WorldWideScience

Sample records for alternate unbalanced recombinants

  1. Recombinant 4 syndrome due to an unbalanced pericentric inversion of chromosome 4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battaglia, A; Brothman, A R; Carey, J C

    2002-09-15

    An informative patient with a MCA/MR syndrome consisting of developmental delay, prenatal onset growth delay, microcephaly, distinctive face, iris coloboma, and a congenital heart defect was found, on chromosome analysis, to have the following complement: 46,XY,rec(4) dup(4p) inv(4)(p14q35.1) mat. He has a partial 4p trisomy/distal 4q deletion due to an unbalanced pericentric inversion inherited from his mother. Dup (4p) trisomy was originally described by Wilson et al. [1970: Am J Hum Genet 22:679-690] in a similar case with the same chromosome 4 inversion. To date, at least 85 cases of dup (4p) syndrome have been published, mostly due to unbalanced translocations. Recent articles suggest that the phenotype is hard to recognize clinically due to the lack of specificity of findings. In contrast, 4p trisomy due to an unbalanced pericentric inversion of chromosome 4(p14q35), i.e., the recombinant 4 syndrome observed in our patient, appears to be a discrete entity with relatively consistent features. In total there are four other kindreds described in the literature with this inversion, and the phenotype seems recognizable. Thus, we suggest that recombinant 4 syndrome is a discrete entity among 4p trisomy patients. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  2. Transient analysis of unbalanced short circuits of the ERDA-NASA 100 kW wind turbine alternator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, H. H.; Gilbert, L. J.

    1976-01-01

    Unbalanced short-circuit faults on the alternator of the ERDA-NASA Mod-O100-kW experimental wind turbine are studied. For each case, complete solutions for armature, field, and damper-circuit currents; short-circuit torque; and open-phase voltage are derived directly by a mathematical analysis. Formulated results are tabulated. For the Mod-O wind turbine alternator, numerical calculations are given, and results are presented by graphs. Comparisons for significant points among the more important cases are summarized. For these cases the transients are found to be potentially severe. The effect of the alternator neutral-to-ground impedance is evaluated.

  3. Effective Loss Minimization and Allocation of Unbalanced Distribution Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manvir Kaur

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available An efficient distribution network must be able to supply power with good voltage profile. The main objective of the proposed work is to allocate losses of the unbalanced distribution network by the firefly algorithm in regulated and deregulated environments before and after loss minimization. Reconfiguration is one of the methods for loss reduction of unbalanced distribution network. Further, optimal placement of distributed generation and capacitor in the reconfigured unbalanced distribution network can further reduce the loss. The results of reconfigured unbalanced distribution network in regulated environment have already been reported. In this paper reconfiguration of an unbalanced distribution network in a deregulated environment is also carried out using an established Fuzzy Firefly algorithm. Loss sensitivity factor of unbalanced distribution networks is used to get the appropriate location of distributed generation and capacitor to be placed in the unbalanced distribution network. Their ratings have been found out by using bacteria foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA. The suggested loss allocation method using Firefly algorithm is implemented at first on 13 node unbalanced distribution network to check the performance of the proposed loss allocation method when compared to other available method. Finally the proposed method has been implemented on 25 node unbalanced distribution network. Both of the implementations are carried out under MATLAB environment.

  4. Unbalanced field RF electron gun

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofler, Alicia

    2013-11-12

    A design for an RF electron gun having a gun cavity utilizing an unbalanced electric field arrangement. Essentially, the electric field in the first (partial) cell has higher field strength than the electric field in the second (full) cell of the electron gun. The accompanying method discloses the use of the unbalanced field arrangement in the operation of an RF electron gun in order to accelerate an electron beam.

  5. The Unbalanced Linguistic Aggregation Operator in Group Decision Making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Zou

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Many linguistic aggregation methods have been proposed and applied in the linguistic decision-making problems. In practice, experts need to assess a number of values in a side of reference domain higher than in the other one; that is, experts use unbalanced linguistic values to express their evaluation for problems. In this paper, we propose a new linguistic aggregation operator to deal with unbalanced linguistic values in group decision making, we adopt 2-tuple representation model of linguistic values and linguistic hierarchies to express unbalanced linguistic values, and moreover, we present the unbalanced linguistic ordered weighted geometric operator to aggregate unbalanced linguistic evaluation values; a comparison example is given to show the advantage of our method.

  6. A Review on Grid-connected Converter Control for Short Circuit Power Provision under Grid Unbalanced Faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jia, Jundi; Yang, Guangya; Nielsen, Arne Hejde

    2017-01-01

    behave significantly different from the traditional alternators under grid faults. In order to evaluate the potential impact of future converter-based power systems on protective relays, it is necessary to consider diverse current control strategies of voltage source converters (VSC) under unbalanced...

  7. Induced Unbalanced Linguistic Ordered Weighted Average and Its Application in Multiperson Decision Making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas Marin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Linguistic variables are very useful to evaluate alternatives in decision making problems because they provide a vocabulary in natural language rather than numbers. Some aggregation operators for linguistic variables force the use of a symmetric and uniformly distributed set of terms. The need to relax these conditions has recently been posited. This paper presents the induced unbalanced linguistic ordered weighted average (IULOWA operator. This operator can deal with a set of unbalanced linguistic terms that are represented using fuzzy sets. We propose a new order-inducing criterion based on the specificity and fuzziness of the linguistic terms. Different relevancies are given to the fuzzy values according to their uncertainty degree. To illustrate the behaviour of the precision-based IULOWA operator, we present an environmental assessment case study in which a multiperson multicriteria decision making model is applied.

  8. RecO protein initiates DNA recombination and strand annealing through two alternative DNA binding mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryzhikov, Mikhail; Gupta, Richa; Glickman, Michael; Korolev, Sergey

    2014-10-17

    Recombination mediator proteins (RMPs) are important for genome stability in all organisms. Several RMPs support two alternative reactions: initiation of homologous recombination and DNA annealing. We examined mechanisms of RMPs in both reactions with Mycobacterium smegmatis RecO (MsRecO) and demonstrated that MsRecO interacts with ssDNA by two distinct mechanisms. Zinc stimulates MsRecO binding to ssDNA during annealing, whereas the recombination function is zinc-independent and is regulated by interaction with MsRecR. Thus, different structural motifs or conformations of MsRecO are responsible for interaction with ssDNA during annealing and recombination. Neither annealing nor recombinase loading depends on MsRecO interaction with the conserved C-terminal tail of single-stranded (ss) DNA-binding protein (SSB), which is known to bind Escherichia coli RecO. However, similarly to E. coli proteins, MsRecO and MsRecOR do not dismiss SSB from ssDNA, suggesting that RMPs form a complex with SSB-ssDNA even in the absence of binding to the major protein interaction motif. We propose that alternative conformations of such complexes define the mechanism by which RMPs initiate the repair of stalled replication and support two different functions during recombinational repair of DNA breaks. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  9. A Three-Phase Microgrid Restoration Model Considering Unbalanced Operation of Distributed Generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zeyu; Wang, Jianhui; Chen, Chen

    2016-01-01

    Recent severe outages highlight the urgency of improving grid resiliency in the U.S. Microgrid formation schemes are proposed to restore critical loads after outages occur. Most distribution networks have unbalanced configurations that are not represented in sufficient detail by single-phase models. This study provides a microgrid formation plan that adopts a three-phase network model to represent unbalanced distribution networks. The problem formulation has a quadratic objective function with mixed-integer linear constraints. The three-phase network model enables us to examine the three-phase power outputs of distributed generators (DGs), preventing unbalanced operation that might trip DGs. Because the DG unbalanced operation constraint is non-convex, an iterative process is presented that checks whether the unbalanced operation limits for DGs are satisfied after each iteration of optimization. We also develop a relatively conservative linear approximation on the unbalanced operation constraint to handle larger networks. Compared with the iterative solution process, the conservative linear approximation is able to accelerate the solution process at the cost of sacrificing optimality to a limited extent. Simulation in the IEEE 34 node and IEEE 123 test feeders indicate that the proposed method yields more practical microgrid formations results. In addition, this paper explores the coordinated operation of DGs and energy storage (ES) installations. The unbalanced three-phase outputs of ESs combined with the relatively balanced outputs of DGs could supply unbalanced loads. In conclusion, the case study also validates the DG-ES coordination.

  10. Unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect: definition and decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overman, David M; Baffa, Jeanne M; Cohen, Meryl S; Mertens, Luc; Gremmels, David B; Jegatheeswaram, Anusha; McCrindle, Brian W; Blackstone, Eugene H; Morell, Victor O; Caldarone, Christopher; Williams, William G; Pizarro, Christian

    2010-04-01

    Unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect is an uncommon lesion with widely varying anatomic manifestations. When unbalance is severe, diagnosis and treatment is straightforward, directed toward single-ventricle palliation. Milder forms, however, pose a challenge to current diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The transition from anatomies that are capable of sustaining biventricular physiology to those that cannot is obscure, resulting in uneven application of surgical strategy and excess mortality. Imprecise assessments of ventricular competence have dominated clinical decision making in this regard. Malalignment of the atrioventricular junction and its attendant derangement of inflow physiology is a critical factor in determining the feasibility of biventricular repair in the setting of unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect. The atrioventricular valve index accurately identifies unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect and also brings into focus a zone of transition from anatomies that can support a biventricular end state and those that cannot.

  11. Widespread recombination, reassortment, and transmission of unbalanced compound viral genotypes in natural arenavirus infections.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark D Stenglein

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Arenaviruses are one of the largest families of human hemorrhagic fever viruses and are known to infect both mammals and snakes. Arenaviruses package a large (L and small (S genome segment in their virions. For segmented RNA viruses like these, novel genotypes can be generated through mutation, recombination, and reassortment. Although it is believed that an ancient recombination event led to the emergence of a new lineage of mammalian arenaviruses, neither recombination nor reassortment has been definitively documented in natural arenavirus infections. Here, we used metagenomic sequencing to survey the viral diversity present in captive arenavirus-infected snakes. From 48 infected animals, we determined the complete or near complete sequence of 210 genome segments that grouped into 23 L and 11 S genotypes. The majority of snakes were multiply infected, with up to 4 distinct S and 11 distinct L segment genotypes in individual animals. This S/L imbalance was typical: in all cases intrahost L segment genotypes outnumbered S genotypes, and a particular S segment genotype dominated in individual animals and at a population level. We corroborated sequencing results by qRT-PCR and virus isolation, and isolates replicated as ensembles in culture. Numerous instances of recombination and reassortment were detected, including recombinant segments with unusual organizations featuring 2 intergenic regions and superfluous content, which were capable of stable replication and transmission despite their atypical structures. Overall, this represents intrahost diversity of an extent and form that goes well beyond what has been observed for arenaviruses or for viruses in general. This diversity can be plausibly attributed to the captive intermingling of sub-clinically infected wild-caught snakes. Thus, beyond providing a unique opportunity to study arenavirus evolution and adaptation, these findings allow the investigation of unintended anthropogenic impacts on

  12. Load mitigation of unbalanced wind turbines using PI-R individual pitch control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Yunqian; Cheng, Ming; Chen, Zhe

    2015-01-01

    This study discusses the load mitigation of unbalanced wind turbines, including balanced and unbalanced loads. Regarding the wind turbine load reduction, it has been shown that individual pitch control (IPC) is more promising in comparison with collective pitch control. However, wind turbine......) controller and two resonant (R) compensators is presented. The PI-R regulator is implemented in the hub reference frame to reduce both the balanced and unbalanced loads of the turbine. The wind turbine code FAST (fatigue, aerodynamics, structures and turbulence) is used for the wind turbine load modelling....... The simulations are conducted on the NREL upwind 1.5 MW wind turbine model. Elimination of both the balanced and unbalanced loads of the wind turbine has been achieved, so that PI-R IPC is demonstrated as an effective means for load mitigation of unbalanced wind turbines....

  13. Control Strategy for Microgrid Inverter under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guo, Xiaoqiang; Liu, Wenzhao; Zhang, X.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the theoretical analysis of the inherent reason of current harmonic and power oscillation phenomena in case of operating the microgrid inverter under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. In order to flexibly control the current harmonic and power oscillation, a new stationary...... inverter. Finally, the performance evaluation tests are carried out under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. Results verify the effectiveness of the propose method....

  14. Research on a Compound Control Strategy of Three-Phase Inverter for Unbalanced Loads

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Gaili

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To solve the problem of unbalanced output voltage of inverter under three-phase unbalanced load. In this paper, the main circuit topology using three-phase three-wire inverter topology. Established the mathematical model in several different coordinate system of the three-phase inverter. A compound control method is proposed by combining voltage current dual loop control method and repetitive control method, The control method is realized in three - phase 400 Hz inverter, and can meet the demand of unbalanced load to inverter, the reliability of the inverter circuit is improved. At the end of this paper, Matlab simulation analysis and experimental results are given, it is proved that the composite control method designed in this paper has a strong ability of unbalanced load.

  15. Unbalanced Cylindrical Magnetron for Accelerating Cavities Coating

    CERN Document Server

    Rosaz, Guillaume; Calatroni, Sergio; Sublet, Alban; Tobarelli, Mauro

    2016-01-01

    We report in this paper the design and qualification of a cylindrical unbalanced magnetron source. The dedicated magnetic assemblies were simulated using a finite element model. A hall-effect magnetic probe was then used to characterize those assemblies and compared to the theoretical magnet profiles. These show a good agreement between the expected and actual values. the qualification of the different magnetic assemblies was then performed by measuring the ion flux density reaching the surface of the sample to be coated using a commercial retarding field energy analyzer. The strongest unbalanced configuration shows an increase from 0.016A.cm^-2 to 0.074A.cm^-2 of the ion flux density reaching the sample surface compared to the standard balanced configuration for a pressure 5.10^-3 mbar and a plasma source power of 300W.

  16. Serially-Connected Compensator for Eliminating the Unbalanced Three-Phase Voltage Impact on Wind Turbine Generators: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Z.; Hsu, P.; Muljadi, E.; Gao, W.

    2015-04-06

    Untransposed transmission lines, unbalanced tap changer operations, and unbalanced loading in weak distribution lines can cause unbalanced-voltage conditions. The resulting unbalanced voltage at the point of interconnection affects proper gird integration and reduces the lifetime of wind turbines due to power oscillations, torque pulsations, mechanical stresses, energy losses, and uneven and overheating of the generator stator winding. This work investigates the dynamic impact of unbalanced voltage on the mechanical and electrical components of integrated Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence (FAST) wind turbine generation systems (WTGs) of Type 1 (squirrel-cage induction generator) and Type 3 (doubly-fed induction generator). To alleviate this impact, a serially-connected compensator for a three-phase power line is proposed to balance the wind turbine-side voltage. Dynamic simulation studies are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink to compare the responses of these two types of wind turbine models under normal and unbalanced-voltage operation conditions and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed compensator.

  17. Dynamics Analysis of Unbalanced Motorized Spindles Supported on Ball Bearings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junfeng Liu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an improved dynamic model for unbalanced high speed motorized spindles. The proposed model includes a Hertz contact force model which takes into the internal clearance and an unbalanced electromagnetic force model based on the energy of the air magnetic field. The nonlinear characteristic of the model is analysed by Lyapunov stability theory and numerical analysis to study the dynamic properties of the spindle system. Finally, a dynamic operating test is carried out on a DX100A-24000/20-type motorized spindle. The good agreement between the numerical solutions and the experimental data indicates that the proposed model is capable of accurately predicting the dynamic properties of motorized spindles. The influence of the unbalanced magnetic force on the system is studied, and the sensitivities of the system parameters to the critical speed of the system are obtained. These conclusions are useful for the dynamic design of high speed motorized spindles.

  18. Analysis on the roundness of bulb turbine generator based on the unbalanced magnetic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Z G; Yang, F Y; Chen, J H; Si, G L

    2012-01-01

    Because of design, manufacture, installation and operation, there are some relatively eccentric in bulb tubular turbine units under operating condition. It easily caused uneven air gap, unbalanced magnetic field, unbalanced magnetic pull and torque. It could also increase the bending and torsion vibration of generator,at the same time, the roundness of stator and rotor would be aggravated which often caused by accidents such as generator sweep chamber. In this paper, basing on the design, installation and operation experience, the reasons of the unbalanced magnetic pull, mechanism and operation research were analyzed by theoretical calculation and the prototype test.

  19. Design of Solar PV Cell Based Inverter for Unbalanced and Distorted Industrial Loads

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naga Ananth D

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available PV cell is getting importance in low and medium power generation due to easy installation, low maintenance and subsidies in price from respective nation. Most of the loads in distribution system are unbalanced and distorted, due to which there will be unbalanced voltage and current occur at load and may disturb its overall performance. Due to these loads voltage unbalance, distorted voltage and current and variable power factors in each phase can be observed. An efficient algorithm to mitigate unbalanced and distorted load and source voltage and current in solar photo voltaic (PV inverter for isolated load system was considered. This solar PV system can be applicable to remote located industrial loads like heating, welding and small arc furnace type distorted loads and also for unbalanced loads. The PV inverter is designed such that it will maintain nearly constant voltage magnitude and can mitigate harmonics in voltage and current near the load terminals. A MATLAB/ SIMULINK based solar PV inverter was simulated and results are compared with standard AC three phase grid connected system. The proposed shows that the inverter is having very less voltage and current harmonic content and can maintain nearly constant voltage profile for highly unbalanced system.

  20. A method for unbalanced transportation problems in fuzzy ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Among linear programming problems, the transportation problem is very popular. ... Therefore, Zadeh (1965) introduced the concept of fuzzy numbers. ... While solving unbalanced transportation problems we come across two type of cases.

  1. Balance control of grid currents for UPQC under unbalanced loads based on matching-ratio compensation algorithm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Xiaojun; Zhang, Chunjiang; Chai, Xiuhui

    2018-01-01

    In three-phase four-wire systems, unbalanced loads can cause grid currents to be unbalanced, and this may cause the neutral point potential on the grid side to shift. The neutral point potential shift will worsen the control precision as well as the performance of the threephase four-wire unified...... fluctuations, and elaborates the interaction between unbalanced grid currents and DC bus voltage fluctuations; two control strategies of UPQC under three-phase stationary coordinate based on the MCA are given, and finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy are verified...... power quality conditioner (UPQC), and it also leads to unbalanced three-phase output voltage, even causing damage to electric equipment. To deal with unbalanced loads, this paper proposes a matching-ratio compensation algorithm (MCA) for the fundamental active component of load currents...

  2. Improved delayed signal cancellation-based SRF-PLL for unbalanced grid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Messo, Tuomas; Sihvo, Jussi; Yang, Dongsheng

    2017-01-01

    Problems with power quality in the grid have gained a lot of attention recently due to rapid increase in the amount of grid-connected power converters. The converter should produce sinusoidal currents also during abnormal conditions, such as unbalanced grid voltages. Several methods, like...... the delayed signal cancellation-based method (DSC), have been proposed to alleviate the detrimental effect of unbalance. This paper proposes an improvement to a delayed signal cancellation based synchronization algorithm for unbalanced grids. The proposed PLL structure employs only half of the delay required...

  3. Revised sequence components power system models for unbalanced power system studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdel-Akher, M. [Tunku Abdul Rahman Univ., Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Nor, K.-M. [Univ. of Technology Malaysia, Johor (Malaysia); Rashid, A.H.A. [Univ. of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

    2007-07-01

    The principle method of analysis using positive, negative, and zero-sequence networks has been used to examine the balanced power system under both balanced and unbalanced loading conditions. The significant advantage of the sequence networks is that the sequence networks become entirely uncoupled in the case of balanced three-phase power systems. The uncoupled sequence networks then can be solved in independent way such as in fault calculation programs. However, the hypothesis of balanced power systems cannot be considered in many cases due to untransposed transmission lines; multiphase line segments in a distribution power system; or transformer phase shifts which cannot be incorporated in the existing models. A revised sequence decoupled power system models for analyzing unbalanced power systems based on symmetrical networks was presented in this paper. These models included synchronous machines, transformers, transmission lines, and voltage regulators. The models were derived from their counterpart's models in phase coordinates frame of reference. In these models, the three sequence networks were fully decoupled with a three-phase coordinates features such as transformer phase shifts and transmission line coupling. The proposed models were used to develop an unbalanced power-flow program for analyzing both balanced and unbalanced networks. The power flow solution was identical to results obtained from a full phase coordinate three-phase power-flow program. 11 refs., 3 tabs.

  4. A recurrent translocation is mediated by homologous recombination between HERV-H elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hermetz Karen E

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Chromosome rearrangements are caused by many mutational mechanisms; of these, recurrent rearrangements can be particularly informative for teasing apart DNA sequence-specific factors. Some recurrent translocations are mediated by homologous recombination between large blocks of segmental duplications on different chromosomes. Here we describe a recurrent unbalanced translocation casued by recombination between shorter homologous regions on chromosomes 4 and 18 in two unrelated children with intellectual disability. Results Array CGH resolved the breakpoints of the 6.97-Megabase (Mb loss of 18q and the 7.30-Mb gain of 4q. Sequencing across the translocation breakpoints revealed that both translocations occurred between 92%-identical human endogenous retrovirus (HERV elements in the same orientation on chromosomes 4 and 18. In addition, we find sequence variation in the chromosome 4 HERV that makes one allele more like the chromosome 18 HERV. Conclusions Homologous recombination between HERVs on the same chromosome is known to cause chromosome deletions, but this is the first report of interchromosomal HERV-HERV recombination leading to a translocation. It is possible that normal sequence variation in substrates of non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR affects the alignment of recombining segments and influences the propensity to chromosome rearrangement.

  5. Power Controllability of Three-phase Converter with Unbalanced AC Source

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Ke; Chen, Wenjie; Liserre, Marco

    2015-01-01

    Three-phase DC-AC power converters suffer from power oscillation and overcurrent problems in case of unbalanced AC source voltage that can be caused by grid/generator faults. Existing solutions to handle these problems are properly selecting and controlling the positive and negative sequence...... currents. In this work a new series of control strategies which utilize the zerosequence components are proposed to enhance the power control ability under this adverse condition. It is concluded that by introducing proper zero sequence current controls and corresponding circuit configurations, the power...... converter can enable more flexible control targets, achieving better performances in the delivered power and load current when suffering from unbalanced AC voltage....

  6. Application of recombinant hemagglutinin proteins as alternative antigen standards for pandemic influenza vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Yejin; Kwon, Seong Yi; Oh, Ho Jung; Shim, Sunbo; Chang, Seokkee; Chung, Hye Joo; Kim, Do Keun; Park, Younsang; Lee, Younghee

    2017-09-01

    The single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) assay, used to quantify hemagglutinin (HA) in influenza vaccines, requires reference reagents; however, because centralized production of reference reagents may slow the emergency deployment of vaccines, alternatives are needed. We investigated the production of HA proteins using recombinant DNA technology, rather than a traditional egg-based production process. The HA proteins were then used in an SRID assay as a reference antigen. We found that HA can be quantified in both egg-based and cell-based influenza vaccines when recombinant HAs (rHAs) are used as the reference antigen. Furthermore, we confirmed that rHAs obtained from strains with pandemic potential, such as H5N1, H7N3, H7N9, and H9N2 strains, can be utilized in the SRID assay. The rHA production process takes just one month, in contrast to the traditional process that takes three to four months. The use of rHAs may reduce the time required to produce reference reagents and facilitate timely introduction of vaccines during emergencies.

  7. Power Controllability of Three-phase Converter with Unbalanced AC Source

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Ke; Liserre, Marco; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2013-01-01

    Three-phase DC-AC power converters suffer from power oscillation and overcurrentt problems in case of unbalanced AC source voltage that can be caused by grid/generator faults. Existing solutions to handle these problems are properly selecting and controlling the positive and negative sequence...... currents. In this work a new series of control strategies which utilize the zero-sequence components are proposed to enhance the power control ability under this adverse conditions. It is concluded that by introducing proper zero sequence current controls and corresponding circuit configurations, the power...... converter can enable more flexible control targets, achieving better performances in the delivered power and load current when suffering from unbalanced AC sources....

  8. Influence of unbalanced voltages on the movement of metallic ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Simulation is carried out on particle movement with balanced and unbalanced voltages and the ... dust, meteorological difficulties and safety. Hence ... work reported deals with the charge acquired by the particle due to macroscopic field at the.

  9. In vivo production of recombinant proteins using occluded recombinant AcMNPV-derived baculovirus vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guijarro-Pardo, Eva; Gómez-Sebastián, Silvia; Escribano, José M

    2017-12-01

    Trichoplusia ni insect larvae infected with vectors derived from the Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), are an excellent alternative to insect cells cultured in conventional bioreactors to produce recombinant proteins because productivity and cost-efficiency reasons. However, there is still a lot of work to do to reduce the manual procedures commonly required in this production platform that limit its scalability. To increase the scalability of this platform technology, a current bottleneck to be circumvented in the future is the need of injection for the inoculation of larvae with polyhedrin negative baculovirus vectors (Polh-) because of the lack of oral infectivity of these viruses, which are commonly used for production in insect cell cultures. In this work we have developed a straightforward alternative to obtain orally infective vectors derived from AcMNPV and expressing recombinant proteins that can be administered to the insect larvae (Trichoplusia ni) by feeding, formulated in the insect diet. The approach developed was based on the use of a recombinant polyhedrin protein expressed by a recombinant vector (Polh+), able to co-occlude any recombinant Polh- baculovirus vector expressing a recombinant protein. A second alternative was developed by the generation of a dual vector co-expressing the recombinant polyhedrin protein and the foreign gene of interest to obtain the occluded viruses. Additionally, by the incorporation of a reporter gene into the helper Polh+ vector, it was possible the follow-up visualization of the co-occluded viruses infection in insect larvae and will help to homogenize infection conditions. By using these methodologies, the production of recombinant proteins in per os infected larvae, without manual infection procedures, was very similar in yield to that obtained by manual injection of recombinant Polh- AcMNPV-based vectors expressing the same proteins. However, further analyses will be required for a

  10. Redundant function of DNA ligase 1 and 3 in alternative end-joining during immunoglobulin class switch recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masani, Shahnaz; Han, Li; Meek, Katheryn; Yu, Kefei

    2016-02-02

    Nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) is the major DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway in mammals and resolves the DSBs generated during both V(D)J recombination in developing lymphocytes and class switch recombination (CSR) in antigen-stimulated B cells. In contrast to the absolute requirement for NHEJ to resolve DSBs associated with V(D)J recombination, DSBs associated with CSR can be resolved in NHEJ-deficient cells (albeit at a reduced level) by a poorly defined alternative end-joining (A-EJ) pathway. Deletion of DNA ligase IV (Lig4), a core component of the NHEJ pathway, reduces CSR efficiency in a mouse B-cell line capable of robust cytokine-stimulated CSR in cell culture. Here, we report that CSR levels are not further reduced by deletion of either of the two remaining DNA ligases (Lig1 and nuclear Lig3) in Lig4(-/-) cells. We conclude that in the absence of Lig4, Lig1, and Lig3 function in a redundant manner in resolving switch region DSBs during CSR.

  11. Enhanced Decoupled Double Synchronous Reference Frame Current Controller for Unbalanced Grid-Voltage Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reyes, M.; Rodriguez, Pedro; Vazquez, S.

    2012-01-01

    . In these codes, the injection of positive- and negative-sequence current components becomes necessary for fulfilling, among others, the low-voltage ride-through requirements during balanced and unbalanced grid faults. However, the performance of classical dq current controllers, applied to power converters......, under unbalanced grid-voltage conditions is highly deficient, due to the unavoidable appearance of current oscillations. This paper analyzes the performance of the double synchronous reference frame controller and improves its structure by adding a decoupling network for estimating and compensating...

  12. Flexible Control Strategy for Grid-Connected Inverter under Unbalanced Grid Faults without PLL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guo, Xiaoqiang; Liu, W.; Zhang, X.

    2015-01-01

    Power oscillation and current quality are the important performance targets for the grid-connected inverter under unbalanced grid faults. Firstly, the inherent reason for the current harmonic and power oscillation of the inverter is discussed with a quantitative analysis. Secondly, a new control...... strategy is proposed to achieve the coordinate control of power and current quality without the need for a phase-locked loop or voltage/current positive/negative sequence extraction calculation. Finally, the experimental tests are conducted under unbalanced grid faults, and the results verify...

  13. A study on the force balance of an unbalanced globe valve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Sang Min; Cho, Taik Dong; Ko, Sung Ho; Lee, Ho Young

    2007-01-01

    A pneumatic control valve is a piping element that controls the volumetric flow rate and pressure of a fluid: it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of the forces with respect to the opening of the valve in order to evaluate its operating performance. The forces occurring during operation are: resisting force and actuator force, where the load resistance is mostly affected by the fluid pressure difference of the valve. In this study, a force balance equation derived from the equilibrium relationship between the resisting force and the actuator force of an unbalanced globe valve is proposed, and the force balance equations are used to model the dynamic equations of a pneumatic unbalanced globe valve installed in nuclear power plants. A CFD analysis is also carried out to evaluate the pressure distribution and forces acting on the top and bottom planes of the valve plug. The results of this analysis have been verified through experimentation. This study has shown that the fluid pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the valve, measured from the force balance equation of an unbalanced valve, should actually be examined with the fluid-pressure difference between the top and bottom side of the valve plug

  14. Sequential Service Restoration for Unbalanced Distribution Systems and Microgrids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Bo; Chen, Chen; Wang, Jianhui; Butler-Purry, Karen L.

    2017-01-01

    The resilience and reliability of modern power systems are threatened by increasingly severe weather events and cyber-physical security events. An effective restoration methodology is desired to optimally integrate emerging smart grid technologies and pave the way for developing self-healing smart grids. In this paper, a sequential service restoration (SSR) framework is proposed to generate restoration solutions for distribution systems and microgrids in the event of large-scale power outages. The restoration solution contains a sequence of control actions that properly coordinate switches, distributed generators, and switchable loads to form multiple isolated microgrids. The SSR can be applied for three-phase unbalanced distribution systems and microgrids and can adapt to various operation conditions. Mathematical models are introduced for three-phase unbalanced power flow, voltage regulators, transformers, and loads. Furthermore, the SSR problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming model, and its effectiveness is evaluated via the modified IEEE 123 node test feeder.

  15. Operation and control of a hybrid microgrid containing unbalanced and nonlinear loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shahnia, Farhad; Majumder, Ritwik; Ghosh, Arindam; Ledwich, Gerard; Zare, Firuz [School of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4001 (Australia)

    2010-08-15

    This paper shows how the power quality can be improved in a microgrid that is supplying a nonlinear and unbalanced load. The microgrid contains a hybrid combination of inertial and converter interfaced distributed generation units where a decentralized power sharing algorithm is used to control its power management. One of the distributed generators in the microgrid is used as a power quality compensator for the unbalanced and harmonic load. The current reference generation for power quality improvement takes into account the active and reactive power to be supplied by the micro-source which is connected to the compensator. Depending on the power requirement of the nonlinear load, the proposed control scheme can change modes of operation without any external communication interfaces. The compensator can operate in two modes depending on the entire power demand of the unbalanced nonlinear load. The proposed control scheme can even compensate system unbalance caused by the single-phase micro-sources and load changes. The efficacy of the proposed power quality improvement control and method in such a microgrid is validated through extensive simulation studies using PSCAD/EMTDC software with detailed dynamic models of the micro-sources and power electronic converters. (author)

  16. Mitigation of Unbalanced Voltage Sags and Voltage Unbalance in CIGRE Low Voltage Distribution Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mustafa, Ghullam; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte; Mahat, Pukar

    2013-01-01

    Any problem with voltage in a power network is undesirable as it aggravates the quality of the power. Power electronic devices such as Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) etc. can be used to mitigate the voltage problems in the distribution system...... to unbalanced faults. The compensation of unbalanced voltage sags and voltage unbalance in the CIGRE distribution network is done by using the four STATCOM compensators already existing in the test grid. The simulations are carried out in DIgSILENT power factory software version 15.0........ The voltage problems dealt with in this paper are to show how to mitigate unbalanced voltage sags and voltage unbalance in the CIGRE Low Voltage (LV) test network and net-works like this. The voltage unbalances, for the tested cases in the CIGRE LV test network are mainly due to single phase loads and due...

  17. Recombinant expression of homodimeric 660 kDa human thyroglobulin in soybean seeds: an alternative source of human thyroglobulin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Rebecca; Hudson, Laura C; Lambirth, Kevin C; Luth, Diane; Wang, Kan; Bost, Kenneth L; Piller, Kenneth J

    2011-07-01

    Soybean seeds possess many qualities that make them ideal targets for the production of recombinant proteins. However, one quality often overlooked is their ability to stockpile large amounts of complex storage proteins. Because of this characteristic, we hypothesized that soybean seeds would support recombinant expression of large and complex proteins that are currently difficult or impossible to express using traditional plant and non-plant-based host systems. To test this hypothesis, we transformed soybeans with a synthetic gene encoding human thyroglobulin (hTG)-a 660 kDa homodimeric protein that is widely used in the diagnostic industry for screening and detection of thyroid disease. In the absence of a recombinant system that can produce recombinant hTG, research and diagnostic grade hTG continues to be purified from cadaver and surgically removed thyroid tissue. These less-than-ideal tissue sources lack uniform glycosylation and iodination and therefore introduce variability when purified hTG is used in sensitive ELISA screens. In this study, we report the successful expression of recombinant hTG in soybean seeds. Authenticity of the soy-derived protein was demonstrated using commercial ELISA kits developed specifically for the detection of hTG in patient sera. Western analyses and gel filtration chromatography demonstrated that recombinant hTG and thyroid-purified hTG are biologically similar with respect to size, mass, charge and subunit interaction. The recombinant protein was stable over three generations and accumulated to ~1.5% of total soluble seed protein. These results support our hypothesis that soybeans represent a practical alternative to traditional host systems for the expression of large and complex proteins.

  18. Control Strategy for Three-Phase Grid-Connected PV Inverters Enabling Current Limitation Under Unbalanced Faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Afshari, Ehsan; Moradi, Gholam Reza; Rahimi, Ramin

    2017-01-01

    Power quality and voltage control are among the most important aspects of the grid-connected power converter operation under faults. Non-sinusoidal current is injected during unbalanced voltage sag and active or/and reactive power includes double frequency content. This paper introduces a novel...... control strategy to mitigate the double grid frequency oscillations in the active power and dc-link voltage of the two-stage three-phase grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV) inverters during unbalanced faults. With the proposed control method, PV inverter injects sinusoidal currents under unbalanced grid...... faults. In addition, an efficient and easy-to-implement current limitation method is introduced, which can effectively limit the injected currents to the rated value during faults. In this case, the fault-ride-through operation is ensured and it will not trigger the overcurrent protection. A non...

  19. DC-Voltage Fluctuation Elimination Through a DC-Capacitor Current Control for DFIG Converters Under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Changjin; Xu, Dehong; Zhu, Nan

    2013-01-01

    Unbalanced grid voltage causes a large second-order harmonic current in the dc-link capacitors as well as dc-voltage fluctuation, which potentially will degrade the lifespan and reliability of the capacitors in voltage source converters. This paper proposes a novel dc-capacitor current control...... method for a grid-side converter (GSC) to eliminate the negative impact of unbalanced grid voltage on the dc-capacitors. In this method, a dc-capacitor current control loop, where a negative-sequence resonant controller is used to increase the loop gain, is added to the conventional GSC current control...... loop. The rejection capability to the unbalanced grid voltage and the stability of the proposed control system are discussed. The second-order harmonic current in the dc capacitor as well as dc-voltage fluctuation is very well eliminated. Hence, the dc capacitors will be more reliable under unbalanced...

  20. Analysis of PM Magnetization Field Effects on the Unbalanced Magnetic Forces due to Rotor Eccentricity in BLDC Motors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Mahdiuon-Rad

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates both static and dynamic eccentricities in single phase brushless DC (BLDC motors and analyzes the effect of the PM magnetization field on unbalanced magnetic forces acting on the rotor. Three common types of PM magnetization field patterns including radial, parallel and sinusoidal magnetizations are considered. In both static and dynamic eccentricities, harmonic components of the unbalanced magnetic forces on the rotor are extracted and analyzed. Based on simulation results, the magnetization fields that produce the lowest and highest unbalanced magnetic forces are determined in rotor eccentricity conditions.

  1. A parametric study on unbalanced three phase islanded microgrids with inverter interfaced units

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sanseverino, Eleonora Riva; Quang, Ninh Nguyen; Zizzo, Gaetano

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, the solution of the power flow for unbalanced three phase microgrids systems is proposed. The study aims at the integration of inverter interfaced units using the control law used for primary voltage and frequency regulation, so as to take into account possible small variations...... of these parameters to account for sudden load changes. The proposed study deals with unbalanced systems which is the typical case of small distribution systems and shows how the power losses term varies as the regulators parameters vary as well, thus showing that these are sensitive parameters that could have...

  2. Data Normalization of (1)H NMR Metabolite Fingerprinting Data Sets in the Presence of Unbalanced Metabolite Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hochrein, Jochen; Zacharias, Helena U; Taruttis, Franziska; Samol, Claudia; Engelmann, Julia C; Spang, Rainer; Oefner, Peter J; Gronwald, Wolfram

    2015-08-07

    Data normalization is an essential step in NMR-based metabolomics. Conducted properly, it improves data quality and removes unwanted biases. The choice of the appropriate normalization method is critical and depends on the inherent properties of the data set in question. In particular, the presence of unbalanced metabolic regulation, where the different specimens and cohorts under investigation do not contain approximately equal shares of up- and down-regulated features, may strongly influence data normalization. Here, we demonstrate the suitability of the Shapiro-Wilk test to detect such unbalanced regulation. Next, employing a Latin-square design consisting of eight metabolites spiked into a urine specimen at eight different known concentrations, we show that commonly used normalization and scaling methods fail to retrieve true metabolite concentrations in the presence of increasing amounts of glucose added to simulate unbalanced regulation. However, by learning the normalization parameters on a subset of nonregulated features only, Linear Baseline Normalization, Probabilistic Quotient Normalization, and Variance Stabilization Normalization were found to account well for different dilutions of the samples without distorting the true spike-in levels even in the presence of marked unbalanced metabolic regulation. Finally, the methods described were applied successfully to a real world example of unbalanced regulation, namely, a set of plasma specimens collected from patients with and without acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass use.

  3. A control strategy for grid-side converter of DFIG under unbalanced condition based on Dig SILENT/Power Factory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Pingping; Zhang, Haitian; Chen, Lingqi; Zhang, Xiaoan

    2018-01-01

    The models of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) and its grid-side converter (GSC) are established under unbalanced grid condition based on DIgSILENT/PowerFactory. According to the mathematical model, the vector equations of positive and negative sequence voltage and current are deduced in the positive sequence synchronous rotating reference frame d-q-0 when the characteristics of the simulation software are considered adequately. Moreover, the reference value of current component of GSC in the positive sequence frame d-q-0 under unbalanced condition can be obtained to improve the traditional control of GSC when the national issue of unbalanced current limits is combined. The simulated results indicate that the control strategy can restrain negative sequence current and the two times frequency power wave of GSC’s ac side effectively. The voltage of DC bus can be maintained a constant to ensure the uninterrupted operation of DFIG under unbalanced grid condition eventually.

  4. Empirical Statistical Power for Testing Multilocus Genotypic Effects under Unbalanced Designs Using a Gibbs Sampler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaeyoung Lee

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Epistasis that may explain a large portion of the phenotypic variation for complex economic traits of animals has been ignored in many genetic association studies. A Baysian method was introduced to draw inferences about multilocus genotypic effects based on their marginal posterior distributions by a Gibbs sampler. A simulation study was conducted to provide statistical powers under various unbalanced designs by using this method. Data were simulated by combined designs of number of loci, within genotype variance, and sample size in unbalanced designs with or without null combined genotype cells. Mean empirical statistical power was estimated for testing posterior mean estimate of combined genotype effect. A practical example for obtaining empirical statistical power estimates with a given sample size was provided under unbalanced designs. The empirical statistical powers would be useful for determining an optimal design when interactive associations of multiple loci with complex phenotypes were examined.

  5. Double-Frame Current Control with a Multivariable PI Controller and Power Compensation for Weak Unbalanced Networks

    CERN Document Server

    Siemaszko, Daniel

    2015-06-15

    The handling of weak networks with asymmetric loads and disturbances im- plies the accurate handling of the second-harmonic component that appears in an unbalanced network. This paper proposes a classic vector control approach using a PI-based controller with superior decoupling capabilities for operation in weak networks with unbalanced phase voltages. A synchronization method for weak unbalanced networks is detailed, with dedicated dimensioning rules. The use of a double-frame controller allows a current symmetry or controlled imbalance to be forced for compensation of power oscillations by controlling the negative current sequence. This paper also serves as a useful reminder of the proper way to cancel the inherent coupling effect due to the transformation to the synchronous rotating reference frame, and of basic considerations of the relationship between switching frequency and control bandwidth.

  6. What drives health care expenditure?--Baumol's model of 'unbalanced growth' revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartwig, Jochen

    2008-05-01

    The share of health care expenditure in GDP rises rapidly in virtually all OECD countries, causing increasing concern among politicians and the general public. Yet, economists have to date failed to reach an agreement on what the main determinants of this development are. This paper revisits Baumol's [Baumol, W.J., 1967. Macroeconomics of unbalanced growth: the anatomy of urban crisis. American Economic Review 57 (3), 415-426] model of 'unbalanced growth', showing that the latter offers a ready explanation for the observed inexorable rise in health care expenditure. The main implication of Baumol's model in this context is that health care expenditure is driven by wage increases in excess of productivity growth. This hypothesis is tested empirically using data from a panel of 19 OECD countries. Our tests yield robust evidence in favor of Baumol's theory.

  7. Grid-forming VSC control in four-wire systems with unbalanced nonlinear loads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lliuyacca, Ruben; Mauricioa, Juan M.; Gomez-Exposito, Antonio

    2017-01-01

    A grid-forming voltage source converter (VSC) is responsible to hold voltage and frequency in autonomous operation of isolated systems. In the presence of unbalanced loads, a fourth leg is added to provide current path for neutral currents. In this paper, a novel control scheme for a four-leg VSC...... feeding unbalanced linear and nonlinear loads is proposed. The control is based on two control blocks. A main control commands the switching sequence to the three-phase VSC ensuring balanced three-phase voltage at the output; and an independent control to the fourth leg drives neutral currents that might...... response during system disturbances and mitigation of harmonics when nonlinear loads are present. Simulations and experimental results are presented to verify the performance of the proposed control strategy....

  8. Preparative SDS PAGE as an Alternative to His-Tag Purification of Recombinant Amelogenin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire M. Gabe

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant protein technology provides an invaluable source of proteins for use in structure-function studies, as immunogens, and in the development of therapeutics. Recombinant proteins are typically engineered with “tags” that allow the protein to be purified from crude host cell extracts using affinity based chromatography techniques. Amelogenin is the principal component of the developing enamel matrix and a frequent focus for biomineralization researchers. Several groups have reported the successful production of recombinant amelogenins but the production of recombinant amelogenin free of any tags, and at single band purity on silver stained SDS PAGE is technically challenging. This is important, as rigorous structure-function research frequently demands a high degree of protein purity and fidelity of protein sequence. Our aim was to generate His-tagged recombinant amelogenin at single band purity on silver stained SDS PAGE for use in functionality studies after His-tag cleavage. An acetic acid extraction technique (previously reported to produce recombinant amelogenin at 95% purity directly from E. coli followed by repeated rounds of nickel column affinity chromatography, failed to generate recombinant amelogenin at single band purity. This was because following an initial round of nickel column affinity chromatography, subsequent cleavage of the His-tag was not 100% efficient. A second round of nickel column affinity chromatography, used in attempts to separate the cleaved His-tag free recombinant from uncleaved His-tagged contaminants, was still unsatisfactory as cleaved recombinant amelogenin exhibited significant affinity for the nickel column. To solve this problem, we used preparative SDS PAGE to successfully purify cleaved recombinant amelogenins to single band purity on silver stained SDS PAGE. The resolving power of preparative SDS PAGE was such that His-tag based purification of recombinant amelogenin becomes redundant. We

  9. Analysis of temperature changes on three-phase synchronous generator using infrared: comparison between balanced and unbalanced load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amien, S.; Yoga, W.; Fahmi, F.

    2018-02-01

    Synchronous generators are a major tool in an electrical energy generating systems, the load supplied by the generator is unbalanced. This paper discusses the effect of synchronous generator temperature on the condition of balanced load and unbalanced load, which will then be compared with the measurement result of both states of the generator. Unbalanced loads can be caused by various asymmetric disturbances in the power system and the failure of load forecasting studies so that the load distribution in each phase is not the same and causing the excessive heat of the generator. The method used in data collection was by using an infrared thermometer and resistance calculation method. The temperature comparison result between the resistive, inductive and capacitive loads in the highest temperature balance occured when the generator is loaded with a resistive load, where T = 31.9 ° C and t = 65 minutes. While in a state of unbalanced load the highest temperature occured when the generator is loaded with a capacitive load, where T = 40.1 ° C and t = 60 minutes. By understanding this behavior, we can maintain the generator for longer operation life.

  10. Unbalanced voltage faults: the impact on structural loads of doubly fed asynchronous generator wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barahona Garzón, Braulio; Cutululis, Nicolaos Antonio; Hansen, Anca Daniela

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact that unbalanced voltage faults have on wind turbine structural loads. In such cases, electromagnetic torque oscillations occur at two times the supply voltage frequency. The objectives of this work are to quantify wind turbine structural loads induced...... by unbalanced voltage faults relative to those during normal operation; and to evaluate the potential for reducing structural loads with the control of the generator. The method applied is integrated dynamic analysis. Namely, dynamic analysis with models that consider the most important aeroelastic, electrical...

  11. Precise derating of three phase induction motors with unbalanced voltages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faiz, Jawad; Ebrahimpour, H.

    2007-01-01

    Performance analysis of three phase induction motors under supply voltage unbalance conditions is normally conducted using the well-known symmetrical components analysis. In this analysis, the voltage unbalance level at the terminals of the machine is assessed by means of the NEMA or IEC definitions. Both definitions lead to a relatively large error in predicting the performance of a machine. A method has recently been proposed in which, in addition to the voltage unbalance factor (VUF), the phase angle has been taken into account in the analysis. This means that the voltage unbalance factor is regarded as a complex value. This paper shows that although the use of the complex VUF reduces the computational error considerably, it is still high. This is proven by evaluating the derating factor of a three phase induction motor. A method is introduced to determine the derating factor precisely using the complex unbalance factor for an induction motor operating under any unbalanced supply condition. A practical case for derating of a typical three phase squirrel cage induction motor supplied by an unbalanced voltage is studied in the paper

  12. Characterization of an Sf-rhabdovirus-negative Spodoptera frugiperda cell line as an alternative host for recombinant protein production in the baculovirus-insect cell system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maghodia, Ajay B; Geisler, Christoph; Jarvis, Donald L

    2016-06-01

    Cell lines derived from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf), are widely used as hosts for recombinant protein production in the baculovirus-insect cell system (BICS). However, it was recently discovered that these cell lines are contaminated with a virus, now known as Sf-rhabdovirus [1]. The detection of this adventitious agent raised a potential safety issue that could adversely impact the BICS as a commercial recombinant protein production platform. Thus, we examined the properties of Sf-RVN, an Sf-rhabdovirus-negative Sf cell line, as a potential alternative host. Nested RT-PCR assays showed Sf-RVN cells had no detectable Sf-rhabdovirus over the course of 60 passages in continuous culture. The general properties of Sf-RVN cells, including their average growth rates, diameters, morphologies, and viabilities after baculovirus infection, were virtually identical to those of Sf9 cells. Baculovirus-infected Sf-RVN and Sf9 cells produced equivalent levels of three recombinant proteins, including an intracellular prokaryotic protein and two secreted eukaryotic glycoproteins, and provided similar N-glycosylation patterns. In fact, except for the absence of Sf-rhabdovirus, the only difference between Sf-RVN and Sf9 cells was SF-RVN produced higher levels of infectious baculovirus progeny. These results show Sf-RVN cells can be used as improved, alternative hosts to circumvent the potential safety hazard associated with the use of Sf-rhabdovirus-contaminated Sf cells for recombinant protein manufacturing with the BICS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Compensación de potencia reactiva mediante bancos asimétricos de capacitores; Reactive Power Compensation by Unbalanced Capacitor Banks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignacio Pérez Abril

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available A pesar de que los sistemas de distribución primaria y secundaria son desbalanceados por naturaleza, lacompensación de potencia reactiva en estos sistemas, se realiza comúnmente mediante bancos decondensadores trifásicos balanceados. En este trabajo se presenta la formulación general para el problemade compensación de potencia reactiva en sistemas desbalanceados mediante bancos de condensadoresdesbalanceados. Se presentan cuatro ejemplos de compensación en el secundario de bancos desbalanceadosde transformadores monofásicos. Todos los ejemplos muestran que la compensación por bancosdesbalanceados de capacitores incrementa los beneficios con respecto al uso de bancos balanceados  In spite of the fact that primary and secondary distribution systems are unbalanced by nature, thereactive power compensation on these systems is commonly developed by the use of balanced capacitorbanks. In this paper, the general formulation for the reactive power compensation problem onunbalanced systems with unbalanced capacitor banks is developed. Four examples of reactive powercompensation on the secondary of unbalanced three-phase transformers banks are presented. All theexamples show that the compensation by unbalanced capacitor banks increases the active power lossessaving as well as reduce the transformer’s load and contributes to balance the line currents when the loadis unbalanced.

  14. Balanced Current Control Strategy for Current Source Rectifier Stage of Indirect Matrix Converter under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yeongsu Bak

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a balanced current control strategy for the current source rectifier (CSR stage of an indirect matrix converter (IMC under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. If the three-phase grid connected to the voltage source inverter (VSI of the IMC has unbalanced voltage conditions, it affects the currents of the CSR stage and VSI stage, and the currents are distorted. Above all, the distorted currents of the CSR stage cause instability in the overall system, which can affect the life span of the system. Therefore, in this paper, a control strategy for balanced currents in the CSR stage is proposed. To achieve balanced currents in the CSR stage, the VSI stage should receive DC power without ripple components from the CSR stage. This is implemented by controlling the currents in the VSI stage. Therefore, the proposed control strategy decouples the positive and negative phase-sequence components existing in the unbalanced voltages and currents of the VSI stage. Using the proposed control strategy under unbalanced grid voltage conditions, the stability and life span of the overall system can be improved. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified by simulation and experimental results.

  15. Ensemble Genetic Fuzzy Neuro Model Applied for the Emergency Medical Service via Unbalanced Data Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muammar Sadrawi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Equally partitioned data are essential for prediction. However, in some important cases, the data distribution is severely unbalanced. In this study, several algorithms are utilized to maximize the learning accuracy when dealing with a highly unbalanced dataset. A linguistic algorithm is applied to evaluate the input and output relationship, namely Fuzzy c-Means (FCM, which is applied as a clustering algorithm for the majority class to balance the minority class data from about 3 million cases. Each cluster is used to train several artificial neural network (ANN models. Different techniques are applied to generate an ensemble genetic fuzzy neuro model (EGFNM in order to select the models. The first ensemble technique, the intra-cluster EGFNM, works by evaluating the best combination from all the models generated by each cluster. Another ensemble technique is the inter-cluster model EGFNM, which is based on selecting the best model from each cluster. The accuracy of these techniques is evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC via its area under the curve (AUC. Results show that the AUC of the unbalanced data is 0.67974. The random cluster and best ANN single model have AUCs of 0.7177 and 0.72806, respectively. For the ensemble evaluations, the intra-cluster and the inter-cluster EGFNMs produce 0.7293 and 0.73038, respectively. In conclusion, this study achieved improved results by performing the EGFNM method compared with the unbalanced training. This study concludes that selecting several best models will produce a better result compared with all models combined.

  16. Three-Phase Harmonic Analysis Method for Unbalanced Distribution Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jen-Hao Teng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the unbalanced features of distribution systems, a three-phase harmonic analysis method is essential to accurately analyze the harmonic impact on distribution systems. Moreover, harmonic analysis is the basic tool for harmonic filter design and harmonic resonance mitigation; therefore, the computational performance should also be efficient. An accurate and efficient three-phase harmonic analysis method for unbalanced distribution systems is proposed in this paper. The variations of bus voltages, bus current injections and branch currents affected by harmonic current injections can be analyzed by two relationship matrices developed from the topological characteristics of distribution systems. Some useful formulas are then derived to solve the three-phase harmonic propagation problem. After the harmonic propagation for each harmonic order is calculated, the total harmonic distortion (THD for bus voltages can be calculated accordingly. The proposed method has better computational performance, since the time-consuming full admittance matrix inverse employed by the commonly-used harmonic analysis methods is not necessary in the solution procedure. In addition, the proposed method can provide novel viewpoints in calculating the branch currents and bus voltages under harmonic pollution which are vital for harmonic filter design. Test results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

  17. A New Wind Turbine Generating System Model for Balanced and Unbalanced Distribution Systems Load Flow Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmet Koksoy

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Wind turbine generating systems (WTGSs, which are conventionally connected to high voltage transmission networks, have frequently been employed as distributed generation units in today’s distribution networks. In practice, the distribution networks always have unbalanced bus voltages and line currents due to uneven distribution of single or double phase loads over three phases and asymmetry of the lines, etc. Accordingly, in this study, for the load flow analysis of the distribution networks, Conventional Fixed speed Induction Generator (CFIG based WTGS, one of the most widely used WTGS types, is modelled under unbalanced voltage conditions. The Developed model has active and reactive power expressions in terms of induction machine impedance parameters, terminal voltages and input power. The validity of the Developed model is confirmed with the experimental results obtained in a test system. The results of the slip calculation based phase-domain model (SCP Model, which was previously proposed in the literature for CFIG based WTGSs under unbalanced voltages, are also given for the comparison. Finally, the Developed model and the SCP model are implemented in the load flow analysis of the IEEE 34 bus test system with the CFIG based WTGSs and unbalanced loads. Thus, it is clearly pointed out that the results of the load flow analysis implemented with both models are very close to each other, and the Developed model is computationally more efficient than the SCP model.

  18. Similarity of recombinant human perlecan domain 1 by alternative expression systems bioactive heterogenous recombinant human perlecan D1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellis, April L; Pan, Wensheng; Yang, Guang

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans are diverse components of certain proteoglycans and are known to interact with growth factors as a co-receptor necessary to induce signalling and growth factor activity. In this report we characterize heterogeneously glycosylated recombinant human...... perlecan domain 1 (HSPG2 abbreviated as rhPln.D1) synthesized in either HEK 293 cells or HUVECs by transient gene delivery using either adenoviral or expression plasmid technology. RESULTS: By SDS-PAGE analysis following anion exchange chromatography, the recombinant proteoglycans appeared to possess...... glycosaminoglycan chains ranging, in total, from 6 kDa to >90 kDa per recombinant. Immunoblot analysis of enzyme-digested high Mr rhPln.D1 demonstrated that the rhPln.D1 was synthesized as either a chondroitin sulfate or heparan sulfate proteoglycan, in an approximately 2:1 ratio, with negligible hybrids. Secondary...

  19. A Parallel Biological Optimization Algorithm to Solve the Unbalanced Assignment Problem Based on DNA Molecular Computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhaocai; Pu, Jun; Cao, Liling; Tan, Jian

    2015-10-23

    The unbalanced assignment problem (UAP) is to optimally resolve the problem of assigning n jobs to m individuals (m applied mathematics, having numerous real life applications. In this paper, we present a new parallel DNA algorithm for solving the unbalanced assignment problem using DNA molecular operations. We reasonably design flexible-length DNA strands representing different jobs and individuals, take appropriate steps, and get the solutions of the UAP in the proper length range and O(mn) time. We extend the application of DNA molecular operations and simultaneity to simplify the complexity of the computation.

  20. Stand-Alone Microgrid Inverter Controller Design for Nonlinear, Unbalanced Load with Output Transformer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jae-Uk Lim

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a technique that compensates for unbalance and nonlinearity in microgrid inverters with power transformers operating in stand-alone mode. When a microgrid inverter is operating in stand-alone mode, providing high-quality power is very important. When an unbalanced, nonlinear load is connected, zero sequence current and negative sequence current occur, which leads to an unbalanced output voltage. This paper examines why the zero sequence component occurs differently depending on the structure of a three-phase transformer connected to the inverter output terminal, and it proposes a method for controlling the zero sequence component. It also uses a resonant controller to remove the harmonics that correspond to the negative sequence component and the nonlinear component. The proposed elements were verified by a Powersim (PSIM simulation.

  1. Echocardiographic definition and surgical decision-making in unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect: a Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society multiinstitutional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jegatheeswaran, Anusha; Pizarro, Christian; Caldarone, Christopher A; Cohen, Meryl S; Baffa, Jeanne M; Gremmels, David B; Mertens, Luc; Morell, Victor O; Williams, William G; Blackstone, Eugene H; McCrindle, Brian W; Overman, David M

    2010-09-14

    Although identification of unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) is obvious when extreme, exact criteria to define the limits of unbalanced are not available. We sought to validate an atrioventricular valve index (AVVI) (left atrioventricular valve area/total atrioventricular valve area, centimeters squared) as a discriminator of balanced and unbalanced forms of complete AVSD and to characterize the association of AVVI with surgical strategies and outcomes. Diagnostic echocardiograms and hospital records of 356 infants with complete AVSD at 4 Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society (CHSS) institutions (2000-2006) were reviewed and AVVI measured (n=315). Patients were classified as unbalanced if AVVI≤0.4 (right dominant) or ≥0.6 (left dominant). Surgical strategy and outcomes were examined across the range of AVVI. Competing risks analysis until the time of commitment to a surgical strategy examined 4 end states: biventricular repair (BVR), univentricular repair (UVR), pulmonary artery banding (PAB), and death before surgery. A prediction nomogram for surgical strategy based on AVVI was developed. The majority of patients had balanced AVSD (0.4unbalanced AVSD with important correlation to anatomic substrate and selected surgical strategy.

  2. Hysteresis current control technique of VSI for compensation of grid-connected unbalanced loads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pouresmaeil, Edris; Akorede, Mudathir Funsho; Montesinos-Miracle, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    interconnection issues that usually arise as DG units connect to the electric grid. The proposed strategy, implemented in Matlab/Simulink environment in different operating scenarios, provides compensation for active, reactive, unbalanced, and harmonic current components of grid-connected nonlinear unbalanced...... resources as they connect to the exiting power grid could provoke many power quality problems on the grid side. For this reason, due considerations must be given to power generation and safe running before DG units is actually integrated into the power grid. The main aim of this paper is to address the grid...... loads. The simulation results obtained in this study demonstrate the level of accuracy of the proposed technique, which ensure a balance in the overall grid phase currents, injection of maximum available power from DG resources to the grid, improvement of the utility grid power factor, and a reduction...

  3. Unbalanced Impedance of the Aperture Coils of Some LHC Main Dipole Magnets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ravaioli, Emanuele; Verweij, A.P.; ten Kate, Herman H.J.

    2013-01-01

    During the Large Hadron Collider operation in 2010 and 2011, it was observed that about 50% of the main dipole magnets exhibiting two apertures showed unbalanced dynamic-impedance behavior not well understood. When a main dipole circuit is switched off, voltage waves with a frequency of 28 Hz travel

  4. Radio-frequency unbalanced M-Z interferometer for wavelength interrogation of fiber Bragg grating sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jiaao; Xia, Li; Cheng, Rui; Wen, Yongqiang; Rohollahnejad, Jalal

    2016-01-15

    The optical unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (UMZI) has attracted significant interests for interrogation of FBG sensors owing to its excellent advantages in sensitivity, resolution, and demodulation speed. But this method is still limited to dynamic measurements due to its poor stability and reliability when used for quasi-static detections. Here, we propose for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a radio-frequency unbalanced M-Z interferometer (RF-UMZI) for interrogation of FBG sensors, which, owing to its operation in an incoherent rather than a coherent regime, provides an ideal solution for the existing stability problem of the conventional UMZI, with remarkable features of adjustable resolution and potentially extremely high sensitivity. A dispersion compensation fiber (DCF) and single-mode fiber (SMF) with a small length difference are served as the two unbalanced arms of the RF interferometer. The induced differential chromatic dispersion transfers the wavelength shift of the FBG to the change of the RF phase difference between the two interferometric carriers, which ultimately leads to the variation of the RF signal intensity. An interrogation of a strain-turned FBG was accomplished and a maximum sensitivity of 0.00835  a.u./με was obtained, which can easily be further improved by more than two orders of magnitude through various fiber dispersion components. Finally, the stability of the interrogation was tested.

  5. Control of grid integrated voltage source converters under unbalanced conditions: development of an on-line frequency-adaptive virtual flux-based approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suul, Jon Are

    2012-03-15

    Three-Phase Voltage Source Converters (VSCs) are finding widespread applications in grid integrated power conversion systems. The control systems of such VSCs are in an increasing number of these applications required to operate during voltage disturbances and unbalanced conditions. Control systems designed for grid side voltagesensor-less operation are at the same time becoming attractive due to the continuous drive for cost reduction and increased reliability of VSCs, but are not commonly applied for operation during unbalanced conditions. Methods for voltage-sensor-less grid synchronization and control of VSCs under unbalanced grid voltage conditions will therefore be the main focus of this Thesis. Estimation methods based on the concept of Virtual Flux, considering the integral of the converter voltage in analogy to the flux of an electric machine, are among the simplest and most well known techniques for achieving voltage-sensor-less grid synchronization. Most of the established techniques for Virtual Flux estimation are, however, either sensitive to grid frequency variations or they are not easily adaptable for operation under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. This Thesis addresses both these issues by proposing a simple approach for Virtual Flux estimation by utilizing a frequency-adaptive filter based on a Second Order Generalized Integrator (SOGI). The proposed approach can be used to achieve on-line frequency-adaptive varieties of conventional strategies for Virtual Flux estimation. The main advantage is, however, that the SOGI-based Virtual Flux estimation can be arranged in a structure that achieves inherent symmetrical component sequence separation under unbalanced conditions. The proposed method for Virtual Flux estimation can be used as a general basis for voltage-sensor-less grid synchronization and control during unbalanced conditions. In this Thesis, the estimated Virtual Flux signals are used to develop a flexible strategy for control of active

  6. Assessing harmonic current source modelling and power definitions in balanced and unbalanced networks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Atkinson-Hope, Gary; Stemmet, W.C. [Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town Campus, Cape Town (South Africa)

    2006-07-01

    The purpose of this paper is to assess the DlgSILENT PowerFactory software power definitions (indices) in terms of phase and sequence components for balanced and unbalanced networks when harmonic distortion is present and to compare its results to hand calculations done, following recommendation made by the IEEE Working Group on this topic. This paper also includes the development of a flowchart for calculating power indices in balanced and unbalanced three-phase networks when non-sinusoidal voltages and currents are present. A further purpose is to determine how two industrial grade harmonic analysis software packages (DlgSILENT and ERACS) model three-phase harmonic sources used for current penetration studies and to compare their results when applied to a network. From the investigations, another objective was to develop a methodology for modelling harmonic current sources based on a spectrum obtained from measurements. Three case studies were conducted and the assessment and developed methodologies were shown to be effective. (Author)

  7. Trends in recombinant protein use in animal production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gifre, Laia; Arís, Anna; Bach, Àlex; Garcia-Fruitós, Elena

    2017-03-04

    Recombinant technologies have made possible the production of a broad catalogue of proteins of interest, including those used for animal production. The most widely studied proteins for the animal sector are those with an important role in reproduction, feed efficiency, and health. Nowadays, mammalian cells and fungi are the preferred choice for recombinant production of hormones for reproductive purposes and fibrolytic enzymes to enhance animal performance, respectively. However, the development of low-cost products is a priority, particularly in livestock. The study of cell factories such as yeast and bacteria has notably increased in the last decades to make the new developed reproductive hormones and fibrolytic enzymes a real alternative to the marketed ones. Important efforts have also been invested to developing new recombinant strategies for prevention and therapy, including passive immunization and modulation of the immune system. This offers the possibility to reduce the use of antibiotics by controlling physiological processes and improve the efficacy of preventing infections. Thus, nowadays different recombinant fibrolytic enzymes, hormones, and therapeutic molecules with optimized properties have been successfully produced through cost-effective processes using microbial cell factories. However, despite the important achievements for reducing protein production expenses, alternative strategies to further reduce these costs are still required. In this context, it is necessary to make a giant leap towards the use of novel strategies, such as nanotechnology, that combined with recombinant technology would make recombinant molecules affordable for animal industry.

