters. Additionally, the paper presents evidence of vector self-similarity in two-channel wireless LAN data and applies the aforementioned systems to simulate the corresponding network traffic traces.

Structuring Stokes correlation functions using vector-vortex beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Vijay; Anwar, Ali; Singh, R. P.

2018-01-01

Higher order statistical correlations of the optical vector speckle field, formed due to scattering of a vector-vortex beam, are explored. Here, we report on the experimental construction of the Stokes parameters covariance matrix, consisting of all possible spatial Stokes parameters correlation functions. We also propose and experimentally realize a new Stokes correlation functions called Stokes field auto correlation functions. It is observed that the Stokes correlation functions of the vector-vortex beam will be reflected in the respective Stokes correlation functions of the corresponding vector speckle field. The major advantage of proposing Stokes correlation functions is that the Stokes correlation function can be easily tuned by manipulating the polarization of vector-vortex beam used to generate vector speckle field and to get the phase information directly from the intensity measurements. Moreover, this approach leads to a complete experimental Stokes characterization of a broad range of random fields.

Transcriptional Enhancers Induce Insertional Gene Deregulation Independently From the Vector Type and Design

PubMed Central

Maruggi, Giulietta; Porcellini, Simona; Facchini, Giulia; Perna, Serena K; Cattoglio, Claudia; Sartori, Daniela; Ambrosi, Alessandro; Schambach, Axel; Baum, Christopher; Bonini, Chiara; Bovolenta, Chiara; Mavilio, Fulvio; Recchia, Alessandra

2009-01-01

The integration characteristics of retroviral (RV) vectors increase the probability of interfering with the regulation of cellular genes, and account for a tangible risk of insertional mutagenesis in treated patients. To assess the potential genotoxic risk of conventional or self-inactivating (SIN) γ-RV and lentiviral (LV) vectors independently from the biological consequences of the insertion event, we developed a quantitative assay based on real-time reverse transcriptase—PCR on low-density arrays to evaluate alterations of gene expression in individual primary T-cell clones. We show that the Moloney leukemia virus long terminal repeat (LTR) enhancer has the strongest activity in both a γ-RV and a LV vector context, while an internal cellular promoter induces deregulation of gene expression less frequently, at a shorter range and to a lower extent in both vector types. Downregulation of gene expression was observed only in the context of LV vectors. This study indicates that insertional gene activation is determined by the characteristics of the transcriptional regulatory elements carried by the vector, and is largely independent from the vector type or design. PMID:19293778

Correlation-based motion vector processing with adaptive interpolation scheme for motion-compensated frame interpolation.

PubMed

Huang, Ai-Mei; Nguyen, Truong

2009-04-01

In this paper, we address the problems of unreliable motion vectors that cause visual artifacts but cannot be detected by high residual energy or bidirectional prediction difference in motion-compensated frame interpolation. A correlation-based motion vector processing method is proposed to detect and correct those unreliable motion vectors by explicitly considering motion vector correlation in the motion vector reliability classification, motion vector correction, and frame interpolation stages. Since our method gradually corrects unreliable motion vectors based on their reliability, we can effectively discover the areas where no motion is reliable to be used, such as occlusions and deformed structures. We also propose an adaptive frame interpolation scheme for the occlusion areas based on the analysis of their surrounding motion distribution. As a result, the interpolated frames using the proposed scheme have clearer structure edges and ghost artifacts are also greatly reduced. Experimental results show that our interpolated results have better visual quality than other methods. In addition, the proposed scheme is robust even for those video sequences that contain multiple and fast motions.

Agent-based mathematical modeling as a tool for estimating Trypanosoma cruzi vector-host contact rates.

PubMed

Yong, Kamuela E; Mubayi, Anuj; Kribs, Christopher M

2015-11-01

The parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, spread by triatomine vectors, affects over 100 mammalian species throughout the Americas, including humans, in whom it causes Chagas' disease. In the U.S., only a few autochthonous cases have been documented in humans, but prevalence is high in sylvatic hosts (primarily raccoons in the southeast and woodrats in Texas). The sylvatic transmission of T. cruzi is spread by the vector species Triatoma sanguisuga and Triatoma gerstaeckeri biting their preferred hosts and thus creating multiple interacting vector-host cycles. The goal of this study is to quantify the rate of contacts between different host and vector species native to Texas using an agent-based model framework. The contact rates, which represent bites, are required to estimate transmission coefficients, which can be applied to models of infection dynamics. In addition to quantitative estimates, results confirm host irritability (in conjunction with host density) and vector starvation thresholds and dispersal as determining factors for vector density as well as host-vector contact rates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reciprocity relationships in vector acoustics and their application to vector field calculations.

