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Sample records for f1-v antigen fusion

  1. Effective plague vaccination via oral delivery of plant cells expressing F1-V antigens in chloroplasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arlen, Philip A; Singleton, Michael; Adamovicz, Jeffrey J; Ding, Yi; Davoodi-Semiromi, Abdolreza; Daniell, Henry

    2008-08-01

    The chloroplast bioreactor is an alternative to fermentation-based systems for production of vaccine antigens and biopharmaceuticals. We report here expression of the plague F1-V fusion antigen in chloroplasts. Site-specific transgene integration and homoplasmy were confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting. Mature leaves showed the highest level of transgene expression on the third day of continuous illumination, with a maximum level of 14.8% of the total soluble protein. Swiss Webster mice were primed with adjuvant-containing subcutaneous (s.c.) doses of F1-V and then boosted with either adjuvanted s.c. doses (s.c. F1-V mice) or unadjuvanted oral doses (oral F1-V mice). Oral F1-V mice had higher prechallenge serum immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) titers than s.c. F1-V mice. The corresponding serum levels of antigen-specific IgG2a and IgA were 2 and 3 orders of magnitude lower, respectively. After vaccination, mice were exposed to an inhaled dose of 1.02 x 10(6) CFU of aerosolized Yersinia pestis CO92 (50% lethal dose, 6.8 x 10(4) CFU). All control animals died within 3 days. F1-V given s.c. (with adjuvant) protected 33% of the immunized mice, while 88% of the oral F1-V mice survived aerosolized Y. pestis challenge. A comparison of splenic Y. pestis CFU counts showed that there was a 7- to 10-log reduction in the mean bacterial burden in survivors. Taken together, these data indicate that oral booster doses effectively elicit protective immune responses in vivo. In addition, this is the first report of a plant-derived oral vaccine that protected animals from live Y. pestis challenge, bringing the likelihood of lower-cost vaccines closer to reality.

  2. Higher accumulation of F1-V fusion recombinant protein in plants after induction of protein body formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarez, M Lucrecia; Topal, Emel; Martin, Federico; Cardineau, Guy A

    2010-01-01

    Improving foreign protein accumulation is crucial for enhancing the commercial success of plant-based production systems since product yields have a major influence on process economics. Cereal grain evolved to store large amounts of proteins in tightly organized aggregates. In maize, gamma-Zein is the major storage protein synthesized by the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and stored in specialized organelles called protein bodies (PB). Zera (gamma-Zein ER-accumulating domain) is the N-terminal proline-rich domain of gamma-zein that is sufficient to induce the assembly of PB formation. Fusion of the Zera domain to proteins of interest results in assembly of dense PB-like, ER-derived organelles, containing high concentration of recombinant protein. Our main goal was to increase recombinant protein accumulation in plants in order to enhance the efficiency of orally-delivered plant-made vaccines. It is well known that oral vaccination requires substantially higher doses than parental formulations. As a part of a project to develop a plant-made plague vaccine, we expressed our model antigen, the Yersinia pestis F1-V antigen fusion protein, with and without a fused Zera domain. We demonstrated that Zera-F1-V protein accumulation was at least 3x higher than F1-V alone when expressed in three different host plant systems: Ncotiana benthamiana, Medicago sativa (alfalfa) and Nicotiana tabacum NT1 cells. We confirmed the feasibility of using Zera technology to induce protein body formation in non-seed tissues. Zera expression and accumulation did not affect plant development and growth. These results confirmed the potential exploitation of Zera technology to substantially increase the accumulation of value-added proteins in plants.

  3. A recombinant raccoon poxvirus vaccine expressing both Yersinia pestis F1 and truncated V antigens protects animals against lethal plague.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocke, Tonie E.; Kingstad-Bakke, B; Berlier, W; Osorio, J.E.

    2014-01-01

    In previous studies, we demonstrated in mice and prairie dogs that simultaneous administration of two recombinant raccoon poxviruses (rRCN) expressing Yersinia pestis antigens (F1 and V307-a truncated version of the V protein) provided superior protection against plague challenge compared to individual single antigen constructs. To reduce costs of vaccine production and facilitate implementation of a sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) control program for prairie dogs, a dual antigen construct is more desirable. Here we report the construction and characterization of a novel RCN-vectored vaccine that simultaneously expresses both F1 and V307 antigens. This dual antigen vaccine provided similar levels of protection against plague in both mice and prairie dogs as compared to simultaneous administration of the two single antigen constructs and was also shown to protect mice against an F1 negative strain of Y. pestis.. The equivalent safety, immunogenicity and efficacy profile of the dual RCN-F1/V307 construct warrants further evaluation in field efficacy studies in sylvatic plague endemic areas.

  4. Identification and quantification of N alpha-acetylated Y. pestis fusion protein F1-V expressed in Escherichia coli using LCMS E.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bariola, Pauline A; Russell, Brett A; Monahan, Steven J; Stroop, Steven D

    2007-05-31

    N-terminal acetylation in E coli is a rare event catalyzed by three known N-acetyl-transferases (NATs), each having a specific ribosomal protein substrate. Multiple, gram-scale lots of recombinant F1-V, a fusion protein constructed from Y. Pestis antigens, were expressed and purified from a single stably transformed E. coli cell bank. A variant form of F1-V with mass increased by 42-43 Da was detected in all purified lots by electrospray orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS). Peptide mapping LCMS localized the increased mass to an N-terminal Lys-C peptide, residues 1-24, and defined it as +42.0308+/-0.0231 Da using a LockSpray exact mass feature and a leucine enkaphalin mass standard. Sequencing of the variant 1-24 peptide by LCMS and high-energy collision induced dissociation (LCMS(E)) further localized the modification to the amino terminal tri-peptide ADL and identified the modification as N(alpha)-acetylation. The average content of N(alpha)-acetylated F1-V in five lots was 24.7+/-2.6% indicating that a stable acetylation activity for F1-V was established in the E. coli expression system. Alignment of the F1-V N-terminal sequence with those of other known N(alpha)-acetylated ectopic proteins expressed in E. coli reveals a substrate motif analogous to the eukaryote NatA' acetylation pathway and distinct from endogenous E. coli NAT substrates.

  5. Prevention of pneumonic plague in mice, rats, guinea pigs and non-human primates with clinical grade rV10, rV10-2 or F1-V vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quenee, Lauriane E.; Ciletti, Nancy A.; Elli, Derek; Hermanas, Timothy M.; Schneewind, Olaf

    2012-01-01

    Yersinia pestis causes plague, a disease with high mortality in humans that can be transmitted by fleabite or aerosol. A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed plague vaccine is currently not available. Vaccine developers have focused on two subunits of Y. pestis: LcrV, a protein at the tip of type III secretion needles, and F1, the fraction 1 pilus antigen. F1-V, a hybrid generated via translational fusion of both antigens, is being developed for licensure as a plague vaccine. The rV10 vaccine is a non-toxigenic variant of LcrV lacking residues 271–300. Here we developed Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) protocols for rV10. Comparison of clinical grade rV10 with F1-V did not reveal significant differences in plague protection in mice, guinea pigs or cynomolgus macaques. We also developed cGMP protocols for rV10-2, a variant of rV10 with an altered affinity tag. Immunization with rV10-2 adsorbed to aluminum hydroxide elicited antibodies against LcrV and conferred pneumonic plague protection in mice, rats, guinea pigs, cynomolgus macaques and African Green monkeys. The data support further development of rV10-2 for FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) authorization review and clinical testing. PMID:21763383

  6. Assessment of a recombinant F1-V fusion protein vaccine intended to protect Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) from plague

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Lisa L.; Shenk, Tanya M.; Powell, Bradford; Rocke, Tonie E.

    2011-01-01

    As part of an ongoing restoration program in Colorado, USA, we evaluated adverse reactions and seroconversion in captive Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) after vaccination with a recombinant F1-V fusion protein vaccine against Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague. Ten adult female lynx received the F1-V vaccine; 10 source- and age-matched lynx remained unvaccinated as controls. All of the vaccinated and control lynx remained apparently healthy throughout the confinement period. We observed no evidence of injection site or systemic reactions to the F1-V vaccine. Among vaccinated lynx, differences in log10 reciprocal antibody titers measured in sera collected before and after vaccination (two doses) ranged from 1.2 to 5.2 for anti-F1 antibodies and from 0.6 to 5.2 for anti-V antibodies; titers in unvaccinated lynx did not change appreciably over the course of confinement prior to release, and thus differences in anti-F1 (P=0.003) and anti-V (P=0.0005) titers were greater among vaccinated lynx than among controls. Although our findings suggest that the F1-V fusion protein vaccine evaluated here is likely to stimulate antibody responses that may help protect Canada lynx from plague, we observed no apparent differences in survival between vaccinated and unvaccinated subject animals. Retrospectively, 22 of 50 (44%; 95% confidence interval 29–59%) unvaccinated lynx captured or recaptured in Colorado during 2000–08 had passive hemagglutination antibody titers >1:16, consistent with exposure to Y. pestis; paired pre- and postrelease titers available for eight of these animals showed titer increases similar in magnitude to those seen in response to vaccination, suggesting at least some lynx may naturally acquire immunity to plague in Colorado habitats.

  7. Integrin αvβ1 Modulation Affects Subtype B Avian Metapneumovirus Fusion Protein-mediated Cell-Cell Fusion and Virus Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Bing-Ling; Guan, Xiao-Lu; Liu, Yong-Zhen; Zhang, Yao; Wang, Yong-Qiang; Qi, Xiao-Le; Cui, Hong-Yu; Liu, Chang-Jun; Zhang, Yan-Ping; Gao, Hong-Lei; Gao, Li; Li, Kai; Gao, Yu-Long; Wang, Xiao-Mei

    2016-07-08

    Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) fusion (F) protein mediates virus-cell membrane fusion to initiate viral infection, which requires F protein binding to its receptor(s) on the host cell surface. However, the receptor(s) for aMPV F protein is still not identified. All known subtype B aMPV (aMPV/B) F proteins contain a conserved Arg-Asp-Asp (RDD) motif, suggesting that the aMPV/B F protein may mediate membrane fusion via the binding of RDD to integrin. When blocked with integrin-specific peptides, aMPV/B F protein fusogenicity and viral replication were significantly reduced. Specifically we identified integrin αv and/or β1-mediated F protein fusogenicity and viral replication using antibody blocking, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) knockdown, and overexpression. Additionally, overexpression of integrin αv and β1 in aMPV/B non-permissive cells conferred aMPV/B F protein binding and aMPV/B infection. When RDD was altered to RAE (Arg-Ala-Glu), aMPV/B F protein binding and fusogenic activity were profoundly impaired. These results suggest that integrin αvβ1 is a functional receptor for aMPV/B F protein-mediated membrane fusion and virus infection, which will provide new insights on the fusogenic mechanism and pathogenesis of aMPV. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  8. Integrin αvβ1 Modulation Affects Subtype B Avian Metapneumovirus Fusion Protein-mediated Cell-Cell Fusion and Virus Infection*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Bing-Ling; Guan, Xiao-Lu; Liu, Yong-Zhen; Zhang, Yao; Wang, Yong-Qiang; Qi, Xiao-Le; Cui, Hong-Yu; Liu, Chang-Jun; Zhang, Yan-Ping; Gao, Hong-Lei; Gao, Li; Li, Kai; Gao, Yu-Long; Wang, Xiao-Mei