  8. Metal binding proteins, recombinant host cells and methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summers, Anne O.; Caguiat, Jonathan J.

    2004-06-15

    The present disclosure provides artificial heavy metal binding proteins termed chelons by the inventors. These chelons bind cadmium and/or mercuric ions with relatively high affinity. Also disclosed are coding sequences, recombinant DNA molecules and recombinant host cells comprising those recombinant DNA molecules for expression of the chelon proteins. In the recombinant host cells or transgenic plants, the chelons can be used to bind heavy metals taken up from contaminated soil, groundwater or irrigation water and to concentrate and sequester those ions. Recombinant enteric bacteria can be used within the gastrointestinal tracts of animals or humans exposed to toxic metal ions such as mercury and/or cadmium, where the chelon recombinantly expressed in chosen in accordance with the ion to be rededicated. Alternatively, the chelons can be immobilized to solid supports to bind and concentrate heavy metals from a contaminated aqueous medium including biological fluids.

  9. Synchronization of grid-connected renewable energy sources under highly distorted voltages and unbalanced grid faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hadjidemetriou, Lenos; Kyriakides, Elias; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2013-01-01

    Renewable energy sources require accurate and appropriate performance not only under normal grid operation but also under abnormal and faulty grid conditions according to the modern grid codes. This paper proposes a novel phase-locked loop algorithm (MSHDC-PLL), which can enable the fast...... and dynamic synchronization of the interconnected renewable energy system under unbalanced grid faults and under highly harmonic distorted voltage. The outstanding performance of the suggested PLL is achieved by implementing an innovative multi-sequence/harmonic decoupling cell in order to dynamically cancel...... renewable energy systems. Therefore, the performance of the new PLL can increase the quality of the injected power under abnormal conditions and in addition enable the renewable energy systems to provide the appropriate support to the grid under balanced and unbalanced grid faults....

  10. An improved synchronous reference frame current control strategy for a photovoltaic grid-connected inverter under unbalanced and nonlinear load conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Naderipour, Amirreza; Asuhaimi Mohd Zin, Abdullah; Bin Habibuddin, Mohd Hafiz

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, renewable energy sources have been considered the most encouraging resources for grid and off-grid power generation. This paper presents an improved current control strategy for a three-phase photovoltaic grid-connected inverter (GCI) under unbalanced and nonlinear load conditions....... It is challenging to suppress the harmonic content in the output current below a pre-set value in the GCI. It is also difficult to compensate for unbalanced loads even when the grid is under disruption due to total harmonic distortion (THD) and unbalanced loads. The primary advantage and objective of this method...... is to effectively compensate for the harmonic current content of the grid current and microgrid without the use of any compensation devices, such as active and passive filters. This method leads to a very low THD in both the GCI currents and the current exchanged with the grid. The control approach is designed...

  11. A Fuzzy Linguistic Methodology to Deal With Unbalanced Linguistic Term Sets

    OpenAIRE

    Herrera, F.; Herrera-Viedma, Enrique; Martinez, L.

    2008-01-01

    Many real problems dealing with qualitative aspects use linguistic approaches to assess such aspects. In most of these problems, a uniform and symmetrical distribution of the linguistic term sets for linguistic modeling is assumed. However, there exist problems whose assessments need to be represented by means of unbalanced linguistic term sets, i.e., using term sets that are not uniformly and symmetrically distributed. The use of linguistic variables implies processes of computing with words...

  12. A Parallel Biological Optimization Algorithm to Solve the Unbalanced Assignment Problem Based on DNA Molecular Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaocai Wang

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The unbalanced assignment problem (UAP is to optimally resolve the problem of assigning n jobs to m individuals (m < n, such that minimum cost or maximum profit obtained. It is a vitally important Non-deterministic Polynomial (NP complete problem in operation management and applied mathematics, having numerous real life applications. In this paper, we present a new parallel DNA algorithm for solving the unbalanced assignment problem using DNA molecular operations. We reasonably design flexible-length DNA strands representing different jobs and individuals, take appropriate steps, and get the solutions of the UAP in the proper length range and O(mn time. We extend the application of DNA molecular operations and simultaneity to simplify the complexity of the computation.

  13. Fabrication and characterization of self-folding thermoplastic sheets using unbalanced thermal shrinkage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danielson, Christian; Mehrnezhad, Ali; YekrangSafakar, Ashkan; Park, Kidong

    2017-06-14

    Self-folding or micro-origami technologies are actively investigated as a novel manufacturing process to fabricate three-dimensional macro/micro-structures. In this paper, we present a simple process to produce a self-folding structure with a biaxially oriented polystyrene sheet (BOPS) or Shrinky Dinks. A BOPS sheet is known to shrink to one-third of its original size in plane, when it is heated above 160 °C. A grid pattern is engraved on one side of the BOPS film with a laser engraver to decrease the thermal shrinkage of the engraved side. The thermal shrinkage of the non-engraved side remains the same and this unbalanced thermal shrinkage causes folding of the structure as the structure shrinks at high temperature. We investigated the self-folding mechanism and characterized how the grid geometry, the grid size, and the power of the laser engraver affect the bending curvature. The developed fabrication process to locally modulate thermomechanical properties of the material by engraving the grid pattern and the demonstrated design methodology to harness the unbalanced thermal shrinkage can be applied to develop complicated self-folding macro/micro structures.

  14. High Order Sliding Mode Control of Doubly-fed Induction Generator under Unbalanced Grid Faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Rongwu; Chen, Zhe; Wu, Xiaojie

    2013-01-01

    This paper deals with a doubly-fed induction generator-based (DFIG) wind turbine system under grid fault conditions such as: unbalanced grid voltage, three-phase grid fault, using a high order sliding mode control (SMC). A second order sliding mode controller, which is robust with respect...

  15. Analysis of Nonlinear Vibration in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors under Unbalanced Magnetic Pull

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ao Zhang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The vibration and noise of permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM are mainly caused by unbalanced magnetic pull (UMP. This paper aims to investigate nonlinear vibration in PMSMs. Firstly, the analytical model of the air-gap magnetic field with an eccentric rotor in PMSM is studied, and the analytical model is verified by the finite element method. Then the dynamic model of an offset rotor-bearing system is established, and the gyroscopic effect, nonlinear bearing force and UMP are taken into consideration. Finally, the dynamic characteristics of different static displacement eccentricities, rotor offsets and radial clearances are investigated in both the time domain and the frequency domain. The results show that the amplitudes of dynamic responses increase with the static displacement eccentricity and rotor offset and high integer multiples of rotating frequency appear with the increase of displacement eccentricity. The coupling effects of bearing force, unbalanced mass force and UMP are observed in the frequency domain, and the frequency components in the dynamic responses indicate that the bearings have an effect on the system.

  16. Evidence that meiotic pairing starts at the telomeres: Molecular analysis of recombination in a family with a pericentric X chromosome inversion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shashi, V.; Allinson, P.S.; Golden, W.L.; Kelly, T.E. [Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)

    1994-09-01

    Recent studies in yeast have shown that telomeres rather than centromeres lead in chromosome movement just prior to meiosis and may have a role in recombination. Cytological studies of meiosis in Drosophila and mice have shown that in pericentric inversion heterozygotes there is lack of loop formation, with recobmination seen only outside the inversion. In a family with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) we recognized that only affected males and carrier females had a pericentric X chromosome inversion (inv X(p11.4;q26)). Since the short arm inversion breakpoint was proximal to the DMD locus, it could not be implicated in the mutational event causing DMD. There was no history of infertility, recurrent miscarriages or liveborn unbalanced females to suggest there was recombination within the inversion. We studied 22 members over three generations to understand the pattern of meiotic recombination between the normal and the inverted X chromosome. In total, 17 meioses involving the inverted X chromosome in females were studied by cytogenetic analysis and 16 CA repeat polymorphisms along the length of the X chromosome. Results: (a) There was complete concordance between the segregation of the DMD mutation and the inverted X chromosome. (b) On DNA analysis, there was complete absence of recombination within the inverted segment. We also found no recombination at the DMD locus. Recombination was seen only at Xp22 and Xq27-28. (c) Recombination was seen in the same individual at both Xp22 and Xq27-28 without recombination otherwise. Conclusions: (1) Pericentric X inversions reduce the genetic map length of the chromosome, with the physical map length being normal. (2) Meiotic X chromosome pairing in this family is initiated at the telomeres. (3) Following telomeric pairing in pericentric X chromosome inversions, there is inhibition of recombination within the inversion and adjacent regions.

  17. Alternate adenovirus type-pairs for a possible circumvention of host immune response to recombinant adenovirus vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nász, I; Adám, E; Lengyel, A

    2001-01-01

    With the help of monoclonal antibodies the existence of at least 18 different earlier not known intertype (IT) specific epitopes were demonstrated in different numbers and combinations on the hexons of different adenovirus serotypes. The IT specific epitopes play an important role in the experimental gene therapy and in the recombinant adenovirus vaccination because of the harmful immune response of the recipient organisms directed against the many different epitopes of the adenovirus vector. For the elimination of harmful effect the authors suggest the use of multiple vectors, each prepared from different adenovirus serotypes showing the loosest antigenic relationship to each other. The vectors would be used sequentially when second or multiple administration is needed. For this purpose the authors determined and described 31 such adenovirus type-pairs, which are probably the best alternates for sequential use in experimental gene therapy.

  18. Tracking performance of unbalanced QPSK demodulators. I - Biphase Costas loop with passive arm filters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, M. K.; Alem, W. K.

    1978-01-01

    Unbalanced quadriphase-shift-keying (QPSK) is an attractive means for transmitting two digital data streams which in general have different average powers, data rates, and data formats. Previous analyses of the tracking performance of Costas loop demodulators of unbalanced QPSK have accounted only for the filtering effect produced by the loop's two arm filters on the equivalent additive noise perturbing the loop. When the bandwidth of these filters is selected on the basis of the order of the data rate, as is typical of optimum Costas loop design, the filtering degradations of the data modulations themselves and the cross-modulation noise produced by their multiplication in the loop often cannot be neglected. The purpose of this paper is to incorporate these additional filtering effects into the analysis. Many of the results obtained herein are in the form of closed-form expressions which can easily be evaluated numerically for design and performance prediction purposes.

  19. Recombination Modulates How Selection Affects Linked Sites in Drosophila

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGaugh, Suzanne E.; Heil, Caiti S. S.; Manzano-Winkler, Brenda; Loewe, Laurence; Goldstein, Steve; Himmel, Tiffany L.; Noor, Mohamed A. F.

    2012-01-01

    One of the most influential observations in molecular evolution has been a strong association between local recombination rate and nucleotide polymorphisms across the genome. This is interpreted as evidence for ubiquitous natural selection. The alternative explanation, that recombination is mutagenic, has been rejected by the absence of a similar association between local recombination rate and nucleotide divergence between species. However, many recent studies show that recombination rates are often very different even in closely related species, questioning whether an association between recombination rate and divergence between species has been tested satisfactorily. To circumvent this problem, we directly surveyed recombination across approximately 43% of the D. pseudoobscura physical genome in two separate recombination maps and 31% of the D. miranda physical genome, and we identified both global and local differences in recombination rate between these two closely related species. Using only regions with conserved recombination rates between and within species and accounting for multiple covariates, our data support the conclusion that recombination is positively related to diversity because recombination modulates Hill–Robertson effects in the genome and not because recombination is predominately mutagenic. Finally, we find evidence for dips in diversity around nonsynonymous substitutions. We infer that at least some of this reduction in diversity resulted from selective sweeps and examine these dips in the context of recombination rate. PMID:23152720

  20. Investigation of Grid-connected Voltage Source Converter Performance under Unbalanced Faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jia, Jundi; Yang, Guangya; Nielsen, Arne Hejde

    2016-01-01

    Renewable energy sources (RES) and HVDC links are typically interfaced with the grid by power converters, whose performance during grid faults is significantly different from that of traditional synchronous generators. This paper investigates the performance of grid-connected voltage source...... that the performance of VSCs varies with their control strategies. Negative-sequence current control is necessary to restrict converter current in each phase under unbalanced faults. Among presented control strategies, the balanced current control strategy complies with the present voltage support requirement best...

  1. Analysis of Unbalanced Magnetic Pull in Wound Rotor Induction Machines using Finite Element Analysis – Transient, Motoring and Generating Modes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dorrell, David G.; Hermann, Alexander Niels August; Jensen, Bogi Bech

    2013-01-01

    eccentricity. The operating conditions are varied so that transient, motoring and doubly-fed induction generator modes are studied. This allows greater understanding of the radial forces involved. Wound rotor induction machines exhibit higher unbalanced magnetic pull than cage induction machines so......There has been much literature on unbalanced magnetic pull in various types of electrical machine. This can lead to bearing wear and additional vibrations in the machine. In this paper a wound rotor induction is studied. Finite element analysis studies are conducted when the rotor has 10 % rotor...

  2. Unbalanced Regressions and the Predictive Equation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Osterrieder, Daniela; Ventosa-Santaulària, Daniel; Vera-Valdés, J. Eduardo

    Predictive return regressions with persistent regressors are typically plagued by (asymptotically) biased/inconsistent estimates of the slope, non-standard or potentially even spurious statistical inference, and regression unbalancedness. We alleviate the problem of unbalancedness in the theoreti......Predictive return regressions with persistent regressors are typically plagued by (asymptotically) biased/inconsistent estimates of the slope, non-standard or potentially even spurious statistical inference, and regression unbalancedness. We alleviate the problem of unbalancedness...... in the theoretical predictive equation by suggesting a data generating process, where returns are generated as linear functions of a lagged latent I(0) risk process. The observed predictor is a function of this latent I(0) process, but it is corrupted by a fractionally integrated noise. Such a process may arise due...... to aggregation or unexpected level shifts. In this setup, the practitioner estimates a misspecified, unbalanced, and endogenous predictive regression. We show that the OLS estimate of this regression is inconsistent, but standard inference is possible. To obtain a consistent slope estimate, we then suggest...

  3. A set of 14 DIP-SNP markers to detect unbalanced DNA mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhizhen; Liu, Jinding; Wang, Jiaqi; Chen, Deqing; Liu, Zidong; Shi, Jie; Li, Zeqin; Li, Wenyan; Zhang, Gengqian; Du, Bing

    2018-03-04

    Unbalanced DNA mixture is still a difficult problem for forensic practice. DIP-STRs are useful markers for detection of minor DNA but they are not widespread in the human genome and having long amplicons. In this study, we proposed a novel type of genetic marker, termed DIP-SNP. DIP-SNP refers to the combination of INDEL and SNP in less than 300bp length of human genome. The multiplex PCR and SNaPshot assay were established for 14 DIP-SNP markers in a Chinese Han population from Shanxi, China. This novel compound marker allows detection of the minor DNA contributor with sensitivity from 1:50 to 1:1000 in a DNA mixture of any gender with 1 ng-10 ng DNA template. Most of the DIP-SNP markers had a relatively high probability of informative alleles with an average I value of 0.33. In all, we proposed DIP-SNP as a novel kind of genetic marker for detection of minor contributor from unbalanced DNA mixture and established the detection method by associating the multiplex PCR and SNaPshot assay. DIP-SNP polymorphisms are promising markers for forensic or clinical mixture examination because they are shorter, widespread and higher sensitive. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Recombinant expression systems: the obstacle to helminth vaccines?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geldhof, Peter; De Maere, Veerle; Vercruysse, Jozef; Claerebout, Edwin

    2007-11-01

    The need for alternative ways to control helminth parasites has in recent years led to a boost in vaccination experiments with recombinant antigens. Despite the use of different expression systems, only a few recombinants induced high levels of protection against helminths. This is often attributed to the limitations of the current expression systems. Therefore, the need for new systems that can modify and glycosylate the expressed antigens has been advocated. However, analysis of over 100 published vaccine trials with recombinant helminth antigens indicates that it is often not known whether the native parasite antigen itself can induce protection or, if it does, which epitopes are important. This information is vital for a well-thought-out strategy for recombinant production. So, in addition to testing more expression systems, it should be considered that prior evaluation and characterization of the native antigens might help the development of recombinant vaccines against helminths in the long term.

  5. Distributed Strategy for Optimal Dispatch of Unbalanced Three-Phase Islanded Microgrids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vergara Barrios, Pedro Pablo; Rey-López, Juan Manuel; Shaker, Hamid Reza

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a distributed strategy for the optimal dispatch of islanded microgrids, modeled as unbalanced three-phase electrical distribution systems (EDS). To set the dispatch of the distributed generation (DG) units, an optimal generation problem is stated and solved distributively based......-phase microgrid. According to the obtained results, the proposed strategy achieves a lower cost solution when compared with a centralized approach based on a static droop framework, with a considerable reduction on the communication system complexity. Additionally, it corrects the mismatch between generation...

  6. Spin dependent surface recombination in silicon p-n junctions: the effect of irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaplan, D [Laboratoire Central de Recherches, 91 - Corbeville par Orsay (France); Pepper, M [Cambridge Univ. (UK). Cavendish Lab.

    1980-06-01

    The results are presented of an investigation of spin dependent recombination in (100) oriented, gate controlled Si diodes irradiated by 30 keV electrons. After irradiation, recombination at the Si-SiO/sub 2/ interface is increased, and saturation of the spin resonance increases the diode forward current by 5 parts in 10/sup 4/. The results cannot be described by a conventional Shockley-Read recombination model. An alternative picture is proposed involving recombination between trapped electrons and trapped holes.

  7. Rapid generation of markerless recombinant MVA vaccines by en passant recombineering of a self-excising bacterial artificial chromosome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cottingham, Matthew G; Gilbert, Sarah C

    2010-09-01

    The non-replicating poxviral vector modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is currently a leading candidate for development of novel recombinant vaccines against globally important diseases. The 1980s technology for making recombinant MVA (and other poxviruses) is powerful and robust, but relies on rare recombination events in poxviral-infected cells. In the 21st century, it has become possible to apply bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technology to poxviruses, as first demonstrated by B. Moss' lab in 2002 for vaccinia virus. A similar BAC clone of MVA was subsequently derived, but while recombination-mediated genetic engineering for rapid production was used of deletion mutants, an alternative method was required for efficient insertion of transgenes. Furthermore "markerless" viruses, which carry no trace of the selectable marker used for their isolation, are increasingly required for clinical trials, and the viruses derived via the new method contained the BAC sequence in their genomic DNA. Two methods are adapted to MVA-BAC to provide more rapid generation of markerless recombinants in weeks rather than months. "En passant" recombineering is applied to the insertion of a transgene expression cassette and the removal of the selectable marker in bacteria; and a self-excising variant of MVA-BAC is constructed, in which the BAC cassette region is rapidly and efficiently lost from the viral genome following rescue of the BAC into infectious virus. These methods greatly facilitate and accelerate production of recombinant MVA, including markerless constructs. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Design and analysis of active power control strategies for distributed generation inverters under unbalanced grid faults

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, F.; Duarte, J.L.; Hendrix, M.A.M.

    2010-01-01

    Distributed power generation systems are expected to deliver active power into the grid and support it without interruption during unbalanced grid faults. Aiming to provide grid-interfacing inverters the flexibility to adapt to the coming change of grid requirements, an optimised active power

  9. Role of Wind Filtering and Unbalanced Flow Generation in Middle Atmosphere Gravity Wave Activity at Chatanika Alaska

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colin C. Triplett

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The meteorological control of gravity wave activity through filtering by winds and generation by spontaneous adjustment of unbalanced flows is investigated. This investigation is based on a new analysis of Rayleigh LiDAR measurements of gravity wave activity in the upper stratosphere-lower mesosphere (USLM,40–50kmon 152 nights at Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR, Chatanika, Alaska (65◦ N, 147◦ W, over 13 years between 1998 and 2014. The LiDAR measurements resolve inertia-gravity waves with observed periods between 1 h and 4 h and vertical wavelengths between 2 km and 10 km. The meteorological conditions are defined by reanalysis data from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA. The gravity wave activity shows large night-to-night variability, but a clear annual cycle with a maximum in winter,and systematic interannual variability associated with stratospheric sudden warming events. The USLM gravity wave activity is correlated with the MERRA winds and is controlled by the winds in the lower stratosphere through filtering by critical layer filtering. The USLM gravity wave activity is also correlated with MERRA unbalanced flow as characterized by the residual of the nonlinear balance equation. This correlation with unbalanced flow only appears when the wind conditions are taken into account, indicating that wind filtering is the primary control of the gravity wave activity.

  10. Three-Phase Unbalanced Load Flow Tool for Distribution Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demirok, Erhan; Kjær, Søren Bækhøj; Sera, Dezso

    2012-01-01

    This work develops a three-phase unbalanced load flow tool tailored for radial distribution networks based on Matlab®. The tool can be used to assess steady-state voltage variations, thermal limits of grid components and power losses in radial MV-LV networks with photovoltaic (PV) generators where...... most of the systems are single phase. New ancillary service such as static reactive power support by PV inverters can be also merged together with the load flow solution tool and thus, the impact of the various reactive power control strategies on the steady-state grid operation can be simply...... investigated. Performance of the load flow solution tool in the sense of resulting bus voltage magnitudes is compared and validated with IEEE 13-bus test feeder....

  11. An improved synchronous reference frame current control strategy for a photovoltaic grid-connected inverter under unbalanced and nonlinear load conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naderipour, Amirreza; Asuhaimi Mohd Zin, Abdullah; Bin Habibuddin, Mohd Hafiz; Miveh, Mohammad Reza; Guerrero, Josep M.

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, renewable energy sources have been considered the most encouraging resources for grid and off-grid power generation. This paper presents an improved current control strategy for a three-phase photovoltaic grid-connected inverter (GCI) under unbalanced and nonlinear load conditions. It is challenging to suppress the harmonic content in the output current below a pre-set value in the GCI. It is also difficult to compensate for unbalanced loads even when the grid is under disruption due to total harmonic distortion (THD) and unbalanced loads. The primary advantage and objective of this method is to effectively compensate for the harmonic current content of the grid current and microgrid without the use of any compensation devices, such as active and passive filters. This method leads to a very low THD in both the GCI currents and the current exchanged with the grid. The control approach is designed to control the active and reactive power and harmonic current compensation, and it also corrects the system unbalance. The proposed control method features the synchronous reference frame (SRF) method. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effective performance of the proposed method. PMID:28192436

  12. An improved synchronous reference frame current control strategy for a photovoltaic grid-connected inverter under unbalanced and nonlinear load conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naderipour, Amirreza; Asuhaimi Mohd Zin, Abdullah; Bin Habibuddin, Mohd Hafiz; Miveh, Mohammad Reza; Guerrero, Josep M

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, renewable energy sources have been considered the most encouraging resources for grid and off-grid power generation. This paper presents an improved current control strategy for a three-phase photovoltaic grid-connected inverter (GCI) under unbalanced and nonlinear load conditions. It is challenging to suppress the harmonic content in the output current below a pre-set value in the GCI. It is also difficult to compensate for unbalanced loads even when the grid is under disruption due to total harmonic distortion (THD) and unbalanced loads. The primary advantage and objective of this method is to effectively compensate for the harmonic current content of the grid current and microgrid without the use of any compensation devices, such as active and passive filters. This method leads to a very low THD in both the GCI currents and the current exchanged with the grid. The control approach is designed to control the active and reactive power and harmonic current compensation, and it also corrects the system unbalance. The proposed control method features the synchronous reference frame (SRF) method. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effective performance of the proposed method.

  13. Two siblings with alternate unbalanced recombinants derived from a large cryptic maternal pericentric inversion of chromosome 20.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Descipio, Cheryl; Morrissette, Jennifer D; Conlin, Laura K; Clark, Dinah; Kaur, Maninder; Coplan, James; Riethman, Harold; Spinner, Nancy B; Krantz, Ian D

    2010-02-01

    Two brothers, with dissimilar clinical features, were each found to have different abnormalities of chromosome 20 by subtelomere fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The proband had deletion of 20p subtelomere and duplication of 20q subtelomere, while his brother was found to have a duplication of 20p subtelomere and deletion of 20q subtelomere. Parental cytogenetic studies were initially thought to be normal, both by G-banding and by subtelomere FISH analysis. Since chromosome 20 is a metacentric chromosome and an inversion was suspected, we used anchored FISH to assist in identifying a possible inversion. This approach employed concomitant hybridization of a FISH probe to the short (p) arm of chromosome 20 with the 20q subtelomere probe. We identified a cytogenetically non-visible, mosaic pericentric inversion of one of the maternal chromosome 20 homologs, providing a mechanistic explanation for the chromosomal abnormalities present in these brothers. Array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) with both a custom-made BAC and cosmid-based subtelomere specific array (TEL array) and a commercially available SNP-based array confirmed and further characterized these rearrangements, identifying this as the largest pericentric inversion of chromosome 20 described to date. TEL array data indicate that the 20p breakpoint is defined by BAC RP11-978M13, approximately 900 kb from the pter; SNP array data reveal this breakpoint to occur within BAC RP11-978M13. The 20q breakpoint is defined by BAC RP11-93B14, approximately 1.7 Mb from the qter, by TEL array; SNP array data refine this breakpoint to within a gap between BACs on the TEL array (i.e., between RP11-93B14 and proximal BAC RP11-765G16). Copyright 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  14. Towards a time-domain modeling framework for small-signal analysis of unbalanced microgrids

    OpenAIRE

    Ojo, Y; Schiffer, JF

    2017-01-01

    Small-signal analysis is one of the most frequently used techniques to assess the operating conditions of power systems. Typically, this analysis is conducted by employing a phasor-based model of the power network derived under the assumption of balanced operating conditions. However, distribution networks and, amongst these, microgrids are often unbalanced. Hence, their analysis requires the development of tools and methods valid under such conditions. Motivated by this, we propose a modelin...

  15. Performance analysis of active damped small DC-link capacitor based drive for unbalanced input voltage supply

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maheshwari, Ram Krishan; Munk-Nielsen, Stig

    2011-01-01

    A small DC-link capacitor based drive is presented in this paper. The drive shows negative impedance instability at operating points with high power load. A phase portrait is presented for input filter states which exhibit a limit cycle. When the drive is operated with unbalanced input supply...

  16. Recombinant Protein Production and Insect Cell Culture and Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaulding, Glenn F. (Inventor); Goodwin, Thomas J. (Inventor); OConnor, Kim C. (Inventor); Francis, Karen M. (Inventor); Andrews, Angela D. (Inventor); Prewett, Tracey L. (Inventor)

    1997-01-01

    A process has been developed for recombinant production of selected polypeptides using transformed insect cells cultured in a horizontally rotating culture vessel modulated to create low shear conditions. A metabolically transformed insect cell line is produced using the culture procedure regardless of genetic transformation. The recombinant polypeptide can be produced by an alternative process using virtually infected or stably transformed insect cells containing a gene encoding the described polypeptide. The insect cells can also be a host for viral production.

  17. Manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graumann, Klaus; Premstaller, Andreas

    2006-02-01

    Recombinant therapeutic proteins have gained enormous importance for clinical applications. The first recombinant products have been produced in E. coli more than 20 years ago. Although with the advent of antibody-based therapeutics mammalian expression systems have experienced a major boost, microbial expression systems continue to be widely used in industry. Their intrinsic advantages, such as rapid growth, high yields and ease of manipulation, make them the premier choice for expression of non-glycosylated peptides and proteins. Innovative product classes such as antibody fragments or alternative binding molecules will further expand the use of microbial systems. Even more, novel, engineered production hosts and integrated technology platforms hold enormous potential for future applications. This review summarizes current applications and trends for development, production and analytical characterization of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems.

  18. Performance of unbalanced QPSK in the presence of noisy reference and crosstalk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Divsalar, D.; Yuen, J. H.

    1979-01-01

    The problem of transmitting two telemetry data streams having different rates and different powers using unbalanced quadriphase shift keying (UQPSK) signaling is considered. It is noted that the presence of a noisy carrier phase reference causes a degradation in detection performance in coherent communications systems and that imperfect carrier synchronization not only attenuates the main demodulated signal voltage in UQPSK but also produces interchannel interference (crosstalk) which degrades the performance still further. Exact analytical expressions for symbol error probability of UQPSK in the presence of noise phase reference are derived.

  19. Comparative study of niobium nitride coatings deposited by unbalanced and balanced magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olaya, J.J.; Rodil, S.E.; Muhl, S.

    2008-01-01

    Niobium nitride (NbN) coatings have many interesting properties such as chemical inertness, excellent mechanical properties, high electrical conductivity, high melting point, and a superconducting transition temperature between 16 and 17 K. For this reason, these compounds have many potential thin film applications. In this work we compare the properties of NbN x films deposited using well-characterized balanced and unbalanced magnetron sputtering systems. Samples of NbN were deposited in the two systems under almost identical deposition conditions, that is, the same substrate temperature, plasma power, gas pressure, substrate to target distance and Ar/N 2 ratio. Prior to the film preparation both the magnetic field geometry and the characteristics of the plasma were determined. The microstructure and composition of the deposits were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The corrosion resistance and the micro-abrasion wear resistance were measured by anodic polarization potentiodynamic studies and by ball cratering, respectively. The NbN films grown using the highly unbalanced magnetron configuration had a preferential (111) crystal orientation and a composite hardness of up to 2400 HV 0.025 . While the films deposited using the balanced magnetron had a mixed crystalline orientation and a hardness of 2000 HV 0.025 . The results demonstrate the strong effect of magnetic field configuration on the ion bombardment, and the resultant coating characteristics

  20. Comparative study of niobium nitride coatings deposited by unbalanced and balanced magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olaya, J.J. [Departamento de Ingenieria Mecanica y Mecatronica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota Colombia (Colombia); Rodil, S.E. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico D. F. 04510 (Mexico); Muhl, S. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico D. F. 04510 (Mexico)], E-mail: muhl@servidor.unam.mx

    2008-10-01

    Niobium nitride (NbN) coatings have many interesting properties such as chemical inertness, excellent mechanical properties, high electrical conductivity, high melting point, and a superconducting transition temperature between 16 and 17 K. For this reason, these compounds have many potential thin film applications. In this work we compare the properties of NbN{sub x} films deposited using well-characterized balanced and unbalanced magnetron sputtering systems. Samples of NbN were deposited in the two systems under almost identical deposition conditions, that is, the same substrate temperature, plasma power, gas pressure, substrate to target distance and Ar/N{sub 2} ratio. Prior to the film preparation both the magnetic field geometry and the characteristics of the plasma were determined. The microstructure and composition of the deposits were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The corrosion resistance and the micro-abrasion wear resistance were measured by anodic polarization potentiodynamic studies and by ball cratering, respectively. The NbN films grown using the highly unbalanced magnetron configuration had a preferential (111) crystal orientation and a composite hardness of up to 2400 HV{sub 0.025}. While the films deposited using the balanced magnetron had a mixed crystalline orientation and a hardness of 2000 HV{sub 0.025}. The results demonstrate the strong effect of magnetic field configuration on the ion bombardment, and the resultant coating characteristics.

  1. Why Do Sex Chromosomes Stop Recombining?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponnikas, Suvi; Sigeman, Hanna; Abbott, Jessica K; Hansson, Bengt

    2018-04-28

    It is commonly assumed that sex chromosomes evolve recombination suppression because selection favours linkage between sex-determining and sexually antagonistic genes. However, although the role of sexual antagonism during sex chromosome evolution has attained strong support from theory, experimental and observational evidence is rare or equivocal. Here, we highlight alternative, often neglected, hypotheses for recombination suppression on sex chromosomes, which invoke meiotic drive, heterozygote advantage, and genetic drift, respectively. We contrast the hypotheses, the situations when they are likely to be of importance, and outline why it is surprisingly difficult to test them. Lastly, we discuss future research directions (including modelling, population genomics, comparative approaches, and experiments) to disentangle the different hypotheses of sex chromosome evolution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Performance Evaluation of UPQC under Nonlinear Unbalanced Load Conditions Using Synchronous Reference Frame Based Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kota, Venkata Reddy; Vinnakoti, Sudheer

    2017-12-01

    Today, maintaining Power Quality (PQ) is very important in the growing competent world. With new equipments and devices, new challenges are also being put before power system operators. Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) is proposed to mitigate many power quality problems and to improve the performance of the power system. In this paper, an UPQC with Fuzzy Logic controller for capacitor voltage balancing is proposed in Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) based control with Modified Phased Locked Loop (MPLL). The proposed controller with SRF-MPLL based control is tested under non-linear and unbalanced load conditions. The system is developed in Matlab/Simulink and its performance is analyzed under various conditions like non-linear, unbalanced load and polluted supply voltage including voltage sag/swells. Active and reactive power flow in the system, power factor and %THD of voltages and currents before and after compensation are also analyzed in this work. Results prove the applicability of the proposed scheme for power quality improvement. It is observed that the fuzzy controller gives better performance than PI controller with faster capacitor voltage balancing and also improves the dynamic performance of the system.

  3. Alternatives to allogeneic platelet transfusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desborough, Michael J R; Smethurst, Peter A; Estcourt, Lise J; Stanworth, Simon J

    2016-11-01

    Allogeneic platelet transfusions are widely used for the prevention and treatment of bleeding in thrombocytopenia. Recent evidence suggests platelet transfusions have limited efficacy and are associated with uncertain immunomodulatory risks and concerns about viral or bacterial transmission. Alternatives to transfusion are a well-recognised tenet of Patient Blood Management, but there has been less focus on different strategies to reduce bleeding risk by comparison to platelet transfusion. Direct alternatives to platelet transfusion include agents to stimulate endogenous platelet production (thrombopoietin mimetics), optimising platelet adhesion to endothelium by treating anaemia or increasing von Willebrand factor levels (desmopressin), increasing formation of cross-linked fibrinogen (activated recombinant factor VII, fibrinogen concentrate or recombinant factor XIII), decreasing fibrinolysis (tranexamic acid or epsilon aminocaproic acid) or using artificial or modified platelets (cryopreserved platelets, lyophilised platelets, haemostatic particles, liposomes, engineered nanoparticles or infusible platelet membranes). The evidence base to support the use of these alternatives is variable, but an area of active research. Much of the current randomised controlled trial focus is on evaluation of the use of thrombopoietin mimetics and anti-fibrinolytics. It is also recognised that one alternative strategy to platelet transfusion is choosing not to transfuse at all. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Novel recombinant alphaviral and adenoviral vectors for cancer immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osada, Takuya; Morse, Michael A; Hobeika, Amy; Lyerly, H Kim

    2012-06-01

    Although cellular immunotherapy based on autolgous dendritic cells (DCs) targeting antigens expressed by metastatic cancer has demonstrated clinical efficacy, the logistical challenges in generating an individualized cell product create an imperative to develop alternatives to DC-based cancer vaccines. Particularly attractive alternatives include in situ delivery of antigen and activation signals to resident antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which can be achieved by novel fusion molecules targeting the mannose receptor and by recombinant viral vectors expressing the antigen of interest and capable of infecting DCs. A particular challenge in the use of viral vectors is the well-appreciated clinical obstacles to their efficacy, specifically vector-specific neutralizing immune responses. Because heterologous prime and boost strategies have been demonstrated to be particularly potent, we developed two novel recombinant vectors based on alphaviral replicon particles and a next-generation adenovirus encoding an antigen commonly overexpressed in many human cancers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The rationale for developing these vectors, their unique characteristics, the preclinical studies and early clinical experience with each, and opportunities to enhance their effectiveness will be reviewed. The potential of each of these potent recombinant vectors to efficiently generate clinically active anti-tumor immune response alone, or in combination, will be discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Intermolecular RNA Recombination Occurs at Different Frequencies in Alternate Forms of Brome Mosaic Virus RNA Replication Compartments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Positive-strand RNA viruses replicate their genomes in membrane-bound replication compartments. Brome mosaic virus (BMV replicates in vesicular invaginations of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. BMV has served as a productive model system to study processes like virus-host interactions, RNA replication and recombination. Here we present multiple lines of evidence showing that the structure of the viral RNA replication compartments plays a fundamental role and that recruitment of parental RNAs to a common replication compartment is a limiting step in intermolecular RNA recombination. We show that a previously defined requirement for an RNA recruitment element on both parental RNAs is not to function as a preferred crossover site, but in order for individual RNAs to be recruited into the replication compartments. Moreover, modulating the form of the replication compartments from spherular vesicles (spherules to more expansive membrane layers increased intermolecular RNA recombination frequency by 200- to 1000-fold. We propose that intermolecular RNA recombination requires parental RNAs to be recruited into replication compartments as monomers, and that recruitment of multiple RNAs into a contiguous space is much more common for layers than for spherules. These results could explain differences in recombination frequencies between viruses that replicate in association with smaller spherules versus larger double-membrane vesicles and convoluted membranes.

  6. Research on three-phase unbalanced distribution network reconfiguration strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Shuang; Li, Ke-Jun; Xu, Yanshun; Liu, Zhijie; Guo, Jing; Wang, Zhuodi

    2017-01-01

    With the development of social economy, the loads installed in the distribution network become more and more complex which may cause the three-phase unbalance problems. This paper proposes an optimal reconfiguration approach based on mixed integer quadric programming (MIQP) method to address the three-phase unbalance problem. It aims to minimize the total network losses of the system. By using several square constraints to substitute the circular constraint, the original optimization problem is linearized and converted into a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model. Then this MILP problem is solved in general algebraic model system (GAMS) software using CPLEX solver. The additional losses caused by three-phase unbalanced are also considered. An IEEE 34 nodes test system is used to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the losses and the voltage violation mitigation in the network can be reduced significantly.

  7. Power quality improvement of unbalanced power system with distributed generation units

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Y.; Chen, Zhe; Excell, P.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a power electronic system for improving the power quality of the unbalanced distributed generation units in three-phase four-wire system. In the system, small renewable power generation units, such as small PV generator, small wind turbines may be configured as single phase...... and control of the converter are described. Simulation results have demonstrated that the system can effectively correct the unbalance and enhance the system power quality....... generation units. The random nature of renewable power sources may result in significant unbalance in the power network and affect the power quality. An electronic converter system is proposed to correct the system unbalance and harmonics so as to deal with the power quality problems. The operation...

  8. Promotion of atomic hydrogen recombination as an alternative to electron trapping for the role of metals in the photocatalytic production of H2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joo, Ji Bong; Dillon, Robert; Lee, Ilkeun; Yin, Yadong; Bardeen, Christopher J; Zaera, Francisco

    2014-06-03

    The production of hydrogen from water with semiconductor photocatalysts can be promoted by adding small amounts of metals to their surfaces. The resulting enhancement in photocatalytic activity is commonly attributed to a fast transfer of the excited electrons generated by photon absorption from the semiconductor to the metal, a step that prevents deexcitation back to the ground electronic state. Here we provide experimental evidence that suggests an alternative pathway that does not involve electron transfer to the metal but requires it to act as a catalyst for the recombination of the hydrogen atoms made via the reduction of protons on the surface of the semiconductor instead.

  9. Recurrence, submicroscopic complexity, and potential clinical relevance of copy gains detected by array CGH that are shown to be unbalanced insertions by FISH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neill, Nicholas J; Ballif, Blake C; Lamb, Allen N; Parikh, Sumit; Ravnan, J Britt; Schultz, Roger A; Torchia, Beth S; Rosenfeld, Jill A; Shaffer, Lisa G

    2011-04-01

    Insertions occur when a segment of one chromosome is translocated and inserted into a new region of the same chromosome or a non-homologous chromosome. We report 71 cases with unbalanced insertions identified using array CGH and FISH in 4909 cases referred to our laboratory for array CGH and found to have copy-number abnormalities. Although the majority of insertions were non-recurrent, several recurrent unbalanced insertions were detected, including three der(Y)ins(Y;18)(q?11.2;p11.32p11.32)pat inherited from parents carrying an unbalanced insertion. The clinical significance of these recurrent rearrangements is unclear, although the small size, limited gene content, and inheritance pattern of each suggests that the phenotypic consequences may be benign. Cryptic, submicroscopic duplications were observed at or near the insertion sites in two patients, further confounding the clinical interpretation of these insertions. Using FISH, linear amplification, and array CGH, we identified a 126-kb duplicated region from 19p13.3 inserted into MECP2 at Xq28 in a patient with symptoms of Rett syndrome. Our results demonstrate that although the interpretation of most non-recurrent insertions is unclear without high-resolution insertion site characterization, the potential for an otherwise benign duplication to result in a clinically relevant outcome through the disruption of a gene necessitates the use of FISH to determine whether copy-number gains detected by array CGH represent tandem duplications or unbalanced insertions. Further follow-up testing using techniques such as linear amplification or sequencing should be used to determine gene involvement at the insertion site after FISH has identified the presence of an insertion.

  10. Speed Control of Matrix Converter-Fed Five-Phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors under Unbalanced Voltages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borzou Yousefi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Five-phase permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM have special applications in which highly accurate speed and torque control of the motor are a strong requirement. Direct Torque Control (DTC is a suitable method for the driver structure of these motors. If in this method, instead of using a common five-phase voltage source inverter, a three-phase to five-phase matrix converter is used, the low-frequency current harmonics and the high torque ripple are limited, and an improved input power factor is obtained. Because the input voltages of such converters are directly supplied by input three-phase supply voltages, an imbalance in the voltages will cause problems such as unbalanced stator currents and electromagnetic torque fluctuations. In this paper, a new method is introduced to remove speed and torque oscillator factors. For this purpose, motor torque equations were developed and the oscillation components created by the unbalanced source voltage, determined. Then, using the active and reactive power reference generator, the controller power reference was adjusted in such a way that the electromagnetic torque of the motor did not change. By this means, a number of features including speed, torque, and flux of the motor were improved in terms of the above-mentioned conditions. Simulations were analyzed using Matlab/Simulink software.

  11. Harmonic Injection-Based Power Fluctuation Control of Three-Phase PV Systems under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nian-Cheng Zhou

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Unbalanced voltage will inevitably cause power and DC voltage fluctuations in a three-phase PV system. The deterioration of power quality will do great harm to the PV panels and the loads, so it is necessary to suppress the power fluctuations. This paper further explores the coefficients control strategy of PV converters under unbalanced voltage conditions, aiming to suppress power fluctuations by controlling the injection of some specific orders of current harmonics into the grid. In order to achieve this, the current reference of the PV inverter has been changed by bringing in two control coefficients, and the expression of each order of the current harmonics has been deduced. Based on the standards of PV systems, the regions from which the coefficients can be selected are determined. Then, by tuning these coefficients in the feasible regions, the output parameters (power fluctuation, current THD and odd harmonics can be controlled precisely. The model of this method is built and simulated in PSCAD/EMTDC, and as a result, it is shown that the power fluctuations can be restricted according to different power quality requirements.

  12. Insect Larvae: A New Platform to Produce Commercial Recombinant Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Targovnik, Alexandra M; Arregui, Mariana B; Bracco, Lautaro F; Urtasun, Nicolas; Baieli, Maria F; Segura, Maria M; Simonella, Maria A; Fogar, Mariela; Wolman, Federico J; Cascone, Osvaldo; Miranda, Maria V

    2016-01-01

    In Biotechnology, the expression of recombinant proteins is a constantly growing field and different hosts are used for this purpose. Some valuable proteins cannot be produced using traditional systems. Insects from the order Lepidoptera infected with recombinant baculovirus have appeared as a good choice to express high levels of proteins, especially those with post-translational modifications. Lepidopteran insects, which are extensively distributed in the world, can be used as small protein factories, the new biofactories. Species like Bombyx mori (silkworm) have been analyzed in Asian countries to produce a great number of recombinant proteins for use in basic and applied science and industry. Many proteins expressed in this larva have been commercialized. Several recombinant proteins produced in silkworms have already been commercialized. On the other hand, species like Spodoptera frugiperda, Heliothis virescens, Rachiplusia nu, Helicoverpa zea and Trichoplusia ni are widely distributed in both the occidental world and Europe. The expression of recombinant proteins in larvae has the advantage of its low cost in comparison with insect cell cultures. A wide variety of recombinant proteins, including enzymes, hormones and vaccines, have been efficiently expressed with intact biological activity. The expression of pharmaceutically proteins, using insect larvae or cocoons, has become very attractive. This review describes the use of insect larvae as an alternative to produce commercial recombinant proteins.

  13. Recombinant Programming

    OpenAIRE

    Pawlak , Renaud; Cuesta , Carlos; Younessi , Houman

    2004-01-01

    This research report presents a promising new approach to computation called Recombinant Programming. The novelty of our approach is that it separates the program into two layers of computation: the recombination and the interpretation layer. The recombination layer takes sequences as inputs and allows the programmer to recombine these sequences through the definition of cohesive code units called extensions. The output of such recombination is a mesh that can be used by the interpretation la...

  14. Assumption or Fact? Line-to-Neutral Voltage Expression in an Unbalanced 3-Phase Circuit during Inverter Switching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masrur, M. A.

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses the situation in a 3-phase motor or any other 3-phase system operating under unbalanced operating conditions caused by an open fault in an inverter switch. A dc voltage source is assumed as the input to the inverter, and under faulty conditions of the inverter switch, the actual voltage applied between the line to neutral…

  15. Analysis of hourly crash likelihood using unbalanced panel data mixed logit model and real-time driving environmental big data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Feng; Chen, Suren; Ma, Xiaoxiang

    2018-06-01

    Driving environment, including road surface conditions and traffic states, often changes over time and influences crash probability considerably. It becomes stretched for traditional crash frequency models developed in large temporal scales to capture the time-varying characteristics of these factors, which may cause substantial loss of critical driving environmental information on crash prediction. Crash prediction models with refined temporal data (hourly records) are developed to characterize the time-varying nature of these contributing factors. Unbalanced panel data mixed logit models are developed to analyze hourly crash likelihood of highway segments. The refined temporal driving environmental data, including road surface and traffic condition, obtained from the Road Weather Information System (RWIS), are incorporated into the models. Model estimation results indicate that the traffic speed, traffic volume, curvature and chemically wet road surface indicator are better modeled as random parameters. The estimation results of the mixed logit models based on unbalanced panel data show that there are a number of factors related to crash likelihood on I-25. Specifically, weekend indicator, November indicator, low speed limit and long remaining service life of rutting indicator are found to increase crash likelihood, while 5-am indicator and number of merging ramps per lane per mile are found to decrease crash likelihood. The study underscores and confirms the unique and significant impacts on crash imposed by the real-time weather, road surface, and traffic conditions. With the unbalanced panel data structure, the rich information from real-time driving environmental big data can be well incorporated. Copyright © 2018 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Control of Active Front-End Rectifier in Electric Drive under Unbalanced Voltage Supply in Transient States

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chomát, Miroslav; Schreier, Luděk; Bendl, Jiří

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 88, 1A (2012), s. 177-180 ISSN 0033-2097 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA102/09/1273 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20570509 Keywords : unbalanced voltage supply * DC-link voltage pulsations * pulse-width modulation Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 0.244, year: 2011 http://www.red.pe.org.pl/abstract_pl.php?nid=5479

  17. Effect of unbalanced voltage on windings temperature, operational life and load carrying capacity of induction machine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gnacinski, P. [Gdynia Maritime University, Department of Ship Electrical Power Engineering, Morska Street 83, 81-225 Gdynia (Poland)

    2008-04-15

    This paper investigates the influence of the CVUF angle on the windings temperature rise and the derating factor of an induction machine supplied with unbalanced voltage. The effect of simultaneous voltage unbalance and harmonics on its operational life is analyzed as well. The results of calculations and experimental investigations are presented for two induction cage machines of rated power 3 and 5.5 kW. (author)

  18. A Modular Cascaded Multilevel Inverter Based Shunt Hybrid Active Power Filter for Selective Harmonic and Reactive Power Compensation Under Distorted/Unbalanced Grid Voltage Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Demirdelen

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, shunt hybrid active power filters are being increasingly considered as a viable alternative to both passive filters and active power filters for compensating harmonics. In literature, their applications are restricted to balanced systems and low voltage applications and therefore not for industrial applications. This paper investigates the performance of a modular cascaded multilevel inverter based Shunt Hybrid Active Power Filter (SHAPF for reactive power compensation and selective harmonics elimination under distorted/unbalanced grid voltage conditions in medium voltage levels. In the proposed control method, reactive power compensation is achieved successfully with a perceptible amount and the performance results of harmonic compensation are satisfactory. Theoretical analysis and simulation results are obtained from an actual industrial network model in PSCAD. The simulation results are presented for a proposed system in order to demonstrate that the harmonic compensation performance meets the IEEE-519 standard.

  19. No Evidence that Infection Alters Global Recombination Rate in House Mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beth L Dumont

    Full Text Available Recombination rate is a complex trait, with genetic and environmental factors shaping observed patterns of variation. Although recent studies have begun to unravel the genetic basis of recombination rate differences between organisms, less attention has focused on the environmental determinants of crossover rates. Here, we test the effect of one ubiquitous environmental pressure-bacterial infection-on global recombination frequency in mammals. We applied MLH1 mapping to assay global crossover rates in male mice infected with the pathogenic bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme Disease, and uninfected control animals. Despite ample statistical power to identify biologically relevant differences between infected and uninfected animals, we find no evidence for a global recombination rate response to bacterial infection. Moreover, broad-scale patterns of crossover distribution, including the number of achiasmate bivalents, are not affected by infection status. Although pathogen exposure can plastically increase recombination in some species, our findings suggest that recombination rates in house mice may be resilient to at least some forms of infection stress. This negative result motivates future experiments with alternative house mouse pathogens to evaluate the generality of this conclusion.

  20. Performance Improvement of DFIG Wind Turbine Using Series Grid-Side Converter under Unbalanced Grid Voltage and Voltage Sag Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shokri, Yunes; Ebrahimzadeh, Esmaeil; Lesani, Hamid

    2014-01-01

    under unbalanced grid voltage and small voltage sag conditions without needing additional DC link capacitor or energy storage unlike other methods. The control system includes negative and positive sequence controllers which make the stator voltage balanced and keep it constant at the nominal value...

  1. Recombiner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kikuchi, Nobuo.

    1983-01-01

    Purpose: To shorten the pre-heating time for a recombiner and obtain a uniform temperature distribution for the charged catalyst layer in a BWR type reactor. Constitution: A pre-heating heater is disposed to the outer periphery of a vessel for a recombiner packed with catalysts for recombining hydrogen and oxygen in gases flowing through a radioactive gaseous wastes processing system. Heat pipes for transmitting the heat applied to said container to the catalyst are disposed vertically and horizontally within the container. Different length of the heat pipes are combined. In this way, pre-heating time for the recombiner before the operation start and before the system switching can be shortened and the uniform pre-heating for the inside of the recombiner is also made possible. Further, heater control in the pre-heating can be carried out effectively and with ease. (Moriyama, K.)

  2. Visualization in mechanics: the dynamics of an unbalanced roller

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cumber, Peter S.

    2017-04-01

    It is well known that mechanical engineering students often find mechanics a difficult area to grasp. This article describes a system of equations describing the motion of a balanced and an unbalanced roller constrained by a pivot arm. A wide range of dynamics can be simulated with the model. The equations of motion are embedded in a graphical user interface for its numerical solution in MATLAB. This allows a student's focus to be on the influence of different parameters on the system dynamics. The simulation tool can be used as a dynamics demonstrator in a lecture or as an educational tool driven by the imagination of the student. By way of demonstration the simulation tool has been applied to a range of roller-pivot arm configurations. In addition, approximations to the equations of motion are explored and a second-order model is shown to be accurate for a limited range of parameters.

  3. Frequent sgRNA-barcode recombination in single-cell perturbation assays.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiqi Xie

    Full Text Available Simultaneously detecting CRISPR-based perturbations and induced transcriptional changes in the same cell is a powerful approach to unraveling genome function. Several lentiviral approaches have been developed, some of which rely on the detection of distally located genetic barcodes as an indirect proxy of sgRNA identity. Since barcodes are often several kilobases from their corresponding sgRNAs, viral recombination-mediated swapping of barcodes and sgRNAs is feasible. Using a self-circularization-based sgRNA-barcode library preparation protocol, we estimate the recombination rate to be ~50% and we trace this phenomenon to the pooled viral packaging step. Recombination is random, and decreases the signal-to-noise ratio of the assay. Our results suggest that alternative approaches can increase the throughput and sensitivity of single-cell perturbation assays.

  4. Recombinant lactic acid bacteria as delivery vectors of heterologous antigens: the future of vaccination?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trombert, A

    2015-01-01

    Lactic acid bacteria (LABs) are good candidates for the development of new oral vaccines and are attractive alternatives to attenuated pathogens. This review focuses on the use of wild-type and recombinant lactococci and lactobacilli with emphasis on their molecular design, immunomodulation and treatment of bacterial infections. The majority of studies related to recombinant LABs have focused on Lactococcus lactis, however, molecular tools have been successfully used for Lactobacillus spp. Recombinant lactobacilli and lactococci have several health benefits, such as immunomodulation, restoration of the microbiota, synthesis of antimicrobial substances and inhibition of virulence factors. In addition, protective immune responses that are well tolerated are induced by the expression of heterologous antigens from recombinant probiotics.

  5. High-efficiency interaction-free measurement with an unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Liu; Jinhong, Liu; Junxiang, Zhang; Shiyao, Zhu

    2018-06-01

    The presence of an object can be detected without the absorption of photons in an interaction-free measurement (IFM) system based on the Zeno effect in chained Mach–Zehnder interferometers (MZIs). In this paper, we propose a scheme with an unbalanced MZI to perform the transmission of two frequency components of input light simultaneously. The two components are separated at two output ports of the MZI, achieving a high probability of asserting the absence of the object. The two final outputs of the MZI can also be extended to perform special information processing via IFM. As a result, this proposal contributes to the improvement of efficiency in interaction-free measurements with a very small number of interferometers for potential practical implementations of quantum information technology.

  6. A case of an atypically large proximal 15q deletion as cause for Prader-Willi syndrome arising from a de novo unbalanced translocation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, Scott E; Thrush, Devon Lamb; Walters-Sen, Lauren; Reshmi, Shalini C; Astbury, Caroline; Gastier-Foster, Julie M; Atkin, Joan

    2013-09-01

    We describe an 11 month old female with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) resulting from an atypically large deletion of proximal 15q due to a de novo 3;15 unbalanced translocation. The 10.6 Mb deletion extends from the chromosome 15 short arm and is not situated in a region previously reported as a common distal breakpoint for unbalanced translocations. There was no deletion of the reciprocal chromosome 3q subtelomeric region detected by either chromosomal microarray or FISH. The patient has hypotonia, failure to thrive, and typical dysmorphic facial features for PWS. The patient also has profound global developmental delay consistent with an expanded, more severe, phenotype. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  7. Recombining overlapping BACs into a single larger BAC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huxley Clare

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background BAC clones containing entire mammalian genes including all the transcribed region and long range controlling elements are very useful for functional analysis. Sequenced BACs are available for most of the human and mouse genomes and in many cases these contain intact genes. However, large genes often span more than one BAC, and single BACs covering the entire region of interest are not available. Here we describe a system for linking two or more overlapping BACs into a single clone by homologous recombination. Results The method was used to link a 61-kb insert carrying the final 5 exons of the human CFTR gene onto a 160-kb BAC carrying the first 22 exons. Two rounds of homologous recombination were carried out in the EL350 strain of bacteria which can be induced for the Red genes. In the first round, the inserts of the two overlapping BACs were subcloned into modified BAC vectors using homologous recombination. In the second round, the BAC to be added was linearised with the very rare-cutting enzyme I-PpoI and electroporated into recombination efficient EL350 bacteria carrying the other BAC. Recombined BACs were identified by antibiotic selection and PCR screening and 10% of clones contained the correctly recombined 220-kb BAC. Conclusion The system can be used to link the inserts from any overlapping BAC or PAC clones. The original orientation of the inserts is not important and desired regions of the inserts can be selected. The size limit for the fragments recombined may be larger than the 61 kb used here and multiple BACs in a contig could be combined by alternating use of the two pBACLink vectors. This system should be of use to many investigators wishing to carry out functional analysis on large mammalian genes which are not available in single BAC clones.

  8. Grid Voltage Modulated Control of Grid-Connected Voltage Source Inverters under Unbalanced Grid Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Mingshen; Gui, Yonghao; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, an improved grid voltage modulated control (GVM) with power compensation is proposed for grid-connected voltage inverters when the grid voltage is unbalanced. The objective of the proposed control is to remove the power ripple and to improve current quality. Three power compensation...... objectives are selected to eliminate the negative sequence components of currents. The modified GVM method is designed to obtain two separate second-order systems for not only the fast convergence rate of the instantaneous active and reactive powers but also the robust performance. In addition, this method...

  9. DC-link voltage oscillations reduction during unbalanced grid faults for high power wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Delpino, Hernan Anres Miranda; Teodorescu, Remus; Rodriguez, Pedro

    2011-01-01

    During unbalanced grid voltage faults the Power injected to the grid experiences 100Hz oscillations as a result of interactions between positive and negative sequence components of three-phase voltages and currents. These oscillations can become as high as %50 percent of the rated power....... In this article an improved controller is proposed which present different behavior during normal operation and faults to keep track of non-sinusoidal current reference signals. The reference signals are calculated to obtain zero power oscillations. Reconfigurable resonant controllers are used for this purpose...

  10. Yeast synthetic biology for the production of recombinant therapeutic proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyunah; Yoo, Su Jin; Kang, Hyun Ah

    2015-02-01

    The production of recombinant therapeutic proteins is one of the fast-growing areas of molecular medicine and currently plays an important role in treatment of several diseases. Yeasts are unicellular eukaryotic microbial host cells that offer unique advantages in producing biopharmaceutical proteins. Yeasts are capable of robust growth on simple media, readily accommodate genetic modifications, and incorporate typical eukaryotic post-translational modifications. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a traditional baker's yeast that has been used as a major host for the production of biopharmaceuticals; however, several nonconventional yeast species including Hansenula polymorpha, Pichia pastoris, and Yarrowia lipolytica have gained increasing attention as alternative hosts for the industrial production of recombinant proteins. In this review, we address the established and emerging genetic tools and host strains suitable for recombinant protein production in various yeast expression systems, particularly focusing on current efforts toward synthetic biology approaches in developing yeast cell factories for the production of therapeutic recombinant proteins. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.

  11. Harmonic Distortion Performance of Multi Three-Phase SCR-Fed Drive Systems with Controlled DC-Link Current under Unbalanced Grid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soltani, Hamid; Davari, Pooya; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2017-01-01

    . In this paper, the main aim is to analyze the effects of the grid unbalanced voltage on the multi-unit three-phase ASDs with the Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR)-fed front-end rectifiers, where the DC-link current is controlled utilizing an Electronic Inductor (EI) technique. In this respect, the main...

  12. Recombinant egg drop syndrome subunit vaccine offers an alternative to virus propagation in duck eggs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutter, B; Fingerut, E; Gallili, G; Eliahu, D; Perelman, B; Finger, A; Pitcovski, J

    2008-02-01

    Egg drop syndrome (EDS) virus vaccines are routinely produced in embryonated duck eggs (Solyom et al., 1982). This procedure poses the risk of dissemination of pathogens, such as avian influenza virus, as the eggs used are not from specific pathogen free birds. To address this problem, the knob and part of the shaft domain of the fibre protein of the EDS virus (termed knob-s) were expressed in Escherichia coli and assessed as a subunit vaccine. A single vaccination with the recombinant protein induced the production of anti-EDS virus antibodies, as detected by haemagglutination inhibition, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and virus neutralization tests, for at least 20 weeks. A positive correlation was demonstrated between these three assays. A dose-response assessment showed that the vaccine was effective over the range of 2 to 64 microg protein per dose. Two vaccinations with the recombinant protein, administered before the onset of lay, induced high haemagglutination inhibition antibody titres, comparable with those induced by an inactivated whole-virus vaccine. The vaccine did not have any adverse effects on egg production, quality or weight. The present study has shown that two vaccinations with the recombinant knob-s protein elicited high neutralizing antibody titres that persisted for more than 50 weeks of lay.

