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Sample records for defined antibody-tag interaction

  1. Probing cocaine-antibody interactions in buffer and human serum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muthu Ramakrishnan

    Full Text Available Despite progress in cocaine immunotherapy, the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of antibodies which bind to cocaine and its metabolites are not well understood. It is also not clear how the interactions between them differ in a complex matrix such as the serum present in the human body. In the present study, we have used microscale thermophoresis (MST, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC, and surface plasmon resonance (SPR we have evaluated the affinity properties of a representative mouse monoclonal (mAb08 as well as those of polyclonal antibodies purified from vaccinated mouse and human patient serum.MST analysis of fluorescently tagged mAb08 binding to cocaine reveals an approximately 15 fold decrease in its equilibrium dissociation constant in 20-50% human serum compared with that in saline buffer. A similar trend was also found using enriched polyclonal antibodies purified from vaccinated mice and patient serum, for which we have used fluorescently tagged bovine serum albumin conjugated to succinyl norcocaine (BSA-SNC. This conjugate closely mimics both cocaine and the hapten used to raise these antibodies. The ITC data also revealed that cocaine has a moderate affinity of about 2 µM to 20% human serum and very little interaction with human serum albumin or nonspecific human IgG at that concentration range. In a SPR inhibition experiment, the binding of mAb08 to immobilized BSA-SNC was inhibited by cocaine and benzoylecgonine in a highly competitive manner, whereas the purified polyclonal antibodies from vaccinated humans and mice, revealed preferential selectivity to pharmacologically active cocaine but not to the inactive metabolite benzoylecgonine. We have also developed a simple binding model to simulate the challenges associated with cocaine immunotherapy using the variable quantitative and kinetic properties of the antibodies.High sensitivity calorimetric determination of antibody binding to cocaine and its metabolites provide

  2. The Biotechnological Applications of Recombinant Single-Domain Antibodies are Optimized by the C-Terminal Fusion to the EPEA Sequence (C Tag

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selma Djender

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available We designed a vector for the bacterial expression of recombinant antibodies fused to a double tag composed of 6xHis and the EPEA amino acid sequence. EPEA sequence (C tag is tightly bound by a commercial antibody when expressed at the C-term end of a polypeptide. The antigen is released in the presence of 2 M MgCl2. Consequently, constructs fused to the 6xHis-C tags can be purified by two successive and orthogonal affinity steps. Single-domain antibodies were produced either in the periplasmic or in the cytoplasmic space of E. coli. Surprisingly, the first affinity purification step performed using the EPEA-binding resin already yielded homogeneous proteins. The presence of the C tag did not interfere with the binding activity of the antibodies, as assessed by FACS and SPR analyses, and the C tag was extremely effective for immunoprecipitating HER2 receptor. Finally, the Alexa488-coupled anti-C tag allowed for simplification of FACS and IF analyses. These results show that a tag of minimal dimensions can be effectively used to improve the applicability of recombinant antibodies as reagents. In our hands, C tag was superior to His-tag in affinity purification and pull-down experiments, and practical in any other standard immune technique.

  3. Well-oriented ZZ–PS-tag with high Fc-binding onto polystyrene surface for controlled immobilization of capture antibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Jin-Bao; Sun, Xi-Feng; Yang, Hong-Ming; Zhang, Bao-Gang; Li, Zhi-Jian; Lin, Zhi-Juan; Gao, Zhi-Qin

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •A versatile platform for immobilizing functionally intact IgG is proposed. •The mechanism relies on properly oriented ZZ–PS-tag onto a hydrophilic PS surface. •The oriented ZZ–PS-tag presents ∼fivefold higher IgG-binding activity. •The platform shows tenfold higher sensitivity and a wider linear range in ELISA. -- Abstract: The site specificity and bioactivity retention of antibodies immobilized on a solid substrate are crucial requirements for solid phase immunoassays. A fusion protein between an immunoglobulin G (IgG)-binding protein (ZZ protein) and a polystyrene-binding peptide (PS-tag) was constructed, and then used to develop a simple method for the oriented immobilization of the ZZ protein onto a PS support by the specific attachment of the PS-tag onto a hydrophilic PS. The orientation of intact IgG was achieved via the interaction of the ZZ protein and the constant fragment (Fc), thereby displayed the Fab fragment for binding antigen. The interaction between rabbit IgG anti-horseradish peroxidase (anti-HRP) and its binding partner HRP was analyzed. Results showed that the oriented ZZ–PS-tag yielded an IgG-binding activity that is fivefold higher than that produced by the passive immobilization of the ZZ protein. The advantage of the proposed immunoassay strategy was demonstrated through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, in which monoclonal mouse anti-goat IgG and HRP-conjugated rabbit F(ab′) 2 anti-goat IgG were used to detect goat IgG. The ZZ–PS-tag presented a tenfold higher sensitivity and a wider linear range than did the passively immobilized ZZ protein. The proposed approach may be an attractive strategy for a broad range of applications involving the oriented immobilization of intact IgGs onto PS supports, in which only one type of phi-PS (ZZ–PS-tag) surface is used

  4. Well-oriented ZZ–PS-tag with high Fc-binding onto polystyrene surface for controlled immobilization of capture antibodies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Jin-Bao, E-mail: tangjinbao@yahoo.com.cn [School of Pharmacy and Biology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053 (China); Sun, Xi-Feng [Clinical Laboratory, Weifang People' s Hospital, Weifang 261041 (China); Yang, Hong-Ming [School of Pharmacy and Biology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053 (China); Zhang, Bao-Gang [School of Basic Medicine, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053 (China); Li, Zhi-Jian [School of Pharmacy and Biology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053 (China); Lin, Zhi-Juan [School of Basic Medicine, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053 (China); Gao, Zhi-Qin, E-mail: zhiqingao@yahoo.cn [School of Pharmacy and Biology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053 (China)

    2013-05-07

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •A versatile platform for immobilizing functionally intact IgG is proposed. •The mechanism relies on properly oriented ZZ–PS-tag onto a hydrophilic PS surface. •The oriented ZZ–PS-tag presents ∼fivefold higher IgG-binding activity. •The platform shows tenfold higher sensitivity and a wider linear range in ELISA. -- Abstract: The site specificity and bioactivity retention of antibodies immobilized on a solid substrate are crucial requirements for solid phase immunoassays. A fusion protein between an immunoglobulin G (IgG)-binding protein (ZZ protein) and a polystyrene-binding peptide (PS-tag) was constructed, and then used to develop a simple method for the oriented immobilization of the ZZ protein onto a PS support by the specific attachment of the PS-tag onto a hydrophilic PS. The orientation of intact IgG was achieved via the interaction of the ZZ protein and the constant fragment (Fc), thereby displayed the Fab fragment for binding antigen. The interaction between rabbit IgG anti-horseradish peroxidase (anti-HRP) and its binding partner HRP was analyzed. Results showed that the oriented ZZ–PS-tag yielded an IgG-binding activity that is fivefold higher than that produced by the passive immobilization of the ZZ protein. The advantage of the proposed immunoassay strategy was demonstrated through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, in which monoclonal mouse anti-goat IgG and HRP-conjugated rabbit F(ab′){sub 2} anti-goat IgG were used to detect goat IgG. The ZZ–PS-tag presented a tenfold higher sensitivity and a wider linear range than did the passively immobilized ZZ protein. The proposed approach may be an attractive strategy for a broad range of applications involving the oriented immobilization of intact IgGs onto PS supports, in which only one type of phi-PS (ZZ–PS-tag) surface is used.

  5. Studying Protein-Protein Interactions by Biotin AP-Tagged Pulldown and LTQ-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Zhongqiu; Jia, Yuemeng; Li, Hui

    2017-01-01

    The study of protein-protein interactions represents a key aspect of biological research. Identifying unknown protein binding partners using mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics has evolved into an indispensable strategy in drug discovery. The classic approach of immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies against the proteins of interest has limitations, such as the need for immunoprecipitation-qualified antibody. The biotin AP-tag pull-down system has the advantage of high specificity, ease of use, and no requirement for antibody. It is based on the high specificity, high affinity interaction between biotin and streptavidin. After pulldown, in-gel tryptic digestion and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) protein bands can be performed. In this work, we provide protocols that can be used for the identification of proteins that interact with FOXM1, a protein that has recently emerged as a potential biomarker and drug target in oncotherapy, as an example. We focus on the pull-down procedure and assess the efficacy of the pulldown with known FOXM1 interactors such as β-catenin. We use a high performance LTQ Orbitrap MSn system that combines rapid LTQ ion trap data acquisition with high mass accuracy Orbitrap analysis to identify the interacting proteins.

  6. In Situ Tagged nsp15 Reveals Interactions with Coronavirus Replication/Transcription Complex-Associated Proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremiah Athmer

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Coronavirus (CoV replication and transcription are carried out in close proximity to restructured endoplasmic reticulum (ER membranes in replication/transcription complexes (RTC. Many of the CoV nonstructural proteins (nsps are required for RTC function; however, not all of their functions are known. nsp15 contains an endoribonuclease domain that is conserved in the CoV family. While the enzymatic activity and crystal structure of nsp15 are well defined, its role in replication remains elusive. nsp15 localizes to sites of RNA replication, but whether it acts independently or requires additional interactions for its function remains unknown. To begin to address these questions, we created an in situ tagged form of nsp15 using the prototypic CoV, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV. In MHV, nsp15 contains the genomic RNA packaging signal (P/S, a 95-bp RNA stem-loop structure that is not required for viral replication or nsp15 function. Utilizing this knowledge, we constructed an internal hemagglutinin (HA tag that replaced the P/S. We found that nsp15-HA was localized to discrete perinuclear puncta and strongly colocalized with nsp8 and nsp12, both well-defined members of the RTC, but not the membrane (M protein, involved in virus assembly. Finally, we found that nsp15 interacted with RTC-associated proteins nsp8 and nsp12 during infection, and this interaction was RNA independent. From this, we conclude that nsp15 localizes and interacts with CoV proteins in the RTC, suggesting it plays a direct or indirect role in virus replication. Furthermore, the use of in situ epitope tags could be used to determine novel nsp-nsp interactions in coronaviruses.

  7. Profiling cellular protein complexes by proximity ligation with dual tag microarray readout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammond, Maria; Nong, Rachel Yuan; Ericsson, Olle; Pardali, Katerina; Landegren, Ulf

    2012-01-01

    Patterns of protein interactions provide important insights in basic biology, and their analysis plays an increasing role in drug development and diagnostics of disease. We have established a scalable technique to compare two biological samples for the levels of all pairwise interactions among a set of targeted protein molecules. The technique is a combination of the proximity ligation assay with readout via dual tag microarrays. In the proximity ligation assay protein identities are encoded as DNA sequences by attaching DNA oligonucleotides to antibodies directed against the proteins of interest. Upon binding by pairs of antibodies to proteins present in the same molecular complexes, ligation reactions give rise to reporter DNA molecules that contain the combined sequence information from the two DNA strands. The ligation reactions also serve to incorporate a sample barcode in the reporter molecules to allow for direct comparison between pairs of samples. The samples are evaluated using a dual tag microarray where information is decoded, revealing which pairs of tags that have become joined. As a proof-of-concept we demonstrate that this approach can be used to detect a set of five proteins and their pairwise interactions both in cellular lysates and in fixed tissue culture cells. This paper provides a general strategy to analyze the extent of any pairwise interactions in large sets of molecules by decoding reporter DNA strands that identify the interacting molecules.

  8. Simple and Efficient Purification of Recombinant Proteins Using the Heparin-Binding Affinity Tag.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayanthi, Srinivas; Gundampati, Ravi Kumar; Kumar, Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh

    2017-11-01

    Heparin, a member of the glycosaminoglycan family, is known to interact with more than 400 different types of proteins. For the past few decades, significant progress has been made to understand the molecular details involved in heparin-protein interactions. Based on the structural knowledge available from the FGF1-heparin interaction studies, we have designed a novel heparin-binding peptide (HBP) affinity tag that can be used for the simple, efficient, and cost-effective purification of recombinant proteins of interest. HBP-tagged fusion proteins can be purified by heparin Sepharose affinity chromatography using a simple sodium chloride gradient to elute the bound fusion protein. In addition, owing to the high density of positive charges on the HBP tag, recombinant target proteins are preferably expressed in their soluble forms. The purification of HBP-fusion proteins can also be achieved in the presence of chemical denaturants, including urea. Additionally, polyclonal antibodies raised against the affinity tag can be used to detect HBP-fused target proteins with high sensitivity. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  9. Structural Characterization of Peptide Antibodies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chailyan, Anna; Marcatili, Paolo

    2015-01-01

    The role of proteins as very effective immunogens for the generation of antibodies is indisputable. Nevertheless, cases in which protein usage for antibody production is not feasible or convenient compelled the creation of a powerful alternative consisting of synthetic peptides. Synthetic peptides...... can be modified to obtain desired properties or conformation, tagged for purification, isotopically labeled for protein quantitation or conjugated to immunogens for antibody production. The antibodies that bind to these peptides represent an invaluable tool for biological research and discovery....... To better understand the underlying mechanisms of antibody-antigen interaction here we present a pipeline developed by us to structurally classify immunoglobulin antigen binding sites and to infer key sequence residues and other variables that have a prominent role in each structural class....

  10. Tag-elese or The Language of Tags

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Simons

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The core "meme" of Web 2.0 from which almost all other memes radiated was: 'You control your own data' (O'Reilly, 2005, 3. Key instruments for this user control are tagging systems that allow users to freely assign keywords of their own choosing to Internet resources of their own making as well as to documents produced by others. Of course, freely chosen keywords tags do not necessarily follow prefixed taxonomies or classification systems. But going by the maxim that interaction creates similarity and similarity creates interaction, the idea - or hope - is, however, that the tagging practices of individual users will eventually converge into an emergent common vocabulary or folksonomy (Merholz, 2004; Shirky, 2005; Vander Wal, 2005b; Mika, 2007. It is far from clear, however, that free tagging systems will eventually yield controlled vocabularies, and there are many incentives for idiosyncratic, ambiguous, and inconsistent uses of tags. Left to themselves, free tagging systems seem to be too wild and too chaotic for any order to emerge. But are these free tagging systems really as "feral" as they seem to be, or do they only look uncontrolled because one has been looking for order in the wrong place? I have done a quick-and-dirty" analysis of Flickr's tag cloud. The concept was: if folksonomies encourage users to tap on their own vernacular, everyday natural language must somehow "guide" the tagging practices of users of tagging systems. Flickr's tag cloud has been choosen because it may teach us something about tagging systems and folksonomies, and not - or not primarily - because of what tags may tell us about pictures.

  11. An active site–tail interaction in the structure of hexahistidine-tagged Thermoplasma acidophilum citrate synthase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murphy, Jesse R.; Donini, Stefano; Kappock, T. Joseph, E-mail: kappock@purdue.edu [Purdue University, 175 South University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2063 (United States)

    2015-09-23

    Citrate synthase from the thermophilic euryarchaeon T. acidophilum fused to a hexahistidine tag was purified and biochemically characterized. The structure of the unliganded enzyme at 2.2 Å resolution contains tail–active site contacts in half of the active sites. Citrate synthase (CS) plays a central metabolic role in aerobes and many other organisms. The CS reaction comprises two half-reactions: a Claisen aldol condensation of acetyl-CoA (AcCoA) and oxaloacetate (OAA) that forms citryl-CoA (CitCoA), and CitCoA hydrolysis. Protein conformational changes that ‘close’ the active site play an important role in the assembly of a catalytically competent condensation active site. CS from the thermoacidophile Thermoplasma acidophilum (TpCS) possesses an endogenous Trp fluorophore that can be used to monitor the condensation reaction. The 2.2 Å resolution crystal structure of TpCS fused to a C-terminal hexahistidine tag (TpCSH6) reported here is an ‘open’ structure that, when compared with several liganded TpCS structures, helps to define a complete path for active-site closure. One active site in each dimer binds a neighboring His tag, the first nonsubstrate ligand known to occupy both the AcCoA and OAA binding sites. Solution data collectively suggest that this fortuitous interaction is stabilized by the crystalline lattice. As a polar but almost neutral ligand, the active site–tail interaction provides a new starting point for the design of bisubstrate-analog inhibitors of CS.

  12. An active site–tail interaction in the structure of hexahistidine-tagged Thermoplasma acidophilum citrate synthase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, Jesse R.; Donini, Stefano; Kappock, T. Joseph

    2015-01-01

    Citrate synthase from the thermophilic euryarchaeon T. acidophilum fused to a hexahistidine tag was purified and biochemically characterized. The structure of the unliganded enzyme at 2.2 Å resolution contains tail–active site contacts in half of the active sites. Citrate synthase (CS) plays a central metabolic role in aerobes and many other organisms. The CS reaction comprises two half-reactions: a Claisen aldol condensation of acetyl-CoA (AcCoA) and oxaloacetate (OAA) that forms citryl-CoA (CitCoA), and CitCoA hydrolysis. Protein conformational changes that ‘close’ the active site play an important role in the assembly of a catalytically competent condensation active site. CS from the thermoacidophile Thermoplasma acidophilum (TpCS) possesses an endogenous Trp fluorophore that can be used to monitor the condensation reaction. The 2.2 Å resolution crystal structure of TpCS fused to a C-terminal hexahistidine tag (TpCSH6) reported here is an ‘open’ structure that, when compared with several liganded TpCS structures, helps to define a complete path for active-site closure. One active site in each dimer binds a neighboring His tag, the first nonsubstrate ligand known to occupy both the AcCoA and OAA binding sites. Solution data collectively suggest that this fortuitous interaction is stabilized by the crystalline lattice. As a polar but almost neutral ligand, the active site–tail interaction provides a new starting point for the design of bisubstrate-analog inhibitors of CS

  13. Buddy Tag CONOPS and Requirements.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brotz, Jay Kristoffer [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Deland, Sharon M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-12-01

    This document defines the concept of operations (CONOPS) and the requirements for the Buddy Tag, which is conceived and designed in collaboration between Sandia National Laboratories and Princeton University under the Department of State Key VerificationAssets Fund. The CONOPS describe how the tags are used to support verification of treaty limitations and is only defined to the extent necessary to support a tag design. The requirements define the necessary functions and desired non-functional features of the Buddy Tag at a high level

  14. Ontologies and tag-statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Vicsek, Tamás; Palla, Gergely

    2012-05-01

    Due to the increasing popularity of collaborative tagging systems, the research on tagged networks, hypergraphs, ontologies, folksonomies and other related concepts is becoming an important interdisciplinary area with great potential and relevance for practical applications. In most collaborative tagging systems the tagging by the users is completely ‘flat’, while in some cases they are allowed to define a shallow hierarchy for their own tags. However, usually no overall hierarchical organization of the tags is given, and one of the interesting challenges of this area is to provide an algorithm generating the ontology of the tags from the available data. In contrast, there are also other types of tagged networks available for research, where the tags are already organized into a directed acyclic graph (DAG), encapsulating the ‘is a sub-category of’ type of hierarchy between each other. In this paper, we study how this DAG affects the statistical distribution of tags on the nodes marked by the tags in various real networks. The motivation for this research was the fact that understanding the tagging based on a known hierarchy can help in revealing the hidden hierarchy of tags in collaborative tagging systems. We analyse the relation between the tag-frequency and the position of the tag in the DAG in two large sub-networks of the English Wikipedia and a protein-protein interaction network. We also study the tag co-occurrence statistics by introducing a two-dimensional (2D) tag-distance distribution preserving both the difference in the levels and the absolute distance in the DAG for the co-occurring pairs of tags. Our most interesting finding is that the local relevance of tags in the DAG (i.e. their rank or significance as characterized by, e.g., the length of the branches starting from them) is much more important than their global distance from the root. Furthermore, we also introduce a simple tagging model based on random walks on the DAG, capable of

  15. Ontologies and tag-statistics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tibély, Gergely; Vicsek, Tamás; Pollner, Péter; Palla, Gergely

    2012-01-01

    Due to the increasing popularity of collaborative tagging systems, the research on tagged networks, hypergraphs, ontologies, folksonomies and other related concepts is becoming an important interdisciplinary area with great potential and relevance for practical applications. In most collaborative tagging systems the tagging by the users is completely ‘flat’, while in some cases they are allowed to define a shallow hierarchy for their own tags. However, usually no overall hierarchical organization of the tags is given, and one of the interesting challenges of this area is to provide an algorithm generating the ontology of the tags from the available data. In contrast, there are also other types of tagged networks available for research, where the tags are already organized into a directed acyclic graph (DAG), encapsulating the ‘is a sub-category of’ type of hierarchy between each other. In this paper, we study how this DAG affects the statistical distribution of tags on the nodes marked by the tags in various real networks. The motivation for this research was the fact that understanding the tagging based on a known hierarchy can help in revealing the hidden hierarchy of tags in collaborative tagging systems. We analyse the relation between the tag-frequency and the position of the tag in the DAG in two large sub-networks of the English Wikipedia and a protein-protein interaction network. We also study the tag co-occurrence statistics by introducing a two-dimensional (2D) tag-distance distribution preserving both the difference in the levels and the absolute distance in the DAG for the co-occurring pairs of tags. Our most interesting finding is that the local relevance of tags in the DAG (i.e. their rank or significance as characterized by, e.g., the length of the branches starting from them) is much more important than their global distance from the root. Furthermore, we also introduce a simple tagging model based on random walks on the DAG, capable of

  16. 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.

  17. Hepatitis C virus expressing flag-tagged envelope protein 2 has unaltered infectivity and density, is specifically neutralized by flag antibodies and can be purified by affinity chromatography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prentø, Jannick Cornelius; Bukh, Jens

    2011-01-01

    to the original virus. Flag-tagged virus was susceptible to flag-specific antibody neutralization, and infected cells could be immuno-stained by anti-flag antibodies. Using affinity chromatography with anti-flag resin we repeatedly obtained ~30% recovery of infectious particles. The full viability and unaltered...

  18. Thermodynamics of antibody-antigen interaction revealed by mutation analysis of antibody variable regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akiba, Hiroki; Tsumoto, Kouhei

    2015-07-01

    Antibodies (immunoglobulins) bind specific molecules (i.e. antigens) with high affinity and specificity. In order to understand their mechanisms of recognition, interaction analysis based on thermodynamic and kinetic parameters, as well as structure determination is crucial. In this review, we focus on mutational analysis which gives information about the role of each amino acid residue in antibody-antigen interaction. Taking anti-hen egg lysozyme antibodies and several anti-small molecule antibodies, the energetic contribution of hot-spot and non-hot-spot residues is discussed in terms of thermodynamics. Here, thermodynamics of the contribution from aromatic, charged and hydrogen bond-forming amino acids are discussed, and their different characteristics have been elucidated. The information gives fundamental understanding of the antibody-antigen interaction. Furthermore, the consequences of antibody engineering are analysed from thermodynamic viewpoints: humanization to reduce immunogenicity and rational design to improve affinity. Amino acid residues outside hot-spots in the interface play important roles in these cases, and thus thermodynamic and kinetic parameters give much information about the antigen recognition. Thermodynamic analysis of mutant antibodies thus should lead to advanced strategies to design and select antibodies with high affinity. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.

  19. Extracting Tag Hierarchies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Vicsek, Tamás; Palla, Gergely

    2013-01-01

    Tagging items with descriptive annotations or keywords is a very natural way to compress and highlight information about the properties of the given entity. Over the years several methods have been proposed for extracting a hierarchy between the tags for systems with a "flat", egalitarian organization of the tags, which is very common when the tags correspond to free words given by numerous independent people. Here we present a complete framework for automated tag hierarchy extraction based on tag occurrence statistics. Along with proposing new algorithms, we are also introducing different quality measures enabling the detailed comparison of competing approaches from different aspects. Furthermore, we set up a synthetic, computer generated benchmark providing a versatile tool for testing, with a couple of tunable parameters capable of generating a wide range of test beds. Beside the computer generated input we also use real data in our studies, including a biological example with a pre-defined hierarchy between the tags. The encouraging similarity between the pre-defined and reconstructed hierarchy, as well as the seemingly meaningful hierarchies obtained for other real systems indicate that tag hierarchy extraction is a very promising direction for further research with a great potential for practical applications. Tags have become very prevalent nowadays in various online platforms ranging from blogs through scientific publications to protein databases. Furthermore, tagging systems dedicated for voluntary tagging of photos, films, books, etc. with free words are also becoming popular. The emerging large collections of tags associated with different objects are often referred to as folksonomies, highlighting their collaborative origin and the “flat” organization of the tags opposed to traditional hierarchical categorization. Adding a tag hierarchy corresponding to a given folksonomy can very effectively help narrowing or broadening the scope of search

  20. Extracting tag hierarchies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gergely Tibély

    Full Text Available Tagging items with descriptive annotations or keywords is a very natural way to compress and highlight information about the properties of the given entity. Over the years several methods have been proposed for extracting a hierarchy between the tags for systems with a "flat", egalitarian organization of the tags, which is very common when the tags correspond to free words given by numerous independent people. Here we present a complete framework for automated tag hierarchy extraction based on tag occurrence statistics. Along with proposing new algorithms, we are also introducing different quality measures enabling the detailed comparison of competing approaches from different aspects. Furthermore, we set up a synthetic, computer generated benchmark providing a versatile tool for testing, with a couple of tunable parameters capable of generating a wide range of test beds. Beside the computer generated input we also use real data in our studies, including a biological example with a pre-defined hierarchy between the tags. The encouraging similarity between the pre-defined and reconstructed hierarchy, as well as the seemingly meaningful hierarchies obtained for other real systems indicate that tag hierarchy extraction is a very promising direction for further research with a great potential for practical applications. Tags have become very prevalent nowadays in various online platforms ranging from blogs through scientific publications to protein databases. Furthermore, tagging systems dedicated for voluntary tagging of photos, films, books, etc. with free words are also becoming popular. The emerging large collections of tags associated with different objects are often referred to as folksonomies, highlighting their collaborative origin and the "flat" organization of the tags opposed to traditional hierarchical categorization. Adding a tag hierarchy corresponding to a given folksonomy can very effectively help narrowing or broadening the scope of

  1. Extracting tag hierarchies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Vicsek, Tamás; Palla, Gergely

    2013-01-01

    Tagging items with descriptive annotations or keywords is a very natural way to compress and highlight information about the properties of the given entity. Over the years several methods have been proposed for extracting a hierarchy between the tags for systems with a "flat", egalitarian organization of the tags, which is very common when the tags correspond to free words given by numerous independent people. Here we present a complete framework for automated tag hierarchy extraction based on tag occurrence statistics. Along with proposing new algorithms, we are also introducing different quality measures enabling the detailed comparison of competing approaches from different aspects. Furthermore, we set up a synthetic, computer generated benchmark providing a versatile tool for testing, with a couple of tunable parameters capable of generating a wide range of test beds. Beside the computer generated input we also use real data in our studies, including a biological example with a pre-defined hierarchy between the tags. The encouraging similarity between the pre-defined and reconstructed hierarchy, as well as the seemingly meaningful hierarchies obtained for other real systems indicate that tag hierarchy extraction is a very promising direction for further research with a great potential for practical applications. Tags have become very prevalent nowadays in various online platforms ranging from blogs through scientific publications to protein databases. Furthermore, tagging systems dedicated for voluntary tagging of photos, films, books, etc. with free words are also becoming popular. The emerging large collections of tags associated with different objects are often referred to as folksonomies, highlighting their collaborative origin and the "flat" organization of the tags opposed to traditional hierarchical categorization. Adding a tag hierarchy corresponding to a given folksonomy can very effectively help narrowing or broadening the scope of search. Moreover

  2. Quality control of radiolabeled antibodies through simultaneous determination of antibody concentration and specific activity using time-resolved interaction analysis and reverse kinetic fit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, K.; Mihaylova, D.; Wang, E.; Abrahamsen, L.; Buijs, J.; Bjoerkelund, H.

    2015-01-01

    Full text of publication follows. With the advent of efficient methods for producing proteins that bind to a defined target, the number of radiolabeled proteins, and in particular antibodies, used for medical imaging and cancer therapy is increasing rapidly. In line with this increase, focus should be put on methods for the quality control (QC). Proper antibody quality is of fundamental importance to guarantee safety and consistent efficacy for the patient. Adequate QC procedures exist for small radiolabeled synthetic compounds like FDG, but antibody based radiopharmaceuticals are different. Proteins are much more complex and fragile than the synthetic compounds, and hence require new methods for adequate characterization and QC. Yet another complication is the labeling where there is a risk that a subpopulation of the protein is damaged to the level that it no longer binds the target. Therefore, a new toolbox is required to fulfill the quality characterization of radiolabeled antibodies. We have developed a QC assay for the simultaneous determination of antibody function, concentration and specific activity. The assay is based on time-resolved detection of the antibody interaction with antigen-coated magnetic beads in LigandTracer instruments. The resulting binding curve is evaluated using reverse kinetic fits, where the known interaction parameters of the antibody-antigen interaction are set constant while as the concentration and signal level are fitted. The assay takes approximately 2 hours and the majority of the time constitutes automated data collection in the instrument. The QC assay has been tested on multiple antibody-antigen interactions and consistently provides repeatable results for concentration and specific activity, both with coefficient of variation (CV) less than 15%. We believe that this QC assay can improve the quality of radiolabeled therapeutic antibodies. (authors)

  3. Evaluating the Cognitive Aspects of User Interaction with 2D Visual Tagging Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Olugbenga King

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available There has been significant interest in thedevelopment and deployment of visual taggingapplications in recent times. But user perceptions aboutthe purpose and function of visual tagging systems havenot received much attention. This paper presents a userexperience study that investigates the cognitive modelsthat novice users have about interacting with visualtagging applications. The results of the study show thatalthough most users are unfamiliar with visual taggingtechnologies, they could accurately predict the purposeand mode of retrieval of data stored in visual tags. Thestudy concludes with suggestions on how to improve therecognition, ease of recall and design of visual tags.

  4. Comparison of tumour and metastases radioimmunodetection in adenocarcinomas between patients with and without immunomodulation with interferon gamma using In-111 labelled anti-TAG-72-antibody

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becherer, A.; Virgolini, I.; Kletter, M.; Raderer, M.; Scheithauer, W.

    1994-01-01

    Radioimmunodetection depends on antigen expression of malignant tissue against which radiolabelled antibodies are directed. Since gamma-interferon (IFNg) has been shown to enhance tumor-associated antigen-72 (TAG-72) expression on cell surfaces of colorectal carcinomas, it is compared anti-TAG-72 imaging before and after IFNg treatment. It is found an improved diagnostic accuracy concerning both primary and metastic tumours by imaging under IFNg-therapy and conclude that immunomodulation may increase the diagnostic value of immunoscintigraphy

  5. Breaking the color barrier - a multi-selective antibody reporter offers innovative strategies of fluorescence detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallo, Eugenio; Jarvik, Jonathan W

    2017-08-01

    A novel bi-partite fluorescence platform exploits the high affinity and selectivity of antibody scaffolds to capture and activate small-molecule fluorogens. In this report, we investigated the property of multi-selectivity activation by a single antibody against diverse cyanine family fluorogens. Our fluorescence screen identified three cell-impermeant fluorogens, each with unique emission spectra (blue, green and red) and nanomolar affinities. Most importantly, as a protein fusion tag to G-protein-coupled receptors, the antibody biosensor retained full activity - displaying bright fluorogen signals with minimal background on live cells. Because fluorogen-activating antibodies interact with their target ligands via non-covalent interactions, we were able to perform advanced multi-color detection strategies on live cells, previously difficult or impossible with conventional reporters. We found that by fine-tuning the concentrations of the different color fluorogen molecules in solution, a user may interchange the fluorescence signal (onset versus offset), execute real-time signal exchange via fluorogen competition, measure multi-channel fluorescence via co-labeling, and assess real-time cell surface receptor traffic via pulse-chase experiments. Thus, here we inform of an innovative reporter technology based on tri-color signal that allows user-defined fluorescence tuning in live-cell applications. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  6. Optimal use of tandem biotin and V5 tags in ChIP assays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krpic Sanja

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP assays coupled to genome arrays (Chip-on-chip or massive parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq lead to the genome wide identification of binding sites of chromatin associated proteins. However, the highly variable quality of antibodies and the availability of epitopes in crosslinked chromatin can compromise genomic ChIP outcomes. Epitope tags have often been used as more reliable alternatives. In addition, we have employed protein in vivo biotinylation tagging as a very high affinity alternative to antibodies. In this paper we describe the optimization of biotinylation tagging for ChIP and its coupling to a known epitope tag in providing a reliable and efficient alternative to antibodies. Results Using the biotin tagged erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 as example, we describe several optimization steps for the application of the high affinity biotin streptavidin system in ChIP. We find that the omission of SDS during sonication, the use of fish skin gelatin as blocking agent and choice of streptavidin beads can lead to significantly improved ChIP enrichments and lower background compared to antibodies. We also show that the V5 epitope tag performs equally well under the conditions worked out for streptavidin ChIP and that it may suffer less from the effects of formaldehyde crosslinking. Conclusion The combined use of the very high affinity biotin tag with the less sensitive to crosslinking V5 tag provides for a flexible ChIP platform with potential implications in ChIP sequencing outcomes.

  7. Optimal use of tandem biotin and V5 tags in ChIP assays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolodziej, Katarzyna E; Pourfarzad, Farzin; de Boer, Ernie; Krpic, Sanja; Grosveld, Frank; Strouboulis, John

    2009-01-01

    Background Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays coupled to genome arrays (Chip-on-chip) or massive parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) lead to the genome wide identification of binding sites of chromatin associated proteins. However, the highly variable quality of antibodies and the availability of epitopes in crosslinked chromatin can compromise genomic ChIP outcomes. Epitope tags have often been used as more reliable alternatives. In addition, we have employed protein in vivo biotinylation tagging as a very high affinity alternative to antibodies. In this paper we describe the optimization of biotinylation tagging for ChIP and its coupling to a known epitope tag in providing a reliable and efficient alternative to antibodies. Results Using the biotin tagged erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 as example, we describe several optimization steps for the application of the high affinity biotin streptavidin system in ChIP. We find that the omission of SDS during sonication, the use of fish skin gelatin as blocking agent and choice of streptavidin beads can lead to significantly improved ChIP enrichments and lower background compared to antibodies. We also show that the V5 epitope tag performs equally well under the conditions worked out for streptavidin ChIP and that it may suffer less from the effects of formaldehyde crosslinking. Conclusion The combined use of the very high affinity biotin tag with the less sensitive to crosslinking V5 tag provides for a flexible ChIP platform with potential implications in ChIP sequencing outcomes. PMID:19196479

  8. A simple and robust approach to immobilization of antibody fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikonomova, Svetlana P; He, Ziming; Karlsson, Amy J

    2016-08-01

    Antibody fragments, such as the single-chain variable fragment (scFv), have much potential in research and diagnostics because of their antigen-binding ability similar to a full-sized antibody and their ease of production in microorganisms. Some applications of antibody fragments require immobilization on a surface, and we have established a simple immobilization method that is based on the biotin-streptavidin interaction and does not require a separate purification step. We genetically fused two biotinylation tags-the biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP) or the AviTag minimal sequence-to six different scFvs (scFv13R4, scFvD10, scFv26-10, scFv3, scFv5, and scFv12) for site-specific biotinylation in vivo by endogenous biotin ligases produced by Escherichia coli. The biotinylated scFvs were immobilized onto streptavidin-coated plates directly from cell lysates, and immobilization was detected through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. All scFvs fusions were successfully immobilized, and scFvs biotinylated via the BCCP tag tended to immobilize better than those biotinylated via the AviTag, even when biotinylation efficiency was improved with the biotin ligase BirA. The ability of immobilized scFvs to bind antigens was confirmed using scFv13R4 and scFvD10 with their respective targets β-galactosidase and bacteriophage lambda head protein D (gpD). The immobilized scFv13R4 bound to β-galactosidase at the same level for both biotinylation tags when the surface was saturated with the scFv, and immobilized scFvs retained their functionality for at least 100days after immobilization. The simplicity and robustness of our method make it a promising approach for future applications that require antibody fragment immobilization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. The use of external electronic tags on fish: an evaluation of tag retention and tagging effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Niels; Thorstad, Eva B.; Havn, Torgeir

    2015-01-01

    External tagging of fish with electronic tags has been used for decades for a wide range of marine and freshwater species. In the early years of fish telemetry research, it was the most commonly used attachment method, but later internal implants became preferred. Recently, the number of telemetry...... unsuitable for surgical implantation, or when using tags with sensors recording the external environment. The most commonly reported problems with external tags are tissue damage, premature tag loss, and decreased swimming capacity, but the effects are highly context dependent and species specific. Reduced......, but particularly there are few studies on predation risk, social interactions, and studies distinguishing capture and handling effects from tagging effects. For PSATs, especially those that are large relative to fish size, there are particular problems with a high proportion of premature tag losses, reduced...

  10. IC-tagged proteins are able to interact with each other and perform complex reactions when integrated into muNS-derived inclusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandariz-Nuñez, Alberto; Otero-Romero, Iria; Benavente, Javier; Martinez-Costas, Jose M

    2011-09-20

    We have recently developed a versatile tagging system (IC-tagging) that causes relocation of the tagged proteins to ARV muNS-derived intracellular globular inclusions. In the present study we demonstrate (i) that the IC-tag can be successfully fused either to the amino or carboxyl terminus of the protein to be tagged and (ii) that IC-tagged proteins are able to interact between them and perform complex reactions that require such interactions while integrated into muNS inclusions, increasing the versatility of the IC-tagging system. Also, our studies with the DsRed protein add some light on the structure/function relationship of the evolution of DsRed chromophore. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Play with Me! Gender-Typed Social Play Behavior Analysis in Interactive Tag Games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moreno, Alejandro; Poppe, R.W.; Heylen, Dirk K J

    2016-01-01

    Promoting social behavior is one of the key goals in interactive games. In this paper, we present an experimental study in the Interactive Tag Playground (ITP) to investigate whether social behaviors reported in literature can also be observed through automated analysis. We do this by analyzing

  12. Play with Me! Gender-Typed Social Play Behavior Analysis in Interactive Tag Games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moreno Celleri, Alejandro Manuel; Poppe, Ronald Walter; Heylen, Dirk K.J.

    Promoting social behavior is one of the key goals in interactive games. In this paper, we present an experimental study in the Interactive Tag Playground (ITP) to investigate whether social behaviors reported in literature can also be observed through automated analysis. We do this by analyzing

  13. Tag questions Tag questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Brazil

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The so-called 'tag' structures of English have received a lot of attention in language teaching programmes, attention that is not hard to justify when one considers the problems and anxiety they can occasion for many foreign learners. Most teachers one speaks to seem fairly willing to agree, however, that traditional treatments of the topic leave much to be desired. It happens, also, that, when considered collectively, the tags and some related phenomena have a special heoretical interest. For they constitute a field in which it seems essential to bring together insights that derive from the study of several aspects of linguistic organisation, aspects which in some recent work have been held to need distinctive kinds of descriptive category to handle. Traditional treatments have found it necessary to recognise different syntactic types (e.g. 'same polarity' and 'reversed polarity' tags and ifferent intonational treatments ("falling'and 'rising' tag; while the way the communicative significance of the various permutations is described normally requires reference to the expectations they signal regarding the immediately following behaviour of the other party (in the common phrase, 'What kind of answer they expect'. This last consideration places the matter squarely in the arena of recent work on the analysis of interactive discourse. The so-called 'tag' structures of English have received a lot of attention in language teaching programmes, attention that is not hard to justify when one considers the problems and anxiety they can occasion for many foreign learners. Most teachers one speaks to seem fairly willing to agree, however, that traditional treatments of the topic leave much to be desired. It happens, also, that, when considered collectively, the tags and some related phenomena have a special heoretical interest. For they constitute a field in which it seems essential to bring together insights that derive from the study of several aspects

  14. Efficient one-step direct labelling of recombinant antibodies with technetium-99m

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liberatore, M.; Neri, D.; Neri, G.; Pini, A.; Lurilli, A.P.; Ponzo, F.; Spampinato, G.; Padula, F.; Pala, A.; Colella, A.C.

    1995-01-01

    High-affinity bacterially expressed antibody fragments can nowadays be cloned from established hybridomas or, more conveniently, isolated directly from antibody libraries displayed on filamentous phage. Such antibodies can be tagged with C-terminal peptide tags containing one cysteine residue, which represents a convenient functionalisation site for a number of applications, including technetium-99m labelling. Here we describe a simple one-step method for 99m Tc labelling of cysteine-tagged recombinant antibodies with more than 50% radionuclide incorporation. The labelled antibodies displayed full retention of immuoreactivity and good stability. (orig.)

  15. Efficient one-step direct labelling of recombinant antibodies with technetium-99m

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liberatore, M. [Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Medicina Nucleare, Policlinico Umberto I, Universita di Roma `La Sapienza` (Italy); Neri, D. [Cambridge Centre for Protein Engineering - MRC Centre (United Kingdom); Neri, G. [Dipartimento di Biologia Molecolare, Universita di Siena (Italy); Pini, A. [Dipartimento di Biologia Molecolare, Universita di Siena (Italy); Lurilli, A.P. [Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Medicina Nucleare, Policlinico Umberto I, Universita di Roma `La Sapienza` (Italy); Ponzo, F. [Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Medicina Nucleare, Policlinico Umberto I, Universita di Roma `La Sapienza` (Italy); Spampinato, G. [Laboratorio di Biochimica degli Ormoni Sessuali, Il Instituto di Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Universita di Roma `La Sapienza` (Italy); Padula, F. [Laboratorio di Biochimica degli Ormoni Sessuali, Il Instituto di Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Universita di Roma `La Sapienza` (Italy); Pala, A. [Laboratorio di Biochimica degli Ormoni Sessuali, Il Instituto di Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Universita di Roma `La Sapienza` (Italy); Colella, A.C. [Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Medicina Nucleare, Policlinico Umberto I, Universita di Roma `La Sapienza` (Italy)

    1995-11-01

    High-affinity bacterially expressed antibody fragments can nowadays be cloned from established hybridomas or, more conveniently, isolated directly from antibody libraries displayed on filamentous phage. Such antibodies can be tagged with C-terminal peptide tags containing one cysteine residue, which represents a convenient functionalisation site for a number of applications, including technetium-99m labelling. Here we describe a simple one-step method for {sup 99m}Tc labelling of cysteine-tagged recombinant antibodies with more than 50% radionuclide incorporation. The labelled antibodies displayed full retention of immuoreactivity and good stability. (orig.)

  16. Editorial Tag Endogeneity for News Websites

    OpenAIRE

    Bruno Ribeiro; Ricardo Morla; Amílcar Correia

    2013-01-01

    Editors and journalists at some news websites label their articles with structure and content-related editorial tags. Each article can have more than one tag and each tag can be used in more than one article. A network of tags can be defined whose edges are all possible pairs of tags in each article. Because editorial tags relate to structure and content rather than individual articles, the analysis of a network of editorial tags could assist editorial decisions to prioritize types of content...

  17. A SNAP-tagged derivative of HIV-1--a versatile tool to study virus-cell interactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manon Eckhardt

    Full Text Available Fluorescently labeled human immunodeficiency virus (HIV derivatives, combined with the use of advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques, allow the direct visualization of dynamic events and individual steps in the viral life cycle. HIV proteins tagged with fluorescent proteins (FPs have been successfully used for live-cell imaging analyses of HIV-cell interactions. However, FPs display limitations with respect to their physicochemical properties, and their maturation kinetics. Furthermore, several independent FP-tagged constructs have to be cloned and characterized in order to obtain spectral variations suitable for multi-color imaging setups. In contrast, the so-called SNAP-tag represents a genetically encoded non-fluorescent tag which mediates specific covalent coupling to fluorescent substrate molecules in a self-labeling reaction. Fusion of the SNAP-tag to the protein of interest allows specific labeling of the fusion protein with a variety of synthetic dyes, thereby offering enhanced flexibility for fluorescence imaging approaches.Here we describe the construction and characterization of the HIV derivative HIV(SNAP, which carries the SNAP-tag as an additional domain within the viral structural polyprotein Gag. Introduction of the tag close to the C-terminus of the matrix domain of Gag did not interfere with particle assembly, release or proteolytic virus maturation. The modified virions were infectious and could be propagated in tissue culture, albeit with reduced replication capacity. Insertion of the SNAP domain within Gag allowed specific staining of the viral polyprotein in the context of virus producing cells using a SNAP reactive dye as well as the visualization of individual virions and viral budding sites by stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy. Thus, HIV(SNAP represents a versatile tool which expands the possibilities for the analysis of HIV-cell interactions using live cell imaging and sub-diffraction fluorescence

  18. A regional chemostratigraphically-defined correlation framework for the late Triassic TAG-I Formation in Blocks 402 and 405a, Algeria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ratcliffe, K.T.; Martin, J.; Pearce, T.J. [Chemostrat ltd., Llanfyllin, Powys (United Kingdom); Hughes, A.D. [Bington Resources, London (United Kingdom); Lawton, D.E. [BHP Billiton Petroleum Ltd., London (United Kingdom); Wray, D. [University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime (United Kingdom). Department of Earth Sciences; Bessa, F. [Sonatrach, Hydra (Algeria). Division Petroleum Engineering and Development

    2006-07-01

    The Triassic Argilo-Greseux Inferieur Formation (TAG-I) is one of the principal hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Berkine Basin of Algeria. Sedimentological studies have shown that it exhibits marked spatial and temporal facies variations on both a local field scale and a regional basinal scale. This variability, combined with a lack of diagnostic flora and fauna, makes regional correlation within the unit difficult. In turn, the lack of a consistent regional stratigraphic framework hampers the comparison of the various correlation schemes devised by operators in the basin. Contrasting the TAG-I in Blocks 402 and 405a exemplifies the problems encountered when attempting regionally to define a correlation framework for the interval. Between these two blocks, a distance of approximately 200 km, there are marked changes in the style of deposition from sand-dominated, proximal fluvial systems in the SW (Block 405a, MLN, MLC, KMD and MLNW fields) to a more distal, more clay-prone system in the NE (Block 402, ROD/BRSE/BSFN, SFNE and BSF fields). A chemostratigraphic study of the TAG-I in these clocks has allowed a four-fold correlation framework to be defined, where each chemostratigraphic package has distinctive geochemical features. Chemostratigraphic Package 10, the oldest unit, lies above the Hercynian Unconformity, but beneath a geochemically identifiable hiatal surface. Chemostratigraphic Package 20 lies above the hiatal surface but is separated from the overlying packages by a mineralogical change identifiable in both claystone and sandstone geochemistry. Chemostratigraphic Packages 30 and 40 are chemically somewhat similar, but are separated by a regional event interpreted as a period of dolocrete and lacustrine development. By combining the geochemical differentiation of the units and recognition of their stratal boundaries, it is possible to define a correlation for the TAG-I between Blocks 402 and 405a. The proposed correlation between the two blocks suggests that

  19. Social tagging in support of cancer patients’ information interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ådland, Marit Kristine; Lykke, Marianne

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how social tagging can be useful in an information website for cancer patients and their relatives. Methodology/approach: Three studies have been carried out in order to investigate the research questions. Firstly, we reviewed and analy......Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how social tagging can be useful in an information website for cancer patients and their relatives. Methodology/approach: Three studies have been carried out in order to investigate the research questions. Firstly, we reviewed...... and analyzed literature about cancer patients’ information needs and seeking behavior, and about social tagging and patient terminology. Secondly, we analyzed tags applied to blog postings at Blogomkraeft.dk, a blog site at the Danish information web site Cancer.dk. The tags were compared with the formal...... browsing structure of Cancer.dk. Results from the two studies were used to develop a prototype for social tagging at Cancer.dk. Thus thirdly, we evaluated the prototype in a usability study. Findings: We found that tags have the potential to describe and provide access to web site content from the users...

  20. Method and apparatus for manufacturing gas tags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gross, K.C.; Laug, M.T.

    1996-01-01

    For use in the manufacture of gas tags employed in a gas tagging failure detection system for a nuclear reactor, a plurality of commercial feed gases each having a respective noble gas isotopic composition are blended under computer control to provide various tag gas mixtures having selected isotopic ratios which are optimized for specified defined conditions such as cost. Using a new approach employing a discrete variable structure rather than the known continuous-variable optimization problem, the computer controlled gas tag manufacturing process employs an analytical formalism from condensed matter physics known as stochastic relaxation, which is a special case of simulated annealing, for input feed gas selection. For a tag blending process involving M tag isotopes with N distinct feed gas mixtures commercially available from an enriched gas supplier, the manufacturing process calculates the cost difference between multiple combinations and specifies gas mixtures which approach the optimum defined conditions. The manufacturing process is then used to control tag blending apparatus incorporating tag gas canisters connected by stainless-steel tubing with computer controlled valves, with the canisters automatically filled with metered quantities of the required feed gases. 4 figs

  1. NMR Detection of Semi-Specific Antibody Interactions in Serum Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeko Yanaka

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Although antibody functions are executed in heterogeneous blood streams characterized by molecular crowding and promiscuous intermolecular interaction, detailed structural characterizations of antibody interactions have thus far been performed under homogeneous in vitro conditions. NMR spectroscopy potentially has the ability to study protein structures in heterogeneous environments, assuming that the target protein can be labeled with NMR-active isotopes. Based on our successful development of isotope labeling of antibody glycoproteins, here we apply NMR spectroscopy to characterize antibody interactions in heterogeneous extracellular environments using mouse IgG-Fc as a test molecule. In human serum, many of the HSQC peaks originating from the Fc backbone exhibited attenuation in intensity of various magnitudes. Similar spectral changes were induced by the Fab fragment of polyclonal IgG isolated from the serum, but not by serum albumin, indicating that a subset of antibodies reactive with mouse IgG-Fc exists in human serum without preimmunization. The metaepitopes recognized by serum polyclonal IgG cover the entire molecular surface of Fc, including the binding sites to Fc receptors and C1q. In-serum NMR observation will offer useful tools for the detailed characterization of biopharamaceuticals, including therapeutic antibodies in physiologically relevant heterogeneous environments, also giving deeper insight into molecular recognition by polyclonal antibodies in the immune system.

  2. Molecular aspects of antibody-antigen interactions : size reduction of a herpes simplex virus neutralizing antibody and its antigen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schellekens, Gerardus Antonius

    1996-01-01

    Antibody molecules, produced as a response against foreign substances, interact with their antigen in a very specific manner. Antibodies with a predetermined specificity (monoclonal antibodies) can be produced and are widely used in medicine and science as indicator molecules. Genetic engineering of

  3. The interaction of antibodies with lipid membranes unraveled by fluorescence methodologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueira, Tiago N.; Veiga, Ana Salomé; Castanho, Miguel A. R. B.

    2014-12-01

    The interest and investment in antibody therapies has reached an overwhelming scale in the last decade. Yet, little concern has been noticed among the scientific community to unravel important interactions of antibodies with biological structures other than their respective epitopes. Lipid membranes are particularly relevant in this regard as they set the stage for protein-protein recognition, a concept potentially inclusive of antibody-antigen recognition. Fluorescence techniques allow experimental monitoring of protein partition between aqueous and lipid phases, deciphering events of adsorption, insertion and diffusion. This review focuses on the available fluorescence spectroscopy methodologies directed to the study of antibody-membrane interactions.

  4. A novel monoclonal antibody to a defined peptide epitope in MUC16

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marcos-Silva, Lara; Ricardo, Sara; Chen, Kowa

    2015-01-01

    with the tandem-repeat region, their epitopes appear to be conformational dependent and not definable by a short peptide. Aberrant glycoforms of MUC16 may constitute promising targets for diagnostic and immunotherapeutic intervention, and it is important to develop well-defined immunogens for induction of potent...... immunodominant linear peptide epitopes within the tandem repeat. We developed one monoclonal antibody, 5E11, reactive with a minimum epitope with the sequence FNTTER. This sequence contains potential N- and O-glycosylation sites and, interestingly, glycosylation blocked binding of 5E11. In immunochemistry...

  5. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for insulin-like growth factor-I using six-histidine tag fused proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Yong; Shi Ruina; Zhong Xuefei; Wang Dan; Zhao Meiping; Li Yuanzong

    2007-01-01

    The fusion proteins of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and six-histidine tag (IGF-I-6H, 6H-IGF-I-6H) were cloned, expressed, purified and renatured, with their immunoreaction properties and biological activities intact. The binding kinetics between these fusion proteins and anti-IGF-I antibody or anti-6H antibody were studied using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) modes, which proved feasible in the measurement of human serum samples, were used to detect IGF-I with the help of the six-histidine tagged proteins. Furthermore, combining the production technique of the six-histidine tagged fusion protein with the competitive sandwich ELISA mode, using an enzyme labeled anti-6H antibody as a tracer, can be a universal immunochemical method to quantitate other polypeptides or proteins

  6. 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.

  7. Development of novel monoclonal antibodies that define differentiation stages of human stromal (mesenchymal) stem cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Ditte Caroline; Kortesidis, Angela; Zannettino, Andrew C W

    2011-01-01

    Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) are currently being introduced for cell therapy, yet, antibodies specific for native and differentiated MSCs are required for their identification prior to clinical use. Herein, high quality antibodies against MSC surface proteins were developed by immunizing...... fewer differentiated alkaline phosphatase(+) cells compared to STRO-1(+/-)/Collagen VI(+) hMSC, suggesting that Collagen VI on the cell membrane exclusively defines differentiated MSCs. In conclusion, we have generated a panel of high quality antibodies to be used for characterization of MSCs...... mice with hMSC, and by using a panel of subsequent screening methods. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that 83.5, 1.1, and 8.5% of primary cultures of hMSC were double positive for STRO-1 and either of DJ 3, 9, and 18, respectively. However, none of the three DJ antibodies allowed enrichment...

  8. Graph based techniques for tag cloud generation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leginus, Martin; Dolog, Peter; Lage, Ricardo Gomes

    2013-01-01

    Tag cloud is one of the navigation aids for exploring documents. Tag cloud also link documents through the user defined terms. We explore various graph based techniques to improve the tag cloud generation. Moreover, we introduce relevance measures based on underlying data such as ratings...... or citation counts for improved measurement of relevance of tag clouds. We show, that on the given data sets, our approach outperforms the state of the art baseline methods with respect to such relevance by 41 % on Movielens dataset and by 11 % on Bibsonomy data set....

  9. Efficient refolding and immobilization of PMMA-tag-fused single-chain Fv antibodies for sensitive immunological detection on a PMMA plate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumada, Yoichi; Ishikawa, Yasuyuki; Fujiwara, Yusuke; Takeda, Rui; Miyamoto, Ryosuke; Niwa, Daisuke; Momose, Shun; Kang, Bongmun; Kishimoto, Michimasa

    2014-09-01

    strongly suggested that a PMMA-tag introduced at the C-terminus of scFvs preferably recognizes ester and/or carboxyl groups exposed on the surface of plastics. The scFv-PM developed in the present study has advantages such as being a ligand antibody, compared with whole Ab and the conventional PS-tag-fused scFvs (scFv-PS), and, thus, it is considerably useful in a sandwich ELISA as well as in various immuno-detection and immuno-separation systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Monoclonal Antibodies to Intracellular Stages of Cryptosporidium parvum Define Life Cycle Progression In Vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilke, Georgia; Ravindran, Soumya; Funkhouser-Jones, Lisa; Barks, Jennifer; Wang, Qiuling; VanDussen, Kelli L; Stappenbeck, Thaddeus S; Kuhlenschmidt, Theresa B; Kuhlenschmidt, Mark S; Sibley, L David

    2018-06-27

    Among the obstacles hindering Cryptosporidium research is the lack of an in vitro culture system that supports complete life development and propagation. This major barrier has led to a shortage of widely available anti- Cryptosporidium antibodies and a lack of markers for staging developmental progression. Previously developed antibodies against Cryptosporidium were raised against extracellular stages or recombinant proteins, leading to antibodies with limited reactivity across the parasite life cycle. Here we sought to create antibodies that recognize novel epitopes that could be used to define intracellular development. We identified a mouse epithelial cell line that supported C. parvum growth, enabling immunization of mice with infected cells to create a bank of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against intracellular parasite stages while avoiding the development of host-specific antibodies. From this bank, we identified 12 antibodies with a range of reactivities across the parasite life cycle. Importantly, we identified specific MAbs that can distinguish different life cycle stages, such as trophozoites, merozoites, type I versus II meronts, and macrogamonts. These MAbs provide valuable tools for the Cryptosporidium research community and will facilitate future investigation into parasite biology. IMPORTANCE Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that causes gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. Currently, there is a limited array of antibodies available against the parasite, which hinders imaging studies and makes it difficult to visualize the parasite life cycle in different culture systems. In order to alleviate this reagent gap, we created a library of novel antibodies against the intracellular life cycle stages of Cryptosporidium We identified antibodies that recognize specific life cycle stages in distinctive ways, enabling unambiguous description of the parasite life cycle. These MAbs will aid future investigation into Cryptosporidium biology and

  11. Optimal Synthetic Glycosylation of a Therapeutic Antibody.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsons, Thomas B; Struwe, Weston B; Gault, Joseph; Yamamoto, Keisuke; Taylor, Thomas A; Raj, Ritu; Wals, Kim; Mohammed, Shabaz; Robinson, Carol V; Benesch, Justin L P; Davis, Benjamin G

    2016-02-12

    Glycosylation patterns in antibodies critically determine biological and physical properties but their precise control is a significant challenge in biology and biotechnology. We describe herein the optimization of an endoglycosidase-catalyzed glycosylation of the best-selling biotherapeutic Herceptin, an anti-HER2 antibody. Precise MS analysis of the intact four-chain Ab heteromultimer reveals nonspecific, non-enzymatic reactions (glycation), which are not detected under standard denaturing conditions. This competing reaction, which has hitherto been underestimated as a source of side products, can now be minimized. Optimization allowed access to the purest natural form of Herceptin to date (≥90 %). Moreover, through the use of a small library of sugars containing non-natural functional groups, Ab variants containing defined numbers of selectively addressable chemical tags (reaction handles at Sia C1) in specific positions (for attachment of cargo molecules or "glycorandomization") were readily generated.

  12. An Ultrasensitive Electrochemical Immunosensor for HIV p24 Based on Fe3O4@SiO2 Nanomagnetic Probes and Nanogold Colloid-Labeled Enzyme–Antibody Copolymer as Signal Tag

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tianhua Li

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available An ultrasensitive portable electrochemical immunosensor for human immunodeficiency virus p24 (HIV p24 antigen detection has been developed, whereby the detection sensitivity was 1000 times higher than that of the ELISA method. Firstly, a novel HRP enzyme–antibody copolymer (EV-p24 Ab2 was synthesized through an EnVision regent (EV, a dextrin amine skeleton anchoring more than 100 molecules of HRP and 15 molecules of anti IgG, then incubated in the secondary antibody of p24. Secondly, the copolymer was immobilized on the gold nanocolloids (AuNPs to fabricate a novel signal tag (AuNPs/EV-p24 Ab2. Subsequently, a sandwich-type immunoreaction would take place between the capture probe (silicon dioxide-coated magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MNPs labeled with the primary p24 antibody (MNPs-p24 Ab1, p24 (different concentrations and the signal tag [AuNPs/EV-p24 Ab2] to form the immunocomplex. Finally, the immunocomplex was absorbed on the surface of screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE by a magnet and immersed in the o-hydroxyl phenol (HQ and H2O2. The large amounts of HRP on the signal tag can catalyze the oxidation of HQ by H2O2, which can induce an amplified reductive current. Moreover, the capture probe could improve the accumulation ability of p24 and facilitate its separation from the substrate through the magnet. Under optimal conditions, the proposed immunoassay exhibited good sensitivity to p24 within a certain concentration range from 0.001 to 10.00 ng/mL, with a detection limit of 0.5 pg/mL (S/N = 3. The proposed method can be used for real-time and early detection of HIV-infected people.

  13. Probing the stereoselective interaction of ofloxacin enantiomers with corresponding monoclonal antibodies by multiple spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mu, Hongtao; Xu, Zhenlin; Liu, Yingju; Sun, Yuanming; Wang, Baoling; Sun, Xiulan; Wang, Zhanhui; Eremin, Sergei; Zherdev, Anatoly V.; Dzantiev, Boris B.; Lei, Hongtao

    2018-04-01

    Although stereoselective antibody has immense potential in chiral compounds detection and separation, the interaction traits between stereoselective antibody and the corresponding antigenic enantiomers are not yet fully exploited. In this study, the stereospecific interactions between ofloxacin isomers and corresponding monoclonal antibodies (McAb-WR1 and McAb-MS1) were investigated using time-resolved fluorescence, steady-state fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic methods. The chiral recognition discrepancies of antibodies with ofloxacin isomers were reflected through binding constant, number of binding sites, driving forces and conformational changes. The major interacting forces of McAb-WR1 and McAb-MS1 chiral interaction systems were hydrophobic force and van der Waals forces joined up with hydrogen bonds, respectively. Synchronous fluorescence spectra and CD spectra results showed that the disturbing of tyrosine and tryptophan micro-environments were so slightly that no obvious secondary structure changes were found during the chiral hapten binding. Clarification of stereospecific interaction of antibody will facilitate the application of immunoassay to analyze chiral contaminants in food and other areas.

  14. Perception without self-matching in conditional tag based cooperation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAvity, David M; Bristow, Tristen; Bunker, Eric; Dreyer, Alex

    2013-09-21

    We consider a model for the evolution of cooperation in a population where individuals may have one of a number of different heritable and distinguishable markers or tags. Individuals interact with each of their neighbors on a square lattice by either cooperating by donating some benefit at a cost to themselves or defecting by doing nothing. The decision to cooperate or defect is contingent on each individual's perception of its interacting partner's tag. Unlike in other tag-based models individuals do not compare their own tag to that of their interaction partner. That is, there is no self-matching. When perception is perfect the cooperation rate is substantially higher than in the usual spatial prisoner's dilemma game when the cost of cooperation is high. The enhancement in cooperation is positively correlated with the number of different tags. The more diverse a population is the more cooperative it becomes. When individuals start with an inability to perceive tags the population evolves to a state where individuals gain at least partial perception. With some reproduction mechanisms perfect perception evolves, but with others the ability to perceive tags is imperfect. We find that perception of tags evolves to lower levels when the cost of cooperation is higher. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Three distinct subsets of thymic epithelial cells in rats and mice defined by novel antibodies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasushi Sawanobori

    Full Text Available Thymic epithelial cells (TECs are thought to play an essential role in T cell development and have been detected mainly in mice using lectin binding and antibodies to keratins. Our aim in the present study was to create a precise map of rat TECs using antibodies to putative markers and novel monoclonal antibodies (i.e., ED 18/19/21 and anti-CD205 antibodies and compare it with a map from mouse counterparts and that of rat thymic dendritic cells.Rat TECs were subdivided on the basis of phenotype into three subsets; ED18+ED19+/-keratin 5 (K5+K8+CD205+ class II MHC (MHCII+ cortical TECs (cTECs, ED18+ED21-K5-K8+Ulex europaeus lectin 1 (UEA-1+CD205- medullary TECs (mTEC1s, and ED18+ED21+K5+K8dullUEA-1-CD205- medullary TECs (mTEC2s. Thymic nurse cells were defined in cytosmears as an ED18+ED19+/-K5+K8+ subset of cTECs. mTEC1s preferentially expressed MHCII, claudin-3, claudin-4, and autoimmune regulator (AIRE. Use of ED18 and ED21 antibodies revealed three subsets of TECs in mice as well. We also detected two distinct TEC-free areas in the subcapsular cortex and in the medulla. Rat dendritic cells in the cortex were MHCII+CD103+ but negative for TEC markers, including CD205. Those in the medulla were MHCII+CD103+ and CD205+ cells were found only in the TEC-free area.Both rats and mice have three TEC subsets with similar phenotypes that can be identified using known markers and new monoclonal antibodies. These findings will facilitate further analysis of TEC subsets and DCs and help to define their roles in thymic selection and in pathological states such as autoimmune disorders.

  16. Investigating interactions between phospholipase B-Like 2 and antibodies during Protein A chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Benjamin; Grosskopf, Vanessa; Wang, Xiangdan; Yang, Jihong; Walker, Don; Yu, Christopher; McDonald, Paul

    2016-03-18

    Purification processes for therapeutic antibodies typically exploit multiple and orthogonal chromatography steps in order to remove impurities, such as host-cell proteins. While the majority of host-cell proteins are cleared through purification processes, individual host-cell proteins such as Phospholipase B-like 2 (PLBL2) are more challenging to remove and can persist into the final purification pool even after multiple chromatography steps. With packed-bed chromatography runs using host-cell protein ELISAs and mass spectrometry analysis, we demonstrated that different therapeutic antibodies interact to varying degrees with host-cell proteins in general, and PLBL2 specifically. We then used a high-throughput Protein A chromatography method to further examine the interaction between our antibodies and PLBL2. Our results showed that the co-elution of PLBL2 during Protein A chromatography is highly dependent on the individual antibody and PLBL2 concentration in the chromatographic load. Process parameters such as antibody resin load density and pre-elution wash conditions also influence the levels of PLBL2 in the Protein A eluate. Furthermore, using surface plasmon resonance, we demonstrated that there is a preference for PLBL2 to interact with IgG4 subclass antibodies compared to IgG1 antibodies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Cell-free synthesis of functional antibody fragments to provide a structural basis for antibody-antigen interaction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takayoshi Matsuda

    Full Text Available Growing numbers of therapeutic antibodies offer excellent treatment strategies for many diseases. Elucidation of the interaction between a potential therapeutic antibody and its target protein by structural analysis reveals the mechanism of action and offers useful information for developing rational antibody designs for improved affinity. Here, we developed a rapid, high-yield cell-free system using dialysis mode to synthesize antibody fragments for the structural analysis of antibody-antigen complexes. Optimal synthesis conditions of fragments (Fv and Fab of the anti-EGFR antibody 059-152 were rapidly determined in a day by using a 30-μl-scale unit. The concentration of supplemented disulfide isomerase, DsbC, was critical to obtaining soluble antibody fragments. The optimal conditions were directly applicable to a 9-ml-scale reaction, with linear scalable yields of more than 1 mg/ml. Analyses of purified 059-152-Fv and Fab showed that the cell-free synthesized antibody fragments were disulfide-bridged, with antigen binding activity comparable to that of clinical antibodies. Examination of the crystal structure of cell-free synthesized 059-152-Fv in complex with the extracellular domain of human EGFR revealed that the epitope of 059-152-Fv broadly covers the EGF binding surface on domain III, including residues that formed critical hydrogen bonds with EGF (Asp355EGFR, Gln384EGFR, H409EGFR, and Lys465EGFR, so that the antibody inhibited EGFR activation. We further demonstrated the application of the cell-free system to site-specific integration of non-natural amino acids for antibody engineering, which would expand the availability of therapeutic antibodies based on structural information and rational design. This cell-free system could be an ideal antibody-fragment production platform for functional and structural analysis of potential therapeutic antibodies and for engineered antibody development.

  18. An efficient tag derived from the common epitope of tospoviral NSs proteins for monitoring recombinant proteins expressed in both bacterial and plant systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hao-Wen; Chen, Kuan-Chun; Raja, Joseph A J; Li, Jian-Xian; Yeh, Shyi-Dong

    2013-04-15

    NSscon (23 aa), a common epitope in the gene silencing suppressor NSs proteins of the members of the Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV) serogroup, was previously identified. In this investigation, we expressed different green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fused deletions of NSscon in bacteria and reacted with NSscon monoclonal antibody (MAb). Our results indicated that the core 9 amino acids, "(109)KFTMHNQIF(117)", denoted as "nss", retain the reactivity of NSscon. In bacterial pET system, four different recombinant proteins labeled with nss, either at N- or C-extremes, were readily detectable without position effects, with sensitivity superior to that for the polyhistidine-tag. When the nss-tagged Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) helper component-protease (HC-Pro) and WSMoV nucleocapsid protein were transiently expressed by agroinfiltration in tobacco, they were readily detectable and the tag's possible efficacy for gene silencing suppression was not noticed. Co-immunoprecipitation of nss-tagged and non-tagged proteins expressed from bacteria confirmed the interaction of potyviral HC-Pro and coat protein. Thus, we conclude that this novel nss sequence is highly valuable for tagging recombinant proteins in both bacterial and plant expression systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Case-only gene-environment interaction between ALAD tagSNPs and occupational lead exposure in prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neslund-Dudas, Christine; Levin, Albert M; Rundle, Andrew; Beebe-Dimmer, Jennifer; Bock, Cathryn H; Nock, Nora L; Jankowski, Michelle; Datta, Indrani; Krajenta, Richard; Dou, Q Ping; Mitra, Bharati; Tang, Deliang; Rybicki, Benjamin A

    2014-05-01

    Black men have historically had higher blood lead levels than white men in the U.S. and have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world. Inorganic lead has been classified as a probable human carcinogen. Lead (Pb) inhibits delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD), a gene recently implicated in other genitourinary cancers. The ALAD enzyme is involved in the second step of heme biosynthesis and is an endogenous inhibitor of the 26S proteasome, a master system for protein degradation and a current target of cancer therapy. Using a case-only study design, we assessed potential gene-environment (G × E) interactions between lifetime occupational Pb exposure and 11 tagSNPs within ALAD in black (N = 260) and white (N = 343) prostate cancer cases. Two ALAD tagSNPs in high linkage disequilibrium showed significant interaction with high Pb exposure among black cases (rs818684 interaction odds ratio or IOR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.43-5.22, P = 0.002; rs818689 IOR = 2.20, 95% CI 1.15-4.21, P = 0.017) and an additional tagSNP, rs2761016, showed G × E interaction with low Pb exposure (IOR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.13-3.84, P = 0.019). Further, the variant allele of rs818684 was associated with a higher Gleason grade in those with high Pb exposure among both blacks (OR 3.96, 95% CI 1.01-15.46, P = 0.048) and whites (OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.18-7.39, P = 0.020). Genetic variation in ALAD may modify associations between Pb and prostate cancer. Additional studies of ALAD, Pb, and prostate cancer are warranted and should include black men. Prostate 74:637-646, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Biotin-tagged proteins: Reagents for efficient ELISA-based serodiagnosis and phage display-based affinity selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Vaishali; Kaur, Charanpreet; Grover, Payal; Gupta, Amita; Chaudhary, Vijay K

    2018-01-01

    The high-affinity interaction between biotin and streptavidin has opened avenues for using recombinant proteins with site-specific biotinylation to achieve efficient and directional immobilization. The site-specific biotinylation of proteins carrying a 15 amino acid long Biotin Acceptor Peptide tag (BAP; also known as AviTag) is effected on a specific lysine either by co-expressing the E. coli BirA enzyme in vivo or by using purified recombinant E. coli BirA enzyme in the presence of ATP and biotin in vitro. In this paper, we have designed a T7 promoter-lac operator-based expression vector for rapid and efficient cloning, and high-level cytosolic expression of proteins carrying a C-terminal BAP tag in E. coli with TEV protease cleavable N-terminal deca-histidine tag, useful for initial purification. Furthermore, a robust three-step purification pipeline integrated with well-optimized protocols for TEV protease-based H10 tag removal, and recombinant BirA enzyme-based site-specific in vitro biotinylation is described to obtain highly pure biotinylated proteins. Most importantly, the paper demonstrates superior sensitivities in indirect ELISA with directional and efficient immobilization of biotin-tagged proteins on streptavidin-coated surfaces in comparison to passive immobilization. The use of biotin-tagged proteins through specific immobilization also allows more efficient selection of binders from a phage-displayed naïve antibody library. In addition, for both these applications, specific immobilization requires much less amount of protein as compared to passive immobilization and can be easily multiplexed. The simplified strategy described here for the production of highly pure biotin-tagged proteins will find use in numerous applications, including those, which may require immobilization of multiple proteins simultaneously on a solid surface.