    2016-01-01

    Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) fusion (F) protein mediates virus-cell membrane fusion to initiate viral infection, which requires F protein binding to its receptor(s) on the host cell surface. However, the receptor(s) for aMPV F protein is still not identified. All known subtype B aMPV (aMPV/B) F proteins contain a conserved Arg-Asp-Asp (RDD) motif, suggesting that the aMPV/B F protein may mediate membrane fusion via the binding of RDD to integrin. When blocked with integrin-specific peptides, aMPV/B F protein fusogenicity and viral replication were significantly reduced. Specifically we identified integrin αv and/or β1-mediated F protein fusogenicity and viral replication using antibody blocking, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) knockdown, and overexpression. Additionally, overexpression of integrin αv and β1 in aMPV/B non-permissive cells conferred aMPV/B F protein binding and aMPV/B infection. When RDD was altered to RAE (Arg-Ala-Glu), aMPV/B F protein binding and fusogenic activity were profoundly impaired. These results suggest that integrin αvβ1 is a functional receptor for aMPV/B F protein-mediated membrane fusion and virus infection, which will provide new insights on the fusogenic mechanism and pathogenesis of aMPV. PMID:27226547

  9. Human antibody recognition of antigenic site IV on Pneumovirus fusion proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mousa, Jarrod J; Binshtein, Elad; Human, Stacey; Fong, Rachel H; Alvarado, Gabriela; Doranz, Benjamin J; Moore, Martin L; Ohi, Melanie D; Crowe, James E

    2018-02-01

    Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major human pathogen that infects the majority of children by two years of age. The RSV fusion (F) protein is a primary target of human antibodies, and it has several antigenic regions capable of inducing neutralizing antibodies. Antigenic site IV is preserved in both the pre-fusion and post-fusion conformations of RSV F. Antibodies to antigenic site IV have been described that bind and neutralize both RSV and human metapneumovirus (hMPV). To explore the diversity of binding modes at antigenic site IV, we generated a panel of four new human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and competition-binding suggested the mAbs bind at antigenic site IV. Mutagenesis experiments revealed that binding and neutralization of two mAbs (3M3 and 6F18) depended on arginine (R) residue R429. We discovered two R429-independent mAbs (17E10 and 2N6) at this site that neutralized an RSV R429A mutant strain, and one of these mAbs (17E10) neutralized both RSV and hMPV. To determine the mechanism of cross-reactivity, we performed competition-binding, recombinant protein mutagenesis, peptide binding, and electron microscopy experiments. It was determined that the human cross-reactive mAb 17E10 binds to RSV F with a binding pose similar to 101F, which may be indicative of cross-reactivity with hMPV F. The data presented provide new concepts in RSV immune recognition and vaccine design, as we describe the novel idea that binding pose may influence mAb cross-reactivity between RSV and hMPV. Characterization of the site IV epitope bound by human antibodies may inform the design of a pan-Pneumovirus vaccine.

  10. Paramyxovirus F1 protein has two fusion peptides: implications for the mechanism of membrane fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peisajovich, S G; Samuel, O; Shai, Y

    2000-03-10

    Viral fusion proteins contain a highly hydrophobic segment, named the fusion peptide, which is thought to be responsible for the merging of the cellular and viral membranes. Paramyxoviruses are believed to contain a single fusion peptide at the N terminus of the F1 protein. However, here we identified an additional internal segment in the Sendai virus F1 protein (amino acids 214-226) highly homologous to the fusion peptides of HIV-1 and RSV. A synthetic peptide, which includes this region, was found to induce membrane fusion of large unilamellar vesicles, at concentrations where the known N-terminal fusion peptide is not effective. A scrambled peptide as well as several peptides from other regions of the F1 protein, which strongly bind to membranes, are not fusogenic. The functional and structural characterization of this active segment suggest that the F1 protein has an additional internal fusion peptide that could participate in the actual fusion event. The presence of homologous regions in other members of the same family suggests that the concerted action of two fusion peptides, one N-terminal and the other internal, is a general feature of paramyxoviruses. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

  11. Recombinant F1-V fusion protein protects black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) against virulent Yersinia pestis infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocke, Tonie E.; Mencher, J.; Smith, Susan; Friedlander, A.M.; Andrews, G.P.; Baeten, L.A.

    2004-01-01

    Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) are highly susceptible to sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, and this disease has severely hampered efforts to restore ferrets to their historic range. A study was conducted to assess the efficacy of vaccination of black-footed ferrets against plague using a recombinant protein vaccine, designated F1-V, developed by personnel at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Seven postreproductive black-footed ferrets were immunized with the vaccine, followed by two booster immunizations on days 23 and 154; three control black-footed ferrets received a placebo. After the second immunization, antibody titers to both F1 and V antigen were found to be significantly higher in vaccinates than controls. On challenge with 7,800 colony-forming units of virulent plague by s.c. injection, the three control animals died within 3 days, but six of seven vaccinates survived with no ill effects. The seventh vaccinate died on day 8. These results indicate that black-footed ferrets can be immunized against plague induced by the s.c. route, similar to fleabite injection.

  12. Protection Conferred by recombinant Yersinia pestis Antigens Produced by a Rapid and Highly Scalable Plant Expression System

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Santi, Luca; Giritch, Anatoli; Roy, Chad J; Marillonnet, Sylvestre; Klimyuk, Victor; Gleba, Yuri; Webb, Robert; Arntzen, Charles J; Mason, Hugh S

    2006-01-01

    ... have highlighted the need for a safe, efficacious, and rapidly producible vaccine. The use of F1 and V antigens and the derived protein fusion F1-V has shown great potential as a protective vaccine in animal studies...

  13. A Recombinant Trivalent Fusion Protein F1-LcrV-HSP70(II) Augments Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses and Imparts Full Protection against Yersinia pestis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Shailendra K; Batra, Lalit; Tuteja, Urmil

    2016-01-01

    Plague is one of the most dangerous infections in humans caused by Yersinia pestis, a Gram-negative bacterium. Despite of an overwhelming research success, no ideal vaccine against plague is available yet. It is well established that F1/LcrV based vaccine requires a strong cellular immune response for complete protection against plague. In our earlier study, we demonstrated that HSP70(II) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis modulates the humoral and cellular immunity of F1/LcrV vaccine candidates individually as well as in combinations in a mouse model. Here, we made two recombinant constructs caf1-lcrV and caf1-lcrV-hsp70(II). The caf1 and lcrV genes of Y. pestis and hsp70 domain II of M. tuberculosis were amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Both the recombinant constructs caf1-lcrV and caf1-lcrV-hsp70(II) were cloned in pET28a vector and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant fusion proteins F1-LcrV and F1-LcrV-HSP70(II) were purified using Ni-NTA columns and formulated with alum to evaluate the humoral and cell mediated immune responses in mice. The protective efficacies of F1-LcrV and F1-LcrV-HSP70(II) were determined following challenge of immunized mice with 100 LD50 of Y. pestis through intraperitoneal route. Significant differences were noticed in the titers of IgG and it's isotypes, i.e., IgG1, IgG2b, and IgG3 in anti- F1-LcrV-HSP70(II) sera in comparison to anti-F1-LcrV sera. Similarly, significant differences were also noticed in the expression levels of IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α in splenocytes of F1-LcrV-HSP(II) immunized mice in comparison to F1-LcrV. Both F1-LcrV and F1-LcrV-HSP70(II) provided 100% protection. Our research findings suggest that F1-LcrV fused with HSP70 domain II of M. tuberculosis significantly enhanced the humoral and cellular immune responses in mouse model.

  14. 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.

  15. Mutated and Bacteriophage T4 Nanoparticle Arrayed F1-V Immunogens from Yersinia pestis as Next Generation Plague Vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Pan; Mahalingam, Marthandan; Kirtley, Michelle L.; van Lier, Christina J.; Sha, Jian; Yeager, Linsey A.; Chopra, Ashok K.; Rao, Venigalla B.

    2013-01-01

    Pneumonic plague is a highly virulent infectious disease with 100% mortality rate, and its causative organism Yersinia pestis poses a serious threat for deliberate use as a bioterror agent. Currently, there is no FDA approved vaccine against plague. The polymeric bacterial capsular protein F1, a key component of the currently tested bivalent subunit vaccine consisting, in addition, of low calcium response V antigen, has high propensity to aggregate, thus affecting its purification and vaccine efficacy. We used two basic approaches, structure-based immunogen design and phage T4 nanoparticle delivery, to construct new plague vaccines that provided complete protection against pneumonic plague. The NH2-terminal β-strand of F1 was transplanted to the COOH-terminus and the sequence flanking the β-strand was duplicated to eliminate polymerization but to retain the T cell epitopes. The mutated F1 was fused to the V antigen, a key virulence factor that forms the tip of the type three secretion system (T3SS). The F1mut-V protein showed a dramatic switch in solubility, producing a completely soluble monomer. The F1mut-V was then arrayed on phage T4 nanoparticle via the small outer capsid protein, Soc. The F1mut-V monomer was robustly immunogenic and the T4-decorated F1mut-V without any adjuvant induced balanced TH1 and TH2 responses in mice. Inclusion of an oligomerization-deficient YscF, another component of the T3SS, showed a slight enhancement in the potency of F1-V vaccine, while deletion of the putative immunomodulatory sequence of the V antigen did not improve the vaccine efficacy. Both the soluble (purified F1mut-V mixed with alhydrogel) and T4 decorated F1mut-V (no adjuvant) provided 100% protection to mice and rats against pneumonic plague evoked by high doses of Y. pestis CO92. These novel platforms might lead to efficacious and easily manufacturable next generation plague vaccines. PMID:23853602

  16. Mutated and bacteriophage T4 nanoparticle arrayed F1-V immunogens from Yersinia pestis as next generation plague vaccines.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pan Tao

    Full Text Available Pneumonic plague is a highly virulent infectious disease with 100% mortality rate, and its causative organism Yersinia pestis poses a serious threat for deliberate use as a bioterror agent. Currently, there is no FDA approved vaccine against plague. The polymeric bacterial capsular protein F1, a key component of the currently tested bivalent subunit vaccine consisting, in addition, of low calcium response V antigen, has high propensity to aggregate, thus affecting its purification and vaccine efficacy. We used two basic approaches, structure-based immunogen design and phage T4 nanoparticle delivery, to construct new plague vaccines that provided complete protection against pneumonic plague. The NH₂-terminal β-strand of F1 was transplanted to the COOH-terminus and the sequence flanking the β-strand was duplicated to eliminate polymerization but to retain the T cell epitopes. The mutated F1 was fused to the V antigen, a key virulence factor that forms the tip of the type three secretion system (T3SS. The F1mut-V protein showed a dramatic switch in solubility, producing a completely soluble monomer. The F1mut-V was then arrayed on phage T4 nanoparticle via the small outer capsid protein, Soc. The F1mut-V monomer was robustly immunogenic and the T4-decorated F1mut-V without any adjuvant induced balanced TH1 and TH2 responses in mice. Inclusion of an oligomerization-deficient YscF, another component of the T3SS, showed a slight enhancement in the potency of F1-V vaccine, while deletion of the putative immunomodulatory sequence of the V antigen did not improve the vaccine efficacy. Both the soluble (purified F1mut-V mixed with alhydrogel and T4 decorated F1mut-V (no adjuvant provided 100% protection to mice and rats against pneumonic plague evoked by high doses of Y. pestis CO92. These novel platforms might lead to efficacious and easily manufacturable next generation plague vaccines.