PubMed

Deal, Thomas J; Smith, Kevin B

2017-08-01

The reciprocity equation commonly stated in underwater acoustics relates pressure fields and monopole sources. It is often used to predict the pressure measured by a hydrophone for multiple source locations by placing a source at the hydrophone location and calculating the field everywhere for that source. A similar equation that governs the orthogonal components of the particle velocity field is needed to enable this computational method to be used for acoustic vector sensors. This paper derives a general reciprocity equation that accounts for both monopole and dipole sources. This vector-scalar reciprocity equation can be used to calculate individual components of the received vector field by altering the source type used in the propagation calculation. This enables a propagation model to calculate the received vector field components for an arbitrary number of source locations with a single model run for each vector field component instead of requiring one model run for each source location. Application of the vector-scalar reciprocity principle is demonstrated with analytic solutions for a range-independent environment and with numerical solutions for a range-dependent environment using a parabolic equation model.

The Anopheles gambiae transcriptome - a turning point for malaria control.

PubMed

Domingos, A; Pinheiro-Silva, R; Couto, J; do Rosário, V; de la Fuente, J

2017-04-01

Mosquitoes are important vectors of several pathogens and thereby contribute to the spread of diseases, with social, economic and public health impacts. Amongst the approximately 450 species of Anopheles, about 60 are recognized as vectors of human malaria, the most important parasitic disease. In Africa, Anopheles gambiae is the main malaria vector mosquito. Current malaria control strategies are largely focused on drugs and vector control measures such as insecticides and bed-nets. Improvement of current, and the development of new, mosquito-targeted malaria control methods rely on a better understanding of mosquito vector biology. An organism's transcriptome is a reflection of its physiological state and transcriptomic analyses of different conditions that are relevant to mosquito vector competence can therefore yield important information. Transcriptomic analyses have contributed significant information on processes such as blood-feeding parasite-vector interaction, insecticide resistance, and tissue- and stage-specific gene regulation, thereby facilitating the path towards the development of new malaria control methods. Here, we discuss the main applications of transcriptomic analyses in An. gambiae that have led to a better understanding of mosquito vector competence. © 2017 The Royal Entomological Society.

Genotoxicity of retroviral hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy

PubMed Central

Trobridge, Grant D

2012-01-01

Introduction Retroviral vectors have been developed for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy and have successfully cured X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1), adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA-SCID), adrenoleukodystrophy, and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. However, in HSC gene therapy clinical trials, genotoxicity mediated by integrated vector proviruses has led to clonal expansion, and in some cases frank leukemia. Numerous studies have been performed to understand the molecular basis of vector-mediated genotoxicity with the aim of developing safer vectors and safer gene therapy protocols. These genotoxicity studies are critical to advancing HSC gene therapy. Areas covered This review provides an introduction to the mechanisms of retroviral vector genotoxicity. It also covers advances over the last 20 years in designing safer gene therapy vectors, and in integration site analysis in clinical trials and large animal models. Mechanisms of retroviral-mediated genotoxicity, and the risk factors that contribute to clonal expansion and leukemia in HSC gene therapy are introduced. Expert opinion Continued research on virus–host interactions and next-generation vectors should further improve the safety of future HSC gene therapy vectors and protocols. PMID:21375467

Correlated Topic Vector for Scene Classification.

PubMed

Wei, Pengxu; Qin, Fei; Wan, Fang; Zhu, Yi; Jiao, Jianbin; Ye, Qixiang

2017-07-01

Scene images usually involve semantic correlations, particularly when considering large-scale image data sets. This paper proposes a novel generative image representation, correlated topic vector, to model such semantic correlations. Oriented from the correlated topic model, correlated topic vector intends to naturally utilize the correlations among topics, which are seldom considered in the conventional feature encoding, e.g., Fisher vector, but do exist in scene images. It is expected that the involvement of correlations can increase the discriminative capability of the learned generative model and consequently improve the recognition accuracy. Incorporated with the Fisher kernel method, correlated topic vector inherits the advantages of Fisher vector. The contributions to the topics of visual words have been further employed by incorporating the Fisher kernel framework to indicate the differences among scenes. Combined with the deep convolutional neural network (CNN) features and Gibbs sampling solution, correlated topic vector shows great potential when processing large-scale and complex scene image data sets. Experiments on two scene image data sets demonstrate that correlated topic vector improves significantly the deep CNN features, and outperforms existing Fisher kernel-based features.