  13. Recombination-dependent replication and gene conversion homogenize repeat sequences and diversify plastid genome structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruhlman, Tracey A; Zhang, Jin; Blazier, John C; Sabir, Jamal S M; Jansen, Robert K

    2017-04-01

    There is a misinterpretation in the literature regarding the variable orientation of the small single copy region of plastid genomes (plastomes). The common phenomenon of small and large single copy inversion, hypothesized to occur through intramolecular recombination between inverted repeats (IR) in a circular, single unit-genome, in fact, more likely occurs through recombination-dependent replication (RDR) of linear plastome templates. If RDR can be primed through both intra- and intermolecular recombination, then this mechanism could not only create inversion isomers of so-called single copy regions, but also an array of alternative sequence arrangements. We used Illumina paired-end and PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequences to characterize repeat structure in the plastome of Monsonia emarginata (Geraniaceae). We used OrgConv and inspected nucleotide alignments to infer ancestral nucleotides and identify gene conversion among repeats and mapped long (>1 kb) SMRT reads against the unit-genome assembly to identify alternative sequence arrangements. Although M. emarginata lacks the canonical IR, we found that large repeats (>1 kilobase; kb) represent ∼22% of the plastome nucleotide content. Among the largest repeats (>2 kb), we identified GC-biased gene conversion and mapping filtered, long SMRT reads to the M. emarginata unit-genome assembly revealed alternative, substoichiometric sequence arrangements. We offer a model based on RDR and gene conversion between long repeated sequences in the M. emarginata plastome and provide support that both intra-and intermolecular recombination between large repeats, particularly in repeat-rich plastomes, varies unit-genome structure while homogenizing the nucleotide sequence of repeats. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

  14. Frequency Noise Suppression of a Single Mode Laser with an Unbalanced Fiber Interferometer for Subnanometer Interferometry

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šmíd, Radek; Čížek, Martin; Mikel, Břetislav; Číp, Ondřej

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 15, č. 1 (2015), s. 1342-1355 ISSN 1424-8220 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GPP102/12/P962; GA ČR GAP102/10/1813; GA TA ČR TA01010995; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : unbalanced interferometer * fiber spool * PI control * frequency noise Subject RIV: BH - Optics , Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 2.033, year: 2015

  15. Photoionization and Recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nahar, Sultana N.

    2000-01-01

    Theoretically self-consistent calculations for photoionization and (e + ion) recombination are described. The same eigenfunction expansion for the ion is employed in coupled channel calculations for both processes, thus ensuring consistency between cross sections and rates. The theoretical treatment of (e + ion) recombination subsumes both the non-resonant recombination ("radiative recombination"), and the resonant recombination ("di-electronic recombination") processes in a unified scheme. In addition to the total, unified recombination rates, level-specific recombination rates and photoionization cross sections are obtained for a large number of atomic levels. Both relativistic Breit-Pauli, and non-relativistic LS coupling, calculations are carried out in the close coupling approximation using the R-matrix method. Although the calculations are computationally intensive, they yield nearly all photoionization and recombination parameters needed for astrophysical photoionization models with higher precision than hitherto possible, estimated at about 10-20% from comparison with experimentally available data (including experimentally derived DR rates). Results are electronically available for over 40 atoms and ions. Photoionization and recombination of He-, and Li-like C and Fe are described for X-ray modeling. The unified method yields total and complete (e+ion) recombination rate coefficients, that can not otherwise be obtained theoretically or experimentally.

  16. Control Method for DC-Link Voltage Ripple Cancellation in Voltage Source Inverter under Unbalanced Three-Phase Voltage Supply Conditions

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chomát, Miroslav; Schreier, Luděk

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 152, č. 3 (2005), s. 494-500 ISSN 1350-2352 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA102/02/0554 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20570509 Keywords : DC-link voltage * unbalanced three-phase voltage Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 0.587, year: 2005

  17. Experimental verification and analytical calculation of unbalanced magnetic force in permanent magnet machines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyung-Hun Shin

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In this study, an exact analytical solution based on Fourier analysis is proposed to compute the unbalanced magnetic force in a permanent magnet machine. The magnetic field solutions are obtained by using a magnetic vector potential and by selecting the appropriate boundary conditions. Based on these field solutions, the force characteristics are also determined analytically. All analytical results were extensively validated with nonlinear two-dimensional finite element analysis and experimental results. Using proposed method, we investigated the influence on the UMF according to machine parameters. Therefore, the proposed method should be very useful in initial design and optimization process of PM machines for UMF analysis.

  18. Superconducting niobium nitride films deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olaya, J.J. [Departamento de Ingenieria Mecanica y Mecatronica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Ciudad Universitaria, Carrera 30 Numero 45-03, Bogota (Colombia); Huerta, L. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, CU Coyoacan, Mexico D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Rodil, S.E. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, CU Coyoacan, Mexico D.F. 04510 (Mexico)], E-mail: ser42@iim.unam.mx; Escamilla, R. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, CU Coyoacan, Mexico D.F. 04510 (Mexico)

    2008-10-01

    Niobium nitride (NbN) thin films were deposited under different configurations of the magnetic field using a magnetron sputtering system. The magnetic field configuration varied from balanced to unbalanced leading to different growth conditions and film properties. The aim of the paper was to identify correlations between deposition conditions, film properties and the electrical properties, specially the superconductive critical temperature (T{sub C}). The results suggested that there is a critical deposition condition, having an optimum ion-atom arrival ratio that promotes a well ordered and textured nanocrystalline structure (cubic phase) with the minimum residual stress and only under this condition a high critical temperature (16K) was obtained. Lower T{sub C} values around 12K were obtained for the NbN samples having a lower degree of structural perfection and texture, and a larger fraction of intergranular voids. On the other hand, analysis of valence-band spectra showed that the contribution of the Nb 4d states remained essentially constant while the higher T{sub C} was correlated to a higher contribution of the N 2p states.

  19. Superconducting niobium nitride films deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olaya, J.J.; Huerta, L.; Rodil, S.E.; Escamilla, R.

    2008-01-01

    Niobium nitride (NbN) thin films were deposited under different configurations of the magnetic field using a magnetron sputtering system. The magnetic field configuration varied from balanced to unbalanced leading to different growth conditions and film properties. The aim of the paper was to identify correlations between deposition conditions, film properties and the electrical properties, specially the superconductive critical temperature (T C ). The results suggested that there is a critical deposition condition, having an optimum ion-atom arrival ratio that promotes a well ordered and textured nanocrystalline structure (cubic phase) with the minimum residual stress and only under this condition a high critical temperature (16K) was obtained. Lower T C values around 12K were obtained for the NbN samples having a lower degree of structural perfection and texture, and a larger fraction of intergranular voids. On the other hand, analysis of valence-band spectra showed that the contribution of the Nb 4d states remained essentially constant while the higher T C was correlated to a higher contribution of the N 2p states

  20. Secondary wavelength stabilization of unbalanced Michelson interferometers for the generation of low-jitter pulse trains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shalloo, R J; Corner, L

    2016-09-01

    We present a double unbalanced Michelson interferometer producing up to four output pulses from a single input pulse. The interferometer is stabilized with the Hänsch-Couillaud method using an auxiliary low power continuous wave laser injected into the interferometer, allowing the stabilization of the temporal jitter of the output pulses to 0.02 fs. Such stabilized pulse trains would be suitable for driving multi-pulse laser wakefield accelerators, and the technique could be extended to include amplification in the arms of the interferometer.

  1. New recombinants within the MHC (B-complex) of the chicken

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, C; Skjødt, K; Toivanen, A

    1983-01-01

    In a search for genetic recombinations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the chicken, the B-complex, the offspring from matings between heterozygous B15/B21 and B4/B6 animals were analysed by red cell agglutination. Among the progeny, 8,912 informative typings were performed...... followed B-F/B-L. The mapping distance between the two loci B-F and B-G is in the range of 0.04 centimorgan. The lack of recombinants separating individual B-F loci in this study and in the studies of others might indicate that chicken MHC is less complex than those of mammalian species, but alternative...

  2. Targeted in vivo inhibition of specific protein-protein interactions using recombinant antibodies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matej Zábrady

    Full Text Available With the growing availability of genomic sequence information, there is an increasing need for gene function analysis. Antibody-mediated "silencing" represents an intriguing alternative for the precise inhibition of a particular function of biomolecules. Here, we describe a method for selecting recombinant antibodies with a specific purpose in mind, which is to inhibit intrinsic protein-protein interactions in the cytosol of plant cells. Experimental procedures were designed for conveniently evaluating desired properties of recombinant antibodies in consecutive steps. Our selection method was successfully used to develop a recombinant antibody inhibiting the interaction of ARABIDOPSIS HISTIDINE PHOSPHOTRANSFER PROTEIN 3 with such of its upstream interaction partners as the receiver domain of CYTOKININ INDEPENDENT HISTIDINE KINASE 1. The specific down-regulation of the cytokinin signaling pathway in vivo demonstrates the validity of our approach. This selection method can serve as a prototype for developing unique recombinant antibodies able to interfere with virtually any biomolecule in the living cell.

  3. New control strategy of stand-alone brushless doubly-fed induction generator for supplying unbalanced loads in ship shaft power generation system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Yi; Xu, Wei; Xiong, Fei

    2017-01-01

    The ship shaft power generation system based on a stand-alone brushless doubly-fed induction generator (BDFIG) have demonstrated excellent saving-energy performance. This paper presents a new control scheme of the stand-alone BDFIG for supplying unbalanced loads in the ship shaft power generation...

  4. Integral Plus Resonant Sliding Mode Direct Power Control for VSC-HVDC Systems under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weipeng Yang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available An integral plus resonant sliding mode direct power control (IRSMC DPC strategy for voltage source converter high voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC systems under unbalanced grid voltage conditions is proposed in this paper. Through detailed instantaneous power flow analysis, a generalized power compensation method, by which the ratio between the amplitude of active and reactive power ripples can be controlled continuously, is obtained. This enables the system to provide flexible power control, so that the desired performance of the system on both the ac and dc sides can be attained under different operating conditions. When the grid voltage is unbalanced, one or both of the active and reactive power terms contain ripples, oscillating at twice the grid frequency, to obtain non-distorted ac current. A power controller consisting of the proportional, integral and resonant control laws is designed using the sliding mode control approach, to achieve accurate power control objective. Simulation studies on a two-terminal VSC-HVDC system using MATLAB/SIMULINK (R2013b, Mathworks, Natick, MA, USA are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the IRSMC DPC strategy. The results show that this strategy ensures satisfactory performance of the system over a wide range of operating conditions.

  5. Power Quality Assessment in Real Shipboard Microgrid Systems under Unbalanced and Harmonic AC Bus Voltage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Wenzhao; Tarasiuk, Tomasz; Gorniak, Mariusz

    2018-01-01

    were proposed and carried out in a real ship under sea-going conditions to address this problem. The ship experimental results were presented and discussed considering non-linear bow thruster load and high power ballast pump loads under unbalanced and harmonic voltage conditions. In addition......, the analysis of voltage transient dips during ballast pump starting up is presented. Further, the voltage/current distortions of working generator, bow thruster and pump loads are analyzed. The paper provides a valuable analysis for coping with PQ issues in the real ship power system....

  6. Expression and the antigenicity of recombinant coat proteins of tungro viruses expressed in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yee, Siew Fung; Chu, Chia Huay; Poili, Evenni; Sum, Magdline Sia Henry

    2017-02-01

    Rice tungro disease (RTD) is a recurring disease affecting rice farming especially in the South and Southeast Asia. The disease is commonly diagnosed by visual observation of the symptoms on diseased plants in paddy fields and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, visual observation is unreliable and PCR can be costly. High-throughput as well as relatively cheap detection methods are important for RTD management for screening large number of samples. Due to this, detection by serological assays such as immunoblotting assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are preferred. However, these serological assays are limited by lack of continuous supply of antibodies as reagents due to the difficulty in preparing sufficient purified virions as antigens. This study aimed to generate and evaluate the reactivity of the recombinant coat proteins of Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) and Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV) as alternative antigens to generate antibodies. The genes encoding the coat proteins of both viruses, RTBV (CP), and RTSV (CP1, CP2 and CP3) were cloned and expressed as recombinant fusion proteins in Escherichia coli. All of the recombinant fusion proteins, with the exception of the recombinant fusion protein of the CP2 of RTSV, were reactive against our in-house anti-tungro rabbit serum. In conclusion, our study showed the potential use of the recombinant fusion coat proteins of the tungro viruses as alternative antigens for production of antibodies for diagnostic purposes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Viral vectors for production of recombinant proteins in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lico, Chiara; Chen, Qiang; Santi, Luca

    2008-08-01

    Global demand for recombinant proteins has steadily accelerated for the last 20 years. These recombinant proteins have a wide range of important applications, including vaccines and therapeutics for human and animal health, industrial enzymes, new materials and components of novel nano-particles for various applications. The majority of recombinant proteins are produced by traditional biological "factories," that is, predominantly mammalian and microbial cell cultures along with yeast and insect cells. However, these traditional technologies cannot satisfy the increasing market demand due to prohibitive capital investment requirements. During the last two decades, plants have been under intensive investigation to provide an alternative system for cost-effective, highly scalable, and safe production of recombinant proteins. Although the genetic engineering of plant viral vectors for heterologous gene expression can be dated back to the early 1980s, recent understanding of plant virology and technical progress in molecular biology have allowed for significant improvements and fine tuning of these vectors. These breakthroughs enable the flourishing of a variety of new viral-based expression systems and their wide application by academic and industry groups. In this review, we describe the principal plant viral-based production strategies and the latest plant viral expression systems, with a particular focus on the variety of proteins produced and their applications. We will summarize the recent progress in the downstream processing of plant materials for efficient extraction and purification of recombinant proteins. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  8. Hysteresis Control for Shunt Active Power Filter under Unbalanced Three-Phase Load Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Chelli

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on a four-wire shunt active power filter (APF control scheme proposed to improve the performance of the APF. This filter is used to compensate harmonic distortion in three-phase four-wire systems. Several harmonic suppression techniques have been widely proposed and applied to minimize harmonic effects. The proposed control scheme can compensate harmonics and reactive power of the nonlinear loads simultaneously. This approach is compared to the conventional shunt APF reference compensation strategy. The developed algorithm is validated by simulation tests using MATLAB Simulink. The obtained results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed scheme and confirmed the theoretical developments for balanced and unbalanced nonlinear loads.

  9. Recombiner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osumi, Morimichi.

    1979-01-01

    Purpose: To provide a recombiner which is capable of converting hydrogen gas into water by use of high-frequency heating at comparatively low temperatures and is safe and cheap in cost. Constitution: Hydrogen gas is introduced from an outer pipeline to the main structure of a recombiner, and when it passes through the vicinity of the central part of the recombiner, it is reacted with copper oxide (CuO 2 ) heated to a temperature more than 300 0 C by a high-frequency heater, and converted gently into water by reduction operation (2H 2 + CuO 2 → Cu + 2H 2 O). The thus prepared water is exhausted through the outer pipeline to a suppression pool. A part of hydrogen gas which has not been converted completely into water by the reaction and is remaining as hydrogen is recovered through exhaust nozzles and again introduced into the main structure of the recombiner. (Yoshino, Y.)

  10. African crop yield reductions due to increasingly unbalanced Nitrogen and Phosphorus consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Velde, Marijn; Folberth, Christian; Balkovič, Juraj; Ciais, Philippe; Fritz, Steffen; Janssens, Ivan A.; Obersteiner, Michael; See, Linda; Skalský, Rastislav; Xiong, Wei; Peñuealas, Josep

    2014-05-01

    The impact of soil nutrient depletion on crop production has been known for decades, but robust assessments of the impact of increasingly unbalanced nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) application rates on crop production are lacking. Here, we use crop response functions based on 741 FAO maize crop trials and EPIC crop modeling across Africa to examine maize yield deficits resulting from unbalanced N:P applications under low, medium, and high input scenarios, for past (1975), current, and future N:P mass ratios of respectively, 1:0.29, 1:0.15, and 1:0.05. At low N inputs (10 kg/ha), current yield deficits amount to 10% but will increase up to 27% under the assumed future N:P ratio, while at medium N inputs (50 kg N/ha), future yield losses could amount to over 40%. The EPIC crop model was then used to simulate maize yields across Africa. The model results showed relative median future yield reductions at low N inputs of 40%, and 50% at medium and high inputs, albeit with large spatial variability. Dominant low-quality soils such as Ferralsols, which are strongly adsorbing P, and Arenosols with a low nutrient retention capacity, are associated with a strong yield decline, although Arenosols show very variable crop yield losses at low inputs. Optimal N:P ratios, i.e. those where the lowest amount of applied P produces the highest yield (given N input) where calculated with EPIC to be as low as 1:0.5. Finally, we estimated the additional P required given current N inputs, and given N inputs that would allow Africa to close yield gaps (ca. 70%). At current N inputs, P consumption would have to increase 2.3-fold to be optimal, and to increase 11.7-fold to close yield gaps. The P demand to overcome these yield deficits would provide a significant additional pressure on current global extraction of P resources.

  11. Characteristics of W Doped Nanocrystalline Carbon Films Prepared by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Yong Seob; Park, Chul Min; Kim, Nam-Hoon; Kim, Jae-Moon

    2016-05-01

    Nanocrystalline tungsten doped carbon (WC) films were prepared by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Tungsten was used as the doping material in carbon thin films with the aim of application as a contact strip in an electric railway. The structural, physical, and electrical properties of the fabricated WC films with various DC bias voltages were investigated. The films had a uniform and smooth surface. Hardness and frication characteristics of the films were improved, and the resistivity and sheet resistance decreased with increasing negative DC bias voltage. These results are associated with the nanocrystalline WC phase and sp(2) clusters in carbon networks increased by ion bombardment enhanced with increasing DC bias voltage. Consequently, the increase of sp(2) clusters containing WC nanocrystalline in the carbon films is attributed to the improvement in the physical and electrical properties.

  12. Regulation of unbalanced electromagnetic moment in mutual loading systems of electric machines of traction rolling stock and multiple unit of mainline and industrial transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. Afanasov

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The research data are aimed to identify the regulatory principles of unbalanced electromagnetic moment of mutually loaded electric machines of traction rolling stock and multiple unit of main and industrial transport. The purpose of this study is energy efficiency increase of the testing of traction electric machines of direct and pulse current using the improvement methods of their mutual loading, including the principles of automatic regulation of mutual loading system. Methodology. The general theoretical provisions and principles of system approach to the theoretical electric engineering, the theory of electric machines and theoretical mechanics are the methodological basis of this research. The known methods of analysis of electromagnetic and electromechanical processes in electrical machines of direct and pulse current are used in the study. Methods analysis of loading modes regulation of traction electric machines was conducted using the generalized scheme of mutual loading. It is universal for all known methods to cover the losses of idling using the electric power. Findings. The general management principles of mutual loading modes of the traction electric machines of direct and pulse current by regulating their unbalanced electric magnetic moment were developed. Regulatory options of unbalanced electromagnetic moment are examined by changing the difference of the magnetic fluxes of mutually loaded electric machines, the current difference of electric machines anchors, the difference of the angular velocities of electric machines shafts. Originality. It was obtained the scientific basis development to improve the energy efficiency test methods of traction electric machines of direct and pulse current. The management principles of mutual loading modes of traction electric machines were formulated. For the first time it is introduced the concept and developed the principles of regulation of unbalanced electromagnetic moment in

  13. Construction of green fluorescent protein-tagged recombinant iridovirus to assess viral replication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Youhua; Huang, Xiaohong; Cai, Jia; Ye, Fuzhou; Guan, Liya; Liu, Hong; Qin, Qiwei

    2011-09-01

    Green fluorescent protein-tagged recombinant virus has been successfully applied to observing the infective dynamics and evaluating viral replication. Here, we identified soft-shelled turtle iridovirus (STIV) ORF55 as an envelope protein (VP55), and developed a recombinant STIV expressing an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fused to VP55 (EGFP-STIV). Recombinant EGFP-STIV shared similar single-step growth curves and ultrastructural morphology with wild type STIV (wt-STIV). The green fluorescence distribution during EGFP-STIV infection was consistent with the intracellular distribution of VP55 which was mostly co-localized with virus assembly sites. Furthermore, EGFP-STIV could be used to evaluate viral replication conveniently under drug treatment, and the result showed that STIV replication was significantly inhibited after the addition of antioxidant pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC). Thus, the EGFP-tagged recombinant iridovirus will not only be useful for further investigations on the viral replicative dynamics, but also provide an alternative simple strategy to screen for antiviral substances. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. A simple DNA recombination screening method by RT-PCR as an alternative to Southern blot

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albers, Eliene; Sbroggiò, Mauro; Martin Gonzalez, Javier

    2017-01-01

    The generation of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs), including knock-out (KO) and knock-in (KI) models, often requires genomic screening of many mouse ES cell (mESC) clones by Southern blot. The use of large targeting constructs facilitates the recombination of exogenous DNA in a specific...

  15. Unique unbalanced X;X translocation (Xq22;p11.2) in a woman with primary amenorrhea but without Ullrich-Turner syndrome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Letterie, G.S. [Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA (United States)

    1995-12-04

    This is a report of a patient with delayed puberty and a previously unreported translocation 46,X,-X,+der(X),t(X;X) (q22;p11.2) without any manifestations of Ullrich-Turner syndrome. The relationship of this unbalanced translocation to the critical region hypothesis is discussed. 6 refs., 3 figs.

  16. Flexible Power Regulation and Current-limited Control of Grid-connected Inverter under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guo, Xiaoqiang; Liu, Wenzhao; Lu, Zhigang

    2017-01-01

    The grid-connected inverters may experience excessive current stress in case of unbalanced grid voltage Fault Ride Through (FRT), which significantly affects the reliability of the power supply system. In order to solve the problem, the inherent mechanisms of the excessive current phenomenon...... with the conventional FRT solutions are discussed. The quantitative analysis of three phase current peak values are conducted and a novel current-limited control strategy is proposed to achieve the flexible active and reactive power regulation and successful FRT in a safe current operation area with the aim...

  17. Relatives with opposite chromosome constitutions, rec(10)dup(10p)inv(10)(p15.1q26.12) and rec(10)dup(10q)inv(10)(p15.1q26.12), due to a familial pericentric inversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciuladaite, Zivile; Preiksaitiene, Egle; Utkus, Algirdas; Kučinskas, Vaidutis

    2014-01-01

    Large pericentric inversions in chromosome 10 are rare chromosomal aberrations with only few cases of familial inheritance. Such chromosomal rearrangements may lead to production of unbalanced gametes. As a result of a recombination event in the inversion loop, 2 recombinants with duplicated and deficient chromosome segments, including the regions distal to the inversion, may be produced. We report on 2 relatives in a family with opposite terminal chromosomal rearrangements of chromosome 10, i.e. rec(10)dup(10p)inv(10) and rec(10)dup(10q)inv(10), due to familial pericentric inversion inv(10)(p15.1q26.12). Based on array-CGH results, we characterized the exact genomic regions involved and compared the clinical features of both patients with previous reports on similar pericentric inversions and regional differences within 10p and 10q. The fact that both products of recombination are viable indicates a potentially high recurrence risk of unbalanced offspring. This report of unbalanced rearrangements in chromosome 10 in 2 generations confirms the importance of screening for terminal imbalances in patients with idiopathic intellectual disability by molecular cytogenetic techniques such as FISH, MLPA or microarrays. It also underlines the necessity for FISH to define structural characteristics of such cryptic intrachromosomal rearrangements and the underlying cytogenetic mechanisms. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  18. Detoxifying Escherichia coli for endotoxin-free production of recombinant proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamat, Uwe; Wilke, Kathleen; Bramhill, David; Schromm, Andra Beate; Lindner, Buko; Kohl, Thomas Andreas; Corchero, José Luis; Villaverde, Antonio; Schaffer, Lana; Head, Steven Robert; Souvignier, Chad; Meredith, Timothy Charles; Woodard, Ronald Wesley

    2015-04-16

    Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), also referred to as endotoxin, is the major constituent of the outer leaflet of the outer membrane of virtually all Gram-negative bacteria. The lipid A moiety, which anchors the LPS molecule to the outer membrane, acts as a potent agonist for Toll-like receptor 4/myeloid differentiation factor 2-mediated pro-inflammatory activity in mammals and, thus, represents the endotoxic principle of LPS. Recombinant proteins, commonly manufactured in Escherichia coli, are generally contaminated with endotoxin. Removal of bacterial endotoxin from recombinant therapeutic proteins is a challenging and expensive process that has been necessary to ensure the safety of the final product. As an alternative strategy for common endotoxin removal methods, we have developed a series of E. coli strains that are able to grow and express recombinant proteins with the endotoxin precursor lipid IVA as the only LPS-related molecule in their outer membranes. Lipid IVA does not trigger an endotoxic response in humans typical of bacterial LPS chemotypes. Hence the engineered cells themselves, and the purified proteins expressed within these cells display extremely low endotoxin levels. This paper describes the preparation and characterization of endotoxin-free E. coli strains, and demonstrates the direct production of recombinant proteins with negligible endotoxin contamination.

  19. Genome-wide recombination rate variation in a recombination map of cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Chao; Li, Ximei; Zhang, Ruiting; Lin, Zhongxu

    2017-01-01

    Recombination is crucial for genetic evolution, which not only provides new allele combinations but also influences the biological evolution and efficacy of natural selection. However, recombination variation is not well understood outside of the complex species' genomes, and it is particularly unclear in Gossypium. Cotton is the most important natural fibre crop and the second largest oil-seed crop. Here, we found that the genetic and physical maps distances did not have a simple linear relationship. Recombination rates were unevenly distributed throughout the cotton genome, which showed marked changes along the chromosome lengths and recombination was completely suppressed in the centromeric regions. Recombination rates significantly varied between A-subgenome (At) (range = 1.60 to 3.26 centimorgan/megabase [cM/Mb]) and D-subgenome (Dt) (range = 2.17 to 4.97 cM/Mb), which explained why the genetic maps of At and Dt are similar but the physical map of Dt is only half that of At. The translocation regions between A02 and A03 and between A04 and A05, and the inversion regions on A10, D10, A07 and D07 indicated relatively high recombination rates in the distal regions of the chromosomes. Recombination rates were positively correlated with the densities of genes, markers and the distance from the centromere, and negatively correlated with transposable elements (TEs). The gene ontology (GO) categories showed that genes in high recombination regions may tend to response to environmental stimuli, and genes in low recombination regions are related to mitosis and meiosis, which suggested that they may provide the primary driving force in adaptive evolution and assure the stability of basic cell cycle in a rapidly changing environment. Global knowledge of recombination rates will facilitate genetics and breeding in cotton.

  20. Fine-Scale Recombination Maps of Fungal Plant Pathogens Reveal Dynamic Recombination Landscapes and Intragenic Hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stukenbrock, Eva H; Dutheil, Julien Y

    2018-03-01

    Meiotic recombination is an important driver of evolution. Variability in the intensity of recombination across chromosomes can affect sequence composition, nucleotide variation, and rates of adaptation. In many organisms, recombination events are concentrated within short segments termed recombination hotspots. The variation in recombination rate and positions of recombination hotspot can be studied using population genomics data and statistical methods. In this study, we conducted population genomics analyses to address the evolution of recombination in two closely related fungal plant pathogens: the prominent wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici and a sister species infecting wild grasses Z. ardabiliae We specifically addressed whether recombination landscapes, including hotspot positions, are conserved in the two recently diverged species and if recombination contributes to rapid evolution of pathogenicity traits. We conducted a detailed simulation analysis to assess the performance of methods of recombination rate estimation based on patterns of linkage disequilibrium, in particular in the context of high nucleotide diversity. Our analyses reveal overall high recombination rates, a lack of suppressed recombination in centromeres, and significantly lower recombination rates on chromosomes that are known to be accessory. The comparison of the recombination landscapes of the two species reveals a strong correlation of recombination rate at the megabase scale, but little correlation at smaller scales. The recombination landscapes in both pathogen species are dominated by frequent recombination hotspots across the genome including coding regions, suggesting a strong impact of recombination on gene evolution. A significant but small fraction of these hotspots colocalize between the two species, suggesting that hotspot dynamics contribute to the overall pattern of fast evolving recombination in these species. Copyright © 2018 Stukenbrock and Dutheil.

  1. Genetic Tools and Techniques for Recombinant Expression in Thermophilic Bacillaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eivind B. Drejer

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Although Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis are the most prominent bacterial hosts for recombinant protein production by far, additional species are being explored as alternatives for production of difficult-to-express proteins. In particular, for thermostable proteins, there is a need for hosts able to properly synthesize, fold, and excrete these in high yields, and thermophilic Bacillaceae represent one potentially interesting group of microorganisms for such purposes. A number of thermophilic Bacillaceae including B. methanolicus, B. coagulans, B. smithii, B. licheniformis, Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius, G. kaustophilus, and G. stearothermophilus are investigated concerning physiology, genomics, genetic tools, and technologies, altogether paving the way for their utilization as hosts for recombinant production of thermostable and other difficult-to-express proteins. Moreover, recent successful deployments of CRISPR/Cas9 in several of these species have accelerated the progress in their metabolic engineering, which should increase their attractiveness for future industrial-scale production of proteins. This review describes the biology of thermophilic Bacillaceae and in particular focuses on genetic tools and methods enabling use of these organisms as hosts for recombinant protein production.

  2. Alternative Immune Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Fernando Cadavid Gutierrez

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The immune system in animals is a complex network of molecules, cells and tissues that coordinately maintain the physiological and genetic integrity of the organism. Traditionally, two classes of immunity have been considered, the innate immunity and the adaptive immunity. The former is ancestral, with limited variability and low discrimination. The latter is highly variable, specific and limited to jawed vertebrates. Adaptive immunity is based on antigen receptors that rearrange somatically to generate a nearly unlimited diversity of molecules. Likely, this mechanism of somatic recombination arose as a consequence of a horizontal transfer of transposons and transposases from bacterial genomes in the ancestor of jawed vertebrates. The recent discovery in jawless vertebrates and invertebrates of alternative adaptive immune mechanisms, suggests during evolution different animal groups have found alternative solutions to the problem of immune recognition.

  3. Companion Protease Inhibitors for the In Situ Protection of Recombinant Proteins in Plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert, Stéphanie; Jutras, Philippe V; Khalf, Moustafa; D'Aoust, Marc-André; Goulet, Marie-Claire; Sainsbury, Frank; Michaud, Dominique

    2016-01-01

    We previously described a procedure for the use of plant protease inhibitors as "companion" accessory proteins to prevent unwanted proteolysis of clinically useful recombinant proteins in leaf crude protein extracts (Benchabane et al. Methods Mol Biol 483:265-273, 2009). Here we describe the use of these inhibitors for the protection of recombinant proteins in planta, before their extraction from leaf tissues. A procedure is first described involving inhibitors co-expressed along-and co-migrating-with the protein of interest in host plant cells. An alternative, single transgene scheme is then described involving translational fusions of the recombinant protein and companion inhibitor. These approaches may allow for a significant improvement of protein steady-state levels in leaves, comparable to yield improvements observed with protease-deficient strains of less complex protein expression hosts such as E. coli or yeasts.

  4. Balanced vs unbalanced crystalloid resuscitation in a near-fatal model of hemorrhagic shock and the effects on renal oxygenation, oxidative stress and inflammation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aksu, Ugur; Bezemer, R.; Yavuz, B.; Kandil, Asli; Demirci, C.; Ince, C.

    2012-01-01

    Background: The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that balanced crystalloid resuscitation would be better for the kidney than unbalanced crystalloid resuscitation in a rat hemorrhagic shock model. Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 6/group): (1)

  5. Genetic Recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehouse, H. L. K.

    1973-01-01

    Discusses the mechanisms of genetic recombination with particular emphasis on the study of the fungus Sordaria brevicollis. The study of recombination is facilitated by the use of mutants of this fungus in which the color of the ascospores is affected. (JR)

  6. Robust Multi-Objective PQ Scheduling for Electric Vehicles in Flexible Unbalanced Distribution Grids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knezovic, Katarina; Soroudi, Alireza; Marinelli, Mattia

    2017-01-01

    With increased penetration of distributed energy resources and electric vehicles (EVs), different EV management strategies can be used for mitigating adverse effects and supporting the distribution grid. This paper proposes a robust multi-objective methodology for determining the optimal day...... demand response programs. The method is tested on a real Danish unbalanced distribution grid with 35% EV penetration to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. It is shown that the proposed formulation guarantees an optimal EV cost as long as the price uncertainties are lower than....... The robust formulation effectively considers the errors in the electricity price forecast and its influence on the EV schedule. Moreover, the impact of EV reactive power support on objective values and technical parameters is analysed both when EVs are the only flexible resources and when linked with other...

  7. An Interaction Between the Effects of Bilingualism and Cross-linguistic Similarity in Balanced and Unbalanced Bilingual Adults' L2 Mandarin Word-Reading Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Hsiu-Ling

    2017-08-01

    We conducted three experiments investigating in more detail the interaction between the two effects of bilingualism and L1-L2 similarity in the speech performance of balanced and unbalanced bilinguals. In Experiment 1, L1 Mandarin monolinguals and two groups of Hakka and Minnan balanced bilinguals (Hakka: more similar to Mandarin) performed a non-contextual single-character reading task in Mandarin, which required more inhibitory control. The two bilingual groups outperformed the monolinguals, regardless of their L1 background. However, the bilingual advantage was not found in a contextual multi-word task (Experiment 2), but instead the effect of cross-linguistic similarity emerged. Furthermore, in Experiment 3, the Hakka unbalanced bilinguals showed an advantage in the non-contextual task, while their Minnan counterparts did not, and the impact of L1-L2 similarity emerged in both tasks. These results unveiled the way the two effects dynamically interplayed depending on the task contexts and the relative degrees of using L1 and L2.

  8. [Health economic consequences of the choice of follicle stimulating hormone alternatives in IVF treatment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poulsen, Peter Bo; Højgaard, Astrid; Quartarolo, Jens Piero

    2007-04-02

    There is a choice between two types of hormones for stimulation of the follicles in IVF treatment - recombinant FSH and the urine-derived menotrophin. A literature review by NICE (2004) in the United Kingdom documented that the two types of hormones were equally effective and safe, which is why it was recommended to use the cheaper urine-derived hormone. Based on the EISG study (European and Israeli Study Group), the aim was to analyse the health economic consequences of the choice between the two types of hormone in IVF treatment in Denmark. In a prospective cost-effectiveness analysis (health care sector perspective), menotrophin and recombinant FSH (Gonal-F) were compared. Differences in costs were compared with differences in effects of the two alternatives. The total costs for the average patient are lower when using menotrophin compared with recombinant FSH. Furthermore, the cost per clinical pregnancy was lower with menotrophin compared with recombinant FSH hormone. Menotrophin is therefore less expensive both for the patient as well as for the health care sector. The use of menotrophin instead of recombinant FSH can result in savings of up to DKK 16 million on the drug budget--savings that could finance 1,400 additional IVF cycles. The analysis shows that urine-derived menotrophin is a cost-effective alternative to recombinant FSH with a potential for considerable savings for patients as well as the public drug budget.

  9. Effects of balanced and unbalanced voltage sags on DC adjustable-speed drives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pedra, Joaquin; Sainz, Luis; Corcoles, Felipe; Bergas, Joan [Department of Electrical Engineering, ETSEIB-UPC, Av. Diagonal, 647, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); de Blas, Alfredo [Department of Electrical Engineering, EUETIB-UPC, C. d' Urgell, 187, 08036 Barcelona (Spain)

    2008-06-15

    This paper analyzes the sensitivity of DC adjustable-speed drives to balanced and unbalanced voltage sags. The influence of sag type, depth, duration and phase-angle jump on DC drives is studied. The control of the DC drive has been taken into account to understand drive behavior in the presence of voltage sags. Two working modes of the DC motor are considered in the study: as a consumer load and as a regenerative load. When the DC motor works as a consumer load, the study shows that sag type and depth have a significant influence on drive behavior. However, the voltage sag can be ridden through if the rectifier firing angle is set correctly by the control. When the DC motor works as a regenerative load, the study shows the consequences of the three-phase rectifier commutation failure due to the voltage sag. (author)

  10. Investigation of Unbalanced Magnetic Force in Magnetic Geared Machine Using Analytical Methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Xiaoxu; Liu, Xiao; Chen, Zhe

    2016-01-01

    The electromagnetic structure of the magnetic geared machine (MGM) may induce a significant unbalanced magnetic force (UMF). However, few methods have been developed to theoretically reveal the essential reasons for this issue in the MGM. In this paper, an analytical method based on an air....... Second, the magnetic field distribution in the MGM is modeled by an exact subdomain method, which allows the magnetic forces to be calculated quantitatively. The magnetic forces in two MGMs are then studied under no-load and full-load conditions. Finally, the finite-element calculation confirms......-gap relative permeance theory is first developed to qualitatively study the origins of the UMF in the MGM. By means of formula derivations, three kinds of magnetic field behaviors in the air gaps are found to be the potential sources of UMF. It is also proved that the UMF is possible to avoid by design choices...

  11. Trisomy 2q11.2-->q21.1 resulting from an unbalanced insertion in two generations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glass, I A; Stormer, P; Oei, P T; Hacking, E; Cotter, P D

    1998-01-01

    In this communication, we describe two cases of proximal 2q trisomy (2q11.2--> q21.1) resulting from an interchromosomal insertion. The chromosomal origin of the insertion was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation. An unbalanced karyotype, 46,XX,der(8) ,ins(8;2) (p21.3; q21.1q11.2), was found in the proband and her mother, who both have mild mental retardation, short stature, dysmorphic features, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and a psychotic illness. This family is a rare example of direct transmission of a partial autosomal trisomy. Images PMID:9598728

  12. Hydrogen recombiner catalyst test supporting data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Britton, M.D.

    1995-01-01

    This is a data package supporting the Hydrogen Recombiner Catalyst Performance and Carbon Monoxide Sorption Capacity Test Report, WHC-SD-WM-TRP-211, Rev 0. This report contains 10 appendices which consist of the following: Mass spectrometer analysis reports: HRC samples 93-001 through 93-157; Gas spectrometry analysis reports: HRC samples 93-141 through 93-658; Mass spectrometer procedure PNL-MA-299 ALO-284; Alternate analytical method for ammonia and water vapor; Sample log sheets; Job Safety analysis; Certificate of mixture analysis for feed gases; Flow controller calibration check; Westinghouse Standards Laboratory report on Bois flow calibrator; and Sorption capacity test data, tables, and graphs

  13. Analysis of Three-Phase Rectifier Systems with Controlled DC-Link Current Under Unbalanced Grids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kumar, Dinesh; Davari, Pooya; Zare, Firuz

    2017-01-01

    Voltage unbalance is the most common disturbance in distribution networks, which give undesirable effects on many grid connected power electronics systems including Adjustable Speed Drive (ASD). Severe voltage unbalance can force three-phase rectifiers into almost single-phase operation, which...... degrades the grid power quality and also imposes a significant negative impact on the ASD system. This major power quality issue affecting the conventional rectifiers can be attenuated by controlling the DC-link current based on an Electronic Inductor (EI) technique. The purpose of this digest...... is to analyze and compare the performance of an EI with a conventional three-phase rectifier under unbalanced grid conditions. Experimental and simulation results validate the proposed mathematical modelling. Further analysis and benchmarking will be provided in the final paper....

  14. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a source to detect markers of homeostatic alterations caused by the intake of diets with an unbalanced macronutrient composition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Diaz-Rua, R.; Keijer, J.; Caimari, A.; Schothorst, van E.M.; Oliver, P.; Palou, A.

    2015-01-01

    Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are accessible in humans and their gene expression pattern was shown to reflect overall physiological response of the body to a specific stimulus, such as diet. We aimed to study the impact of sustained intake (4 months) of diets with an unbalanced

  15. Recombinant immunotherapeutics: current state and perspectives regarding the feasibility and market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chung-Jr; Lowe, Adam J; Batt, Carl A

    2010-06-01

    Recombinant immunotherapeutics are important biologics for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. Immunotherapy can be divided into two categories, passive and active. For passive immunotherapy, the successes of antibody and cytokine therapeutics represent a promising future and opportunities for improvements. Efforts, such as cell engineering, antibody engineering, human-like glycosylation in yeast, and Fab fragment development, have led the way to improve antibody efficacy while decreasing its high manufacturing costs. Both new cytokines and currently used cytokines have demonstrated therapeutic effects for different indications. As for active immunotherapy, recently approved HPV vaccines have encouraged the development of preventative vaccines for other infectious diseases. Immunogenic antigens of pathogenic bacteria can now be identified by genomic means (reverse vaccinology). Due to the recent outbreaks of pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, recombinant influenza vaccines using virus-like particles and other antigens have also been engineered in several different recombinant systems. However, limitations are found in existing immunotherapeutics for cancer treatment, and recent development of therapeutic cancer vaccines such as MAGE-A3 and NY-ESO-1 may provide alternative therapeutic strategy.

  16. Cheese whey-induced high-cell-density production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neubauer Peter

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Use of lactose-rich concentrates from dairy processes for the induction of recombinant gene's expression has not received much attention although they are interesting low cost substrates for production of recombinant enzymes. Applicability of dairy waste for induction of recombinant genes in Escherichia coli was studied. Clones expressing Lactobacillus phage muramidase and Lactobacillus alcohol dehydrogenase were used for the experiments. Results Shake flask cultivations in mineral salt medium showed that cheese whey or deproteinised whey induced gene expression as efficiently as IPTG (isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside or pure lactose. Addition of yeast extract or proteolytically degraded whey proteins did not improve the recombinant protein yield. In contrast, addition of yeast extract to the well-balanced mineral salt medium decreased the product yield. Feeding with glycerol provided sufficient amount of easily assimilable carbon source during the induction period without preventing lactose intake and induction by lactose. High-cell-density fed-batch cultivations showed that product yields comparable to IPTG-induction can be achieved by feeding bacteria with a mixture of glycerol and concentrated whey permeate during the induction. Conclusion Whey and concentrated whey permeate can be applied as an alternative inducer in recombinant high-cell-density fed-batch fermentations. The yield of the recombinant product was comparable to fermentations induced by IPTG. In low-cell-density shake flask experiments the yield was higher with whey or whey permeate than with IPTG.

  17. Increased Heat Transport in Ultra-hot Jupiter Atmospheres through H2 Dissociation and Recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Taylor J.; Cowan, Nicolas B.

    2018-04-01

    A new class of exoplanets is beginning to emerge: planets with dayside atmospheres that resemble stellar atmospheres as most of their molecular constituents dissociate. The effects of the dissociation of these species will be varied and must be carefully accounted for. Here we take the first steps toward understanding the consequences of dissociation and recombination of molecular hydrogen (H2) on atmospheric heat recirculation. Using a simple energy balance model with eastward winds, we demonstrate that H2 dissociation/recombination can significantly increase the day–night heat transport on ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs): gas giant exoplanets where significant H2 dissociation occurs. The atomic hydrogen from the highly irradiated daysides of UHJs will transport some of the energy deposited on the dayside toward the nightside of the planet where the H atoms recombine into H2; this mechanism bears similarities to latent heat. Given a fixed wind speed, this will act to increase the heat recirculation efficiency; alternatively, a measured heat recirculation efficiency will require slower wind speeds after accounting for H2 dissociation/recombination.

  18. Insecticidal activity of two proteases against Spodoptera frugiperda larvae infected with recombinant baculoviruses

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background Baculovirus comprise the largest group of insect viruses most studied worldwide, mainly because they efficiently kill agricutural insect pests. In this study, two recombinant baculoviruses containing the ScathL gene from Sarcophaga peregrina (vSynScathL), and the Keratinase gene from the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus (vSynKerat), were constructed. and their insecticidal properties analysed against Spodoptera frugiperda larvae. Results Bioassays of third-instar and neonate S. frugiperda larvae with vSynScathL and vSynKerat showed a decrease in the time needed to kill the infected insects when compared to the wild type virus. We have also shown that both recombinants were able to increase phenoloxidase activity in the hemolymph of S. frugiperda larvae. The expression of proteases in infected larvae resulted in destruction of internal tissues late in infection, which could be the reason for the increased viral speed of kill. Conclusions Baculoviruses and their recombinant forms constitute viable alternatives to chemical insecticides. Recombinant baculoviruses containing protease genes can be added to the list of engineered baculoviruses with great potential to be used in integrated pest management programs. PMID:20587066

  19. Recombining without Hotspots: A Comprehensive Evolutionary Portrait of Recombination in Two Closely Related Species of Drosophila

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smukowski Heil, Caiti S.; Ellison, Chris; Dubin, Matthew; Noor, Mohamed A.F.

    2015-01-01

    Meiotic recombination rate varies across the genome within and between individuals, populations, and species in virtually all taxa studied. In almost every species, this variation takes the form of discrete recombination hotspots, determined in some mammals by a protein called PRDM9. Hotspots and their determinants have a profound effect on the genomic landscape, and share certain features that extend across the tree of life. Drosophila, in contrast, are anomalous in their absence of hotspots, PRDM9, and other species-specific differences in the determination of recombination. To better understand the evolution of meiosis and general patterns of recombination across diverse taxa, we present a truly comprehensive portrait of recombination across time, combining recently published cross-based contemporary recombination estimates from each of two sister species with newly obtained linkage-disequilibrium-based historic estimates of recombination from both of these species. Using Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda as a model system, we compare recombination rate between species at multiple scales, and we suggest that Drosophila replicate the pattern seen in human–chimpanzee in which recombination rate is conserved at broad scales. We also find evidence of a species-wide recombination modifier(s), resulting in both a present and historic genome-wide elevation of recombination rates in D. miranda, and identify broad scale effects on recombination from the presence of an inversion. Finally, we reveal an unprecedented view of the distribution of recombination in D. pseudoobscura, illustrating patterns of linked selection and where recombination is taking place. Overall, by combining these estimation approaches, we highlight key similarities and differences in recombination between Drosophila and other organisms. PMID:26430062

  20. Laser-induced electron--ion recombination used to study enhanced spontaneous recombination during electron cooling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schramm, U.; Wolf, A.; Schuess ler, T.; Habs, D.; Schwalm, D.; Uwira, O.; Linkemann, J.; Mueller, A.

    1997-01-01

    Spontaneous recombination of highly charged ions with free electrons in merged velocity matched electron and ion beams has been observed in earlier experiments to occur at rates significantly higher than predicted by theoretical estimates. To study this enhanced spontaneous recombination, laser induced recombination spectra were measured both in velocity matched beams and in beams with well defined relative velocities, corresponding to relative electron-ion detuning energies ranging from 1 meV up to 6.5 meV where the spontaneous recombination enhancement was found to be strongly reduced. Based on a comparison with simplified calculations, the development of the recombination spectra for decreasing detuning energies indicates additional contributions at matched velocities which could be related to the energy distribution of electrons causing the spontaneous recombination rate enhancement

  1. Effects of nuclear mutations for recombination and repair functions and of caffeine on mitochondrial recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fraenkel, A.H.M.

    1974-01-01

    Studies of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms indicate that pathways governing repair of damage to nuclear DNA caused by x-ray or ultraviolet irradiation overlap with those controlling recombination. Fourteen nuclear mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were tested in order to determine whether these mutant genes affected mitochondrial recombination. None of the mutations studied significantly affected mitochondrial recombination. The nuclear recombination and repair pathways studied do not overlap with the nuclear pathway which controls recombination of mitochondrial DNA. A second set of experiments was designed to test the effect of caffeine on both nuclear and mitochondrial recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. (U.S.)

  2. Recombining without Hotspots: A Comprehensive Evolutionary Portrait of Recombination in Two Closely Related Species of Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smukowski Heil, Caiti S; Ellison, Chris; Dubin, Matthew; Noor, Mohamed A F

    2015-10-01

    Meiotic recombination rate varies across the genome within and between individuals, populations, and species in virtually all taxa studied. In almost every species, this variation takes the form of discrete recombination hotspots, determined in some mammals by a protein called PRDM9. Hotspots and their determinants have a profound effect on the genomic landscape, and share certain features that extend across the tree of life. Drosophila, in contrast, are anomalous in their absence of hotspots, PRDM9, and other species-specific differences in the determination of recombination. To better understand the evolution of meiosis and general patterns of recombination across diverse taxa, we present a truly comprehensive portrait of recombination across time, combining recently published cross-based contemporary recombination estimates from each of two sister species with newly obtained linkage-disequilibrium-based historic estimates of recombination from both of these species. Using Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda as a model system, we compare recombination rate between species at multiple scales, and we suggest that Drosophila replicate the pattern seen in human-chimpanzee in which recombination rate is conserved at broad scales. We also find evidence of a species-wide recombination modifier(s), resulting in both a present and historic genome-wide elevation of recombination rates in D. miranda, and identify broad scale effects on recombination from the presence of an inversion. Finally, we reveal an unprecedented view of the distribution of recombination in D. pseudoobscura, illustrating patterns of linked selection and where recombination is taking place. Overall, by combining these estimation approaches, we highlight key similarities and differences in recombination between Drosophila and other organisms. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  3. Fault Ride Though Control of Photovoltaic Grid-connected Inverter with Current-limited Capability under Offshore Unbalanced Voltage Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Wenzhao; Guo, Xiaoqiang; Savaghebi, Mehdi

    2016-01-01

    The photovoltaic (PV) inverter installed on board experiences the excessive current stress in case of the offshore unbalanced voltage fault ride through (FRT), which significantly affects the operation reliability of the power supply system. In order to solve the problem, the inherent mechanism...... of the excessive current phenomenon with the conventional fault ride through control is discussed. The quantitative analysis of the current peak value is conducted and a new current-limiting control strategy is proposed to achieve the flexible power control and successful fault ride through in a safe current...

  4. Therapeutic Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhtiar, Ray

    2012-01-01

    During the last two decades, the rapid growth of biotechnology-derived techniques has led to a myriad of therapeutic recombinant monoclonal antibodies with significant clinical benefits. Recombinant monoclonal antibodies can be obtained from a number of natural sources such as animal cell cultures using recombinant DNA engineering. In contrast to…

  5. The microstructure and properties of titanium dioxide films synthesized by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leng, Y.X.; Chen, J.Y.; Yang, P.; Sun, H.; Huang, N.

    2007-01-01

    In this work, titanium oxide films were deposited on Ti6Al4V and Si (1 0 0) by DC unbalanced magnetron sputtering method at different oxygen pressure. X-ray diffraction (XRD), microhardness tests, pin-on-disk wear experiments, surface contact angle tests and platelet adhesion investigation were conducted to evaluate the properties of the films. The corrosion behavior of titanium dioxide films was characterized by potentiodynamic polarization. The results showed that titanium oxide films deposited by unbalance magnetron sputtering were compact and could obviously enhance microhardness, wear resistance of titanium alloy substrate. Potentiodynamic polarization curves showed that Ti-6Al-4V deposited with titanium dioxide films had lower dissolution currents than that of the uncoated one. The results of in vitro hemocompatibility analyses indicated that the blood compatibility of the titanium dioxide films with bandgap 3.2 eV have better blood compatibility

  6. DC-bus voltage control of grid-connected voltage source converter by using space vector modulated direct power control under unbalanced network conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xiao, Lei; Huang, Shoudao; Lu, Kaiyuan

    2013-01-01

    Unbalanced grid voltage will cause large dc-bus voltage ripple and introduce high harmonic current components on the grid side. This will severely threaten the safety of the grid-connected voltage source converter (VSC) and consequently, affect the healthy operation condition of the load. In this......Unbalanced grid voltage will cause large dc-bus voltage ripple and introduce high harmonic current components on the grid side. This will severely threaten the safety of the grid-connected voltage source converter (VSC) and consequently, affect the healthy operation condition of the load....... In this study, a new proportional-integral-resonant (PI-RES) controller-based, space vector modulated direct power control topology is proposed to suppress the dc-bus voltage ripple and in the same time, controlling effectively the instantaneous power of the VSC. A special ac reactive power reference component...... is introduced in the controller, which is necessary in order to reduce the dc-bus voltage ripple and active power harmonics at the same time. The proposed control topology is implemented in the lab. Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate its performance and the analysis presented...

  7. Safety of recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB in Augment® Bone Graft

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis A Solchaga

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses nonclinical and clinical data regarding the safety of recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB as a component of the Augment® Bone Graft (Augment. Augment is a bone graft substitute intended to be used as an alternative to autologous bone graft in the fusion of hindfoot and ankle joints. Nonclinical studies included assessment of the pharmacokinetic profile of intravenously administered recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB in rat and dog, effects of intravenous administration of recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB in a reproductive and development toxicity study in rats, and chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity of Augment in a 12-month implantation model. These studies showed that systemic exposure was brief and clearance was rapid. No signs of toxicity, carcinogenicity, or tumor promotion were observed even with doses far exceeding the maximum clinical dose. Results of clinical trials (605 participants and commercial use of recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB containing products indicate that these products are not associated with increased incidence of adverse events or cancer. The safety data presented provide evidence that recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB is a safe therapeutic when used in combination products as a single administration during surgical procedures for bone repair and fusion. There is no evidence associating use of recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB in Augment with chronic toxicity, carcinogenicity, or tumor promotion.

  8. Recombination every day: abundant recombination in a virus during a single multi-cellular host infection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remy Froissart

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Viral recombination can dramatically impact evolution and epidemiology. In viruses, the recombination rate depends on the frequency of genetic exchange between different viral genomes within an infected host cell and on the frequency at which such co-infections occur. While the recombination rate has been recently evaluated in experimentally co-infected cell cultures for several viruses, direct quantification at the most biologically significant level, that of a host infection, is still lacking. This study fills this gap using the cauliflower mosaic virus as a model. We distributed four neutral markers along the viral genome, and co-inoculated host plants with marker-containing and wild-type viruses. The frequency of recombinant genomes was evaluated 21 d post-inoculation. On average, over 50% of viral genomes recovered after a single host infection were recombinants, clearly indicating that recombination is very frequent in this virus. Estimates of the recombination rate show that all regions of the genome are equally affected by this process. Assuming that ten viral replication cycles occurred during our experiment-based on data on the timing of coat protein detection-the per base and replication cycle recombination rate was on the order of 2 x 10(-5 to 4 x 10(-5. This first determination of a virus recombination rate during a single multi-cellular host infection indicates that recombination is very frequent in the everyday life of this virus.

  9. Control of Grid Integrated Voltage Source Converters under Unbalanced Conditions: Development of an On-line Frequency-adaptive Virtual Flux-based Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Suul, Jon Are

    2012-01-01

    Three-Phase Voltage Source Converters (VSCs) are finding widespread applications in grid integrated power conversion systems. The control systems of such VSCs are in an increasing number of these applications required to operate during voltage disturbances and unbalanced conditions. Control systems designed for grid side voltagesensor- less operation are at the same time becoming attractive due to the continuous drive for cost reduction and increased reliability of VSCs, but are not commonly ...

  10. Regulation of Meiotic Recombination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gregory p. Copenhaver

    2011-11-09

    Meiotic recombination results in the heritable rearrangement of DNA, primarily through reciprocal exchange between homologous chromosome or gene conversion. In plants these events are critical for ensuring proper chromosome segregation, facilitating DNA repair and providing a basis for genetic diversity. Understanding this fundamental biological mechanism will directly facilitate trait mapping, conventional plant breeding, and development of genetic engineering techniques that will help support the responsible production and conversion of renewable resources for fuels, chemicals, and the conservation of energy (1-3). Substantial progress has been made in understanding the basal recombination machinery, much of which is conserved in organisms as diverse as yeast, plants and mammals (4, 5). Significantly less is known about the factors that regulate how often and where that basal machinery acts on higher eukaryotic chromosomes. One important mechanism for regulating the frequency and distribution of meiotic recombination is crossover interference - or the ability of one recombination event to influence nearby events. The MUS81 gene is thought to play an important role in regulating the influence of interference on crossing over. The immediate goals of this project are to use reverse genetics to identify mutants in two putative MUS81 homologs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, characterize those mutants and initiate a novel forward genetic screen for additional regulators of meiotic recombination. The long-term goal of the project is to understand how meiotic recombination is regulated in higher eukaryotes with an emphasis on the molecular basis of crossover interference. The ability to monitor recombination in all four meiotic products (tetrad analysis) has been a powerful tool in the arsenal of yeast geneticists. Previously, the qrt mutant of Arabidopsis, which causes the four pollen products of male meiosis to remain attached, was developed as a facile system

  11. Unbalanced international collaboration affects adversely the usefulness of countries' scientific output as well as their technological and social impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zanotto, Sonia R; Haeffner, Cristina; Guimarães, Jorge A

    The unbalanced international scientific collaboration as cause of misleading information on the country's contribution to the scientific world output was analyzed. ESI Data Base (Thomson Reuters' InCites), covering the scientific production of 217 active countries in the period 2010-2014 was used. International collaboration implicates in a high percentage (33.1 %) of double-counted world articles, thus impacting qualitative data as citations, impact and impact relative to word. The countries were divided into three groups, according to their individual contribution to the world publications: Group I (24 countries, at least 1 %) representing 83.9 % of the total double-counted world articles. Group II (40 countries, 0.1-0.99 % each). Group III, 153 countries (70.5 %) with international collaboration were: Group I, 43.0 %; Group II, 55.8 % and Group III, 85.2 %. We concluded that very high and unbalanced international collaboration, as presented by many countries, misrepresent the importance of their scientific production, technological and social outputs. Furthermore, it jeopardizes qualitative outputs of the countries themselves, artificially increasing their scientific impact, affecting all fields and therefore, the whole world. The data confirm that when dealing with the qualitative contribution of countries, it is necessary to take in consideration the level of international cooperation because, as seen here, it can and in fact it does create false impression of the real contribution of countries.

  12. Why Does Rebalancing Class-Unbalanced Data Improve AUC for Linear Discriminant Analysis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Jing-Hao; Hall, Peter

    2015-05-01

    Many established classifiers fail to identify the minority class when it is much smaller than the majority class. To tackle this problem, researchers often first rebalance the class sizes in the training dataset, through oversampling the minority class or undersampling the majority class, and then use the rebalanced data to train the classifiers. This leads to interesting empirical patterns. In particular, using the rebalanced training data can often improve the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the original, unbalanced test data. The AUC is a widely-used quantitative measure of classification performance, but the property that it increases with rebalancing has, as yet, no theoretical explanation. In this note, using Gaussian-based linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as the classifier, we demonstrate that, at least for LDA, there is an intrinsic, positive relationship between the rebalancing of class sizes and the improvement of AUC. We show that the largest improvement of AUC is achieved, asymptotically, when the two classes are fully rebalanced to be of equal sizes.

  13. Detecting mode hopping in single-longitudinal-mode fiber ring lasers based on an unbalanced fiber Michelson interferometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Mingxiang; Hu, Zhengliang; Xu, Pan; Wang, Wei; Hu, Yongming

    2012-10-20

    A method of detecting mode hopping for single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) fiber ring lasers has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The method that is based on an unbalanced Michelson interferometer (MI) utilizing phase generated carrier modulation instantly transforms mode-hopping dynamics into steep phase changes of the interferometer. Multiform mode hops in an SLM erbium-doped fiber ring laser with an 18.6 MHz mode spacing have been detected exactly in real-time domain and discussed in detail. Numerical results show that the MI-based method has a high testing sensitivity for identifying mode hopping, which will play a significant role in evaluating the output stability of SLM fiber lasers.

  14. A cautionary note on generalized linear models for covariance of unbalanced longitudinal data

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jianhua Z.

    2012-03-01

    Missing data in longitudinal studies can create enormous challenges in data analysis when coupled with the positive-definiteness constraint on a covariance matrix. For complete balanced data, the Cholesky decomposition of a covariance matrix makes it possible to remove the positive-definiteness constraint and use a generalized linear model setup to jointly model the mean and covariance using covariates (Pourahmadi, 2000). However, this approach may not be directly applicable when the longitudinal data are unbalanced, as coherent regression models for the dependence across all times and subjects may not exist. Within the existing generalized linear model framework, we show how to overcome this and other challenges by embedding the covariance matrix of the observed data for each subject in a larger covariance matrix and employing the familiar EM algorithm to compute the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters and their standard errors. We illustrate and assess the methodology using real data sets and simulations. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

  15. Structural, chemical and nanomechanical investigations of SiC/polymeric a-C:H films deposited by reactive RF unbalanced magnetron sputtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomastik, C.; Lackner, J. M.; Pauschitz, A.; Roy, M.

    2016-03-01

    Amorphous carbon (or diamond-like carbon, DLC) films have shown a number of important properties usable for a wide range of applications for very thin coatings with low friction and good wear resistance. DLC films alloyed with (semi-)metals show some improved properties and can be deposited by various methods. Among those, the widely used magnetron sputtering of carbon targets is known to increase the number of defects in the films. Therefore, in this paper an alternative approach of depositing silicon-carbide-containing polymeric hydrogenated DLC films using unbalanced magnetron sputtering was investigated. The influence of the C2H2 precursor concentration in the deposition chamber on the chemical and structural properties of the deposited films was investigated by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and elastic recoil detection analysis. Roughness, mechanical properties and scratch response of the films were evaluated with the help of atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation. The Raman spectra revealed a strong correlation of the film structure with the C2H2 concentration during deposition. A higher C2H2 flow rate results in an increase in SiC content and decrease in hydrogen content in the film. This in turn increases hardness and elastic modulus and decreases the ratio H/E and H3/E2. The highest scratch resistance is exhibited by the film with the highest hardness, and the film having the highest overall sp3 bond content shows the highest elastic recovery during scratching.

  16. Recombination of cluster ions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnsen, Rainer

    1993-01-01

    Some of our recent work on molecular band emissions from recombination of molecular dimer ions (N4(+) and CO(+) CO) is discussed. Much of the experimental work was done by Y. S. Cao; the results on N4(+) recombination have been published. A brief progress report is given on our ongoing measurements of neutral products of recombination using the flowing-afterglow Langmuir-probe technique in conjunction with laser-induced fluorescence.