  17. Protective immunity induced in mice by F8.1 and F8.2 antigens purified from Schistosoma mansoni eggs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Campra Ferreira

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available Schistosoma mansoni soluble egg antigens (SEA were fractionated by isoelectric focusing, resulting in 20 components, characterized by pH, absorbance and protein concentration. The higher absorbance fractions were submitted to electrophoresis, and fraction 8 (F8 presented a specific pattern of bands on its isoelectric point. Protein 3 was observed only on F8, and so, it was utilized to rabbit immunization, in order to evaluate its capacity of inducing protective immunity. IgG antibodies from rabbit anti-F8 serum were coupled to Sepharose, and used to obtain the specific antigen by affinity chromatography. This antigen, submitted to electrophoresis, presented two proteic bands (F8.1 and F8.2, which were transferred to nitrocellulose membrane (PVDF and sequenciated. The homology of F8.2 to known proteins was determined using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool program (BLASTp. Significant homologies were obtained for the rabbit cytosolic Ca2+ uptake inhibitor, and for the bird a1-proteinase inhibitor. Immunization of mice with F8.1 and F8.2, in the presence of Corynebacterium parvum and Al(OH3 as adjuvant, induced a significant protection degree against challenge infection, as observed by the decrease on worm burden recovered from portal system.

  18. Forklaringer på fusioner og opkøb i den danske værdikæde for fødevarer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Henning Otte; Klimek, Bjørn

    2016-01-01

    Fusioner og opkøb er meget vigtige for virksomheders internationale konkurrenceevne. Derfor er det vigtigt at få identificeret, struktureret og analyseret de bagvedliggende forklaringer og drivkræfter, som fremmer fusioner og opkøb. Der kan grundlæggende være fire forskellige typer af drivkræfter...... bag fusioner, opkøb: Det kan være interne eller eksterne forhold i virksomheden, som har betydning. Samtidig kan der være tale om en aktiv eller en passiv drivkraft. For hele sektoren kan der identificeres mindst 35 forskellige drivkræfter, som har været nævnt som begrundelser for opkøb og fusioner...... de enkelte fusioner og opkøb, og at der har været mange forskellige drivkræfter. En stor del af tidligere opstillede drivkræfter kan således bekræftes ud fra interviewene. Blandt de typisk forekommende drivkræfter nævnes udnyttelse af stordriftsfordele, styrkelse af markeds- og forhandlingsmagten...

  19. Herpesvirus glycoproteins undergo multiple antigenic changes before membrane fusion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel L Glauser

    Full Text Available Herpesvirus entry is a complicated process involving multiple virion glycoproteins and culminating in membrane fusion. Glycoprotein conformation changes are likely to play key roles. Studies of recombinant glycoproteins have revealed some structural features of the virion fusion machinery. However, how the virion glycoproteins change during infection remains unclear. Here using conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies we show in situ that each component of the Murid Herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4 entry machinery--gB, gH/gL and gp150--changes in antigenicity before tegument protein release begins. Further changes then occurred upon actual membrane fusion. Thus virions revealed their final fusogenic form only in late endosomes. The substantial antigenic differences between this form and that of extracellular virions suggested that antibodies have only a limited opportunity to block virion membrane fusion.

  20. A 1-kJ KrF laser system for laser fusion research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Owadano, Y.; Okuda, I.; Tanimoto, M.; Matsumoto, Y.; Yaoita, A.; Komeiji, S.; Yano, M.

    1987-01-01

    Ultraviolet laser light has several advantages in coupling with a laser fusion target, and the KrF laser is considered to be a promising candidate for the driver because of its short wavelength, high overall efficiency, and scalability to a megajoule class system. The Electrotechnical Laboratory is developing a 1-kJ class KrF laser system to perform target-shooting experiments in the 10/sup 13/-10/sup 15/-W/cm/sup 2/, 10-20-ns range and to investigate the possibility of a compact laser fusion driver which operates at a high pumping density and high laser power density. Based on the pulsed-power technology used in Amp2 and the characteristics of the Kr-rich mixture measured, Amp3 was designed to operate at high optical power density with a Kr-rich mixture. Amp3 has four PFLs charged by a single 40-kJ Marx generator and four e-beam diodes (550 kV, 4 Ω) arranged cylindrically around the laser cell. The active volume is 660 cm/sup 2/ (29 cm in diameter) X 1 m, and 2-atm Kr is pumped at a density of 1.9 MW/cm/sup 3/. Output energy of 1 kJ is expected at an intrinsic efficiency of 8.3% and overall efficiency of 2.5%. Output energy fluence is 1.5 J/cm/sup 2/ (15 MW/cm/sup 2/) on average, which is lower than the damage threshold of our fully reflecting AR coatings (>3 J/cm/sup 2/)

  1. Antigenic Fingerprinting following Primary RSV Infection in Young Children Identifies Novel Antigenic Sites and Reveals Unlinked Evolution of Human Antibody Repertoires to Fusion and Attachment Glycoproteins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Fuentes

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV is the major cause of pneumonia among infants. Here we elucidated the antibody repertoire following primary RSV infection and traced its evolution through adolescence and adulthood. Whole genome-fragment phage display libraries (GFPDL expressing linear and conformational epitopes in the RSV fusion protein (F and attachment protein (G were used for unbiased epitope profiling of infant sera prior to and following RSV infection. F-GFPDL analyses demonstrated modest changes in the anti-F epitope repertoires post-RSV infection, while G-GFPDL analyses revealed 100-fold increase in number of bound phages. The G-reactive epitopes spanned the N- and C-terminus of the G ectodomain, along with increased reactivity to the central conserved domain (CCD. Panels of F and G antigenic sites were synthesized to evaluate sera from young children (<2 yr, adolescents (14-18 yr and adults (30-45 yr in SPR real-time kinetics assays. A steady increase in RSV-F epitope repertoires from young children to adults was observed using peptides and F proteins. Importantly, several novel epitopes were identified in pre-fusion F and an immunodominant epitope in the F-p27. In all age groups, antibody binding to pre-fusion F was 2-3 folds higher than to post-fusion form. For RSV-G, antibody responses were high following early RSV infection in children, but declined significantly in adults, using either G proteins or peptides. This study identified unlinked evolution of anti-F and anti G responses and supportive evidence for immune pressure driven evolution of RSV-G. These findings could help development of effective countermeasures including vaccines.

  2. Analysis of antigenic cross-reactivity between subgroup C avian pneumovirus and human metapneumovirus by using recombinant fusion proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, L; Sabara, M I; Li, Y

    2009-10-01

    Avian pneumovirus subgroup C (APV/C) has recently been reported to be more closely related to human metapneumovirus (hMPV) as determined by sequence analysis. To examine the antigenic relationship between APV/C and hMPV, the APV/C fusion (F) gene was cloned and expressed as an uncleaved glycoprotein in a baculovirus system. The reactivity of the APV/C F protein with antibodies against APV subgroups A, B, C, and hMPV was examined by Western blot analysis. The results showed that the expressed APV/C F protein was not only recognized by APV/C-specific antibodies but also by antibodies raised against hMPV. Previously expressed recombinant hMPV F protein also reacted with APV/C-specific antibodies, suggesting that there was significant antigenic cross-reactivity and a potential evolutionary relationship between hMPV and APV/C. Interestingly, the recombinant F proteins from APV/C and hMPV were not recognized by polyclonal antibodies specific to APV subgroups A and B.

  3. Endothelial galectin-1 binds to specific glycans on nipah virus fusion protein and inhibits maturation, mobility, and function to block syncytia formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omai B Garner

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Nipah virus targets human endothelial cells via NiV-F and NiV-G envelope glycoproteins, resulting in endothelial syncytia formation and vascular compromise. Endothelial cells respond to viral infection by releasing innate immune effectors, including galectins, which are secreted proteins that bind to specific glycan ligands on cell surface glycoproteins. We demonstrate that galectin-1 reduces NiV-F mediated fusion of endothelial cells, and that endogenous galectin-1 in endothelial cells is sufficient to inhibit syncytia formation. Galectin-1 regulates NiV-F mediated cell fusion at three distinct points, including retarding maturation of nascent NiV-F, reducing NiV-F lateral mobility on the plasma membrane, and directly inhibiting the conformational change in NiV-F required for triggering fusion. Characterization of the NiV-F N-glycome showed that the critical site for galectin-1 inhibition is rich in glycan structures known to bind galectin-1. These studies identify a unique set of mechanisms for regulating pathophysiology of NiV infection at the level of the target cell.

  4. MERS-CoV and H5N1 influenza virus antagonize antigen presentation by altering the epigenetic landscape

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menachery, Vineet D.; Schafer, Alexandra; Burnum-Johnson, Kristin E.; Mitchell, Hugh D.; Eisfeld-Fenney, Amie J.; Walters, Kevin B.; Nicora, Carrie D.; Purvine, Samuel O.; Casey, Cameron P.; Monroe, Matthew E.; Weitz, Karl K.; Stratton, Kelly G.; Webb-Robertson, Bobbie-Jo M.; Gralinski, Lisa; Metz, Thomas O.; Smith, Richard D.; Waters, Katrina M.; Sims, Amy C.; Kawaoka, Yoshihiro; Baric, Ralph

    2018-01-16

    Convergent evolution dictates that diverse groups of viruses will target both similar and distinct host pathways in order to manipulate the immune response and improve infection. In this study, we sought to leverage this uneven viral antagonism to identify critical host factors that govern disease outcome. Utilizing a systems based approach, we examined differential regulation of IFNγ dependent genes following infection with highly pathogenic viruses including influenza (H5N1-VN1203, H1N1-CA04) and coronaviruses (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV). Categorizing by function, we observed down regulation of genes associated with antigen presentation following both H5N1-VN1203 and MERS-CoV infection. Further examination revealed global down regulation of antigen presentation genes and was confirmed by proteomics for both H5N1-VN1203 and MERS-CoV infection. Importantly, epigenetic analysis suggested that DNA methylation rather than histone modification plays a crucial role in MERS-CoV mediated antagonism of antigen presentation genes; in contrast, H5N1-VN1203 likely utilizes a combination of epigenetic mechanisms to target antigen presentation. Together, the results indicate a common approach utilized by H5N1-VN1203 and MERS-CoV to modulate antigen presentation and the host adaptive immune response.