  1. A generalized quantitative antibody homeostasis model: maintenance of global antibody equilibrium by effector functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prechl, József

    2017-11-01

    The homeostasis of antibodies can be characterized as a balanced production, target-binding and receptor-mediated elimination regulated by an interaction network, which controls B-cell development and selection. Recently, we proposed a quantitative model to describe how the concentration and affinity of interacting partners generates a network. Here we argue that this physical, quantitative approach can be extended for the interpretation of effector functions of antibodies. We define global antibody equilibrium as the zone of molar equivalence of free antibody, free antigen and immune complex concentrations and of dissociation constant of apparent affinity: [Ab]=[Ag]=[AbAg]= K D . This zone corresponds to the biologically relevant K D range of reversible interactions. We show that thermodynamic and kinetic properties of antibody-antigen interactions correlate with immunological functions. The formation of stable, long-lived immune complexes correspond to a decrease of entropy and is a prerequisite for the generation of higher-order complexes. As the energy of formation of complexes increases, we observe a gradual shift from silent clearance to inflammatory reactions. These rules can also be applied to complement activation-related immune effector processes, linking the physicochemical principles of innate and adaptive humoral responses. Affinity of the receptors mediating effector functions shows a wide range of affinities, allowing the continuous sampling of antibody-bound antigen over the complete range of concentrations. The generation of multivalent, multicomponent complexes triggers effector functions by crosslinking these receptors on effector cells with increasing enzymatic degradation potential. Thus, antibody homeostasis is a thermodynamic system with complex network properties, nested into the host organism by proper immunoregulatory and effector pathways. Maintenance of global antibody equilibrium is achieved by innate qualitative signals modulating a

  2. Tag cloud generation for results of multiple keywords queries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leginus, Martin; Dolog, Peter; Lage, Ricardo Gomes

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we study tag cloud generation for retrieved results of multiple keyword queries. It is motivated by many real world scenarios such as personalization tasks, surveillance systems and information retrieval tasks defined with multiple keywords. We adjust the state-of-the-art tag cloud...... generation techniques for multiple keywords query results. Consequently, we conduct the extensive evaluation on top of three distinct collaborative tagging systems. The graph-based methods perform significantly better for the Movielens and Bibsonomy datasets. Tag cloud generation based on maximal coverage...

  3. Analysis of Luminex-based algorithms to define unacceptable HLA antibodies in CDC-crossmatch negative kidney transplant recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zecher, Daniel; Bach, Christian; Preiss, Adrian; Staudner, Christoph; Utpatel, Kirsten; Evert, Matthias; Jung, Bettina; Bergler, Tobias; Böger, Carsten A; Spriewald, Bernd M; Banas, Bernhard

    2018-02-20

    HLA-specific antibodies detected by solid phase assays are increasingly used to define unacceptable HLA antigen mismatches (UAM) prior to renal transplantation. The accuracy of this approach is unclear. Day of transplant sera from 211 CDC-crossmatch-negative patients were retrospectively analyzed for donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSA) using Luminex technology. HLA were defined as UAM if DSA had mean fluorescence intensity above (I) 3000 (patients retransplanted and those with DSA against HLA class I and II) or 5000 (all other patients), (II) 5000 for HLA A, B and DR and 10,000 for HLA DQ or (III) 10,000 (all HLA). We then studied the accuracy of these algorithms to identify patients with antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) and graft loss. UAM were also determined in 256 transplant candidates and virtual panel-reactive antibody (vPRA) levels calculated. At transplantation, 67/211 patients had DSA. Of these, 31 (algorithm I), 24 (II) and 17 (III) had UAM. 9 (I and II) and 8 (III) of 11 early AMR episodes and 7 (I), 6 (II) and 5 (III) of 9 graft losses occurred in UAM-positive patients during 4.9 years of follow-up. Algorithms (I) and (II) identified patients with persistently lower GFR even in the absence of overt AMR. 23-33% of waiting list patients had UAM with median vPRA of 69.2-79.1%. Algorithms (I) and (II) had comparable efficacy but were superior to (III) in identifying at-risk patients at an acceptable false positive rate. However, Luminex-defined UAM significantly restrict the donor pool of affected patients, which might prolong waiting time.

  4. His-tag ELISA for the detection of humoral tumor-specific immunity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Disis Mary L

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The application of high throughput molecular techniques such as SEREX are resulting in the identification of a multitude of tumor associated antigens. As newly identified antigens are incorporated into a variety of clinical trials, standardization of immunologic monitoring methods becomes increasingly important. We questioned whether mammalian cell expression of a histadine-linked human protein could be used to produce antigen suitable for detecting tumor-specific humoral immunity and whether such an assay could be amenable to standardization for clinical use. Methods We designed a his-tagged capture ELISA based on lysate from genetically engineered CHO cells for detection of antibodies to insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2, a novel tumor antigen. We performed technical and preliminary clinical validation studies, including comparison to a standard indirect ELISA based on commercially prepared recombinant antigen. Results The his-tagged capture ELISA could be standardized. Precision experiments resulted in CVs 2 values of 0.99. In comparison to Western blot analysis, his-tag and indirect ELISA accurately identified 88% and 93% of samples, respectively. Sample concordance between capture and indirect assays was highly significant (p = 0.003. Furthermore, significantly greater levels of IGFBP-2 antibody immunity were found in cancer patients compared to normal controls (p = 0.008. Conclusion A genetically engineered cell lysate based ELISA can be amenable to standardization and can detect increased levels of antibody immunity to tumor-associated antigen in cancer patients compared to non tumor-bearing healthy controls.

  5. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ANTISPERM ANTIBODIES FOR SPERM - CERVICAL-MUCUS INTERACTION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    KREMER, J; JAGER, S

    An overview is presented of the effects of antisperm antibodies on the sperm - cervical mucus interaction. Antisperm IgA on spermatozoa or in cervical mucus can severely inhibit sperm penetration of cervical mucus and migration through it. Disturbance of the sperm - cervical mucus interaction is the

  6. Radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toledo e Souza, I.T. de; Okada, H.

    1990-05-01

    Since the description by Kohler and Milstein 1975 of their technique for producing monoclonal antibodies of predefined specificity, it has become a mainstay in most laboratories that utilize immunochemical techniques to study problems in basic, applied or clinical research. Paradoxically, the very success of monoclonal antibodies has generated a literature which is now so vast and scattered that it has become difficult to obtain a perspective. This brief review represents the distillation of many publications relating to the production and use of monoclonaal antibodies as radiopharmaceuticals. Significant advances were made possible in the last few years by combined developments in the fields of tumor-associated antigens and of monoclonal antibodies. In fact monoclonal antibodies against some well defined tumor-associated antigens, has led to significantly greater practical possibilities for producing highly specific radiolabeled antibodies as radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and therapy of human tumors. One of the main requirements of this methodology is the availability of stable radiopharmaceutical reagents which after labeling in vivo injection retain the capacity of specific interaction with the defined antigen and their molecular integrity. Since injection into human is the objetive of this kind of study all the specifications of radiopharmaceutical have to be fulfilled e.g. sterility, apirogenicity and absence of toxicity. (author) [pt

  7. Spatial Identification of Passive Radio Frequency Identification Tags Using Software Defined Radios

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    75 3.4 Experiment Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 4.1 Simulation Enviromental Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79...tabletop zReader 20cm Tag vertical offset from reader z 10 cm 3dB angle of sensor antenna theat3db 0.698 radians Table 4.1: Simulation Enviromental

  8. Interactions between nucleic acids and antibodies to Z-DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leng, M.; Hartmann, B.; Malfoy, B.; Pilet, J.; Ramstein, J.; Sage, E.

    1983-01-01

    In this paper we report some properties of the antibodies to Z-DNA. To determine more precisely the antigenic determinant, the interactions between the antibodies and several polynucleotides have been studied. We found that the antibodies bind very weakly to poly(dI-br 5 dC).(dI-br 5 dC). This polynucleotide can adopt the Z conformation in high salt concentration, as we have demonstrated by infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, from the study of the exchange rate of the protons involved in hydrogen bonds in this polynucleotide and from previous studies on poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) (Ramstein and Leng 1980; Pilet and Leng 1982), we propose a quantitative description of the dynamic structure of the Z form. 34 references, 5 figures, 3 tables

  9. Thermodynamic and kinetic approaches for evaluation of monoclonal antibody - Lipoprotein interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Multia, Evgen; Sirén, Heli; Andersson, Karl; Samuelsson, Jörgen; Forssén, Patrik; Fornstedt, Torgny; Öörni, Katariina; Jauhiainen, Matti; Riekkola, Marja-Liisa

    2017-02-01

    Two complementary instrumental techniques were used, and the data generated was processed with advanced numerical tools to investigate the interactions between anti-human apoB-100 monoclonal antibody (anti-apoB-100 Mab) and apoB-100 containing lipoproteins. Partial Filling Affinity Capillary Electrophoresis (PF-ACE) combined with Adsorption Energy Distribution (AED) calculations provided information on the heterogeneity of the interactions without any a priori model assumptions. The AED calculations evidenced a homogenous binding site distribution for the interactions. Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) studies were used to evaluate thermodynamics and kinetics of the Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and anti-apoB-100 Mab interactions. High affinity and selectivity were observed, and the emerging data sets were analysed with so called Interaction Maps. In thermodynamic studies, the interaction between LDL and anti-apoB-100 Mab was found to be predominantly enthalpy driven. Both techniques were also used to study antibody interactions with Intermediate-Density (IDL) and Very Low-Density (VLDL) Lipoproteins. By screening affinity constants for IDL-VLDL sample in a single injection we were able to distinguish affinity constants for both subpopulations using the numerical Interaction Map tool. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Probability of detecting marine predator-prey and species interactions using novel hybrid acoustic transmitter-receiver tags.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurie L Baker

    Full Text Available Understanding the nature of inter-specific and conspecific interactions in the ocean is challenging because direct observation is usually impossible. The development of dual transmitter/receivers, Vemco Mobile Transceivers (VMT, and satellite-linked (e.g. GPS tags provides a unique opportunity to better understand between and within species interactions in space and time. Quantifying the uncertainty associated with detecting a tagged animal, particularly under varying field conditions, is vital for making accurate biological inferences when using VMTs. We evaluated the detection efficiency of VMTs deployed on grey seals, Halichoerus grypus, off Sable Island (NS, Canada in relation to environmental characteristics and seal behaviour using generalized linear models (GLM to explore both post-processed detection data and summarized raw VMT data. When considering only post-processed detection data, only about half of expected detections were recorded at best even when two VMT-tagged seals were estimated to be within 50-200 m of one another. At a separation of 400 m, only about 15% of expected detections were recorded. In contrast, when incomplete transmissions from the summarized raw data were also considered, the ratio of complete transmission to complete and incomplete transmissions was about 70% for distances ranging from 50-1000 m, with a minimum of around 40% at 600 m and a maximum of about 85% at 50 m. Distance between seals, wind stress, and depth were the most important predictors of detection efficiency. Access to the raw VMT data allowed us to focus on the physical and environmental factors that limit a transceiver's ability to resolve a transmitter's identity.

  11. A panel of recombinant monoclonal antibodies against zebrafish neural receptors and secreted proteins suitable for wholemount immunostaining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staudt, Nicole; Müller-Sienerth, Nicole; Fane-Dremucheva, Alla; Yusaf, Shahnaz P; Millrine, David; Wright, Gavin J

    2015-01-02

    Cell surface receptors and secreted proteins play important roles in neural recognition processes, but because their site of action can be a long distance from neuron cell bodies, antibodies that label these proteins are valuable to understand their function. The zebrafish embryo is a popular vertebrate model for neurobiology, but suffers from a paucity of validated antibody reagents. Here, we use the entire ectodomain of neural zebrafish cell surface or secreted proteins expressed in mammalian cells to select monoclonal antibodies to ten different antigens. The antibodies were characterised by Western blotting and the sensitivity of their epitopes to formalin fixation was determined. The rearranged antigen binding regions of the antibodies were amplified and cloned which enabled expression in a recombinant form from a single plasmid. All ten antibodies gave specific staining patterns within formalin-treated embryonic zebrafish brains, demonstrating that this generalised approach is particularly efficient to elicit antibodies that stain native antigen in fixed wholemount tissue. Finally, we show that additional tags can be easily added to the recombinant antibodies for convenient multiplex staining. The antibodies and the approaches described here will help to address the lack of well-defined antibody reagents in zebrafish research. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Improving tag/seal technologies: the vulnerability assessment component

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, J.L.

    1996-01-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE), specifically the Office of Nonproliferation and National Security, has sponsored the development of numerous tag and seal technologies for high-security/high-valued applications. One important component in this technology development effort has been the continuous integration of vulnerability assessments. The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) has been the lead laboratory for vulnerability assessments of fiber-optic-based tag/seal technologies. This paper presents a brief historical overview and the current status of the DOE high-security tag/seal development program and discusses INEL's adversarial role and assessment philosophy. Verification testing criteria used to define ''successful'' tampering attempts/attacks are discussed. Finally, the advantages of integrating a vulnerability assessment into the development of commercial security tag/seals are presented

  13. Au nanocrystals grown on a better-defined one-dimensional tobacco mosaic virus coated protein template genetically modified by a hexahistidine tag

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Nan; Zhang Wei; Luo Zhaopeng; Zhai Niu; Zhang Hongfei; Li Zhonghao; Jiang Xingyi; Tang Gangling; Hu Qingyuan; Wang Chong; Tian Dandan

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) coated protein (CP) was genetically modified by introducing a hexahistidine tag into it for a well-defined one-dimensional template, on which Au nanocrystals (NCs) were grown. The results showed that genetic modification could not only ameliorate the one-dimensional structure of the template, but also improve the growth density of Au NCs on the template. This indicated that genetic modification could be an effective method to modulate the structure of the TMVCP template-based nanocomposites allowing for a broader application of them. (paper)

  14. Development of Novel Monoclonal Antibodies that Define Differentiation Stages of Human Stromal (Mesenchymal) Stem Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Ditte C.; Kortesidis, Angela; Zannettino, Andrew C.W.; Kratchmarova, Irina; Chen, Li; Jensen, Ole N.; Teisner, Børge; Gronthos, Stan; Jensen, Charlotte H.; Kassem, Moustapha

    2011-01-01

    Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) are currently being introduced for cell therapy, yet, antibodies specific for native and differentiated MSCs are required for their identification prior to clinical use. Herein, high quality antibodies against MSC surface proteins were developed by immunizing mice with hMSC, and by using a panel of subsequent screening methods. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that 83.5, 1.1, and 8.5% of primary cultures of hMSC were double positive for STRO-1 and either of DJ 3, 9, and 18, respectively. However, none of the three DJ antibodies allowed enrichment of clonogenic hMSC from BMMNCs as single reagents. Using mass-spectrometric analysis, we identified the antigen recognised by DJ3 as CD44, whereas DJ9 and DJ18 recognized HLA-DRB1 and Collagen VI, respectively. The identified proteins were highly expressed throughout in vitro osteogenic- and adipogenic differentiation. Interestingly, undifferentiated cells revealed a sole cytoplasmic distribution pattern of Collagen VI, which however changed to an extracellular matrix appearance upon osteogenic- and adipogenic differentiation. In relation to this, we found that STRO-1+/-/Collagen VI- sorted hMSC contained fewer differentiated alkaline phosphatase + cells compared to STRO-1+/-/Collagen VI+ hMSC, suggesting that Collagen VI on the cell membrane exclusively defines differentiated MSCs. In conclusion, we have generated a panel of high quality antibodies to be used for characterization of MSCs, and in addition our results may suggest that the DJ18 generated antibody against Collagen VI can be used for negative selection of cultured undifferentiated MSCs. PMID:21614487

  15. Electron-deuteron deep-inelastic scattering with spectator nucleon tagging and final-state interactions at intermediate x

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strikman, M.; Weiss, C.

    2018-03-01

    We consider electron-deuteron deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) with detection of a proton in the nuclear fragmentation region ("spectator tagging") as a method for extracting the free neutron structure functions and studying their nuclear modifications. Such measurements could be performed at a future electron-ion collider (EIC) with suitable forward detectors. The measured proton recoil momentum (≲100 MeV in the deuteron rest frame) specifies the deuteron configuration during the high-energy process and permits a controlled theoretical treatment of nuclear effects. Nuclear and nucleonic structure are separated using methods of light-front quantum mechanics. The impulse approximation to the tagged DIS cross section contains the free neutron pole, which can be reached by on-shell extrapolation in the recoil momentum. Final-state interactions (FSIs) distort the recoil momentum distribution away from the pole. In the intermediate-x region 0.1 rest frame momenta ≲1 GeV , target fragmentation region). We construct a schematic model describing this effect, using final-state hadron distributions measured in nucleon DIS experiments and low-energy hadron scattering amplitudes. We investigate the magnitude of FSIs, their dependence on the recoil momentum (angular dependence, forward/backward regions), their analytic properties, and their effect on the on-shell extrapolation. We comment on the prospects for neutron structure extraction in tagged DIS with an EIC. We discuss possible extensions of the FSI model to other kinematic regions (large/small x ). In tagged DIS at x ≪0.1 FSIs resulting from diffractive scattering on the nucleons become important and require separate treatment.

  16. A VAR2CSA:CSP conjugate capable of inducing dual specificity antibody responses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Matondo, Sungwa; Thrane, Susan; Janitzek, Christoph Mikkel

    2017-01-01

    Catcher peptide. The covalent interaction between SpyTag/SpyCatcher enables the formation of DBL1x-DBL2x-ID2a:CSP conjugate vaccine. Immunogenicity and quality of antibody responses induced by the conjugate vaccine, as well as a control CSP-SpyCatcher vaccine, was tested in BALB/c mice.  Results: Serum samples...... obtained from mice immunized with the conjugate vaccine were able to recognize both untagged DBL1x-DBL2x-ID2a as well as CSP antigen. Moreover, the geometric mean anti-CSP antibody titer was 1.9-fold higher in serum (at day 35 and 55 post-first immunization) from mice immunized with the conjugate vaccine......, as compared to mice receiving the control vaccine.  Conclusion: The data obtained in this study serves as proof-of-concept for the simultaneous induction of antibodies directed against individual antigen components in a dual stage anti-malaria vaccine....

  17. Tagging: An Organization Scheme for the Internet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marijke A. Visser

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available How should the information on the Internet be organized? This question and the possible solutions spark debates among people concerned with how we identify, classify, and retrieve Internet content. This paper discusses the benefits and the controversies of using a tagging system to organize Internet resources. Tagging refers to a classification system where individual Internet users apply labels, or tags, to digital resources. Tagging increased in popularity with the advent of Web 2.0 applications that encourage interaction among users. As more information is available digitally, the challenge to find an organizational system scalable to the Internet will continue to require forward thinking. Trained to ensure access to a range of informational resources, librarians need to be concerned with access to Internet content. Librarians can play a pivotal role by advocating for a system that supports the user at the moment of need. Tagging may just be the necessary system.

  18. Engineering a novel multifunctional green fluorescent protein tag for a wide variety of protein research.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takuya Kobayashi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Genetically encoded tag is a powerful tool for protein research. Various kinds of tags have been developed: fluorescent proteins for live-cell imaging, affinity tags for protein isolation, and epitope tags for immunological detections. One of the major problems concerning the protein tagging is that many constructs with different tags have to be made for different applications, which is time- and resource-consuming. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we report a novel multifunctional green fluorescent protein (mfGFP tag which was engineered by inserting multiple peptide tags, i.e., octa-histidine (8xHis, streptavidin-binding peptide (SBP, and c-Myc tag, in tandem into a loop of GFP. When fused to various proteins, mfGFP monitored their localization in living cells. Streptavidin agarose column chromatography with the SBP tag successfully isolated the protein complexes in a native form with a high purity. Tandem affinity purification (TAP with 8xHis and SBP tags in mfGFP further purified the protein complexes. mfGFP was clearly detected by c-Myc-specific antibody both in immunofluorescence and immuno-electron microscopy (EM. These findings indicate that mfGFP works well as a multifunctional tag in mammalian cells. The tag insertion was also successful in other fluorescent protein, mCherry. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The multifunctional fluorescent protein tag is a useful tool for a wide variety of protein research, and may have the advantage over other multiple tag systems in its higher expandability and compatibility with existing and future tag technologies.

  19. Topography of the high-affinity lysine binding site of plasminogen as defined with a specific antibody probe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miles, L.A.; Plow, E.F.

    1986-01-01

    An antibody population that reacted with the high-affinity lysine binding site of human plasminogen was elicited by immunizing rabbits with an elastase degradation product containing kringles 1-3 (EDP I). This antibody was immunopurified by affinity chromatography on plasminogen-Sepharose and elution with 0.2 M 6-aminohexanoic acid. The eluted antibodies bound [ 125 I]EDP I, [ 125 I]Glu-plasminogen, and [ 125 I]Lys-plasminogen in radioimmunoassays, and binding of each ligand was at least 99% inhibited by 0.2 M 6-aminohexanoic acid. The concentrations for 50% inhibition of [ 125 I]EDP I binding by tranexamic acid, 6-aminohexanoic acid, and lysine were 2.6, 46, and l730 μM, respectively. Similar values were obtained with plasminogen and suggested that an unoccupied high-affinity lysine binding site was required for antibody recognition. The antiserum reacted exclusively with plasminogen derivatives containing the EDP I region and did not react with those lacking an EDP I region, or with tissue plasminogen activator or prothrombin, which also contains kringles. By immunoblotting analyses, a chymotryptic degradation product of M/sub r/ 20,000 was derived from EDP I that retained reactivity with the antibody. α 2 -Antiplasmin inhibited the binding of radiolabeled EDP I, Glu-plasminogen, or Lys-plasminogen by the antiserum, suggesting that the recognized site is involved in the noncovalent interaction of the inhibitor with plasminogen. The binding of [ 125 I]EDP I to fibrin was also inhibited by the antiserum. The observations provide independent evidence for the role of the high-affinity lysine binding site in the functional interactions of plasminogen with its primary substrate and inhibitor

  20. Effects of FlAsH/Tetracysteine (TC) tag on PrP proteolysis and PrPres formation by TC-scanning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taguchi, Yuzuru; Hohsfield, Lindsay A.; Hollister, Jason R.

    2014-01-01

    The FlAsH/tetracysteine (FlAsH/TC) tag is a powerful tool for fluorescent labeling of proteins. However, even small tags such as FlAsH/TC could alter the behavior of the tagged proteins, especially if the insertion occurs at internal sites. Defining the influence of FlAsH/TC on nearby protein-protein interactions might aid in selecting appropriate positions for internal TC insertions and allow the exploitation of serial FlAsH/TC insertions (TC-scanning) as a probe to characterize sites of protein-protein interaction. To explore this application in the context of substrate-protease interactions, we analyzed the effect of FlAsH/TC insertions on proteolysis of cellular prion protein (PrPsen) in in vitro reactions and generation of the C1 metabolic fragment of PrPsen in live neuroblastoma cells. The influence of FlAsH/TC insertion was evaluated by TC-scanning across the cleavage sites of each protease. The results showed that FlAsH/TC inhibited protease cleavage only within limited ranges of the cleavage sites that varied from about 1 to 6 residues-wide depending on the protease, providing an estimate of the PrP residues interacting with each protease. TC-scanning was also used to probe a different type of protein-protein interaction, the conformational conversion of FlAsH-PrPsen to the prion disease-associated isoform, PrPres. PrP constructs with FlAsH/TC insertions at residues 90–96 but not 97–101 were converted to FlAsH-PrPres, identifying a boundary separating loosely versus compactly folded regions of PrPres. Our observations demonstrate that TC-scanning with the FlAsH/TC tag can be a versatile method for probing protein-protein interactions and folding processes. PMID:23943295

  1. Automatic behavior analysis in tag games: From traditional spaces to interactive playgrounds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moreno, Alejandro; Poppe, R.W.

    2016-01-01

    Tag is a popular children’s playground game. It revolves around taggers that chase and then tag runners, upon which their roles switch. There are many variations of the game that aim to keep children engaged by presenting them with challenges and different types of gameplay. We argue that the

  2. Switches of stimulus tagging frequencies interact with the conflict-driven control of selective attention, but not with inhibitory control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherbaum, Stefan; Frisch, Simon; Dshemuchadse, Maja

    2016-01-01

    Selective attention and its adaptation by cognitive control processes are considered a core aspect of goal-directed action. Often, selective attention is studied behaviorally with conflict tasks, but an emerging neuroscientific method for the study of selective attention is EEG frequency tagging. It applies different flicker frequencies to the stimuli of interest eliciting steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) in the EEG. These oscillating SSVEPs in the EEG allow tracing the allocation of selective attention to each tagged stimulus continuously over time. The present behavioral investigation points to an important caveat of using tagging frequencies: The flicker of stimuli not only produces a useful neuroscientific marker of selective attention, but interacts with the adaptation of selective attention itself. Our results indicate that RT patterns of adaptation after response conflict (so-called conflict adaptation) are reversed when flicker frequencies switch at once. However, this effect of frequency switches is specific to the adaptation by conflict-driven control processes, since we find no effects of frequency switches on inhibitory control processes after no-go trials. We discuss the theoretical implications of this finding and propose precautions that should be taken into account when studying conflict adaptation using frequency tagging in order to control for the described confounds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Tempting To Tag: An Experimental Comparison Of Four Tagging Input Mechanisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Melenhorst

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Tagging helps achieve improved indexing and recommendation of resources (e.g., videos or pictures in large data collections. In order to reap the benefits of tagging, people must be persuaded to label the resources they consume. This paper reports on a study in which four different tagging input mechanisms and their effect on users' motivation to tag were compared. The mechanisms consisted of a standard tag input box, a chatbot-like environment, a bookmarking mechanism, and a "tag and vote" game. The results of our experiment show that the use of the nonstandard tagging input mechanisms does not affect users' motivation to tag. In some instances tagging mechanisms were found to distract users from their primary task: consuming resources. Persuading people to tag might be accomplished more effectively by using other motivating tagging mechanisms (e.g., tagging games, or motivation could be created by explaining the usefulness of tagging.

  4. Bag3-induced autophagy is associated with degradation of JCV oncoprotein, T-Ag.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilker Kudret Sariyer

    Full Text Available JC virus, JCV, is a human neurotropic polyomavirus whose replication in glial cells causes the fatal demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML. In addition, JCV possesses oncogenic activity and expression of its transforming protein, large T-antigen (T-Ag, in several experimental animals induces tumors of neural origin. Further, the presence of JCV DNA and T-Ag have been repeatedly observed in several human malignant tissues including primitive neuroectodermal tumors and glioblastomas. Earlier studies have demonstrated that Bag3, a member of the Bcl-2-associated athanogene (Bag family of proteins, which is implicated in autophagy and apoptosis, is downregulated upon JCV infection of glial cells and that JCV T-Ag is responsible for suppressing the activity of the BAG3 promoter. Here, we investigated the possible impact of Bag3 on T-Ag expression in JCV-infected human primary glial cells as well as in cells derived from T-Ag-induced medulloblastoma in transgenic animals. Results from these studies revealed that overexpression of Bag3 drastically decreases the level of T-Ag expression by inducing the autophagic degradation of the viral protein. Interestingly, this event leads to the inhibition of JCV infection of glial cells, suggesting that the reduced levels of T-antigen seen upon the overexpression of Bag3 has a biological impact on the viral lytic cycle. Results from protein-protein interaction studies showed that T-Ag and Bag3 physically interact with each other through the zinc-finger of T-Ag and the proline rich domains of Bag3, and this interaction is important for the autophagic degradation of T-Ag. Our observations open a new avenue of research for better understanding of virus-host interaction by investigating the interplay between T-Ag and Bag3, and their impact on the development of JCV-associated diseases.

  5. Bag3-induced autophagy is associated with degradation of JCV oncoprotein, T-Ag.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sariyer, Ilker Kudret; Merabova, Nana; Patel, Prem Kumer; Knezevic, Tijana; Rosati, Alessandra; Turco, Maria C; Khalili, Kamel

    2012-01-01

    JC virus, JCV, is a human neurotropic polyomavirus whose replication in glial cells causes the fatal demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). In addition, JCV possesses oncogenic activity and expression of its transforming protein, large T-antigen (T-Ag), in several experimental animals induces tumors of neural origin. Further, the presence of JCV DNA and T-Ag have been repeatedly observed in several human malignant tissues including primitive neuroectodermal tumors and glioblastomas. Earlier studies have demonstrated that Bag3, a member of the Bcl-2-associated athanogene (Bag) family of proteins, which is implicated in autophagy and apoptosis, is downregulated upon JCV infection of glial cells and that JCV T-Ag is responsible for suppressing the activity of the BAG3 promoter. Here, we investigated the possible impact of Bag3 on T-Ag expression in JCV-infected human primary glial cells as well as in cells derived from T-Ag-induced medulloblastoma in transgenic animals. Results from these studies revealed that overexpression of Bag3 drastically decreases the level of T-Ag expression by inducing the autophagic degradation of the viral protein. Interestingly, this event leads to the inhibition of JCV infection of glial cells, suggesting that the reduced levels of T-antigen seen upon the overexpression of Bag3 has a biological impact on the viral lytic cycle. Results from protein-protein interaction studies showed that T-Ag and Bag3 physically interact with each other through the zinc-finger of T-Ag and the proline rich domains of Bag3, and this interaction is important for the autophagic degradation of T-Ag. Our observations open a new avenue of research for better understanding of virus-host interaction by investigating the interplay between T-Ag and Bag3, and their impact on the development of JCV-associated diseases.

  6. [Study of anti-idiotype antibodies to human monoclonal antibody].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, R; Takahashi, N; Owaki, I; Kannagi, R; Endo, N; Morita, N; Inoue, M

    1992-02-01

    A human monoclonal antibody, ll-50 (IgM, lambda), was generated, which reacted specifically with a major of glycolipid present in LS174T colon cancer cells. The glycolipid antigen which reacted with the ll-50 antibody was expected to four sugar residues from its TLC mobility, and it was ascertained that the glycolipid antigen which reacted with ll-50 antibody might be Lc4 antigen [Gal beta 1----3 GLcNAc beta 1----3 Gal beta 1----4 Glc beta 1----1 Cer] judging from TLC immunostaining and ELISA when the reactivity of ll-50 antibody was tested using various pure glycolipids in 3-5 sugar residues as an antigen. Sera in patients with malignant disorders and healthy individuals were analyzed by Sandwich assay of immobilized and biotinylated ll-50 antibody. The serum of the Lc4 antigen recognized by ll-50 antibody was significantly higher in patients with malignant disorders than that in healthy individuals (p less than 0.05). Three mouse monoclonal anti-idiotype antibodies, G3, B3 and C5 (all IgG1), were generated by the immunization of BALB/c mice with ll-50 antibody. These anti-idiotype antibodies specifically bound to to human monoclonal antibody, ll-50 and had a significant inhibitory activity towards the binding of ll-50 antibody to the Lc4 antigen. This indicated that these anti-idiotype antibodies, G3, B3, and C5, were paratope-related anti-idiotype antibodies. G3, B3, and C5 were expected to define the nearest idiotope because they could mutually inhibit ll-50 antibody. Sera in patients with malignant disorders and healthy individuals were analyzed by Sandwich assay of immobilized and biotinylated anti-idiotype antibodies, G3, B3, and C5. As to the ll-50 like antibodies defined by C5 (Id-C5+), the mean serum level in patients with malignant disorders was significantly higher than that in healthy individuals (p less than 0.05). As to the ll-50 like antibodies defined by B3 (Id-B3+), the mean serum level in patients with malignant disorders was significantly higher

  7. Expression of human protein S100A7 (psoriasin, preparation of antibody and application to human larynx squamous cell carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbieri Manuela R

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Up-regulation of S100A7 (Psoriasin, a small calcium-binding protein, is associated with the development of several types of carcinomas, but its function and possibility to serve as a diagnostic or prognostic marker have not been fully defined. In order to prepare antibodies to the protein for immunohistochemical studies we produced the recombinant S100A7 protein in E. coli. mRNA extracted from human tracheal tumor tissue which was amplified by RT-PCR to provide the region coding for the S100A7 gene. The amplified fragment was cloned in the vector pCR2.1-TOPO and sub-cloned in the expression vector pAE. The protein rS100A7 (His-tag was expressed in E. coli BL21::DE3, purified by affinity chromatography on an Ni-NTA column, recovered in the 2.0 to 3.5 mg/mL range in culture medium, and used to produce a rabbit polyclonal antibody anti-rS100A7 protein. The profile of this polyclonal antibody was evaluated in a tissue microarray. Results The rS100A7 (His-tag protein was homogeneous by SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry and was used to produce an anti-recombinant S100A7 (His-tag rabbit serum (polyclonal antibody anti-rS100A7. The molecular weight of rS100A7 (His-tag protein determined by linear MALDI-TOF-MS was 12,655.91 Da. The theoretical mass calculated for the nonapeptide attached to the amino terminus is 12,653.26 Da (delta 2.65 Da. Immunostaining with the polyclonal anti-rS100A7 protein generated showed reactivity with little or no background staining in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, detecting S100A7 both in nucleus and cytoplasm. Lower levels of S100A7 were detected in non-neoplastic tissue. Conclusions The polyclonal anti-rS100A7 antibody generated here yielded a good signal-to-noise contrast and should be useful for immunohistochemical detection of S100A7 protein. Its potential use for other epithelial lesions besides human larynx squamous cell carcinoma and non-neoplastic larynx should be explored in future.

  8. Study of mast cell count in skin tags

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaher Hesham

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Skin tags or acrochordons are common tumors of middle-aged and elderly subjects. They consist of loose fibrous tissue and occur mainly on the neck and major flexures as small, soft, pedunculated protrusions. Objectives: The aim was to compare the mast cells count in skin tags to adjacent normal skin in diabetic and nondiabetic participants in an attempt to elucidate the possible role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of skin tags. Participants and Methods: Thirty participants with skin tags were divided into group I (15 nondiabetic participants and group II (15 diabetic participants. Three biopsies were obtained from each participant: a large skin tag, a small skin tag and adjacent normal skin. Mast cell count from all the obtained sections was carried out, and the mast cell density was expressed as the average mast cell count/high power field (HPF. Results: A statistically significant increase in mast cells count in skin tags in comparison to normal skin was detected in group I and group II. There was no statistically significant difference between mast cell counts in skin tags of both the groups. Conclusion: Both the mast cell mediators and hyperinsulinemia are capable of inducing fibroblast proliferation and epidermal hyperplasia that are the main pathologic abnormalities seen in all types of skin tags. However, the presence of mast cells in all examined skin tags regardless of diabetes and obesity may point to the possible crucial role of mast cells in the etiogenesis of skin tags through its interaction with fibroblasts and keratinocytes.

  9. Affinity improvement of a therapeutic antibody by structure-based computational design: generation of electrostatic interactions in the transition state stabilizes the antibody-antigen complex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masato Kiyoshi

    Full Text Available The optimization of antibodies is a desirable goal towards the development of better therapeutic strategies. The antibody 11K2 was previously developed as a therapeutic tool for inflammatory diseases, and displays very high affinity (4.6 pM for its antigen the chemokine MCP-1 (monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1. We have employed a virtual library of mutations of 11K2 to identify antibody variants of potentially higher affinity, and to establish benchmarks in the engineering of a mature therapeutic antibody. The most promising candidates identified in the virtual screening were examined by surface plasmon resonance to validate the computational predictions, and to characterize their binding affinity and key thermodynamic properties in detail. Only mutations in the light-chain of the antibody are effective at enhancing its affinity for the antigen in vitro, suggesting that the interaction surface of the heavy-chain (dominated by the hot-spot residue Phe101 is not amenable to optimization. The single-mutation with the highest affinity is L-N31R (4.6-fold higher affinity than wild-type antibody. Importantly, all the single-mutations showing increase affinity incorporate a charged residue (Arg, Asp, or Glu. The characterization of the relevant thermodynamic parameters clarifies the energetic mechanism. Essentially, the formation of new electrostatic interactions early in the binding reaction coordinate (transition state or earlier benefits the durability of the antibody-antigen complex. The combination of in silico calculations and thermodynamic analysis is an effective strategy to improve the affinity of a matured therapeutic antibody.

  10. Billfish Tagging

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The SWFSC's constituent-based Billfish Tagging Program began in 1963 and since that time has provided conventional spaghetti type tags and tagging supplies to...

  11. Predicting HIV-1 transmission and antibody neutralization efficacy in vivo from stoichiometric parameters.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver F Brandenberg

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The potential of broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting the HIV-1 envelope trimer to prevent HIV-1 transmission has opened new avenues for therapies and vaccines. However, their implementation remains challenging and would profit from a deepened mechanistic understanding of HIV-antibody interactions and the mucosal transmission process. In this study we experimentally determined stoichiometric parameters of the HIV-1 trimer-antibody interaction, confirming that binding of one antibody is sufficient for trimer neutralization. This defines numerical requirements for HIV-1 virion neutralization and thereby enables mathematical modelling of in vitro and in vivo antibody neutralization efficacy. The model we developed accurately predicts antibody efficacy in animal passive immunization studies and provides estimates for protective mucosal antibody concentrations. Furthermore, we derive estimates of the probability for a single virion to start host infection and the risks of male-to-female HIV-1 transmission per sexual intercourse. Our work thereby delivers comprehensive quantitative insights into both the molecular principles governing HIV-antibody interactions and the initial steps of mucosal HIV-1 transmission. These insights, alongside the underlying, adaptable modelling framework presented here, will be valuable for supporting in silico pre-trial planning and post-hoc evaluation of HIV-1 vaccination or antibody treatment trials.

  12. Quantum tagging: Authenticating location via quantum information and relativistic signaling constraints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kent, Adrian; Munro, William J.; Spiller, Timothy P. [Centre for Quantum Information and Foundations, DAMTP, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom and Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada); NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa 243-0198 (Japan); Quantum Information Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom)

    2011-07-15

    We define the task of quantum tagging, that is, authenticating the classical location of a classical tagging device by sending and receiving quantum signals from suitably located distant sites, in an environment controlled by an adversary whose quantum information processing and transmitting power is unbounded. We define simple security models for this task and briefly discuss alternatives. We illustrate the pitfalls of naive quantum cryptographic reasoning in this context by describing several protocols which at first sight appear unconditionally secure but which, as we show, can in fact be broken by teleportation-based attacks. We also describe some protocols which cannot be broken by these specific attacks, but do not prove they are unconditionally secure. We review the history of quantum tagging protocols, and show that protocols previously proposed by Malaney and Chandran et al. are provably insecure.

  13. Applications of recombinant antibodies in plant pathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegler, Angelika; Torrance, Lesley

    2002-09-01

    Summary Advances in molecular biology have made it possible to produce antibody fragments comprising the binding domains of antibody molecules in diverse heterologous systems, such as Escherichia coli, insect cells, or plants. Antibody fragments specific for a wide range of antigens, including plant pathogens, have been obtained by cloning V-genes from lymphoid tissue, or by selection from large naive phage display libraries, thus avoiding the need for immunization. The antibody fragments have been expressed as fusion proteins to create different functional molecules, and fully recombinant assays have been devised to detect plant viruses. The defined binding properties and unlimited cheap supply of antibody fusion proteins make them useful components of standardized immunoassays. The expression of antibody fragments in plants was shown to confer resistance to several plant pathogens. However, the antibodies usually only slowed the progress of infection and durable 'plantibody' resistance has yet to be demonstrated. In future, it is anticipated that antibody fragments from large libraries will be essential tools in high-throughput approaches to post-genomics research, such as the assignment of gene function, characterization of spatio-temporal patterns of protein expression, and elucidation of protein-protein interactions.

  14. Quantum tagging for tags containing secret classical data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kent, Adrian

    2011-01-01

    Various authors have considered schemes for quantum tagging, that is, authenticating the classical location of a classical tagging device by sending and receiving quantum signals from suitably located distant sites, in an environment controlled by an adversary whose quantum information processing and transmitting power is potentially unbounded. All of the schemes proposed elsewhere in the literature assume that the adversary is able to inspect the interior of the tagging device. All of these schemes have been shown to be breakable if the adversary has unbounded predistributed entanglement. We consider here the case in which the tagging device contains a finite key string shared with distant sites but kept secret from the adversary, and show this allows the location of the tagging device to be authenticated securely and indefinitely. Our protocol relies on quantum key distribution between the tagging device and at least one distant site, and demonstrates a new practical application of quantum key distribution. It also illustrates that the attainable security in position-based cryptography can depend crucially on apparently subtle details in the security scenario considered.

  15. Comparative Performance of Acoustic-tagged and PIT-tagged Juvenile Salmonids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hockersmith, Eric E.; Brown, Richard S.; Liedtke, Theresa L.

    2008-02-01

    Numerous research tools and technologies are currently being used to evaluate fish passage and survival to determine the impacts of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) on endangered and threatened juvenile salmonids, including PIT tags, balloon tags, hydroacoustic evaluations, radio telemetry, and acoustic telemetry. Each has advantages and disadvantages, but options are restricted in some situations because of limited capabilities of a specific technology, lack of detection capability downstream, or availability of adequate numbers of fish. However, there remains concern about the comparative effects of the tag or the tagging procedure on fish performance. The recently developed Juvenile Salmonid Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) acoustic transmitter is the smallest active acoustic tag currently available. The goal of this study was to determine whether fish tagged with the JSATS acoustic-telemetry tag can provide unbiased estimates of passage behavior and survival within the performance life of the tag. We conducted both field and laboratory studies to assess tag effects. For the field evaluation we released a total of 996 acoustic-tagged fish in conjunction with 21,026 PIT-tagged fish into the tailrace of Lower Granite Dam on 6 and 13 May. Travel times between release and downstream dams were not significantly different for the majority of the reaches between acoustic-tagged and PIT-tagged fish. In addition to the field evaluation, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted to determine if growth and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters is different than untagged or PIT tagged juvenile Chinook salmon. Only yearling fish with integrated and non-integrated transmitters experienced mortalities, and these were low (<4.5%). Mortality among sub-yearling control and PIT-tag treatments ranged up to 7.7% while integrated and non-integrated treatments had slightly higher rates (up to 8.3% and 7

  16. Tagging the European eel Anguilla anguilla (L.) with coded wire tags

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomassen, S.; Pedersen, Michael Ingemann; Holdensgaard, G.

    2000-01-01

    The coded wire tag (CWT) system was examined as a possible tool for tagging European eels (Anguilla anguilla). Two size groups of eels (3.8 and 10.2 g) were tagged with CWTs in the dorsal musculature, Tag loss 28 days after tagging was 3.1% for the small and 0.7% for the large groups of eels...

  17. Tempting to Tag : An Experimental Comparison of Four Tagging Input Mechanisms

    OpenAIRE

    Melenhorst, Mark; van Velsen, Lex

    2010-01-01

    Tagging helps achieve improved indexing and recommendation of resources (e.g., videos or pictures) in large data collections. In order to reap the benefits of tagging, people must be persuaded to label the resources they consume. This paper reports on a study in which four different tagging input mechanisms and their effect on users' motivation to tag were compared. The mechanisms consisted of a standard tag input box, a chatbot-like environment, a bookmarking mechanism, and a "tag and v...

  18. Hypergraph topological quantities for tagged social networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zlatić, Vinko; Ghoshal, Gourab; Caldarelli, Guido

    2009-09-01

    Recent years have witnessed the emergence of a new class of social networks, which require us to move beyond previously employed representations of complex graph structures. A notable example is that of the folksonomy, an online process where users collaboratively employ tags to resources to impart structure to an otherwise undifferentiated database. In a recent paper, we proposed a mathematical model that represents these structures as tripartite hypergraphs and defined basic topological quantities of interest. In this paper, we extend our model by defining additional quantities such as edge distributions, vertex similarity and correlations as well as clustering. We then empirically measure these quantities on two real life folksonomies, the popular online photo sharing site Flickr and the bookmarking site CiteULike. We find that these systems share similar qualitative features with the majority of complex networks that have been previously studied. We propose that the quantities and methodology described here can be used as a standard tool in measuring the structure of tagged networks.

  19. Wnt isoform-specific interactions with coreceptor specify inhibition or potentiation of signaling by LRP6 antibodies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Gong

    Full Text Available β-Catenin-dependent Wnt signaling is initiated as Wnt binds to both the receptor FZD and coreceptor LRP5/6, which then assembles a multimeric complex at the cytoplasmic membrane face to recruit and inactivate the kinase GSK3. The large number and sequence diversity of Wnt isoforms suggest the possibility of domain-specific ligand-coreceptor interactions, and distinct binding sites on LRP6 for Wnt3a and Wnt9b have recently been identified in vitro. Whether mechanistically different interactions between Wnts and coreceptors might mediate signaling remains to be determined. It is also not clear whether coreceptor homodimerization induced extracellularly can activate Wnt signaling, as is the case for receptor tyrosine kinases. We generated monoclonal antibodies against LRP6 with the unexpected ability to inhibit signaling by some Wnt isoforms and potentiate signaling by other isoforms. In cell culture, two antibodies characterized further show reciprocal activities on most Wnts, with one antibody antagonizing and the other potentiating. We demonstrate that these antibodies bind to different regions of LRP6 protein, and inhibition of signaling results from blocking Wnt binding. Antibody-mediated dimerization of LRP6 can potentiate signaling only when a Wnt isoform is also able to bind the complex, presumably recruiting FZD. Endogenous autocrine Wnt signaling in different tumor cell lines can be either antagonized or enhanced by the LRP6 antibodies, indicating expression of different Wnt isoforms. As anticipated from the roles of Wnt signaling in cancer and bone development, antibody activities can also be observed in mice for inhibition of tumor growth and in organ culture for enhancement of bone mineral density. Collectively, our results indicate that separate binding sites for different subsets of Wnt isoforms determine the inhibition or potentiation of signaling conferred by LRP6 antibodies. This complexity of coreceptor-ligand interactions may

  20. Comparative tumour localization properties of radiolabelled monoclonal antibody preparations of defined immunoreactivities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pimm, M.V.; Baldwin, R.W.

    1987-01-01

    The immunoreactive fraction of an anti-CEA monoclonal antibody preparation has been progressively decreased by the addition of increasing proportions of impurity in the form of immunologically inert mouse immunoglobulin. Following radioiodination, the immunoreactive fractions of the preparations were determined and their localization in a human tumour xenograft in nude mice was assessed. There was a progressive decline in tumour localization, from tumour to blood ratios of 2:1 with unadulterated antibody to 0.6:1 with preparations only 15% with respect to the initial antibody. These findings demonstrate that the immunoreactive fraction of monoclonal antibody preparations is a major limiting factor in tumour localization and this has implications for experimental and clinical applications of monoclonal antibodies. (orig.)

  1. Intracellular antibody capture: A molecular biology approach to inhibitors of protein-protein interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jing; Rabbitts, Terence H

    2014-11-01

    Many proteins of interest in basic biology, translational research studies and for clinical targeting in diseases reside inside the cell and function by interacting with other macromolecules. Protein complexes control basic processes such as development and cell division but also abnormal cell growth when mutations occur such as found in cancer. Interfering with protein-protein interactions is an important aspiration in both basic and disease biology but small molecule inhibitors have been difficult and expensive to isolate. Recently, we have adapted molecular biology techniques to develop a simple set of protocols for isolation of high affinity antibody fragments (in the form of single VH domains) that function within the reducing environment of higher organism cells and can bind to their target molecules. The method called Intracellular Antibody Capture (IAC) has been used to develop inhibitory anti-RAS and anti-LMO2 single domains that have been used for target validation of these antigens in pre-clinical cancer models and illustrate the efficacy of the IAC approach to generation of drug surrogates. Future use of inhibitory VH antibody fragments as drugs in their own right (we term these macrodrugs to distinguish them from small molecule drugs) requires their delivery to target cells in vivo but they can also be templates for small molecule drug development that emulate the binding sites of the antibody fragments. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Recent advances in molecular engineering of antibody. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Efficient production of Trastuzumab Fab antibody fragments in Brevibacillus choshinensis expression system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizukami, Makoto; Onishi, Hiromasa; Hanagata, Hiroshi; Miyauchi, Akira; Ito, Yuji; Tokunaga, Hiroko; Ishibashi, Matsujiro; Arakawa, Tsutomu; Tokunaga, Masao

    2018-10-01

    The Brevibacillus expression system has been successfully employed for the efficient productions of a variety of recombinant proteins, including enzymes, cytokines, antigens and antibody fragments. Here, we succeeded in secretory expression of Trastuzumab Fab antibody fragments using B. choshinensis/BIC (Brevibacillus in vivocloning) expression system. In the fed-batch high-density cell culture, recombinant Trastuzumab Fab with amino-terminal His-tag (His-BcFab) was secreted at high level, 1.25 g/liter, and Fab without His-tag (BcFab) at ∼145 mg/L of culture supernatant. His-BcFab and BcFab were purified to homogeneity using combination of conventional column chromatographies with a yield of 10-13%. This BcFab preparation exhibited native structure and functions evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, surface plasmon resonance, circular dichroism measurements and size exclusion chromatography. To our knowledge, this is the highest production of Fab antibody fragments in gram-positive bacterial expression/secretion systems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Ta1, a novel 105 KD human T cell activation antigen defined by a monoclonal antibody.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, D A; Hussey, R E; Fitzgerald, K A; Acuto, O; Poole, C; Palley, L; Daley, J F; Schlossman, S F; Reinherz, E L

    1984-09-01

    By using a murine monoclonal antibody produced against an IL 2-dependent human T cell line, we defined a T lineage-specific molecule, termed Ta1, that is expressed strongly on activated T lymphocytes of both the T4 and T8 subsets, as well as on T cell lines and clones, but only weakly on a fraction of resting T cells. SDS-PAGE analysis of immunoprecipitates from 125I-labeled, activated T cells demonstrates a single major band of apparent m.w. 105 KD under both reducing and nonreducing conditions. Unlike anti-IL 2 receptor antibodies, anti-Ta1 does not inhibit T cell proliferative responses to mitogen, antigen, or IL 2-containing medium. Moreover, anti-Ta1 has no effect on T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Ta1 appears to be a novel human T cell-specific activation antigen that may serve as a useful marker of T cell activation in human disease.

  4. SINGLE CHAIN VARIABLE FRAGMENTS OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST DIPHTHERIA TOXIN B-SUBUNIT ISOLATED FROM PHAGE DISPLAY HUMAN ANTIBODY LIBRARY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliinyk O. S.

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Diphtheria toxin is an exoantigen of Corynebacterium diphtheriae that inhibits protein synthesis and kills sensitive cells. The aim of this study was to obtain human recombinant single-chain variable fragment (scFv antibodies against receptor-binding B subunit of diphtheria toxin. 12 specific clones were selected after three rounds of a phage display naїve (unimmunized human antibody library against recombinant B-subunit. scFv DNA inserts from these 12 clones were digested with MvaI, and 6 unique restriction patterns were found. Single-chain antibodies were expressed in Escherichia coli XL1-blue. The recombinant proteins were characterized by immunoblotting of bacterial extracts and detection with an anti-E-tag antibody. The toxin B-subunit-binding function of the single-chain antibody was shown by ELISA. The affinity constants for different clones were found to be from 106 to 108 М–1. Due to the fact, that these antibody fragments recognized epitopes in the receptor-binding Bsubunit of diphtheria toxin, further studies are interesting to evaluate their toxin neutralization properties and potential for therapeutic applications. Obtained scFv-antibodies can also be used for detection and investigation of biological properties of diphtheria toxin.

  5. TRSDL: Tag-Aware Recommender System Based on Deep Learning–Intelligent Computing Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nan Liang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In recommender systems (RS, many models are designed to predict ratings of items for the target user. To improve the performance for rating prediction, some studies have introduced tags into recommender systems. Tags benefit RS considerably, however, they are also redundant and ambiguous. In this paper, we propose a hybrid deep learning model TRSDL (tag-aware recommender system based on deep learning to improve the performance of tag-aware recommender systems (TRS. First, TRSDL uses pre-trained word embeddings to represent user-defined tags, and constructs item and user profiles based on the items’ tags set and users’ tagging behaviors. Then, it utilizes deep neural networks (DNNs and recurrent neural networks (RNNs to extract the latent features of items and users, respectively. Finally, it predicts ratings from these latent features. The model not only addresses tag limitations and takes advantage of semantic tag information but also learns more advanced implicit features via deep structures. We evaluated our proposed approach and several baselines on MovieLens-20 m, and the experimental results demonstrate that TRSDL significantly outperforms all the baselines (including the state-of-the-art models BiasedMF and I-AutoRec. In addition, we also explore the impacts of network depth and type on model performance.

  6. Cormorant predation on PIT-tagged lake fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Christian; Jepsen, Niels; Baktoft, Henrik

    2014-01-01

    The present study use data from recovered PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags to explore species-and size-specific annual predation rates by cormorants on three common lacustrine fishes (size range 120-367 mm) in a European lake; roach (Rutilus rutilus), common bream (Abramis brama) and perch...... (Perca fluviatilis). In addition, we quantify the level of age/size truncation that cormorant predation could introduce in a population of perch, an important fish for recreational angling as well as for trophic interactions and ecosystem function in European lakes. Based on three years of PIT tagging...... of fish in Lake Viborg and subsequent recoveries of PIT tags from nearby cormorant roosting and breeding sites, we show that cormorants are major predators of roach, bream and perch within the size groups we investigated and for all species larger individuals had higher predation rates. Perch appear...

  7. Generation of monoclonal antibodies against highly conserved antigens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongzhe Zhou

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Therapeutic antibody development is one of the fastest growing areas of the pharmaceutical industry. Generating high-quality monoclonal antibodies against a given therapeutic target is very crucial for the success of the drug development. However, due to immune tolerance, some proteins that are highly conserved between mice and humans are not very immunogenic in mice, making it difficult to generate antibodies using a conventional approach. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this report, the impaired immune tolerance of NZB/W mice was exploited to generate monoclonal antibodies against highly conserved or self-antigens. Using two highly conserved human antigens (MIF and HMGB1 and one mouse self-antigen (TNF-alpha as examples, we demonstrate here that multiple clones of high affinity, highly specific antibodies with desired biological activities can be generated, using the NZB/W mouse as the immunization host and a T cell-specific tag fused to a recombinant antigen to stimulate the immune system. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We developed an efficient and universal method for generating surrogate or therapeutic antibodies against "difficult antigens" to facilitate the development of therapeutic antibodies.

  8. Optimization of Formaldehyde Cross-Linking for Protein Interaction Analysis of Non-Tagged Integrin β1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cordula Klockenbusch

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Formaldehyde cross-linking of protein complexes combined with immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis is a promising technique for analysing protein-protein interactions, including those of transient nature. Here we used integrin β1 as a model to describe the application of formaldehyde cross-linking in detail, particularly focusing on the optimal parameters for cross-linking, the detection of formaldehyde cross-linked complexes, the utility of antibodies, and the identification of binding partners. Integrin β1 was found in a high molecular weight complex after formaldehyde cross-linking. Eight different anti-integrin β1 antibodies were used for pull-down experiments and no loss in precipitation efficiency after cross-linking was observed. However, two of the antibodies could not precipitate the complex, probably due to hidden epitopes. Formaldehyde cross-linked complexes, precipitated from Jurkat cells or human platelets and analyzed by mass spectrometry, were found to be composed of integrin β1, α4 and α6 or β1, α6, α2, and α5, respectively.

  9. Optimization of Formaldehyde Cross-Linking for Protein Interaction Analysis of Non-Tagged Integrin β1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klockenbusch, Cordula; Kast, Juergen

    2010-01-01

    Formaldehyde cross-linking of protein complexes combined with immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis is a promising technique for analysing protein-protein interactions, including those of transient nature. Here we used integrin β1 as a model to describe the application of formaldehyde cross-linking in detail, particularly focusing on the optimal parameters for cross-linking, the detection of formaldehyde cross-linked complexes, the utility of antibodies, and the identification of binding partners. Integrin β1 was found in a high molecular weight complex after formaldehyde cross-linking. Eight different anti-integrin β1 antibodies were used for pull-down experiments and no loss in precipitation efficiency after cross-linking was observed. However, two of the antibodies could not precipitate the complex, probably due to hidden epitopes. Formaldehyde cross-linked complexes, precipitated from Jurkat cells or human platelets and analyzed by mass spectrometry, were found to be composed of integrin β1, α4 and α6 or β1, α6, α2, and α5, respectively. PMID:20634879

  10. Interplay between cooperation-enhancing mechanisms in evolutionary games with tag-mediated interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadzibeganovic, Tarik; Stauffer, Dietrich; Han, Xiao-Pu

    2018-04-01

    Cooperation is fundamental for the long-term survival of biological, social, and technological networks. Previously, mechanisms for the enhancement of cooperation, such as network reciprocity, have largely been studied in isolation and with often inconclusive findings. Here, we present an evolutionary, multiagent-based, and spatially explicit computer model to specifically address the interactive interplay between such mechanisms. We systematically investigate the effects of phenotypic diversity, network structure, and rewards on cooperative behavior emerging in a population of reproducing artificial decision makers playing tag-mediated evolutionary games. Cooperative interactions are rewarded such that both the benefits of recipients and costs of donators are affected by the reward size. The reward size is determined by the number of cooperative acts occurring within a given reward time frame. Our computational experiments reveal that small reward frames promote unconditional cooperation in populations with both low and high diversity, whereas large reward frames lead to cycles of conditional and unconditional strategies at high but not at low diversity. Moreover, an interaction between rewards and spatial structure shows that relative to small reward frames, there is a strong difference between the frequency of conditional cooperators populating rewired versus non-rewired networks when the reward frame is large. Notably, in a less diverse population, the total number of defections is comparable across different network topologies, whereas in more diverse environments defections become more frequent in a regularly structured than in a rewired, small-world network of contacts. Acknowledging the importance of such interaction effects in social dilemmas will have inevitable consequences for the future design of cooperation-enhancing protocols in large-scale, distributed, and decentralized systems such as peer-to-peer networks.

  11. Associated Particle Tagging (APT) in Magnetic Spectrometers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jordan, David V.; Baciak, James E.; Stave, Sean C.; Chichester, David; Dale, Daniel; Kim, Yujong; Harmon, Frank

    2012-10-16

    Summary In Brief The Associated Particle Tagging (APT) project, a collaboration of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Idaho State University (ISU)/Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC), has completed an exploratory study to assess the role of magnetic spectrometers as the linchpin technology in next-generation tagged-neutron and tagged-photon active interrogation (AI). The computational study considered two principle concepts: (1) the application of a solenoidal alpha-particle spectrometer to a next-generation, large-emittance neutron generator for use in the associated particle imaging technique, and (2) the application of tagged photon beams to the detection of fissile material via active interrogation. In both cases, a magnetic spectrometer momentum-analyzes charged particles (in the neutron case, alpha particles accompanying neutron generation in the D-T reaction; in the tagged photon case, post-bremsstrahlung electrons) to define kinematic properties of the relevant neutral interrogation probe particle (i.e. neutron or photon). The main conclusions of the study can be briefly summarized as follows: Neutron generator: • For the solenoidal spectrometer concept, magnetic field strengths of order 1 Tesla or greater are required to keep the transverse size of the spectrometer smaller than 1 meter. The notional magnetic spectrometer design evaluated in this feasibility study uses a 5-T magnetic field and a borehole radius of 18 cm. • The design shows a potential for 4.5 Sr tagged neutron solid angle, a factor of 4.5 larger than achievable with current API neutron-generator designs. • The potential angular resolution for such a tagged neutron beam can be less than 0.5o for modest Si-detector position resolution (3 mm). Further improvement in angular resolution can be made by using Si-detectors with better position resolution. • The report documents several features of a notional generator design incorporating the

  12. Analysis and design of power efficient semi-passive RFID tag

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Che Wenyi; Guan Shuo; Wang Xiao; Xiong Tingwen; Xi Jingtian; Tan Xi; Yan Na; Min Hao, E-mail: yanna@fudan.edu.c [State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Auto-ID Laboratory, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203 (China)

    2010-07-15

    The analysis and design of a semi-passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is presented. By studying the power transmission link of the backscatter RFID system and exploiting a power conversion efficiency model for a multi-stage AC-DC charge pump, the calculation method for semi-passive tag's read range is proposed. According to different read range limitation factors, an intuitive way to define the specifications of tag's power budget and backscatter modulation index is given. A test chip is implemented in SMIC 0.18 {mu}m standard CMOS technology under the guidance of theoretical analysis. The main building blocks are the threshold compensated charge pump and low power wake-up circuit using the power triggering wake-up mode. The proposed semi-passive tag is fully compatible to EPC C1G2 standard. It has a compact chip size of 0.54 mm{sup 2}, and is adaptable to batteries with a 1.2 to 2.4 V output voltage.

  13. Analysis and design of power efficient semi-passive RFID tag

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Che Wenyi; Guan Shuo; Wang Xiao; Xiong Tingwen; Xi Jingtian; Tan Xi; Yan Na; Min Hao

    2010-01-01

    The analysis and design of a semi-passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is presented. By studying the power transmission link of the backscatter RFID system and exploiting a power conversion efficiency model for a multi-stage AC-DC charge pump, the calculation method for semi-passive tag's read range is proposed. According to different read range limitation factors, an intuitive way to define the specifications of tag's power budget and backscatter modulation index is given. A test chip is implemented in SMIC 0.18 μm standard CMOS technology under the guidance of theoretical analysis. The main building blocks are the threshold compensated charge pump and low power wake-up circuit using the power triggering wake-up mode. The proposed semi-passive tag is fully compatible to EPC C1G2 standard. It has a compact chip size of 0.54 mm 2 , and is adaptable to batteries with a 1.2 to 2.4 V output voltage.

  14. Nanobodies and Nanobody-Based Human Heavy Chain Antibodies As Antitumor Therapeutics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Bannas

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized cancer therapy. However, delivery to tumor cells in vivo is hampered by the large size (150 kDa of conventional antibodies. The minimal target recognition module of a conventional antibody is composed of two non-covalently associated variable domains (VH and VL. The proper orientation of these domains is mediated by their hydrophobic interface and is stabilized by their linkage to disulfide-linked constant domains (CH1 and CL. VH and VL domains can be fused via a genetic linker into a single-chain variable fragment (scFv. scFv modules in turn can be fused to one another, e.g., to generate a bispecific T-cell engager, or they can be fused in various orientations to antibody hinge and Fc domains to generate bi- and multispecific antibodies. However, the inherent hydrophobic interaction of VH and VL domains limits the stability and solubility of engineered antibodies, often causing aggregation and/or mispairing of V-domains. Nanobodies (15 kDa and nanobody-based human heavy chain antibodies (75 kDa can overcome these limitations. Camelids naturally produce antibodies composed only of heavy chains in which the target recognition module is composed of a single variable domain (VHH or Nb. Advantageous features of nanobodies include their small size, high solubility, high stability, and excellent tissue penetration in vivo. Nanobodies can readily be linked genetically to Fc-domains, other nanobodies, peptide tags, or toxins and can be conjugated chemically at a specific site to drugs, radionuclides, photosensitizers, and nanoparticles. These properties make them particularly suited for specific and efficient targeting of tumors in vivo. Chimeric nanobody-heavy chain antibodies combine advantageous features of nanobodies and human Fc domains in about half the size of a conventional antibody. In this review, we discuss recent developments and perspectives for applications of nanobodies and nanobody

  15. Nanobodies and Nanobody-Based Human Heavy Chain Antibodies As Antitumor Therapeutics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bannas, Peter; Hambach, Julia; Koch-Nolte, Friedrich

    2017-01-01

    Monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized cancer therapy. However, delivery to tumor cells in vivo is hampered by the large size (150 kDa) of conventional antibodies. The minimal target recognition module of a conventional antibody is composed of two non-covalently associated variable domains (VH and VL). The proper orientation of these domains is mediated by their hydrophobic interface and is stabilized by their linkage to disulfide-linked constant domains (CH1 and CL). VH and VL domains can be fused via a genetic linker into a single-chain variable fragment (scFv). scFv modules in turn can be fused to one another, e.g., to generate a bispecific T-cell engager, or they can be fused in various orientations to antibody hinge and Fc domains to generate bi- and multispecific antibodies. However, the inherent hydrophobic interaction of VH and VL domains limits the stability and solubility of engineered antibodies, often causing aggregation and/or mispairing of V-domains. Nanobodies (15 kDa) and nanobody-based human heavy chain antibodies (75 kDa) can overcome these limitations. Camelids naturally produce antibodies composed only of heavy chains in which the target recognition module is composed of a single variable domain (VHH or Nb). Advantageous features of nanobodies include their small size, high solubility, high stability, and excellent tissue penetration in vivo . Nanobodies can readily be linked genetically to Fc-domains, other nanobodies, peptide tags, or toxins and can be conjugated chemically at a specific site to drugs, radionuclides, photosensitizers, and nanoparticles. These properties make them particularly suited for specific and efficient targeting of tumors in vivo . Chimeric nanobody-heavy chain antibodies combine advantageous features of nanobodies and human Fc domains in about half the size of a conventional antibody. In this review, we discuss recent developments and perspectives for applications of nanobodies and nanobody-based human heavy

  16. Bioluminescent Antibodies for Point-of-Care Diagnostics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Lin; Yu, Qiuliyang; Griss, Rudolf; Schena, Alberto; Johnsson, Kai

    2017-06-12

    We introduce a general method to transform antibodies into ratiometric, bioluminescent sensor proteins for the no-wash quantification of analytes. Our approach is based on the genetic fusion of antibody fragments to NanoLuc luciferase and SNAP-tag, the latter being labeled with a synthetic fluorescent competitor of the antigen. Binding of the antigen, here synthetic drugs, by the sensor displaces the tethered fluorescent competitor from the antibody and disrupts bioluminescent resonance energy transfer (BRET) between the luciferase and fluorophore. The semisynthetic sensors display a tunable response range (submicromolar to submillimolar) and large dynamic range (ΔR max >500 %), and they permit the quantification of analytes through spotting of the samples onto paper followed by analysis with a digital camera. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

  17. DESIGN, SYNTHESIS, AND APPLICATION OF THE TRIMETHOPRIM-BASED CHEMICAL TAG FOR LIVE CELL IMAGING

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing, Chaoran; Cornish, Virginia W.

    2013-01-01

    Over the past decade chemical tags have been developed to complement the use of fluorescent proteins in live cell imaging. Chemical tags retain the specificity of protein labeling achieved with fluorescent proteins through genetic encoding, but provide smaller, more robust tags and modular use of organic fluorophores with high photon-output and tailored functionalities. The trimethoprim-based chemical tag (TMP-tag) was initially developed based on the high affinity interaction between E.coli dihydrofolatereductase and the antibiotic trimethoprim and subsequently rendered covalent and fluorogenic via proximity-induced protein labeling reactions. To date, the TMP-tag is one of the few chemical tags that enable intracellular protein labeling and high-resolution live cell imaging. Here we describe the general design, chemical synthesis, and application of TMP-tag for live cell imaging. Alternative protocols for synthesizing and using the covalent and the fluorogenic TMP-tags are also included. PMID:23839994

  18. The Monitoring and Affinity Purification of Proteins Using Dual Tags with Tetracysteine Motifs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giannone, Richard J.; Liu, Yie; Wang, Yisong

    Identification and characterization of protein-protein interaction networks is essential for the elucidation of biochemical mechanisms and cellular function. Affinity purification in combination with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has emerged as a very powerful tactic for the identification of specific protein-protein interactions. In this chapter, we describe a comprehensive methodology that uses our recently developed dual-tag affinity purification system for the enrichment and identification of mammalian protein complexes. The protocol covers a series of separate but sequentially related techniques focused on the facile monitoring and purification of a dual-tagged protein of interest and its interacting partners via a system built with tetracysteine motifs and various combinations of affinity tags. Using human telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) as an example, we demonstrate the power of the system in terms of bait protein recovery after dual-tag affinity purification, detection of bait protein subcellular localization and expression, and successful identification of known and potentially novel TRF2 interacting proteins. Although the protocol described here has been optimized for the identification and characterization of TRF2-associated proteins, it is, in principle, applicable to the study of any other mammalian protein complexes that may be of interest to the research community.