  17. Recombinant Secreted Antigens from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Delivered as a Cocktail Vaccine Enhance the Immune Response of Mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galli, Vanessa; Simionatto, Simone; Marchioro, Silvana Beutinger; Klabunde, Gustavo Henrique Ferrero; Conceição, Fabricio Rochedo

    2013-01-01

    Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the etiological agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia (EP), which is a respiratory disease responsible for huge economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. The commercially available vaccines provide only partial protection and are expensive. Thus, the development of alternatives for the prophylaxis of EP is critical for improving pig health. The use of multiple antigens in the same immunization may represent a promising alternative. In the present study, seven secreted proteins of M. hyopneumoniae were cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli, and evaluated for antigenicity using serum from naturally and experimentally infected pigs. In addition, the immunogenicity of the seven recombinant proteins delivered individually or in protein cocktail vaccines was evaluated in mice. In Western blot assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, most of the recombinant proteins evaluated were recognized by convalescent-phase serum from the animals, indicating that they are expressed during the infectious process. The recombinant proteins were also immunogenic, and most induced a mixed IgG1/IgG2a humoral immune response. The use of these proteins in a cocktail vaccine formulation enhanced the immune response compared to their use as antigens delivered individually, providing evidence of the efficacy of the multiple-antigen administration strategy for the induction of an immune response against M. hyopneumoniae. PMID:23803903

  18. Recombination pattern reanalysis of some HIV-1 circulating recombination forms suggest the necessity and difficulty of revision.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Jia

    Full Text Available Recombination is one of the major mechanisms underlying the generation of HIV-1 variability. Currently 61 circulating recombinant forms of HIV-1 have been identified. With the development of recombination detection techniques and accumulation of HIV-1 reference stains, more accurate mosaic structures of circulating recombinant forms (CRFs, like CRF04 and CRF06, have undergone repeated analysis and upgrades. Such revisions may also be necessary for other CRFs. Unlike previous studies, whose results are based primarily on a single recombination detection program, the current study was based on multiple recombination analysis, which may have produced more impartial results.Representative references of 3 categories of intersubtype recombinants were selected, including BC recombinants (CRF07 and CRF08, BG recombinants (CRF23 and CRF24, and BF recombinants (CRF38 and CRF44. They were reanalyzed in detail using both the jumping profile hidden Markov model and RDP3.The results indicate that revisions and upgrades are very necessary and the entire re-analysis suggested 2 types of revision: (i length of inserted fragments; and (ii number of inserted fragments. The reanalysis also indicated that determination of small regions of about 200 bases or fewer should be performed with more caution.Results indicated that the involvement of multiple recombination detection programs is very necessary. Additionally, results suggested two major challenges, one involving the difficulty of accurately determining the locations of breakpoints and the second involving identification of small regions of about 200 bases or fewer with greater caution. Both indicate the complexity of HIV-1 recombination. The resolution would depend critically on development of a recombination analysis algorithm, accumulation of HIV-1 stains, and a higher sequencing quality. With the changes in recombination pattern, phylogenetic relationships of some CRFs may also change. All these results may

  19. Cre-loxP-Mediated Recombination: General Principles and Experimental Considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLellan, Micheal A; Rosenthal, Nadia A; Pinto, Alexander R

    2017-03-02

    The cre-loxP-mediated recombination system (the "cre-loxP system") is an integral experimental tool for mammalian genetics and cell biology. Use of the system has greatly expanded our ability to precisely interrogate gene function in the mouse, providing both spatial and temporal control of gene expression. This has been largely due to the simplicity of its use and its adaptability to address diverse biological questions. While the use of the cre-loxP system is becoming increasingly widespread, in particular because of growing availability of conditional mouse mutants, many considerations need to be taken into account when utilizing the cre-loxP system. This review provides an overview of the cre-loxP system and its various permutations. It addresses the limitations of cre-loxP technology and related considerations for experimental design, and it discusses alternative strategies for site-specific genetic recombination and integration. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  20. Online optimisation of the CLIC Drive Beam bunch train recombination at CTF3

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(CDS)2082483; Tecker, Frank

    The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) design is the leading alternative for a future multi-TeV "e^+e^−" linear collider. One of the key aspects of the design is the use of a Drive Beam as power source for the acceleration of the colliding beams. This work is focused on the optimisation of the set-up and the operations of the CLIC Drive Beam recombination at the CLIC Test Facility (CTF3) at CERN. The main effects that may affect the beam quality during the recombination are studied, with emphasis on orbit, transverse dynamics and beam energy effects. A custom methodology is used to analyse the problem, both from a theoretical and a numerical point of view. The aim is to provide first-order orbit and transverse optics constraints, which can be used as guidelines during the set-up of the beam recombination process. The developed techniques are applied at the CTF3, and the results are reported. The non-linear beam energy effects have been investigated by means of MAD-X simulations. The results show that these effe...

  1. Electron-ion recombination in merged beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolf, A.; Habs, D.; Lampert, A.; Neumann, R.; Schramm, U.; Schuessler, T.; Schwalm, D.

    1993-01-01

    Detailed studies of recombination processes between electrons and highly charged ions have become possible by recent improvements of merged-beams experiments. We discuss in particular measurements with stored cooled ion beams at the Test Storage Ring (TSR) in Heidelberg. The cross section of dielectronic recombination was measured with high energy resolution for few-electron systems up to the nuclear charge of Cu at a relative energy up to 2.6 keV. At low energy (∼0.1 eV) total recombination rates of several ions were measured and compared with calculated radiative recombination rates. Laser-stimulated recombination of protons and of C 6+ ions was investigated as a function of the photon energy using visible radiation. Both the total recombination rates and the stimulated recombination spectra indicate that in spite of the short interaction time in merged beams, also collisional capture of electrons into weakly bound levels (related to three-body recombination) could be important

  2. Recombinant drugs-on-a-chip: The usage of capillary electrophoresis and trends in miniaturized systems – A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morbioli, Giorgio Gianini; Mazzu-Nascimento, Thiago; Aquino, Adriano [Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, 13566-590 São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Bioanalítica, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Cervantes, Cesar [Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, 13566-590 São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Carrilho, Emanuel, E-mail: emanuel@iqsc.usp.br [Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, 13566-590 São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Bioanalítica, Campinas, SP (Brazil)

    2016-09-07

    We present here a critical review covering conventional analytical tools of recombinant drug analysis and discuss their evolution towards miniaturized systems foreseeing a possible unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. Recombinant protein drugs and/or pro-drug analysis require sensitive and reproducible analytical techniques for quality control to ensure safety and efficacy of drugs according to regulatory agencies. The versatility of miniaturized systems combined with their low-cost could become a major trend in recombinant drugs and bioprocess analysis. Miniaturized systems are capable of performing conventional analytical and proteomic tasks, allowing for interfaces with other powerful techniques, such as mass spectrometry. Microdevices can be applied during the different stages of recombinant drug processing, such as gene isolation, DNA amplification, cell culture, protein expression, protein separation, and analysis. In addition, organs-on-chips have appeared as a viable alternative to testing biodrug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, demonstrating the capabilities of the miniaturized systems. The integration of individual established microfluidic operations and analytical tools in a single device is a challenge to be overcome to achieve a unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. - Highlights: • Principal analytical tools for analysis of recombinant drugs are presented. • A critical comparison among different substrates for fabrication of miniaturized systems is made. • Applications of miniaturized systems to produce recombinant drugs are shown. • Future trends of miniaturized systems capable of integrating analytical and proteomic tools in a single device are envisioned.

  3. Recombinant drugs-on-a-chip: The usage of capillary electrophoresis and trends in miniaturized systems – A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morbioli, Giorgio Gianini; Mazzu-Nascimento, Thiago; Aquino, Adriano; Cervantes, Cesar; Carrilho, Emanuel

    2016-01-01

    We present here a critical review covering conventional analytical tools of recombinant drug analysis and discuss their evolution towards miniaturized systems foreseeing a possible unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. Recombinant protein drugs and/or pro-drug analysis require sensitive and reproducible analytical techniques for quality control to ensure safety and efficacy of drugs according to regulatory agencies. The versatility of miniaturized systems combined with their low-cost could become a major trend in recombinant drugs and bioprocess analysis. Miniaturized systems are capable of performing conventional analytical and proteomic tasks, allowing for interfaces with other powerful techniques, such as mass spectrometry. Microdevices can be applied during the different stages of recombinant drug processing, such as gene isolation, DNA amplification, cell culture, protein expression, protein separation, and analysis. In addition, organs-on-chips have appeared as a viable alternative to testing biodrug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, demonstrating the capabilities of the miniaturized systems. The integration of individual established microfluidic operations and analytical tools in a single device is a challenge to be overcome to achieve a unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. - Highlights: • Principal analytical tools for analysis of recombinant drugs are presented. • A critical comparison among different substrates for fabrication of miniaturized systems is made. • Applications of miniaturized systems to produce recombinant drugs are shown. • Future trends of miniaturized systems capable of integrating analytical and proteomic tools in a single device are envisioned.

  4. Multiple barriers to recombination between divergent HIV-1 variants revealed by a dual-marker recombination assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nikolaitchik, Olga A; Galli, Andrea; Moore, Michael D

    2011-01-01

    Recombination is a major force for generating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) diversity and produces numerous recombinants circulating in the human population. We previously established a cell-based system using green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) as a reporter to study the mechanisms...... of HIV-1 recombination. We now report an improved system capable of detecting recombination using authentic viral sequences. Frameshift mutations were introduced into the gag gene so that parental viruses do not express full-length Gag; however, recombination can generate a progeny virus that expresses...

  5. Oxygen-hydrogen recombination system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Shuichiro; Takejima, Masaki.

    1981-01-01

    Purpose: To avoid reduction in the performance of catalyst used for an oxygen-hydrogen recombiner in the off gas processing system of a nuclear reactor. Constitution: A thermometer is provided for the detection of temperature in an oxygen-hydrogen recombiner. A cooling pipe is provided in the recombiner and cooling medium is introduced externally. The cooling medium may be water or air. In accordance with the detection value from the thermometer, ON-OFF control is carried out for a valve to control the flow rate of the cooling medium thereby rendering the temperature in the recombiner to a predetermined value. This can prevent the catalyst from being exposed to high temperature and avoid the reduction in the performance of the catalyst. (Ikeda, J.)

  6. Combination of recombinant factor VIIa and fibrinogen corrects clot formation in primary immune thrombocytopenia at very low platelet counts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Ole H; Stentoft, Jesper; Radia, Deepti

    2013-01-01

    Haemostatic treatment modalities alternative to platelet transfusion are desirable to control serious acute bleeds in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). This study challenged the hypothesis that recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) combined with fibrinogen concentrate may correct whole b...

  7. Hydrogen recombiner development at AECL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dewit, W.A.; Koroll, G.W.; Loesel Sitar, J.; Graham, W.R.C.

    1997-01-01

    Catalytic recombiners have been developed at AECL for the purpose of hydrogen removal in post-accident nuclear containment buildings. The recombiners are based on a particular catalyst designed by AECL which has extraordinary resistance to fouling from water and water vapour and a large thermodynamic range of operation. The catalysts were developed, originally, for the purpose of heavy water manufacturing by way of a catalytic exchange process. Application of these catalyst materials in recombiners for containment applications began in the late 1980's. The first application was a passive recombiner, qualified for use in control of radiolytic hydrogen in the headspace of a pool-type experimental reactor of AECL design in 1988. The passive, or natural convection recombiner concept has continued development to commercial stage for application in power reactor containments. This paper reviews the AECL recombiner development, describes the current model and shows results from tests of full-scale recombiners in the Large Scale Vented Combustion Test Facility at AECL-WL. The AECL recombiner is designed for compactness and ease of engineering into containment. The design is a simple, open-ended rectangular enclosure with catalyst elements arranged inside to promote optimum convective flow driven by heat of recombination at the catalyst surface. Self start, as evidenced by catalyst heating and initiation of flow, is achieved in less than 1% hydrogen, with available oxygen, at room temperature and 100% relative humidity. This low temperature start-up in condensing atmospheres is viewed as the most challenging condition for wet-proofing effectiveness. Cold start-up is a vital performance requirement in containments, such as CANDU, where engineered air-cooling systems are operating and where long-term hydrogen control is required, after containment atmospheres have cooled. Once started, the removal capacity scales linearly with the inlet cross-section area and the partial

  8. On the relict recombination lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bershtejn, I.N.; Bernshtejn, D.N.; Dubrovich, V.K.

    1977-01-01

    Accurate numerical calculation of intensities and profiles of hydrogen recombination lines of cosmological origin is made. Relie radiation distortions stipulated by recombination quantum release at the irrevocable recombination are investigated. Mean number calculation is given for guantums educing for one irrevocably-lost electron. The account is taken of the educed quantums interraction with matter. The main quantum-matter interrraction mechanisms are considered: electronic blow broadening; free-free, free-bound, bound-bound absorptions Recombination dynamics is investigated depending on hydrogen density and total density of all the matter kinds in the Universe

  9. Prader-Willi syndrome due to an unbalanced de novo translocation [t(15;19)(q12;p13.3)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dang, Vy; Surampalli, Abhilasha; Manzardo, Ann M; Youn, Stephanie; Butler, Merlin G; Gold, June-Anne; Kimonis, Virginia

    2018-01-01

    Background and Aims Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex, multisystem genetic disorder characterized by endocrine, neurologic and behavioral abnormalities. We report the first case of an unbalanced de-novo reciprocal translocation of chromosome 15 and 19: 45,XY,-15, der (19)t(15;19)(q12;p13.3) resulting in monosomy for the PWS chromosome critical region. We performed high resolution SNP microarray to characterize the breakpoints. Case report Our patient had several typical features for PWS including infantile hypotonia, a poor suck and feeding difficulties, tantrums, skin picking, compulsions, small hands and feet and food seeking but not hypopigmentation, a micropenis, cryptorchidism or obesity as common findings seen in PWS at the time of examination at 6 years of age. He had seizures noted from 1 to 3 years of age and marked cognitive delay. Results High resolution SNP microarray analysis identified an atypical PWS Type I deletion of chromosome 15 involving proximal breakpoint BP1. The deletion extended beyond the GABRB3 gene but was proximal to the usual distal breakpoint (BP3) within the 15q11-q13 region and GABRA5, GABRG3 and OCA2 genes were intact. Conclusion We report a case with atypical features for PWS associated with an unbalanced de-novo reciprocal translocation resulting in monosomy for the 15q11.1–15q12 with intact GABRA5, GABRG3 and OCA2 genes. No deletion of 19p13.3 band was detected therefore the patient was not at an increased risk of tumors from Peutz-Jeghers syndrome associated with a deletion of the STK11 gene. PMID:27894106

  10. [Improvement of thermal adaptability and fermentation of industrial ethanologenic yeast by genomic DNA mutagenesis-based genetic recombination].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiuying; He, Xiuping; Lu, Ying; Zhang, Borun

    2011-07-01

    Ethanol is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most important ethanol producer. However, in the process of industrial production of ethanol, both cell growth and fermentation of ethanologenic S. cerevisiae are dramatically affected by environmental stresses, such as thermal stress. In this study, we improved both the thermotolerance and fermentation performance of industrial ethanologenic S. cerevisiae by combined usage of chemical mutagenesis and genomic DNA mutagenesis-based genetic recombination method. The recombinant S. cerevisiae strain T44-2 could grow at 44 degrees C, 3 degrees C higher than that of the original strain CE6. The survival rate of T44-2 was 1.84 and 1.87-fold of that of CE6 when heat shock at 48 degrees C and 52 degrees C for 1 h respectively. At temperature higher than 37 degrees C, recombinant strain T44-2 always gave higher cell growth and ethanol production than those of strain CE6. Meanwhile, from 30 degrees C to 40 degrees C, recombinant strain T44-2 produces 91.2-83.8 g/L of ethanol from 200 g/L of glucose, which indicated that the recombinant strain T44-2 had both thermotolerance and broad thermal adaptability. The work offers a novel method, called genomic DNA mutagenesis-based genetic recombination, to improve the physiological functions of S. cerevisiae.

  11. Late replicating domains are highly recombining in females but have low male recombination rates: implications for isochore evolution.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine J Pink

    Full Text Available In mammals sequences that are either late replicating or highly recombining have high rates of evolution at putatively neutral sites. As early replicating domains and highly recombining domains both tend to be GC rich we a priori expect these two variables to covary. If so, the relative contribution of either of these variables to the local neutral substitution rate might have been wrongly estimated owing to covariance with the other. Against our expectations, we find that sex-averaged recombination rates show little or no correlation with replication timing, suggesting that they are independent determinants of substitution rates. However, this result masks significant sex-specific complexity: late replicating domains tend to have high recombination rates in females but low recombination rates in males. That these trends are antagonistic explains why sex-averaged recombination is not correlated with replication timing. This unexpected result has several important implications. First, although both male and female recombination rates covary significantly with intronic substitution rates, the magnitude of this correlation is moderately underestimated for male recombination and slightly overestimated for female recombination, owing to covariance with replicating timing. Second, the result could explain why male recombination is strongly correlated with GC content but female recombination is not. If to explain the correlation between GC content and replication timing we suppose that late replication forces reduced GC content, then GC promotion by biased gene conversion during female recombination is partly countered by the antagonistic effect of later replicating sequence tending increase AT content. Indeed, the strength of the correlation between female recombination rate and local GC content is more than doubled by control for replication timing. Our results underpin the need to consider sex-specific recombination rates and potential covariates in

  12. Enhanced Power Quality and Minimized Peak Current Control in An Inverter based Microgrid under Unbalanced Grid Faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Wenzhao; Guo, Xiaoqiang; Sulligoi, Giorgio

    2016-01-01

    The microgrid inverter experiences the power oscillations and current harmonics in case of the unbalanced grid voltage faults. However, there is a trade-off between power oscillations and current harmonics should be considered in three phase three wire inverter systems during the conventional fault...... ride through control. In order to solve this problem, a novel control strategy is proposed to enhance the output current quality while mitigating the active and reactive output power oscillations. Moreover, a simple current-limited control strategy can be achieved without the necessity of the voltage....../current positive/negative sequence extraction. Finally, the simulation tests of the conventional and proposed control solutions are carried out. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy....

  13. Auger recombination in sodium iodide

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAllister, Andrew; Kioupakis, Emmanouil; Åberg, Daniel; Schleife, André

    2014-03-01

    Scintillators are an important tool used to detect high energy radiation - both in the interest of national security and in medicine. However, scintillator detectors currently suffer from lower energy resolutions than expected from basic counting statistics. This has been attributed to non-proportional light yield compared to incoming radiation, but the specific mechanism for this non-proportionality has not been identified. Auger recombination is a non-radiative process that could be contributing to the non-proportionality of scintillating materials. Auger recombination comes in two types - direct and phonon-assisted. We have used first-principles calculations to study Auger recombination in sodium iodide, a well characterized scintillating material. Our findings indicate that phonon-assisted Auger recombination is stronger in sodium iodide than direct Auger recombination. Computational resources provided by LLNL and NERSC. Funding provided by NA-22.

  14. Regulation of homologous recombination in eukaryotes

    OpenAIRE

    Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich; Ehmsen, Kirk T.; Liu, Jie

    2010-01-01

    Homologous recombination is required for accurate chromosome segregation during the first meiotic division and constitutes a key repair and tolerance pathway for complex DNA damage including DNA double-stranded breaks, interstrand crosslinks, and DNA gaps. In addition, recombination and replication are inextricably linked, as recombination recovers stalled and broken replication forks enabling the evolution of larger genomes/replicons. Defects in recombination lead to genomic instability and ...

  15. Effects of DNA double-strand and single-strand breaks on intrachromosomal recombination events in cell-cycle-arrested yeast cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galli, A.; Schiestl, R.H.

    1998-01-01

    Intrachromosomal recombination between repeated elements can result in deletion (DEL recombination) events. We investigated the inducibility of such intrachromosomal recombination events at different stages of the cell cycle and the nature of the primary DNA lesions capable of initiating these events. Two genetic systems were constructed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that select for DEL recombination events between duplicated alleles of CDC28 and TUB2. We determined effects of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and single-strand breaks (SSBs) between the duplicated alleles on DEL recombination when induced in dividing cells or cells arrested in G1 or G2. Site-specific DSBs and SSBs were produced by overexpression of the I-Sce I endonuclease and the gene II protein (gIIp), respectively. I-Sce I-induced DSBs caused an increase in DEL recombination frequencies in both dividing and cell-cycle-arrested cells, indicating that G1- and G2-arrested cells are capable of completing DSB repair. In contrast, gIIp-induced SSBs caused an increase in DEL recombination frequency only in dividing cells. To further examine these phenomena we used both γ-irradiation, inducing DSBs as its most relevant lesion, and UV, inducing other forms of DNA damage. UV irradiation did not increase DEL recombination frequencies in G1 or G2, whereas γ-rays increased DEL recombination frequencies in both phases. Both forms of radiation, however, induced DEL recombination in dividing cells. The results suggest that DSBsbut not SSBs induce DEL recombination, probably via the single-strand annealing pathway. Further, DSBs in dividing cells may result from the replication of a UV or SSB-damaged template. Alternatively, UV induced events may occur by replication slippage after DNA polymerase pausing in front of the damage. (author)

  16. Recombination coefficients in extrinsic n-InSb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, W.; Groh, H.; Huebner, K.

    1976-01-01

    The bulk recombination coefficients for linear recombination via recombination centers as well as for direct recombination have been determined measuring the conductivity decay after two-photon absorption with a CO 2 laser. The Suhl effect was applied to measure the surface recombination velocity. The corresponding literature is discussed and compared with our results. We conclude that two different kinds of recombination centers are possible in n-InSb, with energy levels (0.1-0.12)eV above the valence band, or (0.14-0.2)eV respectively. (orig.) [de

  17. Electron-ion recombination rates for merged-beams experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pajek, M.

    1994-01-01

    Energy dependence of the electron-ion recombination rates are studied for different recombination processes (radiative recombination, three-body recombination, dissociative recombination) for Maxwellian relative velocity distribution of arbitrary asymmetry. The results are discussed in context of the electron-ion merged beams experiments in cooling ion storage rings. The question of indication of a possible contribution of the three-body recombination to the measured recombination rates versus relative energy is particularly addressed. Its influence on the electron beam temperature derived from the energy dependence of recombination rate is discussed

  18. Electron-ion recombination at low energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, L.H.

    1993-01-01

    The work is based on results obtained with a merged-beams experiment. A beam of electronics with a well characterized density and energy distribution was merged with a fast, monoenergetic ion beam. Results have been obtained for radiative recombination and dielectronic recombination at low relative energies (0 to ∼70eV). The obtained energy resolution was improved by about a factor of 30. High vacuum technology was used to suppress interactions with electrons from the environments. The velocity distribution of the electron beam was determined. State-selective dielectronic-recombination measurements were performable. Recombination processes were studied. The theoretical background for radiative recombination and Kramers' theory are reviewed. The quantum mechanical result and its relation to the semiclassical theory is discussed. Radiative recombination was also measured with several different non-bare ions, and the applicability of the semiclassical theory to non-bare ions was investigated. The use of an effective charge is discussed. For dielectronic recombination, the standard theoretical approach in the isolated resonance and independent-processes approximation is debated. The applicability of this method was tested. The theory was able to reproduce most of the experimental data except when the recombination process was sensitive to couplings between different electronic configurations. The influence of external perturbing electrostatic fields is discussed. (AB) (31 refs.)

  19. Recombinant Innovation and Endogenous Transitions

    OpenAIRE

    Koen Frenken; Luis R. Izquierdo; Paolo Zeppini

    2012-01-01

    We propose a model of technological transitions based on two different types of innovations. Branching innovations refer to technological improvements along a particular path, while recombinant innovations represent fusions of multiple paths. Recombinant innovations create “short-cuts” which reduce switching costs allowing agents to escape a technological lock-in. As a result, recombinant innovations speed up technological progress allowing transitions that are impossible with only branching ...

  20. Interface recombination influence on carrier transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konin, A

    2013-01-01

    A theory of interface recombination in the semiconductor–semiconductor junction is developed. The interface recombination rate dependence on the nonequilibrium carrier densities is derived on the basis of a model in which the interface recombination occurs through the mechanism of trapping. The general relation between the interface recombination parameters at small carrier density deviation from the equilibrium ones is obtained. The validity of this relation is proved considering the generation of the Hall electric field in the extrinsic semiconductor sample. The anomalous Hall electromotive force in a weak magnetic field was investigated and interpreted by means of a new interface recombination model. The experimental data corroborate the developed theory. (paper)

  1. Caenorhabditis briggsae recombinant inbred line genotypes reveal inter-strain incompatibility and the evolution of recombination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph A Ross

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is an emerging model organism that allows evolutionary comparisons with C. elegans and exploration of its own unique biological attributes. To produce a high-resolution C. briggsae recombination map, recombinant inbred lines were generated from reciprocal crosses between two strains and genotyped at over 1,000 loci. A second set of recombinant inbred lines involving a third strain was also genotyped at lower resolution. The resulting recombination maps exhibit discrete domains of high and low recombination, as in C. elegans, indicating these are a general feature of Caenorhabditis species. The proportion of a chromosome's physical size occupied by the central, low-recombination domain is highly correlated between species. However, the C. briggsae intra-species comparison reveals striking variation in the distribution of recombination between domains. Hybrid lines made with the more divergent pair of strains also exhibit pervasive marker transmission ratio distortion, evidence of selection acting on hybrid genotypes. The strongest effect, on chromosome III, is explained by a developmental delay phenotype exhibited by some hybrid F2 animals. In addition, on chromosomes IV and V, cross direction-specific biases towards one parental genotype suggest the existence of cytonuclear epistatic interactions. These interactions are discussed in relation to surprising mitochondrial genome polymorphism in C. briggsae, evidence that the two strains diverged in allopatry, the potential for local adaptation, and the evolution of Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities. The genetic and genomic resources resulting from this work will support future efforts to understand inter-strain divergence as well as facilitate studies of gene function, natural variation, and the evolution of recombination in Caenorhabditis nematodes.

  2. Complete protection of cats against feline panleukopenia virus challenge by a recombinant canine adenovirus type 2 expressing VP2 from FPV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Songtao; Xia, Xianzhu; Qiao, Jun; Liu, Quan; Chang, Shuang; Xie, Zhijing; Ju, Huiyan; Zou, Xiaohuan; Gao, Yuwei

    2008-03-10

    Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) is an important infectious pathogen of all members of the family Felidae. Here, we describe construction of a replication-competent recombinant canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) expressing the VP2 protein of FPV (CAV-2-VP2) by transfection of MDCK cells with recombinant CAV-2 genome carrying a VP2 expression cassette. Ten 3-month-old cats were vaccinated with the recombinant virus with two boosters at 15-day intervals. All cats developed neutralizing antibodies of titers 1:16-1:32 by day 15 post-primary vaccination, increasing to 1:64-1:128 by day 45. Examination for clinical signs and viral presence, and total white blood cell counts in peripheral blood following FPV challenge, showed that all were completely protected. This recombinant virus appears to provide an effective alternative to attenuated and inactivated vaccines in immunizing cats against feline panleukopenia.

  3. Molecular requirements for radiation-activated recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevens, Craig W.; Zeng Ming; Stamato, Thomas; Cerniglia, George

    1997-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: The major stumbling block to successful gene therapy today is poor gene transfer. We hypothesized that ionizing radiation might activate cellular recombination, and so improve stable gene transfer. We further hypothesized that known DNA-damage-repair proteins might also be important in radiation-activated recombination. Materials and Methods: The effect of irradiation on stable gene transfer efficiency was determined in human (A549 and 39F) and rodent (NIH/3T3) cell lines. Continuous low dose rate and multiple radiation fractions were also tested. Nuclear extracts were made and the effect of irradiation on inter-plasmid recombination/ligation determined. Multiple DNA damage-repair deficient cell lines were tested for radiation-activated recombination. Results: A significant radiation dose-dependent improvement in stable plasmid transfection (by as much as 1300 fold) is demonstrated in neoplastic and primary cells. An improvement in transient plasmid transfection is also seen, with as much as 85% of cells transiently expressing b-galactosidase (20-50 fold improvement). Stable transfection is only improved for linearized or nicked plasmids. Cells have improved gene transfer for at least 96 hours after irradiation. Both fractionated and continuous low dose rate irradiation are effective at improving stable gene transfer in mammalian cells, thus making relatively high radiation dose delivery clinically feasible. Inter-plasmid recombination is radiation dose dependent in nuclear extract assays, and the type of overhang (3', 5' or blunt end) significantly affects recombination efficiency and the type of product. The most common end-joining activity involves filling-in of the overhang followed by blunt end ligation. Adenovirus is a linear, double stranded DNA virus. We demonstrate that adenoviral infection efficiency is increased by irradiation. The duration of transgene expression is lengthened because the virus integrates with high efficiency (∼10

  4. Recombinant pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase, recombinant dirigent protein, and methods of use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Norman G.; Davin, Laurence B.; Dinkova-Kostova, Albena T.; Fujita, Masayuki; Gang, David R.; Sarkanen, Simo; Ford, Joshua D.

    2001-04-03

    Dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases have been isolated, together with cDNAs encoding dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases. Accordingly, isolated DNA sequences are provided which code for the expression of dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases. In other aspects, replicable recombinant cloning vehicles are provided which code for dirigent proteins or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases or for a base sequence sufficiently complementary to at least a portion of dirigent protein or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase DNA or RNA to enable hybridization therewith. In yet other aspects, modified host cells are provided that have been transformed, transfected, infected and/or injected with a recombinant cloning vehicle and/or DNA sequence encoding dirigent protein or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase. Thus, systems and methods are provided for the recombinant expression of dirigent proteins and/or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases.

  5. Fcγ1 fragment of IgG1 as a powerful affinity tag in recombinant Fc-fusion proteins: immunological, biochemical and therapeutic properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soleimanpour, Saman; Hassannia, Tahereh; Motiee, Mahdieh; Amini, Abbas Ali; Rezaee, S A R

    2017-05-01

    Affinity tags are vital tools for the production of high-throughput recombinant proteins. Several affinity tags, such as the hexahistidine tag, maltose-binding protein, streptavidin-binding peptide tag, calmodulin-binding peptide, c-Myc tag, glutathione S-transferase and FLAG tag, have been introduced for recombinant protein production. The fragment crystallizable (Fc) domain of the IgG1 antibody is one of the useful affinity tags that can facilitate detection, purification and localization of proteins and can improve the immunogenicity, modulatory effects, physicochemical and pharmaceutical properties of proteins. Fcγ recombinant forms a group of recombinant proteins called Fc-fusion proteins (FFPs). FFPs are widely used in drug discovery, drug delivery, vaccine design and experimental research on receptor-ligand interactions. These fusion proteins have become successful alternatives to monoclonal antibodies for drug developments. In this review, the physicochemical, biochemical, immunological, pharmaceutical and therapeutic properties of recombinant FFPs were discussed as a new generation of bioengineering strategies.

  6. Population inversion in recombining hydrogen plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furukane, Utaro; Yokota, Toshiaki; Oda, Toshiatsu.

    1978-11-01

    The collisional-radiative model is applied to a recombining hydrogen plasma in order to investigate the plasma condition in which the population inversion between the energy levels of hydrogen can be generated. The population inversion is expected in a plasma where the three body recombination has a large contribution to the recombining processes and the effective recombination rate is beyond a certain value for a given electron density and temperature. Calculated results are presented in figures and tables. (author)

  7. Composite cavity based fiber optic Fabry–Perot strain sensors demodulated by an unbalanced fiber optic Michelson interferometer with an electrical scanning mirror

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Jianzhong; Yang, Jun; Sun, Weimin; Yuan, Libo; Jin, Wencai; Peng, G D

    2008-01-01

    A composite cavity based fiber optic Fabry–Perot strain sensor system, interrogated by a white light source and demodulated by an unbalanced fiber optic Michelson interferometer with an electrical scanning mirror, is proposed and demonstrated. Comparing with the traditional extrinsic fiber optic Fabry–Perot strain sensor, the potential multiplexing capability and the dynamic measurement range are improved simultaneously. At the same time, the measurement stability of the electrical scanning mirror system is improved by the self-referenced signal of the sensor structure

  8. De novo unbalanced translocation (4p duplication/8p deletion) in a patient with autism, OCD, and overgrowth syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagar, Angela; Pinto, Dalila; Najjar, Fedra; Guter, Stephen J; Macmillan, Carol; Cook, Edwin H

    2017-06-01

    Chromosomal abnormalities, such as unbalanced translocations and copy number variants (CNVs), are found in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) [Sanders et al. (2011) Neuron 70: 863-885]. Many chromosomal abnormalities, including sub microscopic genomic deletions and duplications, are missed by G-banded karyotyping or Fragile X screening alone and are picked up by chromosomal microarrays [Shen et al. (2010) Pediatrics 125: e727-735]. Translocations involving chromosomes 4 and 8 are possibly the second most frequent translocation in humans and are often undetected in routine cytogenetics [Giglio et al. (2002) Circulation 102: 432-437]. Deletions of 4p16 have been associated with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome while 4p16 duplications have been associated with an overgrowth syndrome and mild to moderate mental retardation [Partington et al. (1997) Journal of Medical Genetics 34: 719-728]. The 8p23.3 region contains the autism candidate gene DLGAP2, which can contribute to autism when disrupted [Marshall et al. (2008) The American Journal of Human Genetics 82: 477-488] . There has been a case report of a family with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), prominent obsessional behavior, and overgrowth in patients with der (8) t (4;8) p (16;23) [Partington et al. (1997)]. This is an independent report of a male patient with autism, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and an overgrowth syndrome, whose de novo unbalanced translocation der (8) t (4;8) p (16.1→ter; 23.1→ter) was initially missed by routine cytogenetics but detected with SNP microarray, allowing higher resolution of translocation breakpoints. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Consequences of recombination on traditional phylogenetic analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, M H; Hein, J

    2000-01-01

    We investigate the shape of a phylogenetic tree reconstructed from sequences evolving under the coalescent with recombination. The motivation is that evolutionary inferences are often made from phylogenetic trees reconstructed from population data even though recombination may well occur (mt......DNA or viral sequences) or does occur (nuclear sequences). We investigate the size and direction of biases when a single tree is reconstructed ignoring recombination. Standard software (PHYLIP) was used to construct the best phylogenetic tree from sequences simulated under the coalescent with recombination....... With recombination present, the length of terminal branches and the total branch length are larger, and the time to the most recent common ancestor smaller, than for a tree reconstructed from sequences evolving with no recombination. The effects are pronounced even for small levels of recombination that may...

  10. Succinic acid production from xylose mother liquor by recombinant Escherichia coli strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Honghui; Pan, Jiachuan; Wang, Jing; Wang, Nan; Zhang, Jie; Li, Qiang; Wang, Dan; Zhou, Xiaohua

    2014-11-02

    Succinic acid (1,4-butanedioic acid) is identified as one of important building-block chemicals. Xylose mother liquor is an abundant industrial residue in xylitol biorefining industry. In this study, xylose mother liquor was utilized to produce succinic acid by recombinant Escherichia coli strain SD121, and the response surface methodology was used to optimize the fermentation media. The optimal conditions of succinic acid fermentation were as follows: 82.62 g L -1 total initial sugars, 42.27 g L -1 MgCO 3 and 17.84 g L -1 yeast extract. The maximum production of succinic acid was 52.09 ± 0.21 g L -1 after 84 h with a yield of 0.63 ± 0.03 g g -1 total sugar, approaching the predicted value (53.18 g L -1 ). It was 1.78-fold of the production of that obtained with the basic medium. This was the first report on succinic acid production from xylose mother liquor by recombinant E. coli strains with media optimization using response surface methodology. This work suggested that the xylose mother liquor could be an alternative substrate for the economical production of succinic acid by recombinant E. coli strains.

  11. Comparative evaluation of the diagnostic potential of recombinant envelope proteins and native cell culture purified viral antigens of Chikungunya virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Mohsin; Dhanwani, Rekha; Kumar, Jyoti S; Rao, P V Lakshmana; Parida, Manmohan

    2014-07-01

    Despite the fact that Chikungunya resurgence is associated with epidemic of unprecedented magnitude, there are challenges in the field of its clinical diagnosis. However, serological tests in an ELISA format provide a rapid tool for the diagnosis of Chikungunya infection. Indeed, ELISAs based on recombinant proteins hold a great promise as these methods are cost effective and are free from the risk of handling biohazardous material. In this study, the performance of recombinant CHIKV antigens was compared in various ELISA formats for the diagnosis of Chikungunya. Two recombinant antigens derived from the envelope proteins of Chikungunya virus were prepared and evaluated by comparing their competence for detecting circulating antibodies in serum samples of patients infected with CHIKV using MAC-ELISA and indirect IgM-ELISA. The efficacy of the recombinant antigens was also compared with the native antigen. The indirect antibody capture IgM microplate ELISA revealed ≥90% concordance with the native antigen in detecting the CHIKV specific IgM antibodies whereas the recombinant antigen based MAC-ELISA showed 100% specificity. The recombinant antigens used in this study were effective and reliable targets for the diagnosis of CHIKV infection and also provide an alternative for native antigen use which is potentially biohazardous. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Sociological aspects of medicine and population unbalanced relationships in contemporary Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T V Semina

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers sociological aspects of one of the most complex and urgent problems of the contemporary Russian society - the growing imbalance of social relationships between patients and doctors. Undoubtedly, in medicine each group - doctors and patients - is an element of poorly structured social network and an integral part of all types of interaction in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. This system of relationships is institutionalized and complex in itself, but social and economic processes can complicate or facilitate its functioning. Unfortunately, the growth of social differentiation in the Russian society in the last decades had a negative impact on all spheres of life including healthcare. Under given conditions and social stratification trends each group - doctors and patients - has developed specific value orientations as a kind of professional and personal quintessence of the current fundamental values. In particular, dissatisfaction with the financial situation in the light of work efforts and high level of education explains why doctors consider their social status inadequate and are forced to satisfy their material needs with the help of illegal means. The author proposes some measures to reduce the imbalance of medicine and society relationships in the contemporary Russian society, which suggest changing traditional models of healthcare and conflict management through the purposeful influence on the subject and object of the unbalanced relationships.

  13. Density dependence of dielectronic recombination in selenium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagelstein, P.L.; Rosen, M.D.; Jacobs, V.L.

    1986-01-01

    Dielectronic recombination has been found to be the dominant recombination process in the determination of the ionization balance of selenium near the Ne-like sequence under conditions relevant to the exploding-foil EUV laser plasmas. The dielectronic recombination process tends to populate excited levels, and these levels in turn are more susceptible to subsequent excitation and ionization than are the ground-state ions. If one defines an effective recombination rate which includes, in addition to the primary recombination, the subsequent excitation and ionization of the additional excited-state population due to the primary recombination, then this effective recombination rate can be density-sensitive at relatively low electron density. We present results for this effective dielectronic recombination rate at an electron density of 3 x 10/sup 20/ electrons/cm 3 for recombination from Ne-like to Na-like selenium and from F-like to Ne-like selenium. In the former case, the effective recombination rate coefficient is found to be 1.8 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec at 1.0 keV, which is to be compared with the zero-density value of 2.8 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec. In the latter case (F-like to Ne-like), the effective recombination rate coefficient is found to be 1.3 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec, which is substantially reduced from the zero-density result of 3.3 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec. We have examined the effects of dielectronic recombination on the laser gain of the dominant Ne-like 3p-3s transitions and have compared our results with those presented by Whitten et al. [Phys. Rev. A 33, 2171 (1986)

  14. Dynamic Models of Instruments Using Rotating Unbalanced Masses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, John Y.; Gallaspy, Jason M.; Bishop, Carlee A.

    1998-01-01

    The motion of telescopes, satellites, and other flight bodies have been controlled by various means in the past. For example, gimbal mounted devices can use electric motors to produce pointing and scanning motions. Reaction wheels, control moment gyros, and propellant-charged reaction jets are other technologies that have also been used. Each of these methods has its advantages, but all actuator systems used in a flight environment face the challenges of minimizing weight, reducing energy consumption, and maximizing reliability. Recently, Polites invented and patented the Rotating Unbalanced Mass (RUM) device as a means for generation scanning motion on flight experiments. RUM devices together with traditional servomechanisms have been successfully used to generate various scanning motions: linear, raster, and circular. The basic principle can be described: A RUM rotating at constant angular velocity exerts a cyclic centrifugal force on the instrument or main body, thus producing a periodic scanning motion. A system of RUM devices exerts no reaction forces on the main body, requires very little energy to rotate the RUMS, and is simple to construct. These are significant advantages over electric motors, reaction wheels, and control moment gyroscopes. Although the RUM device very easily produces scanning motion, an auxiliary control system has been required to maintain the proper orientation, or pointing of the main body. It has been suggested that RUM devices can be used to control pointing dynamics, as well as generate the desired periodic scanning motion. The idea is that the RUM velocity will not be kept constant, but will vary over the period of one RUM rotation. The thought is that the changing angular velocity produces a centrifugal force having time-varying magnitude and direction. The scope of this ongoing research project is to study the pointing control concept, and recommend a direction of study for advanced pointing control using only RUM devices. This

  15. SequenceLDhot: detecting recombination hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fearnhead, Paul

    2006-12-15

    There is much local variation in recombination rates across the human genome--with the majority of recombination occurring in recombination hotspots--short regions of around approximately 2 kb in length that have much higher recombination rates than neighbouring regions. Knowledge of this local variation is important, e.g. in the design and analysis of association studies for disease genes. Population genetic data, such as that generated by the HapMap project, can be used to infer the location of these hotspots. We present a new, efficient and powerful method for detecting recombination hotspots from population data. We compare our method with four current methods for detecting hotspots. It is orders of magnitude quicker, and has greater power, than two related approaches. It appears to be more powerful than HotspotFisher, though less accurate at inferring the precise positions of the hotspot. It was also more powerful than LDhot in some situations: particularly for weaker hotspots (10-40 times the background rate) when SNP density is lower (maths.lancs.ac.uk/~fearnhea/Hotspot.

  16. Recombinant proteins of helminths with immunoregulatory properties and their possible therapeutic use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nascimento Santos, Leonardo; Carvalho Pacheco, Luis Gustavo; Silva Pinheiro, Carina; Alcantara-Neves, Neuza Maria

    2017-02-01

    The inverse relationship between helminth infections and the development of immune-mediated diseases is a cornerstone of the hygiene hypothesis and studies were carried out to elucidate the mechanisms by which helminth-derived molecules can suppress immunological disorders. These studies have fostered the idea that parasitic worms may be used as a promising therapeutic alternative for prevention and treatment of immune-mediated diseases. We discuss the current approaches for identification of helminth proteins with potential immunoregulatory properties, including the strategies based on high-throughput technologies. We also explore the methodological approaches and expression systems used for production of the recombinant forms of more than 20 helminth immunomodulatory proteins, besides their performances when evaluated as immunotherapeutic molecules to treat different immune-mediated conditions, including asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases. Finally, we discuss the perspectives of using these parasite-derived recombinant molecules as tools for future immunotherapy and immunoprophylaxis of human inflammatory diseases. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Immunological and biological properties of recombinant Lol p 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutin, Y; Lamontagne, P; Boulanger, J; Brunet, C; Hébert, J

    1997-03-01

    Current forms of allergy diagnosis and therapies are based on the use of natural allergenic extracts. Despite strong evidence that higher therapeutic efficacy may be achieved with purified allergens, the purification of multiple allergic components from extracts is a fastidious and sometimes an impossible task. However, the use of recombinant allergens may be an alternative to overcome this problem. In this study, we compared the immunological properties of recombinant (r) Lol p 1 with those of the natural protein. We cloned directly the gene encoding Lol p 1 from genomic DNA of ryegrass pollen. This gene was subcloned into the expression vector pMAL-c and expressed as fusion protein. Subsequently, rLol p 1 was cleaved from maltose-binding protein using factor Xa. Using binding inhibition and proliferative assays, we assessed the immunological properties of the recombinant allergens. The capacity of rLol p 1 to trigger basophil histamine release and to elicit a skin reaction was also assessed and compared to those of its natural counterpart. We found that the Lol p 1 gene has no introns since we amplified this gene directly from genomic DNA. We demonstrated that the binding sites of anti-Lol p 1 monoclonal antibody, specific human IgG and IgE antibody are well conserved on rLol p 1 as no difference in the binding inhibition profile was observed when using either natural or recombinant protein. At the T-cell level, rLol p 1 elicited a T-cell response in mice comparable to that observed with the natural protein. In addition, we demonstrated that the biological characteristics of rLol p 1 were comparable to those of the natural counterpart, in that rLol p 1 elicited a skin wheal reaction and induced basophil histamine release in grass-allergic patients only. The data indicate that natural Lol p 1 and rLol p 1 shared identical immunological and biological properties.

  18. Experimental evolution across different thermal regimes yields genetic divergence in recombination fraction but no divergence in temperature associated plastic recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohl, Kathryn P; Singh, Nadia D

    2018-04-01

    Phenotypic plasticity is pervasive in nature. One mechanism underlying the evolution and maintenance of such plasticity is environmental heterogeneity. Indeed, theory indicates that both spatial and temporal variation in the environment should favor the evolution of phenotypic plasticity under a variety of conditions. Cyclical environmental conditions have also been shown to yield evolved increases in recombination frequency. Here, we use a panel of replicated experimental evolution populations of D. melanogaster to test whether variable environments favor enhanced plasticity in recombination rate and/or increased recombination rate in response to temperature. In contrast to expectation, we find no evidence for either enhanced plasticity in recombination or increased rates of recombination in the variable environment lines. Our data confirm a role of temperature in mediating recombination fraction in D. melanogaster, and indicate that recombination is genetically and plastically depressed under lower temperatures. Our data further suggest that the genetic architectures underlying plastic recombination and population-level variation in recombination rate are likely to be distinct. © 2018 The Author(s). Evolution © 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  19. Hybridization-based antibody cDNA recovery for the production of recombinant antibodies identified by repertoire sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdés-Alemán, Javier; Téllez-Sosa, Juan; Ovilla-Muñoz, Marbella; Godoy-Lozano, Elizabeth; Velázquez-Ramírez, Daniel; Valdovinos-Torres, Humberto; Gómez-Barreto, Rosa E; Martinez-Barnetche, Jesús

    2014-01-01

    High-throughput sequencing of the antibody repertoire is enabling a thorough analysis of B cell diversity and clonal selection, which may improve the novel antibody discovery process. Theoretically, an adequate bioinformatic analysis could allow identification of candidate antigen-specific antibodies, requiring their recombinant production for experimental validation of their specificity. Gene synthesis is commonly used for the generation of recombinant antibodies identified in silico. Novel strategies that bypass gene synthesis could offer more accessible antibody identification and validation alternatives. We developed a hybridization-based recovery strategy that targets the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDRH3) for the enrichment of cDNA of candidate antigen-specific antibody sequences. Ten clonal groups of interest were identified through bioinformatic analysis of the heavy chain antibody repertoire of mice immunized with hen egg white lysozyme (HEL). cDNA from eight of the targeted clonal groups was recovered efficiently, leading to the generation of recombinant antibodies. One representative heavy chain sequence from each clonal group recovered was paired with previously reported anti-HEL light chains to generate full antibodies, later tested for HEL-binding capacity. The recovery process proposed represents a simple and scalable molecular strategy that could enhance antibody identification and specificity assessment, enabling a more cost-efficient generation of recombinant antibodies.

  20. Is there a yet unreported unbalanced chromosomal abnormality without phenotypic consequences in proximal 4p?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liehr, T; Bartels, I; Zoll, B; Ewers, E; Mrasek, K; Kosyakova, N; Merkas, M; Hamid, A B; von Eggeling, F; Posorski, N; Weise, A

    2011-01-01

    Unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities (UBCA) are reported for >50 euchromatic regions of almost all human autosomes. UBCA are comprised of a few megabases of DNA, and carriers are in many cases clinically healthy. Here we report on a partial trisomy of chromosome 4 of the centromere-near region of the short arm of chromosome 4 present as a small supernumerary marker chromosome (sSMC). The sSMC was present in >70% of amnion cells and in 60% of placenta. Further delineation of the size of the duplicated region was done by molecular cytogenetics and array comparative genomic hybridization. Even though the sSMC lead to a partial trisomy of ~9 megabase pairs, a healthy child was born, developing normally at 1 year of age. No comparable cases are available in the literature. Thus, we discuss here the possibility of having found a yet unrecognized chromosomal region subject to UBCA. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. The roles of WRN and BLM RecQ helicases in the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendez-Bermudez, Aaron; Hidalgo-Bravo, Alberto; Cotton, Victoria E; Gravani, Athanasia; Jeyapalan, Jennie N; Royle, Nicola J

    2012-11-01

    Approximately 10% of all cancers, but a higher proportion of sarcomas, use the recombination-based alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) to maintain telomeres. Two RecQ helicase genes, BLM and WRN, play important roles in homologous recombination repair and they have been implicated in telomeric recombination activity, but their precise roles in ALT are unclear. Using analysis of sequence variation present in human telomeres, we found that a WRN- ALT+ cell line lacks the class of complex telomere mutations attributed to inter-telomeric recombination in other ALT+ cell lines. This suggests that WRN facilitates inter-telomeric recombination when there are sequence differences between the donor and recipient molecules or that sister-telomere interactions are suppressed in the presence of WRN and this promotes inter-telomeric recombination. Depleting BLM in the WRN- ALT+ cell line increased the mutation frequency at telomeres and at the MS32 minisatellite, which is a marker of ALT. The absence of complex telomere mutations persisted in BLM-depleted clones, and there was a clear increase in sequence homogenization across the telomere and MS32 repeat arrays. These data indicate that BLM suppresses unequal sister chromatid interactions that result in excessive homogenization at MS32 and at telomeres in ALT+ cells.

  2. The extent and importance of intragenic recombination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    de Silva Eric

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We have studied the recombination rate behaviour of a set of 140 genes which were investigated for their potential importance in inflammatory disease. Each gene was extensively sequenced in 24 individuals of African descent and 23 individuals of European descent, and the recombination process was studied separately in the two population samples. The results obtained from the two populations were highly correlated, suggesting that demographic bias does not affect our population genetic estimation procedure. We found evidence that levels of recombination correlate with levels of nucleotide diversity. High marker density allowed us to study recombination rate variation on a very fine spatial scale. We found that about 40 per cent of genes showed evidence of uniform recombination, while approximately 12 per cent of genes carried distinct signatures of recombination hotspots. On studying the locations of these hotspots, we found that they are not always confined to introns but can also stretch across exons. An investigation of the protein products of these genes suggested that recombination hotspots can sometimes separate exons belonging to different protein domains; however, this occurs much less frequently than might be expected based on evolutionary studies into the origins of recombination. This suggests that evolutionary analysis of the recombination process is greatly aided by considering nucleotide sequences and protein products jointly.

  3. Recombination epoch revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krolik, J.H.

    1989-01-01

    Previous studies of cosmological recombination have shown that this process produces as a by-product a highly superthermal population of Ly-alpha photons which retard completion of recombination. Cosmological redshifting was thought to determine the frequency distribution of the photons, while two-photon decay of hydrogen's 2s state was thought to control their numbers. It is shown here that frequency diffusion due to photon scattering dominate the cosmological redshift in the frequency range near line center which fixes the ratio of ground state to excited state population, while incoherent scattering into the far-red damping wing effectively destroys Ly-alpha photons as a rate which is competitive with two-photon decay. The former effect tends to hold back recombination, while the latter tends to accelerate it; the net results depends on cosmological parameters, particularly the combination Omega(b) h/sq rt (2q0), where Omega(b) is the fraction of the critical density provided by baryons. 18 references

  4. Recombination of Globally Circulating Varicella-Zoster Virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Depledge, Daniel P.; Kundu, Samit; Atkinson, Claire; Brown, Julianne; Haque, Tanzina; Hussaini, Yusuf; MacMahon, Eithne; Molyneaux, Pamela; Papaevangelou, Vassiliki; Sengupta, Nitu; Koay, Evelyn S. C.; Tang, Julian W.; Underhill, Gillian S.; Grahn, Anna; Studahl, Marie; Breuer, Judith; Bergström, Tomas

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a human herpesvirus, which during primary infection typically causes varicella (chicken pox) and establishes lifelong latency in sensory and autonomic ganglia. Later in life, the virus may reactivate to cause herpes zoster (HZ; also known as shingles). To prevent these diseases, a live-attenuated heterogeneous vaccine preparation, vOka, is used routinely in many countries worldwide. Recent studies of another alphaherpesvirus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, demonstrate that live-attenuated vaccine strains can recombine in vivo, creating virulent progeny. These findings raised concerns about using attenuated herpesvirus vaccines under conditions that favor recombination. To investigate whether VZV may undergo recombination, which is a prerequisite for VZV vaccination to create such conditions, we here analyzed 115 complete VZV genomes. Our results demonstrate that recombination occurs frequently for VZV. It thus seems that VZV is fully capable of recombination if given the opportunity, which may have important implications for continued VZV vaccination. Although no interclade vaccine-wild-type recombinant strains were found, intraclade recombinants were frequently detected in clade 2, which harbors the vaccine strains, suggesting that the vaccine strains have already been involved in recombination events, either in vivo or in vitro during passages in cell culture. Finally, previous partial and complete genomic studies have described strains that do not cluster phylogenetically to any of the five established clades. The additional VZV strains sequenced here, in combination with those previously published, have enabled us to formally define a novel sixth VZV clade. IMPORTANCE Although genetic recombination has been demonstrated to frequently occur for other human alphaherpesviruses, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, only a few ancient and isolated recent recombination events have hitherto been demonstrated for VZV. In the

  5. BIOTECHNOLOGY OF RECOMBINANT HORMONES IN DOPING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biljana Vitošević

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant DNA technology has allowed rapid progress in creating biosynthetic gene products for the treatment of many diseases. In this way it can produce large amounts of hormone, which is intended for the treatment of many pathological conditions. Recombinant hormones that are commonly used are insulin, growth hormone and erythropoietin. Precisely because of the availability of these recombinant hormones, it started their abuse by athletes. Experiments in animal models confirmed the potential effects of some of these hormones in increasing physical abilities, which attracted the attention of athletes who push the limits of their competitive capability by such manipulation. The risks of the use of recombinant hormones in doping include serious consequences for the health of athletes. Methods of detection of endogenous hormones from recombined based on the use of a monoclonal antibodies, capillary zone electrophoresis and protein biomarkers

  6. Neutron activation analysis in the central nervous system tissues of neurological diseases and rats maintained on minerally unbalanced diets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasui, Masayuki; Ota, Kiichiro; Sasajima, Kazuhisa.

    1995-01-01

    Epidemiological surveys on Guam have suggested that low calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and high Al and Mn in river, soil and drinking water may be implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Experimentally, low Ca-Mg diets with or without added Al have been found to accelerate Al deposition in the CNS of rats and monkeys. Although excessive deposition of Mn produces neurotoxic action similar to Al in CNS tissues, the mechanism of Mn deposition coupled with Al loading in the presence of low Ca-Mg intake is not yet known. In this animal study, the deposition and metal-metal interaction of both Al and Mn in the CNS, visceral organs and bones of rats fed unbalanced mineral diets were analyzed. Male Wistar rats, weighing 200 g, were maintained for 90 days on the following diets: (A) standard diet, (B) low Ca diet, (C) low Ca-Mg diet, (D) low Ca-Mg diet with high Al. Al and Mn content were determined in the frontal cortex, spinal cord, kidney, muscle, abdominal aorta, femur and lumbar spine using neutron activation analysis (NAA). Intake of low Ca and Mg with added Al in rats led to the high concentrations of Mn and Al in bones and in the frontal cortex. It is likely that unbalanced mineral diets and metal-metal interactions may lead to the unequal distribution of Al and Mn in bones and ultimately in the CNS inducing CNS degeneration. On the other hand, concentrations of copper (Cu), calcium (Ca) and aluminum (Al) for 26 subanatomical regions of the CNS were measured by neutron activation analysis (NAA) in two cases of Wilson's disease, two of portal systemic encephalopathy, six pathologically verified cases of ALS, four of Parkinson's disease and five neurologically normal controls. Also zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) concentrations were measured by NAA for frontal and occipital lobes of parkinsonism-dementia. (author)

  7. Homologous recombination induced by doxazosin mesylate and saw palmetto in the Drosophila wing-spot test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriel, Katiane Cella; Dihl, Rafael Rodrigues; Lehmann, Mauricio; Reguly, Maria Luiza; Richter, Marc François; Andrade, Heloisa Helena Rodrigues de

    2013-03-01

    Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common tumor in men over 40 years of age. Acute urinary retention (AUR) is regarded as the most serious hazard of untreated BPH. α-Blockers, such as doxazosin mesylate, and 5-α reductase inhibitors, such as finasteride, are frequently used because they decrease both AUR and the need for BPH-related surgery. An extract of the fruit from American saw palmetto plant has also been used as an alternative treatment for BPH. The paucity of information available concerning the genotoxic action of these compounds led us to assess their activity as inducers of different types of DNA lesions using the somatic mutation and recombination test in Drosophila melanogaster. Finasteride did not induce gene mutation, chromosomal mutation or mitotic recombination, which means it was nongenotoxic in our experimental conditions. On the other hand, doxazosin mesylate and saw palmetto induced significant increases in spot frequencies in trans-heterozygous flies. In order to establish the actual role played by mitotic recombination and by mutation in the genotoxicity observed, the balancer-heterozygous flies were also analyzed, showing no increment in the total spot frequencies in relation to the negative control, for both drugs. Doxazosin mesylate and saw palmetto were classified as specific inducers of homologous recombination in Drosophila proliferative cells, an event linked to the loss of heterozygosity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Expression of human DNA polymerase β in Escherichia coli and characterization of the recombinant enzyme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbotts, J.; SenGupta, D.N.; Zmudzka, B.; Widen, S.G.; Notario, V.; Wilson, S.H.

    1988-01-01

    The coding region of a human β-polymerase cDNA, predicting a 335 amino acid protein, was subcloned in the Escherichia coli expression plasmid pRC23. After induction of transformed cells, the crude soluble extract was found to contain a new protein immunoreactive with β-polymerase antibody and corresponding in size to the protein deduced from the cDNA. This protein was purified in a yield of 1-2 mg/50 g of cells. The recombinant protein had about the same DNA polymerase specific activity as β-polymerase purified from mammalian tissues, and template-primer specificity and immunological properties of the recombinant polymerase were similar to those of natural β-polymerases. The purified enzyme was free of nuclease activity. The authors studied detailed catalytic properties of the recombinant β-polymerase using defined template-primer systems. The results indicate that this β-polymerase is essentially identical with natural β-polymerases. The recombinant enzyme is distributive in mode of synthesis and is capable of detecting changes in the integrity of the single-stranded template, such as methylated bases and a double-stranded region. The enzyme recognizes a template region four to seven bases downstream of the primer 3' end and utilizes alternative primers if this downstream template region is double stranded. The enzyme is unable to synthesize past methylated bases N 3 -methyl-dT or O 6 -methyl-dG

  9. Delayed recombination and cosmic parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galli, Silvia; Melchiorri, Alessandro; Bean, Rachel; Silk, Joseph

    2008-01-01

    Current cosmological constraints from cosmic microwave background anisotropies are typically derived assuming a standard recombination scheme, however additional resonance and ionizing radiation sources can delay recombination, altering the cosmic ionization history and the cosmological inferences drawn from the cosmic microwave background data. We show that for recent observations of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy, from the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe satellite mission (WMAP) 5-year survey and from the arcminute cosmology bolometer array receiver experiment, additional resonance radiation is nearly degenerate with variations in the spectral index, n s , and has a marked effect on uncertainties in constraints on the Hubble constant, age of the universe, curvature and the upper bound on the neutrino mass. When a modified recombination scheme is considered, the redshift of recombination is constrained to z * =1078±11, with uncertainties in the measurement weaker by 1 order of magnitude than those obtained under the assumption of standard recombination while constraints on the shift parameter are shifted by 1σ to R=1.734±0.028. From the WMAP5 data we obtain the following constraints on the resonance and ionization sources parameters: ε α i <0.058 at 95% c.l.. Although delayed recombination limits the precision of parameter estimation from the WMAP satellite, we demonstrate that this should not be the case for future, smaller angular scales measurements, such as those by the Planck satellite mission.

  10. Meiotic recombination in human oocytes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edith Y Cheng

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Studies of human trisomies indicate a remarkable relationship between abnormal meiotic recombination and subsequent nondisjunction at maternal meiosis I or II. Specifically, failure to recombine or recombination events located either too near to or too far from the centromere have been linked to the origin of human trisomies. It should be possible to identify these abnormal crossover configurations by using immunofluorescence methodology to directly examine the meiotic recombination process in the human female. Accordingly, we initiated studies of crossover-associated proteins (e.g., MLH1 in human fetal oocytes to analyze their number and distribution on nondisjunction-prone human chromosomes and, more generally, to characterize genome-wide levels of recombination in the human female. Our analyses indicate that the number of MLH1 foci is lower than predicted from genetic linkage analysis, but its localization pattern conforms to that expected for a crossover-associated protein. In studies of individual chromosomes, our observations provide evidence for the presence of "vulnerable" crossover configurations in the fetal oocyte, consistent with the idea that these are subsequently translated into nondisjunctional events in the adult oocyte.

  11. Electron - ion recombination processes - an overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, Yukap

    1997-01-01

    Extensive theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out for the past 20 years on electron - ion recombination processes, as they are applied to the analysis of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. We review the basic understanding gained through these efforts, with emphasis on some of the more recent progress made in recombination theory as the recombining system is affected by time-dependent electric fields and plasma particles at low temperature. Together with collisional ionization and excitation processes, recombination is important in determining ionization balance and excited-state population in non-equilibrium plasmas. The radiation emitted by plasmas is usually the principal medium with which to study the plasma condition, as it is produced mainly during the recombination and decay of excited states of ions inside the plasma. This is especially true when the plasma under study is not readily accessible by direct probes, as in astrophysical plasmas. Moreover, external probes may sometimes cause undesirable disturbances of the plasma. Electron-ion recombination proceeds in several different modes. The direct modes include three-body recombination (TBR) and one-step radiative recombination (RR), all to the ground- and singly-excited states of the target ions. By contrast, the indirect resonant mode is a two-step dielectronic recombination (DR), which proceeds first with the formation of doubly-excited states by radiationless excitation/capture. The resonant states thus formed may relax by autoionization and/or radiative cascades. For more exotic modes of recombination, we consider off-shell dielectronic recombination (radiative DR = RDR), in which an electron capture is accompanied by simultaneous radiative emission and excitation of the target ion. Some discussion on attachment of electrons to neutral atoms, resulting in the formation of negative ions, is also given. When resonance states involve one or more electrons in high Rydberg states

  12. Controlled Release from Recombinant Polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Robert; Poursaid, Azadeh; Ghandehari, Hamidreza

    2014-01-01

    Recombinant polymers provide a high degree of molecular definition for correlating structure with function in controlled release. The wide array of amino acids available as building blocks for these materials lend many advantages including biorecognition, biodegradability, potential biocompatibility, and control over mechanical properties among other attributes. Genetic engineering and DNA manipulation techniques enable the optimization of structure for precise control over spatial and temporal release. Unlike the majority of chemical synthetic strategies used, recombinant DNA technology has allowed for the production of monodisperse polymers with specifically defined sequences. Several classes of recombinant polymers have been used for controlled drug delivery. These include, but are not limited to, elastin-like, silk-like, and silk-elastinlike proteins, as well as emerging cationic polymers for gene delivery. In this article, progress and prospects of recombinant polymers used in controlled release will be reviewed. PMID:24956486

  13. Simultaneous production of fatty acid methyl esters and diglycerides by four recombinant Candida rugosa lipase's isozymes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Shu-Wei; Huang, Myron; Hsieh, Yu-Hsun; Luo, Ying-Ting; Wu, Tsung-Ta; Tsai, Chia-Wen; Chen, Chin-Shuh; Shaw, Jei-Fu

    2014-07-15

    In this study, the catalytic efficiency of four recombinant CRL (Candida rugosa lipase) isozymes (LIP1-LIP4) towards the production of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) was compared and evaluated as an alternative green method for industrial applications. The results indicated that the recombinant C. rugosa LIP1 enzyme exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency for FAME production compared to the recombinant C. rugosa LIP2-LIP4 enzymes. The optimal conditions were as follows: pH 7.0, methanol/soybean oil molar ratio: 3/1, enzyme amount: 2U (1.6 μL), reaction temperature: 20°C, 22 h of reaction time, and 3 times of methanol addition (1 mol/6h), and resulted in 61.5 ± 1.5 wt.% of FAME conversion. The reaction product contained also 10 wt.% of DAG with a ratio of 1,3-DAG to 1,2-DAG of approximately 4:6, and can be potentially used in industrial applications as a food emulsifier. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Live recombinant BHV/BRSV vaccine

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keil, G.M.; Rijsewijk, F.A.M.