  5. Rho GTPase activity modulates paramyxovirus fusion protein-mediated cell-cell fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schowalter, Rachel M.; Wurth, Mark A.; Aguilar, Hector C.; Lee, Benhur; Moncman, Carole L.; McCann, Richard O.; Dutch, Rebecca Ellis

    2006-01-01

    The paramyxovirus fusion protein (F) promotes fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane of target cells as well as cell-cell fusion. The plasma membrane is closely associated with the actin cytoskeleton, but the role of actin dynamics in paramyxovirus F-mediated membrane fusion is unclear. We examined cell-cell fusion promoted by two different paramyxovirus F proteins in three cell types in the presence of constitutively active Rho family GTPases, major cellular coordinators of actin dynamics. Reporter gene and syncytia assays demonstrated that expression of either Rac1 V12 or Cdc42 V12 could increase cell-cell fusion promoted by the Hendra or SV5 glycoproteins, though the effect was dependent on the cell type expressing the viral glycoproteins. In contrast, RhoA L63 decreased cell-cell fusion promoted by Hendra glycoproteins but had little affect on SV5 F-mediated fusion. Also, data suggested that GTPase activation in the viral glycoprotein-containing cell was primarily responsible for changes in fusion. Additionally, we found that activated Cdc42 promoted nuclear rearrangement in syncytia

  6. Improving the Th1 cellular efficacy of the lead Yersinia pestis rF1-V subunit vaccine using SA-4-1BBL as a novel adjuvant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinc, Gunes; Pennington, Jarrod M; Yolcu, Esma S; Lawrenz, Matthew B; Shirwan, Haval

    2014-09-03

    The lead candidate plague subunit vaccine is the recombinant fusion protein rF1-V adjuvanted with alum. While alum generates Th2 regulated robust humoral responses, immune protection against Yersinia pestis has been shown to also involve Th1 driven cellular responses. Therefore, the rF1-V-based subunit vaccine may benefit from an adjuvant system that generates a mixed Th1 and humoral immune response. We herein assessed the efficacy of a novel SA-4-1BBL costimulatory molecule as a Th1 adjuvant to improve cellular responses generated by the rF1-V vaccine. SA-4-1BBL as a single adjuvant had better efficacy than alum in generating CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells producing TNFα and IFNγ, signature cytokines for Th1 responses. The combination of SA-4-1BBL with alum further increased this Th1 response as compared with the individual adjuvants. Analysis of the humoral response revealed that SA-4-1BBL as a single adjuvant did not generate a significant Ab response against rF1-V, and SA-4-1BBL in combination with alum did not improve Ab titers. However, the combined adjuvants significantly increased the ratio of Th1 regulated IgG2c in C57BL/6 mice to the Th2 regulated IgG1. Finally, a single vaccination with rF1-V adjuvanted with SA-4-1BBL+alum had better protective efficacy than vaccines containing individual adjuvants. Taken together, these results demonstrate that SA-4-1BBL improves the protective efficacy of the alum adjuvanted lead rF1-V subunit vaccine by generating a more balanced Th1 cellular and humoral immune response. As such, this adjuvant platform may prove efficacious not only for the rF1-V vaccine but also against other infections that require both cellular and humoral immune responses for protection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Antigen-Specific Polyclonal Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Induced by Fusions of Dendritic Cells and Tumor Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shigeo Koido

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of cancer vaccines is induction of tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs that can reduce the tumor mass. Dendritic cells (DCs are potent antigen-presenting cells and play a central role in the initiation and regulation of primary immune responses. Thus, DCs-based vaccination represents a potentially powerful strategy for induction of antigen-specific CTLs. Fusions of DCs and whole tumor cells represent an alternative approach to deliver, process, and subsequently present a broad spectrum of antigens, including those known and unidentified, in the context of costimulatory molecules. Once DCs/tumor fusions have been infused back into patient, they migrate to secondary lymphoid organs, where the generation of antigen-specific polyclonal CTL responses occurs. We will discuss perspectives for future development of DCs/tumor fusions for CTL induction.

  8. Enhancement of anti-murine colon cancer immunity by fusion of a SARS fragment to a low-immunogenic carcinoembryonic antigen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Chen-Si

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background It is widely understood that tumor cells express tumor-associated antigens (TAAs, of which many are usually in low immunogenicity; for example, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA is specifically expressed on human colon cancer cells and is viewed as a low-immunogenic TAA. How to activate host immunity against specific TAAs and to suppress tumor growth therefore becomes important in cancer therapy development. Results To enhance the immune efficiency of CEA in mice that received, we fused a partial CEA gene with exogenous SARS-CoV fragments. Oral vaccination of an attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strain transformed with plasmids encoding CEA-SARS-CoV fusion gene into BALB/c mice elicited significant increases in TNF-α and IL-10 in the serum. In addition, a smaller tumor volume was observed in CT26/CEA-bearing mice who received CEA-SARS-CoV gene therapy in comparison with those administered CEA alone. Conclusion The administration of fusing CEA-SARS-CoV fragments may provide a promising strategy for strengthening the anti-tumor efficacy against low-immunogenic endogenous tumor antigens.

  9. Structure-Based Design of Head-Only Fusion Glycoprotein Immunogens for Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey C Boyington

    Full Text Available Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV is a significant cause of severe respiratory illness worldwide, particularly in infants, young children, and the elderly. Although no licensed vaccine is currently available, an engineered version of the metastable RSV fusion (F surface glycoprotein-stabilized in the pre-fusion (pre-F conformation by "DS-Cav1" mutations-elicits high titer RSV-neutralizing responses. Moreover, pre-F-specific antibodies, often against the neutralization-sensitive antigenic site Ø in the membrane-distal head region of trimeric F glycoprotein, comprise a substantial portion of the human response to natural RSV infection. To focus the vaccine-elicited response to antigenic site Ø, we designed a series of RSV F immunogens that comprised the membrane-distal head of the F glycoprotein in its pre-F conformation. These "head-only" immunogens formed monomers, dimers, and trimers. Antigenic analysis revealed that a majority of the 70 engineered head-only immunogens displayed reactivity to site Ø-targeting antibodies, which was similar to that of the parent RSV F DS-Cav1 trimers, often with increased thermostability. We evaluated four of these head-only immunogens in detail, probing their recognition by antibodies, their physical stability, structure, and immunogenicity. When tested in naïve mice, a head-only trimer, half the size of the parent RSV F trimer, induced RSV titers, which were statistically comparable to those induced by DS-Cav1. When used to boost DS-Cav1-primed mice, two head-only RSV F immunogens, a dimer and a trimer, boosted RSV-neutralizing titers to levels that were comparable to those boosted by DS-Cav1, although with higher site Ø-directed responses. Our results provide proof-of-concept for the ability of the smaller head-only RSV F immunogens to focus the vaccine-elicited response to antigenic site Ø. Decent primary immunogenicity, enhanced physical stability, potential ease of manufacture, and potent

  10. Characterization of HCoV-229E fusion core: Implications for structure basis of coronavirus membrane fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Cheng; Feng Youjun; Gao Feng; Zhang Qiangmin; Wang Ming

    2006-01-01

    Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E), a member of group I coronaviruses, has been identified as one of the major viral agents causing respiratory tract diseases in humans for nearly 40 years. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of the membrane fusion mediated by the spike (S) protein of HCoV-229E remains elusive. Here, we report, for the first time, a rationally designed fusion core of HCoV-229E (HR1-SGGRGG-HR2), which was in vitro produced in GST prokaryotic expression system. Multiple lines of experimental data including gel-filtration, chemical cross-linking, and circular diagram (CD) demonstrated that the HCoV-229E fusion core possesses the typical properties of the trimer of coiled-coil heterodimer (six α-helix bundle). 3D structure modeling presents its most-likely structure, similar to those of coronaviruses that have been well-documented. Collectively, HCoV-229E S protein belongs to the type I fusion protein, which is characterized by the existence of two heptad-repeat regions (HR1 and HR2), furthermore, the available knowledge concerning HCoV-229E fusion core may make it possible to design small molecule or polypeptide drugs targeting the membrane fusion, a crucial step of HCoV-229E infection

  11. [Eukaryotic expression of Leptospira interrogans lipL32/1-ompL1/1 fusion gene encoding genus-specific protein antigens and the immunoreactivity of expression products].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Jie; Zhao, Shou-feng; Mao, Ya-fei; Ruan, Ping; Luo, Yi-hui; Li, Shu-ping; Li, Li-wei

    2005-01-01

    To construct the eukaryotic expression system of L.interrogans lipL32/1-ompL1/1 fusion gene and to identify the immunoreactivity of expression products. PCR with linking primer was used to construct the fusion gene lipL32/1-ompL1/1. The P.pastoris eukaryotic expression system of the fusion gene, pPIC9K-lipL32/1-ompL1/1-P. pastorisGS115, was constructed after the fusion gene was cloned and sequenced. Colony with phenotype His(+)Mut(+) was isolated by using MD and MM plates and His(+) Mut(+) transformant with high resistance to G418 was screened out by using YPD plate. Using lysate of His(+) Mut(+) colony with high copies of the target gene digested with yeast lyase as the template and 5'AOX1 and 3'AOX1 as the primers, the target fusion gene in chromosome DNA of the constructed P. pastoris engineering strain was detected by PCR. Methanol in BMMY medium was used to induce the target recombinant protein rLipL32/1-rOmpL1/1 expression. rLipL32/1-rOmpL1/1 in the medium supernatant was extracted by using ammonium sulfate precipitation and Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Output and immunoreactivity of rLipL32/1-rOmpL1/1 were measured by SDS-PAGE and Western blot methods, respectively. Amplification fragments of the obtained fusion gene lipL32/1-ompL1/1 was 1794 bp in size. The homogeneity of nucleotide and putative amino acid sequences of the fusion gene were as high as 99.94 % and 100 %, respectively, compared with the sequences of original lipL32/1 and ompL1/1 genotypes. The constructed eukaryotic expression system was able to secrete rLipL32/1-rOmpL1/1 with an output of 10 % of the total proteins in the supernatant, which located the expected position after SDS-PAGE. The rabbit anti-rLipL32/1 and anti-rOmpL1/1 sera could combine the expressed rLipL32/1-rOmpL1/1. An eukaryotic expression system with high efficiency in P.pastoris of L.interrogans lipL32/1-ompL1/1 fusion gene was successfully constructed in this study. The expressed fusion protein shows specific

  12. 18F-DCFBC Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-Targeted PET/CT Imaging in Localized Prostate Cancer: Correlation With Multiparametric MRI and Histopathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turkbey, Baris; Mena, Esther; Lindenberg, Liza; Adler, Stephen; Bednarova, Sandra; Berman, Rose; Ton, Anita T; McKinney, Yolanda; Eclarinal, Philip; Hill, Craig; Afari, George; Bhattacharyya, Sibaprasad; Mease, Ronnie C; Merino, Maria J; Jacobs, Paula M; Wood, Bradford J; Pinto, Peter A; Pomper, Martin G; Choyke, Peter L

    2017-10-01

    To assess the ability of (N-[N-[(S)-1,3-dicarboxypropyl]carbamoyl]-4-F-fluorobenzyl-L-cysteine) (F-DCFBC), a prostate-specific membrane antigen-targeted PET agent, to detect localized prostate cancer lesions in correlation with multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and histopathology. This Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996-compliant, prospective, institutional review board-approved study included 13 evaluable patients with localized prostate cancer (median age, 62.8 years [range, 51-74 years]; median prostate-specific antigen, 37.5 ng/dL [range, 3.26-216 ng/dL]). Patients underwent mpMRI and F-DCFBC PET/CT within a 3 months' window. Lesions seen on mpMRI were biopsied under transrectal ultrasound/MRI fusion-guided biopsy, or a radical prostatectomy was performed. F-DCFBC PET/CT and mpMRI were evaluated blinded and separately for tumor detection on a lesion basis. For PET image analysis, MRI and F-DCFBC PET images were fused by using software registration; imaging findings were correlated with histology, and uptake of F-DCFBC in tumors was compared with uptake in benign prostatic hyperplasia nodules and normal peripheral zone tissue using the 80% threshold SUVmax. A total of 25 tumor foci (mean size, 1.8 cm; median size, 1.5 cm; range, 0.6-4.7 cm) were histopathologically identified in 13 patients. Sensitivity rates of F-DCFBC PET/CT and mpMRI were 36% and 96%, respectively, for all tumors. For index lesions, the largest tumor with highest Gleason score, sensitivity rates of F-DCFBC PET/CT and mpMRI were 61.5% and 92%, respectively. The average SUVmax for primary prostate cancer was higher (5.8 ± 4.4) than that of benign prostatic hyperplasia nodules (2.1 ± 0.3) or that of normal prostate tissue (2.1 ± 0.4) at 1 hour postinjection (P = 0.0033). The majority of index prostate cancers are detected with F-DCFBC PET/CT, and this may be a prognostic indicator based on uptake and staging. However, for detecting prostate cancer with high sensitivity, it

  13. F-1 Engine for Saturn V Undergoing a Static Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    1964-01-01

    The flame and exhaust from the test firing of an F-1 engine blast out from the Saturn S-IB Static Test Stand in the east test area of the Marshall Space Flight Center. A Cluster of five F-1 engines, located in the S-IC (first) stage of the Saturn V vehicle, provided over 7,500,000 pounds of thrust to launch the giant rocket. The towering 363-foot Saturn V was a multistage, multiengine launch vehicle standing taller than the Statue of Liberty. Altogether, the Saturn V engines produced as much power as 85 Hoover Dams.