  19. Antibodies: From novel repertoires to defining and refining the structure of biologically important targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conroy, Paul J; Law, Ruby H P; Caradoc-Davies, Tom T; Whisstock, James C

    2017-03-01

    Antibodies represent a highly successful class of molecules that bind a wide-range of targets in therapeutic-, diagnostic- and research-based applications. The antibody repertoire is composed of the building blocks required to develop an effective adaptive immune response against foreign insults. A number of species have developed novel genetic and structural mechanisms from which they derive these antibody repertoires, however, traditionally antibodies are isolated from human, and rodent sources. Due to their high-value therapeutic, diagnostic, biotechnological and research applications, much innovation has resulted in techniques and approaches to isolate novel antibodies. These approaches are bolstered by advances in our understanding of species immune repertoires, next generation sequencing capacity, combinatorial antibody discovery and high-throughput screening. Structural determination of antibodies and antibody-antigen complexes has proven to be pivotal to our current understanding of the immune repertoire for a range of species leading to advances in man-made libraries and fine tuning approaches to develop antibodies from immune-repertoires. Furthermore, the isolation of antibodies directed against antigens of importance in health, disease and developmental processes, has yielded a plethora of structural and functional insights. This review highlights the significant contribution of antibody-based crystallography to our understanding of adaptive immunity and its application to providing critical information on a range of human-health related indications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. PIT Tagging Anurans

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCreary, Brome

    2008-01-01

    The following video demonstrates a procedure to insert a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag under the skin of an anuran (frog or toad) for research and monitoring purposes. Typically, a 12.5 mm tag (0.5 in.) is used to uniquely identify individual anurans as smal as 40 mm (1.6 in.) in length from snout to vent. Smaller tags are also available and allow smaller anurans to be tagged. The procedure does not differ for other sizes of tages or other sizes of anurans. Anyone using this procedure should ensure that the tag is small enough to fit easily behind the sacral hump of the anuran, as shown in this video.

  1. A lipasin/Angptl8 monoclonal antibody lowers mouse serum triglycerides involving increased postprandial activity of the cardiac lipoprotein lipase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Zhiyao; Abou-Samra, Abdul B; Zhang, Ren

    2015-12-21

    Lipasin/Angptl8 is a feeding-induced hepatokine that regulates triglyceride (TAG) metabolism; its therapeutical potential, mechanism of action, and relation to the lipoprotein lipase (LPL), however, remain elusive. We generated five monoclonal lipasin antibodies, among which one lowered the serum TAG level when injected into mice, and the epitope was determined to be EIQVEE. Lipasin-deficient mice exhibited elevated postprandial activity of LPL in the heart and skeletal muscle, but not in white adipose tissue (WAT), suggesting that lipasin suppresses the activity of LPL specifically in cardiac and skeletal muscles. Consistently, mice injected with the effective antibody or with lipasin deficiency had increased postprandial cardiac LPL activity and lower TAG levels only in the fed state. These results suggest that lipasin acts, at least in part, in an endocrine manner. We propose the following model: feeding induces lipasin, activating the lipasin-Angptl3 pathway, which inhibits LPL in cardiac and skeletal muscles to direct circulating TAG to WAT for storage; conversely, fasting induces Angptl4, which inhibits LPL in WAT to direct circulating TAG to cardiac and skeletal muscles for oxidation. This model suggests a general mechanism by which TAG trafficking is coordinated by lipasin, Angptl3 and Angptl4 at different nutritional statuses.

  2. Cutaneous skin tag

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skin tag; Acrochordon; Fibroepithelial polyp ... have diabetes. They are thought to occur from skin rubbing against skin. ... The tag sticks out of the skin and may have a short, narrow stalk connecting it to the surface of the skin. Some skin tags are as long as ...

  3. Carbon-13 NMR study of switch variant anti-dansyl antibodies: Antigen binding and domain-domain interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, Koichi; Matsunaga, Chigusa; Odaka, Asano; Yamato, Sumie; Takaha, Wakana; Shimada, Ichio; Arata, Yoji

    1991-01-01

    A 13 C NMR study is reported of switch variant anti-dansyl antibodies, which possess the identical V H , V L , and C L domains in conjunction with highly homologous but not identical heavy-chain constant regions. Each of the antibodies has been selectively labeled with 13 C at the carbonyl carbon of Trp, Tyr, His, or Cys residue by growing hybridoma cells in serum-free medium. Spectral assignments have been made by folowing the procedure described previously for the switch variant antibodies labeled with [1- 13 C]Met. On the basis of the spectral data collected for the antibodies and their proteolytic fragments, the authors discuss how 13 C NMR spectroscopy can be used for the structural analyses of antigen binding and also of domain-domain interactions in the antibody molecule

  4. Close-up of the alpha-1,3-Gal epitope as defined by a monoclonal chimeric IgE and human serum using saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plum, Melanie; Michel, Yvonne; Wallach, Katharina

    2011-01-01

    of an alpha-Gal-specific murine IgM antibody was employed to construct chimeric IgE and IgG antibodies. Reactivity and specificity of the resulting antibodies were assessed by means of ELISA and receptor binding studies. Using defined carbohydrates, interaction of the IgE and human serum was assessed...... by mediator release assays, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and STD NMR analyses. The alpha-Gal-specific chimeric IgE and IgG antibodies were proven functional regarding interaction with antigen and Fc receptors. SPR measurements demonstrated affinities in the micromolar range. In contrast to a reference...

  5. INCREASING OF THE EXPRESSION OF RECOMBINANT scFv-ANTIBODIES EFFICIENCY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.V. Galkin

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Obtaining single-chain variable fragments (scFv of recombinant antibodies in E. coli cells is often associated with numerous problems causing low yields or inactive conformation of the product. The aim of this work was to study the influence of staphylococcal protein A fragment fused with scFv antibodies (SpA-tag on the efficiency of expression of final product. Examination of scFv antibodies of different origin and specificity has shown that in similar expression systems fused scFv is synthesized in much higher quantities than free scFv. Furthermore, the scFv antibodies in fused form retained their antigen-binding properties and the SpA fragment the ability to bind other immunoglobulins. Thus, the proposed strategy can be considered effective in improving the efficiency of scFv-antibodies production in E. coli cells.

  6. Heparin-binding peptide as a novel affinity tag for purification of recombinant proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Jacqueline; Jayanthi, Srinivas; Langston, Rebekah; Daily, Anna; Kight, Alicia; McNabb, David S; Henry, Ralph; Kumar, Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh

    2016-10-01

    Purification of recombinant proteins constitutes a significant part of the downstream processing in biopharmaceutical industries. Major costs involved in the production of bio-therapeutics mainly depend on the number of purification steps used during the downstream process. Affinity chromatography is a widely used method for the purification of recombinant proteins expressed in different expression host platforms. Recombinant protein purification is achieved by fusing appropriate affinity tags to either N- or C- terminus of the target recombinant proteins. Currently available protein/peptide affinity tags have proved quite useful in the purification of recombinant proteins. However, these affinity tags suffer from specific limitations in their use under different conditions of purification. In this study, we have designed a novel 34-amino acid heparin-binding affinity tag (HB-tag) for the purification of recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. HB-tag fused recombinant proteins were overexpressed in E. coli in high yields. A one-step heparin-Sepharose-based affinity chromatography protocol was developed to purify HB-fused recombinant proteins to homogeneity using a simple sodium chloride step gradient elution. The HB-tag has also been shown to facilitate the purification of target recombinant proteins from their 8 M urea denatured state(s). The HB-tag has been demonstrated to be successfully released from the fusion protein by an appropriate protease treatment to obtain the recombinant target protein(s) in high yields. Results of the two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy experiments indicate that the purified recombinant target protein(s) exist in the native conformation. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the HB-peptide sequence, exhibited high binding specificity and sensitivity to the HB-fused recombinant proteins (∼10 ng) in different crude cell extracts obtained from diverse expression hosts. In our opinion, the HB-tag provides a

  7. Diffusion of finite-sized hard-core interacting particles in a one-dimensional box: Tagged particle dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lizana, L; Ambjörnsson, T

    2009-11-01

    We solve a nonequilibrium statistical-mechanics problem exactly, namely, the single-file dynamics of N hard-core interacting particles (the particles cannot pass each other) of size Delta diffusing in a one-dimensional system of finite length L with reflecting boundaries at the ends. We obtain an exact expression for the conditional probability density function rhoT(yT,t|yT,0) that a tagged particle T (T=1,...,N) is at position yT at time t given that it at time t=0 was at position yT,0. Using a Bethe ansatz we obtain the N -particle probability density function and, by integrating out the coordinates (and averaging over initial positions) of all particles but particle T , we arrive at an exact expression for rhoT(yT,t|yT,0) in terms of Jacobi polynomials or hypergeometric functions. Going beyond previous studies, we consider the asymptotic limit of large N , maintaining L finite, using a nonstandard asymptotic technique. We derive an exact expression for rhoT(yT,t|yT,0) for a tagged particle located roughly in the middle of the system, from which we find that there are three time regimes of interest for finite-sized systems: (A) for times much smaller than the collision time tparticle concentration and D is the diffusion constant for each particle, the tagged particle undergoes a normal diffusion; (B) for times much larger than the collision time t >taucoll but times smaller than the equilibrium time ttaue , rhoT(yT,t|yT,0) approaches a polynomial-type equilibrium probability density function. Notably, only regimes (A) and (B) are found in the previously considered infinite systems.

  8. Tags on healthcare information websites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lykke, Marianne; Ådland, Marit Kristine

    2018-01-01

    This paper explores tags and tagging behaviour on health information websites using an empirical, user-oriented, exploratory case study. Taggers and editors were interviewed about tags and tagging, while taggers solved tasks that included applying tags to a website. This qualitative data...... articles, request information, and value article content. Some of these show that tags are not only not only topical descriptions, but communicative by intent. This result can potentially inform the design of tagging features....

  9. Investigating the Interaction between the Neonatal Fc Receptor and Monoclonal Antibody Variants by Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Pernille Foged; Larraillet, Vincent; Schlothauer, Tilman

    2015-01-01

    The recycling of immunoglobulins by the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) is of crucial importance in the maintenance of antibody levels in plasma and is responsible for the long half-lives of endogenous and recombinant monoclonal antibodies. From a therapeutic point of view there is great interest...... in understanding and modulating the IgG-FcRn interaction to optimize antibody pharmacokinetics and ultimately improve efficacy and safety. Here we studied the interaction between a full-length human IgG1 and human FcRn via hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and targeted electron transfer dissociation...... to map sites perturbed by binding on both partners of the IgG-FcRn complex. Several regions in the antibody Fc region and the FcRn were protected from exchange upon complex formation, in good agreement with previous crystallographic studies of FcRn in complex with the Fc fragment. Interestingly, we found...

  10. Expression and purification of the non-tagged LipL32 of pathogenic Leptospira

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Hauk

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Leptospirosis is a reemerging infectious disease and the most disseminated zoonosis worldwide. A leptospiral surface protein, LipL32, only occurs in pathogenic Leptospira, and is the most abundant protein on the bacterial surface, being described as an important factor in host immunogenic response and also in bacterial infection. We describe here an alternative and simple purification protocol for non-tagged recombinant LipL32. The recombinant LipL32(21-272 was expressed in Escherichia coli without His-tag or any other tag used to facilitate recombinant protein purification. The recombinant protein was expressed in the soluble form, and the purification was based on ion exchange (anionic and cationic and hydrophobic interactions. The final purification yielded 3 mg soluble LipL32(21-272 per liter of the induced culture. Antiserum produced against the recombinant protein was effective to detect native LipL32 from cell extracts of several Leptospira serovars. The purified recombinant LipL32(21-272 produced by this protocol can be used for structural, biochemical and functional studies and avoids the risk of possible interactions and interferences of the tags commonly used as well as the time consuming and almost always inefficient methods to cleave these tags when a tag-free LipL32 is needed. Non-tagged LipL32 may represent an alternative antigen for biochemical studies, for serodiagnosis and for the development of a vaccine against leptospirosis.

  11. Expression and purification of the non-tagged LipL32 of pathogenic Leptospira.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauk, P; Carvalho, E; Ho, P L

    2011-04-01

    Leptospirosis is a reemerging infectious disease and the most disseminated zoonosis worldwide. A leptospiral surface protein, LipL32, only occurs in pathogenic Leptospira, and is the most abundant protein on the bacterial surface, being described as an important factor in host immunogenic response and also in bacterial infection. We describe here an alternative and simple purification protocol for non-tagged recombinant LipL32. The recombinant LipL32(21-272) was expressed in Escherichia coli without His-tag or any other tag used to facilitate recombinant protein purification. The recombinant protein was expressed in the soluble form, and the purification was based on ion exchange (anionic and cationic) and hydrophobic interactions. The final purification yielded 3 mg soluble LipL32(21-272) per liter of the induced culture. Antiserum produced against the recombinant protein was effective to detect native LipL32 from cell extracts of several Leptospira serovars. The purified recombinant LipL32(21-272) produced by this protocol can be used for structural, biochemical and functional studies and avoids the risk of possible interactions and interferences of the tags commonly used as well as the time consuming and almost always inefficient methods to cleave these tags when a tag-free LipL32 is needed. Non-tagged LipL32 may represent an alternative antigen for biochemical studies, for serodiagnosis and for the development of a vaccine against leptospirosis.

  12. Carbon-13 NMR study of switch variant anti-dansyl antibodies: Antigen binding and domain-domain interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kato, Koichi; Matsunaga, Chigusa; Odaka, Asano; Yamato, Sumie; Takaha, Wakana; Shimada, Ichio; Arata, Yoji (Univ. of Tokyo (Japan))

    1991-07-02

    A {sup 13}C NMR study is reported of switch variant anti-dansyl antibodies, which possess the identical V{sub H}, V{sub L}, and C{sub L} domains in conjunction with highly homologous but not identical heavy-chain constant regions. Each of the antibodies has been selectively labeled with {sup 13}C at the carbonyl carbon of Trp, Tyr, His, or Cys residue by growing hybridoma cells in serum-free medium. Spectral assignments have been made by folowing the procedure described previously for the switch variant antibodies labeled with (1-{sup 13}C)Met. On the basis of the spectral data collected for the antibodies and their proteolytic fragments, the authors discuss how {sup 13}C NMR spectroscopy can be used for the structural analyses of antigen binding and also of domain-domain interactions in the antibody molecule.

  13. Evaluation of the Cross-reactivity of Antidrug Antibodies to CT-P13 and Infliximab Reference Product (Remicade): An Analysis Using Immunoassays Tagged with Both Agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinisch, Walter; Jahnsen, Jørgen; Schreiber, Stefan; Danese, Silvio; Panés, Julián; Balsa, Alejandro; Park, Won; Kim, JiSoo; Lee, Jee Un; Yoo, Dae Hyun

    2017-06-01

    During two pivotal clinical trials of the infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 (PLANETAS and PLANETRA), antidrug antibodies (ADAs) and neutralising antibodies (NAbs) were detected in the sera of patients treated with CT-P13 and the reference product (RP; Remicade). The aim was to assess the comparability of Remicade- and CT-P13-tagged immunoassays for the detection of ADAs and NAbs using data from these trials, in order to determine the cross-reactivity of CT-P13 and RP ADAs. Sera from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis were analysed using an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) bridging assay or Gyros immunoassay, tagged with Remicade or CT-P13 at screening, weeks 14, 30 and 54, and the end of study visit. NAb titre was compared at screening and weeks 14 and 30. The proportion of cross-reactive samples was determined and an inter-rater agreement analysis performed to assess the concordance of results between assays. In PLANETAS, 93.1% (94/101) of RP ADA-positive samples and 93.0% (93/100) of RP NAb-positive samples cross-reacted with CT-P13; 99.0% (103/104) of CT-P13 ADA-positive and 98.0% (98/100) of CT-P13 NAb-positive samples cross-reacted with the RP. In PLANETRA, 94.7% (426/450) of RP ADA-positive samples and 94.3% (415/440) of RP NAb-positive samples cross-reacted with CT-P13, and 96.6% (458/474) of CT-P13 ADA-positive and 96.4% (452/469) of CT-P13 NAb-positive samples cross-reacted with the RP. In both studies, there was strong agreement in outcome between assays at all post-screening time points (PLANETAS: Cohen's κ 0.89-0.98 for ADA, 0.86-0.98 for NAb; PLANETRA: 0.92-0.94 for both ADA and NAb, all p PLANETAS: Spearman's ρ 0.73 and 0.74, respectively; PLANETRA: 0.61 and 0.72, respectively; all p < 0.001). This study has demonstrated that ADAs and NAbs against CT-P13 and RP are cross-reactive, indicating that CT-P13 and RP share immunodominant epitopes.

  14. Human antibody technology and the development of antibodies against cytomegalovirus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohlin, Mats; Söderberg-Nauclér, Cecilia

    2015-10-01

    Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus that causes chronic infections in a large set of the population. It may cause severe disease in immunocompromised individuals, is linked to immunosenescence and implied to play an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Modulation of the immune system's abilities to manage the virus represent a highly viable therapeutic option and passive immunotherapy with polyclonal antibody preparations is already in clinical use. Defined monoclonal antibodies offer many advantages over polyclonal antibodies purified from serum. Human CMV-specific monoclonal antibodies have consequently been thoroughly investigated with respect to their potential in the treatment of diseases caused by CMV. Recent advances in human antibody technology have substantially expanded the breadth of antibodies for such applications. This review summarizes the fundamental basis for treating CMV disease by use of antibodies, the basic technologies to be used to develop such antibodies, and relevant human antibody specificities available to target this virus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Tag-to-Tag Interference Suppression Technique Based on Time Division for RFID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grishma Khadka

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Radio-frequency identification (RFID is a tracking technology that enables immediate automatic object identification and rapid data sharing for a wide variety of modern applications using radio waves for data transmission from a tag to a reader. RFID is already well established in technical areas, and many companies have developed corresponding standards and measurement techniques. In the construction industry, effective monitoring of materials and equipment is an important task, and RFID helps to improve monitoring and controlling capabilities, in addition to enabling automation for construction projects. However, on construction sites, there are many tagged objects and multiple RFID tags that may interfere with each other’s communications. This reduces the reliability and efficiency of the RFID system. In this paper, we propose an anti-collision algorithm for communication between multiple tags and a reader. In order to suppress interference signals from multiple neighboring tags, the proposed algorithm employs the time-division (TD technique, where tags in the interrogation zone are assigned a specific time slot so that at every instance in time, a reader communicates with tags using the specific time slot. We present representative computer simulation examples to illustrate the performance of the proposed anti-collision technique for multiple RFID tags.

  16. Photon-tagged and B-meson-tagged b-jet production at the LHC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinrui Huang

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Tagged jet measurements in high energy hadronic and nuclear reactions provide constraints on the energy and parton flavor origin of the parton shower that recoils against the tagging particle. Such additional insight can be especially beneficial in illuminating the mechanisms of heavy flavor production in proton–proton collisions at the LHC and their modification in the heavy ion environment, which are not fully understood. With this motivation, we present theoretical results for isolated-photon-tagged and B-meson-tagged b-jet production at sNN=5.1 TeV for comparison to the upcoming lead–lead data. We find that photon-tagged b-jets exhibit smaller momentum imbalance shift in nuclear matter, and correspondingly smaller energy loss, than photon-tagged light flavor jets. Our results show that B-meson tagging is most effective in ensuring that the dominant fraction of recoiling jets originate from prompt b-quarks. Interestingly, in this channel the large suppression of the cross section is not accompanied by a significant momentum imbalance shift.

  17. To tag or not to tag: animal welfare, conservation and stakeholder considerations in fish tracking studies that use electronic tags

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cooke, Steven J.; Nguyen, Vivian M.; Murchie, Karen J.; Thiem, Jason D.; Donaldson, Michael R.; Hinch, Scott G.; Brown, Richard S.; Fisk, Aaron

    2013-11-01

    The advent and widespread adoption of electronic tags (including biotelemetry and biologging devices) for tracking animals has provided unprecedented information on the biology, management, and conservation of fish in the world’s oceans and inland waters. However, use of these tools is not without controversy. Even when scientific and management objectives may best be achieved using electronic tags, it is increasingly important to further consider other factors such as the welfare of tagged animals (i.e., the role of training and science-based surgical guidelines, anesthetic use, inability to maintain sterile conditions in field environments), the ethics of tagging threatened species vs. using surrogates, stakeholder perspectives on tagging (including aboriginals), as well as use of data emanating from such studies (e.g., by fishers to facilitate exploitation). Failure to do so will have the potential to create conflict and undermine scientific, management and public confidence in the use of this powerful tool. Indeed, there are already a number of examples of where tracking studies using electronic tags have been halted based on concerns raised by researchers, authorities, or stakeholders. Here we present a candid evaluation of several factors that should be considered when determining when to tag or not to tag fish with electronic devices. It is not our objective to judge the merit of previous studies. Rather, we hope to stimulate debate and discussion regarding the use of electronic tags to study fish. Relatedly, there is a need for more research to address these questions (e.g., what level of cleanliness is needed when conducting surgeries, what type of training should be required for fish surgery) including human dimensions studies to understand perspectives of different actors including society as a whole with respect to tagging and tracking studies.

  18. Cardiac magnetic resonance radiofrequency tissue tagging for diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis: A proof of concept study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Power, John A; Thompson, Diane V; Rayarao, Geetha; Doyle, Mark; Biederman, Robert W W

    2016-05-01

    Invasive cardiac catheterization is the venerable "gold standard" for diagnosing constrictive pericarditis. However, its sensitivity and specificity vary dramatically from center to center. Given the ability to unequivocally define segments of the pericardium with the heart via radiofrequency tissue tagging, we hypothesize that cardiac magnetic resonance has the capability to be the new gold standard. All patients who were referred for cardiac magnetic resonance evaluation of constrictive pericarditis underwent cardiac magnetic resonance radiofrequency tissue tagging to define visceral-parietal pericardial adherence to determine constriction. This was then compared with intraoperative surgical findings. Likewise, all preoperative cardiac catheterization testing was reviewed in a blinded manner. A total of 120 patients were referred for clinical suspicion of constrictive pericarditis. Thirty-nine patients were defined as constrictive pericarditis positive solely via radiofrequency tissue-tagging cardiac magnetic resonance, of whom 21 were positive, 4 were negative, and 1 was equivocal for constrictive pericarditis, as defined by cardiac catheterization. Of these patients, 16 underwent pericardiectomy and were surgically confirmed. There was 100% agreement between cardiac magnetic resonance-defined constrictive pericarditis positivity and postsurgical findings. No patients were misclassified by cardiac magnetic resonance. In regard to the remaining constrictive pericarditis-positive patients defined by cardiac magnetic resonance, 10 were treated medically, declined, were ineligible for surgery, or were lost to follow-up. Long-term follow-up of those who were constrictive pericarditis negative by cardiac magnetic resonance showed no early or late crossover to the surgery arm. Cardiac magnetic resonance via radiofrequency tissue tagging offers a unique, efficient, and effective manner of defining clinically and surgically relevant constrictive pericarditis

  19. The interfacial character of antibody paratopes: analysis of antibody-antigen structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Minh N; Pradhan, Mohan R; Verma, Chandra; Zhong, Pingyu

    2017-10-01

    In this study, computational methods are applied to investigate the general properties of antigen engaging residues of a paratope from a non-redundant dataset of 403 antibody-antigen complexes to dissect the contribution of hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic, van der Waals contacts and ionic interactions, as well as role of water molecules in the antigen-antibody interface. Consistent with previous reports using smaller datasets, we found that Tyr, Trp, Ser, Asn, Asp, Thr, Arg, Gly, His contribute substantially to the interactions between antibody and antigen. Furthermore, antibody-antigen interactions can be mediated by interfacial waters. However, there is no reported comprehensive analysis for a large number of structured waters that engage in higher ordered structures at the antibody-antigen interface. From our dataset, we have found the presence of interfacial waters in 242 complexes. We present evidence that suggests a compelling role of these interfacial waters in interactions of antibodies with a range of antigens differing in shape complementarity. Finally, we carry out 296 835 pairwise 3D structure comparisons of 771 structures of contact residues of antibodies with their interfacial water molecules from our dataset using CLICK method. A heuristic clustering algorithm is used to obtain unique structural similarities, and found to separate into 368 different clusters. These clusters are used to identify structural motifs of contact residues of antibodies for epitope binding. This clustering database of contact residues is freely accessible at http://mspc.bii.a-star.edu.sg/minhn/pclick.html. minhn@bii.a-star.edu.sg, chandra@bii.a-star.edu.sg or zhong_pingyu@immunol.a-star.edu.sg. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  20. Analysis of Individuals from a Dengue-Endemic Region Helps Define the Footprint and Repertoire of Antibodies Targeting Dengue Virus 3 Type-Specific Epitopes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Daniela V; Katzelnick, Leah C; Widman, Doug G; Balmaseda, Angel; de Silva, Aravinda M; Baric, Ralph S; Harris, Eva

    2017-09-19

    The four dengue virus serotypes (DENV1 to 4) cause dengue, a major public health problem worldwide. Individuals exposed to primary DENV infections develop serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies, including strongly neutralizing antibodies targeting quaternary epitopes. To date, no studies have measured the levels and kinetics of serum antibodies directed to such epitopes among populations in regions where dengue is endemic. Here, we use a recombinant DENV4 (rDENV4/3-M14) displaying a major DENV3 type-specific quaternary epitope recognized by human monoclonal antibody 5J7 to measure the proportion, magnitude, and kinetics of DENV3 type-specific neutralizing antibody responses targeting this epitope. Primary DENV3 sera from 30 individuals in a dengue hospital-based study in Nicaragua were studied 3, 6, 12, and 18 months post-infection, alongside samples collected annually 1 to 4 years post-primary DENV3 infection from 10 individuals in a cohort study in Nicaragua. We found substantial individual variation in the proportion of DENV3 type-specific neutralizing antibody titers attributed to the 5J7 epitope (range, 0 to 100%), with the mean significantly increasing from 22.6% to 41.4% from 3 to 18 months. We extended the transplanted DENV3 5J7 epitope on the virion (rDENV4/3-M16), resulting in increased recognition in several individuals, helping define the footprint of the epitope. However, 37% and 13% of the subjects still showed little to no recognition of the 5J7 epitope at 3 and 18 months, respectively, indicating that one or more additional DENV3 type-specific epitopes exist. Overall, this study demonstrates how DENV-immune plasma from populations from areas of endemicity, when coupled with structurally guided recombinant viruses, can help characterize the epitope-specific neutralizing antibody response in natural DENV infections, with direct implications for design and evaluation of dengue vaccines. IMPORTANCE The four serotypes of dengue virus cause dengue

  1. Co-evolution of affinity and stability of grafted amyloid-motif domain antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julian, Mark C; Lee, Christine C; Tiller, Kathryn E; Rabia, Lilia A; Day, Evan K; Schick, Arthur J; Tessier, Peter M

    2015-10-01

    An attractive approach for designing lead antibody candidates is to mimic natural protein interactions by grafting peptide recognition motifs into the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs). We are using this approach to generate single-domain (VH) antibodies specific for amyloid-forming proteins such as the Alzheimer's Aβ peptide. Here, we use random mutagenesis and yeast surface display to improve the binding affinity of a lead VH domain grafted with Aβ residues 33-42 in CDR3. Interestingly, co-selection for improved Aβ binding and VH display on the surface of yeast yields antibody domains with improved affinity and reduced stability. The highest affinity VH domains were strongly destabilized on the surface of yeast as well as unfolded when isolated as autonomous domains. In contrast, stable VH domains with improved affinity were reliably identified using yeast surface display by replacing the display antibody that recognizes a linear epitope tag at the terminus of both folded and unfolded VH domains with a conformational ligand (Protein A) that recognizes a discontinuous epitope on the framework of folded VH domains. Importantly, we find that selection for improved stability using Protein A without simultaneous co-selection for improved Aβ binding leads to strong enrichment for stabilizing mutations that reduce antigen binding. Our findings highlight the importance of simultaneously optimizing affinity and stability to improve the rapid isolation of well-folded and specific antibody fragments. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Enhanced sensitivity in detection of antiviral antibody responses using biotinylation of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) capsids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenney, Mary; Waters, Ryan A; Rieder, Elizabeth; Pega, Juan; Perez-Filguera, Mariano; Golde, William T

    2017-11-01

    Analysis of the immune response to infection of livestock by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is most often reported as the serum antibody response to the virus. While measurement of neutralizing antibody has been sensitive and specific, measurements of the quality of the antibody response are less robust. Determining the immunoglobulin (Ig) isotype of the serum antibody response provides a deeper understanding of the biology of the response and more sensitive methods for these assays will facilitate analyses of B cell mediated immunity. We tested the hypothesis that using the virus as the molecular probe could be achieved by adding tags to the surface of the FMDV capsid, and that would enhance sensitivity in assays for anti-FMDV antibody responses. The use of a FLAG-tagged virus in these assays failed to yield improvement whereas chemically biotinylating the virus capsid resulted in significant enhancement of the signal. Here we describe methods using biotinylated virus for measuring anti-viral antibody in serum and antibody secreting cells (ASCs) in blood that are sensitive and specific. Finally, we describe using the biotinylated virus in flow cytometry where such assays should greatly enhance the analysis of anti-virus antibody producing B cells, allowing the investigator to focus on only the FMDV specific B cells when analyzing the development of the B cell response to either infection or vaccination. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Intermolecular dynamics studied by paramagnetic tagging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu Xingfu; Keizers, Peter H. J. [Leiden University, Institute of Chemistry (Netherlands); Reinle, Wolfgang; Hannemann, Frank; Bernhardt, Rita [Universitaet des Saarlandes, Naturwissenschaftlich-Technische Fakultaet III, Institut fuer Biochemie (Germany); Ubbink, Marcellus [Leiden University, Institute of Chemistry (Netherlands)], E-mail: m.ubbink@chem.leidenuniv.nl

    2009-04-15

    Yeast cytochrome c and bovine adrenodoxin form a dynamic electron transfer complex, which is a pure encounter complex. It is demonstrated that the dynamic nature of the interaction can readily be probed by using a rigid lanthanide tag attached to cytochrome c. The tag, Caged Lanthanide NMR Probe 5, induces pseudocontact shifts and residual dipolar couplings and does not perturb the binding interface. Due to the dynamics in the complex, residual dipolar couplings in adrenodoxin are very small. Simulation shows that cytochrome c needs to sample a large part of the surface of adrenodoxin to explain the small degree of alignment observed for adrenodoxin. The applied method provides a simple and straightforward way to observe dynamics in protein complexes or domain-domain mobility without the need for external alignment media.

  4. Intermolecular dynamics studied by paramagnetic tagging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Xingfu; Keizers, Peter H. J.; Reinle, Wolfgang; Hannemann, Frank; Bernhardt, Rita; Ubbink, Marcellus

    2009-01-01

    Yeast cytochrome c and bovine adrenodoxin form a dynamic electron transfer complex, which is a pure encounter complex. It is demonstrated that the dynamic nature of the interaction can readily be probed by using a rigid lanthanide tag attached to cytochrome c. The tag, Caged Lanthanide NMR Probe 5, induces pseudocontact shifts and residual dipolar couplings and does not perturb the binding interface. Due to the dynamics in the complex, residual dipolar couplings in adrenodoxin are very small. Simulation shows that cytochrome c needs to sample a large part of the surface of adrenodoxin to explain the small degree of alignment observed for adrenodoxin. The applied method provides a simple and straightforward way to observe dynamics in protein complexes or domain-domain mobility without the need for external alignment media

  5. Yellowtail Tagging Data (MRDBS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Yellowtail Flounder Tagging Program began in 2003 and works with commercial fishermen to tag and release yellowtaiI flounder with pink and yellow disc tags or...

  6. Understanding why users tag: A survey of tagging motivation literature and results from an empirical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strohmaier, Markus; Körner, Christian; Kern, Roman

    2012-12-01

    While recent progress has been achieved in understanding the structure and dynamics of social tagging systems, we know little about the underlying user motivations for tagging, and how they influence resulting folksonomies and tags. This paper addresses three issues related to this question. (1) What distinctions of user motivations are identified by previous research, and in what ways are the motivations of users amenable to quantitative analysis? (2) To what extent does tagging motivation vary across different social tagging systems? (3) How does variability in user motivation influence resulting tags and folksonomies? In this paper, we present measures to detect whether a tagger is primarily motivated by categorizing or describing resources, and apply these measures to datasets from seven different tagging systems. Our results show that (a) users' motivation for tagging varies not only across, but also within tagging systems, and that (b) tag agreement among users who are motivated by categorizing resources is significantly lower than among users who are motivated by describing resources . Our findings are relevant for (1) the development of tag-based user interfaces, (2) the analysis of tag semantics and (3) the design of search algorithms for social tagging systems.

  7. Tryptophan end-tagging for promoted lipopolysaccharide interactions and anti-inflammatory effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Singh, Shalini; Datta, Aritreyee; Schmidtchen, Artur

    2017-01-01

    killing than unmodified KYE21. Analogously, W-tagging promotes binding to E. coli LPS and to its endotoxic lipid A moiety. Furthermore, WWWKYE21 causes more stable peptide/LPS complexes than KYE21, as evidenced by detailed NMR studies, adopting a pronounced helical conformation, with a large hydrophobic...

  8. Tagged at first listen: an examination of social tagging practices in a music recommender system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Audrey Laplante

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1518-2924.2015v20nesp1p33 Social tagging has become a very common way to index different types of resources on the web. Less prevalent in music than in other domains, social tagging is nevertheless used in a popular recommender system, Last.fm. Although the number of publications on tagging and folksonomies has exploded in the last few years, music tagging is still not well studied. In this paper, we present a study of tagging practices of Last.fm users. We examine the social tagging of songs during the first three months after their release. Our analysis shows that the release of a song triggers a burst in tagging activity that lasts two weeks, after what it decreases sharply and then remains fairly constant for the next ten weeks. We also find that a majority of songs do not get tagged during the first week and that tagging was positively related to popularity. Finally, we find that tags that have been frequently applied to a given song are more likely to be genre related, shorter in length, and relatively objective than tags that have been applied only once.

  9. Multi-Threaded DNA Tag/Anti-Tag Library Generator for Multi-Core Platforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-05-01

    base pair)  Watson ‐ Crick  strand pairs that bind perfectly within pairs, but poorly across pairs. A variety  of  DNA  strand hybridization metrics...AFRL-RI-RS-TR-2009-131 Final Technical Report May 2009 MULTI-THREADED DNA TAG/ANTI-TAG LIBRARY GENERATOR FOR MULTI-CORE PLATFORMS...TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) Jun 08 – Feb 09 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE MULTI-THREADED DNA TAG/ANTI-TAG LIBRARY GENERATOR FOR MULTI-CORE

  10. Monoclonal antibodies and toxins--a perspective on function and isotype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Siu-Kei; Casadevall, Arturo

    2012-06-01

    Antibody therapy remains the only effective treatment for toxin-mediated diseases. The development of hybridoma technology has allowed the isolation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with high specificity and defined properties, and numerous mAbs have been purified and characterized for their protective efficacy against different toxins. This review summarizes the mAb studies for 6 toxins--Shiga toxin, pertussis toxin, anthrax toxin, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin, and Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)--and analyzes the prevalence of mAb functions and their isotypes. Here we show that most toxin-binding mAbs resulted from immunization are non-protective and that mAbs with potential therapeutic use are preferably characterized. Various common practices and caveats of protection studies are discussed, with the goal of providing insights for the design of future research on antibody-toxin interactions.

  11. Intermittent fasting promotes prolonged associative interactions during synaptic tagging/capture by altering the metaplastic properties of the CA1 hippocampal neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Ananya; Kim, Joonki; Manakkadan, Anoop; Arumugam, Thiruma V; Sajikumar, Sreedharan

    2017-12-19

    Metaplasticity is the inherent property of a neuron or neuronal population to undergo activity-dependent changes in neural function that modulate subsequent synaptic plasticity. Here we studied the effect of intermittent fasting (IF) in governing the interactions of associative plasticity mechanisms in the pyramidal neurons of rat hippocampal area CA1. Late long-term potentiation and its associative mechanisms such as synaptic tagging and capture at an interval of 120 min were evaluated in four groups of animals, AL (Ad libitum), IF12 (daily IF for 12 h), IF16 (daily IF for 16 h) and EOD (every other day IF for 24 h). IF had no visible effect on the early or late plasticity but it manifested a critical role in prolonging the associative interactions between weak and strong synapses at an interval of 120 min in IF16 and EOD animals. However, both IF12 and AL did not show associativity at 120 min. Plasticity genes such as Bdnf and Prkcz, which are well known for their expressions in late plasticity and synaptic tagging and capture, were significantly upregulated in IF16 and EOD in comparison to AL. Specific inhibition of brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) prevented the prolonged associativity expressed in EOD. Thus, daily IF for 16 h or more can be considered to enhance the metaplastic properties of synapses by improving their associative interactions that might translate into animprovedmemoryformation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  12. Interference Helps to Equalize the Read Range and Reduce False Positives of Passive RFID Tags

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krigslund, Rasmus; Popovski, Petar; Pedersen, Gert Frølund

    2012-01-01

    In various applications of RFID systems a reader should reliably get the ID of the tags that are within a bounded proximity region, termed the interrogation zone. This gives rise to two types of errors 1) False Negative Detections (FNDs), when tags within the intended interrogation zone cannot...... interference enables design of well-defined interrogation zones for passive RFID systems....

  13. Towards Universal Semantic Tagging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abzianidze, Lasha; Bos, Johan

    2017-01-01

    The paper proposes the task of universal semantic tagging---tagging word tokens with language-neutral, semantically informative tags. We argue that the task, with its independent nature, contributes to better semantic analysis for wide-coverage multilingual text. We present the initial version of

  14. Sensor-based material tagging system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vercellotti, L.C.; Cox, R.W.; Ravas, R.J.; Schlotterer, J.C.

    1991-01-01

    Electronic identification tags are being developed for tracking material and personnel. In applying electronic identification tags to radioactive materials safeguards, it is important to measure attributes of the material to ensure that the tag remains with the material. The addition of a microcontroller with an on-board analog-to-digital converter to an electronic identification tag application-specific integrated-circuit has been demonstrated as means to provide the tag with sensor data. Each tag is assembled into a housing, which serves as a scale for measuring the weight of a paint-can-sized container and its contents. Temperature rise of the can above ambient is also measured, and a piezoelectric detector detects disturbances and immediately puts the tag into its alarm and beacon mode. Radiation measurement was also considered, but the background from nearby containers was found to be excessive. The sensor-based tagging system allows tracking of the material in cans as it is stored in vaults or is moved through the manufacturing process. The paper presents details of the sensor-based material tagging system and describes a demonstration system

  15. Increased adsorption of histidine-tagged proteins onto tissue culture polystyrene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmberg, Maria; Hansen, Thomas Steen; Lind, Johan Ulrik; Hjortø, Gertrud Malene

    2012-04-01

    In this study we compare histidine-tagged and native proteins with regards to adsorption properties. We observe significantly increased adsorption of proteins with an incorporated polyhistidine amino acid motif (HIS-tag) onto tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) compared to similar proteins without a HIS-tag. The effect is not observed on polystyrene (PS). Adsorption experiments have been performed at physiological pH (7.4) and the effect was only observed for the investigated proteins that have pI values below or around 7.4. Competitive adsorption experiments with imidazole and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), as well as adsorption performed at different pH and ionic strength indicates that the high adsorption is caused by electrostatic interaction between negatively charged carboxylate groups on the TCPS surface and positively charged histidine residues in the proteins. Pre-adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) does not decrease the adsorption of HIS-tagged proteins onto TCPS. Our findings identify a potential problem in using HIS-tagged signalling molecule in assays with cells cultured on TCPS, since the concentration of the molecule in solution might be affected and this could critically influence the assay outcome. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Antenna for passive RFID tags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiopu, Paul; Manea, Adrian; Cristea, Ionica; Grosu, Neculai; Vladescu, Marian; Craciun, Anca-Ileana; Craciun, Alexandru

    2015-02-01

    Minuscule devices, called RFID tags are attached to objects and persons and emit information which positioned readers may capture wirelessly. Many methods of identification have been used, but that of most common is to use a unique serial number for identification of person or object. RFID tags can be characterized as either active or passive [1,2]. Traditional passive tags are typically in "sleep" state until awakened by the reader's emitted field. In passive tags, the reader's field acts to charge the capacitor that powers the badge and this can be a combination of antenna and barcodes obtained with SAW( Surface Acoustic Wave) devices [1,2,3] . The antenna in an RFID tag is a conductive element that permits the tag to exchange data with the reader. The paper contribution are targeted to antenna for passive RFID tags. The electromagnetic field generated by the reader is somehow oriented by the reader antenna and power is induced in the tag only if the orientation of the tag antenna is appropriate. A tag placed orthogonal to the reader yield field will not be read. This is the reason that guided manufacturers to build circular polarized antenna capable of propagating a field that is alternatively polarized on all planes passing on the diffusion axis. Passive RFID tags are operated at the UHF frequencies of 868MHz (Europe) and 915MHz (USA) and at the microwave frequencies of 2,45 GHz and 5,8 GHz . Because the tags are small dimensions, in paper, we present the possibility to use circular polarization microstrip antenna with fractal edge [2].

  17. Prediction of site-specific interactions in antibody-antigen complexes: the proABC method and server.

    KAUST Repository

    Olimpieri, Pier Paolo

    2013-06-26

    MOTIVATION: Antibodies or immunoglobulins are proteins of paramount importance in the immune system. They are extremely relevant as diagnostic, biotechnological and therapeutic tools. Their modular structure makes it easy to re-engineer them for specific purposes. Short of undergoing a trial and error process, these experiments, as well as others, need to rely on an understanding of the specific determinants of the antibody binding mode. RESULTS: In this article, we present a method to identify, on the basis of the antibody sequence alone, which residues of an antibody directly interact with its cognate antigen. The method, based on the random forest automatic learning techniques, reaches a recall and specificity as high as 80% and is implemented as a free and easy-to-use server, named prediction of Antibody Contacts. We believe that it can be of great help in re-design experiments as well as a guide for molecular docking experiments. The results that we obtained also allowed us to dissect which features of the antibody sequence contribute most to the involvement of specific residues in binding to the antigen. AVAILABILITY: http://www.biocomputing.it/proABC. CONTACT: anna.tramontano@uniroma1.it or paolo.marcatili@gmail.com SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  18. Tagging vs. Controlled Vocabulary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bogers, Toine; Petras, Vivien

    2015-01-01

    The popularity of social tagging has sparked a great deal of debate on whether tags could replace or improve upon professional metadata as descriptors of books and other information objects. In this paper we present a large-scale empirical comparison of the contributions of individual information...... that tags and controlled vocabulary terms do not actually outperform each other consistently, but seem to provide complementary contributions: some information needs are best addressed using controlled vocabulary terms whereas other are best addressed using tags....

  19. A new tagging system for production of recombinant proteins in Drosophila S2 cells using the third domain of the urokinase receptor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gårdsvoll, Henrik; Hansen, Line V; Jørgensen, Thomas J D

    2007-01-01

    The use of protein fusion tag technology greatly facilitates detection, expression and purification of recombinant proteins, and the demands for new and more effective systems are therefore expanding. We have used a soluble truncated form of the third domain of the urokinase receptor...... as a convenient C-terminal fusion partner for various recombinant extracellular human proteins used in basic cancer research. The stability of this cystein-rich domain, which structure adopts a three-finger fold, provides an important asset for its applicability as a fusion tag for expression of recombinant...... chromatography procedure using the immobilized anti-uPAR monoclonal antibody R2. An optional enterokinase cleavage site is included between the various recombinant proteins and the linker region of the tag, which enables generation of highly pure preparations of tag-free recombinant proteins. Using this system...

  20. Improving Recommendations in Tag-based Systems with Spectral Clustering of Tag Neighbors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pan, Rong; Xu, Guandong; Dolog, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Tag as a useful metadata reflects the collaborative and conceptual features of documents in social collaborative annotation systems. In this paper, we propose a collaborative approach for expanding tag neighbors and investigate the spectral clustering algorithm to filter out noisy tag neighbors...... in order to get appropriate recommendation for users. The preliminary experiments have been conducted on MovieLens dataset to compare our proposed approach with the traditional collaborative filtering recommendation approach and naive tag neighbors expansion approach in terms of precision, and the result...... demonstrates that our approach could considerably improve the performance of recommendations....

  1. Strep-Tagged Protein Purification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maertens, Barbara; Spriestersbach, Anne; Kubicek, Jan; Schäfer, Frank

    2015-01-01

    The Strep-tag system can be used to purify recombinant proteins from any expression system. Here, protocols for lysis and affinity purification of Strep-tagged proteins from E. coli, baculovirus-infected insect cells, and transfected mammalian cells are given. Depending on the amount of Strep-tagged protein in the lysate, a protocol for batch binding and subsequent washing and eluting by gravity flow can be used. Agarose-based matrices with the coupled Strep-Tactin ligand are the resins of choice, with a binding capacity of up to 9 mg ml(-1). For purification of lower amounts of Strep-tagged proteins, the use of Strep-Tactin magnetic beads is suitable. In addition, Strep-tagged protein purification can also be automated using prepacked columns for FPLC or other liquid-handling chromatography instrumentation, but automated purification is not discussed in this protocol. The protocols described here can be regarded as an update of the Strep-Tag Protein Handbook (Qiagen, 2009). © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. WebTag: Web browsing into sensor tags over NFC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Echevarria, Juan Jose; Ruiz-de-Garibay, Jonathan; Legarda, Jon; Alvarez, Maite; Ayerbe, Ana; Vazquez, Juan Ignacio

    2012-01-01

    Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) continue to overcome many of the challenges related to wireless sensor monitoring, such as for example the design of smarter embedded processors, the improvement of the network architectures, the development of efficient communication protocols or the maximization of the life cycle autonomy. This work tries to improve the communication link of the data transmission in wireless sensor monitoring. The upstream communication link is usually based on standard IP technologies, but the downstream side is always masked with the proprietary protocols used for the wireless link (like ZigBee, Bluetooth, RFID, etc.). This work presents a novel solution (WebTag) for a direct IP based access to a sensor tag over the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for secure applications. WebTag allows a direct web access to the sensor tag by means of a standard web browser, it reads the sensor data, configures the sampling rate and implements IP based security policies. It is, definitely, a new step towards the evolution of the Internet of Things paradigm.

  3. Extracting Usage Patterns and the Analysis of Tag Connection Dynamics within Collaborative Tagging Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel MICAN

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Collaborative tagging has become a very popular way of annotation, thanks to the fact that any entity may be labeled by any individual based on his own reason. In this paper we present the results of the case study carried out on the basis of data gathered at different time intervals from the social tagging system developed and implemented on Întelepciune.ro. Analyzing collective data referring to the way in which community members associate different tags, we have observed that between tags, links are formed which become increasingly stable with the passing of time. Following the application of methodology specific to network analysis, we have managed to extract information referring to tag popularity, their influence within the network and the degree to which a tag depends upon another. As such, we have succeeded in determining different semantic structures within the collective tagging system and see their evolution at different stages in time. Furthermore, we have pictured the way in which tag rec-ommendations can be executed and that they can be integrated within recommendation sys-tems. Thus, we will be able to identify experts and trustworthy content based on different cat-egories of interest.

  4. A UHF RFID system with on-chip-antenna tag for short range communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Qi; Zhang Chun; Zhao Xijin; Wang Zhihua

    2015-01-01

    A UHF RF identification system based on the 0.18 μm CMOS process has been developed for short range and harsh size requirement applications, which is composed of a fully integrated tag and a special reader. The whole tag chip with the antenna takes up an area of 0.36 mm 2 , which is smaller than other reported tags with an on-chip antenna (OCA) using the standard CMOS process. A self-defined protocol is proposed to reduce the power consumption, and minimize the size of the tag. The specialized SOC reader system consists of the RF transceiver, digital baseband, MCU and host interface. Its power consumption is about 500 mW. Measurement results show that the system's reading range is 2 mm with 20 dBm reader output power. With an inductive antenna printed on a paper substrate around the OCA tag, the reading range can be extended from several centimeters to meters, depending on the shape and size of the inductive antenna. (paper)

  5. LinguaTag: an Emotional Speech Analysis Application

    OpenAIRE

    Cullen, Charlie; Vaughan, Brian; Kousidis, Spyros

    2008-01-01

    The analysis of speech, particularly for emotional content, is an open area of current research. Ongoing work has developed an emotional speech corpus for analysis, and defined a vowel stress method by which this analysis may be performed. This paper documents the development of LinguaTag, an open source speech analysis software application which implements this vowel stress emotional speech analysis method developed as part of research into the acoustic and linguistic correlates of emotional...

  6. Localized conformational interrogation of antibody and antibody-drug conjugates by site-specific carboxyl group footprinting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Lucy Yan; Salas-Solano, Oscar; Valliere-Douglass, John F

    Establishing and maintaining conformational integrity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) during development and manufacturing is critical for ensuring their clinical efficacy. As presented here, we applied site-specific carboxyl group footprinting (CGF) for localized conformational interrogation of mAbs. The approach relies on covalent labeling that introduces glycine ethyl ester tags onto solvent-accessible side chains of protein carboxylates. Peptide mapping is used to monitor the labeling kinetics of carboxyl residues and the labeling kinetics reflects the conformation or solvent-accessibility of side chains. Our results for two case studies are shown here. The first study was aimed at defining the conformational changes of mAbs induced by deglycosylation. We found that two residues in C H 2 domain (D268 and E297) show significantly enhanced side chain accessibility upon deglycosylation. This site-specific result highlighted the advantage of monitoring the labeling kinetics at the amino acid level as opposed to the peptide level, which would result in averaging out of highly localized conformational differences. The second study was designed to assess conformational effects brought on by conjugation of mAbs with drug-linkers. All 59 monitored carboxyl residues displayed similar solvent-accessibility between the ADC and mAb under native conditions, which suggests the ADC and mAb share similar side chain conformation. The findings are well correlated and complementary with results from other assays. This work illustrated that site-specific CGF is capable of pinpointing local conformational changes in mAbs or ADCs that might arise during development and manufacturing. The methodology can be readily implemented within the industry to provide comprehensive conformational assessment of these molecules.

  7. Gillnet Tag Program

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Certain fishery management programs require vessels to obtain gillnet tags to be used with their gillnet gear. Gillnet tag data is a collection of requests and...

  8. Increased adsorption of histidine-tagged proteins onto tissue culture polystyrene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holmberg, Maria; Hansen, Thomas Steen; Lind, Johan Ulrik

    2012-01-01

    and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), as well as adsorption performed at different pH and ionic strength indicates that the high adsorption is caused by electrostatic interaction between negatively charged carboxylate groups on the TCPS surface and positively charged histidine residues in the proteins. Pre......In this study we compare histidine-tagged and native proteins with regards to adsorption properties. We observe significantly increased adsorption of proteins with an incorporated polyhistidine amino acid motif (HIS-tag) onto tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) compared to similar proteins without...... a HIS-tag. The effect is not observed on polystyrene (PS). Adsorption experiments have been performed at physiological pH (7.4) and the effect was only observed for the investigated proteins that have pI values below or around 7.4. Competitive adsorption experiments with imidazole...

  9. Crystal clear: visualizing the intervention mechanism of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction by two cancer therapeutic monoclonal antibodies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuguang Tan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies have taken center stage in immunotherapies for cancer, with multiple clinical successes. PD-1 signaling plays pivotal roles in tumor-driven T-cell dysfunction. In contrast to prior approaches to generate or boost tumor-specific T-cell responses, antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade targets tumor-induced T-cell defects and restores pre-existing T-cell function to modulate antitumor immunity. In this review, the fundamental knowledge on the expression regulations and inhibitory functions of PD-1 and the present understanding of antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies are briefly summarized. We then focus on the recent breakthrough work concerning the structural basis of the PD-1/PD-Ls interaction and how therapeutic antibodies, pembrolizumab targeting PD-1 and avelumab targeting PD-L1, compete with the binding of PD-1/PD-L1 to interrupt the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. We believe that this structural information will benefit the design and improvement of therapeutic antibodies targeting PD-1 signaling.

  10. Immobilization and functional reconstitution of antibody Fab fragment by solid-phase refolding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumada, Yoichi; Hamasaki, Kyoto; Nakagawa, Aya; Sasaki, Eiju; Shirai, Tatsunori; Okumura, Masahiro; Inoue, Manami; Kishimoto, Michimasa

    2013-12-31

    In this study, we demonstrated the successful preparation of a Fab antibody-immobilized hydrophilic polystyrene (phi-PS) plate via one- and two-step solid-phase refolding methods. Both polystyrene-binding peptide (PS-tag)-fused Fd fragment of heavy chain (Fab H-PS) and full-length of light-chain (Fab L-PS) were individually produced in insoluble fractions of Escherichia coli cells, and they were highly purified in the presence of 8M of urea. Antigen-binding activities of Fab antibody immobilized were correctly recovered by the one-step solid-phase refolding method that a mixture of Fab H-PS and Fab L-PS was immobilized in the presence of 0.5-2M urea, followed by surface washing of the phi-PS plate with PBST. These results indicate that by genetic fusion of a PS-tag, a complex between Fab H and Fab L was efficiently immobilized on the surface of a phi-PS plate even in the presence of a low concentration of urea, and was then correctly refolded to retain its high antigen-binding activity via removal of the urea. A two-step solid-phase refolding method whereby Fab H-PS and Fab L-PS were successively refolded on the surface of a phi-PS plate also resulted in Fab antibody formation on the plate. Furthermore, both the binding affinity and the specificity of the Fab antibody produced by the two-step method were highly maintained, according to the results of sandwich ELISA and competitive ELISA using Fab antibody-immobilized plate via two-step solid-phase refolding. Thus, the solid-phase refolding method demonstrated in this study should be quite useful for the preparation of a Fab antibody-immobilized PS surface with high efficiency from individually produced Fab H-PS and Fab L-PS. This method will be applicable to the preparation of a large Fab antibody library on the surface of a PS plate for use in antibody screening. © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Social Tagging of Mission Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Jeffrey S.; Wallick, Michael N.; Joswig, Joseph C.; Powell, Mark W.; Torres, Recaredo J.; Mittman, David S.; Abramyan, Lucy; Crockett, Thomas M.; Shams, Khawaja S.; Fox, Jason M.; hide

    2010-01-01

    Mars missions will generate a large amount of data in various forms, such as daily plans, images, and scientific information. Often, there is a semantic linkage between images that cannot be captured automatically. Software is needed that will provide a method for creating arbitrary tags for this mission data so that items with a similar tag can be related to each other. The tags should be visible and searchable for all users. A new routine was written to offer a new and more flexible search option over previous applications. This software allows users of the MSLICE program to apply any number of arbitrary tags to a piece of mission data through a MSLICE search interface. The application of tags creates relationships between data that did not previously exist. These tags can be easily removed and changed, and contain enough flexibility to be specifically configured for any mission. This gives users the ability to quickly recall or draw attention to particular pieces of mission data, for example: Give a semantic and meaningful description to mission data; for example, tag all images with a rock in them with the tag "rock." Rapidly recall specific and useful pieces of data; for example, tag a plan as"driving template." Call specific data to a user s attention; for example, tag a plan as "for:User." This software is part of the MSLICE release, which was written in Java. It will run on any current Windows, Macintosh, or Linux system.

  12. Job optimization in ATLAS TAG-based distributed analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mambelli, M.; Cranshaw, J.; Gardner, R.; Maeno, T.; Malon, D.; Novak, M.

    2010-04-01

    The ATLAS experiment is projected to collect over one billion events/year during the first few years of operation. The efficient selection of events for various physics analyses across all appropriate samples presents a significant technical challenge. ATLAS computing infrastructure leverages the Grid to tackle the analysis across large samples by organizing data into a hierarchical structure and exploiting distributed computing to churn through the computations. This includes events at different stages of processing: RAW, ESD (Event Summary Data), AOD (Analysis Object Data), DPD (Derived Physics Data). Event Level Metadata Tags (TAGs) contain information about each event stored using multiple technologies accessible by POOL and various web services. This allows users to apply selection cuts on quantities of interest across the entire sample to compile a subset of events that are appropriate for their analysis. This paper describes new methods for organizing jobs using the TAGs criteria to analyze ATLAS data. It further compares different access patterns to the event data and explores ways to partition the workload for event selection and analysis. Here analysis is defined as a broader set of event processing tasks including event selection and reduction operations ("skimming", "slimming" and "thinning") as well as DPD making. Specifically it compares analysis with direct access to the events (AOD and ESD data) to access mediated by different TAG-based event selections. We then compare different ways of splitting the processing to maximize performance.

  13. sup(99m)Tc-labeled antibacterial antibody scan for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (in rabbit)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, J T; Tanaka, T; Wong, D W; Mishkin, F; Thadepalli, H [University of Southern California, Los Angeles (USA)

    1978-01-01

    The mortality of infective endocarditis is high and the results of blood cultures and clinical manifestations may be unreliable in its diagnosis. A technique has been developed using the specific antigen-antibody reaction against sup(99m)Tc-labelled antibacterial antibody. The antibody, tagged by an electrolytic method, remained very active and was not denatured since 99% of the sup(99m)Tc-antibody was able to react with antigen. The labelled antibody was injected intravenously into rabbits with experimental aortic endocarditis. The radioactivity of the infected aortic valves was about four times greater than that in the uninfected valves. A scintillation scan was able to detect the infected valves in vivo.

  14. sup(99m)Tc-labeled antibacterial antibody scan for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (in rabbit)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, J.T.; Tanaka, T.; Wong, D.W.; Mishkin, F.; Thadepalli, H.

    1978-01-01

    The mortality of infective endocarditis is high and the results of blood cultures and clinical manifestations may be unreliable in its diagnosis. A technique has been developed using the specific antigen-antibody reaction against sup(99m)Tc-labelled antibacterial antibody. The antibody, tagged by an electrolytic method, remained very active and was not denatured since 99% of the sup(99m)Tc-antibody was able to react with antigen. The labelled antibody was injected intravenously into rabbits with experimental aortic endocarditis. The radioactivity of the infected aortic valves was about four times greater than that in the uninfected valves. A scintillation scan was able to detect the infected valves in vivo. (U.K.)

  15. Monoclonal Antibodies and Toxins—A Perspective on Function and Isotype

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siu-Kei Chow

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Antibody therapy remains the only effective treatment for toxin-mediated diseases. The development of hybridoma technology has allowed the isolation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs with high specificity and defined properties, and numerous mAbs have been purified and characterized for their protective efficacy against different toxins. This review summarizes the mAb studies for 6 toxins—Shiga toxin, pertussis toxin, anthrax toxin, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin, and Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB—and analyzes the prevalence of mAb functions and their isotypes. Here we show that most toxin-binding mAbs resulted from immunization are non-protective and that mAbs with potential therapeutic use are preferably characterized. Various common practices and caveats of protection studies are discussed, with the goal of providing insights for the design of future research on antibody-toxin interactions.

  16. Monoclonal Antibodies and Toxins—A Perspective on Function and Isotype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Siu-Kei; Casadevall, Arturo

    2012-01-01

    Antibody therapy remains the only effective treatment for toxin-mediated diseases. The development of hybridoma technology has allowed the isolation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with high specificity and defined properties, and numerous mAbs have been purified and characterized for their protective efficacy against different toxins. This review summarizes the mAb studies for 6 toxins—Shiga toxin, pertussis toxin, anthrax toxin, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin, and Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)—and analyzes the prevalence of mAb functions and their isotypes. Here we show that most toxin-binding mAbs resulted from immunization are non-protective and that mAbs with potential therapeutic use are preferably characterized. Various common practices and caveats of protection studies are discussed, with the goal of providing insights for the design of future research on antibody-toxin interactions. PMID:22822456

  17. Use of monoclonal antibody B72.3 in the management of gynecologic malignancies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simpson, J.; Schlom, J.

    1988-01-01

    Monoclonal antibodies are currently used in the diagnosis of gynecologic malignancies by way of immunohistochemical assays, serum assays, and in situ radiolocalization of carcinoma lesions. Among them is MAb B72.3, generated against a human tumor-associated antigen (TAG-72). Using immunohistochemical techniques, MAb B72.3 has shown reactivity with 100 percent of common epithelial ovarian carcinomas and endometrial carcinomas and non-reactivity with normal adult tissues, with the exception of normal secretory endometrium. B72.3 appears to be a valuable immunocytologic adjunct, with greater than 90 percent of effusions and fine-needle aspiration biopsies from gynecologic carcinomas showing reactivity. Using a serum assay developed to detect the presence of the TAG-72 antigen, 48 percent of patients with ovarian carcinoma demonstrated TAG-72-positive sera versus 1 percent of control sera. 131 I-labeled MAb B72.3 IgG and gamma scanning have been used for the in situ detection of metastatic carcinoma. Twelve of 15 patients with ovarian carcinoma showed positive gamma scans, and approximately 80 percent of the lesions demonstrated specific localization of the antibody. These studies indicate the potential utility of MAb B72.3 in the diagnosis of gynecologic carcinoma. 57 references

  18. Evaluation of MRI issues for an access port with a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Titterington, Blake; Shellock, Frank G

    2013-10-01

    A medical implant that contains metal, such as an RFID tag, must undergo proper MRI testing to ensure patient safety and to determine that the function of the RFID tag is not compromised by exposure to MRI conditions. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to assess MRI issues for a new access port that incorporates an RFID tag. Samples of the access port with an RFID tag (Medcomp Power Injectable Port with CertainID; Medcomp, Harleysville, PA) were evaluated using standard protocols to assess magnetic field interactions (translational attraction and torque; 3-T), MRI-related heating (3-T), artifacts (3-T), and functional changes associated with different MRI conditions (nine samples, exposed to different MRI conditions at 1.5-T and 3-T). Magnetic field interactions were not substantial and will pose no hazards to patients. MRI-related heating was minimal (highest temperature change, 1.7°C; background temperature rise, 1.6°C). Artifacts were moderate in size in relation to the device. Exposures to MRI conditions at 1.5-T and 3-T did not alter or damage the functional aspects of the RFID tag. Based on the findings of the test, this new access port with an RFID tag is acceptable (or, MR conditional, using current MRI labeling terminology) for patients undergoing MRI examinations at 1.5-T/64-MHz and 3-T/128-MHz. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Antibody-Hapten Recognition at the Surface of Functionalized Liposomes Studied by SPR: Steric Hindrance of Pegylated Phospholipids in Stealth Liposomes Prepared for Targeted Radionuclide Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliot. P. Botosoa

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Targeted PEGylated liposomes could increase the amount of drugs or radionuclides delivered to tumor cells. They show favorable stability and pharmacokinetics, but steric hindrance of the PEG chains can block the binding of the targeting moiety. Here, specific interactions between an antihapten antibody (clone 734, specific for the DTPA-indium complex and DTPA-indium-tagged liposomes were characterized by surface plasmon resonance (SPR. Non-PEGylated liposomes fused on CM5 chips whereas PEGylated liposomes did not. By contrast, both PEGylated and non-PEGylated liposomes attached to L1 chips without fusion. SPR binding kinetics showed that, in the absence of PEG, the antibody binds the hapten at the surface of lipid bilayers with the affinity of the soluble hapten. The incorporation of PEGylated lipids hinders antibody binding to extents depending on PEGylated lipid fraction and PEG molecular weight. SPR on immobilized liposomes thus appears as a useful technique to optimize formulations of liposomes for targeted therapy.

  20. Behavioral tagging is a general mechanism of long-term memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballarini, Fabricio; Moncada, Diego; Martinez, Maria Cecilia; Alen, Nadia; Viola, Haydée

    2009-08-25

    In daily life, memories are intertwined events. Little is known about the mechanisms involved in their interactions. Using two hippocampus-dependent (spatial object recognition and contextual fear conditioning) and one hippocampus-independent (conditioned taste aversion) learning tasks, we show that in rats subjected to weak training protocols that induce solely short term memory (STM), long term memory (LTM) is promoted and formed only if training sessions took place in contingence with a novel, but not familiar, experience occurring during a critical time window around training. This process requires newly synthesized proteins induced by novelty and reveals a general mechanism of LTM formation that begins with the setting of a "learning tag" established by a weak training. These findings represent the first comprehensive set of evidences indicating the existence of a behavioral tagging process that in analogy to the synaptic tagging and capture process, need the creation of a transient, protein synthesis-independent, and input specific tag.

  1. Methodology optimizing SAGE library tag-to-gene mapping: application to Leishmania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smandi Sondos

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Leishmaniasis are widespread parasitic-diseases with an urgent need for more active and less toxic drugs and for effective vaccines. Understanding the biology of the parasite especially in the context of host parasite interaction is a crucial step towards such improvements in therapy and control. Several experimental approaches including SAGE (Serial analysis of gene expression have been developed in order to investigate the parasite transcriptome organisation and plasticity. Usual SAGE tag-to-gene mapping techniques are inadequate because almost all tags are normally located in the 3'-UTR outside the CDS, whereas most information available for Leishmania transcripts is restricted to the CDS predictions. The aim of this work is to optimize a SAGE libraries tag-to-gene mapping technique and to show how this development improves the understanding of Leishmania transcriptome. Findings The in silico method implemented herein was based on mapping the tags to Leishmania genome using BLAST then mapping the tags to their gene using a data-driven probability distribution. This optimized tag-to-gene mappings improved the knowledge of Leishmania genome structure and transcription. It allowed analyzing the expression of a maximal number of Leishmania genes, the delimitation of the 3' UTR of 478 genes and the identification of biological processes that are differentially modulated during the promastigote to amastigote differentiation. Conclusion The developed method optimizes the assignment of SAGE tags in trypanosomatidae genomes as well as in any genome having polycistronic transcription and small intergenic regions.

  2. Gas tagging system development in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekiguchi, N.; Rindo, H.; Akiyama, T.; Miyazawa, T.; Heki, H.

    1981-05-01

    The Gas tagging method has been considered to be most desirable for a failed fuel location system for the fast breeder reactor, regarding the component reduction in the reactor vessel and rapid location during reactor operation. The gas tagging system has been designed by referring to R and D results obtained in Japan and other countries. The designed system is comprised of tag gas filling pins, cover gas sampling system, tag gas recovery and enrichment system, tag gas analyzer and system control and data handling computers. The main specifications for this system have been decided as follows; 1) Main function is location of failed fuels in core and a part of blanket region, 2) Identification capability is each subassembly, 3) Time for identification is within a few days, 4) Continuous operation with automatic start at fuel failure, 5) Detection sensitivity must cover both gas leak and pin burst. In designing the gas tagging system, the following R and D items were selected; 1) System design study, 2) Tag gas capsule development, 3) Modeling the tag gas behavior in reactor primary cooling system, 4) Tag gas recovery and enrichment system, 5) Computer code development for tag gas isotope ratio change estimation. Details of the Japanese gas tagging system development appear in this paper. (author)

  3. In vivo phosphorylation of a peptide tag for protein purification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goux, Marine; Fateh, Amina; Defontaine, Alain; Cinier, Mathieu; Tellier, Charles

    2016-05-01

    To design a new system for the in vivo phosphorylation of proteins in Escherichia coli using the co-expression of the α-subunit of casein kinase II (CKIIα) and a target protein, (Nanofitin) fused with a phosphorylatable tag. The level of the co-expressed CKIIα was controlled by the arabinose promoter and optimal phosphorylation was obtained with 2 % (w/v) arabinose as inductor. The effectiveness of the phosphorylation system was demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (NUT-PAGE) and staining with a specific phosphoprotein-staining gel. The resulting phosphorylated tag was also used to purify the phosphoprotein by immobilized metal affinity chromatography, which relies on the specific interaction of phosphate moieties with Fe(III). The use of a single tag for both the purification and protein array anchoring provides a simple and straightforward system for protein analysis.

  4. Assessment of estrogen receptor-monoclonal antibody interaction by high performance liquid chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brandt, D.W.; Wittliff, J.L.

    1986-01-01

    To define the interrelationships between the various isoforms of the estrogen receptors (ER), a monoclonal antibody-horse radish peroxidase conjugate H222 was used as a probe in conjunction with HPIEC (Synchrom AX-1000) and HPSEC (TSK-3000 SW Toyo Soda) columns. ER from breast tumors was assessed using [16α- 125 I]-iodoestradiol-17β (3nM) +/-200 fold excess estradiol-17β and excess H222. When ER was analyzed by HPSEC (size and shape), with 400 mM KCl which caused the dissociation of ER into 4S isoforms, a shift in retension time to higher molecular weight species was seen. The H222 appeared to interact with most isoforms of ER. However, when ER was analyzed by HPIEC (surface charge) with H222, a shift in virtually all of the high salt (150mM) isoform to the flow-through was observed with only 46% shift in elution of the low salt (60-70mM) isoforms. H222 did not alter total ER binding capacity. These data suggest that H222 recognized discrete forms of the ER. Therefore, modification in the receptor may have occurred which masks or removes the antigenic determinant limiting the specificity of H222. These results indicate that H222 may be employed as a tool to elucidate the interrelationships between these ER species

  5. Topical tags vs non-topical tags : Towards a bipartite classification?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Basile, Valerio; Peroni, Silvio; Tamburini, Fabio; Vitali, Fabio

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we investigate whether it is possible to create a computational approach that allows us to distinguish topical tags (i.e. talking about the topic of a resource) and non-topical tags (i.e. describing aspects of a resource that are not related to its topic) in folksonomies, in a way that

  6. The role of tag suggestions in folksonomies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bollen, D.G.F.M.; Halpin, H.