    1998-01-01

    The present invention refers to synthetic Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus genes. Also the invention relates to live attenuated Bovine Herpesvirus recombinants carrying such synthetic genes. Furthermore, the invention relates to vaccines based on these live attenuated recombinants, for the

  15. First-principles study of Frenkel pair recombination in tungsten

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qin, Shi-Yao; Jin, Shuo; Li, Yu-Hao; Zhou, Hong-Bo; Zhang, Ying; Lu, Guang-Hong

    2017-01-01

    The recombination of one Frenkel pair in tungsten has been investigated through first-principles simulation. Two different recombination types have been identified: instantaneous and thermally activated. The small recombination barriers for thermally activated recombination cases indicate that recombination can occur easily with a slightly increased temperature. For both of the two recombination types, recombination occurs through the self-interstitial atom moving towards the vacancy. The recombination process can be direct or through replacement sequences, depending on the vertical distance between the vacancy and the 〈1 1 1〉 line of self-interstitial atom pair.

  16. Containment air circulation for optimal hydrogen recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spinks, N.; Krause, M.

    1997-01-01

    An accepted first-line defense for hydrogen mitigation is to design for the hydrogen to be rapidly mixed with the containment atmosphere and diluted to below flammability concentrations. Then, as hydrogen continues to be produced in the longer term, recombiners can be used to remove hydrogen: recombiners can be located in forced-air ducts or passive recombiners can be distributed within containment and the heat of recombination used to promote local air circulation. However, this principle does not eliminate the possibility of high hydrogen concentrations at locations removed from the recombiners. An improvement on this strategy is to arrange for a specific, buoyancy-driven, overall circulation of the containment atmosphere such that the recombiners can be located within the recirculation flow, immediately downstream of the hydrogen source. This would make the mixing process more predictable and solve the mass-transfer problem associated with distributed recombiners. Ideally, the recombiners would be located just above the hydrogen source so that the heat of recombination would assist the overall circulation. In this way, the hydrogen would be removed as close as possible to the source, thereby minimizing the amount of hydrogen immediately downstream of the source and reducing the hydrogen concentration to acceptable levels at other locations. Such a strategy requires the containment volume to be divided into an upflow path, past the hydrogen source and the recombiner, and a downflow path to complete the circuit. The flow could be generated actively using fans or passively using buoyancy forces arising from the difference in density of gases in the upfiow and downflow paths; the gases in the downflow path being cooled at an elevated heat sink. (author)

  17. Recombination properties of dislocations in GaN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yakimov, Eugene B.; Polyakov, Alexander Y.; Lee, In-Hwan; Pearton, Stephen J.

    2018-04-01

    The recombination activity of threading dislocations in n-GaN with different dislocation densities and different doping levels was studied using electron beam induced current (EBIC). The recombination velocity on a dislocation, also known as the dislocation recombination strength, was calculated. The results suggest that dislocations in n-GaN giving contrast in EBIC are charged and surrounded by a space charge region, as evidenced by the observed dependence of dislocation recombination strength on dopant concentration. For moderate (below ˜108 cm-2) dislocation densities, these defects do not primarily determine the average diffusion length of nonequilibrium charge carriers, although locally, dislocations are efficient recombination sites. In general, it is observed that the effect of the growth method [standard metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), epitaxial lateral overgrowth versions of MOCVD, and hydride vapor phase epitaxy] on the recombination activity of dislocations is not very pronounced, although the average diffusion lengths can widely differ for various samples. The glide of basal plane dislocations at room temperature promoted by low energy electron irradiation does not significantly change the recombination properties of dislocations.

  18. Alternative splicing of T cell receptor (TCR) alpha chain transcripts containing V alpha 1 or V alpha 14 elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahotka, C; Hansen-Hagge, T E; Bartram, C R

    1995-10-01

    Human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines represent valuable tools to investigate distinct steps of the complex regulatory pathways underlying T cell receptor recombination and expression. A case in point are V delta 2D delta 3 and subsequent V delta 2D delta 3J alpha rearrangements observed in human leukemic pre-B cells as well as in normal lymphopoiesis. The functional expression of these unusual (VD) delta (JC) alpha hybrids is almost exclusively prevented by alternative splicing events. In this report we show that alternative splicing at cryptic splice donor sites within V elements is not a unique feature of hybrid TCR delta/alpha transcripts. Among seven V alpha families analyzed by RT-PCR, alternatively spliced products were observed in TCR alpha recombinations containing V alpha 1 or V alpha 14 elements. In contrast to normal peripheral blood cells and thymocytes, the leukemia cell line JM expressing functional V alpha 1J alpha 3C alpha transcripts lacked evidence of aberrant TCR alpha RNA species.

  19. Oligonucleotide recombination enabled site-specific mutagenesis in bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recombineering refers to a strategy for engineering DNA sequences using a specialized mode of homologous recombination. This technology can be used for rapidly constructing precise changes in bacterial genome sequences in vivo. Oligo recombination is one type of recombineering that uses ssDNA olig...

  20. Recombination: the good, the bad and the variable.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapley, Jessica; Feulner, Philine G D; Johnston, Susan E; Santure, Anna W; Smadja, Carole M

    2017-12-19

    Recombination, the process by which DNA strands are broken and repaired, producing new combinations of alleles, occurs in nearly all multicellular organisms and has important implications for many evolutionary processes. The effects of recombination can be good , as it can facilitate adaptation, but also bad when it breaks apart beneficial combinations of alleles, and recombination is highly variable between taxa, species, individuals and across the genome. Understanding how and why recombination rate varies is a major challenge in biology. Most theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to understanding the role of recombination in the evolution of sex-comparing between sexual and asexual species or populations. How recombination rate evolves and what impact this has on evolutionary processes within sexually reproducing organisms has received much less attention. This Theme Issue focusses on how and why recombination rate varies in sexual species, and aims to coalesce knowledge of the molecular mechanisms governing recombination with our understanding of the evolutionary processes driving variation in recombination within and between species. By integrating these fields, we can identify important knowledge gaps and areas for future research, and pave the way for a more comprehensive understanding of how and why recombination rate varies. © 2017 The Authors.

  1. Improved Power Control Using Optimal Adjustable Coefficients for Three-Phase Photovoltaic Inverter under Unbalanced Grid Voltage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qianggang; Zhou, Niancheng; Lou, Xiaoxuan; Chen, Xu

    2014-01-01

    Unbalanced grid faults will lead to several drawbacks in the output power quality of photovoltaic generation (PV) converters, such as power fluctuation, current amplitude swell, and a large quantity of harmonics. The aim of this paper is to propose a flexible AC current generation method by selecting coefficients to overcome these problems in an optimal way. Three coefficients are brought in to tune the output current reference within the required limits of the power quality (the current harmonic distortion, the AC current peak, the power fluctuation, and the DC voltage fluctuation). Through the optimization algorithm, the coefficients can be determined aiming to generate the minimum integrated amplitudes of the active and reactive power references with the constraints of the inverter current and DC voltage fluctuation. Dead-beat controller is utilized to track the optimal current reference in a short period. The method has been verified in PSCAD/EMTDC software. PMID:25243215

  2. Improved power control using optimal adjustable coefficients for three-phase photovoltaic inverter under unbalanced grid voltage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qianggang; Zhou, Niancheng; Lou, Xiaoxuan; Chen, Xu

    2014-01-01

    Unbalanced grid faults will lead to several drawbacks in the output power quality of photovoltaic generation (PV) converters, such as power fluctuation, current amplitude swell, and a large quantity of harmonics. The aim of this paper is to propose a flexible AC current generation method by selecting coefficients to overcome these problems in an optimal way. Three coefficients are brought in to tune the output current reference within the required limits of the power quality (the current harmonic distortion, the AC current peak, the power fluctuation, and the DC voltage fluctuation). Through the optimization algorithm, the coefficients can be determined aiming to generate the minimum integrated amplitudes of the active and reactive power references with the constraints of the inverter current and DC voltage fluctuation. Dead-beat controller is utilized to track the optimal current reference in a short period. The method has been verified in PSCAD/EMTDC software.

  3. Genetic recombination of the hepatitis C virus: clinical implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morel, V; Fournier, C; François, C; Brochot, E; Helle, F; Duverlie, G; Castelain, S

    2011-02-01

    Genetic recombination is a well-known feature of RNA viruses that plays a significant role in their evolution. Although recombination is well documented for Flaviviridae family viruses, the first natural recombinant strain of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was identified as recently as 2002. Since then, a few other natural inter-genotypic, intra-genotypic and intra-subtype recombinant HCV strains have been described. However, the frequency of recombination may have been underestimated because not all known HCV recombinants are screened for in routine practice. Furthermore, the choice of treatment regimen and its predictive outcome remain problematic as the therapeutic strategy for HCV infection is genotype dependent. HCV recombination also raises many questions concerning its mechanisms and effects on the epidemiological and physiopathological features of the virus. This review provides an update on recombinant HCV strains, the process that gives rise to recombinants and clinical implications of recombination. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  4. Cell biology of mitotic recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lisby, Michael; Rothstein, Rodney

    2015-01-01

    Homologous recombination provides high-fidelity DNA repair throughout all domains of life. Live cell fluorescence microscopy offers the opportunity to image individual recombination events in real time providing insight into the in vivo biochemistry of the involved proteins and DNA molecules as w...

  5. Test tube systems with cutting/recombination operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freund, R. [Technische Universitaet Wien (Austria); Csuhaj-Varju, E. [Computer and Automation Institute, Budapest (Hungary); Wachtler, F. [Universitaet Wien (Austria)

    1996-12-31

    We introduce test tube systems based on operations that are closely related to the splicing operations, i.e. we consider the operations of cutting a string at a specific site into two pieces with marking them at the cut ends and of recombining two strings with specifically marked endings. Whereas in the splicing of two strings these strings are cut at specific sites and the cut pieces are recombined immediately in a crosswise way, in CR(cutting/recombination)-schemes cutting can happen independently from recombining the cut pieces. Test tube systems based on these operations of cutting and recombination turn out to have maximal generative power even if only very restricted types of input filters for the test tubes are used for the redistribution of the contents of the test tubes after a period of cuttings and recombinations in the test tubes. 10 refs.

  6. Atomic excitation and recombination in external fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nayfeh, M.H.; Clark, C.W.

    1985-01-01

    This volume offers a timely look at Rydberg states of atoms in external fields and dielectronic recombination. Each topic provides authoritative coverage, presents a fresh account of a flourishing field of current atomic physics and introduces new opportunities for discovery and development. Topics considered include electron-atom scattering in external fields; observations of regular and irregular motion as exemplified by the quadratic zeeman effect and other systems; Rydberg atoms in external fields and the Coulomb geometry; crossed-field effects in the absorption spectrum of lithium in a magnetic field; precise studies of static electric field ionization; widths and shapes of stark resonances in sodium above the saddle point; studies of electric field effects and barium autoionizing resonances; autoionization and dielectronic recombination in plasma electric microfields; dielectronic recombination measurements on multicharged ions; merged beam studies of dielectronic recombination; Rydberg atoms and dielectronic recombination in astrophysics; and observations on dielectronic recombination

  7. Genetic evidence for inducibility of recombination competence in yeast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabre, F.; Roman, H.

    1977-01-01

    Recombination between unirradiated chromosomes was induced by UV or x-ray irradiation of haploids followed by a mating with heteroallelic diploids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The selected event of intragenic recombination did not involve the participation of the irradiated chromosome and apparently was not caused by lesions introduced into the unirradiated chromosomes by some indirect process. The results favor the idea that recombination is repressed in the majority of vegetative cells and that one effect of radiation is the release of some factor(s) necessary for recombination. Consequently, the proportion of competent cells (i.e., cells able to recombine) in the population increases. This competent state seems necessary not only for the recombinational repair of radiation-induced lesions but also, since recombinants are produced in the absence of such lesions, for spontaneous recombination. Photoreactivation of the UV-irradiated haploids led to a decrease in the production of recombinants. Hence, lesions in the DNA appear to be responsible for the induction of the recombinational ability

  8. Three-body recombination of cold fermionic atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suno, H; Esry, B D; Greene, Chris H

    2003-01-01

    Recombination of identical, spin-polarized fermions in cold three-body collisions is investigated. We parametrize the mechanisms for recombination in terms of the 'scattering volume' V p and another length scale r 0 . Model two-body interactions were used within the framework of the adiabatic hyperspherical representation. We examine the recombination rate K 3 as a function of the collision energy E for various values of V p . Not only do we consider the dominant J Π = 1 + case, but also the next-leading order contributions from J Π = 1 - and 3 - . We discuss the behaviour near a two-body resonance and the expected universality of fermionic recombination. Comparisons with boson recombination are considered in detail

  9. Recombinational repair: workshop summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard-Flanders, P.

    1983-01-01

    Recombinational repair may or may not be synonymous with postreplication repair. Considerable progress has been made in the study of the relevant enzymes, particularly those from bacteria. In this workshop we focus on the recombination enzyme RecA protein. What structural changes take place in the protein and in DNA during repair. How does homologous pairing take place. How is ATP hydrolysis coupled to the stand exchange reaction and the formation of heteroduplx DNA. Turning to another enzyme needed for certain kinds of bacterial recombination, we will ask whether the purified recB protein and recC protein complement each other and are sufficient for exonuclease V activity. In higher cells, we would like to know whether sister exchanges, which occur in bacteria after uv irradiation, are also seen in animal cells

  10. Recombinant vaccines: experimental and applied aspects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lorenzen, Niels

    1999-01-01

    Development of vaccines for aquaculture fish represent an important applied functional aspect of fish immunology research. Particularly in the case of recombinant vaccines, where a single antigen is usually expected to induce immunity to a specific pathogen, knowledge of mechanisms involved...... in induction of a protective immune response may become vital. The few recombinant vaccines licensd so far, despite much research during the last decade, illustrate that this is not a straightforward matter. However, as vaccine technology as well as our knowledge of the fish immune system is steadily improved......, these fields will open up a number of interesting research objectives of mutual benefit. Recent aspects of recombinant protein vaccines, live recombinant vaccines and DNA vaccines are discussed....

  11. An experimental genetic system using Berberis vulgaris confirms sexual recombination in Puccinia striiformis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodriguez Algaba, Julian; Walter, Stephanie; Sørensen, Chris Khadgi

    An effort to develop an experimental genetic system for the stripe (yellow) rust fungus using Berberis vulgaris as an alternate host has been made by INRA Grignon (F) and GRRC (DK). The first attempts to achieve infection using European isolates and B. vulgaris plants from France were unsuccessful...... and to study genotypic diversity. The markers confirmed the parental origin and markers that were heterozygous in the parent generally segregated in the S1 progenies. A largest number of multilocus genotypes observed among the progeny isolates confirmed successful sexual recombination. Segregation...... for avirulence and virulence was investigated using 15 single R-gene wheat lines. The sexual structures and spore forms were documented by microscopic and macroscopic imaging at crucial time points during the life cycle of Pst on the alternate host....

  12. mlh3 mutations in baker's yeast alter meiotic recombination outcomes by increasing noncrossover events genome-wide.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Najla Al-Sweel

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Mlh1-Mlh3 is an endonuclease hypothesized to act in meiosis to resolve double Holliday junctions into crossovers. It also plays a minor role in eukaryotic DNA mismatch repair (MMR. To understand how Mlh1-Mlh3 functions in both meiosis and MMR, we analyzed in baker's yeast 60 new mlh3 alleles. Five alleles specifically disrupted MMR, whereas one (mlh3-32 specifically disrupted meiotic crossing over. Mlh1-mlh3 representatives for each class were purified and characterized. Both Mlh1-mlh3-32 (MMR+, crossover- and Mlh1-mlh3-45 (MMR-, crossover+ displayed wild-type endonuclease activities in vitro. Msh2-Msh3, an MSH complex that acts with Mlh1-Mlh3 in MMR, stimulated the endonuclease activity of Mlh1-mlh3-32 but not Mlh1-mlh3-45, suggesting that Mlh1-mlh3-45 is defective in MSH interactions. Whole genome recombination maps were constructed for wild-type and MMR+ crossover-, MMR- crossover+, endonuclease defective and null mlh3 mutants in an S288c/YJM789 hybrid background. Compared to wild-type, all of the mlh3 mutants showed increases in the number of noncrossover events, consistent with recombination intermediates being resolved through alternative recombination pathways. Our observations provide a structure-function map for Mlh3 that reveals the importance of protein-protein interactions in regulating Mlh1-Mlh3's enzymatic activity. They also illustrate how defective meiotic components can alter the fate of meiotic recombination intermediates, providing new insights for how meiotic recombination pathways are regulated.

  13. Mitigating Mitochondrial Genome Erosion Without Recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radzvilavicius, Arunas L; Kokko, Hanna; Christie, Joshua R

    2017-11-01

    Mitochondria are ATP-producing organelles of bacterial ancestry that played a key role in the origin and early evolution of complex eukaryotic cells. Most modern eukaryotes transmit mitochondrial genes uniparentally, often without recombination among genetically divergent organelles. While this asymmetric inheritance maintains the efficacy of purifying selection at the level of the cell, the absence of recombination could also make the genome susceptible to Muller's ratchet. How mitochondria escape this irreversible defect accumulation is a fundamental unsolved question. Occasional paternal leakage could in principle promote recombination, but it would also compromise the purifying selection benefits of uniparental inheritance. We assess this tradeoff using a stochastic population-genetic model. In the absence of recombination, uniparental inheritance of freely-segregating genomes mitigates mutational erosion, while paternal leakage exacerbates the ratchet effect. Mitochondrial fusion-fission cycles ensure independent genome segregation, improving purifying selection. Paternal leakage provides opportunity for recombination to slow down the mutation accumulation, but always at a cost of increased steady-state mutation load. Our findings indicate that random segregation of mitochondrial genomes under uniparental inheritance can effectively combat the mutational meltdown, and that homologous recombination under paternal leakage might not be needed. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

  14. Functional Dependence for Calculation of Additional Real-Power Losses in a Double-Wound Supply Transformer Caused by Unbalanced Active Inductive Load in a Star Connection with an Insulated Neutral

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostinskiy, Sergey S.; Troitskiy, Anatoly I.

    2016-01-01

    This article deals with the problem of calculating the additional real-power losses in double-wound supply transformers with voltage class 6 (10)/0,4 kV, caused by unbalanced active inductive load connected in a star connection with an insulated neutral. When solving the problem, authors used the theory of electric circuits, method of balanced…

  15. The effect of a single recombination event

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, Mikkel Heide; Jensen, Thomas Mailund; Wiuf, Carsten

    We investigate the variance in how visible a single recombination event is in a SNP data set as a function of the type of recombination event and its age. Data is simulated under the coalescent with recombination and inference is by the popular composite likelihood methods. The major determinant...

  16. A robust procedure for comparing multiple means under heteroscedasticity in unbalanced designs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esther Herberich

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Investigating differences between means of more than two groups or experimental conditions is a routine research question addressed in biology. In order to assess differences statistically, multiple comparison procedures are applied. The most prominent procedures of this type, the Dunnett and Tukey-Kramer test, control the probability of reporting at least one false positive result when the data are normally distributed and when the sample sizes and variances do not differ between groups. All three assumptions are non-realistic in biological research and any violation leads to an increased number of reported false positive results. Based on a general statistical framework for simultaneous inference and robust covariance estimators we propose a new statistical multiple comparison procedure for assessing multiple means. In contrast to the Dunnett or Tukey-Kramer tests, no assumptions regarding the distribution, sample sizes or variance homogeneity are necessary. The performance of the new procedure is assessed by means of its familywise error rate and power under different distributions. The practical merits are demonstrated by a reanalysis of fatty acid phenotypes of the bacterium Bacillus simplex from the "Evolution Canyons" I and II in Israel. The simulation results show that even under severely varying variances, the procedure controls the number of false positive findings very well. Thus, the here presented procedure works well under biologically realistic scenarios of unbalanced group sizes, non-normality and heteroscedasticity.

  17. Recombination rate plasticity: revealing mechanisms by design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sefick, Stephen; Rushton, Chase

    2017-01-01

    For over a century, scientists have known that meiotic recombination rates can vary considerably among individuals, and that environmental conditions can modify recombination rates relative to the background. A variety of external and intrinsic factors such as temperature, age, sex and starvation can elicit ‘plastic’ responses in recombination rate. The influence of recombination rate plasticity on genetic diversity of the next generation has interesting and important implications for how populations evolve. Further, many questions remain regarding the mechanisms and molecular processes that contribute to recombination rate plasticity. Here, we review 100 years of experimental work on recombination rate plasticity conducted in Drosophila melanogaster. We categorize this work into four major classes of experimental designs, which we describe via classic studies in D. melanogaster. Based on these studies, we highlight molecular mechanisms that are supported by experimental results and relate these findings to studies in other systems. We synthesize lessons learned from this model system into experimental guidelines for using recent advances in genotyping technologies, to study recombination rate plasticity in non-model organisms. Specifically, we recommend (1) using fine-scale genome-wide markers, (2) collecting time-course data, (3) including crossover distribution measurements, and (4) using mixed effects models to analyse results. To illustrate this approach, we present an application adhering to these guidelines from empirical work we conducted in Drosophila pseudoobscura. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary causes and consequences of recombination rate variation in sexual organisms’. PMID:29109222

  18. Recombination analysis based on the complete genome of bocavirus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Shengxia

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Bocavirus include bovine parvovirus, minute virus of canine, porcine bocavirus, gorilla bocavirus, and Human bocaviruses 1-4 (HBoVs. Although recent reports showed that recombination happened in bocavirus, no systematical study investigated the recombination of bocavirus. The present study performed the phylogenetic and recombination analysis of bocavirus over the complete genomes available in GenBank. Results confirmed that recombination existed among bocavirus, including the likely inter-genotype recombination between HBoV1 and HBoV4, and intra-genotype recombination among HBoV2 variants. Moreover, it is the first report revealing the recombination that occurred between minute viruses of canine.

  19. Fault ride-through capability of wind turbine connected to the grid in case of unbalanced voltages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanović Zoran R.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with control of wind turbine connected to the grid through the back-to-back converter in case of unbalanced grid voltages. The motivation for this research has been found in recent transmission and distribution grid code, which demand modern wind turbines to stay connected to the grid and supply the highest possible apparent power during the grid disturbances. In order to comply with these requirements we proposed improved dual vector current controller to deal with the unbalance imposed by the electrical grid. Controller provides injection of active and reactive power to the grid, even if the voltages are lower than the nominal one. The results are validated using low power prototype and contemporary hardware-in-the-loop emulation platform. In both cases the controller is based on TMS320F2812 DSP. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 042004 and by the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development of AP Vojvodina under contract No. 114-451-3508/2013-04

  20. FASEB Summer Research Conference. Genetic Recombination and Chromosome Rearrangements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jinks-Robertson, Sue

    2002-02-01

    The 2001 meeting entitled ''Genetic Recombination and Genome Rearrangements'' was held July 21-26 in Snowmass, Colorado. The goal of the meeting was to bring together scientists using diverse approaches to study all aspects of genetic recombination. This goal was achieved by integrating talks covering the genetics, biochemistry and structural biology of homologous recombination, site-specific recombination, and nonhomologous recombination. The format of the meeting consisted of a keynote address on the opening evening, two formal plenary sessions on each of the four full meeting days, a single afternoon workshop consisting of short talks chosen from among submitted abstracts, and afternoon poster sessions on each of the four full meeting days. The eight plenary session were entitled: (1) Recombination Mechanisms, (2) Prokaryotic Recombination, (3) Repair and Recombination, (4) Site-specific Recombination and Transposition, (5) Eukaryotic Recombination I, (6) Genome Rearrangements, (7) Meiosis, and (8) Eukaryotic Recombination II. Each session included a mix of genetic, biochemical and structural talks; talks were limited to 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of very lively, general discussion. Much of the data presented in the plenary sessions was unpublished, thus providing attendees with the most up-to-date knowledge of this rapidly-moving field.

  1. Hadron Correlations and Parton Recombination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fries, R.J. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)]. E-mail: rjfries@comp.tamu.edu

    2007-02-15

    Parton recombination has been found to be an extremely useful model to understand hadron production at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. It is particularly important to explore its connections with hard processes. This article reviews some of the aspects of the quark recombination model and places particular emphasis on hadron correlations.

  2. Recombinant entomopathogenic agents: a review of biotechnological approaches to pest insect control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karabörklü, Salih; Azizoglu, Ugur; Azizoglu, Zehra Busra

    2017-12-18

    Although the use of chemical pesticides has decreased in recent years, it is still a common method of pest control. However, chemical use leads to challenging problems. The harm caused by these chemicals and the length of time that they will remain in the environment is of great concern to the future and safety of humans. Therefore, developing new pest control agents that are safer and environmentally compatible, as well as assuring their widespread use is important. Entomopathogenic agents are microorganisms that play an important role in the biological control of pest insects and are eco-friendly alternatives to chemical control. They consist of viruses (non-cellular organisms), bacteria (prokaryotic organisms), fungi and protists (eukaryotic organisms), and nematodes (multicellular organisms). Genetic modification (recombinant technology) provides potential new methods for developing entomopathogens to manage pests. In this review, we focus on the important roles of recombinant entomopathogens in terms of pest insect control, placing them into perspective with other views to discuss, examine and evaluate the use of entomopathogenic agents in biological control.

  3. Investigation of mechanisms for He-I emission radial profile broadening in a weakly ionized cylindrical helium plasma with recombining edge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hollmann, E. M.; Brandt, C.; Hudson, B.; Nishijima, D.; Pigarov, A. Yu. [University of California–San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093-0417 (United States); Kumar, D. [Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States)

    2013-09-15

    Spatially resolved spectroscopic measurements of He-I line emission are used to study the causes of emission profile broadening radially across the cylinder of a weakly ionized helium plasma. The plasma consists of an ionizing core (r < 2 cm) surrounded by a recombining edge (r > 2 cm) plasma. The brightness profiles of low-n EUV He-I resonance lines are shown to be strongly radially broadened due to opacity. The brightness profiles of high-n visible lines are also found to be strongly radially broadened, but dominantly due to edge recombination. Visible low-n lines are less strongly radially broadened, apparently by a combination of both recombination and EUV opacity. The low-n visible He-I line ratio method with central opacity correction is found to calculate central electron density and temperature well, with poor agreement at the edge, as expected for recombining plasma. In the recombining edge, high-n Boltzmann analysis is found to accurately measure the cold (T{sub e} < 0.2 eV) edge temperature. Near the core, however, high-n Boltzmann analysis can be complicated by electron-impact excitation, giving incorrect (T{sub e}≈ 0.1 eV) apparent temperatures. Probe measurements were not able to capture the cold edge temperature accurately, probably due to large potential fluctuations, even when using fast triple probe measurements. Fast spectroscopic measurements show that this discrepancy is not explained by recombining plasma alternating with ionizing plasma in the edge region.

  4. ANALYSIS OF THE HARMONIC LOSSES WITH ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS IN UNBALANCED SYSTEM LOSSES USING BALANCED ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEM DATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aslan İNAN

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The losses in the power systems should be low as possible as. Saving energy instead of loses (kWh in power utilities can supply much more energy to the consumers. The lower losses the more energy is saved and thus the power system becomes more economical. In recent years, the increasing number of applications and power ratings of the devices which have nonlinear voltage-current characteristics cause voltage waveform distortion and additional losses. While evaluating losses considering harmonics will provide more contribution to obtain more accurate results. In this study, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN method has been presented to predict the harmonic losses in unbalanced power systems by using the data from balanced power system with nonlinear loads.

  5. Exceptionally high levels of recombination across the honey bee genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beye, Martin; Gattermeier, Irene; Hasselmann, Martin; Gempe, Tanja; Schioett, Morten; Baines, John F; Schlipalius, David; Mougel, Florence; Emore, Christine; Rueppell, Olav; Sirviö, Anu; Guzmán-Novoa, Ernesto; Hunt, Greg; Solignac, Michel; Page, Robert E

    2006-11-01

    The first draft of the honey bee genome sequence and improved genetic maps are utilized to analyze a genome displaying 10 times higher levels of recombination (19 cM/Mb) than previously analyzed genomes of higher eukaryotes. The exceptionally high recombination rate is distributed genome-wide, but varies by two orders of magnitude. Analysis of chromosome, sequence, and gene parameters with respect to recombination showed that local recombination rate is associated with distance to the telomere, GC content, and the number of simple repeats as described for low-recombining genomes. Recombination rate does not decrease with chromosome size. On average 5.7 recombination events per chromosome pair per meiosis are found in the honey bee genome. This contrasts with a wide range of taxa that have a uniform recombination frequency of about 1.6 per chromosome pair. The excess of recombination activity does not support a mechanistic role of recombination in stabilizing pairs of homologous chromosome during chromosome pairing. Recombination rate is associated with gene size, suggesting that introns are larger in regions of low recombination and may improve the efficacy of selection in these regions. Very few transposons and no retrotransposons are present in the high-recombining genome. We propose evolutionary explanations for the exceptionally high genome-wide recombination rate.

  6. Three-particle recombination at low temperature: QED approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharyya, S.; Roy, A.

    2001-01-01

    A theoretical study of three-body recombination of proton in presence of a spectator electron with electronic beam at near-zero temperature is presented using field theory and invariant Lorentz gauge. Contributions from the Feynman diagrams of different orders give an insight into the physics of the phenomena. Recombination rate coefficient is obtained for low lying principal quantum number n = 1 to 10. At a fixed ion beam temperature (300 K) recombination rate coefficient is found to increase in general with n, having a flat and a sharp peak at quantum states 3 to 5, respectively. In absence of any theoretical and experimental results for low temperature formation of H-atom by three-body recombination at low lying quantum states, we have presented the theoretical results of Stevefelt and group for three-body recombination of deuteron with electron along with the present results. Three-body recombination of antihydrogen in antiproton-positron plasma is expected to yield similar result as that for three-body recombination of hydrogen formation in proton-electron plasma. The necessity for experimental investigation of low temperature three-body recombination at low quantum states is stressed. (author)

  7. Surface treatment effect on Si (111) substrate for carbon deposition using DC unbalanced magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aji, A. S., E-mail: aji.ravazes70@gmail.com; Sahdan, M. F.; Hendra, I. B.; Dinari, P.; Darma, Y. [Quantum Semiconductor and Devices Lab., Physics of Material Electronics Research Division, Department of Physics, Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia)

    2015-04-16

    In this work, we studied the effect of HF treatment in silicon (111) substrate surface for depositing thin layer carbon. We performed the deposition of carbon by using DC Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering with carbon pallet (5% Fe) as target. From SEM characterization results it can be concluded that the carbon layer on HF treated substrate is more uniform than on substrate without treated. Carbon deposition rate is higher as confirmed by AFM results if the silicon substrate is treated by HF solution. EDAX characterization results tell that silicon (111) substrate with HF treatment have more carbon fraction than substrate without treatment. These results confirmed that HF treatment on silicon Si (111) substrates could enhance the carbon deposition by using DC sputtering. Afterward, the carbon atomic arrangement on silicon (111) surface is studied by performing thermal annealing process to 900 °C. From Raman spectroscopy results, thin film carbon is not changing until 600 °C thermal budged. But, when temperature increase to 900 °C, thin film carbon is starting to diffuse to silicon (111) substrates.

  8. Ancient Male Recombination Shaped Genetic Diversity of Neo-Y Chromosome in Drosophila albomicans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satomura, Kazuhiro; Tamura, Koichiro

    2016-02-01

    Researchers studying Y chromosome evolution have drawn attention to neo-Y chromosomes in Drosophila species due to their resembling the initial stage of Y chromosome evolution. In the studies of neo-Y chromosome of Drosophila miranda, the extremely low genetic diversity observed suggested various modes of natural selection acting on the nonrecombining genome. However, alternative possibility may come from its peculiar origin from a single chromosomal fusion event with male achiasmy, which potentially caused and maintained the low genetic diversity of the neo-Y chromosome. Here, we report a real case where a neo-Y chromosome is in transition from an autosome to a typical Y chromosome. The neo-Y chromosome of Drosophila albomicans harbored a rich genetic diversity comparable to its gametologous neo-X chromosome and an autosome in the same genome. Analyzing sequence variations in 53 genes and measuring recombination rates between pairs of loci by cross experiments, we elucidated the evolutionary scenario of the neo-Y chromosome of D. albomicans having high genetic diversity without assuming selective force, i.e., it originated from a single chromosomal fusion event, experienced meiotic recombination during the initial stage of evolution and diverged from neo-X chromosome by the suppression of recombination tens or a few hundreds of thousand years ago. Consequently, the observed high genetic diversity on the neo-Y chromosome suggested a strong effect of meiotic recombination to introduce genetic variations into the newly arisen sex chromosome. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Activated recombinant adenovirus proteinases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Carl W.; Mangel, Walter F.

    1999-08-10

    This application describes methods and expression constructs for producing activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases. Purified activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases and methods of purification are described. Activated adenovirus proteinases and methods for obtaining activated adenovirus proteinases are further included. Isolated peptide cofactors of adenovirus proteinase activity, methods of purifying and identifying said peptide cofactors are also described. Antibodies immunoreactive with adenovirus proteinases, immunospecific antibodies, and methods for preparing them are also described. Other related methods and materials are also described.

  10. Hadron correlations from recombination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fries, Rainer J [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

    2005-01-01

    Quark recombination is a successful model to describe the hadronization of a deconfined quark gluon plasma. Jet-like dihadron correlations measured at RHIC provide a challenge for this picture. We discuss how correlations between hadrons can arise from correlations between partons before hadronization. An enhancement of correlations through the recombination process, similar to the enhancement of elliptic flow is found. Hot spots from completely or partially quenched jets are a likely source of such parton correlations.

  11. X-ray- and TEM-induced mitotic recombination in Drosophila melanogaster: Unequal and sister-strand recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, H.J.

    1975-01-01

    Twin mosaic spots of dark-apricot and light-apricot ommatidia were found in the eyes of wsup(a)/wsup(a) females, of wsup(a) males, of females homozygous for In(1)sc 4 , wsup(a) and of attached-X females homozygous for wsup(a). The flies were raised from larvae which had been treated with 1,630 R of X-rays at the age of 48-52 hours. An additional group of wsup(a)/wsup(a) females and wsup(a) males came from larvae that had been fed with triethylene melamine (TEM) at the age of 22-24 hours. The twin spots apparently were the result of induced unequal mitotic recombination, i.e. from unequal sister-strand recombination in the males and from unequal sister-strand recombination as well as, possibly, unequal recombination between homologous strands in the females. That is, a duplication resulted in wsup(a)Dpwsup(a)/wsup(a) dark-apricto ommatidia and the corresponding deficiency in an adjacent area of wsup(a)/Dfwsup(a) light-apricot ommatidia. In an additional experiment sister-strand mitotic recombination in the ring-X chromosome of ring-X/rod-X females heterozygous for w and wsup(co) is believed to be the cause for X-ray induced single mosaic spots that show the phenotype of the rod-X marker. (orig.) [de

  12. Two novel porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) recombinants from a natural recombinant and distinct subtypes of PEDV variants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Nanhua; Li, Shuangjie; Zhou, Rongyun; Zhu, Meiqin; He, Shan; Ye, Mengxue; Huang, Yucheng; Li, Shuai; Zhu, Cong; Xia, Pengpeng; Zhu, Jianzhong

    2017-10-15

    Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes devastating impact on global pig-breeding industry and current vaccines have become not effective against the circulating PEDV variants since 2011. During the up-to-date investigation of PEDV prevalence in Fujian China 2016, PEDV was identified in vaccinated pig farms suffering severe diarrhea while other common diarrhea-associated pathogens were not detected. Complete genomes of two PEDV representatives (XM1-2 and XM2-4) were determined. Genomic comparison showed that these two viruses share the highest nucleotide identities (99.10% and 98.79%) with the 2011 ZMDZY strain, but only 96.65% and 96.50% nucleotide identities with the attenuated CV777 strain. Amino acid alignment of spike (S) proteins indicated that they have the similar mutation, insertion and deletion pattern as other Chinese PEDV variants but also contain several unique substitutions. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 2016 PEDV variants belong to the cluster of recombination strains but form a new branch. Recombination detection suggested that both XM1-2 and XM2-4 are inter-subgroup recombinants with breakpoints within ORF1b. Remarkably, the natural recombinant HNQX-3 isolate serves as a parental virus for both natural recombinants identified in this study. This up-to-date investigation provides the direct evidence that natural recombinants may serve as parental viruses to generate recombined PEDV progenies that are probably associated with the vaccination failure. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. Strategy to approach stable production of recombinant nattokinase in Bacillus subtilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Po Ting; Chiang, Chung-Jen; Chao, Yun-Peng

    2007-01-01

    Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) is widely accepted as an excellent host cell for the secretory production of recombinant proteins. In this study, a shuttle vector was constructed by fusion of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) plasmid pUB110 with Escherichia coli (E. coli) plasmid pUC18 and used for the expression of nattokinase in B. subtilis. The pUB110/pUC-based plasmid was found to exhibit high structural instability with the identification of a DNA deletion between two repeated regions. An initial attempt was made to eliminate the homologous site in the plasmid, whereas the stability of the resulting plasmid was not improved. In an alternative way, the pUC18-derived region in this hybrid vector was replaced by the suicidal R6K plasmid origin of E. coli. As a consequence, the pUB110/R6K-based plasmid displayed full structural stability, leading to a high-level production of recombinant nattokinase in the culture broth. This was mirrored by the detection of a very low level of high molecular weight DNAs generated by the plasmid. Moreover, 2-fold higher nattokinase production was obtained by B. subtilis strain carrying the pUB110/R6K-based plasmid as compared to the cell with the pAMbeta1-derived vector, a plasmid known to have high structural stability. Overall, it indicates the feasibility of the approach by fusing two compatible plasmid origins for stable and efficient production of recombinant nattokinase in B. subtilis.

  14. Mechanisms and factors that influence high frequency retroviral recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Delviks-Frankenberry, Krista; Galli, Andrea; Nikolaitchik, Olga

    2011-01-01

    With constantly changing environmental selection pressures, retroviruses rely upon recombination to reassort polymorphisms in their genomes and increase genetic diversity, which improves the chances for the survival of their population. Recombination occurs during DNA synthesis, whereby reverse...... transcriptase undergoes template switching events between the two copackaged RNAs, resulting in a viral recombinant with portions of the genetic information from each parental RNA. This review summarizes our current understanding of the factors and mechanisms influencing retroviral recombination, fidelity...... of the recombination process, and evaluates the subsequent viral diversity and fitness of the progeny recombinant. Specifically, the high mutation rates and high recombination frequencies of HIV-1 will be analyzed for their roles in influencing HIV-1 global diversity, as well as HIV-1 diagnosis, drug treatment...

  15. Alternative preparation of inclusion bodies excludes interfering non-protein contaminants and improves the yield of recombinant proinsulin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackin, Robert B

    2014-01-01

    The goal of simple, high-yield expression and purification of recombinant human proinsulin has proven to be a considerable challenge. First, proinsulin forms inclusion bodies during bacterial expression. While this phenomenon can be exploited as a capture step, conventionally prepared inclusion bodies contain significant amounts of non-protein contaminants that interfere with subsequent chromatographic purification. Second, the proinsulin molecules within the inclusion bodies are incorrectly folded, and likely cross-linked to one another, making it difficult to quantify the amount of expressed proinsulin. Third, proinsulin is an intermediate between the initial product of ribosomal translation (preproinsulin) and the final product secreted by pancreatic beta cells (insulin). Therefore, to be efficiently produced in bacteria, it must be produced as an N-terminally extended fusion protein, which has to be converted to authentic proinsulin during the purification scheme. To address all three of these problems, while simultaneously streamlining the procedure and increasing the yield of recombinant proinsulin, we have made three substantive modifications to our previous method for producing proinsulin:.•Conditions for the preparation of inclusion bodies have been altered so contaminants that interfere with semi-preparative reversed-phase chromatography are excluded while the proinsulin fusion protein is retained at high yield.•Aliquots are taken following important steps in the procedure and the quantity of proinsulin-related polypeptide in the sample is compared to the amount present prior to that step.•Final purification is performed using a silica-based reversed-phase matrix in place of a polystyrene-divinylbenzene-based matrix.

  16. Induction of homologous recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, J R; Moore, P D

    1988-09-01

    We have investigated the effects of UV irradiation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in order to distinguish whether UV-induced recombination results from the induction of enzymes required for homologous recombination, or the production of substrate sites for recombination containing regions of DNA damage. We utilized split-dose experiments to investigate the induction of proteins required for survival, gene conversion, and mutation in a diploid strain of S. cerevisiae. We demonstrate that inducing doses of UV irradiation followed by a 6 h period of incubation render the cells resistant to challenge doses of UV irradiation. The effects of inducing and challenge doses of UV irradiation upon interchromosomal gene conversion and mutation are strictly additive. Using the yeast URA3 gene cloned in non-replicating single- and double-stranded plasmid vectors that integrate into chromosomal genes upon transformation, we show that UV irradiation of haploid yeast cells and homologous plasmid DNA sequences each stimulate homologous recombination approximately two-fold, and that these effects are additive. Non-specific DNA damage has little effect on the stimulation of homologous recombination, as shown by studies in which UV-irradiated heterologous DNA was included in transformation/recombination experiments. We further demonstrate that the effect of competing single- and double-stranded heterologous DNA sequences differs in UV-irradiated and unirradiated cells, suggesting an induction of recombinational machinery in UV-irradiated S. cerevisiae cells.

  17. Innovative IPV from attenuated Sabin poliovirus or newly designed alternative seed strains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamidi, Ahd; Bakker, Wilfried A M

    2012-11-01

    This article gives an overview of the patent literature related to innovative inactivated polio vaccine (i-IPV) based on using Sabin poliovirus strains and newly developed alternative recombinant poliovirus strains. This innovative approach for IPV manufacturing is considered to attribute to the requirement for affordable IPV in the post-polio-eradication era, which is on the horizon. Although IPV is a well-established vaccine, the number of patent applications in this field was seen to have significantly increased in the past decade. Currently, regular IPV appears to be too expensive for universal use. Future affordability may be achieved by using alternative cell lines, alternative virus seed strains, improved and optimized processes, dose sparing, or the use of adjuvants. A relatively short-term option to achieve cost-price reduction is to work on regular IPV, using wild-type poliovirus strains, or on Sabin-IPV, based on using attenuated poliovirus strains. This price reduction can be achieved by introducing efficiency in processing. There are also multiple opportunities to work on dose sparing, for example, by using adjuvants or fractional doses. Renewed interest in this field was clearly reflected in the number and diversity of patent applications. In a later stage, several innovative approaches may become even more attractive, for example the use of recombinant virus strains or even a totally synthetic vaccine. Currently, such work is mainly carried out by research institutes and universities and therefore clinical data are not available.

  18. Spectrum Recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenslade, Thomas B., Jr.

    1984-01-01

    Describes several methods of executing lecture demonstrations involving the recombination of the spectrum. Groups the techniques into two general classes: bringing selected portions of the spectrum together using lenses or mirrors and blurring the colors by rapid movement or foreshortening. (JM)

  19. Genetic analysis of variation in human meiotic recombination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reshmi Chowdhury

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The number of recombination events per meiosis varies extensively among individuals. This recombination phenotype differs between female and male, and also among individuals of each gender. In this study, we used high-density SNP genotypes of over 2,300 individuals and their offspring in two datasets to characterize recombination landscape and to map the genetic variants that contribute to variation in recombination phenotypes. We found six genetic loci that are associated with recombination phenotypes. Two of these (RNF212 and an inversion on chromosome 17q21.31 were previously reported in the Icelandic population, and this is the first replication in any other population. Of the four newly identified loci (KIAA1462, PDZK1, UGCG, NUB1, results from expression studies provide support for their roles in meiosis. Each of the variants that we identified explains only a small fraction of the individual variation in recombination. Notably, we found different sequence variants associated with female and male recombination phenotypes, suggesting that they are regulated by different genes. Characterization of genetic variants that influence natural variation in meiotic recombination will lead to a better understanding of normal meiotic events as well as of non-disjunction, the primary cause of pregnancy loss.

  20. Recombination in Avian Gamma-Coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark W. Jackwood

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Recombination in the family Coronaviridae has been well documented and is thought to be a contributing factor in the emergence and evolution of different coronaviral genotypes as well as different species of coronavirus. However, there are limited data available on the frequency and extent of recombination in coronaviruses in nature and particularly for the avian gamma-coronaviruses where only recently the emergence of a turkey coronavirus has been attributed solely to recombination. In this study, the full-length genomes of eight avian gamma-coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV isolates were sequenced and along with other full-length IBV genomes available from GenBank were analyzed for recombination. Evidence of recombination was found in every sequence analyzed and was distributed throughout the entire genome. Areas that have the highest occurrence of recombination are located in regions of the genome that code for nonstructural proteins 2, 3 and 16, and the structural spike glycoprotein. The extent of the recombination observed, suggests that this may be one of the principal mechanisms for generating genetic and antigenic diversity within IBV. These data indicate that reticulate evolutionary change due to recombination in IBV, likely plays a major role in the origin and adaptation of the virus leading to new genetic types and strains of the virus.

  1. The unconventional xer recombination machinery of Streptococci/Lactococci

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Le Bourgeois, Pascal; Bugarel, Marie; Campo, Nathalie; Daveran-Mingot, Marie-Line; Labonte, Jessica; Lanfranchi, Daniel; Lautier, Thomas; Pages, Carine; Ritzenthaler, Paul

    Homologous recombination between circular sister chromosomes during DNA replication in bacteria can generate chromosome dimers that must be resolved into monomers prior to cell division. In Escherichia coli, dimer resolution is achieved by site-specific recombination, Xer recombination, involving

  2. Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the metal-binding protein CusF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantu-Bustos, J Enrique; Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Galbraith, David W; McEvoy, Megan M; Zarate, Xristo

    2016-05-01

    Production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli has been improved considerably through the use of fusion proteins, because they increase protein solubility and facilitate purification via affinity chromatography. In this article, we propose the use of CusF as a new fusion partner for expression and purification of recombinant proteins in E. coli. Using a cell-free protein expression system, based on the E. coli S30 extract, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) was expressed with a series of different N-terminal tags, immobilized on self-assembled protein microarrays, and its fluorescence quantified. GFP tagged with CusF showed the highest fluorescence intensity, and this was greater than the intensities from corresponding GFP constructs that contained MBP or GST tags. Analysis of protein production in vivo showed that CusF produces large amounts of soluble protein with low levels of inclusion bodies. Furthermore, fusion proteins can be exported to the cellular periplasm, if CusF contains the signal sequence. Taking advantage of its ability to bind copper ions, recombinant proteins can be purified with readily available IMAC resins charged with this metal ion, producing pure proteins after purification and tag removal. We therefore recommend the use of CusF as a viable alternative to MBP or GST as a fusion protein/affinity tag for the production of soluble recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Graded Recombination Layers for Multijunction Photovoltaics

    KAUST Repository

    Koleilat, Ghada I.; Wang, Xihua; Sargent, Edward H.

    2012-01-01

    it to achieve multicolor and spectrally tunable behavior. In series-connected current-matched multijunction devices, the recombination layers must allow the hole current from one cell to recombine, with high efficiency and low voltage loss, with the electron

  4. V(D)J recombination frequency is affected by the sequence interposed between a pair of recombination signals: sequence comparison reveals a putative recombinational enhancer element

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roch, F A; Hobi, R; Berchtold, M W

    1997-01-01

    respectively, can markedly affect the frequency of V(D)J recombination. We report that the entire Emu, the Emu core as well as its flanking 5' and 3' matrix associated regions (5' and 3' MARs) upregulate V(D)J recombination while the downstream section of the 3' MAR of Emu does not. Also, prokaryotic sequences...

  5. A simple Pichia pastoris fermentation and downstream processing strategy for making recombinant pandemic Swine Origin Influenza a virus Hemagglutinin protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athmaram, T N; Singh, Anil Kumar; Saraswat, Shweta; Srivastava, Saurabh; Misra, Princi; Kameswara Rao, M; Gopalan, N; Rao, P V L

    2013-02-01

    The present Influenza vaccine manufacturing process has posed a clear impediment to initiation of rapid mass vaccination against spreading pandemic influenza. New vaccine strategies are therefore needed that can accelerate the vaccine production. Pichia offers several advantages for rapid and economical bulk production of recombinant proteins and, hence, can be attractive alternative for producing an effective influenza HA based subunit vaccine. The recombinant Pichia harboring the transgene was subjected to fed-batch fermentation at 10 L scale. A simple fermentation and downstream processing strategy is developed for high-yield secretory expression of the recombinant Hemagglutinin protein of pandemic Swine Origin Influenza A virus using Pichia pastoris via fed-batch fermentation. Expression and purification were optimized and the expressed recombinant Hemagglutinin protein was verified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blot and MALDI-TOF analysis. In this paper, we describe a fed-batch fermentation protocol for the secreted production of Swine Influenza A Hemagglutinin protein in the P. pastoris GS115 strain. We have shown that there is a clear relationship between product yield and specific growth rate. The fed-batch fermentation and downstream processing methods optimized in the present study have immense practical application for high-level production of the recombinant H1N1 HA protein in a cost effective way using P. pastoris.

  6. Bio-equivalent doses of recombinent HCG and recombinent LH during ovarian stimulation result in similar oestradiol output

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alsbjerg, Birgit; Elbaek, Helle Olesen; Laursen, Rita Jakubcionyte

    2017-01-01

    In nature, HCG is secreted by the implanting embryo from peri-implantation and onwards. In contrast, LH is mandatory for steroidogenesis and follicular development during the follicular phase, working in synergy with FSH. Moreover, LH is mandatory for the function of the corpus luteum. Although LH...... and HCG bind to the same receptor, significant molecular, structural and functional differences exist, inducing differences in bioactivity. This randomized controlled study compared the effect of recombinant FSH stimulation combined with daily either micro-dose recombinant HCG or recombinant LH...

  7. Heterologous surface display on lactic acid bacteria: non-GMO alternative?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zadravec, Petra; Štrukelj, Borut; Berlec, Aleš

    2015-01-01

    Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are food-grade hosts for surface display with potential applications in food and therapy. Alternative approaches to surface display on LAB would avoid the use of recombinant DNA technology and genetically-modified organism (GMO)-related regulatory requirements. Non-covalent surface display of proteins can be achieved by fusing them to various cell-wall binding domains, of which the Lysine motif domain (LysM) is particularly well studied. Fusion proteins have been isolated from recombinant bacteria or from their growth medium and displayed on unmodified bacteria, enabling heterologous surface display. This was demonstrated on non-viable cells devoid of protein content, termed bacteria-like particles, and on various species of genus Lactobacillus. Of the latter, Lactobacillus salivarius ATCC 11741 was recently shown to be particularly amenable for LysM-mediated display. Possible regulatory implications of heterologous surface display are discussed, particularly those relevant for the European Union.

  8. Mechanisms and Factors that Influence High Frequency Retroviral Recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delviks-Frankenberry, Krista; Galli, Andrea; Nikolaitchik, Olga; Mens, Helene; Pathak, Vinay K.; Hu, Wei-Shau

    2011-01-01

    With constantly changing environmental selection pressures, retroviruses rely upon recombination to reassort polymorphisms in their genomes and increase genetic diversity, which improves the chances for the survival of their population. Recombination occurs during DNA synthesis, whereby reverse transcriptase undergoes template switching events between the two copackaged RNAs, resulting in a viral recombinant with portions of the genetic information from each parental RNA. This review summarizes our current understanding of the factors and mechanisms influencing retroviral recombination, fidelity of the recombination process, and evaluates the subsequent viral diversity and fitness of the progeny recombinant. Specifically, the high mutation rates and high recombination frequencies of HIV-1 will be analyzed for their roles in influencing HIV-1 global diversity, as well as HIV-1 diagnosis, drug treatment, and vaccine development. PMID:21994801

  9. Recombinant innovation and endogenous technological transitions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frenken, K.; Izquierdo, L.R.; Zeppini, P.

    2012-01-01

    We propose a model of technological transitions based on two different types of innovations. Branching innovations refer to technological improvements along a particular path, while recombinant innovations represent fusions of multiple paths. Recombinant innovations create "short-cuts" which reduce

  10. Effect of unbalanced diets on the long-term metabolism of a toxicant. 1. Lead in rats: preliminary note.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldini, M; Coni, E; Mantovani, A; Stacchini, A; Zanasi, F

    1989-01-01

    The aim of this study was the evaluation of the effect of dietary imbalances on absorption and distribution of lead in the female Sprague-Dawley rat. In this note preliminary results on the relationship between blood concentrations of lead and unbalanced diets are presented. Hyperproteic, hyperglycidic, hyperlipidic and balanced diets were prepared, and most of them included 15 mg/kg lead. Blood samples were collected at day 0, 21, 36, and 95 of the diets and analyzed by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). Lead uptake as a function of feed consumption was found to decrease in the order: balanced, hyperproteic and hyperglycidic, hyperlipidic diet. On the other hand lead blood levels were as follows (decreasing order): hyperlipidic, hyperproteic, hyperglycidic, balanced. Further research is being carried out on the influences of dietary imbalances on whole-body distribution of lead.

  11. Bimolecular recombination in ambipolar organic field effect transistors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Charrier, D. S. H.; de Vries, T.; Mathijssen, S. G. J.; Geluk, E. -J.; Smits, E. C. P.; Kemerink, M.; Janssen, R. A. J.

    In ambipolar organic field effect transistors (OFET) the shape of the channel potential is intimately related to the recombination zone width W, and hence to the electron-hole recombination strength. Experimentally, the recombination profile can be assessed by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

  12. Bimolecular recombination in ambipolar organic field effect transistors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Charrier, D.S.H.; Vries, T. de; Mathijssen, S.G.J.; Geluk, E.-J.; Smits, E.C.P.; Kemerink, M.; Janssen, R.A.J.

    2009-01-01

    In ambipolar organic field effect transistors (OFET) the shape of the channel potential is intimately related to the recombination zone width W, and hence to the electron–hole recombination strength. Experimentally, the recombination profile can be assessed by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

  13. Genome-wide variation in recombination rate in Eucalyptus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gion, Jean-Marc; Hudson, Corey J; Lesur, Isabelle; Vaillancourt, René E; Potts, Brad M; Freeman, Jules S

    2016-08-09

    Meiotic recombination is a fundamental evolutionary process. It not only generates diversity, but influences the efficacy of natural selection and genome evolution. There can be significant heterogeneity in recombination rates within and between species, however this variation is not well understood outside of a few model taxa, particularly in forest trees. Eucalypts are forest trees of global economic importance, and dominate many Australian ecosystems. We studied recombination rate in Eucalyptus globulus using genetic linkage maps constructed in 10 unrelated individuals, and markers anchored to the Eucalyptus reference genome. This experimental design provided the replication to study whether recombination rate varied between individuals and chromosomes, and allowed us to study the genomic attributes and population genetic parameters correlated with this variation. Recombination rate varied significantly between individuals (range = 2.71 to 3.51 centimorgans/megabase [cM/Mb]), but was not significantly influenced by sex or cross type (F1 vs. F2). Significant differences in recombination rate between chromosomes were also evident (range = 1.98 to 3.81 cM/Mb), beyond those which were due to variation in chromosome size. Variation in chromosomal recombination rate was significantly correlated with gene density (r = 0.94), GC content (r = 0.90), and the number of tandem duplicated genes (r = -0.72) per chromosome. Notably, chromosome level recombination rate was also negatively correlated with the average genetic diversity across six species from an independent set of samples (r = -0.75). The correlations with genomic attributes are consistent with findings in other taxa, however, the direction of the correlation between diversity and recombination rate is opposite to that commonly observed. We argue this is likely to reflect the interaction of selection and specific genome architecture of Eucalyptus. Interestingly, the differences amongst

  14. Induction of intrachromosomal homologous recombination in whole plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puchta, H.; Swoboda, P.; Hohn, B.

    1995-01-01

    The influence of different factors on frequencies of intrachromosomal homologous recombination in whole Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco plants was analyzed using a disrupted β-glucuronidase marker gene. Recombination frequencies were enhanced several fold by DNA damaging agents like UV-light or MMS (methyl methanesulfonate). Applying 3-methoxybenzamide (3-MB), an inhibitor of poly(ADP)ribose polymerase (PARP), an enzyme that is postulated to be involved in DNA repair, enhanced homologous recombination frequencies strongly. These findings indicate that homologous recombination is involved in DNA repair and can (at least partially) compensate for other DNA repair pathways. Indications that recombination in plants can be induced by environmental stress factors that are not likely to be involved in DNA metabolism were also found; Arabidopsis plants growing in a medium containing 0.1 M NaCl exhibited elevated recombination frequencies. The possible general effects of ‘environmental’ challenges on genome flexibility are discussed. (author)

  15. Electric hydrogen recombiner special tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, J.F.

    1975-12-01

    Westinghouse has produced an electric hydrogen recombiner to control hydrogen levels in reactor containments following a postulated loss-of-coolant accident. The recombiner underwent extensive testing for NRC qualification (see WCAP 7709-L and Supplements 1, 2, 3, 4). As a result, WCAP 7709-L and Supplements 1, 2, 3, and 4 have been accepted by the NRC for reference in applications not committed to IEEE-323-1974. Supplement 5 and the next supplement will demonstrate conformance to IEEE-323-1974. This supplement describes additional tests, beyond those necessary to qualify the system, which will be referenced in supplement 6. Each test has demonstrated a considerable margin of safety over required performance. Concurrently, the test results increased the fund of technical information on the electric hydrogen recombiner

  16. Frequent intra-subtype recombination among HIV-1 circulating in Tanzania.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ireen E Kiwelu

    Full Text Available The study estimated the prevalence of HIV-1 intra-subtype recombinant variants among female bar and hotel workers in Tanzania. While intra-subtype recombination occurs in HIV-1, it is generally underestimated. HIV-1 env gp120 V1-C5 quasispecies from 45 subjects were generated by single-genome amplification and sequencing (median (IQR of 38 (28-50 sequences per subject. Recombination analysis was performed using seven methods implemented within the recombination detection program version 3, RDP3. HIV-1 sequences were considered recombinant if recombination signals were detected by at least three methods with p-values of ≤0.05 after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. HIV-1 in 38 (84% subjects showed evidence for intra-subtype recombination including 22 with HIV-1 subtype A1, 13 with HIV-1 subtype C, and 3 with HIV-1 subtype D. The distribution of intra-patient recombination breakpoints suggested ongoing recombination and showed selective enrichment of recombinant variants in 23 (60% subjects. The number of subjects with evidence of intra-subtype recombination increased from 29 (69% to 36 (82% over one year of follow-up, although the increase did not reach statistical significance. Adjustment for intra-subtype recombination is important for the analysis of multiplicity of HIV infection. This is the first report of high prevalence of intra-subtype recombination in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Tanzania, a region where multiple HIV-1 subtypes co-circulate. HIV-1 intra-subtype recombination increases viral diversity and presents additional challenges for HIV-1 vaccine design.