  14. Comparison of mouse, guinea pig and rabbit models for evaluation of plague subunit vaccine F1+rV270.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Zhizhen; Zhou, Lei; Zhang, Qingwen; Ren, Lingling; Dai, Ruixia; Wu, Benchuan; Wang, Tang; Zhu, Ziwen; Yang, Yonghai; Cui, Baizhong; Wang, Zuyun; Wang, Hu; Qiu, Yefeng; Guo, Zhaobiao; Yang, Ruifu; Wang, Xiaoyi

    2010-02-10

    In this study, a new subunit vaccine that comprised native F1 and recombinant rV270 was evaluated for protective efficacy using mouse, guinea pig and rabbit models in comparison with the live attenuated vaccine EV76. Complete protection against challenging with 10(6) colony-forming units (CFU) of virulent Yersinia pestis strain 141 was observed for mice immunized with the subunit vaccines and EV76 vaccine. In contrast, the subunit vaccine recipes VII (F1-20 microg+rV270-10 microg) and IX (F1-40 microg+rV270-20 microg) and EV76 vaccine provided 86%, 79% and 93% protection against the same level of challenge in guinea pigs and 100%, 83% and 100% protection in rabbits, respectively. The immunized mice with the vaccines had significantly higher IgG titres than the guinea pigs and rabbits, and the immunized guinea pigs developed significantly higher IgG titres than the rabbits, but the anti-F1 response in guinea pigs was more variable than in the mice and rabbits, indicating that guinea pig is not an ideal model for evaluating protective efficacy of plague subunit vaccine, instead the rabbits could be used as an alternative model. All the immunized animals with EV76 developed a negligible IgG titre to rV270 antigen. Furthermore, analysis of IgG subclasses in the immunized animals showed a strong response for IgG1, whereas those receiving EV76 immunization demonstrated predominant production of IgG1 and IgG2a isotypes. The subunit vaccine and EV76 vaccine are able to provide protection for animals against Y. pestis challenge, but the subunit vaccines have obvious advantages over EV76 in terms of safety of use. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Prognostic significance of ASXL1, JAK2V617F mutations and JAK2V617F allele burden in Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonal-Hindilerden I

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Ipek Yonal-Hindilerden, Aynur Daglar-Aday, Basak Akadam-Teker, Ceylan Yilmaz, Meliha Nalcaci, Akif Selim Yavuz, Deniz SarginDivision of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Fatih-Istanbul, Turkey Background: Despite insights into the genetic basis of Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (Ph-negative MPNs, a significant proportion of essential thrombocythemia (ET and primary myelofibrosis (PMF patients present with no known MPN disease alleles. There were no previous studies investigating the impact of ASXL1 mutations in Ph-negative MPNs in Turkey. In the current study, we investigated the prognostic significance of ASXL1 mutations in Turkish MPN patients. We also aimed to determine the prognostic significance of JAK2V617F allele burden and the relationship of JAK2V617F mutation with ASXL1 mutations in Ph-negative MPNs. Methods: About 184 patients from a single center diagnosed with Ph-negative MPNs were screened for ASXL1, JAK2V617F mutations, and JAK2V617F allele burden: 107 ET and 77 PMF. Results: A total of 29 ASXL1 mutations were detected in 24.7% of PMF and 8.4% of ET patients. ASXL1-mutated ET patients showed a trend toward an increase in the incidence of cerebrovascular events and higher total leukocyte counts. ASXL1-mutation in PMF was associated with older age and a higher prevalence of bleeding complications. In univariate analysis, overall survival (OS was significantly reduced in ASXL1-mutated PMF patients. In multivariate analysis, Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System-plus high-risk category and ASXL1 mutation status were independently associated with shorter survival in PMF. In PMF, mutational status and allele burden of JAK2V617F showed no difference in terms of OS and leukemia-free survival. Conclusion: We conclude that ASXL1 mutations are molecular predictors of short OS in PMF. Keywords: Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (Ph

  16. Optical transmittance investigation of 1-keV ion-irradiated sapphire crystals as potential VUV to NIR window materials of fusion reactors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keisuke Iwano

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the optical transmittances of ion-irradiated sapphire crystals as potential vacuum ultraviolet (VUV to near-infrared (NIR window materials of fusion reactors. Under potential conditions in fusion reactors, sapphire crystals are irradiated with hydrogen (H, deuterium (D, and helium (He ions with 1-keV energy and ∼ 1020-m-2 s-1 flux. Ion irradiation decreases the transmittances from 140 to 260 nm but hardly affects the transmittances from 300 to 1500 nm. H-ion and D-ion irradiation causes optical absorptions near 210 and 260 nm associated with an F-center and an F+-center, respectively. These F-type centers are classified as Schottky defects that can be removed through annealing above 1000 K. In contrast, He-ion irradiation does not cause optical absorptions above 200 nm because He-ions cannot be incorporated in the crystal lattice due to the large ionic radius of He-ions. Moreover, the significant decrease in transmittance of the ion-irradiated sapphire crystals from 140 to 180 nm is related to the light scattering on the crystal surface. Similar to diamond polishing, ion irradiation modifies the crystal surface thereby affecting the optical properties especially at shorter wavelengths. Although the transmittances in the VUV wavelengths decrease after ion irradiation, the transmittances can be improved through annealing above 1000 K. With an optical transmittance in the VUV region that can recover through simple annealing and with a high transparency from the ultraviolet (UV to the NIR region, sapphire crystals can therefore be used as good optical windows inside modern fusion power reactors in terms of light particle loadings of hydrogen isotopes and helium.

  17. Integral activation experiment of fusion reactor materials with d-Li neutrons up to 55 MeV

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maekawa, Fujio; Ikeda, Yujiro [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Moellendorff, Ulrich von [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe (Germany); Wada, Masayuki [Business Automation Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2000-03-01

    An integral activation experiment of fusion reactor materials with a deuteron-lithium neutron source was performed. Since the maximum energy of neutrons produced was 55 MeV, the experiment with associated analysis was one of the first attempts for extending the energy range beyond 20 MeV. The following keywords represent the present study: d-Li neutrons, 55 MeV, dosimetry, SAND-II, spectrum adjustment, LA-150, MCNP, McDeLi, IFMIF, fusion reactor materials, integral activation experiment, low-activation, F82H, vanadium-alloy, IEAF, ALARA, and sequential charged particle reaction. (author)

  18. Enhanced immunogenicity of DNA fusion vaccine encoding secreted hepatitis B surface antigen and chemokine RANTES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seung Jo; Suh, Dongchul; Park, Sang Eun; Park, Jeong-Sook; Byun, Hyang-Min; Lee, Chan; Lee, Sun Young; Kim, Inho; Oh, Yu-Kyoung

    2003-01-01

    To increase the potency of DNA vaccines, we constructed genetic fusion vaccines encoding antigen, secretion signal, and/or chemokine RANTES. The DNA vaccines encoding secreted hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were constructed by inserting HBsAg gene into an expression vector with an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-targeting secretory signal sequence. The plasmid encoding secretory HBsAg (pER/HBs) was fused to cDNA of RANTES, generating pER/HBs/R. For comparison, HBsAg genes were cloned into pVAX1 vector with no signal sequence (pHBs), and further linked to the N-terminus of RANTES (pHBs/R). Immunofluorescence study showed the cytoplasmic localization of HBsAg protein expressed from pHBs and pHBs/R, but not from pER/HBs and pER/HBs/R at 48 h after transfection. In mice, RANTES-fused DNA vaccines more effectively elicited the levels of HBsAg-specific IgG antibodies than pHBs. All the DNA vaccines induced higher levels of IgG 2a rather than IgG 1 antibodies. Of RANTES-fused vaccines, pER/HBs/R encoding the secreted fusion protein revealed much higher humoral and CD8 + T cell-stimulating responses compared to pHBs/R. These results suggest that the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines could be enhanced by genetic fusion to a secretory signal peptide sequence and RANTES

  19. Peptide-Based Membrane Fusion Inhibitors Targeting HCoV-229E Spike Protein HR1 and HR2 Domains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuai Xia

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E infection in infants, elderly people, and immunocompromised patients can cause severe disease, thus calling for the development of effective and safe therapeutics to treat it. Here we reported the design, synthesis and characterization of two peptide-based membrane fusion inhibitors targeting HCoV-229E spike protein heptad repeat 1 (HR1 and heptad repeat 2 (HR2 domains, 229E-HR1P and 229E-HR2P, respectively. We found that 229E-HR1P and 229E-HR2P could interact to form a stable six-helix bundle and inhibit HCoV-229E spike protein-mediated cell-cell fusion with IC50 of 5.7 and 0.3 µM, respectively. 229E-HR2P effectively inhibited pseudotyped and live HCoV-229E infection with IC50 of 0.5 and 1.7 µM, respectively. In a mouse model, 229E-HR2P administered intranasally could widely distribute in the upper and lower respiratory tracts and maintain its fusion-inhibitory activity. Therefore, 229E-HR2P is a promising candidate for further development as an antiviral agent for the treatment and prevention of HCoV-229E infection.

  20. Microbial F-type lectin domains with affinity for blood group antigens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahajan, Sonal; Khairnar, Aasawari; Bishnoi, Ritika; Ramya, T N C

    2017-09-23

    F-type lectins are fucose binding lectins with characteristic fucose binding and calcium binding motifs. Although they occur with a selective distribution in viruses, prokaryotes and eukaryotes, most biochemical studies have focused on vertebrate F-type lectins. Recently, using sensitive bioinformatics search techniques on the non-redundant database, we had identified many microbial F-type lectin domains with diverse domain organizations. We report here the biochemical characterization of F-type lectin domains from Cyanobium sp. PCC 7001, Myxococcus hansupus and Leucothrix mucor. We demonstrate that while all these three microbial F-type lectin domains bind to the blood group H antigen epitope on fucosylated glycans, there are fine differences in their glycan binding specificity. Cyanobium sp. PCC 7001 F-type lectin domain binds exclusively to extended H type-2 motif, Myxococcus hansupus F-type lectin domain binds to B, H type-1 and Lewis b motifs, and Leucothrix mucor F-type lectin domain binds to a wide range of fucosylated glycans, including A, B, H and Lewis antigens. We believe that these microbial lectins will be useful additions to the glycobiologist's toolbox for labeling, isolating and visualizing glycans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Genetic fusions of a CFA/I/II/IV MEFA (multiepitope fusion antigen) and a toxoid fusion of heat-stable toxin (STa) and heat-labile toxin (LT) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) retain broad anti-CFA and antitoxin antigenicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Xiaosai; Sack, David A; Zhang, Weiping