    2009-01-01

    Most tagging systems support the user in the tag selection process by providing tag suggestions, or recommendations, based on a popularity measurement of tags other users provided when tagging the same resource. The majority of theories and mathematical models of tagging found in the literature

  7. Lymphocyte antibody-dependent cytotoxicity test for evaluation of clinical role of monoclonal anti-D-antibodies for prevention of rhesus sensitization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olovnikova, N I; Belkina, E V; Nikolaeva, T L; Miterev, G Yu; Chertkov, I L

    2006-01-01

    Monoclonal antibodies to D antigen were studied in the reaction of antibody-dependent cytotoxicity for evaluation of the possibility of using these antibodies for preventing rhesus sensitization. High hemolytic activity of four anti-D-monoclonal antibodies in the antibody-dependent cytotoxicity test, mediated by their interaction with FcgammaRI, and the capacity to accelerate elimination of D+ erythrocytes from circulation did not provide the immunosuppressive effect. It was hypothesized that monoclonal antibodies for prevention of rhesus sensitization should interact with FcgammaRIII on lymphocytes. These monoclonal antibodies are extremely rare: only 4 of 125 studied antibodies mediated hemolysis in the antibody-dependent cytotoxicity test with lymphocytes, while all polyclonal anti-D-preparations exhibited this activity.

  8. Characterization of ELISA Antibody-Antigen Interaction using Footprinting-Mass Spectrometry and Negative Staining Transmission Electron Microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Margaret; Krawitz, Denise; Callahan, Matthew D.; Deperalta, Galahad; Wecksler, Aaron T.

    2018-05-01

    We describe epitope mapping data using multiple covalent labeling footprinting-mass spectrometry (MS) techniques coupled with negative stain transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data to analyze the antibody-antigen interactions in a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Our hydroxyl radical footprinting-MS data using fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP) indicates suppression of labeling across the antigen upon binding either of the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) utilized in the ELISA. Combining these data with Western blot analysis enabled the identification of the putative epitopes that appeared to span regions containing N-linked glycans. An additional structural mapping technique, carboxyl group footprinting-mass spectrometry using glycine ethyl ester (GEE) labeling, was used to confirm the epitopes. Deglycosylation of the antigen resulted in loss of potency in the ELISA, supporting the FPOP and GEE labeling data by indicating N-linked glycans are necessary for antigen binding. Finally, mapping of the epitopes onto the antigen crystal structure revealed an approximate 90° relative spatial orientation, optimal for a noncompetitive binding ELISA. TEM data shows both linear and diamond antibody-antigen complexes with a similar binding orientation as predicted from the two footprinting-MS techniques. This study is the first of its kind to utilize multiple bottom-up footprinting-MS techniques and TEM visualization to characterize the monoclonal antibody-antigen binding interactions of critical reagents used in a quality control (QC) lot-release ELISA. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  9. Characterization of ELISA Antibody-Antigen Interaction using Footprinting-Mass Spectrometry and Negative Staining Transmission Electron Microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Margaret; Krawitz, Denise; Callahan, Matthew D.; Deperalta, Galahad; Wecksler, Aaron T.

    2018-03-01

    We describe epitope mapping data using multiple covalent labeling footprinting-mass spectrometry (MS) techniques coupled with negative stain transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data to analyze the antibody-antigen interactions in a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Our hydroxyl radical footprinting-MS data using fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP) indicates suppression of labeling across the antigen upon binding either of the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) utilized in the ELISA. Combining these data with Western blot analysis enabled the identification of the putative epitopes that appeared to span regions containing N-linked glycans. An additional structural mapping technique, carboxyl group footprinting-mass spectrometry using glycine ethyl ester (GEE) labeling, was used to confirm the epitopes. Deglycosylation of the antigen resulted in loss of potency in the ELISA, supporting the FPOP and GEE labeling data by indicating N-linked glycans are necessary for antigen binding. Finally, mapping of the epitopes onto the antigen crystal structure revealed an approximate 90° relative spatial orientation, optimal for a noncompetitive binding ELISA. TEM data shows both linear and diamond antibody-antigen complexes with a similar binding orientation as predicted from the two footprinting-MS techniques. This study is the first of its kind to utilize multiple bottom-up footprinting-MS techniques and TEM visualization to characterize the monoclonal antibody-antigen binding interactions of critical reagents used in a quality control (QC) lot-release ELISA. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  10. Llama VHH antibody fragments against GFAP: better diffusion in fixed tissues than classical monoclonal antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perruchini, Claire; Pecorari, Frederic; Bourgeois, Jean-Pierre; Duyckaerts, Charles; Rougeon, François; Lafaye, Pierre

    2009-11-01

    Camelids produce antibodies made of homodimeric heavy chains, and the antigen-binding region being composed of a single domain called VHH. These VHHs are much smaller than complete IgG. They are also more thermostable and more soluble in water; they should, therefore, diffuse more readily in the tissues. VHHs, expressed in bacteria, are easier to produce than conventional monoclonal antibodies. Because of these special characteristics, these antibody fragments could have interesting developments in immunohistochemistry and in the development of biomarkers. To test the possibility of their use in immunohistochemistry (IHC), we selected the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a well-known marker of astrocytes. One alpaca (Lama pacos) was immunized against GFAP. Lymphocytes were isolated; the DNA was extracted; the VHH-coding sequences were selectively amplified. Three VHHs with a high affinity for GFAP and their corresponding mRNA were selected by ribosome display. Large quantities of the recombinant VHHs coupled with different tags were harvested from transfected bacteria. One of them was shown to immunolabel strongly and specifically to GFAP of human astrocytes in tissue sections. The quality of the IHC was comparable or, in some aspects, superior to the quality obtained with conventional IgG. The VHH was shown to diffuse on a longer distance than conventional monoclonal antibodies in fixed cortical tissue: a property that may be useful in immunolabeling of thick sections.

  11. A Linear Epitope in the N-Terminal Domain of CCR5 and Its Interaction with Antibody.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benny Chain

    Full Text Available The CCR5 receptor plays a role in several key physiological and pathological processes and is an important therapeutic target. Inhibition of the CCR5 axis by passive or active immunisation offers one very selective strategy for intervention. In this study we define a new linear epitope within the extracellular domain of CCR5 recognised by two independently produced monoclonal antibodies. A short peptide encoding the linear epitope can induce antibodies which recognise the intact receptor when administered colinear with a tetanus toxoid helper T cell epitope. The monoclonal antibody RoAb 13 is shown to bind to both cells and peptide with moderate to high affinity (6x10^8 and 1.2x107 M-1 respectively, and binding to the peptide is enhanced by sulfation of tyrosines at positions 10 and 14. RoAb13, which has previously been shown to block HIV infection, also blocks migration of monocytes in response to CCR5 binding chemokines and to inflammatory macrophage conditioned medium. A Fab fragment of RoAb13 has been crystallised and a structure of the antibody is reported to 2.1 angstrom resolution.

  12. A new application of scanning electrochemical microscopy for the label-free interrogation of antibody-antigen interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holmes, Joanne L.; Davis, Frank; Collyer, Stuart D. [Cranfield Health, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK43 0AL (United Kingdom); Higson, Seamus P.J., E-mail: s.p.j.higson@cranfield.ac.uk [Cranfield Health, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK43 0AL (United Kingdom)

    2011-03-18

    Within this work we present a 'proof of principle' study for the use of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) to detect and image biomolecular interactions in a label-free assay as a potential alternative to current fluorescence techniques. Screen-printed carbon electrodes were used as the substrate for the deposition of a dotted array, where the dots consist of biotinylated polyethyleneimine. These were then further derivatised, first with neutravidin and then with a biotinylated antibody to the protein neuron specific enolase (NSE). SECM using a ferrocene carboxylic acid mediator showed clear differences between the array and the surrounding unmodified carbon. Imaging of the arrays before and following exposure to various concentrations of the antigen showed clear evidence for specific binding of the NSE antigen to the antibody derivatised dots. Non-specific binding was quantified. Control experiments with other proteins showed only non-specific binding across the whole of the substrate, thereby confirming that specific binding does occur between the antibody and antigen at the surface of the dots. Binding of the antigen was accompanied by a measured increase in current response, which may be explained in terms of protein electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interactions to the mediator, thereby increasing the localised mediator flux. A calibration curve was obtained between 500 fg mL{sup -1} to 200 pg mL{sup -1} NSE which demonstrated a logarithmic relationship between the current change upon binding and antigen concentration without the need for any labelling of the substrate.

  13. Emotional Mining: Tagging Emoticons to Online News

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasinathan, Vinothini; Mustapha, Aida; Zhi Yong, Lee; Aida Zamnah, Z. A.

    2017-08-01

    This paper presents an emotion mining system, which assigns emoticons to newspaper articles into a pre-defined emotion category based on the underlying emotion in the news. Next, the system makes recommendation to the reader by tagging the news headline with the respective emoticons. Users are then able to decide whether to read the news based on the emoticons provided. The system also provides a filter for the users to choose the category of news to read following the emoticons.

  14. Defining process design space for monoclonal antibody cell culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Absi, Susan Fugett; Yang, LiYing; Thompson, Patrick; Jiang, Canping; Kandula, Sunitha; Schilling, Bernhard; Shukla, Abhinav A

    2010-08-15

    The concept of design space has been taking root as a foundation of in-process control strategies for biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. During mapping of the process design space, the multidimensional combination of operational variables is studied to quantify the impact on process performance in terms of productivity and product quality. An efficient methodology to map the design space for a monoclonal antibody cell culture process is described. A failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) was used as the basis for the process characterization exercise. This was followed by an integrated study of the inoculum stage of the process which includes progressive shake flask and seed bioreactor steps. The operating conditions for the seed bioreactor were studied in an integrated fashion with the production bioreactor using a two stage design of experiments (DOE) methodology to enable optimization of operating conditions. A two level Resolution IV design was followed by a central composite design (CCD). These experiments enabled identification of the edge of failure and classification of the operational parameters as non-key, key or critical. In addition, the models generated from the data provide further insight into balancing productivity of the cell culture process with product quality considerations. Finally, process and product-related impurity clearance was evaluated by studies linking the upstream process with downstream purification. Production bioreactor parameters that directly influence antibody charge variants and glycosylation in CHO systems were identified.

  15. Expression of recombinant multi-coloured fluorescent antibodies in gor -/trxB- E. coli cytoplasm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markiv Anatoliy

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Antibody-fluorophore conjugates are invaluable reagents used in contemporary molecular cell biology for imaging, cell sorting and tracking intracellular events. However they suffer in some cases from batch to batch variation, partial loss of binding and susceptibility to photo-bleaching. In theory, these issues can all be addressed by using recombinant antibody fused directly to genetically encoded fluorescent reporters. However, single-chain fragment variable domains linked by long flexible linkers are themselves prone to disassociation and aggregation, and in some cases with isoelectric points incompatible with use in physiologically relevant milieu. Here we describe a general approach that permits fully functional intracellular production of a range of coloured fluorescent recombinant antibodies with optimally orientated VH/VL interfaces and isoelectric points compatible for use in physiological solutions at pH 7.4 with a binding site to fluorophore stoichiometry of 1:1. Results Here we report the design, assembly, intracellular bacterial production and purification of a panel of novel antibody fluorescent protein fusion constructs. The insertion of monomeric fluorescent protein derived from either Discosoma or Aequorea in-between the variable regions of anti-p185HER2-ECD antibody 4D5-8 resulted in optimal VH/VL interface interactions to create soluble coloured antibodies each with a single binding site, with isoelectric points of 6.5- 6. The fluorescent antibodies used in cell staining studies with SK-BR-3 cells retained the fluorophore properties and antibody specificity functions, whereas the conventional 4D5-8 single chain antibody with a (Gly4Ser3 linker precipitated at physiological pH 7.4. Conclusions This modular monomeric recombinant fluorescent antibody platform may be used to create a range of recombinant coloured antibody molecules for quantitative in situ, in vivo and ex vivo imaging, cell sorting and cell

  16. The Structure and Form of Folksonomy Tags: The Road to the Public Library Catalog

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise F. Spiteri

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the linguistic structure of folksonomy tags collected over a thirty-day period from the daily tag logs of Del.icio.us, Furl, and Technorati. The tags were evaluated against the National Information Standards Organization (NISO guidelines for the construction of controlled vocabularies. The results indicate that the tags correspond closely to the NISO guidelines pertaining to types of concepts expressed, the predominance of single terms and nouns, and the use of recognized spelling. Problem areas pertain to the inconsistent use of count nouns and the incidence of ambiguous tags in the form of homographs, abbreviations, and acronyms. With the addition of guidelines to the construction of unambiguous tags and links to useful external reference sources, folksonomies could serve as a powerful, flexible tool for increasing the user-friendliness and interactivity of public library catalogs, and also may be useful for encouraging other activities, such as informal online communities of readers and user-driven readers’ advisory services.

  17. Conjugation of biotin-coated luminescent quantum dots with single domain antibody-rhizavidin fusions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinny L. Liu

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Straightforward and effective methods are required for the bioconjugation of proteins to surfaces and particles. Previously we demonstrated that the fusion of a single domain antibody with the biotin binding molecule rhizavidin provided a facile method to coat biotin-modified surfaces with a highly active and oriented antibody. Here, we constructed similar single domain antibody—rhizavidin fusions as well as unfused rhizavidin with a His-tag. The unfused rhizavidin produced efficiently and its utility for assay development was demonstrated in surface plasmon resonance experiments. The single domain antibody-rhizavidin fusions were utilized to coat quantum dots that had been prepared with surface biotins. Preparation of antibody coated quantum dots by this means was found to be both easy and effective. The prepared single domain antibody-quantum dot reagent was characterized by surface plasmon resonance and applied to toxin detection in a fluoroimmunoassay sensing format.

  18. Label-free Fab and Fc affinity/avidity profiling of the antibody complex half-life for polyclonal and monoclonal efficacy screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Read, Thomas; Olkhov, Rouslan V; Williamson, E Diane; Shaw, Andrew M

    2015-09-01

    A unified approach to affinity screening for Fab and Fc interactions of an antibody for its antigen and FcγR receptor has been developed. An antigen array is used for the Fab affinity and cross-reactivity screening and protein A/G proxy is the FcγR receptor. The affinities are derived using a simple 1:1 binding model with a consistent error analysis. The association and dissociation kinetics are measured over optimised times for accurate determination. The Fab/Fc affinities are derived for ten antibodies: mAb-actin (mouse), pAb-BSA (sheep), pAb-collagen V (rabbit), pAb-CRP (goat), mAb-F1 (mouse), mAbs (mouse) 7.3, 12.3, 29.3, 36.3 and 46.3 raised against LcrV in Yersinia pestis. The rate of the dissociation of antigen-antibody complexes relates directly to their immunological function as does the Fc-FcγR complex and a new half-life plot has been defined with a Fab/Fc half-life range of 17-470 min. The upper half-life value points to surface avidity. Two antibodies that are protective as an immunotherapy define a Fab half-life >250 min and an Fc half-life >50 min as characteristics of ideal interactions which can form the basis of an antibody screen for immunotherapy.

  19. A lipasin/Angptl8 monoclonal antibody lowers mouse serum triglycerides involving increased postprandial activity of the cardiac lipoprotein lipase

    OpenAIRE

    Fu, Zhiyao; Abou-Samra, Abdul B.; Zhang, Ren

    2015-01-01

    Lipasin/Angptl8 is a feeding-induced hepatokine that regulates triglyceride (TAG) metabolism; its therapeutical potential, mechanism of action, and relation to the lipoprotein lipase (LPL), however, remain elusive. We generated five monoclonal lipasin antibodies, among which one lowered the serum TAG level when injected into mice, and the epitope was determined to be EIQVEE. Lipasin-deficient mice exhibited elevated postprandial activity of LPL in the heart and skeletal muscle, but not in whi...

  20. Development of a chemically defined medium for studying foodborne bacterial-fungal interactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aunsbjerg, Stina Dissing; Honoré, Anders Hans; Vogensen, Finn Kvist

    2015-01-01

    judged by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry) a chemically defined interaction medium (CDIM) was developed. The medium supported growth of antifungal cultures such as Lactobacillus paracasei and Propionibacterium freudenreichii, as well as spoilage moulds and yeasts isolated from...... fermented milk products. Both strong and weak antifungal interactions observed in milk could be reproduced in CDIM. The medium seems suitable for studying antifungal activity of bacterial cultures....

  1. Rapid production of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies from a variety of animals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kurosawa Nobuyuki

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although a variety of animals have been used to produce polyclonal antibodies against antigens, the production of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies from animals remains challenging. Results We propose a simple and rapid strategy to produce monoclonal antibodies from a variety of animals. By staining lymph node cells with an antibody against immunoglobulin and a fluorescent dye specific for the endoplasmic reticulum, plasma/plasmablast cells were identified without using a series of antibodies against lineage markers. By using a fluorescently labeled antigen as a tag for a complementary cell surface immunoglobulin, antigen-specific plasma/plasmablast cells were sorted from the rest of the cell population by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Amplification of cognate pairs of immunoglobulin heavy and light chain genes followed by DNA transfection into 293FT cells resulted in the highly efficient production of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies from a variety of immunized animals. Conclusions Our technology eliminates the need for both cell propagation and screening processes, offering a significant advantage over hybridoma and display strategies.

  2. A Herbivore Tag-and-Trace System Reveals Contact- and Density-Dependent Repellence of a Root Toxin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bont, Zoe; Arce, Carla; Huber, Meret; Huang, Wei; Mestrot, Adrien; Sturrock, Craig J; Erb, Matthias

    2017-03-01

    Foraging behavior of root feeding organisms strongly affects plant-environment-interactions and ecosystem processes. However, the impact of plant chemistry on root herbivore movement in the soil is poorly understood. Here, we apply a simple technique to trace the movement of soil-dwelling insects in their habitats without disturbing or restricting their interactions with host plants. We tagged the root feeding larvae of Melolontha melolontha with a copper ring and repeatedly located their position in relation to their preferred host plant, Taraxacum officinale, using a commercial metal detector. This method was validated and used to study the influence of the sesquiterpene lactone taraxinic acid β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (TA-G) on the foraging of M. melolontha. TA-G is stored in the latex of T. officinale and protects the roots from herbivory. Using behavioral arenas with TA-G deficient and control plants, we tested the impact of physical root access and plant distance on the effect of TA-G on M. melolontha. The larvae preferred TA-G deficient plants to control plants, but only when physical root contact was possible and the plants were separated by 5 cm. Melolontha melolontha showed no preference for TA-G deficient plants when the plants were grown 15 cm apart, which may indicate a trade-off between the cost of movement and the benefit of consuming less toxic food. We demonstrate that M. melolontha integrates host plant quality and distance into its foraging patterns and suggest that plant chemistry affects root herbivore behavior in a plant-density dependent manner.

  3. Neural network tagging in a toy model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milek, Marko; Patel, Popat

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this study is a comparison of Artificial Neural Network approach to HEP analysis against the traditional methods. A toy model used in this analysis consists of two types of particles defined by four generic properties. A number of 'events' was created according to the model using standard Monte Carlo techniques. Several fully connected, feed forward multi layered Artificial Neural Networks were trained to tag the model events. The performance of each network was compared to the standard analysis mechanisms and significant improvement was observed

  4. Inter-domain tagging implicates caveolin-1 in insulin receptor trafficking and Erk signaling bias in pancreatic beta-cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias Boothe

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The role and mechanisms of insulin receptor internalization remain incompletely understood. Previous trafficking studies of insulin receptors involved fluorescent protein tagging at their termini, manipulations that may be expected to result in dysfunctional receptors. Our objective was to determine the trafficking route and molecular mechanisms of functional tagged insulin receptors and endogenous insulin receptors in pancreatic beta-cells. Methods: We generated functional insulin receptors tagged with pH-resistant fluorescent proteins between domains. Confocal, TIRF and STED imaging revealed a trafficking pattern of inter-domain tagged insulin receptors and endogenous insulin receptors detected with antibodies. Results: Surprisingly, interdomain-tagged and endogenous insulin receptors in beta-cells bypassed classical Rab5a- or Rab7-mediated endocytic routes. Instead, we found that removal of insulin receptors from the plasma membrane involved tyrosine-phosphorylated caveolin-1, prior to trafficking within flotillin-1-positive structures to lysosomes. Multiple methods of inhibiting caveolin-1 significantly reduced Erk activation in vitro or in vivo, while leaving Akt signaling mostly intact. Conclusions: We conclude that phosphorylated caveolin-1 plays a role in insulin receptor internalization towards lysosomes through flotillin-1-positive structures and that caveolin-1 helps bias physiological beta-cell insulin signaling towards Erk activation. Author Video: Author Video Watch what authors say about their articles Keywords: Insulin receptor internalization, Insulin resistance, Pancreatic islet beta-cells, Autocrine insulin signaling

  5. Flavour tagging performance in LHCb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grabalosa Gandara, Marc

    2009-01-01

    To do precise CP violation measurements, the best possible determination of the flavour of the B-meson is necessary. This report summarizes the flavour tagging performances for the LHCb experiment. The flavour tagging is obtained through a combination of several methods, based on different signatures. The use of control channels, which are decays to flavour-specific final states, will allow to determine the wrong tag fraction ω (the probability of a tag to be wrong), which can be used as an input for the determination of CKM unitarity triangle angles.

  6. Cooperative Tagging Center (CTC)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Cooperative Tagging Center (CTC) began as the Cooperative Game Fish Tagging Program (GTP) at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) in 1954. The GTP was...

  7. Tumour auto-antibody screening: performance of protein microarrays using SEREX derived antigens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stempfer, René; Weinhäusel, Andreas; Syed, Parvez; Vierlinger, Klemens; Pichler, Rudolf; Meese, Eckart; Leidinger, Petra; Ludwig, Nicole; Kriegner, Albert; Nöhammer, Christa

    2010-01-01

    The simplicity and potential of minimal invasive testing using serum from patients make auto-antibody based biomarkers a very promising tool for use in diagnostics of cancer and auto-immune disease. Although several methods exist for elucidating candidate-protein markers, immobilizing these onto membranes and generating so called macroarrays is of limited use for marker validation. Especially when several hundred samples have to be analysed, microarrays could serve as a good alternative since processing macro membranes is cumbersome and reproducibility of results is moderate. Candidate markers identified by SEREX (serological identification of antigens by recombinant expression cloning) screenings of brain and lung tumour were used for macroarray and microarray production. For microarray production recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli by autoinduction and purified His-tag (histidine-tagged) proteins were then used for the production of protein microarrays. Protein arrays were hybridized with the serum samples from brain and lung tumour patients. Methods for the generation of microarrays were successfully established when using antigens derived from membrane-based selection. Signal patterns obtained by microarrays analysis of brain and lung tumour patients' sera were highly reproducible (R = 0.92-0.96). This provides the technical foundation for diagnostic applications on the basis of auto-antibody patterns. In this limited test set, the assay provided high reproducibility and a broad dynamic range to classify all brain and lung samples correctly. Protein microarray is an efficient means for auto-antibody-based detection when using SEREX-derived clones expressing antigenic proteins. Protein microarrays are preferred to macroarrays due to the easier handling and the high reproducibility of auto-antibody testing. Especially when using only a few microliters of patient samples protein microarrays are ideally suited for validation of auto-antibody

  8. Defining a turnover index for the correlation of biomaterial degradation and cell based extracellular matrix synthesis using fluorescent tagging techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardsley, Katie; Wimpenny, Ian; Wechsler, Roni; Shachaf, Yonatan; Yang, Ying; El Haj, Alicia J

    2016-11-01

    Non-destructive protocols which can define a biomaterial's degradation and its associated ability to support proliferation and/or promote extracellular matrix deposition will be an essential in vitro tool. In this study we investigate fluorescently tagged biomaterials, with varying rates of degradation and their ability to support cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. Changes in fluorescence of the biomaterials and the release of fluorescent soluble by-products were confirmed as accurate methods to quantify degradation. It was demonstrated that increasing rates of the selected biomaterials' degradation led to a decrease in cell proliferation and concurrently an increase in osteogenic matrix production. A novel turnover index (TI), which directly describes the effect of degradation of a biomaterial on cell behaviour, was calculated. Lower TIs for proliferation and high TIs for osteogenic marker production were observed on faster degrading biomaterials, indicating that these biomaterials supported an upregulation of osteogenic markers. This TI was further validated using an ex vivo chick femur model, where the faster degrading biomaterial, fibrin, led to an increased TI for mineralisation within an epiphyseal defect. This in vitro tool, TI, for monitoring the effect of biomaterial degradation on extracellular matrix production may well act as predictor of the selected biomaterials' performance during in vivo studies. This paper outlines a novel metric, Turnover Index (TI), which can be utilised in tissue-engineering for the comparison of a range of biomaterials. The metric sets out to define the relationship between the rate of degradation of biomaterials with the rate of cell proliferation and ECM synthesis, ultimately allowing us to tailor material for set clinical requirements. We have discovered some novel comparative findings that cells cultured on biomaterials with increased rates of degradation have lower rates of proliferation but alternatively

  9. Secure passive RFID tag with seal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nekoogar, Faranak; Reynolds, Matthew; Lefton, Scott; Dowla, Farid; Twogood, Richard

    2017-11-14

    A secure passive RFID tag system comprises at least one base station and at least one passive RFID tag. The tag includes a fiber optic cable with the cable ends sealed within the tag and the middle portion forming an external loop. The loop may be secured to at least portions of an object. The tag transmits and receives an optical signal through the fiber optic cable, and the cable is configured to be damaged or broken in response to removal or tampering attempts, wherein the optical signal is significantly altered if the cable is damaged or broken. The tag transmits the optical signal in response to receiving a radio signal from the base station and compares the transmitted optical signal to the received optical signal. If the transmitted optical signal and the received optical signal are identical, the tag transmits an affirmative radio signal to the base station.

  10. North Pacific Albacore Tagging

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Conventional tagging data are available from 1971 to 1996. Electronic tagging data are available from 2000 to present. The data are managed by SWFSC in Access...

  11. Monoclonal antibody-based immunoassays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appleby, P; Reischl, U

    1998-01-01

    An immunoassay may be defined as an assay that employs an immunological reagent, usually an antibody, to confer specificity for the ligand being measured. As a corollary to this, the discovery, and subsequent development, of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has greatly expanded the application and use of immunoassays. Polyclonal reagents, with their associated problems of specificity and quality control, have now been largely replaced by readily available MAbs of potential immortality and well-defined specificity and affinity. This has resulted, in the last two decades, in a great expansion in the range of immunoassays available and also a significant improvement in their reproducibility and reliability.

  12. Protein Delivery System Containing a Nickel-Immobilized Polymer for Multimerization of Affinity-Purified His-Tagged Proteins Enhances Cytosolic Transfer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postupalenko, Viktoriia; Desplancq, Dominique; Orlov, Igor; Arntz, Youri; Spehner, Danièle; Mely, Yves; Klaholz, Bruno P; Schultz, Patrick; Weiss, Etienne; Zuber, Guy

    2015-09-01

    Recombinant proteins with cytosolic or nuclear activities are emerging as tools for interfering with cellular functions. Because such tools rely on vehicles for crossing the plasma membrane we developed a protein delivery system consisting in the assembly of pyridylthiourea-grafted polyethylenimine (πPEI) with affinity-purified His-tagged proteins pre-organized onto a nickel-immobilized polymeric guide. The guide was prepared by functionalization of an ornithine polymer with nitrilotriacetic acid groups and shown to bind several His-tagged proteins. Superstructures were visualized by electron and atomic force microscopy using 2 nm His-tagged gold nanoparticles as probes. The whole system efficiently carried the green fluorescent protein, single-chain antibodies or caspase 3, into the cytosol of living cells. Transduction of the protease caspase 3 induced apoptosis in two cancer cell lines, demonstrating that this new protein delivery method could be used to interfere with cellular functions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. EnTagRec : an enhanced tag recommendation system for software information sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, S.; Lo, D.; Vasilescu, B.N.; Serebrenik, A.

    2014-01-01

    Software engineers share experiences with modern technologies by means of software information sites, such as STACK OVERFLOW. These sites allow developers to label posted content, referred to as software objects, with short descriptions, known as tags. However, tags assigned to objects tend to be

  14. Smart-tag Based Data Dissemination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bonnet, Philippe; Beaufour, Allan; Leopold, Martin

    2002-01-01

    Monitoring wide, hostile areas requires disseminating data between fixed, disconnected clusters of sensor nodes. It is not always possible to install long-range radios in order to cover the whole area. We propose to leverage the movement of mobile individuals, equipped with smart-tags, to dissemi......-tag based data dissemination. We use simulation to study the characteristics of the model we propose. Finally, we present an implementation based on Bluetooth smart-tags.......Monitoring wide, hostile areas requires disseminating data between fixed, disconnected clusters of sensor nodes. It is not always possible to install long-range radios in order to cover the whole area. We propose to leverage the movement of mobile individuals, equipped with smart......-tags, to disseminate data across disconnected static nodes spread across a wide area. Static nodes and mobile smart-tags exchange data when they are in the vicinity of each other; smart-tags disseminate data as they move around. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for update propagation and a model for smart...

  15. Comparing the hierarchy of author given tags and repository given tags in a large document archive

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Palla, Gergely

    2016-10-01

    Folksonomies - large databases arising from collaborative tagging of items by independent users - are becoming an increasingly important way of categorizing information. In these systems users can tag items with free words, resulting in a tripartite item-tag-user network. Although there are no prescribed relations between tags, the way users think about the different categories presumably has some built in hierarchy, in which more special concepts are descendants of some more general categories. Several applications would benefit from the knowledge of this hierarchy. Here we apply a recent method to check the differences and similarities of hierarchies resulting from tags given by independent individuals and from tags given by a centrally managed repository system. The results from our method showed substantial differences between the lower part of the hierarchies, and in contrast, a relatively high similarity at the top of the hierarchies.

  16. The bremsstrahlung tagged photon beam in Hall B at JLab

    CERN Document Server

    Sober, D I; Longhi, A; Matthews, S K; O'Brien, J T; Berman, B L; Briscoe, W J; Cole, P L; Connelly, J P; Dodge, W R; Murphy, L Y; Philips, S A; Dugger, M K; Lawrence, D; Ritchie, B G; Smith, E S; Lambert, J M; Anciant, E; Audit, G; Auger, T; Marchand, C; Klusman, M; Napolitano, J; Khandaker, M A; Salgado, C W; Sarty, A J

    2000-01-01

    We describe the design and commissioning of the photon tagging beamline installed in experimental Hall B at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab). This system can tag photon energies over a range from 20% to 95% of the incident electron energy, and is capable of operation with beam energies up to 6.1 GeV. A single dipole magnet is combined with a hodoscope containing two planar arrays of plastic scintillators to detect energy-degraded electrons from a thin bremsstrahlung radiator. The first layer of 384 partially overlapping small scintillators provides photon energy resolution, while the second layer of 61 larger scintillators provides the timing resolution necessary to form a coincidence with the corresponding nuclear interaction triggered by the tagged photon. The definitions of overlap channels in the first counter plane and of geometric correlation between the two planes are determined using digitized time information from the individual counters. Auxiliary beamline devices are briefl...

  17. FADO 2. 0: A high level tagging language

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Werner, C.M.L. (European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva (Switzerland). EP-Div.); Pimenta, M.; Varela, J. (LIP, Lisbon (Portugal)); Souza, J. (Rio de Janeiro Univ. (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia)

    1989-12-01

    FADO 2.0 is a high level language, developed in the context of the 4th level trigger of the DELPHI data acquisition project at CERN, that provides a simple and concise way to define physics criteria for event tagging. Its syntax is based on mathematical logic and set theory, as it was found the most appropriate framework to describe the properties of single HEP events. The language is one of the components of the FADO tagging system. The system also implements implicitly a mechanism to selectively reconstruct the event data that are needed to fulfil the physics criteria, following the speed requirements of the online data-acquisition system. A complete programming environment is now under development, which will include a syntax directed editor, and incremental compiler, a debugger and a configurer. This last tool can be used to transport the system into the context of other HEP applications, namely offline event selection and filtering. (orig.).

  18. DICOM involving XML path-tag

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Qiang; Yao, Zhihong; Liu, Lei

    2011-03-01

    Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is a standard for handling, storing, printing, and transmitting information in medical imaging. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form which has become more and more popular. The combination of these two is very necessary and promising. Using XML tags instead of numeric labels in DICOM files will effectively increase the readability and enhance the clear hierarchical structure of DICOM files. However, due to the fact that the XML tags rely heavily on the orders of the tags, the strong data dependency has a lot of influence on the flexibility of inserting and exchanging data. In order to improve the extensibility and sharing of DICOM files, this paper introduces XML Path-Tag to DICOM. When a DICOM file is converted to XML format, adding simple Path-Tag into the DICOM file in place of complex tags will keep the flexibility of a DICOM file while inserting data elements and give full play to the advantages of the structure and readability of an XML file. Our method can solve the weak readability problem of DICOM files and the tedious work of inserting data into an XML file. In addition, we set up a conversion engine that can transform among traditional DICOM files, XML-DCM and XML-DCM files involving XML Path-Tag efficiently.

  19. b-tagging in DELPHI at LEP

    CERN Document Server

    Abdallah, J; Adam, W; Adye, T; Adzic, P; Albrecht, T; Alderweireld, T; Alemany-Fernandez, R; Allmendinger, T; Allport, P P; Almehed, S; Amaldi, Ugo; Amapane, N; Amato, S; Anashkin, E; Andreazza, A; Andringa, S; Anjos, N; Antilogus, P; Apel, W D; Arnoud, Y; Ask, S; Åsman, B; Augustin, J E; Augustinus, A; Baillon, Paul; Ballestrero, A; Bambade, P; Barbier, R; Bardin, Dimitri Yuri; Barker, G; Baroncelli, A; Bates, M; Battaglia, Marco; Baubillier, M; Becks, K H; Begalli, M; Behrmann, A; Benekos, N C; Benvenuti, Alberto C; Bérat, C; Berggren, M; Berntzon, L; Bertrand, D; Besançon, M; Besson, N; Bibby, J; Biffi, P; Bloch, D; Blom, M; Bonesini, M; Boonekamp, M; Booth, P S L; Borisov, G; Botner, O; Bouquet, B; Bowcock, T J V; Boyko, I; Bracko, M; Branchini, P; Brenner, R; Brodet, E; Brückman, P; Brunet, J M; Bugge, L; Buschmann, P; Caccia, M; Calvi, M; Camporesi, T; Canale, V; Carena, F; Castro, N; Cavallo, F R; Chabaud, V; Chapkin, M M; Charpentier, P; Checchia, P; Chierici, R; Shlyapnikov, P; Chudoba, J; Chung, S U; Cieslik, K; Collins, P; Contri, R; Cosme, G; Cossutti, F; Costa, M J; Couchot, F; Crawley, B; Crennell, D J; Cuevas-Maestro, J; D'Almagne, B; D'Hondt, J; Dalmau, J; Da Silva, T; Da Silva, W; Della Ricca, G; De Angelis, A; de Boer, Wim; De Clercq, C; De Lotto, B; De Maria, N; De Min, A; De Paula, L S; Di Ciaccio, Lucia; Dijkstra, H; Di Simone, A; Doroba, K; Drees, J; Dris, M; Eigen, G; Ekelöf, T J C; Ellert, M; Elsing, M; Espirito-Santo, M C; Fanourakis, G K; Fassouliotis, D; Feindt, M; Fernández, J; Ferrer, A; Ferro, F; Flagmeyer, U; Föth, H; Fokitis, E; Fulda-Quenzer, F; Fuster, J A; Gandelman, M; García, C; Gavillet, P; Gazis, E N; Geralis, T; Gokieli, R; Golob, B; Gómez-Cadenas, J J; Gómez-Ceballos, G; Gonçalves, P; Graziani, E; Grosdidier, G; Grzelak, K; Guy, J; Haag, C; Hallgren, A; Hamacher, K; Hamilton, K; Hansen, J; Haug, S; Hauler, F; Hedberg, V; Hennecke, M; Hernando, J A; Herr, H; Heuser, J M; Holmgren, S O; Holt, P J; Houlden, M A; Hultqvist, K; Jackson, J N; Jalocha, P; Jarlskog, C; Jarlskog, G; Jarry, P; Jeans, D; Johansson, E K; Johansson, P D; Jonsson, P; Joram, C; Jungermann, L; Kapusta, F; Karlsson, M; Katsanevas, S; Katsoufis, E C; Keränen, R; Kernel, G; Kersevan, Borut P; Kiiskinen, A P; King, B T; Kjaer, N J; Kluit, P; Kokkinias, P; Kourkoumelis, C; Kuznetsov, O; Krumshtein, Z; Kucharczyk, M; Kucewicz, W; Kurowska, J; Lamsa, J; Leder, G; Ledroit, F; Leinonen, L; Leitner, R; Lemonne, J; Lepeltier, V; Lesiak, T; Liebig, W; Liko, D; Lipniacka, A; Lopes, J H; López, J M; Loukas, D; Lutz, P; Lyons, L; MacNaughton, J; Malek, A; Maltezos, S; Mandl, F; Marco, J; Marco, R; Maréchal, B; Margoni, M; Marin, J C; Mariotti, C; Markou, A; Martínez-Rivero, C; Martínez-Vidal, F; Masik, J; Mastroyiannopoulos, N; Matorras, F; Matteuzzi, C; Mazzucato, F; Mazzucato, M; McNulty, R; Meroni, C; Meyer, W T; Migliore, E; Mitaroff, W A; Mjörnmark, U; Moa, T; Moch, M; Mönig, K; Monge, R; Montenegro, J; Moraes, D; Moreno, S; Morettini, P; Müller, U; Münich, K; Mulders, M; Mundim, L; Murray, W; Muryn, B; Myatt, Gerald; Myklebust, T; Nassiakou, M; Navarria, Francesco Luigi; Nawrocki, K; Nicolaidou, R; Niezurawski, P; Nikolenko, M; Nomerotski, A; Norman, A; Nygren, A; Oblakowska-Mucha, A; Obraztsov, V F; Olshevskii, A G; Onofre, A; Orava, Risto; Österberg, K; Ouraou, A; Oyanguren, A; Paganoni, M; Paiano, S; Palacios, J P; Palka, H; Papadopoulou, T D; Pape, L; Parkes, C; Parodi, F; Parzefall, U; Passeri, A; Passon, O; Peralta, L; Perepelitsa, V F; Perrotta, A; Petrolini, A; Piedra, J; Pieri, L; Pierre, F; Pimenta, M; Piotto, E; Podobnik, T; Poireau, V; Pol, M E; Polok, G; Poropat, P; Pozdnyakov, V; Pukhaeva, N; Pullia, Antonio; Rames, J; Ramler, L; Read, A; Rebecchi, P; Rehn, J; Reid, D; Reinhardt, R; Renton, P B; Richard, F; Rídky, J; Rivero, M; Rodríguez, D; Romero, A; Ronchese, P; Rosenberg, E I; Roudeau, Patrick; Rovelli, T; Ruhlmann-Kleider, V; Ryabtchikov, D; Sadovskii, A; Salmi, L; Salt, J; Savoy-Navarro, A; Schwickerath, U; Segar, A; Sekulin, R L; Siebel, M; Sissakian, A N; Smadja, G; Smirnova, O G; Sokolov, A; Sopczak, A; Sosnowski, R; Spassoff, Tz; Stanitzki, M; Stavitski, I; Stocchi, A; Strauss, J; Stugu, B; Szczekowski, M; Szeptycka, M; Szumlak, T; Tabarelli de Fatis, T; Taffard, A C; Tegenfeldt, F; Timmermans, J; Tinti, N; Tkatchev, L G; Tobin, M; Todorovova, S; Tomaradze, A G; Tomé, B; Tonazzo, A; Tortosa, P; Travnicek, P; Treille, D; Trischuk, W; Tristram, G; Trochimczuk, M; Troncon, C; Turluer, M L; Tyapkin, I A; Tyapkin, P; Tyndel, M; Tzamarias, S; Uvarov, V; Valenti, G; van Dam, P; Van Eldik, J; Van Lysebetten, A; Van Remortel, N; Van Vulpen, I B; Vegni, G; Veloso, F; Venus, W A; Verbeure, F; Verdier, P; Verzi, V; Vilanova, D; Vitale, L; Vrba, V; Wahlen, H; Washbrook, A J; Weilhammer, Peter; Weiser, C; Wicke, D; Wickens, J H; Wilkinson, G; Winter, M; Witek, M; Yushchenko, O P; Zalewska-Bak, A; Zalewski, Piotr; Zavrtanik, D; Zimin, N I; Zinchenko, A I; Zupan, M

    2004-01-01

    The standard method used for tagging b-hadrons in the DELPHI experiment at the CERN LEP Collider is discussed in detail. The main ingredient of b-tagging is the impact parameters of tracks, which relies mostly on the vertex detector. Additional information, such as the mass of particles associated to a secondary vertex, significantly improves the selection efficiency and the background suppression. The paper describes various discriminating variables used for the tagging and the procedure of their combination. In addition, applications of b-tagging to some physics analyses, which depend crucially on the performance and reliability of b-tagging, are described briefly.

  20. Notes on SAW Tag Interrogation Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barton, Richard J.

    2010-01-01

    We consider the problem of interrogating a single SAW RFID tag with a known ID and known range in the presence of multiple interfering tags under the following assumptions: (1) The RF propagation environment is well approximated as a simple delay channel with geometric power-decay constant alpha >/= 2. (2) The interfering tag IDs are unknown but well approximated as independent, identically distributed random samples from a probability distribution of tag ID waveforms with known second-order properties, and the tag of interest is drawn independently from the same distribution. (3) The ranges of the interfering tags are unknown but well approximated as independent, identically distributed realizations of a random variable rho with a known probability distribution f(sub rho) , and the tag ranges are independent of the tag ID waveforms. In particular, we model the tag waveforms as random impulse responses from a wide-sense-stationary, uncorrelated-scattering (WSSUS) fading channel with known bandwidth and scattering function. A brief discussion of the properties of such channels and the notation used to describe them in this document is given in the Appendix. Under these assumptions, we derive the expression for the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for an arbitrary combination of transmitted interrogation signal and linear receiver filter. Based on this expression, we derive the optimal interrogator configuration (i.e., transmitted signal/receiver filter combination) in the two extreme noise/interference regimes, i.e., noise-limited and interference-limited, under the additional assumption that the coherence bandwidth of the tags is much smaller than the total tag bandwidth. Finally, we evaluate the performance of both optimal interrogators over a broad range of operating scenarios using both numerical simulation based on the assumed model and Monte Carlo simulation based on a small sample of measured tag waveforms. The performance evaluation results not only

  1. Human vaccination against RH5 induces neutralizing antimalarial antibodies that inhibit RH5 invasion complex interactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Payne, Ruth O; Silk, Sarah E; Elias, Sean C

    2017-01-01

    serum antibodies exhibited cross-strain functional growth inhibition activity (GIA) in vitro, targeted linear and conformational epitopes within RH5, and inhibited key interactions within the RH5 invasion complex. This is the first time to our knowledge that substantial RH5-specific responses have been...

  2. Evaluation of radioimmunoassay of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lourme, J.; Dessaint, J.P.; Capron, A.

    1985-01-01

    A statistical analysis is performed on the results of 881 determinations of thyroglobulin antibodies in humans. Antibodies were assayed comparatively by radioimmunoassay using a sandwich method and by tanned red cell haemagglutination. A very good concordance was found between the two techniques, apart from the low titer zone. A significant correlation was observed between on the one side, the radioactivity index of the diluted serum, defined as the increment of radioactivity bound by undiluted patient serum over the positive threshold, divided by this threshold, and, on the other side, the antibody titer, i.e. the reciprocal of the highest serum dilution superior to the positive threshold by radioimmunoassay. The corresponding linear regression allows to define a arbitrary unit system which associates values of the radioactivity index with an average antibody titer [fr

  3. Charge-mediated Fab-Fc interactions in an IgG1 antibody induce reversible self-association, cluster formation, and elevated viscosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arora, Jayant; Hu, Yue; Esfandiary, Reza; Sathish, Hasige A; Bishop, Steven M; Joshi, Sangeeta B; Middaugh, C Russell; Volkin, David B; Weis, David D

    Concentration-dependent reversible self-association (RSA) of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) poses a challenge to their pharmaceutical development as viable candidates for subcutaneous delivery. While the role of the antigen-binding fragment (Fab) in initiating RSA is well-established, little evidence supports the involvement of the crystallizable fragment (Fc). In this report, a variety of biophysical tools, including hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry, are used to elucidate the protein interface of such non-covalent protein-protein interactions. Using dynamic and static light scattering combined with viscosity measurements, we find that an IgG1 mAb (mAb-J) undergoes RSA primarily through electrostatic interactions and forms a monomer-dimer-tetramer equilibrium. We provide the first direct experimental mapping of the interface formed between the Fab and Fc domains of an antibody at high protein concentrations. Charge distribution heterogeneity between the positively charged interface spanning complementarity-determining regions CDR3H and CDR2L in the Fab and a negatively charged region in C H 3/Fc domain mediates the RSA of mAb-J. When arginine and NaCl are added, they disrupt RSA of mAb-J and decrease the solution viscosity. Fab-Fc domain interactions between mAb monomers may promote the formation of large transient antibody complexes that ultimately cause increases in solution viscosity. Our findings illustrate how limited specific arrangements of amino-acid residues can cause mAbs to undergo RSA at high protein concentrations and how conserved regions in the Fc portion of the antibody can also play an important role in initiating weak and transient protein-protein interactions.

  4. PGC TagSNP and its interaction with H. pylori and relation with gene expression in susceptibility to gastric carcinogenesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cai-Yun He

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pepsinogen C (PGC plays an important role in sustaining the cellular differentiation during the process of gastric carcinogenesis. This study aimed to assess the role of PGC tagSNPs and their interactions with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori in the development of gastric cancer and its precursor, atrophic gastritis. METHODS: Four PGC tagSNPs (rs6941539, rs6912200, rs3789210 and rs6939861 were genotyped by Sequenom MassARRAY platform in a total of 2311 subjects consisting of 642 gastric cancer, 774 atrophic gastritis, and 895 healthy control subjects. The mRNA and protein expression levels of PGC in gastric tissues and in serum were respectively measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and Eenzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA. RESULTS: We found associations between PGC rs3789210 CG/GG genotypes and reduced gastric cancer risk and between PGC rs6939861 A variant allele and increased risks of both gastric cancer and atrophic gastritis. As for the haplotypes of PGC rs6941539-rs6912200-rs3789210-rs6939861 loci, the TTCA and TTGG haplotypes were respectively associated with increased and reduced risks of both gastric cancer and atrophic gastritis; additionally, the CTCA haplotype was associated with increased atrophic gastritis risk. Very interestingly, rs6912200 CT/TT genotypes had a positive interaction with H. pylori, synergistically elevating the gastric cancer risk. Moreover, healthy subjects who carried rs6912200 CT, TT and CT/TT variant genotypes had lower histological and serum expression levels of PGC protein. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight an important role of PGC rs3789210 and rs6939861 in altering susceptibility to atrophic gastritis and/or gastric cancer. Moreover, people who carry rs6912200 variant genotypes exhibit higher gastric cancer risk in case of getting H. pylori infection, which strongly suggest a necessity of preventing and/or eliminating H

  5. A Privacy Model for RFID Tag Ownership Transfer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xingchun Yang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The ownership of RFID tag is often transferred from one owner to another in its life cycle. To address the privacy problem caused by tag ownership transfer, we propose a tag privacy model which captures the adversary’s abilities to get secret information inside readers, to corrupt tags, to authenticate tags, and to observe tag ownership transfer processes. This model gives formal definitions for tag forward privacy and backward privacy and can be used to measure the privacy property of tag ownership transfer scheme. We also present a tag ownership transfer scheme, which is privacy-preserving under the proposed model and satisfies the other common security requirements, in addition to achieving better performance.

  6. F(ab'2 antibody fragments against Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin inhibit its interaction with the first component of human complement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LORENA AGUILAR

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin (TcCRT, described in our laboratory, retains several important functional features from its vertebrate homologues. We have shown that recombinant TcCRT inhibits the human complement system when it binds to the collagenous portion of C1q. The generation of classical pathway convertases and membrane attack complexes is thus strongly inhibited. In most T. cruzi-infected individuals, TcCRT is immunogenic and mediates the generation of specific antibodies. By reverting the C1q / TcCRT interaction, a parasite immune evasion strategy, these antibodies contribute to the host / parasite equilibrium. In an in vitro correlate of this situation, we show that the C1q / TcCRT interaction is inhibited by F(ab'2 polyclonal anti-TcCRT IgG fragments. It is therefore feasible that in infected humans anti-TcCRT antibodies participate in reverting an important parasite strategy aimed at inhibiting the classical complement pathway. Thus, membrane-bound TcCRT interacts with the collagenous portion C1q, and this C1q is recognized by the CD91-bound host cell CRT, thus facilitating parasite internalization. Based on our in vitro results, it could be proposed that the in vivo interaction between TcCRT and vertebrate C1q could be inhibited by F(ab'2 fragments anti-rTcCRT or against its S functional domain, thus interfering with the internalization process

  7. Engineering the ATLAS TAG Browser

    CERN Document Server

    Zhang, Q; The ATLAS collaboration

    2011-01-01

    ELSSI is a web-based event metadata (TAG) browser and event-level selection service for ATLAS. TAGs from all ATLAS physics and Monte Carlo data sets are routinely loaded into Oracle databases as an integral part of event processing. As data volumes increase, more and more sites are joining the distributed TAG data hosting topology. Meanwhile, TAG content and database schemata continue to evolve as new user requirements and additional sources of metadata emerge. All of this has posed many challenges to the development of ELSSI, which must support vast amounts of TAG data while source, content, geographic locations, and user query patterns may change over time. In this paper, we describe some of the challenges encountered in the process of developing ELSSI, and the software engineering strategies adopted to address those challenges. Approaches to management of access to data, browsing, data rendering, query building, query validation, execution, connection management, and communication with auxiliary services a...

  8. Engineering the ATLAS TAG Browser

    CERN Document Server

    Zhang, Q; The ATLAS collaboration

    2011-01-01

    ELSSI is a web-based event metadata (TAG) browser and event-level selection service for ATLAS. TAGs from all ATLAS physics and Monte Carlo data sets are routinely loaded into Oracle databases as an integral part of event processing. As data volumes increase, more and more sites are joining the distributed TAG data hosting topology[1]. Meanwhile, TAG content and database schemata continue to evolve as new user requirements and additional sources of metadata emerge. All of this has posed many challenges to the development of ELSSI, which must support vast amounts of TAG data while source, content, geographic locations, and user query patterns may change over time. In this paper, we describe some of the challenges encountered in the process of developing ELSSI, and the software engineering strategies adopted to address those challenges. Approaches to management of access to data, browsing, data rendering, query building, query validation, execution, connection management, and communication with auxiliary service...

  9. Nuclear studies with tagged photons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Axel, P.

    1979-01-01

    First, the photon tagging technique will be described schematically, and a brief history of photon tagging will be given, including the 20 year development of this technique at Illinois. In the second part some typical operating conditions will be indicated for our tagged photon facility. The final section of this paper will illustrate some types of experiments by showing data obtained recently. (KBE) 891 KBE/KBE 892 ARA

  10. Human-Centered Implicit Tagging: Overview and Perspectives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soleymani, Mohammad; Pantic, Maja

    2012-01-01

    Tags are an effective form of metadata which help users to locate and browse multimedia content of interest. Tags can be generated by users (user-generated explicit tags), automatically from the content (content-based tags), or assigned automatically based on non-verbal behavioral reactions of users

  11. Seasonal and circadian biases in bird tracking with solar GPS-tags.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafa Silva

    Full Text Available Global Positioning System (GPS tags are nowadays widely used in wildlife tracking. This geolocation technique can suffer from fix loss biases due to poor satellite GPS geometry, that result in tracking data gaps leading to wrong research conclusions. In addition, new solar-powered GPS tags deployed on birds can suffer from a new "battery drain bias" currently ignored in movement ecology analyses. We use a GPS tracking dataset of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus, tracked for several years with solar GPS tags, to evaluate the causes and triggers of fix and data retrieval loss biases. We compare two models of solar GPS tags using different data retrieval systems (Argos vs GSM-GPRS, and programmed with different duty cycles. Neither of the models was able to accomplish the duty cycle programed initially. Fix and data retrieval loss rates were always greater than expected, and showed non-random gaps in GPS locations. Number of fixes per month of tracking was a bad criterion to identify tags with smaller biases. Fix-loss rates were four times higher due to battery drain than due to poor GPS satellite geometry. Both tag models were biased due to the uneven solar energy available for the recharge of the tag throughout the annual cycle, resulting in greater fix-loss rates in winter compared to summer. In addition, we suggest that the bias found along the diurnal cycle is linked to a complex three-factor interaction of bird flight behavior, topography and fix interval. More fixes were lost when vultures were perching compared to flying, in rugged versus flat topography. But long fix-intervals caused greater loss of fixes in dynamic (flying versus static situations (perching. To conclude, we emphasize the importance of evaluating fix-loss bias in current tracking projects, and deploying GPS tags that allow remote duty cycle updates so that the most appropriate fix and data retrieval intervals can be selected.

  12. The use of tags and tag clouds to discern credible content in online health message forums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Grady, Laura; Wathen, C Nadine; Charnaw-Burger, Jill; Betel, Lisa; Shachak, Aviv; Luke, Robert; Hockema, Stephen; Jadad, Alejandro R

    2012-01-01

    Web sites with health-oriented content are potentially harmful if inaccurate or inappropriate medical information is used to make health-related decisions. Checklists, rating systems and guidelines have been developed to help people determine what is credible, but recent Internet technologies emphasize applications that are collaborative in nature, including tags and tag clouds, where site users 'tag' or label online content, each using their own labelling system. Concepts such as the date, reference, author, testimonial and quotations are considered predictors of credible content. An understanding of these descriptive tools, how they relate to the depiction of credibility and how this relates to overall efforts to label data in relation to the semantic web has yet to emerge. This study investigates how structured (pre-determined) and unstructured (user-generated) tags and tag clouds with a multiple word search feature are used by participants to assess credibility of messages posted in online message forums. The targeted respondents were those using web sites message forums for disease self-management. We also explored the relevancy of our findings to the labelling or indexing of data in the context of the semantic web. Diabetes was chosen as the content area in this study, since (a) this is a condition with increasing prevalence and (b) diabetics have been shown to actively use the Internet to manage their condition. From January to March 2010 participants were recruited using purposive sampling techniques. A screening instrument was used to determine eligibility. The study consisted of a demographic and computer usage survey, a series of usability tests and an interview. We tested participants (N=22) on two scenarios, each involving tasks that assessed their ability to tag content and search using a tag cloud that included six structured credibility terms (statistics, date, reference, author, testimonial and quotations). MORAE Usability software (version 3

  13. Structure-Guided Design of an Engineered Streptavidin with Reusability to Purify Streptavidin-Binding Peptide Tagged Proteins or Biotinylated Proteins

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Sau-Ching; Wong, Sui-Lam

    2013-01-01

    Development of a high-affinity streptavidin-binding peptide (SBP) tag allows the tagged recombinant proteins to be affinity purified using the streptavidin matrix without the need of biotinylation. The major limitation of this powerful technology is the requirement to use biotin to elute the SBP-tagged proteins from the streptavidin matrix. Tight biotin binding by streptavidin essentially allows the matrix to be used only once. To address this problem, differences in interactions of biotin an...

  14. Glioblastoma cells labeled by robust Raman tags for enhancing imaging contrast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Li-Ching; Chang, Yung-Ching; Wu, Yi-Syuan; Sun, Wei-Lun; Liu, Chan-Chuan; Sze, Chun-I; Chen, Shiuan-Yeh

    2018-05-01

    Complete removal of a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a highly malignant brain tumor, is challenging due to its infiltrative characteristics. Therefore, utilizing imaging agents such as fluorophores to increase the contrast between GBM and normal cells can help neurosurgeons to locate residual cancer cells during image guided surgery. In this work, Raman tag based labeling and imaging for GBM cells in vitro is described and evaluated. The cell membrane of a GBM adsorbs a substantial amount of functionalized Raman tags through overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and "broadcasts" stronger pre-defined Raman signals than normal cells. The average ratio between Raman signals from a GBM cell and autofluorescence from a normal cell can be up to 15. In addition, the intensity of these images is stable under laser illuminations without suffering from the severe photo-bleaching that usually occurs in fluorescent imaging. Our results show that labeling and imaging GBM cells via robust Raman tags is a viable alternative method to distinguish them from normal cells. This Raman tag based method can be used solely or integrated into an existing fluorescence system to improve the identification of infiltrative glial tumor cells around the boundary, which will further reduce GBM recurrence. In addition, it can also be applied/extended to other types of cancer to improve the effectiveness of image guided surgery.

  15. Monoclonal anti-melanoma antibodies and their possible clinical use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hellstroem, K.E.; Hellstroem, Ingegerd; Washington Univ., Seattle; Washington Univ., Seattle

    1985-01-01

    Cell surface antigens of human melanoma, as defined by monoclonal antibodies, are discussed and in particular the three antigens p97, a GD3 ganglioside and a proteoglycan. The potential diagnostic uses of antibodies to melanoma antigens are reviewed including in vitro diagnosis by immuno-histology, in vitro diagnosis by serum assays and in vivo diagnosis by tumour imaging using radioactively labelled antibodies. The potential therapeutic uses of monoclonal antibodies to melanoma antigens are also reviewed including targets for antibody therapy, the use of antibodies alone, radiolabelled antibodies, antibody-toxin conjugates, antibody-drug conjugates, anti-idiotypic antibodies and vaccines. (UK)

  16. Defining Place Attachment in Asian Urban Places through Opportunities for Social Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norsidah Ujang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite the high intensity of urban dwellers and the growing needs for socialization outdoor, the opportunity for interaction is limited due to the lack of public open spaces. This paper discusses the use of public open spaces in a city of Kuala Lumpur and how it shapes users’ attachment. Field observations and face to face interviews were conducted to examine the opportunities for social activities and pattern of users’ engagement. The findings indicate the incapability of the places to provide multifunctional spaces for diverse interactions while the social attachment to the places is strongly defined by interaction with familiar people in place.

  17. Scalable Faceted Ranking in Tagging Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orlicki, José I.; Alvarez-Hamelin, J. Ignacio; Fierens, Pablo I.

    Nowadays, web collaborative tagging systems which allow users to upload, comment on and recommend contents, are growing. Such systems can be represented as graphs where nodes correspond to users and tagged-links to recommendations. In this paper we analyze the problem of computing a ranking of users with respect to a facet described as a set of tags. A straightforward solution is to compute a PageRank-like algorithm on a facet-related graph, but it is not feasible for online computation. We propose an alternative: (i) a ranking for each tag is computed offline on the basis of tag-related subgraphs; (ii) a faceted order is generated online by merging rankings corresponding to all the tags in the facet. Based on the graph analysis of YouTube and Flickr, we show that step (i) is scalable. We also present efficient algorithms for step (ii), which are evaluated by comparing their results with two gold standards.

  18. Exploring the Long Tail of Social Media Tags

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kordumova, S.; van Gemert, J.; Snoek, C.G.M.; Tian, Q.; Sebe, N.; Qi, G.-J.; Huet, B.; Hong, R.; Liu, X.

    2016-01-01

    There are millions of users who tag multimedia content, generating a large vocabulary of tags. Some tags are frequent, while other tags are rarely used following a long tail distribution. For frequent tags, most of the multimedia methods that aim to automatically understand audio-visual content,

  19. Relationship between natural and heme-mediated antibody polyreactivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hadzhieva, Maya; Vassilev, Tchavdar [Stephan Angelov Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 1113 (Bulgaria); Bayry, Jagadeesh; Kaveri, Srinivas; Lacroix-Desmazes, Sébastien [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S 1138, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, F-75006 Paris (France); INSERM, UMR-S 1138, F-75006 Paris (France); Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR-S 1138, F-75006 Paris (France); Dimitrov, Jordan D., E-mail: jordan.dimitrov@crc.jussieu.fr [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S 1138, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, F-75006 Paris (France); INSERM, UMR-S 1138, F-75006 Paris (France); Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR-S 1138, F-75006 Paris (France)

    2016-03-25

    Polyreactive antibodies represent a considerable fraction of the immune repertoires. Some antibodies acquire polyreactivity post-translationally after interaction with various redox-active substances, including heme. Recently we have demonstrated that heme binding to a naturally polyreactive antibody (SPE7) results in a considerable broadening of the repertoire of recognized antigens. A question remains whether the presence of certain level of natural polyreactivity of antibodies is a prerequisite for heme-induced further extension of antigen binding potential. Here we used a second monoclonal antibody (Hg32) with unknown specificity and absence of intrinsic polyreactivity as a model to study the potential of heme to induce polyreactivity of antibodies. We demonstrated that exposure to heme greatly extends the antigen binding potential of Hg32, suggesting that the intrinsic binding promiscuity is not a prerequisite for the induction of polyreactivity by heme. In addition we compared the kinetics and thermodynamics of the interaction of heme-exposed antibodies with a panel of unrelated antigens. These analyses revealed that the two heme-sensitive antibodies adopt different mechanisms of binding to the same set of antigens. This study contributes to understanding the phenomenon of induced antibody polyreactivity. The data may also be of importance for understanding of physiological and pathological roles of polyreactive antibodies. - Highlights: • Exposure of certain monoclonal IgE antibodies to heme results in gain of antigen binding polyreactivity. • Natural polyreactivity of antibodies is dispensable for acquisition of polyreactivity through interaction with heme. • Heme-induced monoclonal IgE antibodies differ in their thermodynamic mechanisms of antigen recognition.

  20. Flavour Tagging at LHCb

    CERN Multimedia

    Grabalosa Gandara, M

    2009-01-01

    To do precise CP violation measurements, the most possible accurate knowledge of the flavour at production of the reconstructed B meson is required. This poster summarizes the flavour tagging performances for the LHCb experiment. We use same side an opposite side algorithms to establish wheter the meson contained a b or a b\\bar quark. The final decision is obtained through a combination of several methods. The use of control channels, decays to a flavour specific final state, will allow to determine the wrong tag fraction \\omega (the probability of a tag to be wrong), which can be used as input for the determination of CKM unitary triangle angles.

  1. Building Tag Clouds in Perl and PHP

    CERN Document Server

    Bumgardner, Jim

    2006-01-01

    Tag clouds are everywhere on the web these days. First popularized by the web sites Flickr, Technorati, and del.icio.us, these amorphous clumps of words now appear on a slew of web sites as visual evidence of their membership in the elite corps of "Web 2.0." This PDF analyzes what is and isn't a tag cloud, offers design tips for using them effectively, and then goes on to show how to collect tags and display them in the tag cloud format. Scripts are provided in Perl and PHP. Yes, some have said tag clouds are a fad. But as you will see, tag clouds, when used properly, have real merits. More

  2. A re-assessment of gene-tag classification approaches for describing var gene expression patterns during human Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Githinji, George; Bull, Peter C

    2017-01-01

    PfEMP1 are variant parasite antigens that are inserted on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes (IE). Through interactions with various host molecules, PfEMP1 mediate IE sequestration in tissues and play a key role in the pathology of severe malaria. PfEMP1 is encoded by a diverse multi-gene family called var . Previous studies have shown that that expression of specific subsets of var genes are associated with low levels of host immunity and severe malaria. However, in most clinical studies to date, full-length var gene sequences were unavailable and various approaches have been used to make comparisons between var gene expression profiles in different parasite isolates using limited information. Several studies have relied on the classification of a 300 - 500 base-pair "DBLα tag" region in the DBLα domain located at the 5' end of most var genes. We assessed the relationship between various DBLα tag classification methods, and sequence features that are only fully assessable through full-length var gene sequences. We compared these different sequence features in full-length var gene from six fully sequenced laboratory isolates. These comparisons show that despite a long history of recombination,   DBLα sequence tag classification can provide functional information on important features of full-length var genes. Notably, a specific subset of DBLα tags previously defined as "group A-like" is associated with CIDRα1 domains proposed to bind to endothelial protein C receptor. This analysis helps to bring together different sources of data that have been used to assess var gene expression in clinical parasite isolates.

  3. Signature-tagged mutagenesis screening revealed a novel smooth-to-rough transition determinant of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Yang; Guo, Rongxian; Tang, Peipei; Kang, Xilong; Yin, Junlei; Wu, Kaiyue; Geng, Shizhong; Li, Qiuchun; Sun, Jun; Xu, Xiulong; Zhou, Xiaohui; Gan, Junji; Jiao, Xinan; Liu, Xiufan; Pan, Zhiming

    2017-03-03

    Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) has emerged as one of the most important food-borne pathogens for humans. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as a component of the outer membrane, is responsible for the virulence and smooth-to-rough transition in S. Enteritidis. In this study, we screened S. Enteritidis signature-tagged transposon mutant library using monoclonal antibody against somatic O 9 antigen (O 9 MAb) and O 9 factor rabbit antiserum to identify novel genes that are involved in smooth-to-rough transition. A total of 480 mutants were screened and one mutant with transposon insertion in rfbG gene had smooth-to-rough transition phenotype. In order to verify the role of rfbG gene, an rfbG insertion or deletion mutant was constructed using λ-Red recombination system. Phenotypic and biological analysis revealed that rfbG insertion or deletion mutants were similar to the wild-type strain in growth rate and biochemical properties, but the swimming motility was reduced. SE Slide Agglutination test and ELISA test showed that rfbG mutants do not stimulate animals to produce agglutinating antibody. In addition, the half-lethal dose (LD 50 ) of the rfbG deletion mutant strain was 10 6.6 -fold higher than that of the parent strain in a mouse model when injected intraperitoneally. These data indicate that the rfbG gene is involved in smooth-to-rough transition, swimming motility and virulence of S. Enteritidis. Furthermore, somatic O-antigen antibody-based approach to screen signature-tagged transposon mutants is feasible to clarify LPS biosynthesis and to find suitable markers in DIVA-vaccine research.

  4. Methodologies for Improved Tag Cloud Generation with Clustering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leginus, Martin; Dolog, Peter; Lage, Ricardo Gomes

    2012-01-01

    Tag clouds are useful means for navigation in the social web systems. Usually the systems implement the tag cloud generation based on tag popularity which is not always the best method. In this paper we propose methodologies on how to combine clustering into the tag cloud generation to improve...... coverage and overlap. We study several clustering algorithms to generate tag clouds. We show that by extending cloud generation based on tag popularity with clustering we slightly improve coverage. We also show that if the cloud is generated by clustering independently of the tag popularity baseline we...

  5. Process-independent radiative-correction formula for single-tag and double-tag measurements of γγ reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ong, S.; Kessler, P.

    1988-01-01

    A simple and process-independent formula is given for radiative corrections in single-tag and double-tag measurements of γγ reactions. Its conditions of validity are that (i) in the γγ process itself all particles produced are detected and (ii) final-state particles, including the tagged electron(s), are measured with a good resolution in energy and momentum

  6. Discharge residence of TLD tagged fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romberg, G.P.; Prepejchal, W.

    1974-01-01

    Although visual observations suggested that fish remained in the discharge for considerable periods, temperature-sensitive tags indicated the majority of fish spend less than 50 hr or 10 percent of the time at discharge temperatures. During 1974 a second fish tagging study was conducted, using temperature-sensitive tags to yield discharge residence times of Lake Michigan salmonids at Point Beach thermal discharge. Preliminary results revealed that many fish tag values were close to Unit I line indicating that calculated maximum discharge residence times for these fish will be nearly 100 percent of the elapsed time

  7. Using Interference to Block RFID Tags

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krigslund, Rasmus; Popovski, Petar; Pedersen, Gert Frølund

    We propose a novel method to block RFID tags from responding, using intentional interference. We focus on the experimental evaluation, where we impose interference on the download and uplink, respectively. The results are positive, where modulated CCI shows most effective to block a tag.......We propose a novel method to block RFID tags from responding, using intentional interference. We focus on the experimental evaluation, where we impose interference on the download and uplink, respectively. The results are positive, where modulated CCI shows most effective to block a tag....

  8. Satellite Tags- Guam/CNMI EEZ

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Satellite tagging was implemented in 2013. Satellite tagging is conducted using a Dan Inject air rifle and deployment arrows designed by Wildlife Computers. Two...

  9. A touch probe method of operating an implantable RFID tag for orthopedic implant identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaoyu; Berger, J Lee; Ogirala, Ajay; Mickle, Marlin H

    2013-06-01

    The major problem in operating an implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag embedded on an orthopedic implant is low efficiency because of metallic interference. To improve the efficiency, this paper proposes a method of operating an implantable passive RFID tag using a touch probe at 13.56 MHz. This technology relies on the electric field interaction between two pairs of electrodes, one being a part of the touch probe placed on the surface of tissue and the other being a part of the tag installed under the tissue. Compared with using a conventional RFID antenna such as a loop antenna, this method has a better performance in the near field operation range to reduce interference with the orthopedic implant. Properly matching the touch probe and the tag to the tissue and the implant reduces signal attenuation and increases the overall system efficiency. The experiments have shown that this method has a great performance in the near field transcutaneous operation and can be used for orthopedic implant identification.