  17. Cloning-free genome engineering in Sinorhizobium meliloti advances applications of Cre/loxP site-specific recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Döhlemann, Johannes; Brennecke, Meike; Becker, Anke

    2016-09-10

    The soil-dwelling α-proteobacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti serves as model for studies of symbiotic nitrogen fixation, a highly important process in sustainable agriculture. Here, we report advancements of the genetic toolbox accelerating genome editing in S. meliloti. The hsdMSR operon encodes a type-I restriction-modification (R-M) system. Transformation of S. meliloti is counteracted by the restriction endonuclease HsdR degrading DNA which lacks the appropriate methylation pattern. We provide a stable S. meliloti hsdR deletion mutant showing enhanced transformation with Escherichia coli-derived plasmid DNA and demonstrate that using an E. coli plasmid donor, expressing S. meliloti methyl transferase genes, is an alternative strategy of increasing the transformation efficiency of S. meliloti. Furthermore, we devise a novel cloning-free genome editing (CFGE) method for S. meliloti, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Xanthomonas campestris, and demonstrate the applicability of this method for intricate applications of the Cre/lox recombination system in S. meliloti. An enhanced Cre/lox system, allowing for serial deletions of large genomic regions, was established. An assay of lox spacer mutants identified a set of lox sites mediating specific recombination. The availability of several non-promiscuous Cre recognition sites enables simultaneous specific Cre/lox recombination events. CFGE combined with Cre/lox recombination is put forward as powerful approach for targeted genome editing, involving serial steps of manipulation to expedite the genetic accessibility of S. meliloti as chassis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Construction and characterization of a recombinant invertebrate iridovirus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozgen, Arzu; Muratoglu, Hacer; Demirbag, Zihni; Vlak, Just M; van Oers, Monique M; Nalcacioglu, Remziye

    2014-08-30

    Chilo iridescent virus (CIV), officially named Insect iridescent virus 6 (IIV6), is the type species of the genus Iridovirus (family Iridoviridae). In this paper we constructed a recombinant CIV, encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP). This recombinant can be used to investigate viral replication dynamics. We showed that homologous recombination is a valid method to make CIV gene knockouts and to insert foreign genes. The CIV 157L gene, putatively encoding a non-functional inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP), was chosen as target for foreign gene insertion. The gfp open reading frame preceded by the viral mcp promoter was inserted into the 157L locus by homologous recombination in Anthonomus grandis BRL-AG-3A cells. Recombinant virus (rCIV-Δ157L-gfp) was purified by successive rounds of plaque purification. All plaques produced by the purified recombinant virus emitted green fluorescence due to the presence of GFP. One-step growth curves for recombinant and wild-type CIV were similar and the recombinant was fully infectious in vivo. Hence, CIV157L can be inactivated without altering the replication kinetics of the virus. Consequently, the CIV 157L locus can be used as a site for insertion of foreign DNA, e.g. to modify viral properties for insect biocontrol. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Real-time single-molecule tethered particle motion experiments reveal the kinetics and mechanisms of Cre-mediated site-specific recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Hsiu-Fang

    2012-01-01

    Tyrosine family recombinases (YRs) are widely utilized in genome engineering systems because they can easily direct DNA rearrangement. Cre recombinases, one of the most commonly used types of YRs, catalyze site-specific recombination between two loxP sites without the need for high-energy cofactors, other accessory proteins or a specific DNA target sequence between the loxP sites. Previous structural, analytical ultracentrifuge and electrophoretic analyses have provided details of the reaction kinetics and mechanisms of Cre recombinase activity; whether there are reaction intermediates or side pathways involved has been left unaddressed. Using tethered particle motion (TPM), the Cre-mediated site-specific recombination process has been delineated, from beginning to end, at the single-molecule level, including the formation of abortive complexes and wayward complexes blocking inactive nucleoprotein complexes from entering the recombination process. Reversibility in the strand-cleavage/-ligation process and the formation of a thermally stable Holliday junction intermediate were observed within the Cre-mediated site-specific recombination process. Rate constants for each elementary step, which explain the overall reaction outcomes under various conditions, were determined. Taking the findings of this study together, they demonstrate the potential of single-molecule methodology as an alternative approach for exploring reaction mechanisms in detail. PMID:22467208

  20. Poliovirus Polymerase Leu420 Facilitates RNA Recombination and Ribavirin Resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kempf, Brian J.; Peersen, Olve B.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT RNA recombination is important in the formation of picornavirus species groups and the ongoing evolution of viruses within species groups. In this study, we examined the structure and function of poliovirus polymerase, 3Dpol, as it relates to RNA recombination. Recombination occurs when nascent RNA products exchange one viral RNA template for another during RNA replication. Because recombination is a natural aspect of picornavirus replication, we hypothesized that some features of 3Dpol may exist, in part, to facilitate RNA recombination. Furthermore, we reasoned that alanine substitution mutations that disrupt 3Dpol-RNA interactions within the polymerase elongation complex might increase and/or decrease the magnitudes of recombination. We found that an L420A mutation in 3Dpol decreased the frequency of RNA recombination, whereas alanine substitutions at other sites in 3Dpol increased the frequency of recombination. The 3Dpol Leu420 side chain interacts with a ribose in the nascent RNA product 3 nucleotides from the active site of the polymerase. Notably, the L420A mutation that reduced recombination also rendered the virus more susceptible to inhibition by ribavirin, coincident with the accumulation of ribavirin-induced G→A and C→U mutations in viral RNA. We conclude that 3Dpol Leu420 is critically important for RNA recombination and that RNA recombination contributes to ribavirin resistance. IMPORTANCE Recombination contributes to the formation of picornavirus species groups and the emergence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs). The recombinant viruses that arise in nature are occasionally more fit than either parental strain, especially when the two partners in recombination are closely related, i.e., members of characteristic species groups, such as enterovirus species groups A to H or rhinovirus species groups A to C. Our study shows that RNA recombination requires conserved features of the viral polymerase. Furthermore, a

  1. Genome-wide recombination dynamics are associated with phenotypic variation in maize.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Qingchun; Li, Lin; Yang, Xiaohong; Tong, Hao; Xu, Shutu; Li, Zhigang; Li, Weiya; Muehlbauer, Gary J; Li, Jiansheng; Yan, Jianbing

    2016-05-01

    Meiotic recombination is a major driver of genetic diversity, species evolution, and agricultural improvement. Thus, an understanding of the genetic recombination landscape across the maize (Zea mays) genome will provide insight and tools for further study of maize evolution and improvement. Here, we used c. 50 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms to precisely map recombination events in 12 artificial maize segregating populations. We observed substantial variation in the recombination frequency and distribution along the ten maize chromosomes among the 12 populations and identified 143 recombination hot regions. Recombination breakpoints were partitioned into intragenic and intergenic events. Interestingly, an increase in the number of genes containing recombination events was accompanied by a decrease in the number of recombination events per gene. This kept the overall number of intragenic recombination events nearly invariable in a given population, suggesting that the recombination variation observed among populations was largely attributed to intergenic recombination. However, significant associations between intragenic recombination events and variation in gene expression and agronomic traits were observed, suggesting potential roles for intragenic recombination in plant phenotypic diversity. Our results provide a comprehensive view of the maize recombination landscape, and show an association between recombination, gene expression and phenotypic variation, which may enhance crop genetic improvement. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

  2. RNAi and heterochromatin repress centromeric meiotic recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellermeier, Chad; Higuchi, Emily C; Phadnis, Naina

    2010-01-01

    During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes, is essen......During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes....... Surprisingly, one mutant derepressed for recombination in the heterochromatic mating-type region during meiosis and several mutants derepressed for centromeric gene expression during mitotic growth are not derepressed for centromeric recombination during meiosis. These results reveal a complex relation between...... types of repression by heterochromatin. Our results also reveal a previously undemonstrated role for RNAi and heterochromatin in the repression of meiotic centromeric recombination and, potentially, in the prevention of birth defects by maintenance of proper chromosome segregation during meiosis....

  3. Effects of UV radiation on genetic recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlahovic, K.; Zahradka, D.; Petranovic, M.; Petranovic, D.

    1996-01-01

    We have used the model consisting of Escherichia coli cells and l phage to study the effects of UV radiation on genetic recombination. We found two radiation induced processes that reduce or inhibit genetic recombination. One such process leads to the inability of prophage to excise itself from the irradiated bacterial chromosome by the site-specific recombination. The other process was shown to inhibit a type of general recombination by which the prophage transfers one of its genetic markers to the infecting homologous phage. Loss of the prophage ability to take part in both site-specific and general recombination was shown to develop in recB + but not in recB cells. From this we infer that the loss of prophage recombinogenicity in irradiated cells is a consequence of one process in which RecBCD enzyme (the product of recB, recC and recD genes) plays an essential role. (author)

  4. Temporally-controlled site-specific recombination in zebrafish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Hans

    Full Text Available Conventional use of the site-specific recombinase Cre is a powerful technology in mouse, but almost absent in other vertebrate model organisms. In zebrafish, Cre-mediated recombination efficiency was previously very low. Here we show that using transposon-mediated transgenesis, Cre is in fact highly efficient in this organism. Furthermore, temporal control of recombination can be achieved by using the ligand-inducible CreER(T2. Site-specific recombination only occurs upon administration of the drug tamoxifen (TAM or its active metabolite, 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen (4-OHT. Cre-mediated recombination is detectable already 4 or 2 hours after administration of TAM or 4-OHT, demonstrating fast recombination kinetics. In addition, low doses of TAM allow mosaic labeling of single cells. Combined, our results show that conditional Cre/lox will be a valuable tool for both, embryonic and adult zebrafish studies. Furthermore, single copy insertion transgenesis of Cre/lox constructs suggest a strategy suitable also for other organisms.

  5. Algae-based oral recombinant vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Specht, Elizabeth A.; Mayfield, Stephen P.

    2014-01-01

    Recombinant subunit vaccines are some of the safest and most effective vaccines available, but their high cost and the requirement of advanced medical infrastructure for administration make them impractical for many developing world diseases. Plant-based vaccines have shifted that paradigm by paving the way for recombinant vaccine production at agricultural scale using an edible host. However, enthusiasm for “molecular pharming” in food crops has waned in the last decade due to difficulty in developing transgenic crop plants and concerns of contaminating the food supply. Microalgae could be poised to become the next candidate in recombinant subunit vaccine production, as they present several advantages over terrestrial crop plant-based platforms including scalable and contained growth, rapid transformation, easily obtained stable cell lines, and consistent transgene expression levels. Algae have been shown to accumulate and properly fold several vaccine antigens, and efforts are underway to create recombinant algal fusion proteins that can enhance antigenicity for effective orally delivered vaccines. These approaches have the potential to revolutionize the way subunit vaccines are made and delivered – from costly parenteral administration of purified protein, to an inexpensive oral algae tablet with effective mucosal and systemic immune reactivity. PMID:24596570

  6. Recombination in hepatitis C virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Candelas, Fernando; López-Labrador, F Xavier; Bracho, María Alma

    2011-10-01

    Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a Flavivirus with a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome of about 9,600 nucleotides. It is a major cause of liver disease, infecting almost 200 million people all over the world. Similarly to most RNA viruses, HCV displays very high levels of genetic diversity which have been used to differentiate six major genotypes and about 80 subtypes. Although the different genotypes and subtypes share basic biological and pathogenic features they differ in clinical outcomes, response to treatment and epidemiology. The first HCV recombinant strain, in which different genome segments derived from parentals of different genotypes, was described in St. Petersburg (Russia) in 2002. Since then, there have been only a few more than a dozen reports including descriptions of HCV recombinants at all levels: between genotypes, between subtypes of the same genotype and even between strains of the same subtype. Here, we review the literature considering the reasons underlying the difficulties for unequivocally establishing recombination in this virus along with the analytical methods necessary to do it. Finally, we analyze the potential consequences, especially in clinical practice, of HCV recombination in light of the coming new therapeutic approaches against this virus.

  7. Algae-based oral recombinant vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth A Specht

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant subunit vaccines are some of the safest and most effective vaccines available, but their high cost and the requirement of advanced medical infrastructure for administration make them impractical for many developing world diseases. Plant-based vaccines have shifted that paradigm by paving the way for recombinant vaccine production at agricultural scale using an edible host. However, enthusiasm for molecular pharming in food crops has waned in the last decade due to difficulty in developing transgenic crop plants and concerns of contaminating the food supply. Microalgae are poised to become the next candidate in recombinant subunit vaccine production, and they present several advantages over terrestrial crop plant-based platforms including scalable and contained growth, rapid transformation, easily obtained stable cell lines, and consistent transgene expression levels. Algae have been shown to accumulate and properly fold several vaccine antigens, and efforts are underway to create recombinant algal fusion proteins that can enhance antigenicity for effective orally-delivered vaccines. These approaches have the potential to revolutionize the way subunit vaccines are made and delivered – from costly parenteral administration of purified protein, to an inexpensive oral algae tablet with effective mucosal and system immune reactivity.

  8. Enhanced defects recombination in ion irradiated SiC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izzo, G.; Litrico, G.; Grassia, F.; Calcagno, L.; Foti, G.

    2010-01-01

    Point defects induced in SiC by ion irradiation show a recombination at temperatures as low as 320 K and this process is enhanced after running current density ranging from 80 to 120 A/cm 2 . Ion irradiation induces in SiC the formation of different defect levels and low-temperature annealing changes their concentration. Some levels (S 0 , S x and S 2 ) show a recombination and simultaneously a new level (S 1 ) is formed. An enhanced recombination of defects is besides observed after running current in the diode at room temperature. The carriers introduction reduces the S 2 trap concentration, while the remaining levels are not modified. The recombination is negligible up to a current density of 50 A/cm 2 and increases at higher current density. The enhanced recombination of the S 2 trap occurs at 300 K, which otherwise requires a 400 K annealing temperature. The process can be related to the electron-hole recombination at the associated defect.

  9. PROGENITORS OF RECOMBINING SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moriya, Takashi J., E-mail: takashi.moriya@ipmu.jp [Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha 5-1-5, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan)

    2012-05-01

    Usual supernova remnants have either ionizing plasma or plasma in collisional ionization equilibrium, i.e., the ionization temperature is lower than or equal to the electron temperature. However, the existence of recombining supernova remnants, i.e., supernova remnants with ionization temperature higher than the electron temperature, has been recently confirmed. One suggested way to have recombining plasma in a supernova remnant is to have a dense circumstellar medium at the time of the supernova explosion. If the circumstellar medium is dense enough, collisional ionization equilibrium can be established in the early stage of the evolution of the supernova remnant and subsequent adiabatic cooling, which occurs after the shock wave gets out of the dense circumstellar medium, makes the electron temperature lower than the ionization temperature. We study the circumstellar medium around several supernova progenitors and show which supernova progenitors can have a circumstellar medium dense enough to establish collisional ionization equilibrium soon after the explosion. We find that the circumstellar medium around red supergiants (especially massive ones) and the circumstellar medium dense enough to make Type IIn supernovae can establish collisional ionization equilibrium soon after the explosion and can evolve to become recombining supernova remnants. Wolf-Rayet stars and white dwarfs have the possibility to be recombining supernova remnants but the fraction is expected to be very small. As the occurrence rate of the explosions of red supergiants is much higher than that of Type IIn supernovae, the major progenitors of recombining supernova remnants are likely to be red supergiants.

  10. Production and characterization of PHA from recombinant E. coli harbouring phaC1 gene of indigenous Pseudomonas sp. LDC-5 using molasses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V Saranya

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA are biodegradable and biocompatible green thermoplastics, synthesized by wide variety of bacteria as an intracellular carbon and energy storage intermediate. They are used as an alternative to nonrenewable petroleum derived plastics. The current interest in these biopolyesters is stimulated by the search for cost-effective capitalized production. This paper attempts to achieve maximized production rate from recombinant system using inexpensive substrate. Molasses from agro-industrial waste was used to produce PHA from recombinant E.coli in batch culture. PHA yield in molasses (3.06g/L ± 0.05-75.5% was higher than that of sucrose (2.5g/L ± 0.05 - 65.1%. Properties of the polymer produced from molasses and sucrose were analyzed by DSC, TGA, DTA, GC/MS, TLC and optical rotation studies. The findings suggested that molasses enhanced PHA production in recombinant E.coli.

  11. Dissociation of recombinant prion autocatalysis from infectivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noble, Geoffrey P; Supattapone, Surachai

    2015-01-01

    Within the mammalian prion field, the existence of recombinant prion protein (PrP) conformers with self-replicating (ie. autocatalytic) activity in vitro but little to no infectious activity in vivo challenges a key prediction of the protein-only hypothesis of prion replication--that autocatalytic PrP conformers should be infectious. To understand this dissociation of autocatalysis from infectivity, we recently performed a structural and functional comparison between a highly infectious and non-infectious pair of autocatalytic recombinant PrP conformers derived from the same initial prion strain. (1) We identified restricted, C-terminal structural differences between these 2 conformers and provided evidence that these relatively subtle differences prevent the non-infectious conformer from templating the conversion of native PrP(C) substrates containing a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. (1) In this article we discuss a model, consistent with these findings, in which recombinant PrP, lacking post-translational modifications and associated folding constraints, is capable of adopting a wide variety of autocatalytic conformations. Only a subset of these recombinant conformers can be adopted by post-translationally modified native PrP(C), and this subset represents the recombinant conformers with high specific infectivity. We examine this model's implications for the generation of highly infectious recombinant prions and the protein-only hypothesis of prion replication.

  12. Origin of unbalanced reaction of vacancies and interstitials during irradiation with cascades and influence on microstructural evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiritani, M.; Yoshiie, T.; Kojima, S.; Satoh, Y.

    1993-01-01

    Based upon the underlying premise that all the microstructure evolution during irradiation results from the asymetrical reaction between vacancies and interstitials, the origin of the asymetry is sought and categorized, and the mechanism of defect structure evolution for each source of asymetry is investigated. The role of neutral sinks and the influence of dislocations are examined for the cases of irradiation with and without cascade damage. Vacancy cluster formation directly from cascades is found to favor the generation of freely migrating interstitials. Stochastic fluctuations of the point defect reactions under the balanced condition of vacancy and interstitial is experimentally detected, and the important role of the fluctuations is found in the determination of the fate of small interstitial cluster embryos produced by cascade damage. The influence of the unbalanced point defect reaction starting from difference in spacial distribution between vacancies and interstitials formed by cascade collisions is discussed as one of the important origins of vacancy dominant reactions. (orig.)

  13. Recombinant human erythropoietin therapy in critically ill Jehovah's Witnesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, Amanda M; Winstead, P Shane

    2008-11-01

    Blood transfusions and blood products are often given as a life-saving measure in patients with critical illness. However, some patients, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, may refuse their administration due to religious beliefs. Jehovah's Witnesses accept most available medical treatments, but not blood transfusions or blood products due to their religion's interpretation of several passages from the Bible. Since recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) became available, several cases have been reported in which rHuEPO was successfully administered to critically ill Jehovah's Witnesses. Administration of rHuEPO in combination with other blood conservation techniques has been shown to increase hemoglobin levels and survival in patients who experienced trauma, burns, general surgery, or gastrointestinal hemorrhage. We performed a literature search of the MEDLINE and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts databases of rHuEPO therapy in the Jehovah's Witness population. Fourteen cases were identified in which rHuEPO was administered to Jehovah's Witnesses who required the drug for critical care resuscitation as an alternative to blood products. In each clinical situation, rHuEPO enhanced erythropoiesis; however, time to the start of treatment, dosages, route of administration, and treatment duration varied widely. Supplementation with adjunctive agents, such as iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12, was also beneficial. Use of rHuEPO in Jehovah's Witnesses may provide an alternative to blood transfusions or blood products. Other alternatives, such as hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers and perfluorocarbons, are also being explored.

  14. Glycoprotein from street rabies virus BD06 induces early and robust immune responses when expressed from a non-replicative adenovirus recombinant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuchao; Sun, Chenglong; Zhang, Shoufeng; Zhang, Xiaozhuo; Liu, Ye; Wang, Ying; Zhang, Fei; Wu, Xianfu; Hu, Rongliang

    2015-09-01

    The rabies virus (RABV) glycoprotein (G) is responsible for inducing neutralizing antibodies against rabies virus. Development of recombinant vaccines using the G genes from attenuated strains rather than street viruses is a regular practice. In contrast to this scenario, we generated three human adenovirus type 5 recombinants using the G genes from the vaccine strains SRV9 and Flury-LEP, and the street RABV strain BD06 (nrAd5-SRV9-G, nrAd5-Flury-LEP-G, and nrAd5-BD06-G). These recombinants were non-replicative, but could grow up to ~10(8) TCID50/ml in helper HEK293AD cells. Expression of the G protein was verified by immunostaining, quantitative PCR and cytometry. Animal experiments revealed that immunization with nrAd5-BD06-G can induce a higher seroconversion rate, a higher neutralizing antibody level, and a longer survival time after rabies virus challenge in mice when compared with the other two recombinants. Moreover, the expression of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was significantly higher in mice immunized with nrAd5-BD06-G, which might also contribute to the increased protection. These results show that the use of street RABV G for non-replicative systems may be an alternative for developing effective recombinant rabies vaccines.

  15. Recombiner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saalfrank, H.

    1985-01-01

    Air containing hydrogen can be oxidized by heating in a container called a recombiner, in order to avoid the collection of hydrogen. The container is long and a large number of straight heating bars are arranged in parallel in it and they are flanged to a lid. The heating bars are surrounded by tubes, in order to obtain good heat transfer by a narrow annular gap. (orig.) [de

  16. Anti-proliferative activity of recombinant melittin expressed in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Recombinant melittin was then successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. The activity of affinity-purified recombinant melittin was determined in human leukemic U937 cells. Results show that the recombinant melittin had the same anti-proliferative activity in human leukemic U937 cells in vitro as natural one. This shows the ...

  17. Site directed recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurka, Jerzy W.

    1997-01-01

    Enhanced homologous recombination is obtained by employing a consensus sequence which has been found to be associated with integration of repeat sequences, such as Alu and ID. The consensus sequence or sequence having a single transition mutation determines one site of a double break which allows for high efficiency of integration at the site. By introducing single or double stranded DNA having the consensus sequence flanking region joined to a sequence of interest, one can reproducibly direct integration of the sequence of interest at one or a limited number of sites. In this way, specific sites can be identified and homologous recombination achieved at the site by employing a second flanking sequence associated with a sequence proximal to the 3'-nick.

  18. Recombination and dissociative recombination of H2+ and H3+ ions on surfaces with application to hydrogen negative ion sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hiskes, J.R.; Karo, A.M.

    1988-12-01

    A four-step model for recombination and dissociative recombination of H 2 + and H 3 + ions on metal surfaces is discussed. Vibrationally excited molecules, H 2 (v''), from H 3 + recombination are produced in a broad spectrum that enhances the excited level distribution. The application of this latter process to hydrogen negative ion discharges is discussed. 5 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  19. Recombination rate variation in mice from an isolated island.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Richard J; Gray, Melissa M; Parmenter, Michelle D; Broman, Karl W; Payseur, Bret A

    2017-01-01

    Recombination rate is a heritable trait that varies among individuals. Despite the major impact of recombination rate on patterns of genetic diversity and the efficacy of selection, natural variation in this phenotype remains poorly characterized. We present a comparison of genetic maps, sampling 1212 meioses, from a unique population of wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) that recently colonized remote Gough Island. Crosses to a mainland reference strain (WSB/EiJ) reveal pervasive variation in recombination rate among Gough Island mice, including subchromosomal intervals spanning up to 28% of the genome. In spite of this high level of polymorphism, the genomewide recombination rate does not significantly vary. In general, we find that recombination rate varies more when measured in smaller genomic intervals. Using the current standard genetic map of the laboratory mouse to polarize intervals with divergent recombination rates, we infer that the majority of evolutionary change occurred in one of the two tested lines of Gough Island mice. Our results confirm that natural populations harbour a high level of recombination rate polymorphism and highlight the disparities in recombination rate evolution across genomic scales. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Live recombinant BHV/BRSV vaccine

    OpenAIRE

    Keil, G.M.; Rijsewijk, F.A.M.

    1998-01-01

    The present invention refers to synthetic Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus genes. Also the invention relates to live attenuated Bovine Herpesvirus recombinants carrying such synthetic genes. Furthermore, the invention relates to vaccines based on these live attenuated recombinants, for the protection of cattle against both Bovine herpesvirus infection and against Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus infection. Also the invention relates to methods for the preparation of such live attenuated r...

  1. Recombinant snake venom prothrombin activators

    OpenAIRE

    L?vgren, Ann

    2012-01-01

    Three prothrombin activators; ecarin, which was originally isolated from the venom of the saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus, trocarin from the rough-scaled snake Tropidechis carinatus, and oscutarin from the Taipan snake Oxyuranus scutellatus, were expressed in mammalian cells with the purpose to obtain recombinant prothrombin activators that could be used to convert prothrombin to thrombin. We have previously reported that recombinant ecarin can efficiently generate thrombin without the need ...

  2. Electronic recombination in some physics problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guzman, O.

    1988-01-01

    This work is related to calculations of electronic recombination rates, as a function of electronic density, electronic temperature, and ion nuclear charge. Recombination times can be calculated and compared to cooling time, in cooling processes of ion beans by electrons from storage rings. (A.C.A.S.) [pt

  3. Recombinant human proinsulin from transgenic corn endosperm: solvent screening and extraction studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. S. Farinas

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant pharmaceutical proteins are being produced in different systems such as bacteria and mammalian cell cultures. The use of transgenic plants as bioreactors has recently arisen as an alternative system offering many practical and economic advantages. However, finding an optimum strategy for the downstream processing (DSP of recombinant proteins from plants still remains a challenge. In this work, we studied the extraction of recombinant human proinsulin (rhProinsulin produced in the endosperm of transgenic corn seeds. An efficient extraction solvent was selected and the effects of temperature, solvent-to-solid ratio, time, and impeller rotational speed on the extraction were evaluated using an experimental design. After an extraction kinetics study, temperature was further evaluated to maximize rhProinsulin concentration in the extracts and to minimize the native corn components carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, and proteins. A high efficiency condition for extracting rhProinsulin with the selected solvent - 50 mM sodium bicarbonate buffer pH 10.0 and 5 mM DTT - was an extraction time of 2 h at a solvent-to-solid ratio of 10:1 and 25º C. The maximum rhProinsulin concentration in the extracts at that condition was 18.87 mg l-1 or 0.42% of the total soluble protein. These values are within the range in which the production of pharmaceutical proteins in plants can be competitive with other expression systems. The results presented provide information for the development of an additional production platform for the hormone insulin.

  4. Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chandrasekhar Natarajan

    Full Text Available Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the α- and β-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression of wildtype and mutant Hbs of other species.As a test case for our expression system, we produced recombinant Hbs of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus, a species that has been the subject of research on mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. By experimentally assessing the combined effects of induction temperature, induction time and E. coli expression strain on the solubility of recombinant deer mouse Hbs, we identified combinations of expression conditions that greatly enhanced the yield of recombinant protein and which also increased the efficiency of post-translational modifications.Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need for additional reconstitution or heme-incorporation steps. Moreover, our plasmid construct contains a combination of unique restriction sites that allows us to produce recombinant Hbs with different α- and β-chain subunit combinations by means of cassette mutagenesis.

  5. Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Jiang, Xiaoben; Fago, Angela; Weber, Roy E; Moriyama, Hideaki; Storz, Jay F

    2011-01-01

    Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb) and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the α- and β-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression of wildtype and mutant Hbs of other species. As a test case for our expression system, we produced recombinant Hbs of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), a species that has been the subject of research on mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. By experimentally assessing the combined effects of induction temperature, induction time and E. coli expression strain on the solubility of recombinant deer mouse Hbs, we identified combinations of expression conditions that greatly enhanced the yield of recombinant protein and which also increased the efficiency of post-translational modifications. Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need for additional reconstitution or heme-incorporation steps. Moreover, our plasmid construct contains a combination of unique restriction sites that allows us to produce recombinant Hbs with different α- and β-chain subunit combinations by means of cassette mutagenesis.

  6. Yeast expressed recombinant Hemagglutinin protein of Novel H1N1 elicits neutralising antibodies in rabbits and mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Athmaram TN

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Currently available vaccines for the pandemic Influenza A (H1N1 2009 produced in chicken eggs have serious impediments viz limited availability, risk of allergic reactions and the possible selection of sub-populations differing from the naturally occurring virus, whereas the cell culture derived vaccines are time consuming and may not meet the demands of rapid global vaccination required to combat the present/future pandemic. Hemagglutinin (HA based subunit vaccine for H1N1 requires the HA protein in glycosylated form, which is impossible with the commonly used bacterial expression platform. Additionally, bacterial derived protein requires extensive purification and refolding steps for vaccine applications. For these reasons an alternative heterologous system for rapid, easy and economical production of Hemagglutinin protein in its glycosylated form is required. The HA gene of novel H1N1 A/California/04/2009 was engineered for expression in Pichia pastoris as a soluble secreted protein. The full length HA- synthetic gene having α-secretory tag was integrated into P. pastoris genome through homologous recombination. The resultant Pichia clones having multiple copy integrants of the transgene expressed full length HA protein in the culture supernatant. The Recombinant yeast derived H1N1 HA protein elicited neutralising antibodies both in mice and rabbits. The sera from immunised animals also exhibited Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI activity. Considering the safety, reliability and also economic potential of Pichia expression platform, our preliminary data indicates the feasibility of using this system as an alternative for large-scale production of recombinant influenza HA protein in the face of influenza pandemic threat.

  7. Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Jiang, Xiaoben; Fago, Angela

    2011-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb) and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe...... a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the alpha- and beta-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression......-translational modifications. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need...

  8. Bayesian inference of shared recombination hotspots between humans and chimpanzees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ying; Rannala, Bruce

    2014-12-01

    Recombination generates variation and facilitates evolution. Recombination (or lack thereof) also contributes to human genetic disease. Methods for mapping genes influencing complex genetic diseases via association rely on linkage disequilibrium (LD) in human populations, which is influenced by rates of recombination across the genome. Comparative population genomic analyses of recombination using related primate species can identify factors influencing rates of recombination in humans. Such studies can indicate how variable hotspots for recombination may be both among individuals (or populations) and over evolutionary timescales. Previous studies have suggested that locations of recombination hotspots are not conserved between humans and chimpanzees. We made use of the data sets from recent resequencing projects and applied a Bayesian method for identifying hotspots and estimating recombination rates. We also reanalyzed SNP data sets for regions with known hotspots in humans using samples from the human and chimpanzee. The Bayes factors (BF) of shared recombination hotspots between human and chimpanzee across regions were obtained. Based on the analysis of the aligned regions of human chromosome 21, locations where the two species show evidence of shared recombination hotspots (with high BFs) were identified. Interestingly, previous comparative studies of human and chimpanzee that focused on the known human recombination hotspots within the β-globin and HLA regions did not find overlapping of hotspots. Our results show high BFs of shared hotspots at locations within both regions, and the estimated locations of shared hotspots overlap with the locations of human recombination hotspots obtained from sperm-typing studies. Copyright © 2014 by the Genetics Society of America.

  9. Effects of the rad52 gene on recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prakash, S.; Prakash, L.; Burke, W.; Montelone, B.A.

    1979-01-01

    Effects of the rad52 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae on meiotic, γ-ray-induced, uv-induced, and spontaneous mitotic recombination were studied. The rad52/rad52 diploids undergo premeiotic DNA synthesis; sporulation occurs but inviable spores are produced. Intra- and intergenic recombination during meiosis were examined in cells transferred from sporulation medium to vegetative medium at different time intervals. No intragenic recombination was observed at the hisl-1/hisl-315 and trp5-2/trp5-48 heteroalleles. Gene-centromere recombination was also not observed in rad52/rad52 diploids. No γ-ray-induced intragenic mitotic recombination is seen in rad52/rad52 diploids and uv-induced intragenic recombination is greatly reduced. However, spontaneous mitotic recombination is not similarly affected. The RAD52 gene thus functions in recombination in meiosis and in γ-ray and uv-induced mitotic recombination but not in spontaneous mitotic recombination

  10. Heterogeneous recombination among Hepatitis B virus genotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelhano, Nadine; Araujo, Natalia M; Arenas, Miguel

    2017-10-01

    The rapid evolution of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) through both evolutionary forces, mutation and recombination, allows this virus to generate a large variety of adapted variants at both intra and inter-host levels. It can, for instance, generate drug resistance or the diverse viral genotypes that currently exist in the HBV epidemics. Concerning the latter, it is known that recombination played a major role in the emergence and genetic diversification of novel genotypes. In this regard, the quantification of viral recombination in each genotype can provide relevant information to devise expectations about the evolutionary trends of the epidemic. Here we measured the amount of this evolutionary force by estimating global and local recombination rates in >4700 HBV complete genome sequences corresponding to nine (A to I) HBV genotypes. Counterintuitively, we found that genotype E presents extremely high levels of recombination, followed by genotypes B and C. On the other hand, genotype G presents the lowest level, where recombination is almost negligible. We discuss these findings in the light of known characteristics of these genotypes. Additionally, we present a phylogenetic network to depict the evolutionary history of the studied HBV genotypes. This network clearly classified all genotypes into specific groups and indicated that diverse pairs of genotypes are derived from a common ancestor (i.e., C-I, D-E and, F-H) although still the origin of this virus presented large uncertainty. Altogether we conclude that the amount of observed recombination is heterogeneous among HBV genotypes and that this heterogeneity can influence on the future expansion of the epidemic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Graded Recombination Layers for Multijunction Photovoltaics

    KAUST Repository

    Koleilat, Ghada I.

    2012-06-13

    Multijunction devices consist of a stack of semiconductor junctions having bandgaps tuned across a broad spectrum. In solar cells this concept is used to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic harvesting, while light emitters and detectors use it to achieve multicolor and spectrally tunable behavior. In series-connected current-matched multijunction devices, the recombination layers must allow the hole current from one cell to recombine, with high efficiency and low voltage loss, with the electron current from the next cell. We recently reported a tandem solar cell in which the recombination layer was implemented using a progression of n-type oxides whose doping densities and work functions serve to connect, with negligible resistive loss at solar current densities, the constituent cells. Here we present the generalized conditions for design of efficient graded recombination layer solar devices. We report the number of interlayers and the requirements on work function and doping of each interlayer, to bridge an work function difference as high as 1.6 eV. We also find solutions that minimize the doping required of the interlayers in order to minimize optical absorption due to free carriers in the graded recombination layer (GRL). We demonstrate a family of new GRL designs experimentally and highlight the benefits of the progression of dopings and work functions in the interlayers. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

  12. Review of Parton Recombination Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bass, Steffen A

    2006-01-01

    Parton recombination models have been very successful in explaining data taken at RHIC on hadron spectra and emission patterns in Au+Au collisions at transverse momenta above 2 GeV/c, which have exhibited features which could not be understood in the framework of basic perturbative QCD. In this article I will review the current status on recombination models and outline which future challenges need to be addressed by this class of models

  13. The model of recombination process in TlBr

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grigorjeva, L.; Millers, D.

    2002-01-01

    The time-resolved luminescence was used as a tool in the study of recombination process in several undoped TlBr crystals. The spectra and decay kinetics observed under electron beam excitation were investigated. Observation of several luminescence bands with different decay rates shows that more than one recombination center is involved and the recombination process is quite complicated. The band at ∼2.5 eV is dominant under 10 ns excitation pulse (electron beam or nitrogen laser pulses). The results of short-lived absorption and luminescence are used for analysis of possible mechanisms of recombination processes in TlBr

  14. Affinity purification of recombinant human plasminogen activator ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Affinity purification of recombinant human plasminogen activator from ... Screening antibody was performed using rhPA milk in an ELISA-elution assay. ... useful for purifying other tPA mutants or other novel recombinant milkderived proteins.

  15. Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein induces bone formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, E.A.; Rosen, V.; D'Alessandro, J.S.; Bauduy, M.; Cordes, P.; Harada, T.; Israel, D.I.; Hewick, R.M.; Kerns, K.M.; LaPan, P.; Luxenberg, D.P.; McQuaid, D.; Moutsatsos, I.K.; Nove, J.; Wozney, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    The authors have purified and characterized active recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 2A. Implantation of the recombinant protein in rats showed that a single BMP can induce bone formation in vivo. A dose-response and time-course study using the rat ectopic bone formation assay revealed that implantation of 0.5-115 μg of partially purified recombinant human BMP-2A resulted in cartilage by day 7 and bone formation by day 14. The time at which bone formation occurred was dependent on the amount of BMP-2A implanted; at high doses bone formation could be observed at 5 days. The cartilage- and bone-inductive activity of the recombinant BMP-2A is histologically indistinguishable from that of bone extracts. Thus, recombinant BMP-2A has therapeutic potential to promote de novo bone formation in humans

  16. Inference of Ancestral Recombination Graphs through Topological Data Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cámara, Pablo G.; Levine, Arnold J.; Rabadán, Raúl

    2016-01-01

    The recent explosion of genomic data has underscored the need for interpretable and comprehensive analyses that can capture complex phylogenetic relationships within and across species. Recombination, reassortment and horizontal gene transfer constitute examples of pervasive biological phenomena that cannot be captured by tree-like representations. Starting from hundreds of genomes, we are interested in the reconstruction of potential evolutionary histories leading to the observed data. Ancestral recombination graphs represent potential histories that explicitly accommodate recombination and mutation events across orthologous genomes. However, they are computationally costly to reconstruct, usually being infeasible for more than few tens of genomes. Recently, Topological Data Analysis (TDA) methods have been proposed as robust and scalable methods that can capture the genetic scale and frequency of recombination. We build upon previous TDA developments for detecting and quantifying recombination, and present a novel framework that can be applied to hundreds of genomes and can be interpreted in terms of minimal histories of mutation and recombination events, quantifying the scales and identifying the genomic locations of recombinations. We implement this framework in a software package, called TARGet, and apply it to several examples, including small migration between different populations, human recombination, and horizontal evolution in finches inhabiting the Galápagos Islands. PMID:27532298

  17. Retroviral Vectors for Analysis of Viral Mutagenesis and Recombination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan M.O. Rawson

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Retrovirus population diversity within infected hosts is commonly high due in part to elevated rates of replication, mutation, and recombination. This high genetic diversity often complicates the development of effective diagnostics, vaccines, and antiviral drugs. This review highlights the diverse vectors and approaches that have been used to examine mutation and recombination in retroviruses. Retroviral vectors for these purposes can broadly be divided into two categories: those that utilize reporter genes as mutation or recombination targets and those that utilize viral genes as targets of mutation or recombination. Reporter gene vectors greatly facilitate the detection, quantification, and characterization of mutants and/or recombinants, but may not fully recapitulate the patterns of mutagenesis or recombination observed in native viral gene sequences. In contrast, the detection of mutations or recombination events directly in viral genes is more biologically relevant but also typically more challenging and inefficient. We will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the various vectors and approaches used as well as propose ways in which they could be improved.

  18. Hadron production at RHIC: recombination of quarks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fries, Rainer J [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

    2005-01-01

    We discuss quark recombination applied to the hadronization of a quark gluon plasma. It has been shown that the quark recombination model can explain essential features of hadron production measured in high energy heavy ion collisions.

  19. End-Point Immobilization of Recombinant Thrombomodulin via Sortase-Mediated Ligation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Rui; Weingart, Jacob; Zhang, Hailong; Ma, Yong; Sun, Xue-Long

    2012-01-01

    We report an enzymatic end-point modification and immobilization of recombinant human thrombomodulin (TM), a cofactor for activation of anticoagulant protein C pathway via thrombin. First, a truncated TM mutant consisting of epidermal growth factor-like domains 4–6 (TM456) with a conserved pentapeptide LPETG motif at its C-terminal was expressed and purified in E. coli. Next, the truncated TM456 derivative was site-specifically modified with N-terminal diglycine containing molecules such as biotin and the fluorescent probe dansyl via sortase A (SrtA) mediated ligation (SML). The successful ligations were confirmed by SDS-PAGE and fluorescence imaging. Finally, the truncated TM456 was immobilized onto N-terminal diglycine-functionalized glass slide surface via SML directly. Alternatively, the truncated TM456 was biotinylated via SML and then immobilized onto streptavidin-functionalized glass slide surface indirectly. The successful immobilizations were confirmed by fluorescence imaging. The bioactivity of the immobilized truncated TM456 was further confirmed by protein C activation assay, in which enhanced activation of protein C by immobilized recombinant TM was observed. The sortase A-catalyzed surface ligation took place under mild conditions and is rapid occurring in a single step without prior chemical modification of the target protein. This site-specific covalent modification leads to molecules being arranged in a definitively ordered fashion and facilitating the preservation of the protein’s biological activity. PMID:22372933

  20. Advances and Future Challenges in Recombinant Adenoviral Vectored H5N1 Influenza Vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianfeng Zhang

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 has increased the potential for a new pandemic to occur. This event highlights the necessity for developing a new generation of influenza vaccines to counteract influenza disease. These vaccines must be manufactured for mass immunization of humans in a timely manner. Poultry should be included in this policy, since persistent infected flocks are the major source of avian influenza for human infections. Recombinant adenoviral vectored H5N1 vaccines are an attractive alternative to the currently licensed influenza vaccines. This class of vaccines induces a broadly protective immunity against antigenically distinct H5N1, can be manufactured rapidly, and may allow mass immunization of human and poultry. Recombinant adenoviral vectors derived from both human and non-human adenoviruses are currently being investigated and appear promising both in nonclinical and clinical studies. This review will highlight the current status of various adenoviral vectored H5N1 vaccines and will outline novel approaches for the future.

  1. Catalytic hydrogen recombination for nuclear containments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koroll, G.W.; Lau, D.W.P.; Dewit, W.A.; Graham, W.R.C.

    1994-01-01

    Catalytic recombiners appear to be a credible option for hydrogen mitigation in nuclear containments. The passive operation, versatility and ease of back fitting are appealing for existing stations and new designs. Recently, a generation of wet-proofed catalyst materials have been developed at AECL which are highly specific to H 2 -O 2 , are active at ambient temperatures and are being evaluated for containment applications. Two types of catalytic recombiners were evaluated for hydrogen removal in containments based on the AECL catalyst. The first is a catalytic combustor for application in existing air streams such as provided by fans or ventilation systems. The second is an autocatalytic recombiner which uses the enthalpy of reaction to produce natural convective flow over the catalyst elements. Intermediate-scale results obtained in 6 m 3 and 10 m 3 spherical and cylindrical vessels are given to demonstrate self-starting limits, operating limits, removal capacity, scaling parameters, flow resistance, mixing behaviour in the vicinity of an operating recombiner and sensitivity to poisoning, fouling and radiation. (author). 13 refs., 10 figs

  2. Recombination Processes and Nonlinear Markov Chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pirogov, Sergey; Rybko, Alexander; Kalinina, Anastasia; Gelfand, Mikhail

    2016-09-01

    Bacteria are known to exchange genetic information by horizontal gene transfer. Since the frequency of homologous recombination depends on the similarity between the recombining segments, several studies examined whether this could lead to the emergence of subspecies. Most of them simulated fixed-size Wright-Fisher populations, in which the genetic drift should be taken into account. Here, we use nonlinear Markov processes to describe a bacterial population evolving under mutation and recombination. We consider a population structure as a probability measure on the space of genomes. This approach implies the infinite population size limit, and thus, the genetic drift is not assumed. We prove that under these conditions, the emergence of subspecies is impossible.

  3. [Construction and expression of a recombinant adenovirus with LZP3].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bang-dang; Zhang, Fu-chun; Sun, Mei-yu; Li, Yi-jie; Ma, Zheng-hai

    2007-08-01

    To explore a new immunocontraceptive vaccine and construct an attenuated recombinant adenoviral vaccine against Lagurus lagurus zona pellucida 3(LZP3). LZP3 gene was subcloned into the shuttle vector pShuttle-CMV, and then a two-step transformation procedure was employed to construct a recombinant adenoviral plasmid with LZP3, which was digested with Pac I and transfected into HEK293 cells to package recombinant adenovirus particles. Finally, HeLa cells were infected by the recombinant adenovirus. LZP3 gene was detected from the recombinant virus by PCR, and its transcription and expression were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot. Recombinant adenovirus vector pAd-LZP3 with LZP3 gene was constructed by homologous recombination in E.coli, and a recombinant adenovirus was obtained by transfecting HEK293 cells with pAd-LZP3. PCR test indicated that LZP3 gene was successfully integrated into the adenoviral genome, and the titer of the recombinant adenovirus reached 1.2x10(10) pfu/L. The transcription and expression of LZP3 gene in the infected HeLa cells were confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot. The recombinant adenovirus RAd-LZP3 can be successfully expressed in the infected HeLa cells, which lays the foundation for further researches into immunizing animals with RAd-LZP3.

  4. Genetic characterization of somatic recombination in Trichoderma pseudokoningii

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barcellos Fernando Gomes

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Crossing experiments via hyphal anastomosis between two strains contrasting for auxotrophic markers of Trichoderma pseudokoningii were conducted to characterize the somatic recombination process in this specie. Four crossings were made and a total of 1052 colonies obtained from conidial suspensions of the heterokaryotic colonies were analyzed. Sixty-eight recombinant colonies, from four growing generations, were analyzed for the auxotrophic markers. Of the 68 colonies analyzed, 58 were stable after four generations and the remainders were unstable, reverting to one of the parentals. Most of the recombinant colonies were unstable through subculture and after four growing generations they showed the leu ino met markers (auxotrophic for leucin, inositol and metionin respectively. The unstable recombinant colonies showed irregular growing borders, sparse sporulation and frequent sector formation. The results suggest the occurrence of recombination mechanisms in the heterokaryon (somatic recombination, different from those described for the parasexual cycle or parameiosis. Therefore, we proposed the ocurrence of nuclei degradation from one parental (non prevalent parental in the heterokaryon and that the resulting chromosomal fragments may be incorporated into whole nuclei of the another parental (prevalent parental. However the parameiosis as originally described cannot be excluded.

  5. THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF THE RECOMBINANT ANTIGENS FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF BOVINE LEUKEMIA PRODUCTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shapovalova OV

    2016-12-01

    sequence construction. The efficiency of BLV gp51 and p24 encoding regions fusion-sequence integration was confirmed by the screening with the specially designed oligonucleotides. The recombinant antigen expression was induced by addition of IPTG. To isolate the antigen bacterial mass was destroyed by defrostation and ultrasonic disintegration in the experimentally selected modes. The activity and specificity of the antigen was determined by AGID with the use of the bovine fetal serum, positive and negative reference diagnostic serum by unified method in comparison with the standardized cultural BLV antigen in AGID. The antigen specificity was increased by adsorption with commercial anticolibacillosis serum. The antigen activity was confirmed by AGID. Conclusions. Nowadays the most promising BLV antigens expressing genetic constructions with E. coli and baculovirus. E. coli recombinant strains are the most available and effective using expressing system, which allows to get an active and specific antigenic product if an optimal vector constructions and commercially available systems of metal affinity chromatography purification and control with appropriate Mab are used. As an cultural and recombinant antigens alternative the mimicking critical BLV antigenic epitopes synthetic peptides were tested. In recent times many scientific works formed the basis for the bovine leukemia diagnostic test systems’ creation, which are now widely available on the biotechnological products market. Although the majority of manufacturers prefer the recombinant antigens of the pathogen, pilot studies on more improved and cheaper ways to obtain different diagnostic antigens preparations shall not lose relevance.

  6. Variation in Recombination Rate and Its Genetic Determinism in Sheep Populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, Morgane; Astruc, Jean-Michel; Sarry, Julien; Drouilhet, Laurence; Fabre, Stéphane; Moreno, Carole R; Servin, Bertrand

    2017-10-01

    Recombination is a complex biological process that results from a cascade of multiple events during meiosis. Understanding the genetic determinism of recombination can help to understand if and how these events are interacting. To tackle this question, we studied the patterns of recombination in sheep, using multiple approaches and data sets. We constructed male recombination maps in a dairy breed from the south of France (the Lacaune breed) at a fine scale by combining meiotic recombination rates from a large pedigree genotyped with a 50K SNP array and historical recombination rates from a sample of unrelated individuals genotyped with a 600K SNP array. This analysis revealed recombination patterns in sheep similar to other mammals but also genome regions that have likely been affected by directional and diversifying selection. We estimated the average recombination rate of Lacaune sheep at 1.5 cM/Mb, identified ∼50,000 crossover hotspots on the genome, and found a high correlation between historical and meiotic recombination rate estimates. A genome-wide association study revealed two major loci affecting interindividual variation in recombination rate in Lacaune, including the RNF212 and HEI10 genes and possibly two other loci of smaller effects including the KCNJ15 and FSHR genes. The comparison of these new results to those obtained previously in a distantly related population of domestic sheep (the Soay) revealed that Soay and Lacaune males have a very similar distribution of recombination along the genome. The two data sets were thus combined to create more precise male meiotic recombination maps in Sheep. However, despite their similar recombination maps, Soay and Lacaune males were found to exhibit different heritabilities and QTL effects for interindividual variation in genome-wide recombination rates. This highlights the robustness of recombination patterns to underlying variation in their genetic determinism. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society

  7. Evolution of recombination in eutherian mammals: insights into mechanisms that affect recombination rates and crossover interference

    OpenAIRE

    Segura, Joana; Ferretti, Luca; Ramos-Onsins, Sebastián; Capilla, Laia; Farré, Marta; Reis, Fernanda; Oliver-Bonet, Maria; Fernández-Bellón, Hugo; Garcia, Francisca; Garcia-Caldés, Montserrat; Robinson, Terence J.; Ruiz-Herrera, Aurora

    2013-01-01

    Recombination allows faithful chromosomal segregation during meiosis and contributes to the production of new heritable allelic variants that are essential for the maintenance of genetic diversity. Therefore, an appreciation of how this variation is created and maintained is of critical importance to our understanding of biodiversity and evolutionary change. Here, we analysed the recombination features from species representing the major eutherian taxonomic groups Afrotheria, Rodentia, Primat...

  8. Identification of Novel Recombinant Forms of Hepatitis B Virus Generated from Genotypes Ae and G in HIV-1-Positive Japanese Men Who Have Sex with Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kojima, Yoko; Kawahata, Takuya; Mori, Haruyo; Furubayashi, Keiichi; Taniguchi, Yasushi; Itoda, Ichiro; Komano, Jun

    2015-07-01

    The rare hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype G (HBV/G) coinfects HIV-1-positive individuals along with HBV/A and generates recombinants. However, the circulation of HBV A/G recombinants remains poorly understood. This molecular epidemiologic study examined HBV A/G recombinants in Japanese HIV-1-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). Initially, blood specimens submitted for confirmatory tests of HIV infection in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan, from 2006 to 2013 were examined for HIV-1, and HIV-1-positive specimens were screened for HBV. Among 817 specimens from HIV-1-positive individuals, HBsAg was detected in 59 specimens; of these, HBV/Ae (alternatively A2), a subgenotype of HBV/A prevalent in Europe and North America, was identified in 70.2%, HBV/C in 17.5%, and HBV/G in 10.5%, and HBV/E in 1.8% according to the core gene sequence. The full-length genome analysis of HBV was performed on HBV/G-positive specimens because some HBV A/G recombinants were historically overlooked by genotyping based on a partial genome analysis. It revealed that five of the specimens contained novel Ae/G recombinants, the core gene of which had a high sequence similarity to HBV/G. Detailed analyses showed that novel recombinants were coinfected with HBV/Ae in a recombinant-dominant fashion. No major drug-resistant mutations were found in the newly identified HBV Ae/G recombinants. Some of the individuals asymptomatically coinfected with HIV/HBV suffered mild liver injury. This study demonstrated that novel Ae/G HBV recombinants were identified in Japanese HIV-1-positive MSM. The pathogenicity of novel HBV Ae/G recombinants should be examined in a future longitudinal study. Surveillance of such viruses in HIV-1-positive individuals should be emphasized.

  9. In vitro V(D)J recombination: signal joint formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortes, P; Weis-Garcia, F; Misulovin, Z; Nussenzweig, A; Lai, J S; Li, G; Nussenzweig, M C; Baltimore, D

    1996-11-26

    The first step of V(D)J recombination, specific cleavage at the recombination signal sequence (RSS), can be carried out by the recombination activating proteins RAG1 and RAG2. In vivo, the cleaved coding and signal ends must be rejoined to generate functional antigen receptors and maintain chromosomal integrity. We have investigated signal joint formation using deletion and inversion substrates in a cell free system. RAG1 and RAG2 alone or in combination were unable to generate signal joints. However, RAG1 and RAG2 complemented with nuclear extracts were able to recombine an extrachromosomal substrate and form precise signal joints. The in vitro reaction resembled authentic V(D)J recombination in being Ku-antigen-dependent.

  10. Recombinant DNA production of spider silk proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokareva, Olena; Michalczechen-Lacerda, Valquíria A; Rech, Elíbio L; Kaplan, David L

    2013-11-01

    Spider dragline silk is considered to be the toughest biopolymer on Earth due to an extraordinary combination of strength and elasticity. Moreover, silks are biocompatible and biodegradable protein-based materials. Recent advances in genetic engineering make it possible to produce recombinant silks in heterologous hosts, opening up opportunities for large-scale production of recombinant silks for various biomedical and material science applications. We review the current strategies to produce recombinant spider silks. © 2013 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  11. Recombination-Driven Genome Evolution and Stability of Bacterial Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixit, Purushottam D; Pang, Tin Yau; Maslov, Sergei

    2017-09-01

    While bacteria divide clonally, horizontal gene transfer followed by homologous recombination is now recognized as an important contributor to their evolution. However, the details of how the competition between clonality and recombination shapes genome diversity remains poorly understood. Using a computational model, we find two principal regimes in bacterial evolution and identify two composite parameters that dictate the evolutionary fate of bacterial species. In the divergent regime, characterized by either a low recombination frequency or strict barriers to recombination, cohesion due to recombination is not sufficient to overcome the mutational drift. As a consequence, the divergence between pairs of genomes in the population steadily increases in the course of their evolution. The species lacks genetic coherence with sexually isolated clonal subpopulations continuously formed and dissolved. In contrast, in the metastable regime, characterized by a high recombination frequency combined with low barriers to recombination, genomes continuously recombine with the rest of the population. The population remains genetically cohesive and temporally stable. Notably, the transition between these two regimes can be affected by relatively small changes in evolutionary parameters. Using the Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) data, we classify a number of bacterial species to be either the divergent or the metastable type. Generalizations of our framework to include selection, ecologically structured populations, and horizontal gene transfer of nonhomologous regions are discussed as well. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

  12. Genetic recombination of tick-borne flaviviruses among wild-type strains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norberg, Peter; Roth, Anette; Bergström, Tomas

    2013-06-05

    Genetic recombination has been suggested to occur in mosquito-borne flaviviruses. In contrast, tick-borne flaviviruses have been thought to evolve in a clonal manner, although recent studies suggest that recombination occurs also for these viruses. We re-analyzed the data and found that previous conclusions on wild type recombination were probably falsely drawn due to misalignments of nucleotide sequences, ambiguities in GenBank sequences, or different laboratory culture histories suggestive of recombination events in laboratory. To evaluate if reliable predictions of wild type recombination of tick-borne flaviviruses can be made, we analyzed viral strains sequenced exclusively for this study, and other flavivirus sequences retrieved from GenBank. We detected genetic signals supporting recombination between viruses within the three clades of TBEV-Eu, TBEV-Sib and TBEV-Fe, respectively. Our results suggest that the tick-borne encephalitis viruses may undergo recombination under natural conditions, but that geographic barriers restrict most recombination events to involve only closely genetically related viruses. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. The influence of recombination on human genetic diversity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris C A Spencer

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available In humans, the rate of recombination, as measured on the megabase scale, is positively associated with the level of genetic variation, as measured at the genic scale. Despite considerable debate, it is not clear whether these factors are causally linked or, if they are, whether this is driven by the repeated action of adaptive evolution or molecular processes such as double-strand break formation and mismatch repair. We introduce three innovations to the analysis of recombination and diversity: fine-scale genetic maps estimated from genotype experiments that identify recombination hotspots at the kilobase scale, analysis of an entire human chromosome, and the use of wavelet techniques to identify correlations acting at different scales. We show that recombination influences genetic diversity only at the level of recombination hotspots. Hotspots are also associated with local increases in GC content and the relative frequency of GC-increasing mutations but have no effect on substitution rates. Broad-scale association between recombination and diversity is explained through covariance of both factors with base composition. To our knowledge, these results are the first evidence of a direct and local influence of recombination hotspots on genetic variation and the fate of individual mutations. However, that hotspots have no influence on substitution rates suggests that they are too ephemeral on an evolutionary time scale to have a strong influence on broader scale patterns of base composition and long-term molecular evolution.

  14. Triplet formation in the ion recombination in irradiated liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartczak, W.M.; Tachiya, M.; Hummel, A.

    1990-01-01

    The formation of singlet and triplet excited stages in the ion recombination in groups of oppositely charged ions (or positive ions and electrons) in nonpolar liquids, as occurs in the tracks of high energy electrons, is considered. Theoretical studies on triplet formation in groups of ion pairs have thus far concentrated on the case where recombination of the negative ions with any of the positive ions in the group is equally probable (random recombination). In this paper the probability for geminate recombination (electron and parent positive ion) vs cross-recombination (an electron with a positive ion other than its parent ion) in multiple ion pair groups is calculated by computer simulation and the effect of the initial spatial configuration of the charged species is investigated. It is also shown explicitly that the probability for singlet formation as a result of cross recombination is equal to 1/4, when spin relaxation by magnetic interaction with the medium and by exchange interaction can be neglected. The effect of the preferential recombination on the singlet formation probability is illustrated and recent experimental results on singlet to triplet ratios are discussed. (author)

  15. Damage-induced ectopic recombination in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupiec, M; Steinlauf, R

    1997-06-09

    Mitotic recombination in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is induced when cells are irradiated with UV or X-rays, reflecting the efficient repair of damage by recombinational repair mechanisms. We have used multiply marked haploid strains that allow the simultaneous detection of several types of ectopic recombination events. We show that inter-chromosomal ectopic conversion of lys2 heteroalleles and, to a lesser extent, direct repeat recombination (DRR) between non-tandem repeats, are increased by DNA-damaging agents; in contrast, ectopic recombination of the naturally occurring Ty element is not induced. We have tested several hypotheses that could explain the preferential lack of induction of Ty recombination by DNA-damaging agents. We have found that the lack of induction cannot be explained by a cell cycle control or by an effect of the mating-type genes. We also found no role for the flanking long terminal repeats (LTRs) of the Ty in preventing the induction. Ectopic conversion, DRR, and forward mutation of artificial repeats show different kinetics of induction at various positions of the cell cycle, reflecting different mechanisms of recombination. We discuss the mechanistic and evolutionary aspects of these results.

  16. A Glance at Recombination Hotspots in the Domestic Cat.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan Alhaddad

    Full Text Available Recombination has essential roles in increasing genetic variability within a population and in ensuring successful meiotic events. The objective of this study is to (i infer the population-scaled recombination rate (ρ, and (ii identify and characterize regions of increased recombination rate for the domestic cat, Felis silvestris catus. SNPs (n = 701 were genotyped in twenty-two East Asian feral cats (random bred. The SNPs covered ten different chromosomal regions (A1, A2, B3, C2, D1, D2, D4, E2, F2, X with an average region size of 850 Kb and an average SNP density of 70 SNPs/region. The Bayesian method in the program inferRho was used to infer regional population recombination rates and hotspots localities. The regions exhibited variable population recombination rates and four decisive recombination hotspots were identified on cat chromosome A2, D1, and E2 regions. As a description of the identified hotspots, no correlation was detected between the GC content and the locality of recombination spots, and the hotspots enclosed L2 LINE elements and MIR and tRNA-Lys SINE elements.

  17. Nonlinear Dynamic Response of an Unbalanced Flexible Rotor Supported by Elastic Bearings Lubricated with Piezo-Viscous Polar Fluids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustapha Lahmar

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of the V. K. Stokes micro-continuum theory, the effects of couple stresses on the nonlinear dynamic response of the unbalanced Jeffcott’s flexible rotor supported by layered hydrodynamic journal bearings is presented in this paper. A nonlinear transient modified Reynolds’ equation is derived and discretized by the finite element method to obtain the fluid-film pressure field as well as the film thickness by means of the implicit Euler method. The nonlinear orbits of the rotor center are determined by solving the nonlinear differential equations of motion with the explicit Euler’s scheme taking into account the flexibility of rotor. According to the obtained results, the combined effects of couple stresses due to the presence of polymer additives in lubricant and the pressure dependent viscosity on the nonlinear dynamic response of the rotor-bearing system are significant and cannot be ignored or overlooked. As expected, these effects are more noticeable for polymers characterized by higher length molecular chains.

  18. Dielectronic recombination theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LaGattuta, K.J.

    1991-01-01

    A theory now in wide use for the calculation of dielectronic recombination cross sections (σ DR ) and rate coefficients (α DR ) was one introduced originally by Feshbach for nuclear physics applications, and then later adapted for atomic scattering problems by Hahn. In the following, we briefly review this theory in a very general form, which allows one to account for the effects of overlapping and interacting resonances, as well as continuum-continuum coupling. An extension of our notation will then also allow for the inclusion of the effects of direct radiative recombination, along with a treatment of the interference between radiative and dielectronic recombination. Other approaches to the calculation of σ DR have been described by Fano and by Seaton. We will not consider those theories here. Calculations of α DR have progressed considerably over the last 25 years, since the early work of Burgess. Advances in the reliability of theoretical predictions have also been promoted recently b a variety of direct laboratory measurements of σ DR . While the measurements of σ DR for δn ≠ 0 excitations have tended to agree very well with calculations, the case of δn = 0 has been much problematic. However, by invoking a mechanism originally proposed by Jacobs, which takes into account the effect of stray electric fields on high Rydberg states (HRS) participating in the DR process, new calculations have improved the agreement between theory and experiment for these cases. Nevertheless, certain discrepancies still remain

  19. Recombinant antigens from Phlebotomus perniciosus saliva as markers of canine exposure to visceral leishmaniases vector.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Drahota

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Phlebotomus perniciosus is the main vector in the western Mediterranean area of the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of canine and human visceral leishmaniases. Infected dogs serve as a reservoir of the disease, and therefore measuring the exposure of dogs to sand fly bites is important for estimating the risk of L. infantum transmission. In bitten hosts, sand fly saliva elicits a specific antibody response that reflects the intensity of sand fly exposure. As screening of specific anti-saliva antibodies is limited by the availability of salivary gland homogenates, utilization of recombinant salivary proteins is a promising alternative. In this manuscript we show for the first time the use of recombinant salivary proteins as a functional tool for detecting P. perniciosus bites in dogs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The reactivity of six bacterially-expressed recombinant salivary proteins of P. perniciosus, yellow-related protein rSP03B, apyrases rSP01B and rSP01, antigen 5-related rSP07, ParSP25-like protein rSP08 and D7-related protein rSP04, were tested with sera of mice and dogs experimentally bitten by this sand fly using immunoblots and ELISA. In the immunoblots, both mice and canine sera gave positive reactions with yellow-related protein, both apyrases and ParSP25-like protein. A similar reaction for recombinant salivary proteins was observed by ELISA, with the reactivity of yellow-related protein and apyrases significantly correlated with the antibody response of mice and dogs against the whole salivary gland homogenate. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Three recombinant salivary antigens of P. perniciosus, yellow-related protein rSP03B and the apyrases rSP01B and rSP01, were identified as the best candidates for evaluating the exposure of mice and dogs to P. perniciosus bites. Utilization of these proteins, or their combination, would be beneficial for screening canine sera in endemic areas of visceral

  20. Scrambling Eggs: Meiotic Drive and the Evolution of Female Recombination Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandvain, Yaniv; Coop, Graham

    2012-01-01

    Theories to explain the prevalence of sex and recombination have long been a central theme of evolutionary biology. Yet despite decades of attention dedicated to the evolution of sex and recombination, the widespread pattern of sex differences in the recombination rate is not well understood and has received relatively little theoretical attention. Here, we argue that female meiotic drivers—alleles that increase in frequency by exploiting the asymmetric cell division of oogenesis—present a potent selective pressure favoring the modification of the female recombination rate. Because recombination plays a central role in shaping patterns of variation within and among dyads, modifiers of the female recombination rate can function as potent suppressors or enhancers of female meiotic drive. We show that when female recombination modifiers are unlinked to female drivers, recombination modifiers that suppress harmful female drive can spread. By contrast, a recombination modifier tightly linked to a driver can increase in frequency by enhancing female drive. Our results predict that rapidly evolving female recombination rates, particularly around centromeres, should be a common outcome of meiotic drive. We discuss how selection to modify the efficacy of meiotic drive may contribute to commonly observed patterns of sex differences in recombination. PMID:22143919

  1. A study on the hydrogen recombination rates of catalytic recombiners and deliberate ignition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fineschi, F.; Bazzichi, M.; Carcassi, M.

    1994-01-01

    A study is being carried out by the Department of Nuclear and Mechanical Constructions (DCMN) at the University of Pisa on catalytic recombiners and on deliberately induced weak deflagration. The recombination rates of different types of catalytic devices were obtained from a thorough analysis of published experimental data. The main parameter that affects the effectiveness of these devices seems to be the molar density of the deficiency reactant rather than its volumetric concentration. The recombination rate of weak deflagrations in vented compartments has been assessed with experimental tests carried out in a small scale glass vessel. Through a computerized system of analysis of video recordings of the deflagrations, the flame surface and the burned gas volume were obtained as functions of time. Although approximations are inevitable, the method adopted to identify the position of the flame during propagation is more reliable than other non-visual methods (thermocouples and ion-probes). It can only easily be applied to vented weak deflagrations, i.e. when the hydrogen concentration is far from stoichiometric conditions and near to flammability limits, because the pressurization has to be limited due to the low mechanical resistance of the glass. The values of flame surface and burned gas volume were used as inputs for a computer code to calculate the recombining rate, the burning velocity and the pressure transient in the experimental test. The code is being validated with a methodology principally based on a comparison of the measurements of pressure with the calculated values. The research gave some very interesting results on a small scale which should in the future be compared with large scale data

  2. Photoionization and electron-ion recombination of Cr I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nahar, Sultana N.