    2015-01-01

    Immunological heterogeneity has long been the major challenge in developing broadly effective vaccines to protect humans and animals against bacterial and viral infections. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains, the leading bacterial cause of diarrhea in humans, express at least 23 immunologically different colonization factor antigens (CFAs) and two distinct enterotoxins [heat-labile toxin (LT) and heat-stable toxin type Ib (STa or hSTa)]. ETEC strains expressing any one or two CFAs and either toxin cause diarrhea, therefore vaccines inducing broad immunity against a majority of CFAs, if not all, and both toxins are expected to be effective against ETEC. In this study, we applied the multiepitope fusion antigen (MEFA) strategy to construct ETEC antigens and examined antigens for broad anti-CFA and antitoxin immunogenicity. CFA MEFA CFA/I/II/IV [CVI 2014, 21(2):243-9], which carried epitopes of seven CFAs [CFA/I, CFA/II (CS1, CS2, CS3), CFA/IV (CS4, CS5, CS6)] expressed by the most prevalent and virulent ETEC strains, was genetically fused to LT-STa toxoid fusion monomer 3xSTaA14Q-dmLT or 3xSTaN12S-dmLT [IAI 2014, 82(5):1823-32] for CFA/I/II/IV-STaA14Q-dmLT and CFA/I/II/IV-STaN12S-dmLT MEFAs. Mice intraperitoneally immunized with either CFA/I/II/IV-STa-toxoid-dmLT MEFA developed antibodies specific to seven CFAs and both toxins, at levels equivalent or comparable to those induced from co-administration of the CFA/I/II/IV MEFA and toxoid fusion 3xSTaN12S-dmLT. Moreover, induced antibodies showed in vitro adherence inhibition activities against ETEC or E. coli strains expressing these seven CFAs and neutralization activities against both toxins. These results indicated CFA/I/II/IV-STa-toxoid-dmLT MEFA or CFA/I/II/IV MEFA combined with 3xSTaN12S-dmLT induced broadly protective anti-CFA and antitoxin immunity, and suggested their potential application in broadly effective ETEC vaccine development. This MEFA strategy may be generally used in multivalent

  2. Genetic fusions of a CFA/I/II/IV MEFA (multiepitope fusion antigen and a toxoid fusion of heat-stable toxin (STa and heat-labile toxin (LT of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC retain broad anti-CFA and antitoxin antigenicity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaosai Ruan

    Full Text Available Immunological heterogeneity has long been the major challenge in developing broadly effective vaccines to protect humans and animals against bacterial and viral infections. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC strains, the leading bacterial cause of diarrhea in humans, express at least 23 immunologically different colonization factor antigens (CFAs and two distinct enterotoxins [heat-labile toxin (LT and heat-stable toxin type Ib (STa or hSTa]. ETEC strains expressing any one or two CFAs and either toxin cause diarrhea, therefore vaccines inducing broad immunity against a majority of CFAs, if not all, and both toxins are expected to be effective against ETEC. In this study, we applied the multiepitope fusion antigen (MEFA strategy to construct ETEC antigens and examined antigens for broad anti-CFA and antitoxin immunogenicity. CFA MEFA CFA/I/II/IV [CVI 2014, 21(2:243-9], which carried epitopes of seven CFAs [CFA/I, CFA/II (CS1, CS2, CS3, CFA/IV (CS4, CS5, CS6] expressed by the most prevalent and virulent ETEC strains, was genetically fused to LT-STa toxoid fusion monomer 3xSTaA14Q-dmLT or 3xSTaN12S-dmLT [IAI 2014, 82(5:1823-32] for CFA/I/II/IV-STaA14Q-dmLT and CFA/I/II/IV-STaN12S-dmLT MEFAs. Mice intraperitoneally immunized with either CFA/I/II/IV-STa-toxoid-dmLT MEFA developed antibodies specific to seven CFAs and both toxins, at levels equivalent or comparable to those induced from co-administration of the CFA/I/II/IV MEFA and toxoid fusion 3xSTaN12S-dmLT. Moreover, induced antibodies showed in vitro adherence inhibition activities against ETEC or E. coli strains expressing these seven CFAs and neutralization activities against both toxins. These results indicated CFA/I/II/IV-STa-toxoid-dmLT MEFA or CFA/I/II/IV MEFA combined with 3xSTaN12S-dmLT induced broadly protective anti-CFA and antitoxin immunity, and suggested their potential application in broadly effective ETEC vaccine development. This MEFA strategy may be generally used in

  3. Paramyxovirus membrane fusion: Lessons from the F and HN atomic structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamb, Robert A.; Paterson, Reay G.; Jardetzky, Theodore S.

    2006-01-01

    Paramyxoviruses enter cells by fusion of their lipid envelope with the target cell plasma membrane. Fusion of the viral membrane with the plasma membrane allows entry of the viral genome into the cytoplasm. For paramyxoviruses, membrane fusion occurs at neutral pH, but the trigger mechanism that controls the viral entry machinery such that it occurs at the right time and in the right place remains to be elucidated. Two viral glycoproteins are key to the infection process-an attachment protein that varies among different paramyxoviruses and the fusion (F) protein, which is found in all paramyxoviruses. For many of the paramyxoviruses (parainfluenza viruses 1-5, mumps virus, Newcastle disease virus and others), the attachment protein is the hemagglutinin/neuraminidase (HN) protein. In the last 5 years, atomic structures of paramyxovirus F and HN proteins have been reported. The knowledge gained from these structures towards understanding the mechanism of viral membrane fusion is described

  4. Expression of fusion IL2-B7.1(IgV+C) and effects on T lymphocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Linghong; Li, Yaochen; Yang, Ye; Li, Kangsheng

    2007-12-01

    The search for an effective immunotherapeutic treatment for tumors is an important area of cancer research. To prepare a more effective form of the bifunctional fusion protein IL2-B7.1(IgV+C) and analyze its effect on the stimulation of T lymphocyte proliferation, we used DNAStar 5.03 software to predict the structural diversity and biochemical character of IL2-B7.1(IgV+C). We then prepared fusion protein IL2-B7.1(IgV+C) by establishing its prokaryotic expression system, and tested its effect on the stimulation of T lymphocytes in vitro. The results indicated that IL2-B7.1(IgV+C) correctly formed a secondary structure in which both IL2 and B7.1(IgV+C) maintained their original hydrophilicity and epitopes. Western blot analysis revealed that IL2-B7.1(IgV+C) was efficiently expressed. Our analysis of CTLL-2 and T-cell proliferation showed that recombinant human (rh) IL2-B7.1(IgV+C) exerted the combined stimulating effects of both rhIL2 and rh B7.1(IgV+C) on cell proliferation, and that these effects could be blocked by adding either anti-IL2 or anti-B7.1 monoclonal antibodies. A >2-fold increase in [3H]TdR incorporation compared with that of cells treated with recombinant protein IL2, or B7.1(IgV+C) alone, revealed that rhIL2-B7.1(IgV+C) had dose-dependent synergetic effects on T-cell activation in the presence of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody. We concluded that the augmented potency of rhIL2-B7.1(IgV+C) resulted in a stronger stimulation of T-cell proliferation than either rhB7.1(IgV+C) or rhIL2 alone.

  5. Recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen production in Aspergillus niger: evaluating the strategy of gene fusion to native glucoamylase

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    James, ER

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Microbiology and Biotechnology October 2012/ Vol. 96, No.2 Recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen production in Aspergillus niger: evaluating the strategy of gene fusion to native glucoamylase ER James a,c & WH van Zyl b & PJ van Zyl c & JF Görgens..., Pretoria 0001, South Africa Abstract This study demonstrates the potential of Aspergillus niger as a candidate expression system for virus- like particle production using gene fusion. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) production, targeted...

  6. Low cost tuberculosis vaccine antigens in capsules: expression in chloroplasts, bio-encapsulation, stability and functional evaluation in vitro.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priya Saikumar Lakshmi

    Full Text Available Tuberculosis (TB caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the leading fatal infectious diseases. The development of TB vaccines has been recognized as a major public health priority by the World Health Organization. In this study, three candidate antigens, ESAT-6 (6 kDa early secretory antigenic target and Mtb72F (a fusion polyprotein from two TB antigens, Mtb32 and Mtb39 fused with cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB and LipY (a cell wall protein were expressed in tobacco and/or lettuce chloroplasts to facilitate bioencapsulation/oral delivery. Site-specific transgene integration into the chloroplast genome was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. In transplastomic leaves, CTB fusion proteins existed in soluble monomeric or multimeric forms of expected sizes and their expression levels varied depending upon the developmental stage and time of leaf harvest, with the highest-level of accumulation in mature leaves harvested at 6PM. The CTB-ESAT6 and CTB-Mtb72F expression levels reached up to 7.5% and 1.2% of total soluble protein respectively in mature tobacco leaves. Transplastomic CTB-ESAT6 lettuce plants accumulated up to 0.75% of total leaf protein. Western blot analysis of lyophilized lettuce leaves stored at room temperature for up to six months showed that the CTB-ESAT6 fusion protein was stable and preserved proper folding, disulfide bonds and assembly into pentamers for prolonged periods. Also, antigen concentration per gram of leaf tissue was increased 22 fold after lyophilization. Hemolysis assay with purified CTB-ESAT6 protein showed partial hemolysis of red blood cells and confirmed functionality of the ESAT-6 antigen. GM1-binding assay demonstrated that the CTB-ESAT6 fusion protein formed pentamers to bind with the GM1-ganglioside receptor. The expression of functional Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in transplastomic plants should facilitate development of a cost-effective and orally deliverable TB booster vaccine with potential

  7. Low cost tuberculosis vaccine antigens in capsules: expression in chloroplasts, bio-encapsulation, stability and functional evaluation in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakshmi, Priya Saikumar; Verma, Dheeraj; Yang, Xiangdong; Lloyd, Bethany; Daniell, Henry

    2013-01-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the leading fatal infectious diseases. The development of TB vaccines has been recognized as a major public health priority by the World Health Organization. In this study, three candidate antigens, ESAT-6 (6 kDa early secretory antigenic target) and Mtb72F (a fusion polyprotein from two TB antigens, Mtb32 and Mtb39) fused with cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) and LipY (a cell wall protein) were expressed in tobacco and/or lettuce chloroplasts to facilitate bioencapsulation/oral delivery. Site-specific transgene integration into the chloroplast genome was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. In transplastomic leaves, CTB fusion proteins existed in soluble monomeric or multimeric forms of expected sizes and their expression levels varied depending upon the developmental stage and time of leaf harvest, with the highest-level of accumulation in mature leaves harvested at 6PM. The CTB-ESAT6 and CTB-Mtb72F expression levels reached up to 7.5% and 1.2% of total soluble protein respectively in mature tobacco leaves. Transplastomic CTB-ESAT6 lettuce plants accumulated up to 0.75% of total leaf protein. Western blot analysis of lyophilized lettuce leaves stored at room temperature for up to six months showed that the CTB-ESAT6 fusion protein was stable and preserved proper folding, disulfide bonds and assembly into pentamers for prolonged periods. Also, antigen concentration per gram of leaf tissue was increased 22 fold after lyophilization. Hemolysis assay with purified CTB-ESAT6 protein showed partial hemolysis of red blood cells and confirmed functionality of the ESAT-6 antigen. GM1-binding assay demonstrated that the CTB-ESAT6 fusion protein formed pentamers to bind with the GM1-ganglioside receptor. The expression of functional Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in transplastomic plants should facilitate development of a cost-effective and orally deliverable TB booster vaccine with potential for long

  8. A Lactococcus lactis BFE920 feed vaccine expressing a fusion protein composed of the OmpA and FlgD antigens from Edwardsiella tarda was significantly better at protecting olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) from edwardsiellosis than single antigen vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Bo Ram; Lee, Soon Ho; Kim, Daniel; Park, Ji Hye; Lee, Hyun Kyung; Kwon, San-Sung; Lee, Kwan Hee; Lee, Jae Il; Song, Seong Kyu