  10. Traveller: An Interactive Cultural Training System Controlled by User-Defined Body Gestures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kistler, F.; André, E.; Mascarenhas, S.; Silva, A.; Paiva, A.; Degens, D.M.; Hofstede, G.J.; Krumhuber, E.; Kappas, A.; Aylett, R.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we describe a cultural training system based on an interactive storytelling approach and a culturally-adaptive agent architecture, for which a user-defined gesture set was created. 251 full body gestures by 22 users were analyzed to find intuitive gestures for the in-game actions in

  11. Interaction proteomics analysis of polycomb proteins defines distinct PRC1 complexes in mammalian cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vandamme, Julien; Völkel, Pamela; Rosnoblet, Claire

    2011-01-01

    Polycomb group (PcG) proteins maintain transcriptional repression of hundreds of genes involved in development, signaling or cancer using chromatin-based epigenetic mechanisms. Biochemical studies in Drosophila have revealed that PcG proteins associate in at least two classes of protein complexes...... known as Polycomb repressive complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1 and PRC2). Drosophila core PRC1 is composed of four subunits, Polycomb (Pc), Sex combs extra (Sce), Polyhomeotic (Ph), and Posterior sex combs (Psc). Each of these proteins has multiple orthologs in vertebrates classified respectively as the CBX, RING...... in order to identify interacting partners of CBX family proteins under the same experimental conditions. Our analysis identified with high confidence about 20 proteins co-eluted with CBX2 and CBX7 tagged proteins, about 40 with CBX4, and around 60 with CBX6 and CBX8. We provide evidences that the CBX...

  12. Detection of anti neutrophil antibodies by radio-iodinated protein A binding test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cartron, J.; Muller, J.Y.; Tchernia, G.; Paule, B.; Varet, B.

    1983-01-01

    The granulocyte associated IgG in normal and neutropenic subjects has been determined by a direct quantitative assay using radiolabeled staphylococcal protein A. This assay allows to postulate an immunological mechanism to explain the neutropenia in 19 cases of neutropenias associated with malfunctions of the immune system and in 4 cases of idiopathic neutropenias. Discussed in this report is the possible interaction of immune complexes bound in vivo to the granulocytes. By an immunofluorescence test, it has been possible to detect IgG or IgM antibodies in only 52% of patients with a positive direct assay. The determination of granulocyte-associated IgG is therefore a better indicator for defining an auto-immune neutropenia than the detection of free antibodies in the sera [fr

  13. Design and Optimization of Passive UHF RFID Tag Antenna for Mounting on or inside Material Layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Shuai

    There is great desire to employ passive UHF RFID tags for inventory tracking and sensing in a diversity of applications and environments. Owing to its battery-free operation, non-line-of sight detection, low cost, long read range and small form factor, each year billions of RFID tags are being deployed in retail, logistics, manufacturing, biomedical inventories, among many other applications. However, the performance of these RFID systems has not met expectations. This is because a tag's performance deteriorates significantly when mounted on or inside arbitrary materials. The tag antenna is optimized only for a given type of material at a certain location of placement, and detuning takes place when attached to or embedded in materials with dielectric properties outside the design range. Thereby, different customized tags may be needed for identifying objects even within the same class of products. This increases the overall cost of the system. Furthermore, conventional copper foil-based RFID tag antennas are prone to metal fatigue and wear, and cannot survive hostile environments where antennas could be deformed by external forces and failures occur. Therefore, it is essential to understand the interaction between the antenna and the material in the vicinity of the tag, and design general purpose RFID tag antennas possessing excellent electrical performance as well as robust mechanical structure. A particularly challenging application addressed here is designing passive RFID tag antennas for automotive tires. Tires are composed of multiple layers of rubber with different dielectric properties and thicknesses. Furthermore, metallic plies are embedded in the sidewalls and steel belts lie beneath the tread to enforce mechanical integrity. To complicate matters even more, a typical tire experiences a 10% stretching during the construction process. This dissertation focuses on intuitively understanding the interaction between the antenna and the material in the

  14. Beyond Antibodies as Binding Partners: The Role of Antibody Mimetics in Bioanalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiaowen; Yang, Yu-Ping; Dikici, Emre; Deo, Sapna K; Daunert, Sylvia

    2017-06-12

    The emergence of novel binding proteins or antibody mimetics capable of binding to ligand analytes in a manner analogous to that of the antigen-antibody interaction has spurred increased interest in the biotechnology and bioanalytical communities. The goal is to produce antibody mimetics designed to outperform antibodies with regard to binding affinities, cellular and tumor penetration, large-scale production, and temperature and pH stability. The generation of antibody mimetics with tailored characteristics involves the identification of a naturally occurring protein scaffold as a template that binds to a desired ligand. This scaffold is then engineered to create a superior binder by first creating a library that is then subjected to a series of selection steps. Antibody mimetics have been successfully used in the development of binding assays for the detection of analytes in biological samples, as well as in separation methods, cancer therapy, targeted drug delivery, and in vivo imaging. This review describes recent advances in the field of antibody mimetics and their applications in bioanalytical chemistry, specifically in diagnostics and other analytical methods.

  15. How protein recognizes ladder-like polycyclic ethers. Interactions between ciguatoxin (CTX3C) fragments and its specific antibody 10C9.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ui, Mihoko; Tanaka, Yoshikazu; Tsumuraya, Takeshi; Fujii, Ikuo; Inoue, Masayuki; Hirama, Masahiro; Tsumoto, Kouhei

    2008-07-11

    Ciguatoxins are a family of marine toxins composed of transfused polycyclic ethers. It has not yet been clarified at the atomic level on the pathogenic mechanism of these toxins or the interaction between a polycyclic ether compounds and a protein. Using the crystal structures of anti-ciguatoxin antibody 10C9 Fab in ligand-free form and in complexes with ABCD-ring (CTX3C-ABCD) and ABCDE-ring (CTX3C-ABCDE) fragments of the antigen CTX3C at resolutions of 2.6, 2.4, and 2.3 angstroms, respectively, we elucidated the mechanism of the interaction between the polycyclic ethers and the antibody. 10C9 Fab has an extraordinarily large and deep binding pocket at the center of the variable region, where CTX3C-ABCD or CTX3C-ABCDE binds longitudinally in the pocket via hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. Upon antigen-antibody complexation, 10C9 Fab adjusts to the antigen fragments by means of rotational motion in the variable region. In addition, the antigen fragment lacking the E-ring induces a large motion in the constant region. Consequently, the thermostability of 10C9 Fab is enhanced by 10 degrees C upon complexation with CTX3C-ABCDE but not with CTX3C-ABCD. The crystal structures presented in this study also show that 10C9 Fab recoginition of CTX3C antigens requires molecular rearrangements over the entire antibody structure. These results further expand the fundamental understanding of the mechanism by which ladder-like polycyclic ethers are recognized and may be useful for the design of novel therapeutic agents by antibodies, marine toxins, or new diagnostic reagents for the detection and targeting of members of the polycyclic ether family.

  16. A suite of standard post-tagging evaluation metrics can help assess tag retention for field-based fish telemetry research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerber, Kayla M.; Mather, Martha E.; Smith, Joseph M.

    2017-01-01

    Telemetry can inform many scientific and research questions if a context exists for integrating individual studies into the larger body of literature. Creating cumulative distributions of post-tagging evaluation metrics would allow individual researchers to relate their telemetry data to other studies. Widespread reporting of standard metrics is a precursor to the calculation of benchmarks for these distributions (e.g., mean, SD, 95% CI). Here we illustrate five types of standard post-tagging evaluation metrics using acoustically tagged Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) released into a Kansas reservoir. These metrics included: (1) percent of tagged fish detected overall, (2) percent of tagged fish detected daily using abacus plot data, (3) average number of (and percent of available) receiver sites visited, (4) date of last movement between receiver sites (and percent of tagged fish moving during that time period), and (5) number (and percent) of fish that egressed through exit gates. These metrics were calculated for one to three time periods: early (of the study (5 months). Over three-quarters of our tagged fish were detected early (85%) and at the end (85%) of the study. Using abacus plot data, all tagged fish (100%) were detected at least one day and 96% were detected for > 5 days early in the study. On average, tagged Blue Catfish visited 9 (50%) and 13 (72%) of 18 within-reservoir receivers early and at the end of the study, respectively. At the end of the study, 73% of all tagged fish were detected moving between receivers. Creating statistical benchmarks for individual metrics can provide useful reference points. In addition, combining multiple metrics can inform ecology and research design. Consequently, individual researchers and the field of telemetry research can benefit from widespread, detailed, and standard reporting of post-tagging detection metrics.

  17. Inclusive Flavour Tagging Algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Likhomanenko, Tatiana; Derkach, Denis; Rogozhnikov, Alex

    2016-01-01

    Identifying the flavour of neutral B mesons production is one of the most important components needed in the study of time-dependent CP violation. The harsh environment of the Large Hadron Collider makes it particularly hard to succeed in this task. We present an inclusive flavour-tagging algorithm as an upgrade of the algorithms currently used by the LHCb experiment. Specifically, a probabilistic model which efficiently combines information from reconstructed vertices and tracks using machine learning is proposed. The algorithm does not use information about underlying physics process. It reduces the dependence on the performance of lower level identification capacities and thus increases the overall performance. The proposed inclusive flavour-tagging algorithm is applicable to tag the flavour of B mesons in any proton-proton experiment. (paper)

  18. Supraspliceosomes at Defined Functional States Portray the Pre-Assembled Nature of the Pre-mRNA Processing Machine in the Cell Nucleus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hani Kotzer-Nevo

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available When isolated from mammalian cell nuclei, all nuclear pre-mRNAs are packaged in multi-subunit large ribonucleoprotein complexes—supraspliceosomes—composed of four native spliceosomes interconnected by the pre-mRNA. Supraspliceosomes contain all five spliceosomal U snRNPs, together with other splicing factors, and are functional in splicing. Supraspliceosomes studied thus far represent the steady-state population of nuclear pre-mRNAs that were isolated at different stages of the splicing reaction. To analyze specific splicing complexes, here, we affinity purified Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage 7 (PP7-tagged splicing complexes assembled in vivo on Adenovirus Major Late (AdML transcripts at specific functional stages, and characterized them using molecular techniques including mass spectrometry. First, we show that these affinity purified splicing complexes assembled on PP7-tagged AdML mRNA or on PP7-tagged AdML pre-mRNA are assembled in supraspliceosomes. Second, similar to the general population of supraspliceosomes, these defined supraspliceosomes populations are assembled with all five U snRNPs at all splicing stages. This study shows that dynamic changes in base-pairing interactions of U snRNA:U snRNA and U snRNA:pre-mRNA that occur in vivo during the splicing reaction do not require changes in U snRNP composition of the supraspliceosome. Furthermore, there is no need to reassemble a native spliceosome for the splicing of each intron, and rearrangements of the interactions will suffice.

  19. Surface Acoustic Wave Tag-Based Coherence Multiplexing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youngquist, Robert C. (Inventor); Malocha, Donald (Inventor); Saldanha, Nancy (Inventor)

    2016-01-01

    A surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based coherence multiplexing system includes SAW tags each including a SAW transducer, a first SAW reflector positioned a first distance from the SAW transducer and a second SAW reflector positioned a second distance from the SAW transducer. A transceiver including a wireless transmitter has a signal source providing a source signal and circuitry for transmitting interrogation pulses including a first and a second interrogation pulse toward the SAW tags, and a wireless receiver for receiving and processing response signals from the SAW tags. The receiver receives scrambled signals including a convolution of the wideband interrogation pulses with response signals from the SAW tags and includes a computing device which implements an algorithm that correlates the interrogation pulses or the source signal before transmitting against the scrambled signals to generate tag responses for each of the SAW tags.

  20. Comparing domain interactions within antibody Fabs with kappa and lambda light chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toughiri, Raheleh; Wu, Xiufeng; Ruiz, Diana; Huang, Flora; Crissman, John W; Dickey, Mark; Froning, Karen; Conner, Elaine M; Cujec, Thomas P; Demarest, Stephen J

    2016-10-01

    IgG antibodies are multi-domain proteins with complex inter-domain interactions. Human IgG heavy chains (HCs) associate with light chains (LCs) of the κ or λ isotype to form mature antibodies capable of binding antigen. The HC/LC interaction involves 4 domains: VH and CH1 from the HC and VL and CL from the LC. Human Fabs with κ LCs have been well characterized for their unfolding behaviors and demonstrate a significant level of cooperativity and stabilization when all 4 domains are intact. Very little is known regarding the thermodynamic properties of human Fabs with λ LCs. Here, we dissect the domain contributions to Fab stability for both κ and λ LC-containing Fabs. We find the cooperativity of unfolding between the constant domains, CH1/Cλ, and variable domains, VH/Vλ, within λ LC-containing Fabs is significantly weaker than that of κ LC-containing Fabs. The data suggests there may not be an evolutionary necessity for strong variable/constant domain cooperativity within λ LC-containing Fabs. After investigating the biophysical properties of Fabs with mismatched variable and constant domain subunits (e.g., VH/Vκ paired with CH1/Cλ or T cell receptor Cα/Cβ), the major role of the constant domains for both κ- and λ-containing Fabs may be to reduce the hydrophobic exposure at the VH/VL interface. Even though Fabs with these non-native pairings were thermodynamically less stable, they secreted well from mammalian cells as well behaved monodisperse proteins, which was in contrast to what was observed with the VH/Vκ and VH/Vλ scFvs that secreted as a mixture of monomer and aggregates.

  1. Group Discovery in a CollaborativeTagging System

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Zijian

    2007-01-01

    Tagging refers to the process of adding metadata to describe things by usingone or several words. Collaborative Tagging systems, which allow different webusers to tag web content like weblogs, pictures, and bookmarks and so on, haverecently gained great popularity on internet. There are already a greatvariety of debates on internet of the advantages and disadvantages ofcollaborative tagging systems from the aspect of information organizing. Inthis paper, we primarily focus on a collaborative ...

  2. Analysis of tag-position bias in MPSS technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rattray Magnus

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS technology was recently developed as a high-throughput technology for measuring the concentration of mRNA transcripts in a sample. It has previously been observed that the position of the signature tag in a transcript (distance from 3' end can affect the measurement, but this effect has not been studied in detail. Results We quantify the effect of tag-position bias in Classic and Signature MPSS technology using published data from Arabidopsis, rice and human. We investigate the relationship between measured concentration and tag-position using nonlinear regression methods. The observed relationship is shown to be broadly consistent across different data sets. We find that there exist different and significant biases in both Classic and Signature MPSS data. For Classic MPSS data, genes with tag-position in the middle-range have highest measured abundance on average while genes with tag-position in the high-range, far from the 3' end, show a significant decrease. For Signature MPSS data, high-range tag-position genes tend to have a flatter relationship between tag-position and measured abundance. Thus, our results confirm that the Signature MPSS method fixes a substantial problem with the Classic MPSS method. For both Classic and Signature MPSS data there is a positive correlation between measured abundance and tag-position for low-range tag-position genes. Compared with the effects of mRNA length and number of exons, tag-position bias seems to be more significant in Arabadopsis. The tag-position bias is reflected both in the measured abundance of genes with a significant tag count and in the proportion of unexpressed genes identified. Conclusion Tag-position bias should be taken into consideration when measuring mRNA transcript abundance using MPSS technology, both in Classic and Signature MPSS methods.

  3. Teaching logic visually with a Raspberry Pi and NFC tags at TEDxCERN

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2015-01-01

    This talk explains the BREAK THE CODE activity that ran during TEDxCERN 2015. It consisted of a simple web application and a NFC tag reader, that can be used to teach logic and deductive reasoning via physical interactions.

  4. Magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes as nanocarrier tags for sensitive determination of fetuin in saliva.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Tirado, Esther; González-Cortés, Araceli; Yáñez-Sedeño, Paloma; Pingarrón, José M

    2018-08-15

    This paper reports the development and performance of an electrochemical immunosensor using magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (m-MWCNTs) as nanocarrier tags for the determination of human fetuin A (HFA), a relevant biomarker of obesity, insulin resistance, and type-2 diabetes as well as for pancreatic and liver cancers and inflammatory processes. Screen-printed carbon electrodes were grafted with p-aminobezoic acid and streptavidin was covalently immobilized on the electrode surface. A biotinylated capture antibody was immobilized through streptavidin-biotin interaction and a sandwich assay configuration was implemented using m-MWCNTs conjugated with HRP and anti-HFA antibodies as the detection label. The determination of HFA was accomplished by measuring the current produced by the electrochemical reduction of benzoquinone at -200 mV upon addition of H 2 O 2 as HRP substrate. The prepared m-MWCNTs were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and EDS. All the steps involved in the immunosensor preparation were monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. A linear calibration plot for HFA was found between 20 and 2000 pg/mL with a LOD value of 16 pg/mL. This performance is notably better than that reported for an ELISA kit and a chronoimpedimetric immunosensor. The favorable contribution of m-MWCNTs in comparison with MWCNTs without incorporated magnetic particles to this excellent analytical performance is also highlighted. The immunosensor selectivity against other proteins and potentially interfering compounds was excellent. In addition, the usefulness of the immunosensor was demonstrated by the analysis of HFA in saliva with minimal sample treatment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Visualization of resistance responses in Phaseolus vulgaris using reporter tagged clones of Bean common mosaic virus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Naderpour, Masoud; Johansen, Ida Elisabeth

    2011-01-01

    Reporter tagged virus clones can provide detailed information on virus–host interactions. In Phaseolus vulgaris (bean), four recessive and one dominant gene are known to control infection by strains of the potyvirus species Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV). To study the interactions between BCMV...

  6. Behavioral tagging of extinction learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Carvalho Myskiw, Jociane; Benetti, Fernando; Izquierdo, Iván

    2013-01-15

    Extinction of contextual fear in rats is enhanced by exposure to a novel environment at 1-2 h before or 1 h after extinction training. This effect is antagonized by administration of protein synthesis inhibitors anisomycin and rapamycin into the hippocampus, but not into the amygdala, immediately after either novelty or extinction training, as well as by the gene expression blocker 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole administered after novelty training, but not after extinction training. Thus, this effect can be attributed to a mechanism similar to synaptic tagging, through which long-term potentiation can be enhanced by other long-term potentiations or by exposure to a novel environment in a protein synthesis-dependent fashion. Extinction learning produces a tag at the appropriate synapses, whereas novelty learning causes the synthesis of plasticity-related proteins that are captured by the tag, strengthening the synapses that generated this tag.

  7. Precipitation recycling in West Africa - regional modeling, evaporation tagging and atmospheric water budget analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnault, Joel; Kunstmann, Harald; Knoche, Hans-Richard

    2015-04-01

    Many numerical studies have shown that the West African monsoon is highly sensitive to the state of the land surface. It is however questionable to which extend a local change of land surface properties would affect the local climate, especially with respect to precipitation. This issue is traditionally addressed with the concept of precipitation recycling, defined as the contribution of local surface evaporation to local precipitation. For this study the West African monsoon has been simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model using explicit convection, for the domain (1°S-21°N, 18°W-14°E) at a spatial resolution of 10 km, for the period January-October 2013, and using ERA-Interim reanalyses as driving data. This WRF configuration has been selected for its ability to simulate monthly precipitation amounts and daily histograms close to TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) data. In order to investigate precipitation recycling in this WRF simulation, surface evaporation tagging has been implemented in the WRF source code as well as the budget of total and tagged atmospheric water. Surface evaporation tagging consists in duplicating all water species and the respective prognostic equations in the source code. Then, tagged water species are set to zero at the lateral boundaries of the simulated domain (no inflow of tagged water vapor), and tagged surface evaporation is considered only in a specified region. All the source terms of the prognostic equations of total and tagged water species are finally saved in the outputs for the budget analysis. This allows quantifying the respective contribution of total and tagged atmospheric water to atmospheric precipitation processes. The WRF simulation with surface evaporation tagging and budgets has been conducted two times, first with a 100 km2 tagged region (11-12°N, 1-2°W), and second with a 1000 km2 tagged region (7-16°N, 6°W -3°E). In this presentation we will investigate hydro

  8. Annotating images by harnessing worldwide user-tagged photos

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, X.; Snoek, C.G.M.; Worring, M.

    2009-01-01

    Automatic image tagging is important yet challenging due to the semantic gap and the lack of learning examples to model a tag's visual diversity. Meanwhile, social user tagging is creating rich multimedia content on the Web. In this paper, we propose to combine the two tagging approaches in a

  9. Monoclonal antibodies and cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haisma, H.J.

    1987-01-01

    The usefulness of radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies for imaging and treatment of human (ovarian) cancer was investigated. A review of tumor imaging with monoclonal antibodies is presented. Special attention is given to factors that influence the localization of the antibodies in tumors, isotope choice and methods of radiolabeling of the monoclonal antibodies. Two monoclonal antibodies, OC125 and OV-TL3, with high specificity for human epithelial ovarian cancer are characterized. A simple radio-iodination technique was developed for clinical application of the monoclonal antibodies. The behavior of monoclonal antibodies in human tumor xenograft systems and in man are described. Imaging of tumors is complicated because of high background levels of radioactivity in other sites than the tumor, especially in the bloodpool. A technique was developed to improve imaging of human tumor xenographs in nude mice, using subtraction of a specific and a non-specific antibody, radiolabeled with 111 In, 67 Ga and 131 I. To investigate the capability of the two monoclonal antibodies, to specifically localize in human ovarian carcinomas, distribution studies in mice bearing human ovarian carcinoma xenografts were performed. One of the antibodies, OC125, was used for distribution studies in ovarian cancer patients. OC125 was used because of availability and approval to use this antibody in patients. The same antibody was used to investigate the usefulness of radioimmunoimaging in ovarian cancer patients. The interaction of injected radiolabeled antibody OC125 with circulating antigen and an assay to measure the antibody response in ovarian cancer patients after injection of the antibody is described. 265 refs.; 30 figs.; 19 tabs

  10. Evaluation of visible implant elastomer tags in zebrafish (Danio rerio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Hohn

    2013-11-01

    The use of the visible implant elastomer (VIE tagging system in zebrafish (Danio rerio was examined. Two tag orientations (horizontal and vertical at the dorsal fin base were tested for tag retention, tag fragmentation and whether VIE tags affected growth and survival of juvenile zebrafish (1–4 month post hatch. Six tag locations (abdomen, anal fin base, caudal peduncle, dorsal fin base, pectoral fin base, isthmus and 5 tag colors (yellow, red, pink, orange, blue were evaluated for ease of VIE tag application and tag visibility in adult zebrafish. Long-term retention (1 year and multiple tagging sites (right and left of dorsal fin and pectoral fin base were examined in adult zebrafish. Lastly, survival of recombination activation gene 1−/− (rag1−/− zebrafish was evaluated after VIE tagging. The best tag location was the dorsal fin base, and the most visible tag color was pink. Growth rate of juvenile zebrafish was not affected by VIE tagging. Horizontal tagging is recommended in early stages of fish growth (1–2 months post hatch. VIE tags were retained for 1 year and tagging did not interfere with long-term growth and survival. There was no mortality associated with VIE tagging in rag1−/− zebrafish. The VIE tagging system is highly suitable for small-sized zebrafish. When familiar with the procedure, 120 adult zebrafish can be tagged in one hour. It does not increase mortality in adult zebrafish or interfere with growth in juvenile or adult zebrafish.

  11. Peptide-tagged proteins in aqueous two-phase systems

    OpenAIRE

    Nilsson, Anna

    2002-01-01

    This thesis deals with proteins containing peptide tags for improved partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems. Qualitatively the peptide-tagged protein partitioning could be predicted from peptide data, i.e. partitioning trends found for peptides were also found for the peptide-tagged proteins. However, full effect of the tag as expected from peptide partitioning was not found in the tagged protein. When alkyl-ethylene oxide surfactant was included in a two-polymer system, almost full effect...

  12. Site-directed immobilization of a genetically engineered anti-methotrexate antibody via an enzymatically introduced biotin label significantly increases the binding capacity of immunoaffinity columns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davenport, Kaitlynn R; Smith, Christopher A; Hofstetter, Heike; Horn, James R; Hofstetter, Oliver

    2016-05-15

    In this study, the effect of random vs. site-directed immobilization techniques on the performance of antibody-based HPLC columns was investigated using a single-domain camelid antibody (VHH) directed against methotrexate (MTX) as a model system. First, the high flow-through support material POROS-OH was activated with disuccinimidyl carbonate (DSC), and the VHH was bound in a random manner via amines located on the protein's surface. The resulting column was characterized by Frontal Affinity Chromatography (FAC). Then, two site-directed techniques were explored to increase column efficiency by immobilizing the antibody via its C-terminus, i.e., away from the antigen-binding site. In one approach, a tetra-lysine tail was added, and the antibody was immobilized onto DSC-activated POROS. In the second site-directed approach, the VHH was modified with the AviTag peptide, and a biotin-residue was enzymatically incorporated at the C-terminus using the biotin ligase BirA. The biotinylated antibody was subsequently immobilized onto NeutrAvidin-derivatized POROS. A comparison of the FAC analyses, which for all three columns showed excellent linearity (R(2)>0.999), revealed that both site-directed approaches yield better results than the random immobilization; the by far highest efficiency, however, was determined for the immunoaffinity column based on AviTag-biotinylated antibody. As proof of concept, all three columns were evaluated for quantification of MTX dissolved in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Validation using UV-detection showed excellent linearity in the range of 0.04-12μM (R(2)>0.993). The lower limit of detection (LOD) and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) were found to be independent of the immobilization strategy and were 40nM and 132nM, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision was below 11.6%, and accuracy was between 90.7% and 112%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the AviTag-system in chromatography, and the first

  13. Docking of Antibodies into Cavities in DNA Origami

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Quyang, X; Stefano, Mattia De; Krissanaprasit, Abhichart

    2017-01-01

    microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) validated efficient antibody immobilization in the origami structures. The increased ability to control the orientation of antibodies in nanostructures and at surfaces has potential for directing the interactions of antibodies with targets...

  14. Augmenting playspaces to enhance the game experience: A tag game case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moreno Celleri, Alejandro Manuel; van Delden, Robertus Wilhelmus; Poppe, Ronald Walter; Reidsma, Dennis; Heylen, Dirk K.J.

    Introducing technology into games can improve players’ game experience. However, it can also reduce the amount of physical activity and social interaction. In this article, we discuss how we enhance the game of tag with technology such that physical and social characteristics of the game are

  15. Cloning, bacterial expression and crystallization of Fv antibody fragments

    Science.gov (United States)

    E´, Jean-Luc; Boulot, Ginette; Chitarra, V´ronique; Riottot, Marie-Madeleine; Souchon, H´le`ne; Houdusse, Anne; Bentley, Graham A.; Narayana Bhat, T.; Spinelli, Silvia; Poljak, Roberto J.

    1992-08-01

    The variable Fv fragments of antibodies, cloned in recombinant plasmids, can be expressed in bacteria as functional proteins having immunochemical properties which are very similar or identical with those of the corresponding parts of the parent eukaryotic antibodies. They offer new possibilities for the study of antibody-antigen interactions since the crystals of Fv fragments and of their complexes with antigen reported here diffract X-rays to a higher resolution that those obtained with the cognate Fab fragments. The Fv approach should facilitate the structural study of the combining site of antibodies and the further characterization of antigen-antibody interactions by site-directed mutagenesis experiments.

  16. The elution of certain protein affinity tags with millimolar concentrations of diclofenac.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baliova, Martina; Juhasova, Anna; Jursky, Frantisek

    2015-12-01

    Diclofenac (2-[(2, 6-dichlorophenyl)amino] benzeneacetic acid) is a sparingly soluble, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapeutically acting at low micromolar concentrations. In pH range from 8 to 11, its aqueous solubility can be increased up to 200 times by the presence of counter ions such as sodium. Our protein interaction studies revealed that a millimolar concentration of sodium diclofenac is able to elute glutathione S-transferase (GST), cellulose binding protein (CBD), and maltose binding protein (MBP) but not histidine-tagged or PDZ-tagged proteins from their affinity resins. The elution efficiency of diclofenac is comparable with the eluting agents normally used at similar concentrations. Native gel electrophoresis of sodium diclofenac-treated proteins showed that the interaction is non-covalent and non-denaturing. These results suggest that sodium diclofenac, in addition to its pharmaceutical applications, can also be exploited as a lead for the development of new proteomics reagents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Satellite tagging and biopsy sampling of killer whales at subantarctic Marion Island: effectiveness, immediate reactions and long-term responses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan R Reisinger

    Full Text Available Remote tissue biopsy sampling and satellite tagging are becoming widely used in large marine vertebrate studies because they allow the collection of a diverse suite of otherwise difficult-to-obtain data which are critical in understanding the ecology of these species and to their conservation and management. Researchers must carefully consider their methods not only from an animal welfare perspective, but also to ensure the scientific rigour and validity of their results. We report methods for shore-based, remote biopsy sampling and satellite tagging of killer whales Orcinus orca at Subantarctic Marion Island. The performance of these methods is critically assessed using 1 the attachment duration of low-impact minimally percutaneous satellite tags; 2 the immediate behavioural reactions of animals to biopsy sampling and satellite tagging; 3 the effect of researcher experience on biopsy sampling and satellite tagging; and 4 the mid- (1 month and long- (24 month term behavioural consequences. To study mid- and long-term behavioural changes we used multievent capture-recapture models that accommodate imperfect detection and individual heterogeneity. We made 72 biopsy sampling attempts (resulting in 32 tissue samples and 37 satellite tagging attempts (deploying 19 tags. Biopsy sampling success rates were low (43%, but tagging rates were high with improved tag designs (86%. The improved tags remained attached for 26±14 days (mean ± SD. Individuals most often showed no reaction when attempts missed (66% and a slight reaction-defined as a slight flinch, slight shake, short acceleration, or immediate dive-when hit (54%. Severe immediate reactions were never observed. Hit or miss and age-sex class were important predictors of the reaction, but the method (tag or biopsy was unimportant. Multievent trap-dependence modelling revealed considerable variation in individual sighting patterns; however, there were no significant mid- or long-term changes

  18. Defining the protein interaction network of human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

    KAUST Repository

    Ramaprasad, Abhinay

    2012-02-01

    Malaria, caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium falciparum, affects around 225. million people yearly and a huge international effort is directed towards combating this grave threat to world health and economic development. Considerable advances have been made in malaria research triggered by the sequencing of its genome in 2002, followed by several high-throughput studies defining the malaria transcriptome and proteome. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network seeks to trace the dynamic interactions between proteins, thereby elucidating their local and global functional relationships. Experimentally derived PPI network from high-throughput methods such as yeast two hybrid (Y2H) screens are inherently noisy, but combining these independent datasets by computational methods tends to give a greater accuracy and coverage. This review aims to discuss the computational approaches used till date to construct a malaria protein interaction network and to catalog the functional predictions and biological inferences made from analysis of the PPI network. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

  19. Tags in Domain-Specific Sites - New Information?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steinhauer, Jeremy; Delcambre, Lois M.L.; Maier, David

    2011-01-01

    If researchers use tags in retrieval applications they might assume, implicitly, that tags represent novel information, e.g., when they attribute performance improvement in their retrieval algorithm(s) to the use of tags. In this work, we investigate whether this assumption is true. We focus on t...

  20. A suite of standard post-tagging evaluation metrics can help assess tag retention for field-based fish telemetry research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerber, Kayla M.; Mather, Martha E.; Smith, Joseph M.

    2017-01-01

    Telemetry can inform many scientific and research questions if a context exists for integrating individual studies into the larger body of literature. Creating cumulative distributions of post-tagging evaluation metrics would allow individual researchers to relate their telemetry data to other studies. Widespread reporting of standard metrics is a precursor to the calculation of benchmarks for these distributions (e.g., mean, SD, 95% CI). Here we illustrate five types of standard post-tagging evaluation metrics using acoustically tagged Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) released into a Kansas reservoir. These metrics included: (1) percent of tagged fish detected overall, (2) percent of tagged fish detected daily using abacus plot data, (3) average number of (and percent of available) receiver sites visited, (4) date of last movement between receiver sites (and percent of tagged fish moving during that time period), and (5) number (and percent) of fish that egressed through exit gates. These metrics were calculated for one to three time periods: early ( 5 days early in the study. On average, tagged Blue Catfish visited 9 (50%) and 13 (72%) of 18 within-reservoir receivers early and at the end of the study, respectively. At the end of the study, 73% of all tagged fish were detected moving between receivers. Creating statistical benchmarks for individual metrics can provide useful reference points. In addition, combining multiple metrics can inform ecology and research design. Consequently, individual researchers and the field of telemetry research can benefit from widespread, detailed, and standard reporting of post-tagging detection metrics.

  1. B-tagging in CMS at LHC

    CERN Document Server

    Cucciarelli, S

    2003-01-01

    This report provides a review of the main algorithms for offline inclusive b-tagging developed within the CMS community. Two b-tag algorithms, one based on the impact parameter measurement and the other based on the secondary vertices are discussed. The performance of these algorithms are presented for several jet transverse energies and pseudorapidity regions. An additional decay length based b-tag is also described and its preliminary performance is presented. (4 refs) .

  2. CT colonography with rectal iodine tagging: Feasibility and comparison with oral tagging in a colorectal cancer screening population

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neri, Emanuele; Mantarro, Annalisa; Faggioni, Lorenzo; Scalise, Paola; Bemi, Pietro; Pancrazi, Francesca; D’Ippolito, Giuseppe; Bartolozzi, Carlo

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • In the group receiving rectal tagging, mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity were 96.1% and 95.3%; while in the group receiving oral tagging, mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity were 89.4% and 95.8%. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.549). • Rectal tagging can be an effective alternative to oral tagging. • Rectal tagging allowed greater patient acceptance and lower overall examination time. - Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate feasibility, diagnostic performance, patient acceptance, and overall examination time of CT colonography (CTC) performed through rectal administration of iodinated contrast material. Materials and methods: Six-hundred asymptomatic subjects (male:female = 270:330; mean 63 years) undergoing CTC for colorectal cancer screening on an individual basis were consecutively enrolled in the study. Out of them, 503 patients (group 1) underwent CTC with rectal tagging, of which 55 had a total of 77 colonic lesions. The remaining 97 patients (group 2) were randomly selected to receive CTC with oral tagging of which 15 had a total of 20 colonic lesions. CTC findings were compared with optical colonoscopy, and per-segment image quality was visually assessed using a semi-quantitative score (1 = poor, 2 = adequate, 3 = excellent). In 70/600 patients (11.7%), CTC was performed twice with both types of tagging over a 5-year follow-up cancer screening program. In this subgroup, patient acceptance was rated via phone interview two weeks after CTC using a semi-quantitative scale (1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = average, 4 = good, 5 = excellent). Results: Mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of CTC with rectal vs oral tagging were 96.1% (CI 95% 85.4 ÷ 99.3%) vs 89.4% (CI 95% 65.4 ÷ 98.1%), 95.3% (CI 95% 90.7 ÷ 97.8%) vs 95.8% (CI 95% 87.6 ÷ 98.9%), 86.0% (CI 95% 73.6 ÷ 93.3) vs 85.0% (CI 95% 61.1 ÷ 96.0%), and 98.8% (CI 95% 95.3 ÷ 99.8%) vs 97.2% (CI 95% 89

  3. CT colonography with rectal iodine tagging: Feasibility and comparison with oral tagging in a colorectal cancer screening population

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neri, Emanuele, E-mail: emanuele.neri@med.unipi.it [Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology – Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa (Italy); Mantarro, Annalisa; Faggioni, Lorenzo; Scalise, Paola; Bemi, Pietro; Pancrazi, Francesca [Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology – Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa (Italy); D’Ippolito, Giuseppe [Federal University of São Paulo – Sena Madureira 1500 – Vila Mariana, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Bartolozzi, Carlo [Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology – Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa (Italy)

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • In the group receiving rectal tagging, mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity were 96.1% and 95.3%; while in the group receiving oral tagging, mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity were 89.4% and 95.8%. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.549). • Rectal tagging can be an effective alternative to oral tagging. • Rectal tagging allowed greater patient acceptance and lower overall examination time. - Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate feasibility, diagnostic performance, patient acceptance, and overall examination time of CT colonography (CTC) performed through rectal administration of iodinated contrast material. Materials and methods: Six-hundred asymptomatic subjects (male:female = 270:330; mean 63 years) undergoing CTC for colorectal cancer screening on an individual basis were consecutively enrolled in the study. Out of them, 503 patients (group 1) underwent CTC with rectal tagging, of which 55 had a total of 77 colonic lesions. The remaining 97 patients (group 2) were randomly selected to receive CTC with oral tagging of which 15 had a total of 20 colonic lesions. CTC findings were compared with optical colonoscopy, and per-segment image quality was visually assessed using a semi-quantitative score (1 = poor, 2 = adequate, 3 = excellent). In 70/600 patients (11.7%), CTC was performed twice with both types of tagging over a 5-year follow-up cancer screening program. In this subgroup, patient acceptance was rated via phone interview two weeks after CTC using a semi-quantitative scale (1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = average, 4 = good, 5 = excellent). Results: Mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of CTC with rectal vs oral tagging were 96.1% (CI{sub 95%} 85.4 ÷ 99.3%) vs 89.4% (CI{sub 95%} 65.4 ÷ 98.1%), 95.3% (CI{sub 95%} 90.7 ÷ 97.8%) vs 95.8% (CI{sub 95%} 87.6 ÷ 98.9%), 86.0% (CI{sub 95%} 73.6 ÷ 93.3) vs 85.0% (CI{sub 95%} 61.1 ÷ 96.0%), and 98.8% (CI{sub 95

  4. DNA-mediated strand displacement facilitates sensitive electronic detection of antibodies in human serums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dou, Baoting; Yang, Jianmei; Shi, Kai; Yuan, Ruo; Xiang, Yun

    2016-09-15

    We describe here the development of a sensitive and convenient electronic sensor for the detection of antibodies in human serums. The sensor is constructed by self-assembly formation of a mixed monolayer containing the small molecule epitope conjugated double stranded DNA probes on gold electrode. The target antibody binds the epitope on the dsDNA probe and lowers the melting temperature of the duplex, which facilitates the displacement of the antibody-linked strand of the duplex probe by an invading methylene blue-tagged single stranded DNA (MB-ssDNA) through the strand displacement reaction and leads to the capture of many MB-ssDNA on the sensor surface. Subsequent electrochemical oxidation of the methylene blue labels results in amplified current response for sensitive monitoring of the antibodies. The antibody assay conditions are optimized and the sensor exhibits a linear range between 1.0 and 25.0nM with a detection limit of 0.67nM for the target antibody. The sensor is also selective and can be employed to detect the target antibodies in human serum samples. With the advantages of using small molecule epitope as the antibody recognition element over traditional antigen, the versatile manipulability of the DNA probes and the unique properties of the electrochemical transduction technique, the developed sensor thus hold great potential for simple and sensitive detection of different antibodies and other proteins in real samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Stable and rigid DTPA-like paramagnetic tags suitable for in vitro and in situ protein NMR analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jia-Liang; Zhao, Yu; Gong, Yan-Jun; Pan, Bin-Bin; Wang, Xiao; Su, Xun-Cheng

    2018-02-01

    Organic synthesis of a ligand with high binding affinities for paramagnetic lanthanide ions is an effective way of generating paramagnetic effects on proteins. These paramagnetic effects manifested in high-resolution NMR spectroscopy are valuable dynamic and structural restraints of proteins and protein-ligand complexes. A paramagnetic tag generally contains a metal chelating moiety and a reactive group for protein modification. Herein we report two new DTPA-like tags, 4PS-PyDTTA and 4PS-6M-PyDTTA that can be site-specifically attached to a protein with a stable thioether bond. Both protein-tag adducts form stable lanthanide complexes, of which the binding affinities and paramagnetic tensors are tunable with respect to the 6-methyl group in pyridine. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) effects of Gd(III) complex on protein-tag adducts were evaluated in comparison with pseudocontact shift (PCS), and the results indicated that both 4PS-PyDTTA and 4PS-6M-PyDTTA tags are rigid and present high-quality PREs that are crucially important in elucidation of the dynamics and interactions of proteins and protein-ligand complexes. We also show that these two tags are suitable for in-situ protein NMR analysis.

  6. I-DIRT, a general method for distinguishing between specific and nonspecific protein interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tackett, Alan J; DeGrasse, Jeffrey A; Sekedat, Matthew D; Oeffinger, Marlene; Rout, Michael P; Chait, Brian T

    2005-01-01

    Isolation of protein complexes via affinity-tagged proteins provides a powerful tool for studying biological systems, but the technique is often compromised by co-enrichment of nonspecifically interacting proteins. We describe a new technique (I-DIRT) that distinguishes contaminants from bona fide interactors in immunopurifications, overcoming this most challenging problem in defining protein complexes. I-DIRT will be of broad value for studying protein complexes in biological systems that can be metabolically labeled.

  7. An Extended-Tag-Induced Matrix Factorization Technique for Recommender Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huirui Han

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Social tag information has been used by recommender systems to handle the problem of data sparsity. Recently, the relationships between users/items and tags are considered by most tag-induced recommendation methods. However, sparse tag information is challenging to most existing methods. In this paper, we propose an Extended-Tag-Induced Matrix Factorization technique for recommender systems, which exploits correlations among tags derived by co-occurrence of tags to improve the performance of recommender systems, even in the case of sparse tag information. The proposed method integrates coupled similarity between tags, which is calculated by the co-occurrences of tags in the same items, to extend each item’s tags. Finally, item similarity based on extended tags is utilized as an item relationship regularization term to constrain the process of matrix factorization. MovieLens dataset and Book-Crossing dataset are adopted to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. The results of experiments show that the proposed method can alleviate the impact of tag sparsity and improve the performance of recommender systems.

  8. Phos-tag-based analysis of myosin regulatory light chain phosphorylation in human uterine myocytes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hector N Aguilar

    Full Text Available The 'phosphate-binding tag' (phos-tag reagent enables separation of phospho-proteins during SDS-PAGE by impeding migration proportional to their phosphorylation stoichiometry. Western blotting can then be used to detect and quantify the bands corresponding to the phospho-states of a target protein. We present a method for quantification of data regarding phospho-states derived from phos-tag SDS-PAGE. The method incorporates corrections for lane-to-lane loading variability and for the effects of drug vehicles thus enabling the comparison of multiple treatments by using the untreated cellular set-point as a reference. This method is exemplified by quantifying the phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain (RLC in cultured human uterine myocytes.We have evaluated and validated the concept that, when using an antibody (Ab against the total-protein, the sum of all phosphorylation states in a single lane represents a 'closed system' since all possible phospho-states and phosphoisotypes are detected. Using this approach, we demonstrate that oxytocin (OT and calpeptin (Calp induce RLC kinase (MLCK- and rho-kinase (ROK-dependent enhancements in phosphorylation of RLC at T18 and S19. Treatment of myocytes with a phorbol ester (PMA induced phosphorylation of S1-RLC, which caused a mobility shift in the phos-tag matrices distinct from phosphorylation at S19.We have presented a method for analysis of phospho-state data that facilitates quantitative comparison to a reference control without the use of a traditional 'loading' or 'reference' standard. This analysis is useful for assessing effects of putative agonists and antagonists where all phospho-states are represented in control and experimental samples. We also demonstrated that phosphorylation of RLC at S1 is inducible in intact uterine myocytes, though the signal in the resting samples was not sufficiently abundant to allow quantification by the approach used here.

  9. Immunogenicity of anti-tumor necrosis factor antibodies-toward improved methods of anti-antibody measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aarden, Lucien; Ruuls, Sigrid R; Wolbink, Gertjan

    2008-08-01

    To date, millions of people have been treated with therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (TmAbs) for various indications. It is becoming increasingly clear that TmAbs can be immunogenic, which may reduce efficacy or induce adverse effects. Over the years, the importance of antibody formation has been questioned and sometimes minimized, as few antibody responses to TmAbs (HACA or HAHA) were reported. However, the methods to detect and quantify such antibodies used in the past have been problematic. Only recently, methods have been developed that have adequate sensitivity and are not seriously disturbed by false-positive reactions caused by rheumatoid factors, natural antibodies to Fab or F(ab')2 fragments, or Fc interactions of IgG4. The large number of treated patients, in combination with these new assays, presents a unique opportunity to study the anti-antibody immune response in man, possibly allowing us to manipulate immunogenicity in the future.

  10. Flavour Tagging developments within the LHCb experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Grabalosa, Marc

    Flavour Tagging at the LHCb experiment is a fundamental tool for the measurement of B oscillations and the study of CP violation. This document explains the development of different tagging techniques and the different strategies used to combine them to determine the flavour of the B meson as precisely as possible. The response of the tagging algorithms also needs to be optimized and calibrated. Both procedures are described using the available LHCb datasets corresponding to various integrated luminosities. First results on the tagging performances are shown for different control channels and physics measurements.

  11. A Personalized Tag-Based Recommendation in Social Web Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Durao, Frederico; Dolog, Peter

    2009-01-01

    -based recommender system which suggests similar Web pages based on the similarity of their tags from a Web 2.0 tagging application. The proposed approach extends the basic similarity calculus with external factors such as tag popularity, tag representativeness and the affinity between user and tag. In order...... to study and evaluate the recommender system, we have conducted an experiment involving 38 people from 12 countries using data from Del.icio.us , a social bookmarking web system on which users can share their personal bookmarks......Tagging activity has been recently identified as a potential source of knowledge about personal interests, preferences, goals, and other attributes known from user models. Tags themselves can be therefore used for finding personalized recommendations of items. In this paper, we present a tag...

  12. The rescue and evaluation of FLAG and HIS epitope-tagged Asia 1 type foot-and-mouth disease viruses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Bo; Yang, Fan; Zhang, Yan; Liu, Huanan; Jin, Ye; Cao, Weijun; Zhu, Zixiang; Zheng, Haixue; Yin, Hong

    2016-02-02

    The VP1 G-H loop of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) contains the primary antigenic site, as well as an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) binding motif for the αv-integrin family of cell surface receptors. We anticipated that introducing a foreign epitope tag sequence downstream of the RGD motif would be tolerated by the viral capsid and would not destroy the antigenic site of FMDV. In this study, we have designed, generated, and characterized two recombinant FMDVs with a FLAG tag or histidine (HIS) inserted in the VP1 G-H loop downstream of the RGD motif +9 position. The tagged viruses were genetically stable and exhibited similar growth properties with their parental virus. What is more, the recombinant viruses rFMDV-FLAG and rFMDV-HIS showed neutralization sensitivity to FMDV type Asia1-specific mAbs, as well as to polyclonal antibodies. Additionally, the r1 values of the recombinant viruses were similar to that of the parental virus, indicating that the insertion of FLAG or HIS tag sequences downstream of the RGD motif +9 position do not eradicate the antigenic site of FMDV and do not affect its antigenicity. These results indicated that the G-H loop of Asia1 FMDV is able to effectively display the foreign epitopes, making this a potential approach for novel FMDV vaccines development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Sentiment topic mining based on comment tags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Daohai; Liu, Xue; Li, Juan; Fan, Mingyue

    2018-03-01

    With the development of e-commerce, various comments based on tags are generated, how to extract valuable information from these comment tags has become an important content of business management decisions. This study takes HUAWEI mobile phone tags as an example using the sentiment analysis and topic LDA mining method. The first step is data preprocessing and classification of comment tag topic mining. And then make the sentiment classification for comment tags. Finally, mine the comments again and analyze the emotional theme distribution under different sentiment classification. The results show that HUAWEI mobile phone has a good user experience in terms of fluency, cost performance, appearance, etc. Meanwhile, it should pay more attention to independent research and development, product design and development. In addition, battery and speed performance should be enhanced.

  14. Designing two-in-one antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valladares, Ignacio Garcia; Espinoza, Luis R

    2009-09-01

    Evaluation of: Bostrom J, Shang-Fan Y, Kan D et al.: Variants of the antibody Herceptin that interact with HER2 and VEGF at the antigen binding site. Science 323, 1610-1614 (2009). The longstanding held notion that one antibody equals one antigen and, hence, one function has been challenged in recent years. Improved technology in antibody production, especially the accumulation of sequence data of immunoglobulin genes and the advent of PCR have made it possible to clone antibody gene repertoires. The current paper provides further challenge to the notion of one antibody = one antigen by developing 'two-in-one' antibodies with an antigen-binding site that binds two distinct proteins with high affinity. A therapeutic variant antibody of Herceptin (Genentech, CA, USA) was isolated that binds the human EGF receptor (HER)2 and also to VEGF. This development may represent a breakthrough discovery and may have significant implications in the therapy of malignant, infectious, allergic and autoimmune disorders.

  15. Molecular recognition of halogen-tagged aromatic VOCs at the air-silicon interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Condorelli, Guglielmo G; Motta, Alessandro; Favazza, Maria; Gurrieri, Ettore; Betti, Paolo; Dalcanale, Enrico

    2010-01-14

    Selective and reversible complexation of halogen-tagged aromatic VOCs by a quinoxaline cavitand-decorated Si surface is demonstrated. The specific host-guest interactions of the Si-bonded receptors are proved to be responsible of the surface recognition properties, while extracavity non specific adsorptions are totally suppressed compared to the bulk material.

  16. Construction, test, and operation of an energy-tagged photon beam at the PHOENICS experiment of the Bonn electron stretcher facility ELSA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Detemple, P.

    1990-10-01

    This report describes the photon tagging facility of the PHOENICS-Experiment at the Bonn Electron Stretcher and Accelerator ELSA. The system is designed for primary electron energies up to E 0 = 1.2 GeV and covers a broad energy range k/E 0 = 20-95% simultaneously with an average energy resolution Δk/E 0 =7.5%. The tagging spectrometer consists of a single dipole magnet with a strong radial field gradient, which provides focussing properties in the deflection plane over a wide energy range. The tagging hodoscope consists of an array of 128 thin energy defining scintillation counters and an additional set of 16 thick backing counters for improved timing resolution and background rejection. The main properties were determined experimentally. The spot size of the primary electron beam at the radiator is ≅ 1 mm (σ), the photon beam spot size at a distance of 2 m from the radiator is ≅ 2 mm. The average tagging efficiency, measured with a total absorbing NaI-detector, is about 90%. The mean photon energies corresponding to the 128 energy defining counters were experimentally determined and found to be in good agreement with the design values. The tagging system has been used in a first experiment with the PHOENICS-Detector, the measurement of the differential cross section for the reaction γp→π + n, which was performed in order to test and calibrate the whole detector system. The data shows good agreement with other experiments. (orig.) [de

  17. The design and analysis of salmonid tagging studies in the Columbia Basin. Volume 2: Estimating salmonid survival with combined PIT-CWT tagging. Technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newman, K.

    1997-06-01

    Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags and Coded Wire Tags (CWTs) in combination can provide information about salmonid survival that single tag releases may not. The release and recapture protocol affects which survival and recapture rates can be estimated and the precision of the estimates. For the particular case of Columbia river salmonids tagged with both PIT tags and CWTs, three different release and recapture protocols were evaluated. This report addresses the need to study the fate of salmon smolt in-river and their subsequent return as adults. Double-tagging procedures are investigated where PIT-tags would be used to provide in-river survival data during smolt outmigrations and coded-wire tags (CWT) used to provide adult return information. This report provides statistical models for the analysis of the joint data as well as recommendations on optimal tagging studies. Study costs and stress on smolt can be reduced by only PIT-tagging a subset of all the fish coded-wire-tagged, while retaining the information content and sampling precision

  18. A hypergraph model of social tagging networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Zi-Ke; Liu, Chuang

    2010-01-01

    The past few years have witnessed the great success of a new family of paradigms, so-called folksonomy, which allows users to freely associate tags with resources and efficiently manage them. In order to uncover the underlying structures and user behaviors in folksonomy, in this paper, we propose an evolutionary hypergraph model for explaining the emerging statistical properties. The present model introduces a novel mechanism that can not only assign tags to resources, but also retrieve resources via collaborative tags. We then compare the model with a real-world data set: Del.icio.us. Indeed, the present model shows considerable agreement with the empirical data in the following aspects: power-law hyperdegree distributions, negative correlation between clustering coefficients and hyperdegrees, and small average distances. Furthermore, the model indicates that most tagging behaviors are motivated by labeling tags on resources, and the tag plays a significant role in effectively retrieving interesting resources and making acquaintances with congenial friends. The proposed model may shed some light on the in-depth understanding of the structure and function of folksonomy

  19. RFID Label Tag Design for Metallic Surface Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ki Hwan Eom

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a metal mount RFID tag that works reliably on metallic surfaces. The method proposes the use of commercial label type RFID tags with 2.5 mm thick Styrofoam103.7 with a relative permittivity of 1.03 attached on the back of the tag. In order to verify the performance of the proposed method, we performed experiments on an electric transformer supply chain system. The experimental results showed that the proposed tags can communicate with readers from a distance of 2 m. The recognition rates are comparable to those of commercial metallic mountable tags.

  20. Pop-up Archival Transmitting (PAT) fish tag data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The cooperative tagging center (CTC) began deploying electronic tags in 2002. To date over 300 tags have been deployed. The following species have been monitored:...

  1. Topographic antigenic determinants recognized by monoclonal antibodies on human choriogonadotropin beta-subunit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bidart, J.M.; Troalen, F.; Salesse, R.; Bousfield, G.R.; Bohuon, C.J.; Bellet, D.H.

    1987-01-01

    We describe a first attempt to study the antibody-combining sites recognized by monoclonal antibodies raised against the beta-subunit of human choriogonadotropin (hCG). Two groups of antibodies were first defined by their ability to recognize only the free beta-subunit or the free and combined subunit. Antibodies FBT-11 and FBT-11-L bind only to hCG beta-subunit but not to hCG, whereas antibodies FBT-10 and D1E8 bind to both the beta-subunit and the hormone. In both cases, the antigenic determinants were localized to the core of the protein (residues 1-112), indicating the weak immunogenicity of the specific carboxyl-terminal extension of hCG-beta. Nine synthetic peptides spanning different regions of hCG-beta and lutropin-beta were assessed for their capacity to inhibit antibody binding. A synthetic peptide inclusive of the NH2-terminal region (residues 1-7) of the hCG beta-subunit was found to inhibit binding to the radiolabeled subunit of a monoclonal antibody specific for free hCG-beta (FBT-11). Further delineation of the antigenic site recognized by this antibody provided evidence for the involvement of fragment 82-92. Moreover, monoclonal antibody FBT-11 inhibited the recombination of hCG-beta to hCG-alpha, indicating that its antigenic determinant might be located nearby or in the hCG-beta portion interacting with the alpha-subunit. Binding of monoclonal antibody FBT-10, corresponding to the second antigenic determinant, was weakly inhibited by fragment 82-105 and did not impair the recombination of the hCG beta-subunit to the hCG alpha-subunit. Its combining site appeared to be located in a region of the intact native choriogonadotropin present at the surface of the hormone-receptor complex

  2. A minor conformation of a lanthanide tag on adenylate kinase characterized by paramagnetic relaxation dispersion NMR spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hass, Mathias A. S.; Liu, Wei-Min; Agafonov, Roman V.; Otten, Renee; Phung, Lien A.; Schilder, Jesika T.; Kern, Dorothee; Ubbink, Marcellus

    2015-01-01

    NMR relaxation dispersion techniques provide a powerful method to study protein dynamics by characterizing lowly populated conformations that are in dynamic exchange with the major state. Paramagnetic NMR is a versatile tool for investigating the structures and dynamics of proteins. These two techniques were combined here to measure accurate and precise pseudocontact shifts of a lowly populated conformation. This method delivers valuable long-range structural restraints for higher energy conformations of macromolecules in solution. Another advantage of combining pseudocontact shifts with relaxation dispersion is the increase in the amplitude of dispersion profiles. Lowly populated states are often involved in functional processes, such as enzyme catalysis, signaling, and protein/protein interactions. The presented results also unveil a critical problem with the lanthanide tag used to generate paramagnetic relaxation dispersion effects in proteins, namely that the motions of the tag can interfere severely with the observation of protein dynamics. The two-point attached CLaNP-5 lanthanide tag was linked to adenylate kinase. From the paramagnetic relaxation dispersion only motion of the tag is observed. The data can be described accurately by a two-state model in which the protein-attached tag undergoes a 23° tilting motion on a timescale of milliseconds. The work demonstrates the large potential of paramagnetic relaxation dispersion and the challenge to improve current tags to minimize relaxation dispersion from tag movements

  3. W/Top/Higgs-tagging in ATLAS

    CERN Document Server

    Norjoharuddeen, Nurfikri; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    We present updates of W, Top and Higgs tagging studies with the ATLAS detector. The performance of 2 variable taggers, HEPTopTagger and shower deconstruction are compared in Monte Carlo simulations. To asses the modelling of the taggers’ performance, the tagging efficiencies are measured, with the full 2015+2016 dataset, in semi-leptonic top quark pair events and the background rejections are measured in dijet and photon+jet topologies. Recent developments in subjet reconstruction techniques for high transverse momentum Higgs->bb tagging are also presented.

  4. KADAR ANTIBODI-TIROPEROKSIDASE DAN ANTIBODI-TIROGLOBULIN PADA WANITA USIA SUBUR DI DAERAH ENDEMlS GAKI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agus Wibowo

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Thyroid hormones play a critical role in human. Disorders of the thyroid gland result primary from autoimmune processes that either stimulate the over production of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroid or causes glandular destruction and hormones deficiency (hypothyroid. Autoimmune Thyroid Disease (AITD a common organ specific autoimmune disorder is seen mostly in women. AITD are complex disease that are caused by an interaction between susceptibility genes and environmental trigger such dietary iodine. The development of antibodies to Thyroid peroxidase (TPO and Thyroglobulin (TG is the main hall mark of AITD. Method: 'Thirty respondents from were analyzed. The blood were collected for TSH, FreeT4, Tyroglobulin Antibody and Tyroperoxidase Antibody analyzed and DNA isolation. Circulating TSH, FreeT4, autoantibodies to TPO and TG are measured by ELISA. Result: 50% respondent in normal thyroid hormones and 50% in hypothyroid and hyperthyroid status. TPO antibodies  and thyroglobulin antibodies found in all of respondent with thyroid disorder. Conclusion: Antibodies to TPO and TG is seen in respondent with thyroid disorder   Keywords: AITD, TSH, FreeT4, TPO antibodies, TG antibodies.

  5. Development of techniques for tagging precursor and essential chemicals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swansiger, W.A.; Shepodd, T.J. [Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States); Phillips, M.L.F. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    1994-01-01

    The ability to identify the manufacturers and distributors of chemicals seized in raids of illicit drug labs would be of great value in controlling the diversion of these chemicals. We developed a tagging scheme based on the addition of sub-ppM concentrations of various combinations of rare-earth elements to the target chemicals and evaluated a number of techniques for detecting the tags. We developed soluble tags for tagging liquids and selected Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) as the preferred detection technique. We developed insoluble tags for tagging solids and developed methods to analyze them and mix them into solid precursors. We have successfully demonstrated the tagging of several solvents and two of the precursor chemicals used in one of the most popular clandestine methamphetamine syntheses (ephedrine reacting with hydriodic acid/red phosphorus). The tagging scheme is capable of yielding tens of thousands of signatures (using holmium as an internal standard and up to 9 rare-earths at up to 3 concentrations yields 3{sup 9} {minus} 1 = 19,682 signatures) and is applicable to most of the chemicals on the precursor and essential chemicals list. In the concentrations employed, the tags are safe enough to be added to pharmaceuticals and cheap enough to tag tanker loads of chemicals.

  6. HMSRP Hawaiian Monk Seal Tag Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains records for all tags applied to Hawaiian monk seals since 1981. These tags were applied by PSD personnel and cooperating scientists as part of...

  7. Measuring and Predicting Tag Importance for Image Retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shangwen; Purushotham, Sanjay; Chen, Chen; Ren, Yuzhuo; Kuo, C-C Jay

    2017-12-01

    Textual data such as tags, sentence descriptions are combined with visual cues to reduce the semantic gap for image retrieval applications in today's Multimodal Image Retrieval (MIR) systems. However, all tags are treated as equally important in these systems, which may result in misalignment between visual and textual modalities during MIR training. This will further lead to degenerated retrieval performance at query time. To address this issue, we investigate the problem of tag importance prediction, where the goal is to automatically predict the tag importance and use it in image retrieval. To achieve this, we first propose a method to measure the relative importance of object and scene tags from image sentence descriptions. Using this as the ground truth, we present a tag importance prediction model to jointly exploit visual, semantic and context cues. The Structural Support Vector Machine (SSVM) formulation is adopted to ensure efficient training of the prediction model. Then, the Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) is employed to learn the relation between the image visual feature and tag importance to obtain robust retrieval performance. Experimental results on three real-world datasets show a significant performance improvement of the proposed MIR with Tag Importance Prediction (MIR/TIP) system over other MIR systems.

  8. Modeling the tagged-neutron UXO identification technique using the Geant4 toolkit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Y.; Zhu, X.; Wang, Y.; Mitra, S.

    2012-01-01

    It is proposed to use 14 MeV neutrons tagged by the associated particle neutron time-of-flight technique (APnTOF) to identify the fillers of unexploded ordnances (UXO) by characterizing their carbon, nitrogen and oxygen contents. To facilitate the design and construction of a prototype system, a preliminary simulation model was developed, using the Geant4 toolkit. This work established the toolkit environment for (a) generating tagged neutrons, (b) their transport and interactions within a sample to induce emission and detection of characteristic gamma-rays, and (c) 2D and 3D-image reconstruction of the interrogated object using the neutron and gamma-ray time-of-flight information. Using the modeling, this article demonstrates the novelty of the tagged-neutron approach for extracting useful signals with high signal-to-background discrimination of an object-of-interest from that of its environment. Simulations indicated that an UXO filled with the RDX explosive, hexogen (C 3 H 6 O 6 N 6 ), can be identified to a depth of 20 cm when buried in soil. (author)

  9. Antibody repertoire profiling with mimotope arrays

    OpenAIRE

    Pashova, Shina; Schneider, Christoph; von Gunten, Stephan; Pashov, Anastas

    2016-01-01

    Large-scale profiling and monitoring of antibody repertoires is possible through next generation sequencing (NGS), phage display libraries and microarrays. These methods can be combined in a pipeline, which ultimately maps the antibody reactivities onto defined arrays of structures - peptides or carbohydrates. The arrays can help analyze the individual specificities or can be used as complex patterns. In any case, the targets recognized should formally be considered mimotopes unless they are ...

  10. APPECT: An Approximate Backbone-Based Clustering Algorithm for Tags

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zong, Yu; Xu, Guandong; Jin, Pin

    2011-01-01

    algorithm for Tags (APPECT). The main steps of APPECT are: (1) we execute the K-means algorithm on a tag similarity matrix for M times and collect a set of tag clustering results Z={C1,C2,…,Cm}; (2) we form the approximate backbone of Z by executing a greedy search; (3) we fix the approximate backbone...... as the initial tag clustering result and then assign the rest tags into the corresponding clusters based on the similarity. Experimental results on three real world datasets namely MedWorm, MovieLens and Dmoz demonstrate the effectiveness and the superiority of the proposed method against the traditional...... Agglomerative Clustering on tagging data, which possess the inherent drawbacks, such as the sensitivity of initialization. In this paper, we instead make use of the approximate backbone of tag clustering results to find out better tag clusters. In particular, we propose an APProximate backbonE-based Clustering...

  11. Magnetic vector field tag and seal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Roger G.; Garcia, Anthony R.

    2004-08-31

    One or more magnets are placed in a container (preferably on objects inside the container) and the magnetic field strength and vector direction are measured with a magnetometer from at least one location near the container to provide the container with a magnetic vector field tag and seal. The location(s) of the magnetometer relative to the container are also noted. If the position of any magnet inside the container changes, then the measured vector fields at the these locations also change, indicating that the tag has been removed, the seal has broken, and therefore that the container and objects inside may have been tampered with. A hollow wheel with magnets inside may also provide a similar magnetic vector field tag and seal. As the wheel turns, the magnets tumble randomly inside, removing the tag and breaking the seal.

  12. Spin-labelling study of interactions of ovalbumin with multilamellar liposomes and specific anti-ovalbumin antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brgles, Marija; Mirosavljević, Krunoslav; Noethig-Laslo, Vesna; Frkanec, Ruza; Tomasić, Jelka

    2007-03-10

    Ovalbumin (OVA) has been used continuously as the model antigen in numerous studies of immune reactions and antigen processing, very often encapsulated into liposomes. The purpose of this work was to study the possible interactions of spin-labelled OVA and lipids in liposomal membranes using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. OVA was covalently spin-labelled with 4-maleimido-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO-maleimide), characterized and encapsulated into multilamellar, negatively charged liposomes. ESR spectra of this liposomal preparation gave evidence for the interaction of OVA with the lipid bilayers. Such an interaction was also evidenced by the ESR spectra of liposomal preparation containing OVA, where liposomes were spin-labelled with n-doxyl stearic acids. The spin-labelled OVA retains its property to bind specific anti-OVA antibodies, as shown by ESR spectroscopy, but also in ELISA for specific anti-OVA IgG.

  13. Clone tag detection in distributed RFID systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamaludin, Hazalila; Mahdin, Hairulnizam

    2018-01-01

    Although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is poised to displace barcodes, security vulnerabilities pose serious challenges for global adoption of the RFID technology. Specifically, RFID tags are prone to basic cloning and counterfeiting security attacks. A successful cloning of the RFID tags in many commercial applications can lead to many serious problems such as financial losses, brand damage, safety and health of the public. With many industries such as pharmaceutical and businesses deploying RFID technology with a variety of products, it is important to tackle RFID tag cloning problem and improve the resistance of the RFID systems. To this end, we propose an approach for detecting cloned RFID tags in RFID systems with high detection accuracy and minimal overhead thus overcoming practical challenges in existing approaches. The proposed approach is based on consistency of dual hash collisions and modified count-min sketch vector. We evaluated the proposed approach through extensive experiments and compared it with existing baseline approaches in terms of execution time and detection accuracy under varying RFID tag cloning ratio. The results of the experiments show that the proposed approach outperforms the baseline approaches in cloned RFID tag detection accuracy. PMID:29565982

  14. Vector boson tagged jets and jet substructure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitev Ivan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In these proceedings, we report on recent results related to vector boson-tagged jet production in heavy ion collisions and the related modification of jet substructure, such as jet shapes and jet momentum sharing distributions. Z0-tagging and γ-tagging of jets provides new opportunities to study parton shower formation and propagation in the quark-gluon plasma and has been argued to provide tight constrains on the energy loss of reconstructed jets. We present theoretical predictions for isolated photon-tagged and electroweak boson-tagged jet production in Pb+Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV at the LHC, addressing the modification of their transverse momentum and transverse momentum imbalance distributions. Comparison to recent ATLAS and CMS experimental measurements is performed that can shed light on the medium-induced radiative corrections and energy dissipation due to collisional processes of predominantly quark-initiated jets. The modification of parton splitting functions in the QGP further implies that the substructure of jets in heavy ion collisions may differ significantly from the corresponding substructure in proton-proton collisions. Two such observables and the implication of tagging on their evaluation is also discussed.

  15. Clone tag detection in distributed RFID systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamaludin, Hazalila; Mahdin, Hairulnizam; Abawajy, Jemal H

    2018-01-01

    Although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is poised to displace barcodes, security vulnerabilities pose serious challenges for global adoption of the RFID technology. Specifically, RFID tags are prone to basic cloning and counterfeiting security attacks. A successful cloning of the RFID tags in many commercial applications can lead to many serious problems such as financial losses, brand damage, safety and health of the public. With many industries such as pharmaceutical and businesses deploying RFID technology with a variety of products, it is important to tackle RFID tag cloning problem and improve the resistance of the RFID systems. To this end, we propose an approach for detecting cloned RFID tags in RFID systems with high detection accuracy and minimal overhead thus overcoming practical challenges in existing approaches. The proposed approach is based on consistency of dual hash collisions and modified count-min sketch vector. We evaluated the proposed approach through extensive experiments and compared it with existing baseline approaches in terms of execution time and detection accuracy under varying RFID tag cloning ratio. The results of the experiments show that the proposed approach outperforms the baseline approaches in cloned RFID tag detection accuracy.

  16. A comparative evaluation of three methods used to tag South African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tagging effects and loss rates of 60 Roman Chrysoblephus laticeps tagged with dart tags with barbs (D-tags), T-bar filaments (T-tags) and visible implant fluorescent elastomer (VIFE) tags were investigated. The fish were tagged and monitored in a controlled tank experiment over a period of 198 days. Application technique ...

  17. A comparison study of lipid profile levels between skin tags affected people and normal population in Tehran, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Rasi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: For many years the association of skin tags and endocrynopathies has been postulated, although many reports are available but it has never been evaluated to mean normal population. Dyslipidemia is a frequent disorder among people and seemed to be necessary for screening within skin tag condition. This study is designed to find any possible association between skin tags and dyslipidemia. Materials and Methods: From April 2009 to June 2011, 168 patients enrolled the study. Among the remaining 152 patients, there were 89 females (58.5% and 63 males (%41.5. Based on the TLGS study 136 men and 220 women enrolled the control group of study. The mean age was 28.4 years. Patients trained to have normal free diet for at least 1 month then referred to the laboratory. Blood samples were taken over 12 hours fasting with 2 hours intervals. Hypertriglyceridemia was defined as plasma level ≥160 mg/dl for men and ≥130 mg/dl for women. Hypercholesterolemia pointed at its value >200 mg/dl. Normal HDL levels was defined as >39 mg/dl for men and >35 mg/dl to women. Results: Mean skin tag number was 12.6 per subject. The most frequent localizations of skin tags were neck and upper chest (mean number: 13.4, 48.9% followed by axilla (mean number: 11.6, 33% and breast (10.2, 10.1% in the patient group. The mean cholesterol level of case group was 192.2 ± 33.1 mg/dl, while it was 187.0 ± 42 mg/dl in the control group. The mean ± SD for triglyceride was 132.1 ± 69 mg/dl in comparison to 129 ± 74 in the control group. Conclusion: The study showed no significant differences between normal population and patients′ lipid profile.