    2009-01-01

    Using the unified method, the inverse processes of photoionization and electron-ion recombination are studied in detail for neutral chromium, (CrI+hν↔CrII+e), for the ground and excited states. The unified method based on close-coupling approximation and R-matrix method (i) subsumes both the radiative recombination (RR) and dielectronic recombination (DR) for the total rate and (ii) provides self-consistent sets of photoionization cross sections σ PI and recombination rates α RC . The present results show in total photoionization of the ground and excited states an enhancement in the background at the first excited threshold, 3d 4 4s 5 D state of the core. One prominent phot-excitation-of-core (PEC) resonance due to one dipole allowed transition ( 6 S- 6 P o ) in the core is found in the photoionization cross sections of most of the valence electron excited states. Structures in the total and partial photoionization, for ionization into various excited core states and ground state only, respectively, are demonstrated. Results are presented for the septet and quintet states with n≤10 and l≤9 of Cr I. These states couple to the core ground state 6 S and contribute to the recombination rates. State-specific recombination rates are also presented for these states and their features are illustrated. The total recombination rate shows two DR peaks, one at a relatively low temperature, at 630 K, and the other around 40,000 K. This can explain existence of neutral Cr in interstellar medium. Calculations were carried out in LS coupling using a close-coupling wave function expansion of 40 core states. The results illustrate the features in the radiative processes of Cr I and provide photoionization cross sections and recombination rates with good approximation for this astrophysically important ion.

  3. Workshop on Radio Recombination Lines

    CERN Document Server

    1980-01-01

    Since their first detection 15 years ago, radio recombination lines from several elements have been observed in a wide variety of objects including HII regions, planetary nebulae, molecular clouds, the diffuse interstellar medium, and recently, other galaxies. The observations span almost the entire range from 0.1 to 100 GHz, and employ both single­ djsh and aperture synthesis techniques. The theory of radio recombination lines has also advanced strongly, to the point where it is perhaps one of the best-understood in astro­ physics. In a parallel development, it has become possible over the last decade to study these same highly-excited atoms in the laboratory; this work provides further confirmation of the theoretical framework. However there has been continuing controversy over the astrophysical interpre­ tation of radio recombination line observations, especially regarding the role of stimulated emission. A workshop was held in Ottawa on 24-25 August, 1979, bringing together many of the active scientist...

  4. Determination of recombination in Mycoplasma hominis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Iben Søgaard; Boesen, Thomas; Mygind, Tina

    2002-01-01

    disequilibrium and distance between the segregating sites, by the homoplasy ratio (H ratio), and by compatibility matrices. The gap gene showed well-supported evidence for high levels of recombination, whereas recombination was less frequent and not significant within the other genes. The analysis revealed......B-hitL, excinuclease ABC subunit A (uvrA) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gap) genes. The level of variability of these M. hominis genes was low compared with the housekeeping genes from Helicobacter pylori and Neisseria meningitidis, but only few M. hominis isolates had identical sequences in all genes...... intergenic and intragenic recombination in M. hominis and this may explain the high intraspecies variability. The results obtained in the present study may be of importance for future population studies of Mycoplasma species....

  5. The investigation of electron-ion radiative and dielectronic recombination in high-temperature plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobs, V.L.

    1991-01-01

    (1) The unified description of radiative and dielectronic recombination, which the authors have developed to provide corrections to the conventional independent-processes approximation, has been generalized to self-consistently incorporate the effects of charged-particle collisions and plasma electric fields. (2) The K α model for the dielectronic satellite spectra of highly-charged Fe ions, which the authors have developed based on the conventional theory of dielectronic satellite line intensities, has been incorporated into the multi-ion-species transport code MIST. Excellent agreement has been obtained between the simulated spectra and the observed Fe K α spectra from PLT and TFTR. (3) A detailed investigation has been completed on the dielectronic recombination satellite spectra in the presence of a distribution of plasma electric microfields. The calculations have been carried out for the lowest-lying n=2 satellites, which are affected by the electric fields only in high-density laser-produced plasma. For application to the lower-density conditions in tokamak plasmas, in which the electron density is about ten orders of magnitude smaller, a number of alternatives are under consideration for evaluating the recombination rates associated with the Rydberg autoionizing sates corresponding to large values of n. (3) A manuscript entitled ''Observation of Density-Enhanced Dielectronic Satellite Spectra Produced During Subpicosecond Laser-Matter Interactions'' has been submitted for publication in the Physical Review A. This work provides a convincing experimental verification of the theoretical predictions on the density sensitivity of diagnostically-important dielectronic satellite spectra in dense plasmas

  6. Increased understanding of the biochemistry and biosynthesis of MUC2 and other gel-forming mucins through the recombinant expression of their protein domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bäckström, Malin; Ambort, Daniel; Thomsson, Elisabeth; Johansson, Malin E V; Hansson, Gunnar C

    2013-06-01

    The gel-forming mucins are large and heavily O-glycosylated proteins which build up mucus gels. The recombinant production of full-length gel-forming mucins has not been possible to date. In order to study mucin biosynthesis and biochemistry, we and others have taken the alternative approach of constructing different recombinant proteins consisting of one or several domains of these large proteins and expressing them separately in different cell lines. Using this approach, we have determined that MUC2, the intestinal gel-forming mucin, dimerizes via its C-terminal cysteine-knot domain and also trimerizes via one of the N-terminal von Willebrand D domains. Both of these interactions are disulfide bond mediated. Via this assembly, a molecular network is built by which the mucus gel is formed. Here we discuss not only the functional understanding obtained from studies of the recombinant proteins, but also highlight the difficulties encountered when these proteins were produced recombinantly. We often found an accumulation of the proteins in the ER and consequently no secretion. This was especially apparent when the cysteine-rich domains of the N- and C-terminal parts of the mucins were expressed. Other proteins that we constructed were either not secreted or not expressed at all. Despite these problems, the knowledge of mucin biosynthesis and assembly has advanced considerably through the studies of these recombinant proteins.

  7. Recombinant production of a chimeric antimicrobial peptide in E. coli and assessment of its activity against some avian clinically isolated pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanhaiean, Abass; Azghandi, Marjan; Razmyar, Jamshid; Mohammadi, Elyas; Sekhavati, Mohammad Hadi

    2018-06-08

    Over the last decades, poultry industry faced to the rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria as a global concern. Antimicrobial peptide (AMPs) known as potential antibiotic alternative and were considered as a new antimicrobial agent. Current methods of production and purification of AMPs have several limitations such as: costly, time-consuming and killing the producing host cells in recombinant form. In the present study, a chimeric peptide derived from camel lactoferrin was produced in Escherichia coli periplasmic space using a pET-based expression system and its antibacterial activity was determined on some avian pathogens in vitro. A carboxy-terminal polyhistidine tag was used for purification by Ni 2+ affinity chromatography with an average yield of 0.42 g/L. The His-tagged chimeric peptide showed different range of antimicrobial activity against clinically isolated avian pathogens with low chicken blood hemolysis activity and high serum stability. Overall, the results of this investigation showed the recombinant chimeric peptide was successfully expressed in pET-based expression system and could be considered as a proper alternative for some currently used antibiotics in poultry industry and drugs veterinary medicine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Radiative and three-body recombination in the Alcator C-Mod divertor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lumma, D.; Terry, J.L.; Lipschultz, B.

    1997-01-01

    Significant recombination of the majority ion species has been observed in the divertor region of Alcator C-Mod [I. H. Hutchinson et al., Phys. Plasmas 1, 1511 (1994)] under detached conditions. This determination is made by analysis of the visible spectrum from the divertor, in particular the Balmer series line emission and the observed recombination continuum, including an apparent recombination edge at ∼375 nm. The analysis shows that the electron temperature in the recombining plasma is 0.8 endash 1.5 eV. The measured volume recombination rate is comparable to the rate of ion collection at the divertor plates. The dominant recombination mechanism is three-body recombination into excited states (e+e+D + Right-arrow D 0 +e), although radiative recombination (e+D + Right-arrow D 0 +hν) contributes ∼5% to the total rate. Analysis of the Balmer series line intensities (from n upper =3 through 10) shows that the upper levels of these transitions are populated primarily by recombination. Thus the brightnesses of the Balmer series (and Lyman series) are directly related to the recombination rate. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  9. Recombination Promoted by DNA Viruses: Phage λ to Herpes Simplex Virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, Sandra K.; Sawitzke, James A.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this review is to explore recombination strategies in DNA viruses. Homologous recombination is a universal genetic process that plays multiple roles in the biology of all organisms, including viruses. Recombination and DNA replication are interconnected, with recombination being essential for repairing DNA damage and supporting replication of the viral genome. Recombination also creates genetic diversity, and viral recombination mechanisms have important implications for understanding viral origins as well as the dynamic nature of viral-host interactions. Both bacteriophage λ and herpes simplex virus (HSV) display high rates of recombination, both utilizing their own proteins and commandeering cellular proteins to promote recombination reactions. We focus primarily on λ and HSV, as they have proven amenable to both genetic and biochemical analysis and have recently been shown to exhibit some surprising similarities that will guide future studies. PMID:25002096

  10. A New Metazoan Recombination Rate Record and Consistently High Recombination Rates in the Honey Bee Genus Apis Accompanied by Frequent Inversions but Not Translocations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuster, Ryan; Miller, Katelyn; Fouks, Bertrand; Rubio Correa, Sara; Collazo, Juan; Phaincharoen, Mananya; Tingek, Salim; Koeniger, Nikolaus

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) far exceed the commonly observed 1–2 meiotic recombination events per chromosome and exhibit the highest Metazoan recombination rate (20 cM/Mb) described thus far. However, the reasons for this exceptional rate of recombination are not sufficiently understood. In a comparative study, we report on the newly constructed genomic linkage maps of Apis florea and Apis dorsata that represent the two honey bee lineages without recombination rate estimates so far. Each linkage map was generated de novo, based on SNP genotypes of haploid male offspring of a single female. The A. florea map spans 4,782 cM with 1,279 markers in 16 linkage groups. The A. dorsata map is 5,762 cM long and contains 1,189 markers in 16 linkage groups. Respectively, these map sizes result in average recombination rate estimates of 20.8 and 25.1 cM/Mb. Synteny analyses indicate that frequent intra-chromosomal rearrangements but no translocations among chromosomes accompany the high rates of recombination during the independent evolution of the three major honey bee lineages. Our results imply a common cause for the evolution of very high recombination rates in Apis. Our findings also suggest that frequent homologous recombination during meiosis might increase ectopic recombination and rearrangements within but not between chromosomes. It remains to be investigated whether the resulting inversions may have been important in the evolutionary differentiation between honey bee species. PMID:28173114

  11. Analysis of chickens for recombination within the MHC (B-complex)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skjødt, K; Koch, C; Crone, M

    1985-01-01

    In an attempt to further map the chicken MHC (the B complex), a systematic search for genetic recombinants within the B complex was performed by serotyping the progeny from F2 crosses of chickens by means of specific anti-class I, anti-class II, and anti-class IV alloantisera. Two recombinant B......-haplotypes (B21r and B15r) were found by analysing 2,656 F2 chickens representing 5,312 informative typings. In either case, the B-G (class IV) allele was recombined with both the B-F and B-L alleles of the opposite haplotype. MLC typings, tests for direct compatibility by GVH reactions, and absorption analyses...... confirmed the original serological typing of the two recombinant B haplotypes. No recombination between B-F (class I) and B-L (class II) loci was found. This very low frequency of recombination within the B complex as compared with recombination frequencies found in mammalian MHC's is discussed...

  12. Meiotic recombination hotspots - a comparative view.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Kyuha; Henderson, Ian R

    2015-07-01

    During meiosis homologous chromosomes pair and undergo reciprocal genetic exchange, termed crossover. Meiotic recombination has a profound effect on patterns of genetic variation and is an important tool during crop breeding. Crossovers initiate from programmed DNA double-stranded breaks that are processed to form single-stranded DNA, which can invade a homologous chromosome. Strand invasion events mature into double Holliday junctions that can be resolved as crossovers. Extensive variation in the frequency of meiotic recombination occurs along chromosomes and is typically focused in narrow hotspots, observed both at the level of DNA breaks and final crossovers. We review methodologies to profile hotspots at different steps of the meiotic recombination pathway that have been used in different eukaryote species. We then discuss what these studies have revealed concerning specification of hotspot locations and activity and the contributions of both genetic and epigenetic factors. Understanding hotspots is important for interpreting patterns of genetic variation in populations and how eukaryotic genomes evolve. In addition, manipulation of hotspots will allow us to accelerate crop breeding, where meiotic recombination distributions can be limiting. © 2015 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 in augmentation procedures: case reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luiz, Jaques; Padovan, Luis Eduardo Marques; Claudino, Marcela

    2014-01-01

    To successfully rehabilitate edentulous patients using endosseous implants, there must be enough available bone. Several techniques have been proposed for augmentation of sites with insufficient bone volume. Although autogenous bone has long been considered the gold standard for such procedures, the limited availability of graft material and a high morbidity rate are potential disadvantages of this type of graft. An alternative is to use recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2), which is able to support bone regeneration in the oral environment. These cases demonstrate the applicability of rhBMP-2 in maxillary sinus elevation and augmentation procedures in the maxilla to enable dental implant placement. The use of rhBMP-2 in alveolar augmentation procedures had several clinical benefits for these patients.

  14. A Child with Local Lipohypertrophy following Recombinant Human Growth Hormone Administration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilan J. N. Koppen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Local lipohypertrophy due to recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH administration is a rare phenomenon. Here, we report a case of an 11-year-old girl who presented with a paraumbilical swelling, approximately one year after the start of rhGH treatment for short stature due to the presumed diagnosis of partial growth hormone insensitivity. Ultrasound imaging revealed an asymmetric distribution of subcutaneous fat tissue at the rhGH administration site, indicating local lipohypertrophy. After sparing her routine injection site and alternating other sites, the swelling disappeared within 6 months. Although the precise cause of local lipohypertrophy resulting from rhGH administration is still unclear, it might be related to the presumed diagnosis of partial growth hormone insensitivity.

  15. On the difficulty of N(4S) atom recombination to explain the appearance of the pink afterglow in a N2 flowing discharge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loureiro, J; Sa, P A; Guerra, V

    2006-01-01

    The possibility that the pink afterglow (PA) of a flowing nitrogen discharge occurs as a result of recombination of N( 4 S) atoms is evaluated and discussed, based on a detailed kinetic model for a microwave discharge and post-discharge. The present simulation shows that the N 2 + (B 2 Σ u + ,v) states responsible for the emission of the PA cannot be created via an indirect mechanism initiated with atomic recombination. Alternatively, it is indicated that the PA may have its origin in non-resonant vibration-vibration energy-exchange processes between N 2 (X 1 Σ g + ,v) molecules, which lead to an overpopulation of high levels of the vibrational manifold

  16. Cell biology of homologous recombination in yeast

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eckert-Boulet, Nadine Valerie; Rothstein, Rodney; Lisby, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Homologous recombination is an important pathway for error-free repair of DNA lesions, such as single- and double-strand breaks, and for rescue of collapsed replication forks. Here, we describe protocols for live cell imaging of single-lesion recombination events in the yeast Saccharomyces...

  17. Recombination Parameters for Antimonide-Based Semiconductors using RF Photoreflection Techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, R.J.; Borrego, J.M.; Dutta, P.S.; Gutmann, R.J.; Wang, C.A.; Martinelli, R.U.; Nichols, G.

    2002-01-01

    RF photoreflection measurements and PC-1D simulations have been used to evaluate bulk and surface recombination parameters in antimonide-based materials. PC-1D is used to simulate the photoconductivity response of antimonide-based substrates and doubly-capped epitaxial layers and also to determine how to extract the recombination parameters using experimental results. Excellent agreement has been obtained with a first-order model and test structure simulation when Shockley-Reed-Hall (SRH) recombination is the bulk recombination process. When radiative, Auger and surface recombination are included, the simulation results show good agreement with the model. RF photoreflection measurements and simulations using PC-1D are compatible with a radiative recombination coefficient (B) of approximately 5 x 10 -11 cm 3 /s, Auger coefficient (C) ∼ 1.0 x 10 -28 cm 6 /s and surface recombination velocity (SRV) ∼ 600 cm/s for 0.50-0.55 eV doubly-capped InGaAsSb material with GaSb capping layers using the experimentally determined active layer doping of 2 x 10 17 cm -3 . Photon recycling, neglected in the analysis and simulations presented, will affect the extracted recombination parameters to some extent

  18. Asymmetric Distributions of Energetic Circulating Ions and Sawtooth Control using ICCD and Unbalanced NBI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graves, J. P.

    2007-01-01

    There is little doubt that various auxiliary heating systems are successfully and routinely controlling sawteeth. There is however some room for improving our understanding of the mechanisms that influence these important changes to the discharges. A mechanism that appears to be common across ECCS, ICCD and unbalanced NBI discharges involves the effect of the q = 1 localised current drive perturbation on resistive diffusion during the sawtooth ramp. Nevertheless, it is important to look for explanations for sawtooth control which may exist in ion based auxiliary systems, but may differ or not exist in electron auxiliary means of sawtooth control. The reason for this is that monster sawteeth, initially lengthened by trapped energetic ions, have up to the present day only been controlled using ICCD, while in ITER the primary method for sawtooth control could be ECCD. A mechanism based on the finite orbit width of parallel asymmetric energetic circulating particles is only non-negligible for ion based auxiliary systems. The present contribution examines the relevance of the latter in sawtooth control experiments, such as those using ICCD and NBI at JET, by looking carefully at the role of circulating ions close to the trapped boundary. At such pitch angles the orbit width is largest, and the parallel asymmetry of the distribution function has the greatest influence. (Author)

  19. Effects of the rad52 gene on recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prakash, S.; Prakash, L.; Burke, W.; Montelone, B.A.

    1980-01-01

    Effects of the rad 52 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae on meiotic, γ-ray-induced, uv-induced and spontaneous mitotic recombination were studied. The rad52/rad52 diploids undergo premeiotic DNA synthesis; sporulation occurs but inviable spores are produced. Both intra and intergenic recombination during meiosis were examined in cells transferred from sporulation medium to vegetative medium at different time intervals. No intragenic recombination was observed at the his1-1/his1-315 and trp-5-2/trp5-48 heteroalleles. Gene-centromere recombination also was not observed in rad/52/rad52 diploids. No γ-ray- or uv-induced intragenic mitotic recombination is seen in rad52/rad52 diploids. The rate of spontaneous mitotic recombination is lowered five-fold at the his1-1/his1-315 and leu1-c/leu1-12 heteroalleles. Spontaneous reversion rates of both his1-1 and his1-315 were elevated 10 to 20 fold in rad52/rad52 diploids. The RAD52 gene function is required for spontaneous mitotic recombination, uv- and γ-ray-induced mitotic recombination and mitotic recombination

  20. Phylogenetic and recombination analysis of tomato spotted wilt virus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sen Lian

    Full Text Available Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV severely damages and reduces the yield of many economically important plants worldwide. In this study, we determined the whole-genome sequences of 10 TSWV isolates recently identified from various regions and hosts in Korea. Phylogenetic analysis of these 10 isolates as well as the three previously sequenced isolates indicated that the 13 Korean TSWV isolates could be divided into two groups reflecting either two different origins or divergences of Korean TSWV isolates. In addition, the complete nucleotide sequences for the 13 Korean TSWV isolates along with previously sequenced TSWV RNA segments from Korea and other countries were subjected to phylogenetic and recombination analysis. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that both the RNA L and RNA M segments of most Korean isolates might have originated in Western Europe and North America but that the RNA S segments for all Korean isolates might have originated in China and Japan. Recombination analysis identified a total of 12 recombination events among all isolates and segments and five recombination events among the 13 Korea isolates; among the five recombinants from Korea, three contained the whole RNA L segment, suggesting reassortment rather than recombination. Our analyses provide evidence that both recombination and reassortment have contributed to the molecular diversity of TSWV.

  1. Effect of interface roughness on Auger recombination in semiconductor quantum wells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Chee-Keong; Sun, Wei; Wierer, Jonathan J.; Tansu, Nelson

    2017-03-01

    Auger recombination in a semiconductor is a three-carrier process, wherein the energy from the recombination of an electron and hole pair promotes a third carrier to a higher energy state. In semiconductor quantum wells with increased carrier densities, the Auger recombination becomes an appreciable fraction of the total recombination rate and degrades luminescence efficiency. Gaining insight into the variables that influence Auger recombination in semiconductor quantum wells could lead to further advances in optoelectronic and electronic devices. Here we demonstrate the important role that interface roughness has on Auger recombination within quantum wells. Our computational studies find that as the ratio of interface roughness to quantum well thickness is increased, Auger recombination is significantly enhanced. Specifically, when considering a realistic interface roughness for an InGaN quantum well, the enhancement in Auger recombination rate over a quantum well with perfect heterointerfaces can be approximately four orders of magnitude.

  2. Total and partial recombination cross sections for F6+

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitnik, D.M.; Pindzola, M.S.; Badnell, N.R.

    1999-01-01

    Total and partial recombination cross sections for F 6+ are calculated using close-coupling and distorted-wave theory. For total cross sections, close-coupling and distorted-wave results, which include interference between the radiative and dielectronic pathways, are found to be in good agreement with distorted-wave results based on a sum of independent processes. Total cross sections near zero energy are dominated by contributions from low-energy dielectronic recombination resonances. For partial cross sections, the close-coupling and distorted-wave theories predict strong interference for recombination into the final recombined ground state 1s 2 2s 21 S 0 of F 5+ , but only weak interference for recombination into the levels of the 1s 2 2s2p configuration. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

  3. B chromosomes are associated with redistribution of genetic recombination towards lower recombination chromosomal regions in perennial ryegrass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, John; Phillips, Dylan; Thomas, Ann; Gasior, Dagmara; Evans, Caron; Powell, Wayne; King, Julie; King, Ian; Jenkins, Glyn; Armstead, Ian

    2018-04-09

    Supernumerary 'B' chromosomes are non-essential components of the genome present in a range of plant and animal species-including many grasses. Within diploid and polyploid ryegrass and fescue species, including the forage grass perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), the presence of B chromosomes has been reported as influencing both chromosome pairing and chiasma frequencies. In this study, the effects of the presence/absence of B chromosomes on genetic recombination has been investigated through generating DArT (Diversity Arrays Technology) marker genetic maps for six perennial ryegrass diploid populations, the pollen parents of which contained either two B or zero B chromosomes. Through genetic and cytological analyses of these progeny and their parents, we have identified that, while overall cytological estimates of chiasma frequencies were significantly lower in pollen mother cells with two B chromosomes as compared with zero B chromosomes, the recombination frequencies within some marker intervals were actually increased, particularly for marker intervals in lower recombination regions of chromosomes, namely pericentromeric regions. Thus, in perennial ryegrass, the presence of two B chromosomes redistributed patterns of meiotic recombination in pollen mother cells in ways which could increase the range of allelic variation available to plant breeders.

  4. Analysis of intermolecular RNA-RNA recombination by rubella virus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adams, Sandra D.; Tzeng, W.-P.; Chen, M.-H.; Frey, Teryl K.

    2003-01-01

    To investigate whether rubella virus (RUB) undergoes intermolecular RNA-RNA recombination, cells were cotransfected with pairs of in vitro transcripts from genomic cDNA plasmid vectors engineered to contain nonoverlapping deletions: the replicative transcript maintained the 5'-proximal nonstructural (NS) ORF (which contained the replicase, making it RNA replication competent), had a deletion in the 3'-proximal structural protein (SP) ORF, and maintained the 3' end of the genome, including the putative 3' cis-acting elements (CSE), while the nonreplicative transcript consisted of the 3' half of the genome including the SP-ORF and 3' CSE. Cotransfection yielded plaque-forming virus that synthesized the standard genomic and subgenomic RNAs and thus was generated by RNA-RNA recombination. Using transcripts tagged with a 3'-terminal deletion, it was found that recombinants contained the 3' end derived from the replicative strand, indicating a cis-preference for initiation of negative-strand synthesis. In cotransfections in which the replicative transcript lacked the 3' CSE, recombination occurred, albeit at lower efficiency, indicating that initiation in trans from the NS-ORF can occur. The 3' CSE was sufficient as a nonreplicative transcript, showing that it can serve as a promoter for negative-strand RNA synthesis. While deletion mutagenesis showed that the presence of the junction untranslated region (J-UTR) between the ORFs appeared to be necessary on both transcripts for recombination in this region of the genome, analysis with transcripts tagged with restriction sites showed that the J-UTR was not a hot spot for recombination compared to neighboring regions in both ORFs. Sequence analysis of recombinants revealed that both precise (homologous) and imprecise recombination (aberrant, homologous resulting in duplications) occurred; however, imprecise recombination only involved the J-UTR or the 3' end of the NS-ORF and the J-UTR (maintaining the NS-ORF), indicating

  5. Intrinsic and experimental quasiparticle recombination times in superconducting films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eisenmenger, W.; Lassmann, K.; Trumpp, H.J.; Krauss, R.

    1977-01-01

    Experimental quasiparticle recombination lifetime data for superconducting Al, Sn, and Pb films are compared with calculations based on a ray acoustic model taking account of the film thickness dependence of the reabsorption of recombination phonons. Information on the true or intrinsic quasiparticle recombination lifetime obtained from these and other data is discussed. (orig.) [de

  6. Generation of a Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Line Producing Recombinant Human Glucocerebrosidase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novo, Juliana Branco; Morganti, Ligia; Moro, Ana Maria; Paes Leme, Adriana Franco; Serrano, Solange Maria de Toledo; Raw, Isaias; Ho, Paulo Lee

    2012-01-01

    Impaired activity of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCR) results in the inherited metabolic disorder known as Gaucher disease. Current treatment consists of enzyme replacement therapy by administration of exogenous GCR. Although effective, it is exceptionally expensive, and patients worldwide have a limited access to this medicine. In Brazil, the public healthcare system provides the drug free of charge for all Gaucher's patients, which reaches the order of $ 84 million per year. However, the production of GCR by public institutions in Brazil would reduce significantly the therapy costs. Here, we describe a robust protocol for the generation of a cell line producing recombinant human GCR. The protein was expressed in CHO-DXB11 (dhfr−) cells after stable transfection and gene amplification with methotrexate. As expected, glycosylated GCR was detected by immunoblotting assay both as cell-associated (~64 and 59 kDa) and secreted (63–69 kDa) form. Analysis of subclones allowed the selection of stable CHO cells producing a secreted functional enzyme, with a calculated productivity of 5.14 pg/cell/day for the highest producer. Although being laborious, traditional methods of screening high-producing recombinant cells may represent a valuable alternative to generate expensive biopharmaceuticals in countries with limited resources. PMID:23091360

  7. Generation of a Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Line Producing Recombinant Human Glucocerebrosidase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Branco Novo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Impaired activity of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCR results in the inherited metabolic disorder known as Gaucher disease. Current treatment consists of enzyme replacement therapy by administration of exogenous GCR. Although effective, it is exceptionally expensive, and patients worldwide have a limited access to this medicine. In Brazil, the public healthcare system provides the drug free of charge for all Gaucher’s patients, which reaches the order of $ 84 million per year. However, the production of GCR by public institutions in Brazil would reduce significantly the therapy costs. Here, we describe a robust protocol for the generation of a cell line producing recombinant human GCR. The protein was expressed in CHO-DXB11 (dhfr− cells after stable transfection and gene amplification with methotrexate. As expected, glycosylated GCR was detected by immunoblotting assay both as cell-associated (~64 and 59 kDa and secreted (63–69 kDa form. Analysis of subclones allowed the selection of stable CHO cells producing a secreted functional enzyme, with a calculated productivity of 5.14 pg/cell/day for the highest producer. Although being laborious, traditional methods of screening high-producing recombinant cells may represent a valuable alternative to generate expensive biopharmaceuticals in countries with limited resources.

  8. Physical analyses of E. coli heteroduplex recombination products in vivo: on the prevalence of 5' and 3' patches.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura M Gumbiner-Russo

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Homologous recombination in Escherichia coli creates patches (non-crossovers or splices (half crossovers, each of which may have associated heteroduplex DNA. Heteroduplex patches have recombinant DNA in one strand of the duplex, with parental flanking markers. Which DNA strand is exchanged in heteroduplex patches reflects the molecular mechanism of recombination. Several models for the mechanism of E. coli RecBCD-mediated recombinational double-strand-end (DSE repair specify that only the 3'-ending strand invades the homologous DNA, forming heteroduplex in that strand. There is, however, in vivo evidence that patches are found in both strands. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: This paper re-examines heteroduplex-patch-strand polarity using phage lambda and the lambdadv plasmid as DNA substrates recombined via the E. coli RecBCD system in vivo. These DNAs are mutant for lambda recombination functions, including orf and rap, which were functional in previous studies. Heteroduplexes are isolated, separated on polyacrylamide gels, and quantified using Southern blots for heteroduplex analysis. This method reveals that heteroduplexes are still found in either 5' or 3' DNA strands in approximately equal amounts, even in the absence of orf and rap. Also observed is an independence of the RuvC Holliday-junction endonuclease on patch formation, and a slight but statistically significant alteration of patch polarity by recD mutation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that orf and rap did not contribute to the presence of patches, and imply that patches occurring in both DNA strands reflects the molecular mechanism of recombination in E. coli. Most importantly, the lack of a requirement for RuvC implies that endonucleolytic resolution of Holliday junctions is not necessary for heteroduplex-patch formation, contrary to predictions of all of the major previous models. This implies that patches are not an alternative resolution of the

  9. Learning from unbalanced data: a cascade-based approach for detecting clustered microcalcifications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bria, A; Karssemeijer, N; Tortorella, F

    2014-02-01

    Finding abnormalities in diagnostic images is a difficult task even for expert radiologists because the normal tissue locations largely outnumber those with suspicious signs which may thus be missed or incorrectly interpreted. For the same reason the design of a Computer-Aided Detection (CADe) system is very complex because the large predominance of normal samples in the training data may hamper the ability of the classifier to recognize the abnormalities on the images. In this paper we present a novel approach for computer-aided detection which faces the class imbalance with a cascade of boosting classifiers where each node is trained by a learning algorithm based on ranking instead of classification error. Such approach is used to design a system (CasCADe) for the automated detection of clustered microcalcifications (μCs), which is a severely unbalanced classification problem because of the vast majority of image locations where no μC is present. The proposed approach was evaluated with a dataset of 1599 full-field digital mammograms from 560 cases and compared favorably with the Hologic R2CAD ImageChecker, one of the most widespread commercial CADe systems. In particular, at the same lesion sensitivity of R2CAD (90%) on biopsy proven malignant cases, CasCADe and R2CAD detected 0.13 and 0.21 false positives per image (FPpi), respectively (p-value=0.09), whereas at the same FPpi of R2CAD (0.21), CasCADe and R2CAD detected 93% and 90% of true lesions respectively (p-value=0.11) thus showing that CasCADe can compete with high-end CADe commercial systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Recombinant VP1 protein as a potential marker for the diagnosis of acute hepatitis A virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva Junior, Haroldo Cid; da Silva, Edimilson Domingos; Lewis-Ximenez de Souza Rodrigues, Lia Laura; Medeiros, Marco Alberto

    2017-07-01

    Since hepatitis A virus (HAV) production is time-consuming and expensive, the use of recombinant proteins may represent an alternative source of antigens for diagnostic purposes. The present study aimed to express, purify and evaluate the potential of recombinant VP1 protein (rVP1) as a marker for the diagnosis of acute HAV infection. The rVP1 was expressed and purified successfully from Escherichia coli. The purified rVP1 was used to establish an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA-rVP1) for detection of IgM antibodies in sera from HAV-positive patients. For a cut-off point of 0.351, the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA-rVP1 were 100.0% and 95.0%, respectively. These results indicate that rVP1 may be a useful antigen for detection of IgM antibodies against HAV. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Generation of Modified Pestiviruses by Targeted Recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Thomas Bruun; Friis, Martin Barfred; Risager, Peter Christian

    involves targeted modification of viral cDNA genomes, cloned within BACs, by Red/ET recombination-mediated mutagenesis in E.coli DH10B cells. Using recombination-mediated mutagenesis for the targeted design, the work can be expedited and focused in principal on any sequence within the viral genome...

  12. Expression of recombinant multi-coloured fluorescent antibodies in gor -/trxB- E. coli cytoplasm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markiv Anatoliy

    2011-11-01

    trafficking studies. Assembling the single chain antibody with monomeric fluorescent protein linker facilitates optimal variable domain pairing and alters the isoelectric point of the recombinant 4D5-8 protein conferring solubility at physiological pH 7.4. The efficient intracellular expression of these functional molecules opens up the possibility of developing an alternative approach for tagging intracellular targets with fluorescent proteins for a range of molecular cell biology imaging studies.

  13. Functions of alternative Replication Protein A (aRPA) in initiation and elongation

    OpenAIRE

    Mason, Aaron C.; Roy, Rupa; Simmons, Daniel T.; Wold, Marc S.

    2010-01-01

    Replication protein A (RPA) is a single-stranded DNA-binding complex that is essential for DNA replication, repair and recombination in eukaryotic cells. In addition to this canonical complex, we have recently characterized an alternative Replication Protein A complex (aRPA) that is unique to primates. aRPA is composed of three subunits: RPA1 and RPA3, also present in canonical RPA, and a primate-specific subunit RPA4, homologous to canonical RPA2. aRPA has biochemical properties similar to t...

  14. Polarity of recombination in transformation of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasta, F; Sicard, M A

    1999-03-16

    In transformation of Streptococcus pneumoniae DNA enters the cell as single-strand fragments and integrates into the chromosome by homologous recombination. Deletions and insertions of a few hundred base pairs frequently stop the recombination process of a donor strand. In this work we took advantage of such interruptions of recombination to compare the transformation efficiencies of the segments 5'- and 3'-ward from a deletion. The deletion was created in the center of a fragment of the ami locus, and sites around the deletion were labeled by a frameshift generating a restriction site. Heteroduplexes were constructed containing two restriction sites on one strand and two different ones on the complementary strand. ami+ bacteria were transformed with such heteroduplexes. ami- transformants were isolated and individually underwent amplification of the transformed ami region. We have obtained two kinds of amplification products: short when the deletion was integrated, long when recombination stops at the deletion. Each long fragment was tested by the four restriction enzymes to detect which strand and which side of the deletion had recombined. We found that 80% of the cuts were located 5' to the deletion, showing that, in vivo, the 5' side is strongly favored by recombination. Further results suggest that exchanges occurring from 5' to 3' relative to the donor strand are more efficient than in the opposite direction, thus accounting for the 5' preference.

  15. Recombinant activated factor VII in cardiac surgery: single-center experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Sarvesh Pal; Chauhan, Sandeep; Choudhury, Minati; Malik, Vishwas; Choudhary, Shiv Kumar

    2014-02-01

    The widespread off-label use of recombinant activated factor VII for the control of refractory postoperative hemorrhage continues despite a warning from the Food and Drug Administration. Although effective in reducing the need for transfusion of blood and blood products, safety concerns still prevail. To compare the dosing and efficacy of recombinant activated factor VII between pediatric and adult patients, and in the operating room and intensive care unit. The records of 69 patients (33 children and 36 adults) who underwent cardiovascular surgery and received recombinant activated factor VII were reviewed retrospectively. The dose of recombinant activated factor VII, mediastinal drainage, use of blood and blood products, incidence of thrombosis, and 28-day mortality were studied. the efficacy of recombinant activated factor VII was comparable in adults and children, despite the lower dose in adults. Prophylactic use of recombinant activated factor VII decreased the incidence of mediastinal exploration and the duration of intensive care unit stay. A 4.3% incidence of thrombotic complications was observed in this study. The efficacious dose of recombinant activated factor VII is much less in adults compared to children. Prophylactic use of recombinant activated factor VII decreases the dose required, the incidence of mediastinal exploration, and intensive care unit stay, with no survival benefit.

  16. Wave-packet approach to Rydberg resonances in dissociative recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morisset, Sabine; Pichl, Lukas; Orel, Ann E.; Schneider, Ioan F.

    2007-01-01

    We report the time-dependent approach to resonant electron capture into Rydberg states in collisions with molecular cations at low impact energy, as an alternative to the method based on multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT), and present the results for the HD + ion. The propagation of the initial wave function on 13 Rydberg states (besides one valence state) correctly describes the indirect dissociative recombination mechanism in the time domain. Notably, the nonlocal coupling operator between the ionization and dissociation channels is accounted for in the indirect process, extending previous work on the case of direct coupling. The present approach compares to the MQDT framework with remarkable precision: resonant structures in the cross section correctly emerge from the wave-packet propagation; the time-dependent result also forms a cross section envelope for the dense series of ultrafine MQDT resonances corresponding to the quasicontinuous part of the Rydberg state manifold

  17. Homologous Recombination as a Replication Fork Escort: Fork-Protection and Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Audrey Costes

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Homologous recombination is a universal mechanism that allows DNA repair and ensures the efficiency of DNA replication. The substrate initiating the process of homologous recombination is a single-stranded DNA that promotes a strand exchange reaction resulting in a genetic exchange that promotes genetic diversity and DNA repair. The molecular mechanisms by which homologous recombination repairs a double-strand break have been extensively studied and are now well characterized. However, the mechanisms by which homologous recombination contribute to DNA replication in eukaryotes remains poorly understood. Studies in bacteria have identified multiple roles for the machinery of homologous recombination at replication forks. Here, we review our understanding of the molecular pathways involving the homologous recombination machinery to support the robustness of DNA replication. In addition to its role in fork-recovery and in rebuilding a functional replication fork apparatus, homologous recombination may also act as a fork-protection mechanism. We discuss that some of the fork-escort functions of homologous recombination might be achieved by loading of the recombination machinery at inactivated forks without a need for a strand exchange step; as well as the consequence of such a model for the stability of eukaryotic genomes.

  18. Low-temperature radiative recombination of electrons with bare nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Omidvar, K.

    1993-01-01

    Aside from empirical formulas, the radiative-recombination cross section and coefficient are usually given in tabulated forms instead of analytic formulas. Here, we give analytic expressions in the form of expansions for the recombination cross section as a function of the electron energy E for low E, and for the recombination coefficient as a function of the temperature T for low T. The expansion coefficients are combinations of confluent hypergeometric functions, and are tabulated for a large number of the final principal and angular-momentum quantum numbers n and l. It is shown that the recombination cross section for arbitrary nuclear charge number Z is independent of Z, while the recombination coefficient for T/Z 2 much-lt 1.58x10 5 K increases as Z 2 . Excellent agreement is found with the published tabulated values

  19. PRODUCTION OF RECOMBINANT HIGH pI-BARLEY α-GLUCOSIDASE

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Næsted, Henrik; Svensson, Birte

    plantlet [1]. Recently, expression and characterization of the recombinant full length, fully functional barley high pI α-glucosidase in Pichia pastoris has been achieved. To enable production of recombinant protein in mg amounts, a transformant harbouring a clone encoding the N-terminally hexa histidine...... tagged recombinant form of the enzyme was propagated using a high cell-density fermentation procedure. This system resulted in successful expression under the highly sensitive methanol utilization phase conducting the fermentation process using a BiostatB 5 L reactor. The recombinant high pI α...... glycosylation of the recombinant α-glucosidase. The enzyme activity was highly stable during the 5 day long fermentation. Characterisation of the enzymatic properties confirmed the specific activity actually to be superior to that of the native enzyme purified from malt [2]. The kinetic parameters Km, Vmax...

  20. High-Resolution Patterns of Meiotic Recombination across the Human Major Histocompatibility Complex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, Michael; Perfetto, Stephen P.; Klitz, William; Nelson, George; Carrington, Mary

    2002-01-01

    Definitive characteristics of meiotic recombination events over large (i.e., >1 Mb) segments of the human genome remain obscure, yet they are essential for establishing the haplotypic structure of the genome and for efficient mapping of complex traits. We present a high-resolution map of recombination at the kilobase level across a 3.3-Mb interval encompassing the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Genotyping of 20,031 single sperm from 12 individuals resulted in the identification and fine mapping of 325 recombinant chromosomes within genomic intervals as small as 7 kb. Several principal characteristics of recombination in this region were observed: (1) rates of recombination can differ significantly between individuals; (2) intense hot spots of recombination occur at least every 0.8 Mb but are not necessarily evenly spaced; (3) distribution in the location of recombination events can differ significantly among individuals; (4) between hot spots, low levels of recombination occur fairly evenly across 100-kb segments, suggesting the presence of warm spots of recombination; and (5) specific sequence motifs associate significantly with recombination distribution. These data provide a plausible model for recombination patterns of the human genome overall. PMID:12297984

  1. Intermediate bands versus levels in non-radiative recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luque, Antonio; Marti, Antonio; Antolin, Elisa; Tablero, Cesar

    2006-01-01

    There is a practical interest in developing semiconductors with levels situated within their band gap while preventing the non-radiative recombination that these levels promote. In this paper, the physical causes of this non-radiative recombination are analyzed and the increase in the density of the impurities responsible for the mid-gap levels to the point of forming bands is suggested as the means of suppressing the recombination. Simple models supporting this recommendation and helping in its quantification are presented

  2. Correlation between pairing initiation sites, recombination nodules and meiotic recombination in Sordaria macrospora.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zickler, D; Moreau, P J; Huynh, A D; Slezec, A M

    1992-09-01

    The decrease of meiotic exchanges (crossing over and conversion) in two mutants of Sordaria macrospora correlated strongly with a reduction of chiasmata and of both types of "recombination nodules." Serial section reconstruction electron microscopy was used to compare the synapsis pattern of meiotic prophase I in wild type and mutants. First, synapsis occurred but the number of synaptonemal complex initiation sites was reduced in both mutants. Second, this reduction was accompanied by, or resulted in, modifications of the pattern of synapsis. Genetic and synaptonemal complex maps were compared in three regions along one chromosome arm divided into well marked intervals. Reciprocal exchange frequencies and number of recombination nodules correlated in wild type in the three analyzed intervals, but disparity was found between the location of recombination nodules and exchanges in the mutants. Despite the twofold exchange decrease, sections of the genome such as the short arm of chromosome 2 and telomere regions were sheltered from nodule decrease and from pairing modifications. This indicated a certain amount of diversity in the control of these features and suggested that exchange frequency was dependent not only on the amount of effective pairing but also on the localization of the pairing sites, as revealed by the synaptonemal complex progression in the mutants.

  3. Biological evaluation of recombinant human erythropoietin in pharmaceutical products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramos A.S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The potencies of mammalian cell-derived recombinant human erythropoietin pharmaceutical preparations, from a total of five manufacturers, were assessed by in vivo bioassay using standardized protocols. Eight-week-old normocythemic mice received a single subcutaneous injection followed by blood sampling 96 h later or multiple daily injections with blood sampling 24 h after the last injection. Reticulocyte counting by microscopic examination was employed as the end-point using the brilliant cresyl blue or selective hemolysis methods, together with automated flow cytometry. Different injection schedules were investigated and dose-response curves for the European Pharmacopoeia Biological Reference Preparation of erythropoietin were compared. Manual and automated methods of reticulocyte counting were correlated with respect to assay validity and precision. Using 8 mice per treatment group, intra-assay precision determined for all of the assays in the study showed coefficients of variation of 12.1-28.4% for the brilliant cresyl blue method, 14.1-30.8% for the selective hemolysis method and 8.5-19.7% for the flow cytometry method. Applying the single injection protocol, a combination of at least two independent assays was required to achieve the precision potency and confidence limits indicated by the manufacturers, while the multiple daily injection protocol yielded the same acceptable results within a single assay. Although the latter protocol using flow cytometry for reticulocyte counting gave more precise and reproducible results (intra-assay coefficients of variation: 5.9-14.2%, the well-characterized manual methods provide equally valid alternatives for the quality control of recombinant human erythropoietin therapeutic products.

  4. Sequence and recombination analyses of the geminivirus replication

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Prakash

    2006-09-18

    Sep 18, 2006 ... Recombination can provide selective advantage in the evolution of viruses .... Program (v 1.08): Recombination Detection Program (RDP). (Martin and Rybicki ..... Sweet potato leaf curl virus - [US:Louisiana:1994]. AF104036.

  5. Recombinant zoster (shingles) vaccine, RZV - what you need to know

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... year in the United States get shingles. Shingles vaccine (recombinant) Recombinant shingles vaccine was approved by FDA in 2017 for the ... life-threatening allergic reaction after a dose of recombinant shingles vaccine, or has a severe allergy to any component ...

  6. Variation in recombination frequency and distribution across eukaryotes: patterns and processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feulner, Philine G. D.; Johnston, Susan E.; Santure, Anna W.; Smadja, Carole M.

    2017-01-01

    Recombination, the exchange of DNA between maternal and paternal chromosomes during meiosis, is an essential feature of sexual reproduction in nearly all multicellular organisms. While the role of recombination in the evolution of sex has received theoretical and empirical attention, less is known about how recombination rate itself evolves and what influence this has on evolutionary processes within sexually reproducing organisms. Here, we explore the patterns of, and processes governing recombination in eukaryotes. We summarize patterns of variation, integrating current knowledge with an analysis of linkage map data in 353 organisms. We then discuss proximate and ultimate processes governing recombination rate variation and consider how these influence evolutionary processes. Genome-wide recombination rates (cM/Mb) can vary more than tenfold across eukaryotes, and there is large variation in the distribution of recombination events across closely related taxa, populations and individuals. We discuss how variation in rate and distribution relates to genome architecture, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, sex, environmental perturbations and variable selective pressures. There has been great progress in determining the molecular mechanisms governing recombination, and with the continued development of new modelling and empirical approaches, there is now also great opportunity to further our understanding of how and why recombination rate varies. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary causes and consequences of recombination rate variation in sexual organisms’. PMID:29109219

  7. Lineage specific recombination rates and microevolution in Listeria monocytogenes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nightingale Kendra K

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a saprotroph as well as an opportunistic human foodborne pathogen, which has previously been shown to consist of at least two widespread lineages (termed lineages I and II and an uncommon lineage (lineage III. While some L. monocytogenes strains show evidence for considerable diversification by homologous recombination, our understanding of the contribution of recombination to L. monocytogenes evolution is still limited. We therefore used STRUCTURE and ClonalFrame, two programs that model the effect of recombination, to make inferences about the population structure and different aspects of the recombination process in L. monocytogenes. Analyses were performed using sequences for seven loci (including the house-keeping genes gap, prs, purM and ribC, the stress response gene sigB, and the virulence genes actA and inlA for 195 L. monocytogenes isolates. Results Sequence analyses with ClonalFrame and the Sawyer's test showed that recombination is more prevalent in lineage II than lineage I and is most frequent in two house-keeping genes (ribC and purM and the two virulence genes (actA and inlA. The relative occurrence of recombination versus point mutation is about six times higher in lineage II than in lineage I, which causes a higher genetic variability in lineage II. Unlike lineage I, lineage II represents a genetically heterogeneous population with a relatively high proportion (30% average of genetic material imported from external sources. Phylograms, constructed with correcting for recombination, as well as Tajima's D data suggest that both lineages I and II have suffered a population bottleneck. Conclusion Our study shows that evolutionary lineages within a single bacterial species can differ considerably in the relative contributions of recombination to genetic diversification. Accounting for recombination in phylogenetic studies is critical, and new evolutionary models that

  8. Regulation of Homologous Recombination by SUMOylation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pinela da Silva, Sonia Cristina

    factors such as the homologous recombination (HR) machinery. HR constitutes the main DSB repair pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and despite being largely considered an error-free process and essential for genome stability, uncontrolled recombination can lead to loss of heterozygosity, translocations......, deletions, and genome rearrangements that can lead to cell death or cancer in humans. The post-translational modification by SUMO (small ubiquitinlike modifier) has proven to be an important regulator of HR and genome integrity, but the molecular mechanisms responsible for these roles are still unclear....... In this study I present new insights for the role of SUMOylation in regulating HR by dissecting the role of SUMO in the interaction between the central HR-mediator protein Rad52 and its paralogue Rad59 and the outcome of recombination. This data provides evidence for the importance of SUMO in promoting protein...

  9. Study of volume recombination and radiation opacity effects in Alcator C-Mod

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terry, J.L.; Lipschultz, B.; Pigarov, A.Y.; Boswell, C.; Krasheninnikov, S.I.; LaBombard, B.; Pappas, D.A.

    1998-01-01

    Observations of significant volume recombination within the Alcator C-Mod divertor plasma and in the edge plasma (MARFE) are described. The recombination occurs in regions where T e approx-lt 1 eV and n e approx-gt 1x10 21 m -3 . The determinations of the recombination rates are made by measuring the D 0 Lyman and/or Balmer spectra and by using a collisional radiative model describing the level populations, ionization and recombination of D 0 . In regions of strong recombination the upper levels (n approx-gt 4) populations are close to those determined by Saha-Boltzmann distribution and are independent of the ground state density. Thus the intensities of lines from these levels are related to the recombination rate, and curves determining the number of open-quote recombinations per photon close-quote are calculated. Ly β line emission is shown to be trapped in some cases, meaning that Ly α can be strongly trapped. Since opacity affects the recombination rates, the effects of the trapping of Ly α,β photons on the open-quote recombinations per photon close-quote curves are calculated and considered in the recombination rate determinations. Total recombination rates in the detached divertor plasma and in MARFEs located at the periphery of the main plasma are determined. Recombination can be a significant sink for ions. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

  10. Evidence of recombination in intrapatient populations of hepatitis C virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sentandreu, Vicente; Jiménez-Hernández, Nuria; Torres-Puente, Manuela; Bracho, María Alma; Valero, Ana; Gosalbes, María José; Ortega, Enrique; Moya, Andrés; González-Candelas, Fernando

    2008-09-18

    Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of liver disease worldwide and a potential cause of substantial morbidity and mortality in the future. HCV is characterized by a high level of genetic heterogeneity. Although homologous recombination has been demonstrated in many members of the family Flaviviridae, to which HCV belongs, there are only a few studies reporting recombination on natural populations of HCV, suggesting that these events are rare in vivo. Furthermore, these few studies have focused on recombination between different HCV genotypes/subtypes but there are no reports on the extent of intra-genotype or intra-subtype recombination between viral strains infecting the same patient. Given the important implications of recombination for RNA virus evolution, our aim in this study has been to assess the existence and eventually the frequency of intragenic recombination on HCV. For this, we retrospectively have analyzed two regions of the HCV genome (NS5A and E1-E2) in samples from two different groups: (i) patients infected only with HCV (either treated with interferon plus ribavirin or treatment naïve), and (ii) HCV-HIV co-infected patients (with and without treatment against HIV). The complete data set comprised 17712 sequences from 136 serum samples derived from 111 patients. Recombination analyses were performed using 6 different methods implemented in the program RDP3. Recombination events were considered when detected by at least 3 of the 6 methods used and were identified in 10.7% of the amplified samples, distributed throughout all the groups described and the two genomic regions studied. The resulting recombination events were further verified by detailed phylogenetic analyses. The complete experimental procedure was applied to an artificial mixture of relatively closely viral populations and the ensuing analyses failed to reveal artifactual recombination. From these results we conclude that recombination should be considered as a potentially

  11. Double Strand Break Repair, one mechanism can hide another: Alternative non-homologous end joining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rass, E.; Grabarz, A.; Bertrand, P.; Lopez, B.S.

    2012-01-01

    DNA double strand breaks are major cytotoxic lesions encountered by the cells. They can be induced by ionizing radiation or endogenous stress and can lead to genetic instability. Two mechanisms compete for the repair of DNA double strand breaks: homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Homologous recombination requires DNA sequences homology and is initiated by single strand resection. Recently, advances have been made concerning the major steps and proteins involved in resection. NHEJ, in contrast, does not require sequence homology. The existence of a DNA double strand break repair mechanism, independent of KU and ligase IV, the key proteins of the canonical non homologous end joining pathway, has been revealed lately and named alternative non homologous end joining. The hallmarks of this highly mutagenic pathway are deletions at repair junctions and frequent use of distal micro-homologies. This mechanism is also initiated by a single strand resection of the break. The aim of this review is firstly to present recent data on single strand resection, and secondly the alternative NHEJ pathway, including a discussion on the fidelity of NHEJ. Based on current knowledge, canonical NHEJ does not appear as an intrinsically mutagenic mechanism, but in contrast, as a conservative one. The structure of broken DNA ends actually dictates the quality repair of the alternative NHEJ and seems the actual responsible for the mutagenesis attributed beforehand to the canonical NHEJ. The existence of this novel DNA double strand breaks repair mechanism needs to be taken into account in the development of radiosensitizing strategies in order to optimise the efficiency of radiotherapy. (authors)

  12. Alternatives to antibiotics as growth promoters for use in swine production: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    In the past two decades, an intensive amount of research has been focused on the development of alternatives to antibiotics to maintain swine health and performance. The most widely researched alternatives include probiotics, prebiotics, acidifiers, plant extracts and neutraceuticals such as copper and zinc. Since these additives have been more than adequately covered in previous reviews, the focus of this review will be on less traditional alternatives. The potential of antimicrobial peptides, clay minerals, egg yolk antibodies, essential oils, eucalyptus oil-medium chain fatty acids, rare earth elements and recombinant enzymes are discussed. Based on a thorough review of the literature, it is evident that a long and growing list of compounds exist which have been tested for their ability to replace antibiotics as feed additives in diets fed to swine. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these compounds produce inconsistent results and rarely equal antibiotics in their effectiveness. Therefore, it would appear that research is still needed in this area and that the perfect alternative to antibiotics does not yet exist. PMID:24034214

  13. Genome-Wide Fine-Scale Recombination Rate Variation in Drosophila melanogaster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yun S.

    2012-01-01

    Estimating fine-scale recombination maps of Drosophila from population genomic data is a challenging problem, in particular because of the high background recombination rate. In this paper, a new computational method is developed to address this challenge. Through an extensive simulation study, it is demonstrated that the method allows more accurate inference, and exhibits greater robustness to the effects of natural selection and noise, compared to a well-used previous method developed for studying fine-scale recombination rate variation in the human genome. As an application, a genome-wide analysis of genetic variation data is performed for two Drosophila melanogaster populations, one from North America (Raleigh, USA) and the other from Africa (Gikongoro, Rwanda). It is shown that fine-scale recombination rate variation is widespread throughout the D. melanogaster genome, across all chromosomes and in both populations. At the fine-scale, a conservative, systematic search for evidence of recombination hotspots suggests the existence of a handful of putative hotspots each with at least a tenfold increase in intensity over the background rate. A wavelet analysis is carried out to compare the estimated recombination maps in the two populations and to quantify the extent to which recombination rates are conserved. In general, similarity is observed at very broad scales, but substantial differences are seen at fine scales. The average recombination rate of the X chromosome appears to be higher than that of the autosomes in both populations, and this pattern is much more pronounced in the African population than the North American population. The correlation between various genomic features—including recombination rates, diversity, divergence, GC content, gene content, and sequence quality—is examined using the wavelet analysis, and it is shown that the most notable difference between D. melanogaster and humans is in the correlation between recombination and

  14. Hadron correlations from recombination and fragmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fries, Rainer J [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

    2005-04-01

    We review the formalism of quark recombination applied to the hadronization of a quark-gluon plasma. Evidence in favour of the quark recombination model is outlined. Recent work on parton correlations, leading to detectable correlations between hadrons, is discussed. Hot spots from completely quenched jets are a likely source of such correlations which appear to be jet like. It will be discussed how such a picture compares with measurement of associated hadron yields at RHIC.

  15. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) env recombinants are common in natural infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bęczkowski, Paweł M; Hughes, Joseph; Biek, Roman; Litster, Annette; Willett, Brian J; Hosie, Margaret J

    2014-09-17

    Recombination is a common feature of retroviral biology and one of the most important factors responsible for generating viral diversity at both the intra-host and the population levels. However, relatively little is known about rates and molecular processes of recombination for retroviruses other than HIV, including important model viruses such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). We investigated recombination in complete FIV env gene sequences (n = 355) isolated from 43 naturally infected cats. We demonstrated that recombination is abundant in natural FIV infection, with over 41% of the cats being infected with viruses containing recombinant env genes. In addition, we identified shared recombination breakpoints; the most significant hotspot occurred between the leader/signal fragment and the remainder of env. Our results have identified the leader/signal fragment of env as an important site for recombination and highlight potential limitations of the current phylogenetic classification of FIV based on partial env sequences. Furthermore, the presence of abundant recombinant FIV in the USA poses a significant challenge for commercial diagnostic tests and should inform the development of the next generation of FIV vaccines.

  16. Time to reconsider nonsurgical therapy of benign nontoxic multinodular goitre. Focus on recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) augmented radioiodine therapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fast, Søren; Nielsen, Viveque; Bonnema, Steen

    2009-01-01

    alternatives are needed. Until recently, levothyroxine therapy was the preferred non-surgical alternative, but due to low efficacy and potential side-effects, it is not recommended for routine use in recent international guidelines. Conventional radioiodine (131I)-therapy has been used for two decades......, which makes 131I-therapy less feasible. Another challenge is the negative correlation between initial goitre size and goitre volume reduction (GVR). With its ability to more than double the thyroid 131I-uptake, recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) increases the absorbed radiation dose and thus enhances the GVR...... efficacy. Thus, although in its infancy, and still experimental, rhTSH-augmented 131I-therapy may profoundly alter the nonsurgical treatment of benign non-toxic MNG....

  17. Charge-carrier transport and recombination in heteroepitaxial CdTe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuciauskas, Darius; Farrell, Stuart; Dippo, Pat; Moseley, John; Moutinho, Helio; Li, Jian V.; Allende Motz, A. M.; Kanevce, Ana; Zaunbrecher, Katherine; Gessert, Timothy A.; Levi, Dean H.; Metzger, Wyatt K.; Colegrove, Eric; Sivananthan, S.

    2014-01-01

    We analyze charge-carrier dynamics using time-resolved spectroscopy and varying epitaxial CdTe thickness in undoped heteroepitaxial CdTe/ZnTe/Si. By employing one-photon and nonlinear two-photon excitation, we assess surface, interface, and bulk recombination. Two-photon excitation with a focused laser beam enables characterization of recombination velocity at the buried epilayer/substrate interface, 17.5 μm from the sample surface. Measurements with a focused two-photon excitation beam also indicate a fast diffusion component, from which we estimate an electron mobility of 650 cm 2 (Vs) −1 and diffusion coefficient D of 17 cm 2  s −1 . We find limiting recombination at the epitaxial film surface (surface recombination velocity S surface  = (2.8 ± 0.3) × 10 5  cm s −1 ) and at the heteroepitaxial interface (interface recombination velocity S interface  = (4.8 ± 0.5) × 10 5  cm s −1 ). The results demonstrate that reducing surface and interface recombination velocity is critical for photovoltaic solar cells and electronic devices that employ epitaxial CdTe.

  18. Improved photovoltaic performance and stability of quantum dot sensitized solar cells using Mn-ZnSe shell structure with enhanced light absorption and recombination control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopi, Chandu V V M; Venkata-Haritha, M; Kim, Soo-Kyoung; Kim, Hee-Je

    2015-08-07

    To make quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) competitive, photovoltaic parameters comparable to those of other emerging solar cell technologies are necessary. In the present study, ZnSe was used as an alternative to ZnS, one of the most widely used passivation materials in QDSSCs. ZnSe was deposited on a TiO2-CdS-CdSe photoanode to form a core-shell structure, which was more efficient in terms of reducing the electron recombination in QDSSCs. The development of an efficient passivation layer is a requirement for preventing recombination processes in order to attain high-performance and stable QDSSCs. A layer of inorganic Mn-ZnSe was applied to a QD-sensitized photoanode to enhance the adsorption and strongly inhibit interfacial recombination processes in QDSSCs, which greatly improved the power conversion efficiency. Impedance spectroscopy revealed that the combined Mn doping with ZnSe treatment reduces interfacial recombination and increases charge collection efficiency compared with Mn-ZnS, ZnS, and ZnSe. A solar cell based on the CdS-CdSe-Mn-ZnSe photoanode yielded excellent performance with a solar power conversion efficiency of 5.67%, Voc of 0.584 V, and Jsc of 17.59 mA cm(-2). Enhanced electron transport and reduced electron recombination are responsible for the improved Jsc and Voc of the QDSSCs. The effective electron lifetime of the device with Mn-ZnSe was higher than those with Mn-ZnS, ZnSe, and ZnS, leading to more efficient electron-hole separation and slower electron recombination.

  19. Protein-only, antimicrobial peptide-containing recombinant nanoparticles with inherent built-in antibacterial activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serna, Naroa; Sánchez-García, Laura; Sánchez-Chardi, Alejandro; Unzueta, Ugutz; Roldán, Mónica; Mangues, Ramón; Vázquez, Esther; Villaverde, Antonio

    2017-09-15

    The emergence of bacterial antibiotic resistances is a serious concern in human and animal health. In this context, naturally occurring cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) might play a main role in a next generation of drugs against bacterial infections. Taking an innovative approach to design self-organizing functional proteins, we have generated here protein-only nanoparticles with intrinsic AMP microbicide activity. Using a recombinant version of the GWH1 antimicrobial peptide as building block, these materials show a wide antibacterial activity spectrum in absence of detectable toxicity on mammalian cells. The GWH1-based nanoparticles combine clinically appealing properties of nanoscale materials with full biocompatibility, structural and functional plasticity and biological efficacy exhibited by proteins. Because of the largely implemented biological fabrication of recombinant protein drugs, the protein-based platform presented here represents a novel and scalable strategy in antimicrobial drug design, that by solving some of the limitations of AMPs offers a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. The low molecular weight antimicrobial peptide GWH1 has been engineered to oligomerize as self-assembling protein-only nanoparticles of around 50nm. In this form, the peptide exhibits potent and broad antibacterial activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, without any harmful effect over mammalian cells. As a solid proof-of-concept, this finding strongly supports the design and biofabrication of nanoscale antimicrobial materials with in-built functionalities. The protein-based homogeneous composition offer advantages over alternative materials explored as antimicrobial agents, regarding biocompatibility, biodegradability and environmental suitability. Beyond the described prototype, this transversal engineering concept has wide applicability in the design of novel nanomedicines for advanced treatments of bacterial infections

  20. Regulation of homologous recombination at telomeres in budding yeast

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eckert-Boulet, Nadine; Lisby, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Homologous recombination is suppressed at normal length telomere sequences. In contrast, telomere recombination is allowed when telomeres erode in the absence of telomerase activity or as a consequence of nucleolytic degradation or incomplete replication. Here, we review the mechanisms that contr...... that contribute to regulating mitotic homologous recombination at telomeres and the role of these mechanisms in signalling short telomeres in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae....