    2017-09-01

    Edwardsiellosis is a major fish disease that causes a significant economic damage in the aquaculture industry. Here, we assessed vaccine efficacy after feeding oral vaccines to olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), either L. lactis BFE920 expressing Edwardsiella tarda outer membrane protein A (OmpA), flagellar hook protein D (FlgD), or a fusion antigen of the two. Feed vaccination was done twice with a one-week interval. Fish were fed regular feed adsorbed with the vaccines. Feed vaccination was given over the course of one week to maximize the interaction between the feed vaccines and the fish intestine. Flounder fed the vaccine containing the fusion antigen had significantly elevated levels T cell genes (CD4-1, CD4-2, and CD8α), type 1 helper T cell (Th1) subset indicator genes (T-bet and IFN-γ), and antigen-specific antibodies compared to the groups fed the single antigen-expressing vaccines. Furthermore, the superiority of the fusion vaccine was also observed in survival rates when fish were challenged with E. tarda: OmpA-FlgD-expressing vaccine (82.5% survival); FlgD-vaccine (55.0%); OmpA-vaccine (50%); WT L. lactis BFE920 (37.5%); Ctrl (10%). In addition, vaccine-fed fish exhibited increased weight gain (∼20%) and a decreased feed conversion ratio (∼20%) during the four week vaccination period. Flounder fed the FlgD-expressing vaccine, either the single or the fusion form, had significantly increased expression of TLR5M, IL-1β, and IL-12p40, suggesting that the FlgD may be a ligand of olive flounder TLR5M receptor or closely related to the TLR5M pathway. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that olive flounder fed L. lactis BFE920 expressing a fusion antigen composed of E. tarda OmpA and FlgD showed a strong protective effect against edwardsiellosis indicating this may be developed as an E. tarda feed vaccine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. In vivo immobilization of fusion proteins on bioplastics by the novel tag BioF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moldes, Cristina; García, Pedro; García, José L; Prieto, María A

    2004-06-01

    A new protein immobilization and purification system has been developed based on the use of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs, or bioplastics), which are biodegradable polymers accumulated as reserve granules in the cytoplasm of certain bacteria. The N-terminal domain of the PhaF phasin (a PHA-granule-associated protein) from Pseudomonas putida GPo1 was used as a polypeptide tag (BioF) to anchor fusion proteins to PHAs. This tag provides a novel way to immobilize proteins in vivo by using bioplastics as supports. The granules carrying the BioF fusion proteins can be isolated by a simple centrifugation step and used directly for some applications. Moreover, when required, a practically pure preparation of the soluble BioF fusion protein can be obtained by a mild detergent treatment of the granule. The efficiency of this system has been demonstrated by constructing two BioF fusion products, including a functional BioF-beta-galactosidase. This is the first example of an active bioplastic consisting of a biodegradable matrix carrying an active enzyme.

  10. Positron annihilation lifetime measurements of vanadium alloy and F82H irradiated with fission and fusion neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, K.; Inoue, K.; Yoshiie, T.; Xu, Q.; Wakai, E.; Kutsukake, C.; Ochiai, K.

    2009-01-01

    V-4Cr-4Ti, F82H, Ni and Cu were irradiated with fission and fusion neutrons at room temperature and 473 K. Defect structures were analyzed and compared using positron annihilation lifetime measurement, and microstructural evolution was discussed. The mean lifetime of positrons (the total amount of residual defects) increased with the irradiation dose. The effect of cascade impact was detected in Ni at room temperature. The size and the number of vacancy clusters were not affected by the displacement rate in the fission neutron irradiation at 473 K for the metals studied. The vacancy clusters were not formed in V-4Cr-4Ti irradiated at 473 K in the range of 10 -6 -10 -3 dpa. In F82H irradiated at 473 K, the defect evolution was prevented by pre-existing defects. The mean lifetime of positrons in fission neutron irradiation was longer than that in fusion neutron irradiation in V-4Cr-4Ti at 473 K. It was interpreted that more closely situated subcascades were formed in the fusion neutron irradiation and subcascades interacted with each other, and consequently the vacancy clusters did not grow larger.

  11. Fusion and nonfusion phenomena in the 6Li+40Ca reaction at 156 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brzychczyk, J.; Freindl, L.; Grotowski, K.

    1982-01-01

    Reaction products from 6 Li-induced reactions on 40 Ca at 156 MeV have been studied using the dE x E identification as well as the inclusive γ-ray method. The complete fusion cross-section has been found to be σsub(f)=(77 +- 11)mb. The Z distribution of fusion evaporation residues is compared with statistical model predictions. The Z spectrum of reaction products shows a maximum at 15 6 Li break-up. (author)

  12. Fusion and nonfusion phenomena in the 6Li+40Ca reaction at 156 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brzychczyk, J.; Freindl, L.; Grotowski, K.; Majka, Z.; Micek, S.; Planeta, R.; Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Krakow; Albinska, M.; Buschmann, J.; Klewe-Nebenius, H.; Gils, H.J.; Rebel, H.; Zagromski, S.

    1984-01-01

    Reaction products from 6 Li-induced reactions on 40 Ca at 156 MeV have been studied using the dExE idenitification as well as the inclusive γ-ray method. The complete fusion cross section has been found to be sigmasub(F)=67 +- 20 mb. The Z-distribution of fusion evaporation residues is compared with statistical model predictions. The Z-spectrum of reaction products shows a maximum at 15 6 Li-break-up processes. (orig.)

  13. Multiple Roles of Myd88 in the Immune Response to the Plague F1-V Vaccine and in Protection against an Aerosol Challenge of Yersinia pestis CO92 in Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer L. Dankmeyer

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The current candidate vaccine against Yersinia pestis infection consists of two subunit proteins: the capsule protein or F1 protein and the low calcium response V protein or V-antigen. Little is known of the recognition of the vaccine by the host’s innate immune system and how it affects the acquired immune response to the vaccine. Thus, we vaccinated Toll-like receptor (Tlr 2, 4, and 2/4-double deficient, as well as signal adaptor protein Myd88-deficient mice. We found that Tlr4 and Myd88 appeared to be required for an optimal immune response to the F1-V vaccine but not Tlr2 when compared to wild-type mice. However, there was a difference between the requirement for Tlr4 and MyD88 in vaccinated animals. When F1-V vaccinated Tlr4 mutant (lipopolysaccharide tolerant and Myd88-deficient mice were challenged by aerosol with Y. pestis CO92, all but one Tlr4 mutant mice survived the challenge, but no vaccinated Myd88-deficient mice survived the challenge. Spleens from these latter nonsurviving mice showed that Y. pestis was not cleared from the infected mice. Our results suggest that MyD88 appears to be important for both an optimal immune response to F1-V and in protection against a lethal challenge of Y. pestis CO92 in F1-V vaccinated mice.

  14. Elemental abundance analyses with DAO spectrograms: XXXII. HR 6455 (A3 III), δ Aqr (A3 V), η Lep (F2 V), and 1 Boo (A1 V)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yüce, K.; Adelman, S. J.; Gulliver, A. F.; Hill, G.

    2011-08-01

    We examine the sharp-lined stars HR 6455 (A3 III, v sin i = 8.7 km s-1) and η Lep (F2 V, v sin i = 13.5 km s-1) as well as δ Aqr (A3 V, v sin i = 81 km s-1) and 1 Boo (A1 V, v sin i = 59 km s-1) to increase the number consistently analyzed A and F stars using high dispersion and high S/N (≥200) spectrograms obtained with CCD detectors at the long Coudé camera of the 1.22-m telescope of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. Such studies contribute to understanding systematic abundance differences between normal and non-magnetic main-sequence band chemically peculiar A and early F stars. LTE fine analyses of HR 6455, δ Aqr, and 1 Boo using Kurucz's ATLAS suite programs show the same general elemental abundance trends with differences in the metal richness. Light and iron-peak element abundances are generally solar or overabundant while heavy element and rare earth element abundances are overabundant. HR 6455 is an evolved Am star while δ Aqr and 1 Boo show the phenomenon to different extents. Most derived abundances of η Lep are solar. Table 3 is available at the CDS via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/AN/332/681

  15. Autofocus and fusion using nonlinear correlation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cabazos-Marín, Alma Rocío; Álvarez-Borrego, Josué; Coronel-Beltrán, Ángel

    2014-01-01

    In this work a new algorithm is proposed for auto focusing and images fusion captured by microscope's CCD. The proposed algorithm for auto focusing implements the spiral scanning of each image in the stack f(x, y) w to define the V w vector. The spectrum of the vector FV w is calculated by fast Fourier transform. The best in-focus image is determined by a focus measure that is obtained by the FV 1 nonlinear correlation vector, of the reference image, with each other FV W images in the stack. In addition, fusion is performed with a subset of selected images f(x, y) SBF like the images with best focus measurement. Fusion creates a new improved image f(x, y) F with the selection of pixels of higher intensity

  16. Electron beam pumped KrF lasers for fusion energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sethian, J.D.; Friedman, M.; Giuliani, J.L. Jr.; Lehmberg, R.H.; Obenschain, S.P.; Kepple, P.; Wolford, M.; Hegeler, F.; Swanekamp, S.B.; Weidenheimer, D.; Welch, D.; Rose, D.V.; Searles, S.

    2003-01-01

    In this paper, we describe the development of electron beam pumped KrF lasers for inertial fusion energy. KrF lasers are an attractive driver for fusion, on account of their demonstrated very high beam quality, which is essential for reducing imprint in direct drive targets; their short wavelength (248 nm), which mitigates the growth of plasma instabilities; and their modular architecture, which reduces development costs. In this paper we present a basic overview of KrF laser technology as well as current research and development in three key areas: electron beam stability and transport; KrF kinetics and laser propagation; and pulsed power. The work will be cast in context of the two KrF lasers at the Naval Research Laboratory, The Nike Laser (5 kJ, single shot), and The Electra Laser (400-700 J repetitively pulsed)

  17. Loss of alpha-like MeV fusion products from TFTR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zweben, S.J.; Boivin, R.L.; Diesso, M.; Hayes, S.E.; Hendel, H.W.; Park, H.; Strachan, J.D.

    1990-03-01

    A detailed comparison between the observed and expected loss of alpha-like MeV fusion products in TFTR is presented. The D-D fusion products (mainly the 1 MeV triton) were measured with an 2-D imaging scintillation detector. The expected first-orbit loss was calculated with a simple Lorentz orbit code. In almost all cases the measured loss was consistent with the expected first-orbit loss model. Exceptions are noted for small major radius plasmas and during strong MHD activity. 37 refs., 28 figs

  18. Fusion energy 1998. Proceedings. V. 1-4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The 17-th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fusion Energy Conference was held in Yokohama, Japan, 19-24 October 1999. This 6-day conference, which was attended by 835 participants from over 30 countries and two international organizations was organized by the IAEA in co-operation with the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). More than 360 papers plus 5 summary talks were presented in 23 oral and 8 poster sessions on magnetic confinement and experiments, inertial fusion energy, plasma heating and current drive, ITER engineering design activities, magnetic confinement theory, innovative concepts and fusion technology

  19. Fusion energy 1998. Proceedings. V. 1-4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-12-01

    The 17-th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fusion Energy Conference was held in Yokohama, Japan, 19-24 October 1999. This 6-day conference, which was attended by 835 participants from over 30 countries and two international organizations was organized by the IAEA in co-operation with the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). More than 360 papers plus 5 summary talks were presented in 23 oral and 8 poster sessions on magnetic confinement and experiments, inertial fusion energy, plasma heating and current drive, ITER engineering design activities, magnetic confinement theory, innovative concepts and fusion technology.