  18. Extending a Hybrid Tag-Based Recommender System with Personalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Durao, Frederico; Dolog, Peter

    2010-01-01

    extension for a hybrid tag-based recommender system, which suggests similar Web pages based on the similarity of their tags. The semantic extension aims at discovering tag relations which are not considered in basic syntax similarity. With the goal of generating more semantically grounded recommendations......, the proposal extends a hybrid tag-based recommender system with a semantic factor, which looks for tag relations in different semantic sources. In order to evaluate the benefits acquired with the semantic extension, we have compared the new findings with results from a previous experiment involving 38 people......Tagging activity has been recently identified as a potential source of knowledge about personal interests, preferences, goals, and other attributes known from user models. Tags themselves can be therefore used for finding personalized recommendations of items. This paper proposes a semantic...

  19. Serum IgG antibodies from healthy subjects up to 100 years old react to JC polyomavirus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bononi, Ilaria; Mazzoni, Elisa; Pietrobon, Silvia; Manfrini, Marco; Torreggiani, Elena; Rossini, Marika; Lotito, Francesca; Guerra, Giovanni; Rizzo, Paola; Martini, Fernanda; Tognon, Mauro

    2018-08-01

    JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) was identified in 1971 in the brain tissue of a patient (J.C.) affected by the progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). JCPyV encodes for the oncoproteins large T antigen (Tag) and small t-antigen (tag). These oncoproteins are responsible of the cell transformation and tumorigenesis in experimental animals. JCPyV is ubiquitous in human populations. After the primary infection, which is usually asymptomatic, JCPyV remains lifelong in the host in a latent phase. Its reactivation may occur in heathy subjects and immunocompromised patients. Upon reactivation, JCPyV could reach (i) the CNS inducing the PML, (ii) the kidney of transplant patients causing the organ rejection. Association between JCPyV, which is a small DNA tumor virus, and gliomas and colorectal carcinomas has been published. In the present investigation, we report on a new indirect ELISA with two specific synthetic peptides mimicking JCPyV VP1 immunogenic epitopes to detect specific serum IgG antibodies against JCPyV. Serum samples of healthy subjects (n = 355) ranging 2-100 years old, were analyzed by this new indirect ELISA. The linear peptides VP1 K and VP1 N resemble the natural JCPyV VP1 capsidic epitopes constituting a docking site for serum antibodies. Data from this innovative immunologic assay indicate that the overall prevalence of JCPyV-VP1 antibodies in healthy subjects is at 39%. The innovative indirect ELISA with JCPyV VP1 mimotopes seems to be a useful method to detect specific IgG antibodies against this virus, without cross-reactivity with the closely related SV40 and BKPyV polyomaviruses. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Tag and Neighbor based Recommender systems for Medical events

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bayyapu, Karunakar Reddy; Dolog, Peter

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents an extension of a multifactor recommendation approach based on user tagging with term neighbours. Neighbours of words in tag vectors and documents provide for hitting larger set of documents and not only those matching with direct tag vectors or content of the documents. Tag...... in the situations where the quality of tags is lower. We discuss the approach on the examples from the existing Medworm system to indicate the usefulness of the approach....

  1. POS-Tagging for informal language (study in Indonesian tweets)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryawati, Endang; Munandar, Devi; Riswantini, Dianadewi; Fatchuttamam Abka, Achmad; Arisal, Andria

    2018-03-01

    This paper evaluates Part-of-Speech Tagging for the formal Indonesian language can be used for the tagging process of Indonesian tweets. In this study, we add five additional tags which reflect to social media attributes to the existing original tagset. Automatic POS tagging process is done by stratified training process with 1000, 1600, and 1800 of annotated tweets. It shows that the process can achieve up to 66.36% accuracy. The experiment with original tagset gives slightly better accuracy (67.39%) than the experiment with five additional tags, but will lose important informations which given by the five additional tagset.POS-Tagging for Informal Language (Study in Indonesian Tweets).

  2. Study of hadronic final states from double tagged $gammagamma$ events at LEP

    CERN Document Server

    Heister, A.; Barate, R.; Bruneliere, R.; De Bonis, I.; Decamp, D.; Goy, C.; Jezequel, S.; Lees, J.P.; Martin, F.; Merle, E.; Minard, M.N.; Pietrzyk, B.; Trocme, B.; Bravo, S.; Casado, M.P.; Chmeissani, M.; Crespo, J.M.; Fernandez, E.; Fernandez-Bosman, M.; Garrido, L.; Martinez, M.; Pacheco, A.; Ruiz, H.; Colaleo, A.; Creanza, D.; De Filippis, N.; de Palma, M.; Iaselli, G.; Maggi, G.; Maggi, M.; Nuzzo, S.; Ranieri, A.; Raso, G.; Ruggieri, F.; Selvaggi, G.; Silvestris, L.; Tempesta, P.; Tricomi, A.; Zito, G.; Huang, X.; Lin, J.; Ouyang, Q.; Wang, T.; Xie, Y.; Xu, R.; Xue, S.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhao, W.; Abbaneo, D.; Barklow, T.; Buchmuller, O.; Cattaneo, M.; Clerbaux, B.; Drevermann, H.; Forty, R.W.; Frank, M.; Gianotti, F.; Hansen, J.B.; Harvey, J.; Hutchcroft, D.E.; Janot, P.; Jost, B.; Kado, M.; Mato, P.; Moutoussi, A.; Ranjard, F.; Rolandi, Gigi; Schlatter, D.; Sguazzoni, G.; Tejessy, W.; Teubert, F.; Valassi, A.; Videau, I.; Badaud, F.; Dessagne, S.; Falvard, A.; Fayolle, D.; Gay, P.; Jousset, J.; Michel, B.; Monteil, S.; Pallin, D.; Pascolo, J.M.; Perret, P.; Hansen, J.D.; Hansen, J.R.; Hansen, P.H.; Kraan, A.C.; Nilsson, B.S.; Kyriakis, A.; Markou, C.; Simopoulou, E.; Vayaki, A.; Zachariadou, K.; Blondel, A.; Brient, J.C.; Machefert, F.; Rouge, A.; Swynghedauw, M.; Tanaka, R.; Videau, H.; Ciulli, V.; Focardi, E.; Parrini, G.; Antonelli, A.; Antonelli, M.; Bencivenni, G.; Bossi, F.; Capon, G.; Cerutti, F.; Chiarella, V.; Laurelli, P.; Mannocchi, G.; Murtas, G.P.; Passalacqua, L.; Kennedy, J.; Lynch, J.G.; Negus, P.; O'Shea, V.; Thompson, A.S.; Wasserbaech, S.; Cavanaugh, R.; Dhamotharan, S.; Geweniger, C.; Hanke, P.; Hepp, V.; Kluge, E.E.; Putzer, A.; Stenzel, H.; Tittel, K.; Wunsch, M.; Beuselinck, R.; Cameron, W.; Davies, G.; Dornan, P.J.; Girone, M.; Hill, R.D.; Marinelli, N.; Nowell, J.; Rutherford, S.A.; Sedgbeer, J.K.; Thompson, J.C.; White, R.; Ghete, V.M.; Girtler, P.; Kneringer, E.; Kuhn, D.; Rudolph, G.; Bouhova-Thacker, E.; Bowdery, C.K.; Clarke, D.P.; Ellis, G.; Finch, A.J.; Foster, F.; Hughes, G.; Jones, R.W.L.; Pearson, M.R.; Robertson, N.A.; Smizanska, M.; van der Aa, O.; Delaere, C.; Leibenguth, G.; Lemaitre, V.; Blumenschein, U.; Holldorfer, F.; Jakobs, K.; Kayser, F.; Kleinknecht, K.; Muller, A.S.; Renk, B.; Sander, H.G.; Schmeling, S.; Wachsmuth, H.; Zeitnitz, C.; Ziegler, T.; Bonissent, A.; Coyle, P.; Curtil, C.; Ealet, A.; Fouchez, D.; Payre, P.; Tilquin, A.; Ragusa, R.; David, A.; Dietl, H.; Ganis, G.; Huttmann, K.; Lutjens, G.; Manner, W.; Moser, H.G.; Settles, R.; Villegas, M.; Wolf, G.; Boucrot, J.; Callot, O.; Davier, M.; Duflot, L.; Grivaz, J.F.; Heusse, P.; Jacholkowska, A.; Serin, L.; Veillet, J.J.; Azzurri, P.; Bagliesi, Giuseppe; Boccali, T.; Foa, L.; Giammanco, A.; Giassi, A.; Ligabue, F.; Messineo, A.; Palla, F.; Sanguinetti, G.; Sciaba, A.; Spagnolo, P.; Tenchini, R.; Venturi, A.; Verdini, P.G.; Awunor, O.; Blair, G.A.; Cowan, G.; Garcia-Bellido, A.; Green, M.G.; Jones, L.T.; Medcalf, T.; Misiejuk, A.; Strong, J.A.; Teixeira-Dias, P.; Clifft, R.W.; Edgecock, T.R.; Norton, P.R.; Tomalin, I.R.; Ward, J.J.; Bloch-Devaux, Brigitte; Boumediene, D.; Colas, P.; Fabbro, B.; Lancon, E.; Lemaire, M.C.; Locci, E.; Perez, P.; Rander, J.; Tuchming, B.; Vallage, B.; Konstantinidis, N.; Litke, A.M.; Taylor, G.; Booth, C.N.; Cartwright, S.; Combley, F.; Hodgson, P.N.; Lehto, M.; Thompson, L.F.; Boehrer, Armin; Brandt, S.; Grupen, C.; Hess, J.; Ngac, A.; Prange, G.; Borean, C.; Giannini, G.; He, H.; Putz, J.; Rothberg, J.; Armstrong, S.R.; Berkelman, Karl; Cranmer, K.; Ferguson, D.P.S.; Gao, Y.; Gonzalez, S.; Hayes, O.J.; Hu, H.; Jin, S.; Kile, J.; McNamara, P.A., III; Nielsen, J.; Pan, Y.B.; von Wimmersperg-Toeller, J.H.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wu, J.; Wu, Sau Lan; Wu, X.; Zobernig, G.; Dissertori, G.

    2003-01-01

    The interaction of virtual photons is investigated using double tagged gammagamma events with hadronic final states recorded by the ALEPH experiment at e^+e^- centre-of-mass energies between 188 and 209 GeV. The measured cross section is compared to Monte Carlo models, and to next-to-leading-order QCD and BFKL calculations.

  3. Ma2 antibodies: an evaluation of commercially available detection methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johannis, Wibke; Renno, Joerg H; Wielckens, Klaus; Voltz, Raymond

    2011-01-01

    Ma2 antibodies belong to the onconeuronal antibodies which define a "definite" paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS). Because of the clinical relevance, use of two separate methods (indirect immunofluorescence technique--IFT--and immunoblot) is advocated; however, with an increasing number of commercially available assay systems, usually only one assay is performed. We compared IFT and three commercially available immunoblots (ravo Diagnostika, Euroimmun, Milenia Biotec) on sera from 35 patients with clinically suspected PNS. 17 were Ma2 antibody associated as defined by consensus result (showing positive reactivity in 2 assays), 18 were Ma2 antibody negative controls. Sensitivity/specificity for single assays were for IFT 94%/94%, for ravo Diagnostika PNS blot 88%/100%, for Euroimmun Neuronal Antigens Profile blot 100%/89%, and for Milenia Biotec MTR blot 94%/100%. Our data confirm, although all tests performed well, a combination of 2 independent assays is still advisable for Ma2 antibody detection in order to achieve higher sensitivity and specificity rates.

  4. Tagging in Volunteered Geographic Information: An Analysis of Tagging Practices for Cities and Urban Regions in OpenStreetMap

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikola Davidovic

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI projects, the tagging or annotation of objects is usually performed in a flexible and non-constrained manner. Contributors to a VGI project are normally free to choose whatever tags they feel are appropriate to annotate or describe a particular geographic object or place. In OpenStreetMap (OSM, the Map Features part of the OSM Wiki serves as the de-facto rulebook or ontology for the annotation of features in OSM. Within Map Features, suggestions and guidance on what combinations of tags to use for certain geographic objects are outlined. In this paper, we consider these suggestions and recommendations and analyse the OSM database for 40 cities around the world to ascertain if contributors to OSM in these urban areas are using this guidance in their tagging practices. Overall, we find that compliance with the suggestions and guidance in Map Features is generally average or poor. This leads us to conclude that contributors in these areas do not always tag features with the same level of annotation. Our paper also confirms anecdotal evidence that OSM Map Features is less influential in how OSM contributors tag objects.

  5. Preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of visible implant elastomer and coded wire tags for tagging young-of-the-year Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kapusta Andrzej

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the retention rates of visible implant elastomer (VIE and coded wire tags (CWT and the impact tagging had on the growth of Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus Mitchill, during an eight-week rearing period under laboratory conditions. Two size groups of young-of-the-year (YOY sturgeon were used in the study. The tagging was not found to have a significant impact on the final total length or body weight or the condition coefficient of the sturgeon from either size group. Sturgeon survival in the different groups ranged from 90.6 to 100%. Mortality was not noted until two (CWT and four (VIE weeks following tagging and was probably not linked to tagging. The retention rate for VIE tags implanted in the rostrum in both size groups was 100%, while for tags implanted at the base of the pectoral fin was 93.5%. The retention of CWT in the smaller fish was 90%, and in the larger sturgeon it was 100%. Tagging small sturgeon with CWT and VIE is minimally invasive, and it did not impact the growth or condition of the tagged fish.

  6. Evaluation of PIT-tagging in cyprinids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Christian; Brodersen, J.; Brönmark, C.

    2005-01-01

    Laboratory and field experiments were used to investigate how different marking procedures, with 23 mm PIT (passive integrated transponders) - tags. affected mortality, body condition and tag expulsion in small roach Rutilus rutilus and rudd Scardinus erythrophthalmus (117 to 163 mm total length...

  7. Isolation and expression of recombinant antibody fragments to the biological warfare pathogen Brucella melitensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayhurst, Andrew; Happe, Scott; Mabry, Robert; Koch, Zephyr; Iverson, Brent L; Georgiou, George

    2003-05-01

    Brucella melitensis is a highly infectious animal pathogen able to cause a recurring debilitating disease in humans and is therefore high on the list of biological warfare agents. Immunoglobulin genes from mice immunized with gamma-irradiated B. melitensis strain 16M were used to construct a library that was screened by phage display against similarly prepared bacteria. The selected phage particles afforded a strong enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) signal against gamma-irradiated B. melitensis cells. However, extensive efforts to express the respective single chain antibody variable region fragment (scFv) in soluble form failed due to: (i) poor solubility and (ii) in vivo degradation of the c-myc tag used for the detection of the recombinant antibodies. Both problems could be addressed by: (i) fusing a human kappa light chain constant domain (Ck) chain to the scFv to generate single chain antibody fragment (scAb) antibody fragments and (ii) by co-expression of the periplasmic chaperone Skp. While soluble, functional antibodies could be produced in this manner, phage-displaying scFvs or scAbs were still found to be superior ELISA reagents for immunoassays, due to the large signal amplification afforded by anti-phage antibodies. The isolated phage antibodies were shown to be highly specific to B. melitensis and did not recognize Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in contrast to the existing diagnostic monoclonal YST 9.2.1.

  8. Social and Behavioral Aspects of a Tag-Based Recommender System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Durao, Frederico; Dolog, Peter

    2009-01-01

    Collaborative tagging has emerged as a useful means to organize and share resources on the Web. Recommender systems have been utilized tags for identifying similar resources and generate personalized recommendations. In this paper, we analyze social and behavioral aspects of a tag-based recommender...... system which suggests similar Web pages based on the similarity of their tags. Tagging behavior and language anomalies in tagging activities are some aspects examined from an experiment involving 38 people from 12 countries....

  9. Key mediators modulating TAG synthesis and accumulation in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    the key mediators on TAG synthesis and accumulation, among which diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) is discussed for its clear role in TAG amount and composition. Furthermore TAG-accosiated proteins called oleosins are also discussed in depth due to their determination on the amount and size of oil bodies.

  10. Bus and Tag Terminators for IBM system/360

    CERN Multimedia

    Control units were connected to the channels with "Bus and Tag" cable pairs. The bus cables carried the address and data information and the tag cables identified what data was on the bus. There were three general types of bus-and-tag cables produced by IBM.

  11. TagPad

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bornoe, Nis; Barkhuus, Louise

    2013-01-01

    The area of cyberinfrastructures has looked extensively at research within the natural sciences, however, the social sciences have been largely overlooked in terms of novel data collection and analysis systems. We developed a probe tool, TagPad, to look at the process for social science data...

  12. Characterization of SV-40 Tag rats as a model to study prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harper, Curt E; Patel, Brijesh B; Cook, Leah M; Wang, Jun; Shirai, Tomoyuki; Eltoum, Isam A; Lamartiniere, Coral A

    2009-01-01

    Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men. Animal models that closely mimic clinical disease in humans are invaluable tools in the fight against prostate cancer. Recently, a Simian Virus-40 T-antigen (SV-40 Tag) targeted probasin promoter rat model was developed. This model, however, has not been extensively characterized; hence we have investigated the ontogeny of prostate cancer and determined the role of sex steroid receptor and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling proteins in the novel SV-40 Tag rat. The SV-40 Tag rat was histopathologically characterized for time to tumor development, incidence and multiplicity and in the ventral, dorsal, lateral and anterior lobes of the prostate. Immunoassay techniques were employed to measure cell proliferation, apoptosis, and sex steroid receptor and growth factor signaling-related proteins. Steroid hormone concentrations were measured via coated well enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and well-differentiated prostate cancer developed as early as 2 and 10 weeks of age, respectively in the ventral prostate (VP) followed by in the dorsolateral (DLP). At 8 weeks of age, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations in SV-40 Tag rats were increased when compared to non-transgenic rats. High cell proliferation and apoptotic indices were found in VP and DLP of transgenic rats. Furthermore, we observed increased protein expression of androgen receptor, IGF-1, IGF-1 receptor, and extracellular signal-regulated kinases in the prostates of SV-40 Tag rats. The rapid development of PIN and prostate cancer in conjunction with the large prostate size makes the SV-40 Tag rat a useful model for studying prostate cancer. This study provides evidence of the role of sex steroid and growth factor proteins in prostate cancer development and defines appropriate windows of opportunity for preclinical trials and aids in the rational design of

  13. A study on PubMed search tag usage pattern: association rule mining of a full-day PubMed query log.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosa, Abu Saleh Mohammad; Yoo, Illhoi

    2013-01-09

    The practice of evidence-based medicine requires efficient biomedical literature search such as PubMed/MEDLINE. Retrieval performance relies highly on the efficient use of search field tags. The purpose of this study was to analyze PubMed log data in order to understand the usage pattern of search tags by the end user in PubMed/MEDLINE search. A PubMed query log file was obtained from the National Library of Medicine containing anonymous user identification, timestamp, and query text. Inconsistent records were removed from the dataset and the search tags were extracted from the query texts. A total of 2,917,159 queries were selected for this study issued by a total of 613,061 users. The analysis of frequent co-occurrences and usage patterns of the search tags was conducted using an association mining algorithm. The percentage of search tag usage was low (11.38% of the total queries) and only 2.95% of queries contained two or more tags. Three out of four users used no search tag and about two-third of them issued less than four queries. Among the queries containing at least one tagged search term, the average number of search tags was almost half of the number of total search terms. Navigational search tags are more frequently used than informational search tags. While no strong association was observed between informational and navigational tags, six (out of 19) informational tags and six (out of 29) navigational tags showed strong associations in PubMed searches. The low percentage of search tag usage implies that PubMed/MEDLINE users do not utilize the features of PubMed/MEDLINE widely or they are not aware of such features or solely depend on the high recall focused query translation by the PubMed's Automatic Term Mapping. The users need further education and interactive search application for effective use of the search tags in order to fulfill their biomedical information needs from PubMed/MEDLINE.

  14. Incorporating user motivations to design for video tagging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Velsen, Lex Stefan; Melenhorst, M.S.

    2009-01-01

    User video tagging can enhance the indexing of large collections of videos, or can provide the basis for personalizing output. However, before the benefits of tagging can be reaped, users must be motivated to provide videos with tags. This article describes a two-stage study that aimed at collecting

  15. Dynamic interaction of 111indium-labeled monoclonal antibodies with surface antigens of solid tumors visualized in vivo by external scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, K.M.; Keenan, A.M.; Frincke, J.; David, G.; Pearson, J.; Oldham, R.K.; Morgan, A.C. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    Two 111 indium-labeled murine monoclonal antibodies (MoAb), D3 and 9.2.27, directed to tumor antigens of L-10 hepatocarcinoma and human melanoma, respectively, selectively localized antigen-positive target cells in guinea pigs and nude mice. The fate of MoAb differed in the two antigen-antibody systems after reacting with their corresponding tumor antigens in vivo as reflected by patterns of distribution and turnover in vivo. The 9.2.27 localized in melanoma xenograft in nude mice after intravenous administration with slow loss from tumor but more rapid loss from normal tissues and thus demonstrated optimal imaging of small tumors (approximately equal to 5 mm) between 3 and 6 days after injection of the radiolabeled antibody. In contrast, D3 demonstrated a biphasic localization in guinea pig L-10 hepatocarcinoma with a maximal activity on the 2d day after administration and showed rapid loss from both tumor and normal tissues. Nonspecific localization of antibodies in liver and in kidney was found both in syngeneic (nude mice) and xenogeneic (guinea pig) hosts but was more pronounced in the xenogeneic species. These results indicate that the nature of the antigen-antibody interaction may be of importance in selecting MoAb for both diagnosis and therapy of malignant diseases

  16. Molecular interactions and trafficking of influenza A virus polymerase proteins analyzed by specific monoclonal antibodies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    MacDonald, Leslie A.; Aggarwal, Shilpa; Bussey, Kendra A.; Desmet, Emily A.; Kim, Baek; Takimoto, Toru, E-mail: toru_takimoto@urmc.rochester.edu

    2012-04-25

    The influenza polymerase complex composed of PA, PB1 and PB2, plays a key role in viral replication and pathogenicity. Newly synthesized components must be translocated to the nucleus, where replication and transcription of viral genomes take place. Previous studies suggest that while PB2 is translocated to the nucleus independently, PA and PB1 subunits could not localize to the nucleus unless in a PA-PB1 complex. To further determine the molecular interactions between the components, we created a panel of 16 hybridoma cell lines, which produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against each polymerase component. We showed that, although PB1 interacts with both PA and PB2 individually, nuclear localization of PB1 is enhanced only when co-expressed with PA. Interestingly, one of the anti-PA mAbs reacted much more strongly with PA when co-expressed with PB1. These results suggest that PA-PB1 interactions induce a conformational change in PA, which could be required for its nuclear translocation.

  17. Application to the conservation of RF tags in the radiation environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teraura, Nobuyuki; Ito, Kunio; Takahashi, Naoki; Sakurai, Kouichi

    2011-01-01

    RF tags that are implemented RFID technology as tag has been used in various fields. Tags have been developed, such as resistance to chemicals and high temperature resistant RF tags are also used in specialized fields. The RF tag apply to the existing nuclear field, had been concerned about the effects of radiation to the RF tags. Now, since the RF tag with a goal to develop radiation-proof, we have examined, such as applying for maintenance of nuclear facilities under radiation environment. We report the results and RF tags to be radiation resistant. (author)

  18. Metabolomics reveals distinct, antibody-independent, molecular signatures of MS, AQP4-antibody and MOG-antibody disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurynczyk, Maciej; Probert, Fay; Yeo, Tianrong; Tackley, George; Claridge, Tim D W; Cavey, Ana; Woodhall, Mark R; Arora, Siddharth; Winkler, Torsten; Schiffer, Eric; Vincent, Angela; DeLuca, Gabriele; Sibson, Nicola R; Isabel Leite, M; Waters, Patrick; Anthony, Daniel C; Palace, Jacqueline

    2017-12-06

    The overlapping clinical features of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-antibody (Ab) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-Ab disease mean that detection of disease specific serum antibodies is the gold standard in diagnostics. However, antibody levels are not prognostic and may become undetectable after treatment or during remission. Therefore, there is still a need to discover antibody-independent biomarkers. We sought to discover whether plasma metabolic profiling could provide biomarkers of these three diseases and explore if the metabolic differences are independent of antibody titre. Plasma samples from 108 patients (34 RRMS, 54 AQP4-Ab NMOSD, and 20 MOG-Ab disease) were analysed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy followed by lipoprotein profiling. Orthogonal partial-least squares discriminatory analysis (OPLS-DA) was used to identify significant differences in the plasma metabolite concentrations and produce models (mathematical algorithms) capable of identifying these diseases. In all instances, the models were highly discriminatory, with a distinct metabolite pattern identified for each disease. In addition, OPLS-DA identified AQP4-Ab NMOSD patient samples with low/undetectable antibody levels with an accuracy of 92%. The AQP4-Ab NMOSD metabolic profile was characterised by decreased levels of scyllo-inositol and small high density lipoprotein particles along with an increase in large low density lipoprotein particles relative to both RRMS and MOG-Ab disease. RRMS plasma exhibited increased histidine and glucose, along with decreased lactate, alanine, and large high density lipoproteins while MOG-Ab disease plasma was defined by increases in formate and leucine coupled with decreased myo-inositol. Despite overlap in clinical measures in these three diseases, the distinct plasma metabolic patterns support their distinct serological profiles and confirm that these

  19. Versatile microsphere attachment of GFP-labeled motors and other tagged proteins with preserved functionality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Bugiel

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Microspheres are often used as handles for protein purification or force spectroscopy. For example, optical tweezers apply forces on trapped particles to which motor proteins are attached. However, even though many attachment strategies exist, procedures are often limited to a particular biomolecule and prone to non-specific protein or surface attachment. Such interactions may lead to loss of protein functionality or microsphere clustering. Here, we describe a versatile coupling procedure for GFP-tagged proteins via a polyethylene glycol linker preserving the functionality of the coupled proteins. The procedure combines well-established protocols, is highly reproducible, reliable, and can be used for a large variety of proteins. The coupling is efficient and can be tuned to the desired microsphere-to-protein ratio. Moreover, microspheres hardly cluster or adhere to surfaces. Furthermore, the procedure can be adapted to different tags providing flexibility and a promising attachment strategy for any tagged protein.

  20. Serotype determination of Salmonella by xTAG assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zhibei; Zheng, Wei; Wang, Haoqiu; Pan, Jincao; Pu, Xiaoying

    2017-10-01

    Currently, no protocols or commercial kits are available to determine the serotypes of Salmonella by using Luminex MAGPIX®. In this study, an xTAG assay for serotype determination of Salmonella suitable for Luminex MAGPIX® is described and 228 Salmonella isolates were serotype determined by this xTAG assay. The xTAG assay consists of two steps: 1) Multiplex PCR to amplify simultaneously O, H and Vi antigen genes of Salmonella, and 2) Magplex-TAG™ microsphere hybridization to identify accurately the specific PCR products of different antigens. Compared with the serotyping results of traditional serum agglutination test, the sensitivity and specificity of the xTAG assay were 95.1% and 100%, respectively. The agreement rate of these two assays was 95.2%. Compared with Luminex xMAP® Salmonella Serotyping Assay (SSA) kit, the advantages of this xTAG assay are: First, the magnetic beads make it applicable to both the Luminex®100/200™ and MAGPIX® systems. Second, only primers rather than both primers and probes are needed in the xTAG assay, and the process of coupling antigen-specific oligonucleotide probes to beads is circumvented, which make the xTAG assay convenient to be utilized by other laboratories. The xTAG assay may serve as a rapid alternative or complementary method for traditional Salmonella serotyping tests, especially for laboratories that utilize the MAGPIX® systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Identification of a novel dendritic cell surface antigen defined by carbohydrate specific CD24 antibody cross-reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, L A; McLellan, A D; Summers, K L; Sorg, R V; Fearnley, D B; Hart, D N

    1996-01-01

    Dendritic cells (DC) are characterized as leucocytes that lack mature lineage specific markers and stimulate naive T-lymphocyte proliferation in vitro and in vivo. The mouse heat stable antigen (HSA) participates in T lymphocyte co-stimulation and is expressed by DC isolated from thymus, skin and spleen. The human HSA homologue, CD24, is predominantly expressed by B lymphocytes and granulocytes, but its expression on DC has not been studied in detail. CD24 clearly participates in B-lymphocyte signalling but co-stimulatory activity for T lymphocytes has not yet been described. We have examined the expression of CD24 on human peripheral blood DC populations isolated directly or following in vitro culture. The CD24 antigen was absent from blood DC however, cross-reactive sialylated carbohydrate epitopes were detected on DC with some CD24 monoclonal antibodies (mAb). These CD24 mAb define a protein surface antigen, which is expressed by an immature or resting subpopulation of peripheral blood DC and is down-regulated following activation differentiation in vitro. PMID:8911149

  2. Bivalent Llama Single-Domain Antibody Fragments against Tumor Necrosis Factor Have Picomolar Potencies due to Intramolecular Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Els Beirnaert

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The activity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF, a cytokine involved in inflammatory pathologies, can be inhibited by antibodies or trap molecules. Herein, llama-derived variable heavy-chain domains of heavy-chain antibody (VHH, also called Nanobodies™ were generated for the engineering of bivalent constructs, which antagonize the binding of TNF to its receptors with picomolar potencies. Three monomeric VHHs (VHH#1, VHH#2, and VHH#3 were characterized in detail and found to bind TNF with sub-nanomolar affinities. The crystal structures of the TNF–VHH complexes demonstrate that VHH#1 and VHH#2 share the same epitope, at the center of the interaction area of TNF with its TNFRs, while VHH#3 binds to a different, but partially overlapping epitope. These structures rationalize our results obtained with bivalent constructs in which two VHHs were coupled via linkers of different lengths. Contrary to conventional antibodies, these bivalent Nanobody™ constructs can bind to a single trimeric TNF, thus binding with avidity and blocking two of the three receptor binding sites in the cytokine. The different mode of binding to antigen and the engineering into bivalent constructs supports the design of highly potent VHH-based therapeutic entities.

  3. Docking of Antibodies into Cavities in DNA Origami

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Quyang, X; Stefano, Mattia De; Krissanaprasit, Abhichart

    2017-01-01

    -selective immobilization of antibodies in designed cavities in 2D and 3D DNA origami structures. Two tris(NTA) modified strands are inserted into the cavity to form NTA-metal complexes with histidine clusters on the Fc domain. Subsequent covalent linkage to the antibody was achieved by coupling to lysines. Atomic force...... microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) validated efficient antibody immobilization in the origami structures. The increased ability to control the orientation of antibodies in nanostructures and at surfaces has potential for directing the interactions of antibodies with targets...

  4. Effects of coded-wire-tagging on stream-dwelling Sea Lamprey larvae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Nicholas; Swink, William D.; Dawson, Heather A.; Jones, Michael L.

    2016-01-01

    The effects of coded wire tagging Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus larvae from a known-aged stream-dwelling population were assessed. Tagged larvae were significantly shorter on average than untagged larvae from 3 to 18 months after tagging. However, 30 months after tagging, the length distribution of tagged and untagged larvae did not differ and tagged Sea Lampreys were in better condition (i.e., higher condition factor) and more likely to have undergone metamorphosis than the untagged population. The reason why tagged larvae were more likely to metamorphose is not clear, but the increased likelihood of metamorphosis could have been a compensatory response to the period of slower growth after tagging. Slower growth after tagging was consistent across larval size-classes, so handling and displacement from quality habitat during the early part of the growing season was likely the cause rather than the tag burden. The tag effects observed in this study, if caused by displacement and handling, may be minimized in future studies if tagging is conducted during autumn after growth has concluded for the year.

  5. Fundamental statistical features and self-similar properties of tagged networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palla, Gergely; Farkas, Illes J; Pollner, Peter; Vicsek, Tamas; Derenyi, Imre

    2008-01-01

    We investigate the fundamental statistical features of tagged (or annotated) networks having a rich variety of attributes associated with their nodes. Tags (attributes, annotations, properties, features, etc) provide essential information about the entity represented by a given node, thus, taking them into account represents a significant step towards a more complete description of the structure of large complex systems. Our main goal here is to uncover the relations between the statistical properties of the node tags and those of the graph topology. In order to better characterize the networks with tagged nodes, we introduce a number of new notions, including tag-assortativity (relating link probability to node similarity), and new quantities, such as node uniqueness (measuring how rarely the tags of a node occur in the network) and tag-assortativity exponent. We apply our approach to three large networks representing very different domains of complex systems. A number of the tag related quantities display analogous behaviour (e.g. the networks we studied are tag-assortative, indicating possible universal aspects of tags versus topology), while some other features, such as the distribution of the node uniqueness, show variability from network to network allowing for pin-pointing large scale specific features of real-world complex networks. We also find that for each network the topology and the tag distribution are scale invariant, and this self-similar property of the networks can be well characterized by the tag-assortativity exponent, which is specific to each system.

  6. A systematic analysis of commonly used antibodies in cancer diagnostics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gremel, Gabriela; Bergman, Julia; Djureinovic, Dijana; Edqvist, Per-Henrik; Maindad, Vikas; Bharambe, Bhavana M; Khan, Wasif Ali Z A; Navani, Sanjay; Elebro, Jacob; Jirström, Karin; Hellberg, Dan; Uhlén, Mathias; Micke, Patrick; Pontén, Fredrik

    2014-01-01

    Immunohistochemistry plays a pivotal role in cancer differential diagnostics. To identify the primary tumour from a metastasis specimen remains a significant challenge, despite the availability of an increasing number of antibodies. The aim of the present study was to provide evidence-based data on the diagnostic power of antibodies used frequently for clinical differential diagnostics. A tissue microarray cohort comprising 940 tumour samples, of which 502 were metastatic lesions, representing tumours from 18 different organs and four non-localized cancer types, was analysed using immunohistochemistry with 27 well-established antibodies used in clinical differential diagnostics. Few antibodies, e.g. prostate-specific antigen and thyroglobulin, showed a cancer type-related sensitivity and specificity of more than 95%. A majority of the antibodies showed a low degree of sensitivity and specificity for defined cancer types. Combinations of antibodies provided limited added value for differential diagnostics of cancer types. The results from analysing 27 diagnostic antibodies on consecutive sections of 940 defined tumours provide a unique repository of data that can empower a more optimal use of clinical immunohistochemistry. Our results highlight the benefit of immunohistochemistry and the unmet need for novel markers to improve differential diagnostics of cancer. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. The Effects of Target Audience on Social Tagging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsarhan, Hesham

    2013-01-01

    Online social bookmarking systems allow users to assign tags (i.e., keywords) to represent the content of resources. Research on the effects of target audience on social tagging suggests that taggers select different tags for themselves, their community (e.g., family, friends, colleagues), and the general public (Panke & Gaiser, 2009; Pu &…

  8. Analysis of tag-based Recommendation Performance for a Semantic Wiki

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Durao, Frederico; Dolog, Peter

    2009-01-01

    Recommendations play a very important role for revealing related topics addressed in the wikis beyond the currently viewed page. In this paper, we extend KiWi, a semantic wiki with three different recommendation approaches. The first approach is implemented as a traditional tag-based retrieval......, the second takes into account external factors such as tag popularity, tag representativeness and the affinity between user and tag and the third approach recommends pages in grouped by tag. The experiment evaluates the wiki performance in different scenarios regarding the amount of pages, tags and users...

  9. PASTE: patient-centered SMS text tagging in a medication management system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenner, Shane P; Johnson, Kevin B; Denny, Joshua C

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the performance of a system that extracts medication information and administration-related actions from patient short message service (SMS) messages. Mobile technologies provide a platform for electronic patient-centered medication management. MyMediHealth (MMH) is a medication management system that includes a medication scheduler, a medication administration record, and a reminder engine that sends text messages to cell phones. The object of this work was to extend MMH to allow two-way interaction using mobile phone-based SMS technology. Unprompted text-message communication with patients using natural language could engage patients in their healthcare, but presents unique natural language processing challenges. The authors developed a new functional component of MMH, the Patient-centered Automated SMS Tagging Engine (PASTE). The PASTE web service uses natural language processing methods, custom lexicons, and existing knowledge sources to extract and tag medication information from patient text messages. A pilot evaluation of PASTE was completed using 130 medication messages anonymously submitted by 16 volunteers via a website. System output was compared with manually tagged messages. Verified medication names, medication terms, and action terms reached high F-measures of 91.3%, 94.7%, and 90.4%, respectively. The overall medication name F-measure was 79.8%, and the medication action term F-measure was 90%. Other studies have demonstrated systems that successfully extract medication information from clinical documents using semantic tagging, regular expression-based approaches, or a combination of both approaches. This evaluation demonstrates the feasibility of extracting medication information from patient-generated medication messages.

  10. UTag: Long-range Ultra-wideband Passive Radio Frequency Tags

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dowla, F

    2007-03-14

    Long-range, ultra-wideband (UWB), passive radio frequency (RF) tags are key components in Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) system that will revolutionize inventory control and tracking applications. Unlike conventional, battery-operated (active) RFID tags, LLNL's small UWB tags, called 'UTag', operate at long range (up to 20 meters) in harsh, cluttered environments. Because they are battery-less (that is, passive), they have practically infinite lifetimes without human intervention, and they are lower in cost to manufacture and maintain than active RFID tags. These robust, energy-efficient passive tags are remotely powered by UWB radio signals, which are much more difficult to detect, intercept, and jam than conventional narrowband frequencies. The features of long range, battery-less, and low cost give UTag significant advantage over other existing RFID tags.

  11. Tagging, Encoding, and Jones Optimality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danvy, Olivier; Lopez, Pablo E. Martinez

    2003-01-01

    A partial evaluator is said to be Jones-optimal if the result of specializing a self-interpreter with respect to a source program is textually identical to the source program, modulo renaming. Jones optimality has already been obtained if the self-interpreter is untyped. If the selfinterpreter...... is typed, however, residual programs are cluttered with type tags. To obtain the original source program, these tags must be removed. A number of sophisticated solutions have already been proposed. We observe, however, that with a simple representation shift, ordinary partial evaluation is already Jones......-optimal, modulo an encoding. The representation shift amounts to reading the type tags as constructors for higherorder abstract syntax. We substantiate our observation by considering a typed self-interpreter whose input syntax is higher-order. Specializing this interpreter with respect to a source program yields...

  12. Low Resolution Structure of RAR1-GST-Tag Fusion Protein in Solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taube, M.; Kozak, M.; Jarmolowski, A.

    2010-01-01

    RAR1 is a protein required for resistance mediated by many R genes and function upstream of signaling pathways leading to H 2 O 2 accumulation. The structure and conformation of RAR1-GST-Tag fusion protein from barley (Hordeum vulgare) in solution was studied by the small angle scattering of synchrotron radiation. It was found that the dimer of RAR1-GST-Tag protein is characterized in solution by radius of gyration R G = 6.19 nm and maximal intramolecular vector D max = 23 nm. On the basis of the small angle scattering of synchrotron radiation SAXS data two bead models obtained by ab initio modeling are proposed. Both models show elongated conformations. We also concluded that molecules of fusion protein form: dimers in solution via interaction of GST domains. (authors)

  13. Electronic tagging and integrated product intelligence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swerdlow, Martin; Weeks, Brian

    1996-03-01

    The advent of 'intelligent,' electronic data bearing tags is set to revolutionize the way industrial and retail products are identified and tracked throughout their life cycles. The dominant system for unique identification today is the bar code, which is based on printed symbology and regulated by the International Article Numbering Association. Bar codes provide users with significant operational advantages and generate considerable added value to packaging companies, product manufacturers, distributors and retailers, across supply chains in many different sectors, from retailing, to baggage handling and industrial components, e.g., for vehicles or aircraft. Electronic tags offer the potential to: (1) record and store more complex data about the product or any modifications which occur during its life cycle; (2) access (and up-date) stored data in real time in a way which does not involve contact with the product or article; (3) overcome the limitations imposed by systems which rely on line-of-sight access to stored data. Companies are now beginning to consider how electronic data tags can be used, not only to improve the efficiency of their supply chain processes, but also to revolutionize the way they do business. This paper reviews the applications and business opportunities for electronic tags and outlines CEST's strategy for achieving an 'open' standard which will ensure that tags from different vendors can co-exist on an international basis.

  14. Monoclonal antibodies for treating cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dillman, R.O.

    1989-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to assess the current status of in-vivo use of monoclonal antibodies for treating cancer. Publications appearing between 1980 and 1988 were identified by computer searches using MEDLINE and CANCERLIT, by reviewing the table of contents of recently published journals, and by searching bibliographies of identified books and articles. More than 700 articles, including peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, were identified and selected for analysis. The literature was reviewed and 235 articles were selected as relevant and representative of the current issues and future applications for in-vivo monoclonal antibodies for cancer therapy and of the toxicity and efficacy which has been associated with clinical trials. Approaches include using antibody alone (interacting with complement or effector cells or binding directly with certain cell receptors) and immunoconjugates (antibody coupled to radioisotopes, drugs, toxins, or other biologicals). Most experience has been with murine antibodies. Trials of antibody alone and radiolabeled antibodies have confirmed the feasibility of this approach and the in-vivo trafficking of antibodies to tumor cells. However, tumor cell heterogeneity, lack of cytotoxicity, and the development of human antimouse antibodies have limited clinical efficacy. Although the immunoconjugates are very promising, heterogeneity and the antimouse immune response have hampered this approach as has the additional challenge of chemically or genetically coupling antibody to cytotoxic agents. As a therapeutic modality, monoclonal antibodies are still promising but their general use will be delayed for several years. New approaches using human antibodies and reducing the human antiglobulin response should facilitate treatment. 235 references

  15. Overview of the recombinant proteins purification by affinity tags and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    From protein within isolation process which the same matter increases labor costs further and prevents application of these tags in industrial scale. Therefore proper replacement is emphasized for enzymatic removal of purification tags. Keywords: protein purification; recombinant proteins; self-cleavable tags; Intein tags; ...

  16. Production of monoclonal antibodies and development of a quantitative immuno-polymerase chain reaction assay to detect and quantify recombinant Glutathione S-transferase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abud, J E; Luque, E H; Ramos, J G; Rodriguez, H A

    2017-07-01

    GST-tagged proteins are important tools for the production of recombinant proteins. Removal of GST tag from its fusion protein, frequently by harsh chemical treatments or proteolytic methods, is often required. Thus, the monitoring of the proteins in tag-free form requires a significant effort to determine the remnants of GST during purification process. In the present study, we developed both a conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an immuno-polymerase chain reaction (IPCR) assay, both specific for detection of recombinant GST (rGST). rGST was expressed in Escherichia coli JM109, using a pGEX4T-3 vector, and several anti-rGST monoclonal antibodies were generated using hybridoma technology. Two of these were rationally selected as capture and detection antibodies, allowing the development of a sandwich ELISA with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.01 μg/ml. To develop the rGST-IPCR assay, we selected "Universal-IPCR" format, comprising the biotin-avidin binding as the coupling system. In addition, the rGST-IPCR was developed in standard PCR tubes, and the surface adsorption of antibodies on PCR tubes, the optimal neutravidin concentrations, the generation of a reporter DNA and the concentration effect were studied and determined. Under optimized assay conditions, the rGST-IPCR assay provided a 100-fold increase in the LOD as well as an expanded working range, in comparison with rGST-ELISA. The proposed method exhibited great potentiality for application in several fields in which measurement of very low levels of GST is necessary, and might provide a model for other IPCR assays. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. A review of tags anti-collision and localization protocols in RFID networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullah, S; Alsalih, W; Alsehaim, A; Alsadhan, N

    2012-12-01

    Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) has allowed the realization of ubiquitous tracking and monitoring of physical objects wirelessly with minimum human interactions. It plays a key role in a wide range of applications including asset tracking, contactless payment, access control, transportation and logistics, and other industrial applications. On the other side, RFID systems face several technical challenges that need to be overcome in order to achieve their potential benefits; tags collisions and localization of tagged objects are two important challenges. Numerous anti-collision and localization protocols have been proposed to address these challenges. This paper reviews the state-of-art tags' anti-collision and localization protocols, and provides a deep insight into technical issues of these protocols. The probabilistic and deterministic anti-collision protocols are critically studied and compared in terms of different parameters. We further review distance estimation, scene analysis, and proximity localization schemes and provide useful suggestions. We also introduce a new hybrid direction that utilizes power control to spatially partition the interrogation range of a reader for more efficient anti-collision and localization. Finally, we present the applications of RFID systems in healthcare sectors.

  18. Parameters of explosives detection through tagged neutron method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bagdasaryan, Kh.E.; Batyaev, V.F.; Belichenko, S.G., E-mail: consul757@mail.ru; Bestaev, R.R.; Gavryuchenkov, A.V.; Karetnikov, M.D.

    2015-06-01

    The potentialities of tagged neutron method (TNM) for explosives detection are examined on the basis of an idealized geometrical model. The model includes ING-27 14 MeV neutron generator with a built-in α-detector, a LYSO γ-detector and samples of material to be identified of approximately 0.3 kg each: explosives imitators (trinitrotoluene - TNT, tetryl, RDX and ammonium nitrate), legal materials (sugar, water, silk and polyethylene). The samples were unshielded or shielded by a paper layer of various thicknesses. The experimental data were interpreted by numerical simulation using a Poisson distribution of signals with the statistical parameters defined experimentally. The detection parameters were obtained by a pattern classification theory and a Bayes classifier.

  19. Passive UHF RFID Tag with Multiple Sensing Capabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Fernández-Salmerón

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a printed radio frequency identification tag in the ultra-high frequency band with multiple sensing capabilities. This passive tag is directly screen printed on a cardboard box with the aim of monitoring the packaging conditions during the different stages of the supply chain. This tag includes a commercial force sensor and a printed opening detector. Hence, the force applied to the package can be measured as well as the opening of the box can be detected. The architecture presented is a passive single-chip RFID tag. An electronic switch has been implemented to be able to measure both sensor magnitudes in the same access without including a microcontroller or battery. Moreover, the chip used here integrates a temperature sensor and, therefore, this tag provides three different parameters in every reading.

  20. Interactions between Human Antibodies and Synthetic Conformational Peptide Epitopes: Innovative Approach for Electrochemical Detection of Biomarkers of Multiple Sclerosis at Platinum Electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bellagha-Chenchah, W.; Sella, C.; Fernandez, F. Real; Peroni, E.; Lolli, F.; Amatore, C.

    2015-01-01

    The detection of human antibodies of Multiple Sclerosis patients was investigated based on the electrochemical oxidation of a synthetic antigenic probe, a glycopeptide Fc-CSF114(Glc) bearing a ferrocenyl moiety. Electrochemical measurements were carried out at platinum microband electrodes without any electrode surface modification. A microfluidic device was designed in order to both minimize peptide consumption and increase the number of experiments with low volumes of samples. The specific interactions between Fc-CSF114(Glc) and antibodies were evidenced through comparison with electrochemical responses obtained from the ferrocenyl unglycosylated peptide Fc-CSF114 used as negative control. The interactions between Fc-CSF114(Glc) and autoantibodies were characterized by a shift of the oxidation potential towards positive values. A mechanism for peptide oxidation was proposed based on a diffusion control of mass transport and the formation of adsorbed layers able to mediate electron transfer. Results showed efficient antigen-antibody recognition without any electrode grafting or further addition of labels in solution. Preliminary tests using human sera from Multiple Sclerosis patients and healthy donors validated this new approach aimed at developing innovative and fast diagnostic tools, based on electrochemical synthetic antigenic probes

  1. Monoclonal antibodies for radioimmunodetection of tumours and for targeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldwin, R.W.; Embleton, M.J.; Pimm, M.V.

    1983-01-01

    A monoclonal antibody 791T/36 prepared against human osteogenic sarcoma has been used to detect primary and metastatic colorectal carcinomas by external imaging of patients following injection of 131 I-labelled antibody. In 10 of 11 patients radiolabelled 791T/36 antibody localized in tumours, the tumour/non tumour ratio of radioactivity ranging from 1.5:1 to 8.1. 791T/36 antibody was also evaluated for its potential for targeting anti-tumour agents including cytotoxic drugs (Vindesine) and immunomodulating agents (interferon). Vindesine-791T/36 conjugates were preferentially cytotoxic in vitro for target cells expressing the 791T/36 anti-body defined antigen. Also interferon conjugated to 791T/36 antibody, like free interferon activated peripheral blood natural killer cell activity. These in vitro tests together with related studies on antibody localization in vivo indicate the potential of monoclonal antibody targeting of anti-tumour agents

  2. 77 FR 51761 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Groundfish Tagging Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-27

    ... required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before... are two general categories of tags. Simple plastic tags (spaghetti tags) are external tags... fish. Archival tags are microchips with sensors encased in plastic cylinders that record the depth...

  3. Coenzyme- and His-tag-induced crystallization of octopine dehydrogenase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smits, Sander H. J.; Mueller, Andre; Grieshaber, Manfred K.; Schmitt, Lutz

    2008-01-01

    The crystal structure of octopine dehydrogenase revealed a specific role of the His 5 tag in inducing the crystal contacts required for successful crystallization. Over the last decade, protein purification has become more efficient and standardized through the introduction of affinity tags. The choice and position of the tag, however, can directly influence the process of protein crystallization. Octopine dehydrogenase (OcDH) without a His tag and tagged protein constructs such as OcDH-His 5 and OcDH-LEHis 6 have been investigated for their crystallizability. Only OcDH-His 5 yielded crystals; however, they were multiple. To improve crystal quality, the cofactor NADH was added, resulting in single crystals that were suitable for structure determination. As shown by the structure, the His 5 tag protrudes into the cleft between the NADH and l-arginine-binding domains and is mainly fixed in place by water molecules. The protein is thereby stabilized to such an extent that the formation of crystal contacts can proceed. Together with NADH, the His 5 tag obviously locks the enzyme into a specific conformation which induces crystal growth

  4. Mechanism of Binding to Ebola Virus Glycoprotein by the ZMapp, ZMAb, and MB-003 Cocktail Antibodies

    OpenAIRE

    Davidson, Edgar; Bryan, Christopher; Fong, Rachel H.; Barnes, Trevor; Pfaff, Jennifer M.; Mabila, Manu; Rucker, Joseph B.; Doranz, Benjamin J.

    2015-01-01

    Cocktails of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that target the surface glycoprotein (GP) of Ebola virus (EBOV) are effective in nonhuman primate models and have been used under emergency compassionate-treatment protocols in human patients. However, the amino acids that form the detailed binding epitopes for the MAbs in the ZMapp, ZMAb, and the related MB-003 cocktails have yet to be identified. Other binding properties that define how each MAb functionally interacts with GP—such as affinity, epito...

  5. Modulation of the virus-receptor interaction by mutations in the V5 loop of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV following in vivo escape from neutralising antibody

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samman Ayman

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In the acute phase of infection with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, the virus targets activated CD4+ T cells by utilising CD134 (OX40 as a primary attachment receptor and CXCR4 as a co-receptor. The nature of the virus-receptor interaction varies between isolates; strains such as GL8 and CPGammer recognise a "complex" determinant on CD134 formed by cysteine-rich domains (CRDs 1 and 2 of the molecule while strains such as PPR and B2542 require a more "simple" determinant comprising CRD1 only for infection. These differences in receptor recognition manifest as variations in sensitivity to receptor antagonists. In this study, we ask whether the nature of the virus-receptor interaction evolves in vivo. Results Following infection with a homogeneous viral population derived from a pathogenic molecular clone, a quasispecies emerged comprising variants with distinct sensitivities to neutralising antibody and displaying evidence of conversion from a "complex" to a "simple" interaction with CD134. Escape from neutralising antibody was mediated primarily by length and sequence polymorphisms in the V5 region of Env, and these alterations in V5 modulated the virus-receptor interaction as indicated by altered sensitivities to antagonism by both anti-CD134 antibody and soluble CD134. Conclusions The FIV-receptor interaction evolves under the selective pressure of the host humoral immune response, and the V5 loop contributes to the virus-receptor interaction. Our data are consistent with a model whereby viruses with distinct biological properties are present in early versus late infection and with a shift from a "complex" to a "simple" interaction with CD134 with time post-infection.

  6. Modulation of the virus-receptor interaction by mutations in the V5 loop of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) following in vivo escape from neutralising antibody.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willett, Brian J; Kraase, Martin; Logan, Nicola; McMonagle, Elizabeth L; Samman, Ayman; Hosie, Margaret J

    2010-04-26

    In the acute phase of infection with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), the virus targets activated CD4+ T cells by utilising CD134 (OX40) as a primary attachment receptor and CXCR4 as a co-receptor. The nature of the virus-receptor interaction varies between isolates; strains such as GL8 and CPGammer recognise a "complex" determinant on CD134 formed by cysteine-rich domains (CRDs) 1 and 2 of the molecule while strains such as PPR and B2542 require a more "simple" determinant comprising CRD1 only for infection. These differences in receptor recognition manifest as variations in sensitivity to receptor antagonists. In this study, we ask whether the nature of the virus-receptor interaction evolves in vivo. Following infection with a homogeneous viral population derived from a pathogenic molecular clone, a quasispecies emerged comprising variants with distinct sensitivities to neutralising antibody and displaying evidence of conversion from a "complex" to a "simple" interaction with CD134. Escape from neutralising antibody was mediated primarily by length and sequence polymorphisms in the V5 region of Env, and these alterations in V5 modulated the virus-receptor interaction as indicated by altered sensitivities to antagonism by both anti-CD134 antibody and soluble CD134. The FIV-receptor interaction evolves under the selective pressure of the host humoral immune response, and the V5 loop contributes to the virus-receptor interaction. Our data are consistent with a model whereby viruses with distinct biological properties are present in early versus late infection and with a shift from a "complex" to a "simple" interaction with CD134 with time post-infection.

  7. Enzymatic single-chain antibody tagging: a universal approach to targeted molecular imaging and cell homing in cardiovascular disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ta, H T; Prabhu, S; Leitner, E; Jia, F; von Elverfeldt, D; Jackson, Katherine E; Heidt, T; Nair, A K N; Pearce, H; von Zur Muhlen, C; Wang, X; Peter, K; Hagemeyer, C E

    2011-08-05

    Antibody-targeted delivery of imaging agents can enhance the sensitivity and accuracy of current imaging techniques. Similarly, homing of effector cells to disease sites increases the efficacy of regenerative cell therapy while reducing the number of cells required. Currently, targeting can be achieved via chemical conjugation to specific antibodies, which typically results in the loss of antibody functionality and in severe cell damage. An ideal conjugation technique should ensure retention of antigen-binding activity and functionality of the targeted biological component. To develop a biochemically robust, highly reproducible, and site-specific coupling method using the Staphylococcus aureus sortase A enzyme for the conjugation of a single-chain antibody (scFv) to nanoparticles and cells for molecular imaging and cell homing in cardiovascular diseases. This scFv specifically binds to activated platelets, which play a pivotal role in thrombosis, atherosclerosis, and inflammation. The conjugation procedure involves chemical and enzyme-mediated coupling steps. The scFv was successfully conjugated to iron oxide particles (contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging) and to model cells. Conjugation efficiency ranged between 50% and 70%, and bioactivity of the scFv after coupling was preserved. The targeting of scFv-coupled cells and nanoparticles to activated platelets was strong and specific as demonstrated in in vitro static adhesion assays, in a flow chamber system, in mouse intravital microscopy, and in in vivo magnetic resonance imaging of mouse carotid arteries. This unique biotechnological approach provides a versatile and broadly applicable tool for procuring targeted regenerative cell therapy and targeted molecular imaging in cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases and beyond.

  8. High-throughput sequencing of natively paired antibody chains provides evidence for original antigenic sin shaping the antibody response to influenza vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Yann-Chong; Blum, Lisa K; Kongpachith, Sarah; Ju, Chia-Hsin; Cai, Xiaoyong; Lindstrom, Tamsin M; Sokolove, Jeremy; Robinson, William H

    2014-03-01

    We developed a DNA barcoding method to enable high-throughput sequencing of the cognate heavy- and light-chain pairs of the antibodies expressed by individual B cells. We used this approach to elucidate the plasmablast antibody response to influenza vaccination. We show that >75% of the rationally selected plasmablast antibodies bind and neutralize influenza, and that antibodies from clonal families, defined by sharing both heavy-chain VJ and light-chain VJ sequence usage, do so most effectively. Vaccine-induced heavy-chain VJ regions contained on average >20 nucleotide mutations as compared to their predicted germline gene sequences, and some vaccine-induced antibodies exhibited higher binding affinities for hemagglutinins derived from prior years' seasonal influenza as compared to their affinities for the immunization strains. Our results show that influenza vaccination induces the recall of memory B cells that express antibodies that previously underwent affinity maturation against prior years' seasonal influenza, suggesting that 'original antigenic sin' shapes the antibody response to influenza vaccination. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. Development of a rapid agglutination latex test for diagnosis of enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection in developing world: defining the biomarker, antibody and method.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Letícia B Rocha

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC/EHEC are human intestinal pathogens responsible for diarrhea in both developing and industrialized countries. In research laboratories, EPEC and EHEC are defined on the basis of their pathogenic features; nevertheless, their identification in routine laboratories is expensive and laborious. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to develop a rapid and simple assay for EPEC/EHEC detection. Accordingly, the EPEC/EHEC-secreted proteins EspA and EspB were chosen as target antigens.First, we investigated the ideal conditions for EspA/EspB production/secretion by ELISA in a collection of EPEC/EHEC strains after cultivating bacterial isolates in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM or DMEM containing 1% tryptone or HEp-2 cells-preconditioned DMEM, employing either anti-EspA/anti-EspB polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies developed and characterized herein. Subsequently, a rapid agglutination latex test (RALT was developed and tested with the same collection of bacterial isolates.EspB was defined as a biomarker and its corresponding monoclonal antibody as the tool for EPEC/EHEC diagnosis; the production of EspB was better in DMEM medium. RALT assay has the sensitivity and specificity required for high-impact diagnosis of neglected diseases in the developing world.RALT assay described herein can be considered an alternative assay for diarrhea diagnosis in low-income countries since it achieved 97% sensitivity, 98% specificity and 97% efficiency.

  10. Antibody-Mediated Internalization of Infectious HIV-1 Virions Differs among Antibody Isotypes and Subclasses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tay, Matthew Zirui; Liu, Pinghuang; Williams, LaTonya D; McRaven, Michael D; Sawant, Sheetal; Gurley, Thaddeus C; Xu, Thomas T; Dennison, S Moses; Liao, Hua-Xin; Chenine, Agnès-Laurence; Alam, S Munir; Moody, M Anthony; Hope, Thomas J; Haynes, Barton F; Tomaras, Georgia D

    2016-08-01

    Emerging data support a role for antibody Fc-mediated antiviral activity in vaccine efficacy and in the control of HIV-1 replication by broadly neutralizing antibodies. Antibody-mediated virus internalization is an Fc-mediated function that may act at the portal of entry whereby effector cells may be triggered by pre-existing antibodies to prevent HIV-1 acquisition. Understanding the capacity of HIV-1 antibodies in mediating internalization of HIV-1 virions by primary monocytes is critical to understanding their full antiviral potency. Antibody isotypes/subclasses differ in functional profile, with consequences for their antiviral activity. For instance, in the RV144 vaccine trial that achieved partial efficacy, Env IgA correlated with increased risk of HIV-1 infection (i.e. decreased vaccine efficacy), whereas V1-V2 IgG3 correlated with decreased risk of HIV-1 infection (i.e. increased vaccine efficacy). Thus, understanding the different functional attributes of HIV-1 specific IgG1, IgG3 and IgA antibodies will help define the mechanisms of immune protection. Here, we utilized an in vitro flow cytometric method utilizing primary monocytes as phagocytes and infectious HIV-1 virions as targets to determine the capacity of Env IgA (IgA1, IgA2), IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies to mediate HIV-1 infectious virion internalization. Importantly, both broadly neutralizing antibodies (i.e. PG9, 2G12, CH31, VRC01 IgG) and non-broadly neutralizing antibodies (i.e. 7B2 mAb, mucosal HIV-1+ IgG) mediated internalization of HIV-1 virions. Furthermore, we found that Env IgG3 of multiple specificities (i.e. CD4bs, V1-V2 and gp41) mediated increased infectious virion internalization over Env IgG1 of the same specificity, while Env IgA mediated decreased infectious virion internalization compared to IgG1. These data demonstrate that antibody-mediated internalization of HIV-1 virions depends on antibody specificity and isotype. Evaluation of the phagocytic potency of vaccine

  11. A brief examination of optical tagging technologies.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ackermann, Mark R.; Cahill, Paul A. (Aspecular Optics, Dayton, OH); Drummond, Timothy J.; Wilcoxon, Jess Patrick

    2003-07-01

    Presented within this report are the results of a brief examination of optical tagging technologies funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program at Sandia National Laboratories. The work was performed during the summer months of 2002 with total funding of $65k. The intent of the project was to briefly examine a broad range of approaches to optical tagging concentrating on the wavelength range between ultraviolet (UV) and the short wavelength infrared (SWIR, {lambda} < 2{micro}m). Tagging approaches considered include such things as simple combinations of reflective and absorptive materials closely spaced in wavelength to give a high contrast over a short range of wavelengths, rare-earth oxides in transparent binders to produce a narrow absorption line hyperspectral tag, and fluorescing materials such as phosphors, dies and chemically precipitated particles. One technical approach examined in slightly greater detail was the use of fluorescing nano particles of metals and semiconductor materials. The idea was to embed such nano particles in an oily film or transparent paint binder. When pumped with a SWIR laser such as that produced by laser diodes at {lambda}=1.54{micro}m, the particles would fluoresce at slightly longer wavelengths, thereby giving a unique signal. While it is believed that optical tags are important for military, intelligence and even law enforcement applications, as a business area, tags do not appear to represent a high on return investment. Other government agencies frequently shop for existing or mature tag technologies but rarely are interested enough to pay for development of an untried technical approach. It was hoped that through a relatively small investment of laboratory R&D funds, enough technologies could be identified that a potential customers requirements could be met with a minimum of additional development work. Only time will tell if this proves to be correct.

  12. Studying precipitation recycling over the Tibetan Plateau using evaporation-tagging and back-trajectory analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Regional precipitation recycling (i.e., the contribution of local evaporation to local precipitation) is an important component of water cycle over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Two methods were used to investigate regional precipitation recycling: 1) tracking of tagged atmospheric water parcels originating from evaporation in a source region (i.e., E-tagging), and 2) back-trajectory approach to track the evaporative sources contributed to precipitation in a specific region. These two methods were applied to Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate simulations to quantify the precipitation recycling ratio in the TP for three selected years: climatologically normal, dry and wet year. The simulation region is characterized by high average elevation above 4000 m and complex terrain. The back-trajectory approach is also calculated over three sub-regions over the TP: namely western, northeastern and southeastern TP, and the E-tagging approach could provide recycling-ratio distributions over the whole TP. Three aspects are investigated to characterize the precipitation recycling: annual mean, seasonal variations and spatial distributions. Averaged over the TP, the precipitation recycling ratio estimated by the E-tagging approach is higher than that from the back-trajectory method. The back-trajectory approach uses a precipitation threshold as total precipitation in five days divided by a random number, and this number was set to 500 as a tread off between equilibrium and computational efficiency. Lower recycling ratio derived from the back-trajectory approach is related to the precipitation threshold used. The E-tagging, however, tracks every air parcel of evaporation regardless of the precipitation amount. There is no obvious seasonal variation in the recycling ratio using both methods. The E-tagging approach shows high recycling ratios in the center TP, indicating stronger land-atmospheric interactions than elsewhere.

  13. Sequence tagging reveals unexpected modifications in toxicoproteomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasari, Surendra; Chambers, Matthew C.; Codreanu, Simona G.; Liebler, Daniel C.; Collins, Ben C.; Pennington, Stephen R.; Gallagher, William M.; Tabb, David L.

    2010-01-01

    Toxicoproteomic samples are rich in posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of proteins. Identifying these modifications via standard database searching can incur significant performance penalties. Here we describe the latest developments in TagRecon, an algorithm that leverages inferred sequence tags to identify modified peptides in toxicoproteomic data sets. TagRecon identifies known modifications more effectively than the MyriMatch database search engine. TagRecon outperformed state of the art software in recognizing unanticipated modifications from LTQ, Orbitrap, and QTOF data sets. We developed user-friendly software for detecting persistent mass shifts from samples. We follow a three-step strategy for detecting unanticipated PTMs in samples. First, we identify the proteins present in the sample with a standard database search. Next, identified proteins are interrogated for unexpected PTMs with a sequence tag-based search. Finally, additional evidence is gathered for the detected mass shifts with a refinement search. Application of this technology on toxicoproteomic data sets revealed unintended cross-reactions between proteins and sample processing reagents. Twenty five proteins in rat liver showed signs of oxidative stress when exposed to potentially toxic drugs. These results demonstrate the value of mining toxicoproteomic data sets for modifications. PMID:21214251

  14. User Interface Program for secure electronic tags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cai, Y.; Koehl, E.R.; Carlson, R.D.; Raptis, A.C.

    1995-05-01

    This report summarizes and documents the efforts of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in developing a secure tag communication user interface program comprising a tag monitor and a communication tool. This program can perform the same functions as the software that was developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), but it is enhanced with a user-friendly screen. It represents the first step in updating the TRANSCOM Tracking System (TRANSCOM) by incorporating a tag communication screen menu into the main menu of the TRANSCOM user program. A working version of TRANSCOM, enhanced with ANL secure-tag graphics, will strongly support the Department of Energy Warhead Dismantlement/Special Nuclear Materials Control initiatives. It will allow commercial satellite tracking of the movements and operational activities of treaty-limited items and transportation vehicles throughout Europe and the former USSR, as well as the continental US

  15. Targeting of human glioma xenografts in vivo utilizing radiolabeled antibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, J.A.; Wessels, B.W.; Wharam, M.D.; Order, S.E.; Wanek, P.M.; Poggenburg, J.K.; Klein, J.L.

    1990-01-01

    Radiolabeled antibodies provide a potential basis for selective radiotherapy of human gliomas. We have measured tumor targeting by radiolabeled monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies directed against neuroectodermal and tumor-associated antigens in nude mice bearing human glioma xenografts. Monoclonal P96.5, a mouse IgG2a immunoglobulin, defines an epitope of a human melanoma cell surface protein, and specifically binds the U-251 human glioma as measured by immunoperoxidase histochemistry. 111In-radiolabeled P96.5 specifically targets the U-251 human glioma xenograft and yields 87.0 microCuries (microCi) of tumor activity per gram per 100 microCi injected activity compared to 4.5 microCi following administration of radiolabeled irrelevant monoclonal antibody. Calculations of targeting ratios demonstrate deposited dose to be 11.6 times greater with radiolabeled P96.5 administration compared to irrelevant monoclonal antibody. The proportion of tumor dose found in normal organs is less than 10%, further supporting specific targeting of the human glioma xenograft by this antibody. Monoclonal antibody ZME018, which defines a second melanoma-associated antigen, and polyclonal rabbit antiferritin, which defines a tumor-associated antigen, demonstrate positive immunoperoxidase staining of the tumor, but comparatively decreased targeting. When compared to the 111In-radiolabeled antibody, 90Y-radiolabeled P96.5 demonstrates comparable tumor targeting and percentages of tumor dose found in normal organs. To test the therapeutic potential of 90Y-radiolabeled P96.5, tumors and normal sites were implanted with miniature thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD). Seven days following administration of 100 microCi 90Y-radiolabeled P96.5, average absorbed doses of 3770, 980, 353, and 274 cGy were observed in tumor, liver, contralateral control site, and total body, respectively

  16. Device-free object tracking using passive tags

    CERN Document Server

    Han, Jinsong; Zhao, Kun; Jiang, Zhiping

    2014-01-01

    This SpringerBrief examines the use of cheap commercial passive RFID tags to achieve accurate device-free object-tracking. It presents a sensitive detector, named Twins, which uses a pair of adjacent passive tags to detect uncooperative targets (such as intruders). Twins leverages a newly observed phenomenon called critical state that is caused by interference among passive tags.The author expands on the previous object tracking methods, which are mostly device-based, and reveals a new interference model and their extensive experiments for validation. A prototype implementation of the Twins-ba

  17. Construction of a Single Chain Variable Fragment Antibody (scFv) against Carbaryl and Its Interaction with Carbaryl.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiuyuan, Zhang; Zhihong, Huang; Lixia, Wang; Xiaonan, Liu

    2015-05-01

    Carbaryl is a low molecular weight insecticide that inhibits cholinesterase. Residues of carbaryl in food and the environment have damaged human health. A high-specificity scFv that can identify carbaryl is still lacking. In the present study, an anti-carbaryl scFv gene was prepared by cloning VL and VH genes from hybridoma cells secreting monoclonal antibody, then VH and VL were fused together using splicing by overlap extension (SOE) PCR with a flexible polypeptide linker connector (Gly4Ser)3, and then the scFv-pET-26b recombinant plasmid was constructed and transformed into E. coli BL21 for expression using IPTG as an inducer. The expressed recombinant protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and ELISA. The three-dimensional structure of the anti-carbaryl scFv was constructed by computer modeling, and carbaryl was docked to the scFv model to obtain the structure of the binding complex. The binding site was composed of Ala51, Ser52, Ile51, Gly54, Ser56, Arg98, and Gly100. This helps to understand the mechanism of interaction between anti-carbaryl antibody and antigen. Furthermore, it provides guidance for in vitro affinity maturation of anti-carbaryl antibody.