  1. Mitochondrial Recombination and Introgression during Speciation by Hybridization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leducq, Jean-Baptiste; Henault, Mathieu; Charron, Guillaume; Nielly-Thibault, Lou; Terrat, Yves; Fiumera, Heather L; Shapiro, B Jesse; Landry, Christian R

    2017-08-01

    Genome recombination is a major source of genotypic diversity and contributes to adaptation and speciation following interspecies hybridization. The contribution of recombination in these processes has been thought to be largely limited to the nuclear genome because organelles are mostly uniparentally inherited in animals and plants, which prevents recombination. Unicellular eukaryotes such as budding yeasts do, however, transmit mitochondria biparentally, suggesting that during hybridization, both parents could provide alleles that contribute to mitochondrial functions such as respiration and metabolism in hybrid populations or hybrid species. We examined the dynamics of mitochondrial genome transmission and evolution during speciation by hybridization in the natural budding yeast Saccharomyces paradoxus. Using population-scale mitochondrial genome sequencing in two endemic North American incipient species SpB and SpC and their hybrid species SpC*, we found that both parental species contributed to the hybrid mitochondrial genome through recombination. We support our findings by showing that mitochondrial recombination between parental types is frequent in experimental crosses that recreate the early step of this speciation event. In these artificial hybrids, we observed that mitochondrial genome recombination enhances phenotypic variation among diploid hybrids, suggesting that it could play a role in the phenotypic differentiation of hybrid species. Like the nuclear genome, the mitochondrial genome can, therefore, also play a role in hybrid speciation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Constraints from jet calculus on quark recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, L.M.; Lassila, K.E.; Willen, D.

    1979-01-01

    Within the QCD jet calculus formalism, we deduce an equation describing recombination of quarks and antiquarks into mesons within a quark or gluon jet. This equation relates the recombination function R(x 1 ,x 2 ,x) used in current literature to the fragmentation function for producing that same meson out of the parton initiating the jet. We submit currently used recombination functions to our consistency test, taking as input mainly the u-quark fragmentation data into π + mesons, but also s-quark fragmentation into K - mesons. The constraint is well satisfied at large Q 2 for large moments. Our results depend on one parameter, Q 0 2 , the constraint equation being satisfied for small values of this parameter

  3. Poster #115Y: Two Distinct Phenotypes in 11 Individuals, Demonstrating Alternate Unbalanced Recombinants Derived from a Cryptic Paternal Balanced Translocation between Chromosomes 10 and 14

    OpenAIRE

    Eytan, Danny; Gal, Asaf; Wallach, Avner; Kermany, Einat; Haroush, Netta; Marom, Shimon; Asleh, Rabea; Levy, Nina S.; Miller-Lotan, Rachel; Levy, Andrew P.; Brenner, Benjamin; Assalia, Ahmed; Vardi, Yoram; Appel, Boaz; Massarwi, Omar

    2012-01-01

    Cancer and thrombosis are the two major disease states in the developed world. While the association of venous thromboembolism (VTE) with tumors was described over 150 years ago, clinical and basic research over the past 30 years have broadened our understanding of this association. The interactions of thrombosis and cancer are complex and involve issues related to pathogenic mechanisms, clinical presentation, prognosis, and treatment. Pulmonary embolism is a major cause of death in cancer pa...

  4. Experimental study of para- and ortho-H3+ recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plasil, R; Varju, J; Hejduk, M; Dohnal, P; KotrIk, T; Glosik, J

    2011-01-01

    Recombination of H 3 + with electrons is a key process for many plasmatic environments. Recent experiments on storage ring devices used ion sources producing H 3 + with enhanced populations of H 3 + ions in the para nuclear spin configuration to shed light on the theoretically predicted faster recombination of para states. Although increased recombination rates were observed, no in situ characterization of recombining ions was performed. We present a state selective recombination study of para- and ortho-H 3 + ions with electrons at 77 K in afterglow plasma in a He/Ar/H 2 gas-mixture. Both spin configurations of H 3 + have been observed in situ with a near infrared cavity ring down spectrometer (NIR-CRDS) using the two lowest energy levels of H 3 + . Using hydrogen with an enhanced population of H 2 molecules in para states allowed us to influence the [para-H 3 + ]/[ortho-H 3 + ] ratio in the discharge and in the afterglow. We observed an increase in the measured effective recombination rate coefficients with the increase of the fraction of para-H 3 + . Measurements with different fractions of para-H 3 + at otherwise identical conditions allowed us to determine the binary recombination rate coefficients for pure para-H 3 + p α bin (77 K) = (2.0±0.4)x10 -7 cm 3 s -1 and pure ortho-H 3 + o α bin (77 K) = (4±3)x10 -8 cm 3 s -1 .

  5. Experimental study of para- and ortho-H3+ recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plašil, R.; Varju, J.; Hejduk, M.; Dohnal, P.; Kotrík, T.; Glosík, J.

    2011-07-01

    Recombination of H3+ with electrons is a key process for many plasmatic environments. Recent experiments on storage ring devices used ion sources producing H3+ with enhanced populations of H3+ ions in the para nuclear spin configuration to shed light on the theoretically predicted faster recombination of para states. Although increased recombination rates were observed, no in situ characterization of recombining ions was performed. We present a state selective recombination study of para- and ortho-H3+ ions with electrons at 77 K in afterglow plasma in a He/Ar/H2 gas-mixture. Both spin configurations of H3+ have been observed in situ with a near infrared cavity ring down spectrometer (NIR-CRDS) using the two lowest energy levels of H3+. Using hydrogen with an enhanced population of H2 molecules in para states allowed us to influence the [para-H3+]/[ortho-H3+] ratio in the discharge and in the afterglow. We observed an increase in the measured effective recombination rate coefficients with the increase of the fraction of para-H3+. Measurements with different fractions of para-H3+ at otherwise identical conditions allowed us to determine the binary recombination rate coefficients for pure para-H3+ pαbin(77 K) = (2.0±0.4)×10-7 cm3s-1 and pure ortho-H3+ oαbin(77 K) = (4±3)×10-8 cm3s-1.

  6. Characterization of recombination features and the genetic basis in multiple cattle breeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Botong; Jiang, Jicai; Seroussi, Eyal; Liu, George E; Ma, Li

    2018-04-27

    Crossover generated by meiotic recombination is a fundamental event that facilitates meiosis and sexual reproduction. Comparative studies have shown wide variation in recombination rate among species, but the characterization of recombination features between cattle breeds has not yet been performed. Cattle populations in North America count millions, and the dairy industry has genotyped millions of individuals with pedigree information that provide a unique opportunity to study breed-level variations in recombination. Based on large pedigrees of Jersey, Ayrshire and Brown Swiss cattle with genotype data, we identified over 3.4 million maternal and paternal crossover events from 161,309 three-generation families. We constructed six breed- and sex-specific genome-wide recombination maps using 58,982 autosomal SNPs for two sexes in the three dairy cattle breeds. A comparative analysis of the six recombination maps revealed similar global recombination patterns between cattle breeds but with significant differences between sexes. We confirmed that male recombination map is 10% longer than the female map in all three cattle breeds, consistent with previously reported results in Holstein cattle. When comparing recombination hotspot regions between cattle breeds, we found that 30% and 10% of the hotspots were shared between breeds in males and females, respectively, with each breed exhibiting some breed-specific hotspots. Finally, our multiple-breed GWAS found that SNPs in eight loci affected recombination rate and that the PRDM9 gene associated with hotspot usage in multiple cattle breeds, indicating a shared genetic basis for recombination across dairy cattle breeds. Collectively, our results generated breed- and sex-specific recombination maps for multiple cattle breeds, provided a comprehensive characterization and comparison of recombination patterns between breeds, and expanded our understanding of the breed-level variations in recombination features within an

  7. Linkage disequilibrium in HLA cannot be explained by selective recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Termijtelen, A; D'Amaro, J; van Rood, J J; Schreuder, G M

    1995-11-01

    Some combinations of HLA-A, -B and -DR antigens occur more frequently than would be expected from their gene frequencies in the population. This phenomenon, referred to as Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) has been the origin of many speculations. One hypothesis to explain LD is that some haplotypes are protected from recombination. A second hypothesis is that these HLA antigens preferentially recombine after cross-over to create an LD haplotype. We tested these 2 hypotheses: from a pool of over 10,000 families typed in our department, we analyzed 126 families in which HLA-A:B or B:DR recombinant offspring was documented. To overcome a possible bias in our material, we used the non-recombined haplotypes from the same 126 families as a control group. Our results show that the number of cross-overs through LD haplotypes is not significantly lower then would be expected if recombination occurred randomly. Also the number of LD haplotypes created upon recombination was not significantly increased.

  8. Branching innovation, recombinant innovation, and endogenous technological transitions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frenken, K.; Izquierdo, L.; Zeppini, P.

    2012-01-01

    We propose a model of technological transitions based on two different types of innovations. Branching innovations refer to technological improvements along a particular path, while recombinant innovations represent fusions of multiple paths. Recombinant innovations create "short-cuts" which reduce

  9. Determination of the trap-assisted recombination strength in polymer light emitting diodes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuik, Martijn; Nicolai, Herman T.; Lenes, Martijn; Wetzelaer, Gert-Jan A. H.; Lu, Mingtao; Blom, Paul W. M.

    2011-01-01

    The recombination processes in poly(p-phenylene vinylene) based polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) are investigated. Photogenerated current measurements on PLED device structures reveal that next to the known Langevin recombination also trap-assisted recombination is an important recombination

  10. Determination of the trap-assisted recombination strength in polymer light emitting diodes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuik, M.; Nicolai, H.T.; Lenes, M.; Wetzelaer, G.-J.A.H.; Lu, M.; Blom, P.W.M.

    2011-01-01

    The recombination processes in poly(p -phenylene vinylene) based polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) are investigated. Photogenerated current measurements on PLED device structures reveal that next to the known Langevin recombination also trap-assisted recombination is an important recombination

  11. Recombination of a fast expanding plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salvat, M.

    1979-05-01

    The goal of the following calculations is to determine numerically the recombination of dense plasmas (for instance of laser-produced plasmas). The recombination is computed for plasmas with initial densities of 10 24 27 [m -3 ] and with initial temperatures >= 50 eV. The ionization of the plasma remains essentially constant during the early phase of expansion. The time for which the ionization is 'frozen-in' grows with decreasing initial density and with increasing initial temperature. (orig.) [de

  12. Co-factor activated recombinant adenovirus proteinases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Carl W.; Mangel, Walter F.

    1996-08-06

    This application describes methods and expression constructs for producing activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases. Purified activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases and methods of purification are described. Activated adenovirus proteinases and methods for obtaining activated adenovirus proteinases are further included. Isolated peptide cofactors of adenovirus proteinase activity, methods of purifying and identifying said peptide cofactors are also described. Antibodies immunoreactive with adenovirus proteinases, immunospecific antibodies, and methods for preparing them are also described. Other related methods and materials are also described.

  13. Mitochondrial recombination increases with age in Podospora anserina

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Diepeningen, Anne D; Goedbloed, Daniël J; Slakhorst, S Marijke; Koopmanschap, A Bertha; Maas, Marc F P M; Hoekstra, Rolf F; Debets, Alfons J M

    With uniparental inheritance of mitochondria, there seems little reason for homologous recombination in mitochondria, but the machinery for mitochondrial recombination is quite well-conserved in many eukaryote species. In fungi and yeasts heteroplasmons may be formed when strains fuse and transfer

  14. The Λ0 polarization and the recombination mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrera, G.; Montano, L.M.

    1997-01-01

    We use the recombination and the Thomas Precession Model to obtain a prediction for the Λ 0 polarization in the p+p → Λ 0 + X reaction. We study the effect of the recombination function on the Λ 0 polarization. (author)

  15. A simple negative selection method to identify adenovirus recombinants using colony PCR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongliang Zhao

    2014-01-01

    Conclusions: The negative selection method to identify AdEasy adenovirus recombinants by colony PCR can identify the recombined colony within a short time-period, and maximally avoid damage to the recombinant plasmid by limiting recombination time, resulting in improved adenovirus packaging.

  16. The interplay of morphology and carrier recombination in dendrimer-based organic photovoltaics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaheen, Sean; Kopidakis, Nikos; Mitchell, William; Rance, William; van de Lagemaat, Jao; Rumbles, Garry

    2007-03-01

    Pi-conjugated dendrimers provide an alternative to polymers in organic photovoltaic devices that allow for systematic study of how the molecular structure affects the morphology of the donor and acceptor components and subsequently how the device operates. The degree of mixing and specific geometry of the donor-acceptor blend play a determining role in the rate of exciton dissociation as well as the efficacy of charge transport out of the active layer. We find that pi-conjugated dendrimers are more miscible with the fullerene-derivative acceptor than their polymeric counterparts, which leads to smaller domains than are commonly found in polymer-fullerene blends. Here we discuss how these differing morphologies affect exciton dissociation, carrier transport, and carrier recombination in the devices.

  17. The potential of shifting recombination hotspots to increase genetic gain in livestock breeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonen, Serap; Battagin, Mara; Johnston, Susan E; Gorjanc, Gregor; Hickey, John M

    2017-07-04

    This study uses simulation to explore and quantify the potential effect of shifting recombination hotspots on genetic gain in livestock breeding programs. We simulated three scenarios that differed in the locations of quantitative trait nucleotides (QTN) and recombination hotspots in the genome. In scenario 1, QTN were randomly distributed along the chromosomes and recombination was restricted to occur within specific genomic regions (i.e. recombination hotspots). In the other two scenarios, both QTN and recombination hotspots were located in specific regions, but differed in whether the QTN occurred outside of (scenario 2) or inside (scenario 3) recombination hotspots. We split each chromosome into 250, 500 or 1000 regions per chromosome of which 10% were recombination hotspots and/or contained QTN. The breeding program was run for 21 generations of selection, after which recombination hotspot regions were kept the same or were shifted to adjacent regions for a further 80 generations of selection. We evaluated the effect of shifting recombination hotspots on genetic gain, genetic variance and genic variance. Our results show that shifting recombination hotspots reduced the decline of genetic and genic variance by releasing standing allelic variation in the form of new allele combinations. This in turn resulted in larger increases in genetic gain. However, the benefit of shifting recombination hotspots for increased genetic gain was only observed when QTN were initially outside recombination hotspots. If QTN were initially inside recombination hotspots then shifting them decreased genetic gain. Shifting recombination hotspots to regions of the genome where recombination had not occurred for 21 generations of selection (i.e. recombination deserts) released more of the standing allelic variation available in each generation and thus increased genetic gain. However, whether and how much increase in genetic gain was achieved by shifting recombination hotspots depended

  18. Polyploidization increases meiotic recombination frequency in Arabidopsis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rehmsmeier Marc

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Polyploidization is the multiplication of the whole chromosome complement and has occurred frequently in vascular plants. Maintenance of stable polyploid state over generations requires special mechanisms to control pairing and distribution of more than two homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Since a minimal number of crossover events is essential for correct chromosome segregation, we investigated whether polyploidy has an influence on the frequency of meiotic recombination. Results Using two genetically linked transgenes providing seed-specific fluorescence, we compared a high number of progeny from diploid and tetraploid Arabidopsis plants. We show that rates of meiotic recombination in reciprocal crosses of genetically identical diploid and autotetraploid Arabidopsis plants were significantly higher in tetraploids compared to diploids. Although male and female gametogenesis differ substantially in meiotic recombination frequency, both rates were equally increased in tetraploids. To investigate whether multivalent formation in autotetraploids was responsible for the increased recombination rates, we also performed corresponding experiments with allotetraploid plants showing strict bivalent pairing. We found similarly increased rates in auto- and allotetraploids, suggesting that the ploidy effect is independent of chromosome pairing configurations. Conclusions The evolutionary success of polyploid plants in nature and under domestication has been attributed to buffering of mutations and sub- and neo-functionalization of duplicated genes. Should the data described here be representative for polyploid plants, enhanced meiotic recombination, and the resulting rapid creation of genetic diversity, could have also contributed to their prevalence.

  19. Report of recombinant norovirus GII.g/GII.12 in Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sang, Shaowei; Zhao, Zhongtang; Suo, Jijiang; Xing, Yubin; Jia, Ning; Gao, Yan; Xie, Lijun; Du, Mingmei; Liu, Bowei; Ren, Shiwang; Liu, Yunxi

    2014-01-01

    Norovirus (NoV) has been recognized as the most important cause of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis affecting all age group people in the world. Genetic recombination is a common occurance in RNA viruses and many recombinant NoV strains have been described since it was first reported in 1997. However, the knowledge of recombinant NoV in China is extremely limited. A total of 685 stool specimens were tested for NoV infection from the acute gastroenteritis patients who visited one general hospital in Beijing from April 2009 to November 2011. The virus recombination was identified by constructing phylogenetic trees of two genes, further SimPlot and the maximum chi-square analysis. The overall positive rate was 9.6% (66/685). GII.4 New Orleans 2009 and GII.4 2006b variants were the dominant genotype. Four GII.g/GII.12 and one GII.12/GII.3 recombinant strains were confirmed, and all derived from adult outpatients. The predictive recombination point occurred at the open reading frame (ORF)1/ORF2 overlap. The GII.g ORF1/GII.12ORF2 recombinant has been reported in several countries and it was the first report of this recombinant in China.

  20. Recombinational Cloning Using Gateway and In-Fusion Cloning Schemes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Throop, Andrea L.; LaBaer, Joshua

    2015-01-01

    The comprehensive study of protein structure and function, or proteomics, depends on the obtainability of full-length cDNAs in species-specific expression vectors and subsequent functional analysis of the expressed protein. Recombinational cloning is a universal cloning technique based on site-specific recombination that is independent of the insert DNA sequence of interest, which differentiates this method from the classical restriction enzyme-based cloning methods. Recombinational cloning enables rapid and efficient parallel transfer of DNA inserts into multiple expression systems. This unit summarizes strategies for generating expression-ready clones using the most popular recombinational cloning technologies, including the commercially available Gateway® (Life Technologies) and In-Fusion® (Clontech) cloning technologies. PMID:25827088

  1. Productive Homologous and Non-homologous Recombination of Hepatitis C Virus in Cell Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yi-Ping; Mikkelsen, Lotte S.; Gottwein, Judith M.; Bukh, Jens

    2013-01-01

    Genetic recombination is an important mechanism for increasing diversity of RNA viruses, and constitutes a viral escape mechanism to host immune responses and to treatment with antiviral compounds. Although rare, epidemiologically important hepatitis C virus (HCV) recombinants have been reported. In addition, recombination is an important regulatory mechanism of cytopathogenicity for the related pestiviruses. Here we describe recombination of HCV RNA in cell culture leading to production of infectious virus. Initially, hepatoma cells were co-transfected with a replicating JFH1ΔE1E2 genome (genotype 2a) lacking functional envelope genes and strain J6 (2a), which has functional envelope genes but does not replicate in culture. After an initial decrease in the number of HCV positive cells, infection spread after 13–36 days. Sequencing of recovered viruses revealed non-homologous recombinants with J6 sequence from the 5′ end to the NS2–NS3 region followed by JFH1 sequence from Core to the 3′ end. These recombinants carried duplicated sequence of up to 2400 nucleotides. HCV replication was not required for recombination, as recombinants were observed in most experiments even when two replication incompetent genomes were co-transfected. Reverse genetic studies verified the viability of representative recombinants. After serial passage, subsequent recombination events reducing or eliminating the duplicated region were observed for some but not all recombinants. Furthermore, we found that inter-genotypic recombination could occur, but at a lower frequency than intra-genotypic recombination. Productive recombination of attenuated HCV genomes depended on expression of all HCV proteins and tolerated duplicated sequence. In general, no strong site specificity was observed. Non-homologous recombination was observed in most cases, while few homologous events were identified. A better understanding of HCV recombination could help identification of natural recombinants

  2. Inhomogeneous bimolecular recombination in partially crystallised tri-methylphenyl diamine glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldie, D.M.

    2013-01-01

    The rise and fall dynamics of transient photocurrents induced by exposure to ultraviolet radiation have been analysed for a series of glassy tri-methylphenyl diamine films that have been partially crystallised by ageing under ambient conditions following vapour deposition. An inhomogeneous bimolecular recombination model that uses coupled rate equations is found to provide a consistent fit for the observed photocurrent dynamics provided the recombination rate of holes in the crystallised regions of the films is lower compared to the amorphous regions. Parameters returned by the bimolecular model are investigated as a function of the film age but are observed to be highly sensitive to the initial experimental estimates that are supplied for the effective hole recombination time. The effective hole recombination time generated by the model is found to be relatively independent of film age, however, and has a value of around 0.16 s for a carrier generation rate of 7 × 10 14 cm −3 s −1 . The effective recombination time and steady-state photoconductivity magnitudes are found to be consistent with experimental hole mobility and photo-carrier generation efficiency values that are obtained using complementary time-of-flight and charge collection experiments. - Highlights: ► Transient photocurrents in evaporated diamine films have fast and slow components. ► Transient photocurrents are modelled using inhomogeneous bimolecular recombination. ► Recombination rates differ between crystallised and amorphous film regions. ► Recombination parameters evolve with film age as the films crystallise

  3. Dielectronic recombination of highly ionized iron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffin, D.C.; Pindzola, M.S.

    1987-01-01

    Dielectronic recombination of the iron ions Fe/sup 15+/, Fe/sup 23+/, and Fe/sup 25+/ has been studied in the isolated-resonance, distorted-wave approximation. The cross-section calculations include the dielec- tronic transitions associated with the 3s→3l and 3s→4l excitations in Fe/sup 15+/, the 2s→2p and 2s→3l excitations in Fe/sup 23+/, and the 1s→2l excitations in Fe/sup 25+/. The effects of external electric fields have been included by employing intermediate-coupled, field-mixed eigenvectors for the doubly excited Rydberg states, determined by diagonalizing a Hamiltonian matrix which includes the internal electrostatic and spin-orbit terms, as well as the Stark matrix elements. The field effects are found to be quite large in Fe/sup 15+/, relatively small in Fe/sup 23+/, and negligible in Fe/sup 25+/. The calculations indicate that there are large resonances near threshold in Fe/sup 23+/ that are unaffected by external fields and may be measurable in new experiments currently being designed. In addition, the contributions of radiative recombination and the possible interference between radiative and dielectronic recombination in low-lying resonances are considered. Even though the radiative recombination cross sections may be appreciable near threshold in Fe/sup 15+/ and Fe/sup 23+/, the interference between these processes appears to be completely negligible

  4. Measurements of EEDF in recombination dominated afterglow plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plasil, R.; Korolov, I.; Kotrik, T.; Varju, J.; Dohnal, P.; Donko, Z.; Bano, G.; Glosik, J.

    2009-11-01

    Electron energy distribution functions (EEDF) have been measured in decaying plasma in Flowing Afterglow Langmuir Probe (FALP) experiment. The measurements have been carried out in diffusion and recombination governed plasmas used for studies of recombination of KrD+ and H3+ ions.

  5. Measurements of EEDF in recombination dominated afterglow plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plasil, R; Korolov, I; Kotrik, T; Varju, J; Dohnal, P; Glosik, J; Donko, Z; Bano, G

    2009-01-01

    Electron energy distribution functions (EEDF) have been measured in decaying plasma in Flowing Afterglow Langmuir Probe (FALP) experiment. The measurements have been carried out in diffusion and recombination governed plasmas used for studies of recombination of KrD + and H 3 + ions.

  6. The Genetic Architecture of Natural Variation in Recombination Rate in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Chad M; Huang, Wen; Mackay, Trudy F C; Singh, Nadia D

    2016-04-01

    Meiotic recombination ensures proper chromosome segregation in many sexually reproducing organisms. Despite this crucial function, rates of recombination are highly variable within and between taxa, and the genetic basis of this variation remains poorly understood. Here, we exploit natural variation in the inbred, sequenced lines of the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) to map genetic variants affecting recombination rate. We used a two-step crossing scheme and visible markers to measure rates of recombination in a 33 cM interval on the X chromosome and in a 20.4 cM interval on chromosome 3R for 205 DGRP lines. Though we cannot exclude that some biases exist due to viability effects associated with the visible markers used in this study, we find ~2-fold variation in recombination rate among lines. Interestingly, we further find that recombination rates are uncorrelated between the two chromosomal intervals. We performed a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants associated with recombination rate in each of the two intervals surveyed. We refined our list of candidate variants and genes associated with recombination rate variation and selected twenty genes for functional assessment. We present strong evidence that five genes are likely to contribute to natural variation in recombination rate in D. melanogaster; these genes lie outside the canonical meiotic recombination pathway. We also find a weak effect of Wolbachia infection on recombination rate and we confirm the interchromosomal effect. Our results highlight the magnitude of population variation in recombination rate present in D. melanogaster and implicate new genetic factors mediating natural variation in this quantitative trait.

  7. Inactivated recombinant plant virus protects dogs from a lethal challenge with canine parvovirus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langeveld, J P; Brennan, F R; Martínez-Torrecuadrada, J L; Jones, T D; Boshuizen, R S; Vela, C; Casal, J I; Kamstrup, S; Dalsgaard, K; Meloen, R H; Bendig, M M; Hamilton, W D

    2001-06-14

    A vaccine based upon a recombinant plant virus (CPMV-PARVO1), displaying a peptide derived from the VP2 capsid protein of canine parvovirus (CPV), has previously been described. To date, studies with the vaccine have utilized viable plant chimaeric particles (CVPs). In this study, CPMV-PARVO1 was inactivated by UV treatment to remove the possibility of replication of the recombinant plant virus in a plant host after manufacture of the vaccine. We show that the inactivated CVP is able to protect dogs from a lethal challenge with CPV following parenteral immunization with the vaccine. Dogs immunized with the inactivated CPMV-PARVO1 in adjuvant displayed no clinical signs of disease and shedding of CPV in faeces was limited following CPV challenge. All immunized dogs elicited high titres of peptide-specific antibody, which neutralized CPV in vitro. Levels of protection, virus shedding and VP2-specific antibody were comparable to those seen in dogs immunized with the same VP2- peptide coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Since plant virus-derived vaccines have the potential for cost-effective manufacture and are not known to replicate in mammalian cells, they represent a viable alternative to current replicating vaccine vectors for development of both human and veterinary vaccines.

  8. Recombination in feline immunodeficiency virus from feral and companion domestic cats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Allen G

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recombination is a relatively common phenomenon in retroviruses. We investigated recombination in Feline Immunodeficiency Virus from naturally-infected New Zealand domestic cats (Felis catus by sequencing regions of the gag, pol and env genes. Results The occurrence of intragenic recombination was highest in env, with evidence of recombination in 6.4% (n = 156 of all cats. A further recombinant was identified in each of the gag (n = 48 and pol (n = 91 genes. Comparisons of phylogenetic trees across genes identified cases of incongruence, indicating intergenic recombination. Three (7.7%, n = 39 of these incongruencies were found to be significantly different using the Shimodaira-Hasegawa test. Surprisingly, our phylogenies from the gag and pol genes showed that no New Zealand sequences group with reference subtype C sequences within intrasubtype pairwise distances. Indeed, we find one and two distinct unknown subtype groups in gag and pol, respectively. These observations cause us to speculate that these New Zealand FIV strains have undergone several recombination events between subtype A parent strains and undefined unknown subtype strains, similar to the evolutionary history hypothesised for HIV-1 "subtype E". Endpoint dilution sequencing was used to confirm the consensus sequences of the putative recombinants and unknown subtype groups, providing evidence for the authenticity of these sequences. Endpoint dilution sequencing also resulted in the identification of a dual infection event in the env gene. In addition, an intrahost recombination event between variants of the same subtype in the pol gene was established. This is the first known example of naturally-occurring recombination in a cat with infection of the parent strains. Conclusion Evidence of intragenic recombination in the gag, pol and env regions, and complex intergenic recombination, of FIV from naturally-infected domestic cats in New Zealand was found. Strains

  9. Recombination in feline immunodeficiency virus from feral and companion domestic cats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward, Jessica J; Rodrigo, Allen G

    2008-06-17

    Recombination is a relatively common phenomenon in retroviruses. We investigated recombination in Feline Immunodeficiency Virus from naturally-infected New Zealand domestic cats (Felis catus) by sequencing regions of the gag, pol and env genes. The occurrence of intragenic recombination was highest in env, with evidence of recombination in 6.4% (n = 156) of all cats. A further recombinant was identified in each of the gag (n = 48) and pol (n = 91) genes. Comparisons of phylogenetic trees across genes identified cases of incongruence, indicating intergenic recombination. Three (7.7%, n = 39) of these incongruencies were found to be significantly different using the Shimodaira-Hasegawa test.Surprisingly, our phylogenies from the gag and pol genes showed that no New Zealand sequences group with reference subtype C sequences within intrasubtype pairwise distances. Indeed, we find one and two distinct unknown subtype groups in gag and pol, respectively. These observations cause us to speculate that these New Zealand FIV strains have undergone several recombination events between subtype A parent strains and undefined unknown subtype strains, similar to the evolutionary history hypothesised for HIV-1 "subtype E".Endpoint dilution sequencing was used to confirm the consensus sequences of the putative recombinants and unknown subtype groups, providing evidence for the authenticity of these sequences. Endpoint dilution sequencing also resulted in the identification of a dual infection event in the env gene. In addition, an intrahost recombination event between variants of the same subtype in the pol gene was established. This is the first known example of naturally-occurring recombination in a cat with infection of the parent strains. Evidence of intragenic recombination in the gag, pol and env regions, and complex intergenic recombination, of FIV from naturally-infected domestic cats in New Zealand was found. Strains of unknown subtype were identified in all three gene

  10. Enhanced Control for a Direct-driven Permanent Synchronous Generator Wind-power Generation System with Flywheel Energy Storage Unit Under Unbalanced Grid Fault

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yao, Jun; Zhou, Te; Hu, Weihao

    2015-01-01

    This article presents an enhanced control strategy for a direct-driven permanent synchronous generator based wind-power generation system with a flywheel energy storage unit. The behaviors of the direct-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator system with a flywheel energy storage unit under......, the DC-link voltage oscillations can be effectively suppressed during the unbalanced grid fault by controlling the flywheel energy storage unit. Furthermore, a proportional–integral-resonant controller is designed for the flywheel motor to eliminate the oscillations in the DC-link voltage. Finally......, the proposed coordinated control strategy for the direct-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator system with a flywheel energy storage unit has been validated by the simulation results of a 1-MW direct-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator wind power generation system with a flywheel energy...

  11. Expression and purification of recombinant nattokinase in Spodoptera frugiperda cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaoxiang; Wang, Xiaoli; Xiong, Shaoling; Zhang, Jing; Cai, Litao; Yang, Yanyan

    2007-10-01

    A recombinant baculovirus, rv-egfp-NK, containing a reporter gene encoding the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), was used to express nattokinase (NK), a fibrinolytic enzyme, in Spodoptera frugiperda (SF-9) cells. The recombinant protein also included a histidine tag for purification using Ni(2+) resins. The recombinant NK, approximately 30 kDa, retained fibrinolytic activity (60 U/ml). The integration of the EGFP expression cassette in the Bac-to-Bac system is thus an effective method for the expression and purification of recombinant NK protein in Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells.

  12. Recombinant organisms for production of industrial products

    OpenAIRE

    Adrio, Jose-Luis; Demain, Arnold L

    2009-01-01

    A revolution in industrial microbiology was sparked by the discoveries of ther double-stranded structure of DNA and the development of recombinant DNA technology. Traditional industrial microbiology was merged with molecular biology to yield improved recombinant processes for the industrial production of primary and secondary metabolites, protein biopharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes. Novel genetic techniques such as metabolic engineering, combinatorial biosynthesis and molecular breeding...

  13. Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with a small metal-binding protein from Nitrosomonas europaea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Zarate, Xristo

    2016-02-01

    Escherichia coli is still the preferred organism for large-scale production of recombinant proteins. The use of fusion proteins has helped considerably in enhancing the solubility of heterologous proteins and their purification with affinity chromatography. Here, the use of a small metal-binding protein (SmbP) from Nitrosomonas europaea is described as a new fusion protein for protein expression and purification in E. coli. Fluorescent proteins tagged at the N-terminal with SmbP showed high levels of solubility, compared with those of maltose-binding protein and glutathione S-transferase, and low formation of inclusion bodies. Using commercially available IMAC resins charged with Ni(II), highly pure recombinant proteins were obtained after just one chromatography step. Proteins may be purified from the periplasm of E. coli if SmbP contains the signal sequence at the N-terminal. After removal of the SmbP tag from the protein of interest, high-yields are obtained since SmbP is a protein of just 9.9 kDa. The results here obtained suggest that SmbP is a good alternative as a fusion protein/affinity tag for the production of soluble recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Modelling of the operational behaviour of passive autocatalytic recombiners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwarz, Ulrich

    2011-01-01

    Due to severe accidents in nuclear power plants, a significant amount of hydrogen can be produced. In pressurized water reactors, a possible and wide-spread measurement is the use of auto-catalytic recombiners. There are numerous numerical models describing the operational behaviour of recombiners for containment codes. The numerical model REKO-DIREKT was developed at the Forschungszentrum Juelich. This model describes the chemical reaction on the catalytic sheets by a physical model, as opposed to the usual codes based on empirical correlations. Additionally, there have been experimental studies concerning the catalytic recombination of hydrogen since the 1990s. The aim of this work is the further development of the program REKO-DIREKT to an independent recombiner model for severe accident and containment codes. Therefore, the catalyst model already existed has been submitted by a parameter optimization with an experimental database expanded during this work. In addition, a chimney model has been implemented which allows the calculation of the free convection flow through the recombiner housing due to the exothermal reaction. This model has been tested by experimental data gained by a recently built test facility. The complete recombiner model REKO-DIREKT has been validated by data from literature. Another aim of this work is the derivation of the reaction kinetics for recombiner designs regarding future reactor concepts. Therefore, experimental studies both on single catalytic coated meshes as well as on two meshes installed in a row have been performed in laboratory scale. By means of the measured data, a theoretical approach for the determination of the reaction rate has been derived.

  15. On the Fokker-Planck theory of electron three-body recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sayasov, Yu. S.

    1977-01-01

    The Fokker-Planck theory of electron three-body recombination based on the concept of electron diffusion along the energy scale in the excited hydrogen-like atoms formed in the recombining plasmas, is extended in several respects. 1) An universal formula for population distribution of the excited atoms in strongly ionized plasmas was found under a sole assumption, that the cross-sections for the inelastic atom-electron collisions are governed by the classical impulse approximation. 2) A general Fokker-Planck theory of the recombination in a slightly ionized, two-temperature plasmas was formulated. The recombination coefficients for such plasmas were shown to possess some peculiar properties in case the electronic temperature differs appreciable from the atomic one. A few limitations of the existing schemas for calculation of the recombination kinetics are briefly discussed. (orig.) [de

  16. Novel canine circovirus strains from Thailand: Evidence for genetic recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piewbang, Chutchai; Jo, Wendy K; Puff, Christina; van der Vries, Erhard; Kesdangsakonwut, Sawang; Rungsipipat, Anudep; Kruppa, Jochen; Jung, Klaus; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang; Techangamsuwan, Somporn; Ludlow, Martin; Osterhaus, Albert D M E

    2018-05-14

    Canine circoviruses (CanineCV's), belonging to the genus Circovirus of the Circoviridae family, were detected by next generation sequencing in samples from Thai dogs with respiratory symptoms. Genetic characterization and phylogenetic analysis of nearly complete CanineCV genomes suggested that natural recombination had occurred among different lineages of CanineCV's. Similarity plot and bootscaning analyses indicated that American and Chinese viruses had served as major and minor parental viruses, respectively. Positions of recombination breakpoints were estimated using maximum-likelihood frameworks with statistical significant testing. The putative recombination event was located in the Replicase gene, intersecting with open reading frame-3. Analysis of nucleotide changes confirmed the origin of the recombination event. This is the first description of naturally occurring recombinant CanineCV's that have resulted in the circulation of newly emerging CanineCV lineages.

  17. Charge carrier recombination dynamics in perovskite and polymer solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paulke, Andreas; Kniepert, Juliane; Kurpiers, Jona; Wolff, Christian M.; Schön, Natalie; Brenner, Thomas J. K.; Neher, Dieter [Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476, Potsdam (Germany); Stranks, Samuel D. [Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Snaith, Henry J. [Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)

    2016-03-14

    Time-delayed collection field experiments are applied to planar organometal halide perovskite (CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3}) based solar cells to investigate charge carrier recombination in a fully working solar cell at the nanosecond to microsecond time scale. Recombination of mobile (extractable) charges is shown to follow second-order recombination dynamics for all fluences and time scales tested. Most importantly, the bimolecular recombination coefficient is found to be time-dependent, with an initial value of ca. 10{sup −9} cm{sup 3}/s and a progressive reduction within the first tens of nanoseconds. Comparison to the prototypical organic bulk heterojunction device PTB7:PC{sub 71}BM yields important differences with regard to the mechanism and time scale of free carrier recombination.

  18. Construction and Characterization of a Recombinant Invertebrate Iridovirus

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ozgen, A.; Muratoglu, H.; Demirbag, Z.; Vlak, J.M.; Oers, van M.M.; Nalcacioglu, R.

    2014-01-01

    Chilo iridescent virus (CIV), officially named Insect iridescent virus 6 (IIV6), is the type species of the genus Iridovirus (family Iridoviridae). In this paper we constructed a recombinant CIV, encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP). This recombinant can be used to investigate viral

  19. Measurements of EEDF in recombination dominated afterglow plasma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plasil, R; Korolov, I; Kotrik, T; Varju, J; Dohnal, P; Glosik, J [Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Surface and Plasma Science, Prague (Czech Republic); Donko, Z; Bano, G, E-mail: radek.plasil@mff.cuni.c [Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (Hungary)

    2009-11-15

    Electron energy distribution functions (EEDF) have been measured in decaying plasma in Flowing Afterglow Langmuir Probe (FALP) experiment. The measurements have been carried out in diffusion and recombination governed plasmas used for studies of recombination of KrD{sup +} and H{sub 3}{sup +} ions.

  20. Voltage Impact of a Wave Energy Converter on an Unbalanced Distribution Grid and Corrective Actions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hugo Mendonça

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Renewable energy is steadily increasing its penetration level in electric power systems. Wind and solar energy have reached a high degree of maturity, and their impacts on the grid are well known. However, this is not the case for emerging sources like wave energy. This work explores the impact of the fluctuating power injected by a wave energy converter on the distribution grid voltage and proposes a strategy for mitigating the induced voltage fluctuations. The paper describes the mechanics of how a fluctuating active power injection leads to grid voltage fluctuations and presents an unbalanced three-phase power flow tool that allows one to quantitatively analyze the voltage evolution at every phase and bus of a distribution grid driven by this power injection. The paper also proposes a corrective action for mitigating the voltage fluctuations that makes use of the hardware resources already available in the wave energy converter, by means of a control strategy on the reactive capability of the grid-side inverter. The use of a STATCOM as additional reactive compensation equipment is also explored. The effectiveness of the proposal is assessed in the IEEE 13-bus test feeder showing that, in some cases, the wave energy converter by itself is able to mitigate the voltage fluctuations that it causes. If not, a STATCOM can provide the extra reactive capability needed.

  1. Recombination Phenotypes of Escherichia coli greA Mutants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poteete Anthony R

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The elongation factor GreA binds to RNA polymerase and modulates transcriptional pausing. Some recent research suggests that the primary role of GreA may not be to regulate gene expression, but rather, to promote the progression of replication forks which collide with RNA polymerase, and which might otherwise collapse. Replication fork collapse is known to generate dsDNA breaks, which can be recombinogenic. It follows that GreA malfunction could have consequences affecting homologous recombination. Results Escherichia coli mutants bearing substitutions of the active site acidic residues of the transcription elongation factor GreA, D41N and E44K, were isolated as suppressors of growth inhibition by a toxic variant of the bacteriophage lambda Red-beta recombination protein. These mutants, as well as a D41A greA mutant and a greA deletion, were tested for proficiency in recombination events. The mutations were found to increase the efficiency of RecA-RecBCD-mediated and RecA-Red-mediated recombination, which are replication-independent, and to decrease the efficiency of replication-dependent Red-mediated recombination. Conclusion These observations provide new evidence for a role of GreA in resolving conflicts between replication and transcription.

  2. Optical characterization of hydrogen-free CeO2 doped DLC films deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zhenyu; Zhou Hongxiu; Guo Dongming; Gao Hang; Kang Renke

    2008-01-01

    A novel kind of hydrogen-free CeO 2 doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with thickness of 180-200 nm were deposited on silicon by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Reduced reflectance and increased lifetime are expected with respect to pure DLC films, making these coatings good candidates as optical protective coatings for IR windows and solar cells. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms that CeO 2 is formed within the DLC films. Auger electron spectroscopy exhibits that the C, O, and Ce elements distribute uniformly across the film thickness, and C element diffuses into the Si substrate at the interface between the substrate and film. AFM shows that nanoparticles with diameter of around 50 nm are formed on the surface of deposited films, whose surface roughness is in the range of 1.3-2.3 nm. Raman spectra show the CeO 2 doped DLC films are amorphous DLC films, and both the G frequency and relative intensity ratio I D /I G are higher than those of pure DLC films. The photoluminescence of CeO 2 doped DLC films is obviously more intense than that of a pure DLC film, which indicates a promising potential as optical protective films for solar cells and IR window

  3. The Genetic Architecture of Natural Variation in Recombination Rate in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chad M Hunter

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Meiotic recombination ensures proper chromosome segregation in many sexually reproducing organisms. Despite this crucial function, rates of recombination are highly variable within and between taxa, and the genetic basis of this variation remains poorly understood. Here, we exploit natural variation in the inbred, sequenced lines of the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP to map genetic variants affecting recombination rate. We used a two-step crossing scheme and visible markers to measure rates of recombination in a 33 cM interval on the X chromosome and in a 20.4 cM interval on chromosome 3R for 205 DGRP lines. Though we cannot exclude that some biases exist due to viability effects associated with the visible markers used in this study, we find ~2-fold variation in recombination rate among lines. Interestingly, we further find that recombination rates are uncorrelated between the two chromosomal intervals. We performed a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants associated with recombination rate in each of the two intervals surveyed. We refined our list of candidate variants and genes associated with recombination rate variation and selected twenty genes for functional assessment. We present strong evidence that five genes are likely to contribute to natural variation in recombination rate in D. melanogaster; these genes lie outside the canonical meiotic recombination pathway. We also find a weak effect of Wolbachia infection on recombination rate and we confirm the interchromosomal effect. Our results highlight the magnitude of population variation in recombination rate present in D. melanogaster and implicate new genetic factors mediating natural variation in this quantitative trait.

  4. The Contribution of Genetic Recombination to CRISPR Array Evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupczok, Anne; Landan, Giddy; Dagan, Tal

    2015-06-16

    CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a microbial immune system against foreign DNA. Recognition sequences (spacers) encoded within the CRISPR array mediate the immune reaction in a sequence-specific manner. The known mechanisms for the evolution of CRISPR arrays include spacer acquisition from foreign DNA elements at the time of invasion and array erosion through spacer deletion. Here, we consider the contribution of genetic recombination between homologous CRISPR arrays to the evolution of spacer repertoire. Acquisition of spacers from exogenic arrays via recombination may confer the recipient with immunity against unencountered antagonists. For this purpose, we develop a novel method for the detection of recombination in CRISPR arrays by modeling the spacer order in arrays from multiple strains from the same species. Because the evolutionary signal of spacer recombination may be similar to that of pervasive spacer deletions or independent spacer acquisition, our method entails a robustness analysis of the recombination inference by a statistical comparison to resampled and perturbed data sets. We analyze CRISPR data sets from four bacterial species: two Gammaproteobacteria species harboring CRISPR type I and two Streptococcus species harboring CRISPR type II loci. We find that CRISPR array evolution in Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae can be explained solely by vertical inheritance and differential spacer deletion. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we find an excess of single spacers potentially incorporated into the CRISPR locus during independent acquisition events. In Streptococcus thermophilus, evidence for spacer acquisition by recombination is present in 5 out of 70 strains. Genetic recombination has been proposed to accelerate adaptation by combining beneficial mutations that arose in independent lineages. However, for most species under study, we find that CRISPR evolution is shaped mainly by spacer acquisition and

  5. The remarkable frequency of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 genetic recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onafuwa-Nuga, Adewunmi; Telesnitsky, Alice

    2009-09-01

    The genetic diversity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) results from a combination of point mutations and genetic recombination, and rates of both processes are unusually high. This review focuses on the mechanisms and outcomes of HIV-1 genetic recombination and on the parameters that make recombination so remarkably frequent. Experimental work has demonstrated that the process that leads to recombination--a copy choice mechanism involving the migration of reverse transcriptase between viral RNA templates--occurs several times on average during every round of HIV-1 DNA synthesis. Key biological factors that lead to high recombination rates for all retroviruses are the recombination-prone nature of their reverse transcription machinery and their pseudodiploid RNA genomes. However, HIV-1 genes recombine even more frequently than do those of many other retroviruses. This reflects the way in which HIV-1 selects genomic RNAs for coencapsidation as well as cell-to-cell transmission properties that lead to unusually frequent associations between distinct viral genotypes. HIV-1 faces strong and changeable selective conditions during replication within patients. The mode of HIV-1 persistence as integrated proviruses and strong selection for defective proviruses in vivo provide conditions for archiving alleles, which can be resuscitated years after initial provirus establishment. Recombination can facilitate drug resistance and may allow superinfecting HIV-1 strains to evade preexisting immune responses, thus adding to challenges in vaccine development. These properties converge to provide HIV-1 with the means, motive, and opportunity to recombine its genetic material at an unprecedented high rate and to allow genetic recombination to serve as one of the highest barriers to HIV-1 eradication.

  6. Genetic recombination is directed away from functional genomic elements in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brick, Kevin; Smagulova, Fatima; Khil, Pavel; Camerini-Otero, R Daniel; Petukhova, Galina V

    2012-05-13

    Genetic recombination occurs during meiosis, the key developmental programme of gametogenesis. Recombination in mammals has been recently linked to the activity of a histone H3 methyltransferase, PR domain containing 9 (PRDM9), the product of the only known speciation-associated gene in mammals. PRDM9 is thought to determine the preferred recombination sites--recombination hotspots--through sequence-specific binding of its highly polymorphic multi-Zn-finger domain. Nevertheless, Prdm9 knockout mice are proficient at initiating recombination. Here we map and analyse the genome-wide distribution of recombination initiation sites in Prdm9 knockout mice and in two mouse strains with different Prdm9 alleles and their F(1) hybrid. We show that PRDM9 determines the positions of practically all hotspots in the mouse genome, with the exception of the pseudo-autosomal region (PAR)--the only area of the genome that undergoes recombination in 100% of cells. Surprisingly, hotspots are still observed in Prdm9 knockout mice, and as in wild type, these hotspots are found at H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) trimethylation marks. However, in the absence of PRDM9, most recombination is initiated at promoters and at other sites of PRDM9-independent H3K4 trimethylation. Such sites are rarely targeted in wild-type mice, indicating an unexpected role of the PRDM9 protein in sequestering the recombination machinery away from gene-promoter regions and other functional genomic elements.

  7. Assembly and dynamics of the bacteriophage T4 homologous recombination machinery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morrical Scott W

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Homologous recombination (HR, a process involving the physical exchange of strands between homologous or nearly homologous DNA molecules, is critical for maintaining the genetic diversity and genome stability of species. Bacteriophage T4 is one of the classic systems for studies of homologous recombination. T4 uses HR for high-frequency genetic exchanges, for homology-directed DNA repair (HDR processes including DNA double-strand break repair, and for the initiation of DNA replication (RDR. T4 recombination proteins are expressed at high levels during T4 infection in E. coli, and share strong sequence, structural, and/or functional conservation with their counterparts in cellular organisms. Biochemical studies of T4 recombination have provided key insights on DNA strand exchange mechanisms, on the structure and function of recombination proteins, and on the coordination of recombination and DNA synthesis activities during RDR and HDR. Recent years have seen the development of detailed biochemical models for the assembly and dynamics of presynaptic filaments in the T4 recombination system, for the atomic structure of T4 UvsX recombinase, and for the roles of DNA helicases in T4 recombination. The goal of this chapter is to review these recent advances and their implications for HR and HDR mechanisms in all organisms.

  8. Report of recombinant norovirus GII.g/GII.12 in Beijing, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaowei Sang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Norovirus (NoV has been recognized as the most important cause of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis affecting all age group people in the world. Genetic recombination is a common occurance in RNA viruses and many recombinant NoV strains have been described since it was first reported in 1997. However, the knowledge of recombinant NoV in China is extremely limited. METHODS: A total of 685 stool specimens were tested for NoV infection from the acute gastroenteritis patients who visited one general hospital in Beijing from April 2009 to November 2011. The virus recombination was identified by constructing phylogenetic trees of two genes, further SimPlot and the maximum chi-square analysis. RESULTS: The overall positive rate was 9.6% (66/685. GII.4 New Orleans 2009 and GII.4 2006b variants were the dominant genotype. Four GII.g/GII.12 and one GII.12/GII.3 recombinant strains were confirmed, and all derived from adult outpatients. The predictive recombination point occurred at the open reading frame (ORF1/ORF2 overlap. CONCLUSIONS: The GII.g ORF1/GII.12ORF2 recombinant has been reported in several countries and it was the first report of this recombinant in China.

  9. Epigenetic functions enriched in transcription factors binding to mouse recombination hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Min; Kwoh, Chee-Keong; Przytycka, Teresa M; Li, Jing; Zheng, Jie

    2012-06-21

    The regulatory mechanism of recombination is a fundamental problem in genomics, with wide applications in genome-wide association studies, birth-defect diseases, molecular evolution, cancer research, etc. In mammalian genomes, recombination events cluster into short genomic regions called "recombination hotspots". Recently, a 13-mer motif enriched in hotspots is identified as a candidate cis-regulatory element of human recombination hotspots; moreover, a zinc finger protein, PRDM9, binds to this motif and is associated with variation of recombination phenotype in human and mouse genomes, thus is a trans-acting regulator of recombination hotspots. However, this pair of cis and trans-regulators covers only a fraction of hotspots, thus other regulators of recombination hotspots remain to be discovered. In this paper, we propose an approach to predicting additional trans-regulators from DNA-binding proteins by comparing their enrichment of binding sites in hotspots. Applying this approach on newly mapped mouse hotspots genome-wide, we confirmed that PRDM9 is a major trans-regulator of hotspots. In addition, a list of top candidate trans-regulators of mouse hotspots is reported. Using GO analysis we observed that the top genes are enriched with function of histone modification, highlighting the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of recombination hotspots.

  10. Improved means and methods for expressing recombinant proteins

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poolman, Berend; Martinez Linares, Daniel; Gul, Nadia

    2014-01-01

    The invention relates to the field of genetic engineering and the production of recombinant proteins in microbial host cells. Provided is a method for enhanced expression of a recombinant protein of interest in a microbial host cell, comprising providing a microbial host cell wherein the function of

  11. In vitro V(D)J recombination: Signal joint formation

    OpenAIRE

    Cortes, Patricia; Weis-Garcia, Frances; Misulovin, Ziva; Nussenzweig, Andre; Lai, Jiann-Shiun; Li, Gloria; Nussenzweig, Michel C.; Baltimore, David

    1996-01-01

    The first step of V(D)J recombination, specific cleavage at the recombination signal sequence (RSS), can be carried out by the recombination activating proteins RAG1 and RAG2. In vivo, the cleaved coding and signal ends must be rejoined to generate functional antigen receptors and maintain chromosomal integrity. We have investigated signal joint formation using deletion and inversion substrates in a cell free system. RAG1 and RAG2 alone or in combination were unabl...

  12. Pichia pastoris versus Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a case study on the recombinant production of human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Anh-Minh; Nguyen, Thanh-Thao; Nguyen, Cong-Thuan; Huynh-Thi, Xuan-Mai; Nguyen, Cao-Tri; Trinh, Minh-Thuong; Tran, Linh-Thuoc; Cartwright, Stephanie P; Bill, Roslyn M; Tran-Van, Hieu

    2017-04-04

    Recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) is a glycoprotein that has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of neutropenia and leukemia in combination with chemotherapies. Recombinant hGM-CSF is produced industrially using the baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, by large-scale fermentation. The methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris, has emerged as an alternative host cell system due to its shorter and less immunogenic glycosylation pattern together with higher cell density growth and higher secreted protein yield than S. cerevisiae. In this study, we compared the pipeline from gene to recombinant protein in these two yeasts. Codon optimization in silico for both yeast species showed no difference in frequent codon usage. However, rhGM-CSF expressed from S. cerevisiae BY4742 showed a significant discrepancy in molecular weight from those of P. pastoris X33. Analysis showed purified rhGM-CSF species with molecular weights ranging from 30 to more than 60 kDa. Fed-batch fermentation over 72 h showed that rhGM-CSF was more highly secreted from P. pastoris than S. cerevisiae (285 and 64 mg total secreted protein/L, respectively). Ion exchange chromatography gave higher purity and recovery than hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Purified rhGM-CSF from P. pastoris was 327 times more potent than rhGM-CSF from S. cerevisiae in terms of proliferative stimulating capacity on the hGM-CSF-dependent cell line, TF-1. Our data support a view that the methylotrophic yeast P. pastoris is an effective recombinant host for heterologous rhGM-CSF production.

  13. Some recent developments in the recombination model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwa, R.C.

    1979-01-01

    A critical review of the recombination model for hadron production at low P/sub T/ is first given, emphasizing not so much the successes as unanswered questions that the model faces. A systematic program to answer some of the basic questions is then developed. The theoretical framework is quantum chromodynamics. First, in what may appear as a digression, the possibility of formation of valence quark clusters (called valons) in a nucleon due to gluon bremsstrahlung and quark-pair creation is considered. Evidences are found not only for the valons in neutrino scattering data, but also indications for their momentum distribution in a nucleon. When similar considerations are applied to a meson, the meaning of the recombination function is discussed and its normalization as well as its shape are determined. Next, the problem of quark decay in a hard scattering process (e.g., pion production in e + e - annihilation) is considered. The joint distribution of partons in a quark jet is determined in QCD. The quark decay function for pions in the recombination model is then obtained with excellent fit to the data. Similar investigation is applied to the problem of photoproduction of pions in the fragmentation region; again good agreement with data is achieved. The results indicate the reliability of the recombination model when the two-parton distributions can be calculated in QCD. Finally, hadron initiated reactions are considered. A duality between quark recombination and valon fragmentation is suggested. The picture is consistent with dual Regge model. A possible way to determine the inclusive distribution in the context of QCD is suggested

  14. A molecular recombination map of Antirrhinum majus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hudson Andrew

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Genetic recombination maps provide important frameworks for comparative genomics, identifying gene functions, assembling genome sequences and for breeding. The molecular recombination map currently available for the model eudicot Antirrhinum majus is the result of a cross with Antirrhinum molle, limiting its usefulness within A. majus. Results We created a molecular linkage map of A. majus based on segregation of markers in the F2 population of two inbred lab strains of A. majus. The resulting map consisted of over 300 markers in eight linkage groups, which could be aligned with a classical recombination map and the A. majus karyotype. The distribution of recombination frequencies and distorted transmission of parental alleles differed from those of a previous inter-species hybrid. The differences varied in magnitude and direction between chromosomes, suggesting that they had multiple causes. The map, which covered an estimated of 95% of the genome with an average interval of 2 cM, was used to analyze the distribution of a newly discovered family of MITE transposons and tested for its utility in positioning seven mutations that affect aspects of plant size. Conclusions The current map has an estimated interval of 1.28 Mb between markers. It shows a lower level of transmission ratio distortion and a longer length than the previous inter-species map, making it potentially more useful. The molecular recombination map further indicates that the IDLE MITE transposons are distributed throughout the genome and are relatively stable. The map proved effective in mapping classical morphological mutations of A. majus.

  15. Recombination facilitates neofunctionalization of duplicate genes via originalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang Ren

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recently originalization was proposed to be an effective way of duplicate-gene preservation, in which recombination provokes the high frequency of original (or wild-type allele on both duplicated loci. Because the high frequency of wild-type allele might drive the arising and accumulating of advantageous mutation, it is hypothesized that recombination might enlarge the probability of neofunctionalization (Pneo of duplicate genes. In this article this hypothesis has been tested theoretically. Results Results show that through originalization recombination might not only shorten mean time to neofunctionalizaiton, but also enlarge Pneo. Conclusions Therefore, recombination might facilitate neofunctionalization via originalization. Several extensive applications of these results on genomic evolution have been discussed: 1. Time to nonfunctionalization can be much longer than a few million generations expected before; 2. Homogenization on duplicated loci results from not only gene conversion, but also originalization; 3. Although the rate of advantageous mutation is much small compared with that of degenerative mutation, Pneo cannot be expected to be small.

  16. Measuring the Edge Recombination Velocity of Monolayer Semiconductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Peida; Amani, Matin; Lien, Der-Hsien; Ahn, Geun Ho; Kiriya, Daisuke; Mastandrea, James P; Ager, Joel W; Yablonovitch, Eli; Chrzan, Daryl C; Javey, Ali

    2017-09-13

    Understanding edge effects and quantifying their impact on the carrier properties of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors is an essential step toward utilizing this material for high performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. WS 2 monolayers patterned into disks of varying diameters are used to experimentally explore the influence of edges on the material's optical properties. Carrier lifetime measurements show a decrease in the effective lifetime, τ effective , as a function of decreasing diameter, suggesting that the edges are active sites for carrier recombination. Accordingly, we introduce a metric called edge recombination velocity (ERV) to characterize the impact of 2D material edges on nonradiative carrier recombination. The unpassivated WS 2 monolayer disks yield an ERV ∼ 4 × 10 4 cm/s. This work quantifies the nonradiative recombination edge effects in monolayer semiconductors, while simultaneously establishing a practical characterization approach that can be used to experimentally explore edge passivation methods for 2D materials.

  17. Recombinant Vaccinia Virus: Immunization against Multiple Pathogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkus, Marion E.; Piccini, Antonia; Lipinskas, Bernard R.; Paoletti, Enzo

    1985-09-01

    The coding sequences for the hepatitis B virus surface antigen, the herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D, and the influenza virus hemagglutinin were inserted into a single vaccinia virus genome. Rabbits inoculated intravenously or intradermally with this polyvalent vaccinia virus recombinant produced antibodies reactive to all three authentic foreign antigens. In addition, the feasibility of multiple rounds of vaccination with recombinant vaccinia virus was demonstrated.

  18. The Recombination Landscape in Wild House Mice Inferred Using Population Genomic Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booker, Tom R; Ness, Rob W; Keightley, Peter D

    2017-09-01

    Characterizing variation in the rate of recombination across the genome is important for understanding several evolutionary processes. Previous analysis of the recombination landscape in laboratory mice has revealed that the different subspecies have different suites of recombination hotspots. It is unknown, however, whether hotspots identified in laboratory strains reflect the hotspot diversity of natural populations or whether broad-scale variation in the rate of recombination is conserved between subspecies. In this study, we constructed fine-scale recombination rate maps for a natural population of the Eastern house mouse, Mus musculus castaneus We performed simulations to assess the accuracy of recombination rate inference in the presence of phase errors, and we used a novel approach to quantify phase error. The spatial distribution of recombination events is strongly positively correlated between our castaneus map, and a map constructed using inbred lines derived predominantly from M. m. domesticus Recombination hotspots in wild castaneus show little overlap, however, with the locations of double-strand breaks in wild-derived house mouse strains. Finally, we also find that genetic diversity in M. m. castaneus is positively correlated with the rate of recombination, consistent with pervasive natural selection operating in the genome. Our study suggests that recombination rate variation is conserved at broad scales between house mouse subspecies, but it is not strongly conserved at fine scales. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

  19. Sex in a test tube: testing the benefits of in vitro recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesce, Diego; Lehman, Niles; de Visser, J Arjan G M

    2016-10-19

    The origin and evolution of sex, and the associated role of recombination, present a major problem in biology. Sex typically involves recombination of closely related DNA or RNA sequences, which is fundamentally a random process that creates but also breaks up beneficial allele combinations. Directed evolution experiments, which combine in vitro mutation and recombination protocols with in vitro or in vivo selection, have proved to be an effective approach for improving functionality of nucleic acids and enzymes. As this approach allows extreme control over evolutionary conditions and parameters, it also facilitates the detection of small or position-specific recombination benefits and benefits associated with recombination between highly divergent genotypes. Yet, in vitro approaches have been largely exploratory and motivated by obtaining improved end products rather than testing hypotheses of recombination benefits. Here, we review the various experimental systems and approaches used by in vitro studies of recombination, discuss what they say about the evolutionary role of recombination, and sketch their potential for addressing extant questions about the evolutionary role of sex and recombination, in particular on complex fitness landscapes. We also review recent insights into the role of 'extracellular recombination' during the origin of life.This article is part of the themed issue 'Weird sex: the underappreciated diversity of sexual reproduction'. © 2016 The Author(s).

  20. Recombinant phage probes for Listeria monocytogenes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnazza, S.; Gioffrè, G.; Felici, F.; Guglielmino, S.

    2007-10-01

    Monitoring of food and environmental samples for biological threats, such as Listeria monocytogenes, requires probes that specifically bind biological agents and ensure their immediate and efficient detection. There is a need for robust and inexpensive affinity probes as an alternative to antibodies. These probes may be recruited from random peptide libraries displayed on filamentous phage. In this study, we selected from two phage peptide libraries phage clones displaying peptides capable of specific and strong binding to the L. monocytogenes cell surface. The ability of isolated phage clones to interact specifically with L. monocytogenes was demonstrated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmed by co-precipitation assay. We also assessed the sensitivity of phage-bacteria binding by PCR on phage-captured Listeria cells, which could be detected at a concentration of 104 cells ml-1. In addition, as proof-of-concept, we tested the possibility of immobilizing the affinity-selected phages to a putative biosensor surface. The quality of phage deposition was monitored by ELISA and fluorescent microscopy. Phage-bacterial binding was confirmed by high power optical phase contrast microscopy. Overall, the results of this work validate the concept of affinity-selected recombinant filamentous phages as probes for detecting and monitoring bacterial agents under any conditions that warrant their recognition, including in food products.