  18. A Hybrid Probabilistic Model for Unified Collaborative and Content-Based Image Tagging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ning; Cheung, William K; Qiu, Guoping; Xue, Xiangyang

    2011-07-01

    The increasing availability of large quantities of user contributed images with labels has provided opportunities to develop automatic tools to tag images to facilitate image search and retrieval. In this paper, we present a novel hybrid probabilistic model (HPM) which integrates low-level image features and high-level user provided tags to automatically tag images. For images without any tags, HPM predicts new tags based solely on the low-level image features. For images with user provided tags, HPM jointly exploits both the image features and the tags in a unified probabilistic framework to recommend additional tags to label the images. The HPM framework makes use of the tag-image association matrix (TIAM). However, since the number of images is usually very large and user-provided tags are diverse, TIAM is very sparse, thus making it difficult to reliably estimate tag-to-tag co-occurrence probabilities. We developed a collaborative filtering method based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) for tackling this data sparsity issue. Also, an L1 norm kernel method is used to estimate the correlations between image features and semantic concepts. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been evaluated using three databases containing 5,000 images with 371 tags, 31,695 images with 5,587 tags, and 269,648 images with 5,018 tags, respectively.

  19. Tri-Clustered Tensor Completion for Social-Aware Image Tag Refinement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jinhui; Shu, Xiangbo; Qi, Guo-Jun; Li, Zechao; Wang, Meng; Yan, Shuicheng; Jain, Ramesh

    2017-08-01

    Social image tag refinement, which aims to improve tag quality by automatically completing the missing tags and rectifying the noise-corrupted ones, is an essential component for social image search. Conventional approaches mainly focus on exploring the visual and tag information, without considering the user information, which often reveals important hints on the (in)correct tags of social images. Towards this end, we propose a novel tri-clustered tensor completion framework to collaboratively explore these three kinds of information to improve the performance of social image tag refinement. Specifically, the inter-relations among users, images and tags are modeled by a tensor, and the intra-relations between users, images and tags are explored by three regularizations respectively. To address the challenges of the super-sparse and large-scale tensor factorization that demands expensive computing and memory cost, we propose a novel tri-clustering method to divide the tensor into a certain number of sub-tensors by simultaneously clustering users, images and tags into a bunch of tri-clusters. And then we investigate two strategies to complete these sub-tensors by considering (in)dependence between the sub-tensors. Experimental results on a real-world social image database demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared with the state-of-the-art methods.

  20. Exploiting phase measurements of EPC Gen2 RFID tags

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huiting, J.; Flisijn, Hubert; Kokkeler, Andre B.J.; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a 2d localization system for UHF RFID tags. By measuring the phase between the transmitted continuous wave and received backscatter from the tag at different frequencies, it is possible to estimate the distance between the reader and tag. By determining distance estimates to

  1. OSIRIS-REx Touch-And-Go (TAG) Navigation Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Kevin; Antreasian, Peter; Moreau, Michael C.; May, Alex; Sutter, Brian

    2015-01-01

    The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is a NASA New Frontiers mission launching in 2016 to rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu in late 2018. Following an extensive campaign of proximity operations activities to characterize the properties of Bennu and select a suitable sample site, OSIRIES-REx will fly a Touch-And-Go (TAG) trajectory to the asteroid's surface to obtain a regolith sample. The paper summarizes the mission design of the TAG sequence, the propulsive required to achieve the trajectory, and the sequence of events leading up to the TAG event. The paper will summarize the Monte-Carlo simulation of the TAG sequence and present analysis results that demonstrate the ability to conduct the TAG within 25 meters of the selected sample site and +-2 cms of the targeted contact velocity. The paper will describe some of the challenges associated with conducting precision navigation operations and ultimately contacting a very small asteroid.

  2. OSIRI-REx Touch and Go (TAG) Navigation Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Kevin; Antreasian, Peter; Moreau, Michael C.; May, Alex; Sutter, Brian

    2015-01-01

    The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is a NASA New Frontiers mission launching in 2016 to rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu in late 2018. Following an extensive campaign of proximity operations activities to characterize the properties of Bennu and select a suitable sample site, OSIRIS-REx will fly a Touch-And-Go (TAG) trajectory to the asteroid's surface to obtain a regolith sample. The paper summarizes the mission design of the TAG sequence, the propulsive maneuvers required to achieve the trajectory, and the sequence of events leading up to the TAG event. The paper also summarizes the Monte-Carlo simulation of the TAG sequence and presents analysis results that demonstrate the ability to conduct the TAG within 25 meters of the selected sample site and 2 cm/s of the targeted contact velocity. The paper describes some of the challenges associated with conducting precision navigation operations and ultimately contacting a very small asteroid.

  3. Tagging like Humans: Diverse and Distinct Image Annotation

    KAUST Repository

    Wu, Baoyuan

    2018-03-31

    In this work we propose a new automatic image annotation model, dubbed {\\\\bf diverse and distinct image annotation} (D2IA). The generative model D2IA is inspired by the ensemble of human annotations, which create semantically relevant, yet distinct and diverse tags. In D2IA, we generate a relevant and distinct tag subset, in which the tags are relevant to the image contents and semantically distinct to each other, using sequential sampling from a determinantal point process (DPP) model. Multiple such tag subsets that cover diverse semantic aspects or diverse semantic levels of the image contents are generated by randomly perturbing the DPP sampling process. We leverage a generative adversarial network (GAN) model to train D2IA. Extensive experiments including quantitative and qualitative comparisons, as well as human subject studies, on two benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed model can produce more diverse and distinct tags than the state-of-the-arts.

  4. Surface Plasmon Resonance kinetic analysis of the interaction between G-quadruplex nucleic acids and an anti-G-quadruplex monoclonal antibody.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lago, Sara; Nadai, Matteo; Rossetto, Monica; Richter, Sara N

    2018-06-01

    G-quadruplexes (G4s) are nucleic acids secondary structures formed in guanine-rich sequences. Anti-G4 antibodies represent a tool for the direct investigation of G4s in cells. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is a highly sensitive technology, suitable for assessing the affinity between biomolecules. We here aimed at improving the orientation of an anti-G4 antibody on the SPR sensor chip to optimize detection of binding antigens. SPR was employed to characterize the anti-G4 antibody interaction with G4 and non-G4 oligonucleotides. Dextran-functionalized sensor chips were used both in covalent coupling and capturing procedures. The use of two leading molecule for orienting the antibody of interest allowed to improve its activity from completely non-functional to 65% active. The specificity of the anti-G4 antobody for G4 structures could thus be assessed with high sensitivity and reliability. Optimization of the immobilization protocol for SPR biosensing, allowed us to determine the anti-G4 antibody affinity and specificity for G4 antigens with higher sensitivity with respect to other in vitro assays such as ELISA. Anti-G4 antibody specificity is a fundamental assumption for the future utilization of this kind of antibodies for monitoring G4s directly in cells. The heterogeneous orientation of amine-coupling immobilized ligands is a general problem that often leads to partial or complete inactivation of the molecules. Here we describe a new strategy for improving ligand orientation: driving it from two sides. This principle can be virtually applied to every molecule that loses its activity or is poorly immobilized after standard coupling to the SPR chip surface. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. High-p{sub T} B-tagging and top-tagging with variable-R jets in ATLAS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Behr, Katharina [Sub-department of Particle Physics, University of Oxford, Denys-Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom)

    2015-07-01

    Variable-R jets, whose effective size is inversely proportional to their transverse momentum, are a versatile tool for object reconstruction across the large transverse momentum regime accessible during Run 2 of the LHC. I discuss the performance of Variable-R jets in two different contexts: (1) Boosted top-tagging. The separation between the decay products of highly energetic top quarks decreases with p{sub T}{sup top} causing them to overlap and merge into a single jet. Taggers relying on large fixed-R jets overestimate the real size of the top jet in the highly boosted regime and are more susceptible to the effects of pile-up. Variable-R jets are studied as the basis for more natural taggers which may not even require grooming. (2) B-tagging. The b-tagging performance in boosted topologies suffers in the presence of close-by jets. This limits the sensitivity of many searches such as those in boosted hh → 4b final states. New b-taggers relying on track jets with smaller sizes than the traditional R=0.4 to better isolate the b-hadron decay show significant improvements in highly boosted scenarios but perform worse at low transverse momenta where they fail to capture the full b-jet. Variable-R track jets provide a unified approach to b-tagging in both p{sub T} regimes.

  6. Tagging behaviour with support from controlled vocabulary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lykke, Marianne; Høj, Anne Lyhne; Madsen, Line Nørgaard

    2011-01-01

    ) and an enhanced tagging system (experimental system) that additionally offers suggestions from the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC). In the experimental study twenty-eight political students completed four tagging tasks, each comprising fifteen documents. The focus was to examine how suggestions from...

  7. Tag-KEM from Set Partial Domain One-Way Permutations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abe, Masayuki; Cui, Yang; Imai, Hideki; Kurosawa, Kaoru

    Recently a framework called Tag-KEM/DEM was introduced to construct efficient hybrid encryption schemes. Although it is known that generic encode-then-encrypt construction of chosen ciphertext secure public-key encryption also applies to secure Tag-KEM construction and some known encoding method like OAEP can be used for this purpose, it is worth pursuing more efficient encoding method dedicated for Tag-KEM construction. This paper proposes an encoding method that yields efficient Tag-KEM schemes when combined with set partial one-way permutations such as RSA and Rabin's encryption scheme. To our knowledge, this leads to the most practical hybrid encryption scheme of this type. We also present an efficient Tag-KEM which is CCA-secure under general factoring assumption rather than Blum factoring assumption.

  8. 200-MeV bremsstrahlung tagged photon beams at Sendai

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirose, K.; Chiba, M.; Inoue, M.; Kanda, H.; Kimura, R.; Kino, K.; Kobayashi, Y.; Konno, O.; Maeda, K.; Miyase, H.; Miyamoto, A.; Ohtsuki, T.; Saito, A.; Suda, T.; Takahashi, K.; Tamae, T.; Terasaki, Y.; Terasawa, T.; Tsubota, H.; Tsuruta, T.; Utoyama, M.; Yuuki, H.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yamazaki, H.

    2006-01-01

    A new beam line for photonuclear reaction experiments using tagged photons has been constructed to take advantage of the completion of the 1.2-GeV STretcher Booster (STB) ring at the Laboratory of Nuclear Science (LNS), Tohoku University. A photon tagging system was installed at the end of the new beam line. It provides bremsstrahlung tagged photon beams in an energy range from 0.2E 0 to 0.8E 0 MeV at the incident electron energy E 0 with an energy resolution of ΔE/E∼10 -2 . The tagged photon intensity I= 6 photons/s is available for typical photonuclear reaction experiments. We introduce the basic parameters of the tagged photons by showing the commissioning data

  9. Some Fundamental Limits on SAW RFID Tag Information Capacity and Collision Resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barton, Richard J.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we apply results from multi-user information theory to study the limits of information capacity and collision resolution for SAW RFID tags. In particular, we derive bounds on the achievable data rate per tag as a function of fundamental parameters such as tag time-bandwidth product, tag signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and number of tags in the environment. We also discuss the implications of these bounds for tag waveform design and tag interrogation efficiency

  10. Epitope mapping of functional domains of human factor V with human and mouse monoclonal antibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Annamalai, A.E.; Rao, A.K.; Chiu, H.C.; Wang, D.; Dutta-Roy, A.K.; Colman, R.W.

    1986-01-01

    The authors previously described two human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) which inactivated factor V. The authors have now purified the predominant antibody (H2) on protein A Sepharose using a pH gradient and typed it as IgG 1 ,. Immunoprecipitation of 125 I-human factor Va with H2 demonstrated specificity for the heavy chain (D), Mr = 105,000. The authors compared using ELISA the competitive binding to factor Va, of H2, H1 and two mouse MAbs, B38 (directed to E) and B10 (to activation peptide, Cl). All four antibodies recognized distinct epitopes in factor V with steric overlap in some cases. Factor Xa showed a concentration dependent competition for binding of H1, H2 and B38 but not B10 to factor V/Va in ELISA. All MAbs bound to factor V/Va in the absence of Ca ++ . However, Ca ++ at 8 mM increased the binding of H1 and H2 to 165% and 360% and did not have any effect on the binding of either mouse MAbs. Prothrombin at a concentration of up to 400 μg/ml did not inhibit binding of any of these antibodies. Thus, both the light (E) and heavy (D) chains of factor Va but not the activation peptide (Cl) interact with factor Xa as defined by the MAbs. In addition, sites on both chains for Ca ++ are recognized by particular MAbs (H1 and H2). These studies increase their knowledge of the interactions of factor V domains in the formation of prothrombinase complex

  11. Recombinant Protein Truncation Strategy for Inducing Bactericidal Antibodies to the Macrophage Infectivity Potentiator Protein of Neisseria meningitidis and Circumventing Potential Cross-Reactivity with Human FK506-Binding Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bielecka, Magdalena K.; Devos, Nathalie; Gilbert, Mélanie; Hung, Miao-Chiu; Weynants, Vincent; Heckels, John E.

    2014-01-01

    A recombinant macrophage infectivity potentiator (rMIP) protein of Neisseria meningitidis induces significant serum bactericidal antibody production in mice and is a candidate meningococcal vaccine antigen. However, bioinformatics analysis of MIP showed some amino acid sequence similarity to human FK506-binding proteins (FKBPs) in residues 166 to 252 located in the globular domain of the protein. To circumvent the potential concern over generating antibodies that could recognize human proteins, we immunized mice with recombinant truncated type I rMIP proteins that lacked the globular domain and the signal leader peptide (LP) signal sequence (amino acids 1 to 22) and contained the His purification tag at either the N or C terminus (C-term). The immunogenicity of truncated rMIP proteins was compared to that of full (i.e., full-length) rMIP proteins (containing the globular domain) with either an N- or C-terminal His tag and with or without the LP sequence. By comparing the functional murine antibody responses to these various constructs, we determined that C-term His truncated rMIP (−LP) delivered in liposomes induced high levels of antibodies that bound to the surface of wild-type but not Δmip mutant meningococci and showed bactericidal activity against homologous type I MIP (median titers of 128 to 256) and heterologous type II and III (median titers of 256 to 512) strains, thereby providing at least 82% serogroup B strain coverage. In contrast, in constructs lacking the LP, placement of the His tag at the N terminus appeared to abrogate bactericidal activity. The strategy used in this study would obviate any potential concerns regarding the use of MIP antigens for inclusion in bacterial vaccines. PMID:25452551

  12. Recombinant protein truncation strategy for inducing bactericidal antibodies to the macrophage infectivity potentiator protein of Neisseria meningitidis and circumventing potential cross-reactivity with human FK506-binding proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bielecka, Magdalena K; Devos, Nathalie; Gilbert, Mélanie; Hung, Miao-Chiu; Weynants, Vincent; Heckels, John E; Christodoulides, Myron

    2015-02-01

    A recombinant macrophage infectivity potentiator (rMIP) protein of Neisseria meningitidis induces significant serum bactericidal antibody production in mice and is a candidate meningococcal vaccine antigen. However, bioinformatics analysis of MIP showed some amino acid sequence similarity to human FK506-binding proteins (FKBPs) in residues 166 to 252 located in the globular domain of the protein. To circumvent the potential concern over generating antibodies that could recognize human proteins, we immunized mice with recombinant truncated type I rMIP proteins that lacked the globular domain and the signal leader peptide (LP) signal sequence (amino acids 1 to 22) and contained the His purification tag at either the N or C terminus (C-term). The immunogenicity of truncated rMIP proteins was compared to that of full (i.e., full-length) rMIP proteins (containing the globular domain) with either an N- or C-terminal His tag and with or without the LP sequence. By comparing the functional murine antibody responses to these various constructs, we determined that C-term His truncated rMIP (-LP) delivered in liposomes induced high levels of antibodies that bound to the surface of wild-type but not Δmip mutant meningococci and showed bactericidal activity against homologous type I MIP (median titers of 128 to 256) and heterologous type II and III (median titers of 256 to 512) strains, thereby providing at least 82% serogroup B strain coverage. In contrast, in constructs lacking the LP, placement of the His tag at the N terminus appeared to abrogate bactericidal activity. The strategy used in this study would obviate any potential concerns regarding the use of MIP antigens for inclusion in bacterial vaccines. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  13. Cross-Lingual Morphological Tagging for Low-Resource Languages

    OpenAIRE

    Buys, Jan; Botha, Jan A.

    2016-01-01

    Morphologically rich languages often lack the annotated linguistic resources required to develop accurate natural language processing tools. We propose models suitable for training morphological taggers with rich tagsets for low-resource languages without using direct supervision. Our approach extends existing approaches of projecting part-of-speech tags across languages, using bitext to infer constraints on the possible tags for a given word type or token. We propose a tagging model using Ws...

  14. Plastic-casting intrinsic-surface unique identifier (tag)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palm, R.G.; De Volpi, A.

    1995-04-01

    This report describes the development of an authenticated intrinsic-surf ace tagging method for unique- identification of controlled items. Although developed for control of items limited by an arms control treaty, this method has other potential applications to keep track of critical or high-value items. Each tag (unique-identifier) consists of the intrinsic, microscopic surface topography of a small designated area on a controlled item. It is implemented by making a baseline plastic casting of the designated tag area and usually placing a cover (for example, a bar-code label) over this area to protect the surface from environmental alteration. The plastic casting is returned to a laboratory and prepared for high-resolution scanning electron microscope imaging. Several images are digitized and stored for use as a standard for authentication of castings taken during future inspections. Authentication is determined by numerically comparing digital images. Commercially available hardware and software are used for this tag. Tag parameters are optimized, so unique casting images are obtained from original surfaces, and images obtained from attempted duplicate surfaces are detected. This optimization uses the modulation transfer function, a first principle of image analysis, to determine the parameters. Surface duplication experiments confirmed the optimization

  15. Quantitative assessment of antibody internalization with novel monoclonal antibodies against Alexa fluorophores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao-Chan, Sindy; Daine-Matsuoka, Barbara; Heald, Nathan; Wong, Tiffany; Lin, Tracey; Cai, Allen G; Lai, Michelle; D'Alessio, Joseph A; Theunissen, Jan-Willem

    2015-01-01

    Antibodies against cell surface antigens may be internalized through their specific interactions with these proteins and in some cases may induce or perturb antigen internalization. The anti-cancer efficacy of antibody-drug conjugates is thought to rely on their uptake by cancer cells expressing the surface antigen. Numerous techniques, including microscopy and flow cytometry, have been used to identify antibodies with desired cellular uptake rates. To enable quantitative measurements of internalization of labeled antibodies, an assay based on internalized and quenched fluorescence was developed. For this approach, we generated novel anti-Alexa Fluor monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that effectively and specifically quench cell surface-bound Alexa Fluor 488 or Alexa Fluor 594 fluorescence. Utilizing Alexa Fluor-labeled mAbs against the EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase, we showed that the anti-Alexa Fluor reagents could be used to monitor internalization quantitatively over time. The anti-Alexa Fluor mAbs were also validated in a proof of concept dual-label internalization assay with simultaneous exposure of cells to two different mAbs. Importantly, the unique anti-Alexa Fluor mAbs described here may also enable other single- and dual-label experiments, including label detection and signal enhancement in macromolecules, trafficking of proteins and microorganisms, and cell migration and morphology.

  16. Quantitative assessment of antibody internalization with novel monoclonal antibodies against Alexa fluorophores.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sindy Liao-Chan

    Full Text Available Antibodies against cell surface antigens may be internalized through their specific interactions with these proteins and in some cases may induce or perturb antigen internalization. The anti-cancer efficacy of antibody-drug conjugates is thought to rely on their uptake by cancer cells expressing the surface antigen. Numerous techniques, including microscopy and flow cytometry, have been used to identify antibodies with desired cellular uptake rates. To enable quantitative measurements of internalization of labeled antibodies, an assay based on internalized and quenched fluorescence was developed. For this approach, we generated novel anti-Alexa Fluor monoclonal antibodies (mAbs that effectively and specifically quench cell surface-bound Alexa Fluor 488 or Alexa Fluor 594 fluorescence. Utilizing Alexa Fluor-labeled mAbs against the EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase, we showed that the anti-Alexa Fluor reagents could be used to monitor internalization quantitatively over time. The anti-Alexa Fluor mAbs were also validated in a proof of concept dual-label internalization assay with simultaneous exposure of cells to two different mAbs. Importantly, the unique anti-Alexa Fluor mAbs described here may also enable other single- and dual-label experiments, including label detection and signal enhancement in macromolecules, trafficking of proteins and microorganisms, and cell migration and morphology.

  17. Combination of same-side with opposite-side flavour tagging

    CERN Document Server

    Calvo, M; Musy, M

    2010-01-01

    A considerable number of CP violation measurements require the most possible accurate knowledge of the flavour at production of the reconstructed $B$ meson. The performance of different flavour tagging methods will be measured from control channels. One of the possible tagging methods that can be used is the one known as $Same Side kaon$. In this note we present how to calibrate the response of the tagging algorithms using the data and combine the result with the so called $Opposite Side tagging$. Also trigger and selection effects are briefly discussed.

  18. Influenza human monoclonal antibody 1F1 interacts with three major antigenic sites and residues mediating human receptor specificity in H1N1 viruses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tshidi Tsibane

    Full Text Available Most monoclonal antibodies (mAbs to the influenza A virus hemagglutinin (HA head domain exhibit very limited breadth of inhibitory activity due to antigenic drift in field strains. However, mAb 1F1, isolated from a 1918 influenza pandemic survivor, inhibits select human H1 viruses (1918, 1943, 1947, and 1977 isolates. The crystal structure of 1F1 in complex with the 1918 HA shows that 1F1 contacts residues that are classically defined as belonging to three distinct antigenic sites, Sa, Sb and Ca(2. The 1F1 heavy chain also reaches into the receptor binding site (RBS and interacts with residues that contact sialoglycan receptors and determine HA receptor specificity. The 1F1 epitope is remarkably similar to the previously described murine HC63 H3 epitope, despite significant sequence differences between H1 and H3 HAs. Both antibodies potently inhibit receptor binding, but only HC63 can block the pH-induced conformational changes in HA that drive membrane fusion. Contacts within the RBS suggested that 1F1 may be sensitive to changes that alter HA receptor binding activity. Affinity assays confirmed that sequence changes that switch the HA to avian receptor specificity affect binding of 1F1 and a mAb possessing a closely related heavy chain, 1I20. To characterize 1F1 cross-reactivity, additional escape mutant selection and site-directed mutagenesis were performed. Residues 190 and 227 in the 1F1 epitope were found to be critical for 1F1 reactivity towards 1918, 1943 and 1977 HAs, as well as for 1I20 reactivity towards the 1918 HA. Therefore, 1F1 heavy-chain interactions with conserved RBS residues likely contribute to its ability to inhibit divergent HAs.

  19. FY 2000 Project of developing international standards for supporting new industries. SMIL tag standard of the three-dimensional image data, based on MXL; 2000 nendo shinki sangyo shiengata kokusai hyojun kaihatsu jigyo seika hokokusho. XML wo base to shita rittai eizo data SMIL tag tsuke kikaku no hyojunka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-03-01

    This project is aimed at proposals of the standards for utilizing three-dimensional images for multimedia presentation on the Internet. Described herein are the FY 2000 results for proposal of SMIL (synchronized multimedia integration language) tag standard of the three-dimensional image data, based on XML which is the next generation standard of HTML, and research and development of the generated editor of tag data for the three-dimensional images, three-dimensional QuickTimeVR player and three-dimensional MPEG player. The FY 2000 efforts are directed to the examination/proposal of the tags for three-dimensional images which are not defined by the present XML and SMIL, based on which the tag editor is developed. The other efforts include survey on the latest situations around the standards and trends of the Web and three-dimensional data; and development of the player and browser of SMIL tags, both for three-dimensional images. The efforts for the international standardization include preparation of the three-dimensional standard drafts for displaying various media data in the three-dimensional world, which are submitted to the W3C members to sound their opinions, and collection of related information. (NEDO)

  20. A Novel Image Tag Completion Method Based on Convolutional Neural Transformation

    KAUST Repository

    Geng, Yanyan; Zhang, Guohui; Li, Weizhi; Gu, Yi; Liang, Ru-Ze; Liang, Gaoyuan; Wang, Jingbin; Wu, Yanbin; Patil, Nitin; Wang, Jing-Yan

    2017-01-01

    In the problems of image retrieval and annotation, complete textual tag lists of images play critical roles. However, in real-world applications, the image tags are usually incomplete, thus it is important to learn the complete tags for images. In this paper, we study the problem of image tag complete and proposed a novel method for this problem based on a popular image representation method, convolutional neural network (CNN). The method estimates the complete tags from the convolutional filtering outputs of images based on a linear predictor. The CNN parameters, linear predictor, and the complete tags are learned jointly by our method. We build a minimization problem to encourage the consistency between the complete tags and the available incomplete tags, reduce the estimation error, and reduce the model complexity. An iterative algorithm is developed to solve the minimization problem. Experiments over benchmark image data sets show its effectiveness.

  1. A Novel Image Tag Completion Method Based on Convolutional Neural Transformation

    KAUST Repository

    Geng, Yanyan

    2017-10-24

    In the problems of image retrieval and annotation, complete textual tag lists of images play critical roles. However, in real-world applications, the image tags are usually incomplete, thus it is important to learn the complete tags for images. In this paper, we study the problem of image tag complete and proposed a novel method for this problem based on a popular image representation method, convolutional neural network (CNN). The method estimates the complete tags from the convolutional filtering outputs of images based on a linear predictor. The CNN parameters, linear predictor, and the complete tags are learned jointly by our method. We build a minimization problem to encourage the consistency between the complete tags and the available incomplete tags, reduce the estimation error, and reduce the model complexity. An iterative algorithm is developed to solve the minimization problem. Experiments over benchmark image data sets show its effectiveness.

  2. Tapping into local lore: toward scalable local mapping and tagging for rural Africa using mobile devices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Kasper L; Winschiers-Theophilus, Heike; Rodil, Kasper

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we present a context-aware tool designed for mapping and tagging objects and places of importance to rural communities using sensor-enabled mobile devices. These data sets comprise comprehensive models of specific environments which we use for creating interactive visualized knowled...

  3. Antibody recognition of Z-DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lafer, E.M.; Moeller, A.; Valle, R.P.C.; Nordheim, V.A.; Rich, A.; Stollar, B.D.; Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge)

    1983-01-01

    To measure serological reactions under physiological ionic strength, we prepared a brominated (Bl) poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC), which forms a stable Z helix in solutions of low salt concentration. Mice and rabbits were immunized with this polymer complexed with the basic protein methylated bovine serum albumin (MBSA), and it was discovered that the Z-DNA helix is a strong immunogen. Various antibody populations were purified from the rabbit serum by quantitative immunoprecipitation. Spleen cells from the mice were used for the preparation of hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies. Anti-Z-DNA antibodies were also raised by immunizing animals with poly(dG-dm 5 C).poly(dG-dm 5 C) under conditions where it was reported to be in the left-handed Z conformation as well as unmodified poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) that was in the right-handed B conformation: both were complexed with MBSA. Z-DNA reactive antibodies were found in both murine and human SLE. A Z-DNA-specific as well as a dDNA and Z-DNA cross-reactive antibody population were distinguished by affinity chromatography of the SLE sera. The specificities of the various anti-Z-DNA antibody populations were measured by direct-binding and competitive radioimmunoassays, using synthetic polymers of defined structure under various ionic strengths. These studies allow us to map the possible antigenic sites for these antibodies, which serve as a model for DNA-protein recognition. The findings also established the usefulness of the antibodies as biochemical probes for Z-DNA. 29 references, 6 figures, 1 table

  4. Glycosylation profiles of therapeutic antibody pharmaceuticals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wacker, Christoph; Berger, Christoph N; Girard, Philippe; Meier, Roger

    2011-11-01

    Recombinant antibodies specific for human targets are often used as therapeutics and represent a major class of drug products. Their therapeutic efficacy depends on the formation of antibody complexes resulting in the elimination of a target molecule or the modulation of specific signalling pathways. The physiological effects of antibody therapeutics are known to depend on the structural characteristics of the antibody molecule, specifically on the glycosylation which is the result of posttranslational modifications. Hence, production of therapeutic antibodies with a defined and consistent glycoform profile is needed which still remains a considerable challenge to the biopharmaceutical industry. To provide an insight into the industries capability to control their manufacturing process and to provide antibodies of highest quality, we conducted a market surveillance study and compared major oligosaccharide profiles of a number of monoclonal antibody pharmaceuticals sampled on the Swiss market. Product lot-to-lot variability was found to be generally low, suggesting that a majority of manufacturers have implemented high quality standards in their production processes. However, proportions of G0, G1 and G2 core-fucosylated chains derived from different products varied considerably and showed a bias towards the immature agalactosidated G0 form. Interestingly, differences in glycosylation caused by the production cell type seem to be of less importance compared with process related parameters such as cell growth. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Tissue-specific tagging of endogenous loci in Drosophila melanogaster

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate Koles

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Fluorescent protein tags have revolutionized cell and developmental biology, and in combination with binary expression systems they enable diverse tissue-specific studies of protein function. However these binary expression systems often do not recapitulate endogenous protein expression levels, localization, binding partners and/or developmental windows of gene expression. To address these limitations, we have developed a method called T-STEP (tissue-specific tagging of endogenous proteins that allows endogenous loci to be tagged in a tissue specific manner. T-STEP uses a combination of efficient CRISPR/Cas9-enhanced gene targeting and tissue-specific recombinase-mediated tag swapping to temporally and spatially label endogenous proteins. We have employed this method to GFP tag OCRL (a phosphoinositide-5-phosphatase in the endocytic pathway and Vps35 (a Parkinson's disease-implicated component of the endosomal retromer complex in diverse Drosophila tissues including neurons, glia, muscles and hemocytes. Selective tagging of endogenous proteins allows, for the first time, cell type-specific live imaging and proteomics in complex tissues.

  6. Improved determination of left ventricular volume with myocardial tagging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peshock, R.M.; Takai, H.; Baker, K.V.; Clarke, G.D.; McDonald, G.G.; Parkey, R.W.

    1991-01-01

    Cine MR imaging can be used to determine ventricular volume and ejection fraction. However, definition of the endocardial surface can be difficult, leading some investigators to suggest that black-blood studies are preferable. Grid tagging with use of spatial modulation of magnetization has been used to improve assessments of wall motion. The purpose of this paper, is to determine if grid tagging would also facilitate definition of the endocardial border for volume and ejection fraction calculations. Grid tagging based on spatial modulation of magnetization was implemented on a Toshiba 0.5-T MR imaging device. Standard RAO images were obtained in 10 normal volunteers with use of standard cine MR imaging sequences (33/22) with and without grid tagging. Images were analyzed to determine ventricular volume, cardiac output and wall motion. Images obtained without tagging generally showed good contrast at end diastole, but definition of the endocardial border was frequently more difficult in middle to late systole. Images with tagging provided significantly better definition of endocardial borders, particularly during systole

  7. Natural antibodies related to metabolic and mammary health in dairy cows

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Knegsel, van A.T.M.; Hostens, M.; Vries Reilingh, de G.; Lammers, A.; Kemp, B.; Opsomer, G.; Parmentier, H.K.

    2012-01-01

    Natural antibodies (NAb) are defined as antibodies that circulate in normal healthy individuals under the absence of deliberate antigenic stimulation. Two types of NAb are distinguished: NAb towards exogenous antigens and NAb towards autoantigens (N(A)Ab). The objectives of the current study were

  8. Tagging, Encoding, and Jones Optimality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danvy, Olivier; López, Pablo Ernesto Martínes

    2003-01-01

    A partial evaluator is said to be Jones-optimal if the result of specializing a self-interpreter with respect to a source program is textually identical to the source program, modulo renaming. Jones optimality has already been obtained if the self-interpreter is untyped. If the selfinterpreter...... is typed, however, residual programs are cluttered with type tags. To obtain the original source program, these tags must be removed. A number of sophisticated solutions have already been proposed. We observe, however, that with a simple representation shift, ordinary partial evaluation is already Jones...

  9. Rationalization and Design of the Complementarity Determining Region Sequences in an Antibody-Antigen Recognition Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ing-Chien; Lee, Yu-Ching; Chen, Jun-Bo; Tsai, Keng-Chang; Chen, Ching-Tai; Chang, Jeng-Yih; Yang, Ei-Wen; Hsu, Po-Chiang; Jian, Jhih-Wei; Hsu, Hung-Ju; Chang, Hung-Ju; Hsu, Wen-Lian; Huang, Kai-Fa; Ma, Alex Che; Yang, An-Suei

    2012-01-01

    Protein-protein interactions are critical determinants in biological systems. Engineered proteins binding to specific areas on protein surfaces could lead to therapeutics or diagnostics for treating diseases in humans. But designing epitope-specific protein-protein interactions with computational atomistic interaction free energy remains a difficult challenge. Here we show that, with the antibody-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) interaction as a model system, the experimentally observed amino acid preferences in the antibody-antigen interface can be rationalized with 3-dimensional distributions of interacting atoms derived from the database of protein structures. Machine learning models established on the rationalization can be generalized to design amino acid preferences in antibody-antigen interfaces, for which the experimental validations are tractable with current high throughput synthetic antibody display technologies. Leave-one-out cross validation on the benchmark system yielded the accuracy, precision, recall (sensitivity) and specificity of the overall binary predictions to be 0.69, 0.45, 0.63, and 0.71 respectively, and the overall Matthews correlation coefficient of the 20 amino acid types in the 24 interface CDR positions was 0.312. The structure-based computational antibody design methodology was further tested with other antibodies binding to VEGF. The results indicate that the methodology could provide alternatives to the current antibody technologies based on animal immune systems in engineering therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies against predetermined antigen epitopes. PMID:22457753

  10. Forward Jet Vertex Tagging: A new technique for the identification and rejection of forward pileup jets

    CERN Document Server

    The ATLAS collaboration

    2015-01-01

    The suppression of pileup forward jets is crucial for a variety of physics analyses at the LHC, ranging from VBF Higgs production to SUSY searches. A novel forward pileup tagging technique that exploits the correlation between central and forward jets originating from pileup interactions is presented. Tracking and vertex information in the central $\\eta$ region is used to indirectly tag and reject forward pileup jets that are back-to-back to central pileup jets. The pileup suppression power observed in Pythia8 simulated events increases with jet \\pt and ranges between a 30\\% and 60\\% pileup jet removal for 90\\% jet selection efficiency for jets between 20 and 50 GeV.

  11. Monoclonal antibodies directed to E1 glycoprotein of rubella virus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umino, Y.; Sato, A.; Katow, S.; Matsuno, T.; Sugiura, A.

    1985-01-01

    We have prepared four monoclonal antibodies to rubella virus E1 glycoprotein. Three nonoverlapping antigenic sites were delineated on E1 protein by competitive binding assays. Antibodies binding to one site were characterized by high hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titer but poor neutralizing activity. The addition of antiglobulin conferred neutralizing activity. Antibodies directed to two other antigenic sites had modest hemolysis inhibition but little or no HI and neutralizing activities. The addition of antiglobulin markedly augmented HI activity but had little effect on neutralizing activity. Epitopes defined by three antibodies were conserved among four rubella virus strains examined. (Author)

  12. b-flavour tagging in pp collisions

    CERN Multimedia

    Birnkraut, Alex

    2015-01-01

    An essential ingredient of all time-dependent CP violation studies of B mesons is the ability to tag the initial flavour of the B meson. The harsh environment of 7 and 8 TeV pp collisions makes this a particularly difficult enterprise. We report progresses in the flavour tagging of B0 and Bs mesons, including developments of novel techniques like the use of an opposite side charm tagger.

  13. Structural and energetic hot-spots for the interaction between a ladder-like polycyclic ether and the anti-ciguatoxin antibody 10C9Fab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ui, Mihoko; Tanaka, Yoshikazu; Tsumuraya, Takeshi; Fujii, Ikuo; Inoue, Masayuki; Hirama, Masahiro; Tsumoto, Kouhei

    2011-03-01

    The mechanism by which anti-ciguatoxin antibody 10C9Fab recognizes a fragment of ciguatoxin CTX3C (CTX3C-ABCDE) was investigated by mutational analysis based on structural data. 10C9Fab has an extraordinarily large and deep antigen-binding pocket at the center of its variable region. We mutated several residues located at the antigen-binding pocket to Ala, and kinetic analysis of the interactions between the mutant proteins and the antigen fragment was performed. The results indicate that some residues associated with the rigid antigen-binding pocket are structural hot-spots and that L-N94 is an energetic hot-spot for association of the antibody with the antigen fragment CTX3C-ABCDE, suggesting the importance of structural complementarity and energetic hot-spot interactions for specific recognition of polycyclic ethers.

  14. Effect of anesthetic, tag size, and surgeon experience on postsurgical recovering after implantation of electronic tags in a neotropical fish: Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1837 (Characiformes: Prochilodontidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João M. Lopes

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Implantation of telemetry transmitters in fish can be affected by different parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of type of anesthetic, tag size, and surgeon experience on surgical and postsurgical wound healing in the neotropical fish Prochilodus lineatus . In total, eighty fish were surgically implanted with telemetry transmitters and forty fish were kept as controls. Forty fish were implanted with a small tag and other forty were implanted with a large tag. Similarly, forty fish were anesthetized with eugenol and forty fish were anesthetized by electroanesthesia, and forty surgeries were performed by an expert surgeon and forty surgeries were performed by novice surgeons. At the end of the experimental period seventeen (21.3% tagged fish had postsurgical complications, including death (1.3%, tag expulsion (2.5%, antenna migration (2.5%, and infection (15%. Tag size was the key determinant for postsurgical complications. Surgical details and postsurgical wound healing were not affected by type of anesthetic. Incision size, duration of surgery, and wound area were significantly affected by tag size and surgeon experience, and the number of sutures was significantly affected by tag size only. The results indicate that successful implantation of telemetry transmitters is dependent upon surgeon experience and tag size.

  15. Defining the molecular basis of BubR1 kinetochore interactions and APC/C-CDC20 inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Arcy, Sheena; Davies, Owen R; Blundell, Tom L; Bolanos-Garcia, Victor M

    2010-05-07

    BubR1 is essential for the mitotic checkpoint that prevents aneuploidy in cellular progeny by triggering anaphase delay in response to kinetochores incorrectly/not attached to the mitotic spindle. Here, we define the molecular architecture of the functionally significant N-terminal region of human BubR1 and present the 1.8 A crystal structure of its tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain. The structure reveals divergence from the classical TPR fold and is highly similar to the TPR domain of budding yeast Bub1. Shared distinctive features include a disordered loop insertion, a 3(10)-helix, a tight turn involving glycine positive Phi angles, and noncanonical packing of and between the TPR motifs. We also define the molecular determinants of the interaction between BubR1 and kinetochore protein Blinkin. We identify a shallow groove on the concave surface of the BubR1 TPR domain that forms multiple discrete and potentially cooperative interactions with Blinkin. Finally, we present evidence for a direct interaction between BubR1 and Bub1 mediated by regions C-terminal to their TPR domains. This interaction provides a mechanism for Bub1-dependent kinetochore recruitment of BubR1. We thus present novel molecular insights into the structure of BubR1 and its interactions at the kinetochore-microtubule interface. Our studies pave the way for future structure-directed engineering aimed at dissecting the roles of kinetochore-bound and other pools of BubR1 in vivo.

  16. CT colonography with rectal iodine tagging: Feasibility and comparison with oral tagging in a colorectal cancer screening population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neri, Emanuele; Mantarro, Annalisa; Faggioni, Lorenzo; Scalise, Paola; Bemi, Pietro; Pancrazi, Francesca; D'Ippolito, Giuseppe; Bartolozzi, Carlo

    2015-09-01

    To evaluate feasibility, diagnostic performance, patient acceptance, and overall examination time of CT colonography (CTC) performed through rectal administration of iodinated contrast material. Six-hundred asymptomatic subjects (male:female=270:330; mean 63 years) undergoing CTC for colorectal cancer screening on an individual basis were consecutively enrolled in the study. Out of them, 503 patients (group 1) underwent CTC with rectal tagging, of which 55 had a total of 77 colonic lesions. The remaining 97 patients (group 2) were randomly selected to receive CTC with oral tagging of which 15 had a total of 20 colonic lesions. CTC findings were compared with optical colonoscopy, and per-segment image quality was visually assessed using a semi-quantitative score (1=poor, 2=adequate, 3=excellent). In 70/600 patients (11.7%), CTC was performed twice with both types of tagging over a 5-year follow-up cancer screening program. In this subgroup, patient acceptance was rated via phone interview two weeks after CTC using a semi-quantitative scale (1=poor, 2=fair, 3=average, 4=good, 5=excellent). Mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of CTC with rectal vs oral tagging were 96.1% (CI95% 85.4÷99.3%) vs 89.4% (CI95% 65.4÷98.1%), 95.3% (CI95% 90.7÷97.8%) vs 95.8% (CI95% 87.6÷98.9%), 86.0% (CI95% 73.6÷93.3) vs 85.0% (CI95% 61.1÷96.0%), and 98.8% (CI95% 95.3÷99.8%) vs 97.2% (CI95% 89.4÷99.5%), respectively (p>0.05). Polyp detection rates were not statistically different between groups 1 and 2 (p>0.05). Overall examination time was significantly shorter with rectal than with oral tagging (18.3±3.5 vs 215.6±10.3 minutes, respectively; pRectal iodine tagging can be an effective alternative to oral tagging for CTC with the advantages of greater patient acceptance and lower overall examination time. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Generation and characterization of a human-mouse chimeric high-affinity antibody that detects the DYKDDDDK FLAG peptide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeda, Koki; Koga, Tomoaki; Sasaki, Fumiyuki; Ueno, Ayumi; Saeki, Kazuko; Okuno, Toshiaki; Yokomizo, Takehiko

    2017-05-13

    DYKDDDDK peptide (FLAG) is a useful tool for investigating the function and localization of proteins whose antibodies (Abs) are not available. We recently established a high-affinity monoclonal antibody (mAb) for FLAG (clone 2H8). The 2H8 Ab is highly sensitive for detecting FLAG-tagged proteins by flowcytometry and immunoprecipitation, but it can yield nonspecific signals in immunohistochemistry of mouse tissues because it is of mouse origin. In this study, we reduced nonspecific signals by generating a chimeric 2H8 Ab with Fc fragments derived from human immunoglobulin. We fused a 5' terminal cDNA fragments for the Fab region of 2H8 mAb with 3' terminal cDNA fragments for Fc region of human IgG1. We transfected both chimeric plasmids and purified the resulting human-mouse chimeric 2H8. The chimeric 2H8 Ab successfully detected FLAG-tagged proteins in flowcytometry with anti-human IgG secondary Ab with comparable sensitivity to 2H8 mAb. Importantly, chimeric 2H8 detected specific FLAG peptide signals without nonspecific signals in immunohistochemical analysis with mouse tissues. This human-mouse chimeric high-affinity anti-FLAG Ab will prove useful for future immunohistochemical analysis of mouse tissues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 77 FR 76367 - Availability of E-Tag Information to Commission Staff

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-28

    ...-Tag Access to MMUs, RTOs and ISOs........ 43 1. E-Tag NOPR 43 2. Comments 44 3. Commission... requires that Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), Independent System Operators (ISOs) and their... MMUs for RTOs and ISOs to have access to complete e-Tag information, including access to e-Tags for...

  19. A tool for conditions tag management in ATLAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharmazanashvili, A; Batiashvili, G; Gvaberidze, G; Shekriladze, L; Formica, A

    2014-01-01

    ATLAS Conditions data include about 2 TB in a relational database and 400 GB of files referenced from the database. Conditions data is entered and retrieved using COOL, the API for accessing data in the LCG Conditions Database infrastructure. It is managed using an ATLAS-customized python based tool set. Conditions data are required for every reconstruction and simulation job, so access to them is crucial for all aspects of ATLAS data taking and analysis, as well as by preceding tasks to derive optimal corrections to reconstruction. Optimized sets of conditions for processing are accomplished using strict version control on those conditions: a process which assigns COOL Tags to sets of conditions, and then unifies those conditions over data-taking intervals into a COOL Global Tag. This Global Tag identifies the set of conditions used to process data so that the underlying conditions can be uniquely identified with 100% reproducibility should the processing be executed again. Understanding shifts in the underlying conditions from one tag to another and ensuring interval completeness for all detectors for a set of runs to be processed is a complex task, requiring tools beyond the above mentioned python utilities. Therefore, a JavaScript /PHP based utility called the Conditions Tag Browser (CTB) has been developed. CTB gives detector and conditions experts the possibility to navigate through the different databases and COOL folders; explore the content of given tags and the differences between them, as well as their extent in time; visualize the content of channels associated with leaf tags. This report describes the structure and PHP/ JavaScript classes of functions of the CTB.

  20. Implementing traceability using particle randomness-based textile printed tags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrawal, T. K.; Koehl, L.; Campagne, C.

    2017-10-01

    This article introduces a random particle-based traceability tag for textiles. The proposed tag not only act as a unique signature for the corresponding textile product but also possess the features such as easy to manufacture and hard to copy. It seeks applications in brand authentication and traceability in textile and clothing (T&C) supply chain. A prototype has been developed by screen printing process, in which micron-scale particles were mixed with the printing paste and printed on cotton fabrics to attain required randomness. To encode the randomness, the image of the developed tag was taken and analyzed using image processing. The randomness of the particles acts as a product key or unique signature which is required to decode the tag. Finally, washing and abrasion resistance tests were conducted to check the durability of the printed tag.

  1. Directly Printable Frequency Signature Chipless RFID Tag for IoT Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Anam

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This Paper proposes a low-cost, compact, flexible passive chipless RFID tag that has been designed and analyzed. The tag is a bowtie-shaped resonator based structure with 36 slots; where each patch is loaded with 18 slots. The tag is set in a way that each slot in a patch corresponds to a metal gap in the other patch. Hence there is no mutual interference, and high data capacity of 36 bits is achieved in such compact size. Each slot corresponds to a resonance frequency in the RCS curve, and each resonance corresponds to a bit. The tag has been realized for Taconic TLX-0, PET, and Kapton®HN (DuPontTM substrates with copper, aluminum, and silver nanoparticle-based ink (Cabot CCI-300 as conducting materials. The tag exhibits flexibility and well optimized while remaining in a compact size. The proposed tag yields 36 bits in a tag dimension of 24.5 x 25.5 mm^2. These 36 bits can tag 2^36 number of objects/items. The ultimate high capacity, compact size, flexible passive chipless RFID tag can be arrayed in various industrial and IoT-based applications.

  2. Flavour Tagging Algorithms and Performances in LHCb

    CERN Document Server

    Calvi, M; Musy, M

    2007-01-01

    In this note we describe the general characteristics of the LHCb flavour tagging algorithms and summarize the tagging performances on the Monte Carlo samples generated for the Data Challenge 2004 in different decay channels. We also discuss some systematics effects and possible methods to extract the mistag fraction in real data.

  3. A measurement of Rb using mutually exclusive tags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barate, R.; Buskulic, D.; Decamp, D.; Ghez, P.; Goy, C.; Lees, J.-P.; Lucotte, A.; Minard, M.-N.; Nief, J.-Y.; Pietrzyk, B.; Casado, M. P.; Chmeissani, M.; Comas, P.; Crespo, J. M.; Delfino, M.; Fernandez, E.; Fernandez-Bosman, M.; Garrido, Ll.; Juste, A.; Martinez, M.; Miquel, R.; Mir, Ll. M.; Orteu, S.; Padilla, C.; Park, I. C.; Pascual, A.; Perlas, J. A.; Riu, I.; Sanchez, F.; Teubert, F.; Colaleo, A.; Creanza, D.; de Palma, M.; Gelao, G.; Iaselli, G.; Maggi, G.; Maggi, M.; Marinelli, N.; Nuzzo, S.; Ranieri, A.; Raso, G.; Ruggieri, F.; Selvaggi, G.; Silvestris, L.; Tempesta, P.; Tricomi, A.; Zito, G.; Huang, X.; Lin, J.; Ouyang, Q.; Wang, T.; Xie, Y.; Xu, R.; Xue, S.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhao, W.; Abbaneo, D.; Alemany, R.; Becker, U.; Bazarko, A. O.; Bright-Thomas, P.; Cattaneo, M.; Cerutti, F.; Drevermann, H.; Forty, R. W.; Frank, M.; Hagelberg, R.; Harvey, J.; Janot, P.; Jost, B.; Kneringer, E.; Knobloch, J.; Lehraus, I.; Lutters, G.; Mato, P.; Minten, A.; Moneta, L.; Pacheco, A.; Pusztaszeri, J.-F.; Ranjard, F.; Rensing, P.; Rizzo, G.; Rolandi, L.; Schlatter, D.; Schmitt, M.; Schneider, O.; Tejessy, W.; Tomalin, I. R.; Wachsmuth, H.; Wagner, A.; Ajaltouni, Z.; Barrès, A.; Boyer, C.; Falvard, A.; Ferdi, C.; Gay, P.; Guicheney, C.; Henrard, P.; Jousset, J.; Michel, B.; Monteil, S.; Montret, J.-C.; Pallin, D.; Perret, P.; Podlyski, F.; Proriol, J.; Rosnet, P.; Rossignol, J.-M.; Fearnley, T.; Hansen, J. B.; Hansen, J. D.; Hansen, J. R.; Hansen, P. H.; Nilsson, B. S.; Rensch, B.; Wäänänen, A.; Daskalakis, G.; Kyriakis, A.; Markou, C.; Simopoulou, E.; Siotis, I.; Vayaki, A.; Blondel, A.; Bonneaud, G.; Brient, J. C.; Bourdon, P.; Rougé, A.; Rumpf, M.; Valassi, A.; Verderi, M.; Videau, H.; Candlin, D. J.; Parsons, M. I.; Focardi, E.; Parrini, G.; Zachariadou, K.; Corden, M.; Georgiopoulos, C.; Jaffe, D. E.; Antonelli, A.; Bencivenni, G.; Bologna, G.; Bossi, F.; Campana, P.; Capon, G.; Casper, D.; Chiarella, V.; Felici, G.; Laurelli, P.; Mannocchi, G.; Murtas, F.; Murtas, G. P.; Passalacqua, L.; Pepe-Altarelli, M.; Curtis, L.; Dorris, S. J.; Halley, A. W.; Knowles, I. G.; Lynch, J. G.; O'Shea, V.; Raine, C.; Scarr, J. M.; Smith, K.; Teixeira-Dias, P.; Thompson, A. S.; Thomson, E.; Thomson, F.; Turnbull, R. M.; Geweniger, C.; Graefe, G.; Hanke, P.; Hansper, G.; Hepp, V.; Kluge, E. E.; Putzer, A.; Schmidt, M.; Sommer, J.; Tittel, K.; Werner, S.; Wunsch, M.; Beuselinck, R.; Binnie, D. M.; Cameron, W.; Dornan, P. J.; Girone, M.; Goodsir, S.; Martin, E. B.; Moutoussi, A.; Nash, J.; Sedgbeer, J. K.; Stacey, A. M.; Williams, M. D.; Dissertori, G.; Ghete, V. M.; Girtler, P.; Kuhn, D.; Rudolph, G.; Betteridge, A. P.; Bowdery, C. K.; Colrain, P.; Crawford, G.; Finch, A. J.; Foster, F.; Hughes, G.; Sloan, T.; Williams, M. I.; Galla, A.; Giehl, I.; Greene, A. M.; Hoffmann, C.; Jakobs, K.; Kleinknecht, K.; Quast, G.; Renk, B.; Rohne, E.; Sander, H.-G.; van Gemmeren, P.; Zeitnitz, C.; Aubert, J. J.; Benchouk, C.; Bonissent, A.; Bujosa, G.; Calvet, D.; Carr, J.; Coyle, P.; Diaconu, C.; Etienne, F.; Konstantinidis, N.; Leroy, O.; Motsch, F.; Payre, P.; Rousseau, D.; Talby, M.; Sadouki, A.; Thulasidas, M.; Trabelsi, K.; Aleppo, M.; Ragusa, F.; Berlich, R.; Blum, W.; Brown, D.; Büscher, V.; Dietl, H.; Dydak, F.; Ganis, G.; Gotzhein, C.; Kroha, H.; Lütjens, G.; Lutz, G.; Männer, W.; Moser, H.-G.; Richter, R.; Rosado-Schlosser, A.; Schael, S.; Settles, R.; Seywerd, H.; St. Denis, R.; Stenzel, H.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wolf, G.; Boucrot, J.; Callot, O.; Chen, S.; Choi, Y.; Cordier, A.; Davier, M.; Duflot, L.; Grivaz, J.-F.; Heusse, Ph.; Höcker, A.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jacquet, M.; Kim, D. W.; Le Diberder, F.; Lefrançois, J.; Lutz, A.-M.; Nilolic, I.; Schune, M.-H.; Simion, S.; Tournefier, E.; Veillet, J.-J.; Videau, I.; Zerwas, D.; Azzurri, P.; Bagliesi, G.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Bozzi, C.; Calderini, G.; Carpinelli, M.; Ciocci, M. A.; Ciulli, V.; dell'Orso, R.; Fantechi, R.; Ferrante, I.; Foà, L.; Forti, F.; Giassi, A.; Giorgi, M. A.; Gregorio, A.; Ligabue, F.; Lusiani, A.; Marrocchesi, P. S.; Messineo, A.; Palla, F.; Sanguinetti, G.; Sciabà, A.; Spagnolo, P.; Steinberger, J.; Tenchini, R.; Tonelli, G.; Vannini, C.; Venturi, A.; Verdini, P. G.; Blair, G. A.; Bryant, L. M.; Chambers, J. T.; Gao, Y.; Green, M. G.; Medcalf, T.; Perrodo, P.; Strong, J. A.; von Wimmersperg-Toeller, J. H.; Botterill, D. R.; Clifft, R. W.; Edgecock, T. R.; Haywood, S.; Maley, P.; Norton, P. R.; Thompson, J. C.; Wright, A. E.; Bloch-Devaux, B.; Colas, P.; Emery, S.; Kozanecki, W.; Lançon, E.; Lemaire, M. C.; Locci, E.; Perez, P.; Rander, J.; Renardy, J.-F.; Roussarie, A.; Schuller, J.-P.; Schwindling, J.; Trabelsi, A.; Vallage, B.; Black, S. N.; Dann, J. H.; Johnson, R. P.; Kim, H. Y.; Litke, A. M.; McNeil, M. A.; Taylor, G.; Booth, C. N.; Boswell, R.; Brew, C. A. J.; Cartwright, S.; Combley, F.; Kelly, M. S.; Lehto, M.; Newton, W. M.; Reeve, J.; Thompson, L. F.; Böhrer, A.; Brandt, S.; Cowan, G.; Grupen, C.; Saraiva, P.; Smolik, L.; Stephan, F.; Apollonio, M.; Bosisio, L.; Della Marina, R.; Giannini, G.; Gobbo, B.; Musolino, G.; Rothberg, J.; Wasserbaech, S.; Armstrong, S. R.; Charles, E.; Elmer, P.; Ferguson, D. P. S.; Gao, Y. S.; González, S.; Greening, T. C.; Hayes, O. J.; Hu, H.; Jin, S.; McNamara, P. A.; Nachtman, J. M.; Nielsen, J.; Orejudos, W.; Pan, Y. B.; Saadi, Y.; Scott, I. J.; Walsh, J.; Sau, Lan Wu; Wu, X.; Yamartino, J. M.; Zobernig, G.

    1997-02-01

    A measurement of Rb using five mutually exclusive hemisphere tags has been performed by ALEPH using the full LEP1 statistics. Three tags are designed to select the decay of the Z0 to b quarks, while the remaining two selectZ0 decays to c and light quarks, and are used to measure the tagging efficiencies. The result, Rb = 0.2159 +/- 0.0009 (stat) +/- 0.0011 (syst), is in agreement with the electroweak theory prediction of 0.2158 +/- 0.0003.

  4. Novelty exposure overcomes foot shock-induced spatial-memory impairment by processes of synaptic-tagging in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almaguer-Melian, William; Bergado-Rosado, Jorge; Pavón-Fuentes, Nancy; Alberti-Amador, Esteban; Mercerón-Martínez, Daymara; Frey, Julietta U

    2012-01-17

    Novelty processing can transform short-term into long-term memory. We propose that this memory-reinforcing effect of novelty could be explained by mechanisms outlined in the "synaptic tagging hypothesis." Initial short-term memory is sustained by a transient plasticity change at activated synapses and sets synaptic tags. These tags are later able to capture and process the plasticity-related proteins (PRPs), which are required to transform a short-term synaptic change into a long-term one. Novelty is involved in inducing the synthesis of PRPs [Moncada D, et al. (2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:12937-12936], which are then captured by the tagged synapses, consolidating memory. In contrast to novelty, stress can impair learning, memory, and synaptic plasticity. Here, we address questions as to whether novelty-induced PRPs are able to prevent the loss of memory caused by stress and if the latter would not interact with the tag-setting process. We used water-maze (WM) training as a spatial learning paradigm to test our hypothesis. Stress was induced by a strong foot shock (FS; 5 × 1 mA, 2 s) applied 5 min after WM training. Our data show that FS reduced long-term but not short-term memory in the WM paradigm. This negative effect on memory consolidation was time- and training-dependent. Interestingly, novelty exposure prevented the stress-induced memory loss of the spatial task and increased BDNF and Arc expression. This rescuing effect was blocked by anisomycin, suggesting that WM-tagged synapses were not reset by FS and were thus able to capture the novelty-induced PRPs, re-establishing FS-impaired long-term memory.

  5. Baculovirus-mediated expression and isolation of human ribosomal phosphoprotein P0 carrying a GST-tag in a functional state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abo, Yohichi; Hagiya, Akiko; Naganuma, Takao; Tohkairin, Yukiko; Shiomi, Kunihiro; Kajiura, Zenta; Hachimori, Akira; Uchiumi, Toshio; Nakagaki, Masao

    2004-01-01

    We constructed an overexpression system for human ribosomal phosphoprotein P0, together with P1 and P2, which is crucially important for translation. Genes for these proteins, fused with the glutathione S-transferase (GST)-tag at the N-terminus, were inserted into baculovirus and introduced to insect cells. The fusion proteins, but not the proteins without the tag, were efficiently expressed into cells as soluble forms. The fusion protein GST.P0 as well as GST.P1/GST.P2 was phosphorylated in cells as detected by incorporation of 32 P and reactivity with monoclonal anti-phosphoserine antibody. GST.P0 expressed in insect cells, but not the protein obtained in Escherichia coli, had the ability to form a complex with P1 and P2 proteins and to bind to 28S rRNA. Moreover, the GST.P0-P1-P2 complex participated in high eEF-2-dependent GTPase activity. Baculovirus expression systems appear to provide recombinant human P0 samples that can be used for studies on the structure and function

  6. SU-E-I-65: Estimation of Tagging Efficiency in Pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (pCASL) MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jen, M [Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan (China); Yan, F; Tseng, Y; Chen, C [Taipei Medical University - Shuang Ho Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welf, New Taipei City, Taiwan (China); Lin, C [GE Healthcare, Taiwan (China); GE Healthcare China, Beijing (China); Liu, H [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: pCASL was recommended as a potent approach for absolute cerebral blood flow (CBF) quantification in clinical practice. However, uncertainties of tagging efficiency in pCASL remain an issue. This study aimed to estimate tagging efficiency by using short quantitative pulsed ASL scan (FAIR-QUIPSSII) and compare resultant CBF values with those calibrated by using 2D Phase Contrast (PC) MRI. Methods: Fourteen normal volunteers participated in this study. All images, including whole brain (WB) pCASL, WB FAIR-QUIPSSII and single-slice 2D PC, were collected on a 3T clinical MRI scanner with a 8-channel head coil. DeltaM map was calculated by averaging the subtraction of tag/control pairs in pCASL and FAIR-QUIPSSII images and used for CBF calculation. Tagging efficiency was then calculated by the ratio of mean gray matter CBF obtained from pCASL and FAIR-QUIPSSII. For comparison, tagging efficiency was also estimated with 2D PC, a previously established method, by contrast WB CBF in pCASL and 2D PC. Feasibility of estimation from a short FAIR-QUIPSSII scan was evaluated by number of averages required for obtaining a stable deltaM value. Setting deltaM calculated by maximum number of averaging (50 pairs) as reference, stable results were defined within ±10% variation. Results: Tagging efficiencies obtained by 2D PC MRI (0.732±0.092) were significantly lower than which obtained by FAIRQUIPPSSII (0.846±0.097) (P<0.05). Feasibility results revealed that four pairs of images in FAIR-QUIPPSSII scan were sufficient to obtain a robust calibration of less than 10% differences from using 50 pairs. Conclusion: This study found that reliable estimation of tagging efficiency could be obtained by a few pairs of FAIR-QUIPSSII images, which suggested that calibration scan in a short duration (within 30s) was feasible. Considering recent reports concerning variability of PC MRI-based calibration, this study proposed an effective alternative for CBF quantification with pCASL.

  7. Opalescence in monoclonal antibody solutions and its correlation with intermolecular interactions in dilute and concentrated solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raut, Ashlesha S; Kalonia, Devendra S

    2015-04-01

    Opalescence indicates physical instability of a formulation because of the presence of aggregates or liquid-liquid phase separation in solution and has been reported for monoclonal antibody (mAb) formulations. Increased solution opalescence can be attributed to attractive protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Techniques including light scattering, AUC, or membrane osmometry are routinely employed to measure PPIs in dilute solutions, whereas opalescence is seen at relatively higher concentrations, where both long- and short-range forces contribute to overall PPIs. The mAb molecule studied here shows a unique property of high opalescence because of liquid-liquid phase separation. In this study, opalescence measurements are correlated to PPIs measured in diluted and concentrated solutions using light scattering (kD ) and high-frequency rheology (G'), respectively. Charges on the molecules were calculated using zeta potential measurements. Results indicate that high opalescence and phase separation are a result of the attractive interactions in solution; however, the presence of attractive interactions do not always imply phase separation. Temperature dependence of opalescence suggests that thermodynamic contribution to opalescence is significant and Tcloud can be utilized as a potential tool to assess attractive interactions in solution. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  8. Development of a serodiagnostic IgM-ELISA for tick-borne encephalitis virus using subviral particles with strep-tag.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakayasu, Miki; Hirano, Minato; Muto, Memi; Kobayashi, Shintaro; Kariwa, Hiroaki; Yoshii, Kentaro

    2018-06-23

    Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic agent causing severe encephalitis in humans. IgM antibody detection is useful for the serological diagnosis of TBEV infection, because IgM has high specificity for each flavivirus and indicates a recent infection. Commercial IgM-ELISA kits are somewhat expensive and difficulties in their sensitivity have been suggested due to their format and formalin-inactivated antigens. Therefore, the development of an inexpensive IgM-ELISA with high specificity and sensitivity is needed. In this study, a μ-capture ELISA was developed to detect TBEV-specific IgM antibodies using subviral particles (SPs) with strep-tag (strep-SP-IgM-ELISA). The results of our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA were highly correlated with diagnoses made by the neutralization test (sensitivity: 94.1%), and our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA could detect anti-TBEV IgM antibodies in patients who could not be diagnosed with the neutralization test. Besides, 51 of 52 positive samples by a commercial IgM-ELISA were also diagnosed as positive by our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA (98.1%), and our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA could detect anti-TBEV IgM antibodies in all samples that were inconclusive based on the commercial IgM-ELISA. Our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA will be useful for diagnoses in TBE-endemic areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  9. Genetically engineered multivalent single chain antibody constructs for cancer therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surinder Batra

    2006-01-01

    Current therapeutic approaches against the advanced stages of human solid tumors are palliative rather than curative. Many modalities, including, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, either alone or in combination have met with only modest success for advanced metastatic cancers. Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) combines the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with cytotoxic effects of radioisotopes. It is the ''smart'' way of delivering radiation to the known and occult metastatic cancer cells and is independent of drug toxicity and/or hormone resistance. The tumor associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG-72) containing the unique disaccharide sialyl-Tn, is highly expressed in majority of adenocarcinomas, including carcinomas of the prostate, breast, ovaries, pancreas and colon (80-90%) compared to undetectable expression in normal tissues. Monoclonal antibody CC49, reactive with TAG-72, after conjugation to potent gamma- and beta-emitting radionuclides, has been useful in selective systemic radiolocalization of disease and therapy of primary and metastatic tumor sites. However, limited therapeutic responses were observed in patients. Limited success of antibody based delivery of radioisotopes can be attributed to several factors including undesirable pharmacokinetics, poor tumor uptake and high immunogenicity of intact antibodies (IgGs). The primary factors contributing towards the failure of RIT include: (1) longer serum half-lives of the intact IgG molecules resulting in the radiotoxicity, (2) generation of human antibodies against murine antibodies (HAMA) that limits the frequency of dose administration, (3) poor diffusion rates of intact IgG due to the large size and (4) high interstitial fluid pressures (IFP) encountered in solid tumors. The major goal of our multidisciplinary project was to develop specific novel radiopharmaceuticals, with desired pharmacokinetics, for the diagnosis and therapy of solid tumors. To overcome the low uptake of radioactivity by tumors and to

  10. Subcellular localization of estradiol receptor in MCF7 cells studied with nanogold-labelled antibody fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessels, M M; Qualmann, B; Thole, H H; Sierralta, W D

    1998-01-01

    Ultrastructural localization studies of estradiol receptor in hormone-deprived and hormone-stimulated MCF7 cells were done using F(ab') fragments of three different antibodies (#402, 13H2, HT277) covalently linked to nanogold. These ultra-small, non-charged immunoreagents, combined with a size-enlargement by silver enhancement, localized estradiol receptor in both nuclear and cytoplasmic areas of non-stimulated target cells; stimulation with the steroid induced a predominantly nuclear labelling. In the cytoplasm of resting cells, tagging was often observed at or in the proximity of stress fibers. In the nucleus a large proportion of receptor was found inside the nucleolus, specially with the reagent derived from antibody 13H2. We postulate that different accessibilities of receptor epitopes account for the different labelling densities observed at cytoskeletal elements and the nucleoli.

  11. Modeling of hand function by mapping the motion of individual muscle voxels with MR imaging velocity tagging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drace, J.; Pele, N.; Herfkens, R.J.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on a method to correlate the three-dimensional (3D) motion of the fingers with the complex motion of the intrinsic, flexor, and extensor muscles. A better understanding of hand function is important to the medical, surgical, and rehabilitation treatment of patients with arthritic, neurogenic, and mechanical hand dysfunctions. Static, high-resolution MR volumetric imaging defines the 3D shape of each individual bone in the hands of three subjects and three patients. Single-section velocity-tagging sequences (VIGOR) are performed through the hand and forearm, while the actual 3D motion of the hand is computed from the MR model and readings of fiber-optic goniometers attached to each finger. The accuracy of the velocity tagging is also tested with a motion phantom

  12. Comparison of three nonlinear models to describe long-term tag shedding by lake trout

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabrizio, Mary C.; Swanson, Bruce L.; Schram, Stephen T.; Hoff, Michael H.

    1996-01-01

    We estimated long-term tag-shedding rates for lake trout Salvelinus namaycush using two existing models and a model we developed to account for the observed permanence of some tags. Because tag design changed over the course of the study, we examined tag-shedding rates for three types of numbered anchor tags (Floy tags FD-67, FD-67C, and FD-68BC) and an unprinted anchor tag (FD-67F). Lake trout from the Gull Island Shoal region, Lake Superior, were double-tagged, and subsequent recaptures were monitored in annual surveys conducted from 1974 to 1992. We modeled tag-shedding rates, using time at liberty and probabilities of tag shedding estimated from fish released in 1974 and 1978–1983 and later recaptured. Long-term shedding of numbered anchor tags in lake trout was best described by a nonlinear model with two parameters: an instantaneous tag-shedding rate and a constant representing the proportion of tags that were never shed. Although our estimates of annual shedding rates varied with tag type (0.300 for FD-67, 0.441 for FD-67C, and 0.656 for FD-68BC), differences were not significant. About 36% of tags remained permanently affixed to the fish. Of the numbered tags that were shed (about 64%), two mechanisms contributed to tag loss: disintegration and dislodgment. Tags from about 11% of recaptured fish had disintegrated, but most tags were dislodged. Unprinted tags were shed at a significant but low rate immediately after release, but the long-term, annual shedding rate of these tags was only 0.013. Compared with unprinted tags, numbered tags dislodged at higher annual rates; we hypothesized that this was due to the greater frictional drag associated with the larger cross-sectional area of numbered tags.

  13. A herbivore tag-and-trace system reveals contact- and density-dependent repellence of a root toxin

    OpenAIRE

    Bont, Zoe; Arce, Carla; Huber, Meret; Huang, Wei; Mestrot, Adrien; Sturrock, Craig; Erb, Matthais

    2017-01-01

    Foraging behavior of root feeding organisms strongly affects plant-environment-interactions and ecosystem processes. However, the impact of plant chemistry on root herbivore movement in the soil is poorly understood. Here, we apply a simple technique to trace the movement of soil-dwelling insects in their habitats without disturbing or restricting their interactions with host plants. We tagged the root feeding larvae of Melolontha melolontha with a copper ring and repeatedly located their pos...

  14. A wireless sensor tag platform for container security and integrity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaya, Ivan A.; Cree, Johnathan V.; Mauss, Fredrick J.

    2011-04-01

    Cargo containers onboard ships are widely used in the global supply chain. The need for container security is evidenced by the Container Security Initiative launched by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). One method of monitoring cargo containers is using low power wireless sensor tags. The wireless sensor tags are used to set up a network that is comprised of tags internal to the container and a central device. The sensor network reports alarms and other anomalies to a central device, which then relays the message to an outside network upon arrival at the destination port. This allows the port authorities to have knowledge of potential security or integrity issues before physically examining the container. Challenges of using wireless sensor tag networks for container security include battery life, size, environmental conditions, information security, and cost among others. PNNL developed an active wireless sensor tag platform capable of reporting data wirelessly to a central node as well as logging data to nonvolatile memory. The tags, operate at 2.4 GHz over an IEEE 802.15.4 protocol, and were designed to be distributed throughout the inside of a shipping container in the upper support frame. The tags are mounted in a housing that allows for simple and efficient installation or removal prior to, during, or after shipment. The distributed tags monitor the entire container volume. The sensor tag platform utilizes low power electronics and provides an extensible sensor interface for incorporating a wide range of sensors including chemical, biological, and environmental sensors.

  15. Tag gas burnup based on three-dimensional FTR analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kidman, R.B.

    1976-01-01

    Flux spectra from a three-dimensional diffusion theory analysis of the Fast Test Reactor (FTR) are used to predict gas tag ratio changes, as a function of exposure, for each FTR fuel and absorber subassembly plenum. These flux spectra are also used to predict Xe-125 equilibrium activities in absorber plena in order to assess the feasibility of using Xe-125 gamma rays to detect and distinguish control rod failures from fuel rod failures. Worst case tag burnup changes are used in conjunction with burnup and mass spectrometer uncertainties to establish the minimum spacing of tags which allows the tags to be unambiguously identified

  16. The Shona Corpus and the Problem of Tagging?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanuel Chabata

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available

    Abstract: In this paper the writer examines problems the African Languages Lexical (ALLEX Project (at present the African Languages Research Institute (ALRI? encountered while tagging the Shona corpus. The problems to be highlighted include general problems which apply to more than one language as well as problems peculiar to Shona. The paper was inspired by the challenges the writer encountered when he took part in building the Shona corpus. An analysis of the problems that most corpus builders face shows that more problems are likely to be encountered when dealing with spoken corpora than with written corpora. The paper demonstrates that tagging is an important component of corpus building as it makes it easier for a researcher to extract relevant data. To utilise the benefits of a tagged corpus, the tagging should be thorough and accurate. Wellinformed decisions form an integral part of the tagging process since the utility of a tagged corpus depends largely on the input of the tagging process. This paper shows the need to take the tagging process seriously.

    Keywords: ALLEX PROJECT, COMPUTER, CORPUS, ENCODING, FOREIGN WORD, LEMMATIZATION, LEXICOGRAPHY, MONITOR CORPUS, PART OF SPEECH, SCANNING, SHONA, SLANG, TAGGING, TRANSCRIPTION, WORD

    Opsomming: Die Shonakorpus en die probleem van etikettering, In hierdieartikel ondersoek die outeur probleme wat die African Languages Lexical (ALLEX Project (tansdie African Languages Research Institute (ALRI» teegekom het terwyl die Shonakorpus geetiketteeris. Die probleme wat bespreek word, sluit algemene probleme in wat van toepassing is opmeer as een taa, sowel as spesifieke probleme wat eie aan Shona is. Die artikel het sy ontstaan indie uitdagings wat die outeur teegekom het terwyl hy deel gehad het aan die opbou van die Shonakorpus.'n Ontieding van die probleme waarvoor die meeste korpusbouers te staan kom, toon datdaar waarskynlik meer probleme teegekom word wanneer daar met gesproke

  17. Tagged Vector Contour (TVC)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Kansas Data Access and Support Center — The Kansas Tagged Vector Contour (TVC) dataset consists of digitized contours from the 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps. Coverage for the state is incomplete....

  18. Flavour tagging at the future linear collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hansen, S.X.

    2003-01-01

    High performance flavour tagging of jets containing heavy flavours is crucial for the studies planned for the future high energy e + e - Linear Collider (LC). Pixel detectors have proven to provide very powerful flavour identification, for this reason the Linear Collider Flavour Identification collaboration has decided to concentrate its R and D work for the future LC on a Charged Coupled Device pixel vertex detector, and study the flavour tagging performance of the design to optimize it. In this work we first evaluate the basic tracking performance. We then estimate the flavour tagging performance of the present detector layout, using a neural network approach. We conclude by studying the energy dependence of the performance

  19. Learning tag relevance by neighbor voting for social image retrieval

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, X.; Snoek, C.G.M.; Worring, M.

    2008-01-01

    Social image retrieval is important for exploiting the increasing amounts of amateur-tagged multimedia such as Flickr images. Since amateur tagging is known to be uncontrolled, ambiguous, and personalized, a fundamental problem is how to reliably interpret the relevance of a tag with respect to the

  20. Antibodies from a Human Survivor Define Sites of Vulnerability for Broad Protection Against Ebolaviruses

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-31

    search, analyzed data, and wrote and/or edited the paper . E.G. and L.M.W. designed the germline-reverted constructs and E.G., L.M.W., A.Z.W., D.M.A... albumin (PBSA), and incubated with dilutions of test antibody (5, 50 nM). Bound Abs were detected with anti-human IgG conjugated to horseradish

  1. Improving Large Cetacean Implantable Satellite Tag Designs to Maximize Tag Robustness and Minimize Health Effects to Individual Animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-30

    to Maximize Tag Robustness and Minimize Health Effects to Individual Animals Alexandre N. Zerbini Cascadia Research Collective 218 ½ 4 th Ave W...penetrating devices (Moore et al. 2013) will be evaluated through experiments on cetacean carcasses . These experiments along with existing information on tag...Objective (1) during laboratory experiments and in cetacean carcasses ; 3) Examine structural tissue damage in the blubber, sub-dermal sheath and muscle

  2. Membrane insertion and assembly of epitope-tagged gp9 at the tip of the M13 phage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuhn Andreas

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Filamentous M13 phage extrude from infected Escherichia coli with a tip structure composed of gp7 and gp9. This tip structure is extended by the assembly of the filament composed of the major coat protein gp8. Finally, gp3 and gp6 terminate the phage structure at the proximal end. Up to now, gp3 has been the primary tool for phage display technology. However, gp7, gp8 and gp9 could also be used for phage display and these phage particles should bind to two different or more surfaces when the modified coat proteins are combined. Therefore, we tested here if the amino-terminal end of gp9 can be modified and whether the modified portion is exposed and detectable on the M13 phage particles. Results The amino-terminal region of gp9 was modified by inserting short sequences that encode antigenic epitopes. We show here that the modified gp9 proteins correctly integrate into the membrane using the membrane insertase YidC exposing the modified epitope into the periplasm. The proteins are then efficiently assembled onto the phage particles. Also extensions up to 36 amino acid residues at the amino-terminal end of gp9 did not interfere with membrane integration and phage assembly. The exposure of the antigenic tags on the phage was visualised with immunogold labelling by electron microscopy and verified by dot blotting with antibodies to the tags. Conclusions Our results suggest that gp9 at the phage tip is suitable for the phage display technology. The modified gp9 can be supplied in trans from a plasmid and fully complements M13 phage with an amber mutation in gene 9. The modified phage tip is very well accessible to antibodies.

  3. Female Infertility and Serum Auto-antibodies: a Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deroux, Alban; Dumestre-Perard, Chantal; Dunand-Faure, Camille; Bouillet, Laurence; Hoffmann, Pascale

    2017-08-01

    On average, 10 % of infertile couples have unexplained infertility. Auto-immune disease (systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-phospholipid syndrome) accounts for a part of these cases. In the last 20 years, aspecific auto-immunity, defined as positivity of auto-antibodies in blood sample without clinical or biological criteria for defined diseases, has been evoked in a subpopulation of infertile women. A systematic review was performed (PUBMED) using the MESH search terms "infertility" and "auto-immunity" or "reproductive technique" or "assisted reproduction" or "in vitro fertilization" and "auto-immunity." We retained clinical and physiopathological studies that were applicable to the clinician in assuming joint management of both infertility associated with serum auto-antibodies in women. Thyroid auto-immunity which affects thyroid function could be a cause of infertility; even in euthyroidia, the presence of anti-thyroperoxydase antibodies and/or thyroglobulin are related to infertility. The presence of anti-phospholipid (APL) and/or anti-nuclear (ANA) antibodies seems to be more frequent in the population of infertile women; serum auto-antibodies are associated with early ovarian failure, itself responsible for fertility disorders. However, there exist few publications on this topic. The methods of dosage, as well as the clinical criteria of unexplained infertility deserve to be standardized to allow a precise response to the question of the role of serum auto-antibodies in these women. The direct pathogenesis of this auto-immunity is unknown, but therapeutic immunomodulators, prescribed on a case-by-case basis, could favor pregnancy even in cases of unexplained primary or secondary infertility.

  4. Autonomous molecular cascades for evaluation of cell surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudchenko, Maria; Taylor, Steven; Pallavi, Payal; Dechkovskaia, Alesia; Khan, Safana; Butler, Vincent P., Jr.; Rudchenko, Sergei; Stojanovic, Milan N.

    2013-08-01

    Molecular automata are mixtures of molecules that undergo precisely defined structural changes in response to sequential interactions with inputs. Previously studied nucleic acid-based automata include game-playing molecular devices (MAYA automata) and finite-state automata for the analysis of nucleic acids, with the latter inspiring circuits for the analysis of RNA species inside cells. Here, we describe automata based on strand-displacement cascades directed by antibodies that can analyse cells by using their surface markers as inputs. The final output of a molecular automaton that successfully completes its analysis is the presence of a unique molecular tag on the cell surface of a specific subpopulation of lymphocytes within human blood cells.

  5. Effects of genetic engineering on the pharmacokinetics of antibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colcher, D.; Goel, A.; Pavlinkova, G.; Beresford, G.; Booth, B.; Batra, S.K.

    1999-01-01

    Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) may be considered 'magic bullets' due to their ability to recognize and eradicate malignant cells. MAbs, however, have practical limitations for their rapid application in the clinics. The structure of the antibody molecules can be engineered to modify functional domains such as antigen-binding sites and/or effectors functions. Advanced in genetic engineering have provided rapid progress the development of new immunoglobulin constructs of MAbs with defined research and therapeutic application. Recombinant antibody constructs are being engineered, such as human mouse chimeric, domain-dispositioned, domain-deleted, humanized and single-chain Fv fragments. Genetically-engineered antibodies differ in size and rate of catabolism. Pharmacokinetics studies show that the intact IgG (150 kD), enzymatically derived fragments Fab' (50 kD) and single chain Fv (28 kD) have different clearance rates. These antibody forms clear 50% from the blood pool in 2.1 days, 30 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively. Genetically-engineered antibodies make a new class of immunotherapeutic tracers for cancer treatment

  6. The value of LGI1, Caspr2 and voltage-gated potassium channel antibodies in encephalitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Sonderen, Agnes; Petit-Pedrol, Mar; Dalmau, Josep; Titulaer, Maarten J

    2017-05-01

    The discovery, in 2010, of autoantibodies against the extracellular proteins LGI1 and Caspr2 facilitated a change of view regarding the clinical importance of voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC) antibodies. Currently, these antibodies are all classified as VGKC-complex antibodies, and are commonly considered to have a similar clinical value. However, studies from the past few years show that the immune responses mediated by these antibodies have differing clinical relevance. Here, we review the clinical importance of these immune responses in three settings: patients with anti-LGI1 antibodies, patients with anti-Caspr2 antibodies, and patients with antibodies against the VGKC complex that lack LGI1 and Caspr2 specificity. Antibodies against LGI1 and Caspr2 are associated with different but well-defined syndromes, whereas the clinical importance of VGKC-complex antibodies without LGI1 and Caspr2 specificity is questionable. We describe each of these syndromes, discuss the function of the target antigens and review the limited paediatric literature on the topic. The findings emphasize the importance of defining these disorders according to the molecular identity of the targets (LGI1 or Caspr2), and caution against the use of VGKC-complex antibodies for the diagnosis and treatment of patients without further definition of the antigen.

  7. Realization and Measurement of a Wearable Radio Frequency Identification Tag Antenna

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shudao ZHOU

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The realization and measurements of a wearable Radio Frequency Identification tag antenna which achieves good simulation results in the Ultimate High Frequency band under the standard of the United States in design procedures is presented. The wearable tag antenna is constructed using a flexible substrate, on whose surface the antenna patch is adhered. A bowtie shape is chosen as the geometry of the antenna patch because of its large bandwidth that brings to the tag and its simple structure. The substrate of the tag antenna is realized using a foam material while the patch on the substrate surface is cut out from copper foil tape. Then, the impedance of the realized tag antenna is extracted from S parameters which are measured with a vector network analyzer with a coaxial fixture. Finally, the radiation pattern of the tag is characterized by normalized reading distances of different directions of the antenna integrated with a microchip, thus indicating the validity of the realized tag antenna.

  8. InkTag: Secure Applications on an Untrusted Operating System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Owen S; Kim, Sangman; Dunn, Alan M; Lee, Michael Z; Witchel, Emmett

    2013-01-01

    InkTag is a virtualization-based architecture that gives strong safety guarantees to high-assurance processes even in the presence of a malicious operating system. InkTag advances the state of the art in untrusted operating systems in both the design of its hypervisor and in the ability to run useful applications without trusting the operating system. We introduce paraverification , a technique that simplifies the InkTag hypervisor by forcing the untrusted operating system to participate in its own verification. Attribute-based access control allows trusted applications to create decentralized access control policies. InkTag is also the first system of its kind to ensure consistency between secure data and metadata, ensuring recoverability in the face of system crashes.

  9. Synaptic Tagging, Evaluation of Memories, and the Distal Reward Problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papper, Marc; Kempter, Richard; Leibold, Christian

    2011-01-01

    Long-term synaptic plasticity exhibits distinct phases. The synaptic tagging hypothesis suggests an early phase in which synapses are prepared, or "tagged," for protein capture, and a late phase in which those proteins are integrated into the synapses to achieve memory consolidation. The synapse specificity of the tags is consistent with…

  10. Edible oils from microalgae: insights in TAG accumulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klok, A.J.; Lamers, P.P.; Martens, D.E.; Draaisma, R.B.; Wijffels, R.H.

    2014-01-01

    Microalgae are a promising future source for sustainable edible oils. To make microalgal oil a cost-effective alternative for common vegetable oils, increasing TAG productivity and TAG content are of high importance. Fulfilling these targets requires proper understanding of lipid metabolism in

  11. Selective detection of antibodies in microstructured polymer optical fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Bo Damm; Hoiby, P.E.; Emiliyanov, Grigoriy Andreev

    2005-01-01

    was applied to selectively capture either α-streptavidin or α-CRP antibodies inside these air holes. A sensitive and easy-to-use fluorescence method was used for the optical detection. Our results show that mPOF based biosensors can provide reliable and selective antibody detection in ultra small sample......We demonstrate selective detection of fluorophore labeled antibodies from minute samples probed by a sensor layer of complementary biomolecules immobilized inside the air holes of microstructured Polymer Optical Fiber (mPOF). The fiber core is defined by a ring of 6 air holes and a simple procedure...

  12. Postprandial phase time influences the uptake of TAG from postprandial TAG-rich lipoproteins by THP-1 macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabello-Moruno, Rosana; Sinausia, Laura; Botham, Kathleen M; Montero, Emilio; Avella, Michael; Perona, Javier S

    2014-11-14

    Postprandial TAG-rich lipoproteins (TRL) can be taken up by macrophages, leading to the formation of foam cells, probably via receptor-mediated pathways. The present study was conducted to investigate whether the postprandial time point at which TRL are collected modulates this process. A meal containing refined olive oil was given to nine healthy young men and TRL were isolated from their serum at 2, 4 and 6 h postprandially. The lipid class and apoB compositions of TRL were determined by HPLC and SDS-PAGE, respectively. The accumulation of lipids in macrophages was determined after the incubation of THP-1 macrophages with TRL. The gene expression of candidate receptors was measured by real-time PCR. The highest concentrations of TAG, apoB48 and apoB100 in TRL were observed at 2 h after the consumption of the test meal. However, excessive intracellular TAG accumulation in THP-1 macrophages was observed in response to incubation with TRL isolated at 4 h, when their particle size (estimated as the TAG:apoB ratio) was intermediate. The abundance of mRNA transcripts in macrophages in response to incubation with TRL was down-regulated for LDL receptor (LDLR), slightly up-regulated for VLDL receptor and remained unaltered for LDLR-related protein, but no effect of the postprandial time point was observed. In contrast, the mRNA expression of scavenger receptors SRB1, SRA2 and CD36 was higher when cells were incubated with TRL isolated at 4 h after the consumption of the test meal. In conclusion, TRL led to excessive intracellular TAG accumulation in THP-1 macrophages, which was greater when cells were incubated with intermediate-sized postprandial TRL isolated at 4 h and was associated with a significant increase in the mRNA expression of scavenger receptors.

  13. An Integrated Passive (Battery-Free) Seals-and-Tag for International Safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nekoogar, F.; Dowla, F.

    2015-01-01

    The ability to reliably and securely automate the monitoring of SNM is an important goal in Safeguards. Although item level monitoring of SNM requires both seal and tag technologies, the two technologies thus far have been developed more or less independently, and had been a lack of an integrated compact system. An integrated seal-and-tag approach not only aids inspectors to perform their tasks effectively, this approach also allows real-time inspection in large scale facilities. A typical facility could be the size of a large warehouse with hundreds or thousands of items that need to be sealed and monitored in real-time. Previously we reported on advanced secure RF passive (battery-less) tags with special features including, long-range interrogation of passive tags, communicating with passive tags with strong encryption and dynamic authentication features, and the ability to place the tags directly on metal objects. In this paper, we report on a novel secure passive tag integrated with fibre optics seal that allows real-time monitoring of items through secure wireless communications that employs AES encryption and dynamic authentication. Furthermore, the devices can be networked for large scale operations. The proposed passive seal has the same capabilities as active seals in that it allows realtime monitoring. However, the battery lifetimes of conventional active seals are limited or unpredictable. As the long-term storage of SNM might last for several years, these passive seals having been integrated with passive RF tags, extends the lifetime of the physical seals and tags indefinitely, while getting the same performance of active seals and tags. The integrated seal-and-tag is transformational in addressing a critical need in Safeguards area for long-term real-time monitoring. (author)

  14. Methyl-CpG island-associated genome signature tags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, John J

    2014-05-20

    Disclosed is a method for analyzing the organismic complexity of a sample through analysis of the nucleic acid in the sample. In the disclosed method, through a series of steps, including digestion with a type II restriction enzyme, ligation of capture adapters and linkers and digestion with a type IIS restriction enzyme, genome signature tags are produced. The sequences of a statistically significant number of the signature tags are determined and the sequences are used to identify and quantify the organisms in the sample. Various embodiments of the invention described herein include methods for using single point genome signature tags to analyze the related families present in a sample, methods for analyzing sequences associated with hyper- and hypo-methylated CpG islands, methods for visualizing organismic complexity change in a sampling location over time and methods for generating the genome signature tag profile of a sample of fragmented DNA.

  15. Immunotherapy with GD2 specific monoclonal antibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheung, N.K.V.; Medof, E.M.; Munn, D.

    1988-01-01

    Targeted immunotherapy focuses anti-tumor activity of antibodies and effector cells, which are actively developed by the host or adoptively transferred, onto tumor cells and into tumor sites. Such tumor selective therapy can be more specific and efficient. The value of such an approach is evident in the classical interaction of antibodies. This paper reports that the ganglioside G D2 is an ideal antigen for specific tumor targeting because of its relative lack of heterogeneity among human neuroblastoma, its high density on tumor cells, its lack of antigen modulation upon binding to antibody, and its restricted distribution in normal tissues

  16. Unexpected observations after mapping LongSAGE tags to the human genome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duret Laurent

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background SAGE has been used widely to study the expression of known transcripts, but much less to annotate new transcribed regions. LongSAGE produces tags that are sufficiently long to be reliably mapped to a whole-genome sequence. Here we used this property to study the position of human LongSAGE tags obtained from all public libraries. We focused mainly on tags that do not map to known transcripts. Results Using a published error rate in SAGE libraries, we first removed the tags likely to result from sequencing errors. We then observed that an unexpectedly large number of the remaining tags still did not match the genome sequence. Some of these correspond to parts of human mRNAs, such as polyA tails, junctions between two exons and polymorphic regions of transcripts. Another non-negligible proportion can be attributed to contamination by murine transcripts and to residual sequencing errors. After filtering out our data with these screens to ensure that our dataset is highly reliable, we studied the tags that map once to the genome. 31% of these tags correspond to unannotated transcripts. The others map to known transcribed regions, but many of them (nearly half are located either in antisense or in new variants of these known transcripts. Conclusion We performed a comprehensive study of all publicly available human LongSAGE tags, and carefully verified the reliability of these data. We found the potential origin of many tags that did not match the human genome sequence. The properties of the remaining tags imply that the level of sequencing error may have been under-estimated. The frequency of tags matching once the genome sequence but not in an annotated exon suggests that the human transcriptome is much more complex than shown by the current human genome annotations, with many new splicing variants and antisense transcripts. SAGE data is appropriate to map new transcripts to the genome, as demonstrated by the high rate of cross

  17. Extended-Range Passive RFID and Sensor Tags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fink, Patrick W.; Kennedy, Timothy F.; Lin, Gregory Y.; Barton, Richard

    2012-01-01

    Extended-range passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and related sensor tags are undergoing development. A tag of this type incorporates a retroreflective antenna array, so that it reflects significantly more signal power back toward an interrogating radio transceiver than does a comparable passive RFID tag of prior design, which does not incorporate a retroreflective antenna array. Therefore, for a given amount of power radiated by the transmitter in the interrogating transceiver, a tag of this type can be interrogated at a distance greater than that of the comparable passive RFID or sensor tag of prior design. The retroreflective antenna array is, more specifically, a Van Atta array, named after its inventor and first published in a patent issued in 1959. In its simplest form, a Van Atta array comprises two antenna elements connected by a transmission line so that the signal received by each antenna element is reradiated by the other antenna element (see Figure 1). The phase relationships among the received and reradiated signals are such as to produce constructive interference of the reradiated signals; that is, to concentrate the reradiated signal power in a direction back toward the source. Hence, an RFID tag equipped with a Van Atta antenna array automatically tracks the interrogating transceiver. The effective gain of a Van Atta array is the same as that of a traditional phased antenna array having the same number of antenna elements. Additional pairs of antenna elements connected by equal-length transmission lines can be incorporated into a Van Atta array to increase its directionality. Like some RFID tags here-to-fore commercially available, an RFID or sensor tag of the present developmental type includes one-port surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) devices. In simplified terms, the mode of operation of a basic one-port SAW device as used heretofore in an RFID device is the following: An interrogating radio signal is converted, at an input end, from

  18. Antibody Heavy Chain Variable Domains of Different Germline Gene Origins Diversify through Different Paths

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ufuk Kirik

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available B cells produce antibodies, key effector molecules in health and disease. They mature their properties, including their affinity for antigen, through hypermutation events; processes that involve, e.g., base substitution, codon insertion and deletion, often in association with an isotype switch. Investigations of antibody evolution define modes whereby particular antibody responses are able to form, and such studies provide insight important for instance for development of efficient vaccines. Antibody evolution is also used in vitro for the design of antibodies with improved properties. To better understand the basic concepts of antibody evolution, we analyzed the mutational paths, both in terms of amino acid substitution and insertions and deletions, taken by antibodies of the IgG isotype. The analysis focused on the evolution of the heavy chain variable domain of sets of antibodies, each with an origin in 1 of 11 different germline genes representing six human heavy chain germline gene subgroups. Investigated genes were isolated from cells of human bone marrow, a major site of antibody production, and characterized by next-generation sequencing and an in-house bioinformatics pipeline. Apart from substitutions within the complementarity determining regions, multiple framework residues including those in protein cores were targets of extensive diversification. Diversity, both in terms of substitutions, and insertions and deletions, in antibodies is focused to different positions in the sequence in a germline gene-unique manner. Altogether, our findings create a framework for understanding patterns of evolution of antibodies from defined germline genes.

  19. Label-free impedimetric immunosensor for sensitive detection of atrazine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ionescu, Rodica E. [Universite de Lyon, Laboratoire de Sciences Analytiques, UMR CNRS 5180, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Batiment CPE, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Gondran, Chantal; Bouffier, Laurent [Departement de Chimie Moleculaire, UMR CNRS 5250, ICMG FR CNRS 2607, Universite Joseph Fourier, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble, Cedex 9 (France); Jaffrezic-Renault, Nicole, E-mail: nicole.jaffrezic@univ-lyon1.f [Universite de Lyon, Laboratoire de Sciences Analytiques, UMR CNRS 5180, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Batiment CPE, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Martelet, Claude [Universite de Lyon, Laboratoire de Sciences Analytiques, UMR CNRS 5180, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Batiment CPE, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Cosnier, Serge, E-mail: serge.cosnier@ujf-grenoble.f [Departement de Chimie Moleculaire, UMR CNRS 5250, ICMG FR CNRS 2607, Universite Joseph Fourier, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble, Cedex 9 (France)

    2010-08-30

    Impedance spectroscopy transduction combined with the immunosensor technology has been used for the determination of atrazine, a herbicide The sensor electrode was based on the immobilization of anti-atrazine antibody by affinity binding onto a polypyrrole film N-substituted by nitrilotriacetic acid NTA electrogenerated on a gold electrode. The poly NTA film was previously modified by the coordination of Cu2 ions by the chelating NTA centers. The anti-atrazine antibody Fab fragment K47 modified with histidine-tag was then anchored by affinity interactions between the histidine-tag and the coordinated Cu2. Cyclic voltammetry experiments confirm that the antibody immobilization and the resulting immunosensor were applied to the impedimetric detection of atrazine without reagent and labelling step. The immunoreaction of atrazine on the attached anti-atrazine antibody directly triggers an increase in the charge transfer resistance proportional to the atrazine concentration, allowing the detection of extremely low atrazine concentration, namely 10 pg mL{sup -1}.

  20. Single-Domain Antibodies and the Promise of Modular Targeting in Cancer Imaging and Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Elena Iezzi

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Monoclonal antibodies and their fragments have significantly changed the outcome of cancer in the clinic, effectively inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, triggering antibody-dependent immune effector cell activation and complement mediated cell death. Along with a continued expansion in number, diversity, and complexity of validated tumor targets there is an increasing focus on engineering recombinant antibody fragments for lead development. Single-domain antibodies (sdAbs, in particular those engineered from the variable heavy-chain fragment (VHH gene found in Camelidae heavy-chain antibodies (or IgG2 and IgG3, are the smallest fragments that retain the full antigen-binding capacity of the antibody with advantageous properties as drugs. For similar reasons, growing attention is being paid to the yet smaller variable heavy chain new antigen receptor (VNAR fragments found in Squalidae. sdAbs have been selected, mostly from immune VHH libraries, to inhibit or modulate enzyme activity, bind soluble factors, internalize cell membrane receptors, or block cytoplasmic targets. This succinct review is a compilation of recent data documenting the application of engineered, recombinant sdAb in the clinic as epitope recognition “modules” to build monomeric, dimeric and multimeric ligands that target, tag and stall solid tumor growth in vivo. Size, affinity, specificity, and the development profile of sdAbs drugs are seemingly consistent with desirable clinical efficacy and safety requirements. But the hepatotoxicity of the tetrameric anti-DR5-VHH drug in patients with pre-existing anti-drug antibodies halted the phase I clinical trial and called for a thorough pre-screening of the immune and poly-specific reactivities of the sdAb leads.

  1. Jet-images: computer vision inspired techniques for jet tagging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cogan, Josh; Kagan, Michael; Strauss, Emanuel; Schwarztman, Ariel [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory,Menlo Park, CA 94028 (United States)

    2015-02-18

    We introduce a novel approach to jet tagging and classification through the use of techniques inspired by computer vision. Drawing parallels to the problem of facial recognition in images, we define a jet-image using calorimeter towers as the elements of the image and establish jet-image preprocessing methods. For the jet-image processing step, we develop a discriminant for classifying the jet-images derived using Fisher discriminant analysis. The effectiveness of the technique is shown within the context of identifying boosted hadronic W boson decays with respect to a background of quark- and gluon-initiated jets. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we demonstrate that the performance of this technique introduces additional discriminating power over other substructure approaches, and gives significant insight into the internal structure of jets.

  2. Jet-images: computer vision inspired techniques for jet tagging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cogan, Josh; Kagan, Michael; Strauss, Emanuel; Schwarztman, Ariel

    2015-01-01

    We introduce a novel approach to jet tagging and classification through the use of techniques inspired by computer vision. Drawing parallels to the problem of facial recognition in images, we define a jet-image using calorimeter towers as the elements of the image and establish jet-image preprocessing methods. For the jet-image processing step, we develop a discriminant for classifying the jet-images derived using Fisher discriminant analysis. The effectiveness of the technique is shown within the context of identifying boosted hadronic W boson decays with respect to a background of quark- and gluon-initiated jets. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we demonstrate that the performance of this technique introduces additional discriminating power over other substructure approaches, and gives significant insight into the internal structure of jets.

  3. antibodies against Herpes simplex virus (HSV)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Chi-square analysis was used to determine the association of infection with ... tibody. No statistical association existed between the prevalence of HSV-1&-2 IgG antibodies and the socio-demographic variables ... concern, established by the widespread of genital HSV .... Chi-square test was employed to define relationships.

  4. Investigational Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Treatment of B-lineage Malignancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, Alex F; Molina, Arturo

    2018-05-10

    Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are tripartite molecules consisting of a monoclonal antibody, a covalent linker, and a cytotoxic payload. ADC development has aimed to target the specificity inherent in antigen-antibody interactions to deliver potent cytotoxins preferentially to tumor cells and maximize antitumor activity and simultaneously minimize off-target toxicity. The earliest ADCs provided disappointing results in the clinic; however, the lessons learned regarding the need for human or humanized antibodies, more stable linkers, and greater potency payloads led to improved ADCs. Three ADCs, gemtuzumab ozogamicin, brentuximab vedotin (BV), and inotuzumab ozogamicin, have been approved for hematologic malignancies. Site-specific conjugation methods have now resulted in a new generation of more uniform, molecularly defined ADCs. These are expected to display improved in vivo properties and have recently entered the clinic. We reviewed investigational ADCs currently in clinical testing for the treatment of B-cell lineage malignancies, including leukemias, lymphomas, and multiple myeloma. The rationales for antigen targeting, data reported to date, current trial status, and preclinical results for several newer ADCs expected to enter first-in-human studies are presented. Owing to the large number of ongoing and reported BV clinical studies, only the studies of BV for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and those combining BV with checkpoint inhibitors in B-lineage malignancies have been reviewed. With > 40 ongoing clinical trials and 7 investigational ADCs already having advanced to phase II studies, the role of ADCs in the armamentarium for the treatment of B-lineage malignancies continues to be elucidated. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Use of UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy to monitor label-free interaction between molecular recognition elements and erythropoietin on a gold-coated polycarbonate platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Citartan, Marimuthu; Gopinath, Subash C B; Tominaga, Junji; Chen, Yeng; Tang, Thean-Hock

    2014-08-01

    Label-free-based detection is pivotal for real-time monitoring of biomolecular interactions and to eliminate the need for labeling with tags that can occupy important binding sites of biomolecules. One simplest form of label-free-based detection is ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectroscopy, which measure changes in reflectivity as a means to monitor immobilization and interaction of biomolecules with their corresponding partners. In biosensor development, the platform used for the biomolecular interaction should be suitable for different molecular recognition elements. In this study, gold (Au)-coated polycarbonate was used as a platform and as a proof-of-concept, erythropoietin (EPO), a doping substance widely abused by the athletes was used as the target. The interaction of EPO with its corresponding molecular recognition elements (anti-EPO monoclonal antibody and anti-EPO DNA aptamer) is monitored by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. Prior to this, to show that UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy is a suitable method for measuring biomolecular interaction, the interaction between biotin and streptavidin was demonstrated via this strategy and reflectivity of this interaction decreased by 25%. Subsequent to this, interaction of the EPO with anti-EPO monoclonal antibody and anti-EPO DNA aptamer resulted in the decrease of reflectivity by 5% and 10%, respectively. The results indicated that Au-coated polycarbonate could be an ideal biosensor platform for monitoring biomolecular interactions using UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. A smaller version of the Au-coated polycarbonate substrates can be derived from the recent set-up, to be applied towards detecting EPO abuse among atheletes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. A murine monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibody detects a common idiotope on human, mouse and rabbit antibodies to allergen Lol p IV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, E M; Dzuba-Fischer, J M; Rector, E S; Sehon, A H; Kisil, F T

    1991-09-01

    A syngeneic mouse monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibody (anti-Id), designated as B1/1, was generated against a monoclonal antibody (MoAb 91) specific for Ryegrass pollen allergen Lol p IV. This anti-Id recognized an idiotope (Id) that was also present on other monoclonal antibodies with the same specificity as MoAb 91. Observations that (i) the anti-Id inhibited the binding of MoAb 91 to Lol p IV and (ii) the Id-anti-Id interaction could be inhibited by Lol p IV indicated that the Id was located within or near the antigen combining site. These properties served to characterize B1/1 as an internal image anti-Id. Evidence that an immune response in different species to Lol p IV elicits the formation of antibodies which express a common Id was provided by the observations that (i) the Id-anti-Id interactions could be inhibited by mouse, human and rabbit antisera to Lol p IV and (ii) the binding of these antisera to Lol p IV could be inhibited by the anti-Id. Interestingly, the internal image anti-Id B1/1 also recognized an Id on a monoclonal antibody which was directed to an epitope of Lol p IV, different from that recognized by MoAb 91.

  7. A novel method for measuring cellular antibody uptake using imaging flow cytometry reveals distinct uptake rates for two different monoclonal antibodies targeting L1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazin, John; Moldenhauer, Gerhard; Altevogt, Peter; Brady, Nathan R

    2015-08-01

    Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have emerged as a promising tool for cancer therapy. Differing approaches utilize mAbs to either deliver a drug to the tumor cells or to modulate the host's immune system to mediate tumor kill. The rate by which a therapeutic antibody is being internalized by tumor cells is a decisive feature for choosing the appropriate treatment strategy. We herein present a novel method to effectively quantitate antibody uptake of tumor cells by using image-based flow cytometry, which combines image analysis with high throughput of sample numbers and sample size. The use of this method is established by determining uptake rate of an anti-EpCAM antibody (HEA125), from single cell measurements of plasma membrane versus internalized antibody, in conjunction with inhibitors of endocytosis. The method is then applied to two mAbs (L1-9.3, L1-OV52.24) targeting the neural cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM) at two different epitopes. Based on median cell population responses, we find that mAb L1-OV52.24 is rapidly internalized by the ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3ip while L1 mAb 9.3 is mainly retained at the cell surface. These findings suggest the L1 mAb OV52.24 as a candidate to be further developed for drug-delivery to cancer cells, while L1-9.3 may be optimized to tag the tumor cells and stimulate immunogenic cancer cell killing. Furthermore, when analyzing cell-to-cell variability, we observed L1 mAb OV52.24 rapidly transition into a subpopulation with high-internalization capacity. In summary, this novel high-content method for measuring antibody internalization rate provides a high level of accuracy and sensitivity for cell population measurements and reveals further biologically relevant information when taking into account cellular heterogeneity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Evaluation of gamma ray durability and its application of shielded RF tags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teraura, Nobuyuki; Ito, Kunio; Kobayashi, Daisuke; Sakurai, Kouichi

    2015-01-01

    In this study, the RF (Radio Frequency) tag with radiation shield is developed and its gamma ray durability is evaluated. RFID (RF Identification) is a radio-wave-based identification technology that can be used for various items. RF tags find use in many applications, including item tracing, access control, etc. RF tags can be classified as active RF tags, which have inbuilt voltaic cells, and passive RF tags without these cells. Passive RF tags, known for their low price and durability, are used in various fields. For instance, they are used for equipment maintenance in factories and thermal power plants. Several frequencies are used for RF tags. Further, RF tagging on the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) frequencies allows a communication range of approximately 10 m, and thus, remote reading is possible. When used in radiation environments such as in nuclear power plants, remote reading can contribute to the reduction of radiation exposure. However, because semiconductors are the primary elements used in the manufacture of RF tags, they can be damaged by radiation, and operational errors can occur. Therefore, this technology has not been used in environments affected by relatively high radiation levels. Therefore, in nuclear power plants, the use of RF tags is limited in areas of low radiation levels. In our study, we develop and manufacture a new RF tag with a radiation shield cover that provides error correction functionality. It is expected that radiation shielded RF tags will improve the radiation-proof feature, and its application range will be expanded. Using the radiation-proof RF tag, we have conducted radiation durability tests. These tests are of two types: one using low energy gamma ray, and the other using high-energy gamma ray. Experimental results are then analyzed. The number of applications for radiation shielded RF tags is considerably increasing, because it can be used in various radiation environments other than nuclear power plants as well, such as

  9. Wireless SAW passive tag temperature measurement in the collision case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorokin, A.; Shepeta, A.; Wattimena, M.

    2018-04-01

    This paper describes temperature measurement in the multisensor systems based on the radio-frequency identification SAW passive tags which are currently applied in the electric power systems and the switchgears. Different approaches of temperature measurement in the collision case are shown here. The study is based on the tag model with specific topology, which allows us to determine temperature through the response signal with time-frequency information. This research considers the collision case for several passive tags as the temperature sensors which are placed in the switchgear. This research proposal is to analyze the possibility of using several SAW passive sensors in the collision case. We consider the using of the different typical elements for passive surface acoustic wave tag which applies as an anticollision passive sensor. These wireless sensors based on the surface acoustic waves tags contain specifically coded structures. This topology makes possible the reliability of increasing tag identification and the temperature measurement in the collision case. As the results for this case we illustrate simultaneous measurement of at least six sensors.

  10. Krypton tagging velocimetry of an underexpanded jet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parziale, N J; Smith, M S; Marineau, E C

    2015-06-01

    In this work, we present the excitation/emission strategy, experimental setup, and results of an implementation of krypton tagging velocimetry (KTV). KTV is performed as follows: (i) seed a base flow with krypton; (ii) photosynthesize metastable krypton atoms with a frequency-doubled dye laser to form the tagged tracer; (iii) record the translation of the tagged metastable krypton by imaging the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) that is produced with an additional dye laser. The principle strength of KTV, relative to other tagging velocimetry techniques, is the use of a chemically inert tracer. KTV results are presented for an underexpanded jet of three mixtures of varying Kr/N2 concentration. It is demonstrated that KTV can be used in gas mixtures of relatively low krypton mole fraction (0.5% Kr/99.5% N2), and the KTV data from that experiment are found to be in good agreement with an empirical fit found in the literature. We find that KTV is useful to perform instantaneous velocity measurements with metastable krypton as a chemically inert, dilute, long-lifetime tracer in gas-phase flows.

  11. The comprehensive native interactome of a fully functional tagged prion protein.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorothea Rutishauser

    Full Text Available The enumeration of the interaction partners of the cellular prion protein, PrP(C, may help clarifying its elusive molecular function. Here we added a carboxy proximal myc epitope tag to PrP(C. When expressed in transgenic mice, PrP(myc carried a GPI anchor, was targeted to lipid rafts, and was glycosylated similarly to PrP(C. PrP(myc antagonized the toxicity of truncated PrP, restored prion infectibility of PrP(C-deficient mice, and was physically incorporated into PrP(Sc aggregates, indicating that it possessed all functional characteristics of genuine PrP(C. We then immunopurified myc epitope-containing protein complexes from PrP(myc transgenic mouse brains. Gentle differential elution with epitope-mimetic decapeptides, or a scrambled version thereof, yielded 96 specifically released proteins. Quantitative mass spectrometry with isotope-coded tags identified seven proteins which co-eluted equimolarly with PrP(C and may represent component of a multiprotein complex. Selected PrP(C interactors were validated using independent methods. Several of these proteins appear to exert functions in axomyelinic maintenance.

  12. InkTag: Secure Applications on an Untrusted Operating System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Owen S.; Kim, Sangman; Dunn, Alan M.; Lee, Michael Z.; Witchel, Emmett

    2014-01-01

    InkTag is a virtualization-based architecture that gives strong safety guarantees to high-assurance processes even in the presence of a malicious operating system. InkTag advances the state of the art in untrusted operating systems in both the design of its hypervisor and in the ability to run useful applications without trusting the operating system. We introduce paraverification, a technique that simplifies the InkTag hypervisor by forcing the untrusted operating system to participate in its own verification. Attribute-based access control allows trusted applications to create decentralized access control policies. InkTag is also the first system of its kind to ensure consistency between secure data and metadata, ensuring recoverability in the face of system crashes. PMID:24429939

  13. PIPE: a protein-protein interaction prediction engine based on the re-occurring short polypeptide sequences between known interacting protein pairs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Greenblatt Jack

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Identification of protein interaction networks has received considerable attention in the post-genomic era. The currently available biochemical approaches used to detect protein-protein interactions are all time and labour intensive. Consequently there is a growing need for the development of computational tools that are capable of effectively identifying such interactions. Results Here we explain the development and implementation of a novel Protein-Protein Interaction Prediction Engine termed PIPE. This tool is capable of predicting protein-protein interactions for any target pair of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins from their primary structure and without the need for any additional information or predictions about the proteins. PIPE showed a sensitivity of 61% for detecting any yeast protein interaction with 89% specificity and an overall accuracy of 75%. This rate of success is comparable to those associated with the most commonly used biochemical techniques. Using PIPE, we identified a novel interaction between YGL227W (vid30 and YMR135C (gid8 yeast proteins. This lead us to the identification of a novel yeast complex that here we term vid30 complex (vid30c. The observed interaction was confirmed by tandem affinity purification (TAP tag, verifying the ability of PIPE to predict novel protein-protein interactions. We then used PIPE analysis to investigate the internal architecture of vid30c. It appeared from PIPE analysis that vid30c may consist of a core and a secondary component. Generation of yeast gene deletion strains combined with TAP tagging analysis indicated that the deletion of a member of the core component interfered with the formation of vid30c, however, deletion of a member of the secondary component had little effect (if any on the formation of vid30c. Also, PIPE can be used to analyse yeast proteins for which TAP tagging fails, thereby allowing us to predict protein interactions that are not

  14. Pulse EPR-enabled interpretation of scarce pseudocontact shifts induced by lanthanide binding tags

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdelkader, Elwy H.; Yao, Xuejun [Australian National University, Research School of Chemistry (Australia); Feintuch, Akiva [Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Chemical Physics (Israel); Adams, Luke A.; Aurelio, Luigi; Graham, Bim [Monash University, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Australia); Goldfarb, Daniella [Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Chemical Physics (Israel); Otting, Gottfried, E-mail: gottfried.otting@anu.edu.au [Australian National University, Research School of Chemistry (Australia)

    2016-01-15

    Pseudocontact shifts (PCS) induced by tags loaded with paramagnetic lanthanide ions provide powerful long-range structure information, provided the location of the metal ion relative to the target protein is known. Usually, the metal position is determined by fitting the magnetic susceptibility anisotropy (Δχ) tensor to the 3D structure of the protein in an 8-parameter fit, which requires a large set of PCSs to be reliable. In an alternative approach, we used multiple Gd{sup 3+}-Gd{sup 3+} distances measured by double electron–electron resonance (DEER) experiments to define the metal position, allowing Δχ-tensor determinations from more robust 5-parameter fits that can be performed with a relatively sparse set of PCSs. Using this approach with the 32 kDa E. coli aspartate/glutamate binding protein (DEBP), we demonstrate a structural transition between substrate-bound and substrate-free DEBP, supported by PCSs generated by C3-Tm{sup 3+} and C3-Tb{sup 3+} tags attached to a genetically encoded p-azidophenylalanine residue. The significance of small PCSs was magnified by considering the difference between the chemical shifts measured with Tb{sup 3+} and Tm{sup 3+} rather than involving a diamagnetic reference. The integrative sparse data approach developed in this work makes poorly soluble proteins of limited stability amenable to structural studies in solution, without having to rely on cysteine mutations for tag attachment.

  15. An Immunosensor Based on Antibody Binding Fragments Attached to Gold Nanoparticles for the Detection of Peptides Derived from Avian Influenza Hemagglutinin H5

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urszula Jarocka

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper concerns the development of an immunosensor for detection of peptides derived from avian influenza hemagglutinin H5. Its preparation consists of successive gold electrode modification steps: (i modification with 1,6-hexanedithiol and gold colloidal nanoparticles; (ii immobilization of antibody-binding fragments (Fab’ of anti-hemagglutinin H5 monoclonal antibodies Mab 6-9-1 via S-Au covalent bonds; and (iii covering the remaining free space on the electrode surfaces with bovine serum albumin. The interactions between Fab’ fragments and hemagglutinin (HA variants have been explored with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS in the presence of [Fe(CN6]3−/4− as an electroactive marker. The immunosensor was able to recognize three different His-tagged variants of recombinant hemagglutinin from H5N1 viruses: H1 subunit (17–340 residues of A/swan/Poland/305-135V08/2006, the long HA (17–530 residues A/Bar-headed Goose/Qinghai/12/2005 and H1 subunit (1–345 residues of A/Vietnam/1194/2004. The strongest response has been observed for the long variant with detection limit of 2.2 pg/mL and dynamic range from 4.0 to 20.0 pg/mL.

  16. Can Global Visual Features Improve Tag Recommendation for Image Annotation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oge Marques

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Recent advances in the fields of digital photography, networking and computing, have made it easier than ever for users to store and share photographs. However without sufficient metadata, e.g., in the form of tags, photos are difficult to find and organize. In this paper, we describe a system that recommends tags for image annotation. We postulate that the use of low-level global visual features can improve the quality of the tag recommendation process when compared to a baseline statistical method based on tag co-occurrence. We present results from experiments conducted using photos and metadata sourced from the Flickr photo website that suggest that the use of visual features improves the mean average precision (MAP of the system and increases the system's ability to suggest different tags, therefore justifying the associated increase in complexity.

  17. Isolation of human anti-serum albumin Fab antibodies with an extended serum-half life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hyeon-Ju; Kim, Hye-Jin; Cha, Sang-Hoon

    2016-01-01

    The serum albumin (SA) has been exploited to generate long-acting biotherapeutics by taking advantage of the FcRn-mediated recycling mechanism in a direct or an indirect way. Since Fab fragments have been proven to be clinically safe for human usage, we assumed that human anti-SA Fab antibodies could have a great potential as a carrier molecule to extend the serum half-life of therapeutic proteins. We, herein, had attempted to isolate anti-SA Fab antibodies from HuDVFab-8L antibody library via a phage display technology, and identified eight discrete human Fab antibodies. One of the Fab antibodies, SL335, showed the strongest binding reactivity to human SA with nM range of affinity at both pH 6 and pH 7.4, and cross-reacted to SAs from various species including rat, mouse, canine and monkey. The in vivo pharmacokinetic assay using a rat model indicated that SL335 has approximately 10 fold longer serum half-life and 26 to 44-fold increase in AUC0 → ∞ compared to the negative control Fab molecule in both intravenous and subcutaneous administrations. Knowing that Fabs have proven to be safe in clinics for a long time, SL335 seems to have a great potential in generating long-acting protein drugs by tagging effector molecules with either chemical conjugation or genetic fusion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Personalization of tagging systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Wang (Jun); M. Clements (Maarten); J. Yang; A.P. de Vries (Arjen); M.J.T. Reinders

    2010-01-01

    htmlabstractSocial media systems have encouraged end user participation in the Internet, for the purpose of storing and distributing Internet content, sharing opinions and maintaining relationships. Collaborative tagging allows users to annotate the resulting user-generated content, and enables

  19. Interaction between the Staphylococcus aureus extracellular adherence protein Eap and its subdomains with platelets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palankar, Raghavendra; Binsker, Ulrike; Haracska, Bianca; Wesche, Jan; Greinacher, Andreas; Hammerschmidt, Sven

    2018-04-18

    S. aureus associated bacteremia can lead to severe infections with high risk of mortality (e.g. sepsis, infective endocarditis). Many virulence factors and adhesins of S. aureus are known to directly interact with platelets. Extracellular adherence protein, Eap, one of the most important virulence factors in S. aureus mediated infections is a multi-tandem domain protein and has been shown to interact with almost all cell types in the human circulatory system. By using amine reactive fluorescent N-hydroxysuccinimidyl (NHS)-ester dyes and by direct detection with primary fluorescently conjugated anti-histidine (His-tag) antibodies against detect N-terminal His6, we show Eap subdomain Eap D 3 D 4 specifically interacts and rapidly activates human platelets. Furthermore, we validate our finding by using site directed directional immobilization of Eap D 3 D 4 through N-terminal His 6 on nickel (II)-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) functionalized bacteriomimetic microbead arrays to visualize real-time platelet activation through calcium release assay. These methods offer an easily adoptable protocols for screening of S.aureus derived virulence factors and adhesins with platelets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  20. Magnetic micro-barcodes for molecular tagging applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayward, T J; Hong, B; Vyas, K N; Palfreyman, J J; Cooper, J F K; Jiang, Z; Llandro, J; Mitrelias, T; Bland, J A C; Barnes, C H W; Jeong, J R

    2010-01-01

    We present proof-of-principle experiments and simulations that demonstrate a new biological assay technology in which microscopic tags carrying multi-bit magnetic codes are used to label probe biomolecules. It is demonstrated that these 'micro-barcode tags' can be encoded, transported using micro-fluidics and are compatible with surface chemistry. We also present simulations and experimental results which suggest the feasibility of decoding the micro-barcode tags using magnetoresistive sensors. Together, these results demonstrate substantial progress towards meeting the critical requirements of a magnetically encoded, high-throughput and portable biological assay platform. We also show that an extension of our technology could potentially be used to label libraries consisting of ∼10 4 distinct probe molecules, and could therefore have a strong impact on mainstream medical diagnostics.

  1. Passive UHF RFID Tag for Multispectral Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Escobedo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a passive printed radiofrequency identification tag in the ultra-high-frequency band with multiple optical sensing capabilities. This tag includes five photodiodes to cover a wide spectral range from near-infrared to visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. The tag antenna and circuit connections have been screen-printed on a flexible polymeric substrate. An ultra-low-power microcontroller-based switch has been included to measure the five magnitudes issuing from the optical sensors, providing a spectral fingerprint of the incident electromagnetic radiation from ultraviolet to infrared, without requiring energy from a battery. The normalization procedure has been designed applying illuminants, and the entire system was tested by measuring cards from a colour chart and sensing fruit ripening.

  2. The antibody response to well-defined malaria antigens after acute malaria in individuals living under continuous malaria transmission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, E; Høgh, B; Dziegiel, M

    1992-01-01

    The IgG and IgM antibody responses to the C-terminal 783 amino acids of the P. falciparum glutamate-rich protein, GLURP489-1271, expressed as an E. coli fusion protein, the IgG response to a 18-mer synthetic peptide EDKNEKGQHEIVEVEEIL (GLURP899-916) representing the C-terminal repeats of GLURP......, and a synthetic peptide (EENV)6 representing the C-terminal repeats from Pf155/RESA, were investigated longitudinally in 13 children and 7 adults living under conditions of continuous, intense malaria transmission. Some subjects did not recognize the antigens after malaria infection, and in subjects recognizing...... the antigens, the responses were often short-lived. In adults, the antibody responses to the GLURP489-1271 fusion protein and the (EENV)6 peptide peaked after 2 weeks, and not all individuals responded to all antigens. The antibody response, even against large fragments of conserved antigens, is not uniformly...

  3. Rational design of viscosity reducing mutants of a monoclonal antibody: hydrophobic versus electrostatic inter-molecular interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Pilarin; Li, Li; Kumar, Sandeep; Buck, Patrick M; Singh, Satish K; Goswami, Sumit; Balthazor, Bryan; Conley, Tami R; Sek, David; Allen, Martin J

    2015-01-01

    High viscosity of monoclonal antibody formulations at concentrations ≥100 mg/mL can impede their development as products suitable for subcutaneous delivery. The effects of hydrophobic and electrostatic intermolecular interactions on the solution behavior of MAB 1, which becomes unacceptably viscous at high concentrations, was studied by testing 5 single point mutants. The mutations were designed to reduce viscosity by disrupting either an aggregation prone region (APR), which also participates in 2 hydrophobic surface patches, or a negatively charged surface patch in the variable region. The disruption of an APR that lies at the interface of light and heavy chain variable domains, VH and VL, via L45K mutation destabilized MAB 1 and abolished antigen binding. However, mutation at the preceding residue (V44K), which also lies in the same APR, increased apparent solubility and reduced viscosity of MAB 1 without sacrificing antigen binding or thermal stability. Neutralizing the negatively charged surface patch (E59Y) also increased apparent solubility and reduced viscosity of MAB 1, but charge reversal at the same position (E59K/R) caused destabilization, decreased solubility and led to difficulties in sample manipulation that precluded their viscosity measurements at high concentrations. Both V44K and E59Y mutations showed similar increase in apparent solubility. However, the viscosity profile of E59Y was considerably better than that of the V44K, providing evidence that inter-molecular interactions in MAB 1 are electrostatically driven. In conclusion, neutralizing negatively charged surface patches may be more beneficial toward reducing viscosity of highly concentrated antibody solutions than charge reversal or aggregation prone motif disruption.

  4. Defining Interactions and Interfaces in Engineering Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parslov, Jakob Filippson

    documents of legal matter and must therefore be unambiguously and completely described. Following this observation, a comprehensive and systematic literature review has been performed in order to investigate the definition and perception of an interface. The review resulted in a classification revealing 13......This PhD thesis focuses on the understanding and definition of interactions and interfaces during the architectural decomposition of complex, multi-technological products. The Interaction and Interface Framework developed in this PhD project contribute to the field of engineering design research...... the framework, it has been possible to arrive at a classification of interaction mechanism, which is mutually exclusive (no overlap) and collectively exhaustive (no gaps). This contribution changes the existing paradigm of reasoning about interactions and allows for an unambiguous architectural decomposition...

  5. Microculture system for detection of Newcastle disease virus antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooley, R E; Brown, J; Gratzek, J B; Kleven, S H; Scott, T A

    1974-05-01

    A microculture system utilizing cytopathic effect (CPE) and hemadsorption (HAd) end points was effective in determining the level of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) antibodies. The microculture system was of comparable sensitivity to the plaque reduction test for the detection of NDV antibodies. The standards by which the CPE and HAd microculture tests would be considered reproducible were defined. The results indicate that the CPE and HAd microculture tests are reproducible within one twofold dilution.

  6. Flavor Tagging at Tevatron incl. calibration and control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moulik, T.; /Kansas U.

    2007-01-01

    This report summarizes the flavor tagging techniques developed at the CDF and D0 experiments. Flavor tagging involves identification of the B meson flavor at production, whether its constituent is a quark or an anti-quark. It is crucial for measuring the oscillation frequency of neutral B mesons, both in the B{sup 0} and B{sub S} system. The two experiments have developed their unique approaches to flavor tagging, using neural networks, and likelihood methods to disentangle tracks from b decays from other tracks. This report discusses these techniques and the measurement of B{sup 0} mixing, as a means to calibrate the taggers.

  7. Detection of LGI1 and CASPR2 antibodies with a commercial cell-based assay in patients with very high VGKC-complex antibody levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeo, T; Chen, Z; Chai, J Y H; Tan, K

    2017-07-15

    The presence of VGKC-complex antibodies, without LGI1/CASPR2 antibodies, as a standalone marker for neurological autoimmunity remains controversial. Additionally, the lack of an unequivocal VGKC-complex antibody cut-off level defining neurological autoimmunity makes it important to test for monospecific antibodies. We aim to determine the performance characteristics of a commercial assay (Euroimmun, Lübeck, Germany) for LGI1/CASPR2 antibody detection in patients with very high VGKC-complex antibody levels and report their clinico-serological associations. We identified 8 patients in our cohort with the highest VGKC-complex antibody levels (median 2663.5pM, range 933-6730pM) with VGKC-complex antibody related syndromes (Group A). Two other groups were identified; 1 group with suspected neuronal surface antibody syndromes and negative for VGKC-complex antibodies (Group B, n=8), and another group with cerebellar ataxia and negative for onconeuronal antibodies (Group C, n=8). Seven out of 8 patients (87.5%) in Group A had LGI1 and/or CASPR2 antibodies. One Group B patient had LGI1 antibodies but was negative on re-testing with a live cell assay. No Group C patients had monospecific antibodies. Inter-rater reliability was high; combining Groups A and B patients, the kappa statistic was 0.87 and 1.0 for LGI1 and CASPR2 antibodies respectively. We demonstrated that a high proportion of patients with very high VGKC-complex antibody levels and relevant clinical syndromes have LGI1 and/or CASPR2 antibodies detected by the commercial assay. Our findings lend support to the use of the assay for rapid and reliable detection of LGI1 and CASPR2 antibodies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. ATLAS boosted object tagging 2

    CERN Document Server

    Caudron, Julien; The ATLAS collaboration

    2015-01-01

    A detailed study into the optimal techniques for identifying boosted hadronically decaying W or Z bosons is presented. Various algorithms for reconstructing, grooming and tagging bosonic jets are compared for W bosons with a wide range of transverse momenta using 8 TeV data and 8 TeV and 13 TeV MC simulations. In addition, given that a hadronic jet has been identified as resulting from the hadronic decay of a W or Z, a technique is developed to discriminate between W and Z bosons. The modeling of the tagging variables used in this technique is studied using 8 TeV pp collision data and systematic uncertainties for the tagger efficiency and fake rates are evaluated.

  9. Steady-state free precession with myocardial tagging: CSPAMM in a single breathhold.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwanenburg, Jaco J M; Kuijer, Joost P A; Marcus, J Tim; Heethaar, Robert M

    2003-04-01

    A method is presented that combines steady-state free precession (SSFP) cine imaging with myocardial tagging. Before the tagging preparation at each ECG-R wave, the steady-state magnetization is stored as longitudinal magnetization by an alpha/2 flip-back pulse. Imaging is continued immediately after tagging preparation, using linearly increasing startup angles (LISA) with a rampup over 10 pulses. Interleaved segmented k-space ordering is used to prevent artifacts from the increasing signal during the LISA rampup. First, this LISA-SSFP method was evaluated regarding ghost artifacts from the steady-state interruption by comparing LISA with an alpha/2 startup method. Next, LISA-SSFP was compared with spoiled gradient echo (SGRE) imaging, regarding tag contrast-to-noise ratio and tag persistence. The measurements were performed in phantoms and in six subjects applying breathhold cine imaging with tagging (temporal resolution 51 ms). The results show that ghost artifacts are negligible for the LISA method. Compared to the SGRE reference, LISA-SSFP was two times faster, with a slightly better tag contrast-to-noise. Additionally, the tags persisted 126 ms longer with LISA-SSFP than with SGRE imaging. The high efficiency of LISA-SSFP enables the acquisition of complementary tagged (CSPAMM) images in a single breathhold. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  10. Anti-idiotypes against a monoclonal anti-haloperidol antibody bind to dopamine receptor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elazar, Z.; Kanety, H.; Schreiber, M.; Fuchs, S.

    1988-01-01

    Anti-idiotypic antibodies were raised in rabbits by immunization with a monoclonal anti-haloperidol antibody. Some of these anti-idiotypic antibodies bind in a concentration dependent manner to bovine striatal membranes. Following affinity purification, these antibodies inhibit haloperidol binding to striatal membranes and deplete [ 3 H]-spiperone binding sites from a solubilized preparation of striatal membranes. It is thus concluded that these anti-idiotypic antibodies are an internal image of haloperidol and as such can interact with D 2 -dopamine receptors

  11. Z0-tagged jet event asymmetry in heavy-ion collisions at the CERN large hadron collider.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neufeld, R B; Vitev, I

    2012-06-15

    Tagged jet measurements provide a promising experimental channel to quantify the similarities and differences in the mechanisms of jet production in proton-proton and nucleus-nucleus collisions. We present the first calculation of the transverse momentum asymmetry of Z0/γ*-tagged jet events in sqrt[s]=2.76  TeV reactions at the LHC. Our results combine the O(G(F)α(s)2) perturbative cross sections with the radiative and collisional processes that modify parton showers in the presence of dense strongly interacting matter. We find that a strong asymmetry is generated in central lead-lead reactions that has little sensitivity to the fluctuations of the underlying soft hadronic background. We present theoretical model predictions for its shape and magnitude.

  12. A photocleavable affinity tag for the enrichment of alkyne-modified biomolecules

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koopmans, Timo; Dekker, Frank J.; Martin, Nathaniel I.

    2012-01-01

    A new photocleavable affinity tag for use in the enrichment of alkyne-labelled biomolecules is reported. The tag is prepared via a concise synthetic route using readily available materials. The photolytic conditions employed for cleavage of the tag provide for a clean release of enriched

  13. Defining New Therapeutics Using a More Immunocompetent Mouse Model of Antibody-Enhanced Dengue Virus Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, Amelia K; Brien, James D; Lam, Chia-Ying Kao; Johnson, Syd; Chiang, Cindy; Hiscott, John; Sarathy, Vanessa V; Barrett, Alan D; Shresta, Sujan; Diamond, Michael S

    2015-09-15

    With over 3.5 billion people at risk and approximately 390 million human infections per year, dengue virus (DENV) disease strains health care resources worldwide. Previously, we and others established models for DENV pathogenesis in mice that completely lack subunits of the receptors (Ifnar and Ifngr) for type I and type II interferon (IFN) signaling; however, the utility of these models is limited by the pleotropic effect of these cytokines on innate and adaptive immune system development and function. Here, we demonstrate that the specific deletion of Ifnar expression on subsets of murine myeloid cells (LysM Cre(+) Ifnar(flox/flox) [denoted as Ifnar(f/f) herein]) resulted in enhanced DENV replication in vivo. The administration of subneutralizing amounts of cross-reactive anti-DENV monoclonal antibodies to LysM Cre(+) Ifnar(f/f) mice prior to infection with DENV serotype 2 or 3 resulted in antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection with many of the characteristics associated with severe DENV disease in humans, including plasma leakage, hypercytokinemia, liver injury, hemoconcentration, and thrombocytopenia. Notably, the pathogenesis of severe DENV-2 or DENV-3 infection in LysM Cre(+) Ifnar(f/f) mice was blocked by pre- or postexposure administration of a bispecific dual-affinity retargeting molecule (DART) or an optimized RIG-I receptor agonist that stimulates innate immune responses. Our findings establish a more immunocompetent animal model of ADE of infection with multiple DENV serotypes in which disease is inhibited by treatment with broad-spectrum antibody derivatives or innate immune stimulatory agents. Although dengue virus (DENV) infects hundreds of millions of people annually and results in morbidity and mortality on a global scale, there are no approved antiviral treatments or vaccines. Part of the difficulty in evaluating therapeutic candidates is the lack of small animal models that are permissive to DENV and recapitulate the clinical features

  14. N-terminal processing of affinity-tagged recombinant proteins purified by IMAC procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooney, Jane T; Fredericks, Dale P; Christensen, Thorkild; Bruun Schiødt, Christine; Hearn, Milton T W

    2015-07-01

    The ability of a new class of metal binding tags to facilitate the purification of recombinant proteins, exemplified by the tagged glutathione S-transferase and human growth hormone, from Escherichia coli fermentation broths and lysates has been further investigated. These histidine-containing tags exhibit high affinity for borderline metal ions chelated to the immobilised ligand, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (tacn). The use of this tag-tacn immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) system engenders high selectivity with regard to host cell protein removal and permits facile tag removal from the E. coli-expressed recombinant protein. In particular, these tags were specifically designed to enable their efficient removal by the dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 1 (DAP-1), thus capturing the advantages of high substrate specificity and rates of cleavage. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the cleaved products from the DAP-1 digestion of the recombinant N-terminally tagged proteins confirmed the complete removal of the tag within 4-12 h under mild experimental conditions. Overall, this study demonstrates that the use of tags specifically designed to target tacn-based IMAC resins offers a comprehensive and flexible approach for the purification of E. coli-expressed recombinant proteins, where complete removal of the tag is an essential prerequisite for subsequent application of the purified native proteins in studies aimed at delineating the molecular and cellular basis of specific biological processes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Predicting floods with Flickr tags.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tkachenko, Nataliya; Jarvis, Stephen; Procter, Rob

    2017-01-01

    Increasingly, user generated content (UGC) in social media postings and their associated metadata such as time and location stamps are being used to provide useful operational information during natural hazard events such as hurricanes, storms and floods. The main advantage of these new sources of data are twofold. First, in a purely additive sense, they can provide much denser geographical coverage of the hazard as compared to traditional sensor networks. Second, they provide what physical sensors are not able to do: By documenting personal observations and experiences, they directly record the impact of a hazard on the human environment. For this reason interpretation of the content (e.g., hashtags, images, text, emojis, etc) and metadata (e.g., keywords, tags, geolocation) have been a focus of much research into social media analytics. However, as choices of semantic tags in the current methods are usually reduced to the exact name or type of the event (e.g., hashtags '#Sandy' or '#flooding'), the main limitation of such approaches remains their mere nowcasting capacity. In this study we make use of polysemous tags of images posted during several recent flood events and demonstrate how such volunteered geographic data can be used to provide early warning of an event before its outbreak.

  16. Using Tags In An Aiml-Based Chatterbot To Improve Its Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Mikic

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, it is common to find on the Internet different conversational robots which interact with users simulating a natural language conversation. Among them, we can emphasize the chatterbots based on AIML language. In this paper we present an AIML based chatterbot that shows as its main contribution the use of tags and folksonomies. Thanks to its use, we can generate a context for each conversation, being able to maintain a state for each user in the system, and improving the adaptation capabilities of the bot.

  17. Ethical implications of implantable radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Kenneth R; Jaeger, Jan

    2008-08-01

    This article reviews the use of implantable radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags in humans, focusing on the VeriChip (VeriChip Corporation, Delray Beach, FL) and the associated VeriMed patient identification system. In addition, various nonmedical applications for implanted RFID tags in humans have been proposed. The technology offers important health and nonhealth benefits, but raises ethical concerns, including privacy and the potential for coercive implantation of RFID tags in individuals. A national discussion is needed to identify the limits of acceptable use of implantable RFID tags in humans before their use becomes widespread and it becomes too late to prevent misuse of this useful but ethically problematic technology.

  18. [Molecular dynamics of immune complex of photoadduct-containing DNA with Fab-Anti-DNA antibody fragment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akberova, N I; Zhmurov, A A; Nevzorova, T A; Litvinov, R I

    2016-01-01

    Antibodies to DNA play an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The elucidation of structural mechanisms of both the antigen recognition and the interaction of anti-DNA antibodies with DNA will help to understand the role of DNA-containing immune complexes in various pathologies and can provide a basis for new treatment modalities. Moreover, the DNA-antibody complex is an analog of specific intracellular DNA-protein interactions. In this work, we used in silico molecular dynamic simulations of bimolecular complexes of the dsDNA segment containing the Fab fragment of an anti-DNA antibody to obtain the detailed thermodynamic and structural characteristics of dynamic intermolecular interactions. Using computationally modified crystal structure of the Fab-DNA complex (PDB ID: 3VW3), we studied the equilibrium molecular dynamics of the 64M-5 antibody Fab fragment associated with the dsDNA fragment containing the thymine dimer, the product of DNA photodamage. Amino acid residues that constitute paratopes and the complementary nucleotide epitopes for the Fab-DNA construct were identified. Stacking and electrostatic interactions were found to play the main role in mediating the most specific antibody-dsDNA contacts, while hydrogen bonds were less significant. These findings may shed light on the formation and properties of pathogenic anti-DNA antibodies in autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus associated with skin photosensitivity and DNA photodamage.

  19. Anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive patients show a characteristic necrotizing perifascicular myositis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mescam-Mancini, Lénaig; Allenbach, Yves; Hervier, Baptiste; Devilliers, Hervé; Mariampillay, Kuberaka; Dubourg, Odile; Maisonobe, Thierry; Gherardi, Romain; Mezin, Paulette; Preusse, Corinna; Stenzel, Werner; Benveniste, Olivier

    2015-09-01

    Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies can be classified as polymyositis, dermatomyositis, immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy, sporadic inclusion body myositis or non-specific myositis. Anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive patients are assigned to either polymyositis or dermatomyositis suggesting overlapping pathological features. We aimed to determine if anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive myopathy has a specific morphological phenotype. In a series of 53 muscle biopsies of anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive patients, relevant descriptive criteria defining a characteristic morphological pattern were identified. They were tested in a second series of anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive patients and compared to 63 biopsies from patients suffering from other idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. In anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive patients, necrotic fibres, which strongly clustered in perifascicular regions, were frequently observed. Sarcolemmal complement deposition was detected specifically in perifascicular areas. Inflammation was mainly located in the perimysium and around vessels in 90.6%. Perimysial fragmentation was observed in 90% of cases. Major histocompatibility complex class I staining was diffusely positive, with a perifascicular reinforcement. Multivariate analysis showed that criteria defining perifascicular pathology: perifascicular necrosis, atrophy, and perimysial fragmentation allow the distinction of anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive patients, among patients suffering from other idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive patients displayed perifascicular necrosis, whereas dermatomyositis patients exhibited perifascicular atrophy. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. TOPAS 1 - construction and test of a scintillation counter hodoscope for the tagging of bremsstrahlung photons for the SAPHIR detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merkel, R.

    1989-09-01

    The development of a tagging-hodoscope for the SAPHIR-detector at the stretcher ring ELSA in Bonn is described. The hodoscope covers the energy range 2.175 GeV γ 0 =3.500 GeV. 24 scintillation counters are used for the determination of the photon energy, giving a resolution of ΔE γ =25 MeV. The tagging method requires a good coincidence timing resoluting τ between the tagging hodoscope and the detector for the photon-induced reactions in order to keep the accidental coincidences low. The timing information is given by 8 fast timing counters (40 mm thick), covering 5 up to 7 energy channels each. Fluctuations of the timing signal which result from different impact-locations on the timing counter, due to different light travelling distances, are corrected by the energy defining counters. The timing-component (8 timing counters) is commpleted and tested. The results of first mesurements show an upper limit of σ=250 psec for the resolution of 7 coincidences out of 45 possible channels in the tagging hodscope. These results are obtained with a preliminary adjustment of the SAPHIR beam-line and with a not yet optimized signal to noize ratio in the extracted beam. We hope to obtain a σ<200 psec under optimized conditions. (orig.)