  20. F F1-ATPase as biosensor to detect single virus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, XiaoLong; Zhang, Yun; Yue, JiaChang; Jiang, PeiDong; Zhang, ZhenXi

    2006-01-01

    F F 1 -ATPase within chromatophore was constructed as a biosensor (immuno-rotary biosensor) for the purpose of capturing single virus. Capture of virus was based on antibody-antigen reaction. The detection of virus based on proton flux change driven by ATP-synthesis of F F 1 -ATPase, which was indicated by F1300, was directly observed by a fluorescence microscope. The results demonstrate that the biosensor loading of virus particles has remarkable signal-to-noise ratio (3.8:1) compared to its control at single molecular level, and will be convenient, quick, and even super-sensitive for detecting virus particles

  1. Genetic diversity and antigenicity variation of Babesia bovis merozoite surface antigen-1 (MSA-1) in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tattiyapong, Muncharee; Sivakumar, Thillaiampalam; Takemae, Hitoshi; Simking, Pacharathon; Jittapalapong, Sathaporn; Igarashi, Ikuo; Yokoyama, Naoaki

    2016-07-01

    Babesia bovis, an intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite, causes severe clinical disease in cattle worldwide. The genetic diversity of parasite antigens often results in different immune profiles in infected animals, hindering efforts to develop immune control methodologies against the B. bovis infection. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity of the merozoite surface antigen-1 (msa-1) gene using 162 B. bovis-positive blood DNA samples sourced from cattle populations reared in different geographical regions of Thailand. The identity scores shared among 93 msa-1 gene sequences isolated by PCR amplification were 43.5-100%, and the similarity values among the translated amino acid sequences were 42.8-100%. Of 23 total clades detected in our phylogenetic analysis, Thai msa-1 gene sequences occurred in 18 clades; seven among them were composed of sequences exclusively from Thailand. To investigate differential antigenicity of isolated MSA-1 proteins, we expressed and purified eight recombinant MSA-1 (rMSA-1) proteins, including an rMSA-1 from B. bovis Texas (T2Bo) strain and seven rMSA-1 proteins based on the Thai msa-1 sequences. When these antigens were analyzed in a western blot assay, anti-T2Bo cattle serum strongly reacted with the rMSA-1 from T2Bo, as well as with three other rMSA-1 proteins that shared 54.9-68.4% sequence similarity with T2Bo MSA-1. In contrast, no or weak reactivity was observed for the remaining rMSA-1 proteins, which shared low sequence similarity (35.0-39.7%) with T2Bo MSA-1. While demonstrating the high genetic diversity of the B. bovis msa-1 gene in Thailand, the present findings suggest that the genetic diversity results in antigenicity variations among the MSA-1 antigens of B. bovis in Thailand. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. A shift in the collagen V antigenic epitope leads to T helper phenotype switch and immune response to self-antigen leading to chronic lung allograft rejection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiriveedhi, V; Angaswamy, N; Brand, D; Weber, J; Gelman, A G; Hachem, R; Trulock, E P; Meyers, B; Patterson, G; Mohanakumar, T

    2012-01-01

    Immune responses to human leucocyte antigen (HLA) and self-antigen collagen V (Col-V) have been proposed in the pathogenesis of chronic rejection (bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, BOS) following human lung transplantation (LTx). In this study, we defined the role for the shift in immunodominant epitopes of Col-V in inducing T helper phenotype switch leading to immunity to Col-V and BOS. Sera and lavage from BOS(+) LTx recipients with antibodies to Col-V were analysed. Two years prior to BOS, patients developed antibodies to both Col-V1(V) and α2(V) chains. However, at clinical diagnosis of BOS, antibodies became restricted to α1(V). Further, lung biopsy from BOS(+) patients bound to antibodies to α1(V), indicating that these epitopes are exposed. Fourteen Col-V peptides [pep1-14, pep1-4 specific to α1(V), pep5-8 to α1,2(V) and pep9-14 to α2(V)] which bind to HLA-DR4 and -DR7, demonstrated that prior to BOS, pep 6, 7, 9, 11 and 14 were immunodominant and induced interleukin (IL)-10. However, at BOS, the response switched to pep1, 4 and 5 and induced interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-17 responses, but not IL-10. The T helper (Th) phenotype switch is accompanied by decreased frequency of regulatory T cells (T(regs) ) in the lavage. LTx recipients with antibodies to α1(V) also demonstrated increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activation with decreased MMP inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP), suggesting that MMP activation may play a role in the exposure of new Col-V antigenic epitopes. We conclude that a shift in immunodominance of self-antigenic determinants of Col-V results in induction of IFN-γ and IL-17 with loss of tolerance leading to autoimmunity to Col-V, which leads to chronic lung allograft rejection. © 2011 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Immunology © 2011 British Society for Immunology.

  3. Autofocus and fusion using nonlinear correlation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cabazos-Marín, Alma Rocío [Departamento de Investigación en Física, Universidad de Sonora (UNISON), Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Col. Centro, Hermosillo, Sonora C.P. 8300 (Mexico); Álvarez-Borrego, Josué, E-mail: josue@cicese.mx [Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), División de Física Aplicada, Departamento de Óptica, Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana No. 3918, Fraccionamiento Zona Playitas, Ensena (Mexico); Coronel-Beltrán, Ángel [Departamento de Investigación en Física, Universidad de Sonora (UNISON), Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Col. Centro, Hermosillo, Sonora C,.P. 83000 (Mexico)

    2014-10-06

    In this work a new algorithm is proposed for auto focusing and images fusion captured by microscope's CCD. The proposed algorithm for auto focusing implements the spiral scanning of each image in the stack f(x, y){sub w} to define the V{sub w} vector. The spectrum of the vector FV{sub w} is calculated by fast Fourier transform. The best in-focus image is determined by a focus measure that is obtained by the FV{sub 1} nonlinear correlation vector, of the reference image, with each other FV{sub W} images in the stack. In addition, fusion is performed with a subset of selected images f(x, y){sub SBF} like the images with best focus measurement. Fusion creates a new improved image f(x, y){sub F} with the selection of pixels of higher intensity.

  4. Design optimization of single-main-amplifier KrF laser-fusion systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, D.B.; Pendergrass, J.H.

    1985-01-01

    KrF lasers appear to be a very promising laser fusion driver for commercial applications. The Large Amplifier Module for the Aurora Laser System at Los Alamos is the largest KrF laser in the world and is currently operating at 5 kJ with 10 to 15 kJ eventually expected. The next generation system is anticipated to be a single-main-amplifier system that generates approximately 100 kJ. This paper examines the cost and efficiency tradeoffs for a complete single-main-amplifier KrF laser fusion experimental facility. It has been found that a 7% efficient $310/joule complete laser-fusion system is possible by using large amplifier modules and high optical fluences

  5. Enhanced vaccine-induced CD8+ T cell responses to malaria antigen ME-TRAP by fusion to MHC class ii invariant chain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra J Spencer

    Full Text Available The orthodox role of the invariant chain (CD74; Ii is in antigen presentation to CD4+ T cells, but enhanced CD8+ T cells responses have been reported after vaccination with vectored viral vaccines encoding a fusion of Ii to the antigen of interest. In this study we assessed whether fusion of the malarial antigen, ME-TRAP, to Ii could increase the vaccine-induced CD8+ T cell response. Following single or heterologous prime-boost vaccination of mice with a recombinant chimpanzee adenovirus vector, ChAd63, or recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA, higher frequencies of antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were observed, with the largest increases observed following a ChAd63-MVA heterologous prime-boost regimen. Studies in non-human primates confirmed the ability of Ii-fusion to augment the T cell response, where a 4-fold increase was maintained up to 11 weeks after the MVA boost. Of the numerous different approaches explored to increase vectored vaccine induced immunogenicity over the years, fusion to the invariant chain showed a consistent enhancement in CD8+ T cell responses across different animal species and may therefore find application in the development of vaccines against human malaria and other diseases where high levels of cell-mediated immunity are required.

  6. Expression and Immunogenicity of the Mycobacterial Ag85B/ESAT-6 Antigens Produced in Transgenic Plants by Elastin-Like Peptide Fusion Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doreen Manuela Floss

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This study explored a novel system combining plant-based production and the elastin-like peptide (ELP fusion strategy to produce vaccinal antigens against tuberculosis. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing the mycobacterial antigens Ag85B and ESAT-6 fused to ELP (TBAg-ELP were generated. Purified TBAg-ELP was obtained by the highly efficient, cost-effective, inverse transition cycling (ICT method and tested in mice. Furthermore, safety and immunogenicity of the crude tobacco leaf extracts were assessed in piglets. Antibodies recognizing mycobacterial antigens were produced in mice and piglets. A T-cell immune response able to recognize the native mycobacterial antigens was detected in mice. These findings showed that the native Ag85B and ESAT-6 mycobacterial B- and T-cell epitopes were conserved in the plant-expressed TBAg-ELP. This study presents the first results of an efficient plant-expression system, relying on the elastin-like peptide fusion strategy, to produce a safe and immunogenic mycobacterial Ag85B-ESAT-6 fusion protein as a potential vaccine candidate against tuberculosis.

  7. Phase variable O antigen biosynthetic genes control expression of the major protective antigen and bacteriophage receptor in Vibrio cholerae O1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimberley D Seed

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The Vibrio cholerae lipopolysaccharide O1 antigen is a major target of bacteriophages and the human immune system and is of critical importance for vaccine design. We used an O1-specific lytic bacteriophage as a tool to probe the capacity of V. cholerae to alter its O1 antigen and identified a novel mechanism by which this organism can modulate O antigen expression and exhibit intra-strain heterogeneity. We identified two phase variable genes required for O1 antigen biosynthesis, manA and wbeL. manA resides outside of the previously recognized O1 antigen biosynthetic locus, and encodes for a phosphomannose isomerase critical for the initial step in O1 antigen biosynthesis. We determined that manA and wbeL phase variants are attenuated for virulence, providing functional evidence to further support the critical role of the O1 antigen for infectivity. We provide the first report of phase variation modulating O1 antigen expression in V. cholerae, and show that the maintenance of these phase variable loci is an important means by which this facultative pathogen can generate the diverse subpopulations of cells needed for infecting the host intestinal tract and for escaping predation by an O1-specific phage.

  8. Structural analysis of inter-genus complexes of V-antigen and its regulator and their stabilization by divalent metal ions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basu, Abhishek; Das, Atanu; Mondal, Abhisek; Datta, Saumen

    2016-03-01

    Gram-negative bacteria like Yersinia, Pseudomonas, and Aeromonas need type III secretion system (T3SS) for their pathogenicity. V-antigen and its regulator are essential for functioning of T3SS. There is significant functional conservation amongst V-antigen and its regulator belonging to the Ysc family. In this study, we have structurally characterized the inter-genus complexes of V-antigen and its regulator. ConSurf analysis demonstrates that V-antigens belonging to the Ysc family show high structural identity predominantly confined to the two long helical regions. The regulator of V-antigen shows high conservation in its first intramolecular coiled-coil domain, responsible for interaction with V-antigen. ∆LcrG(1-70) localizes within the groove formed by long helices of LcrV, as observed in PcrV-∆PcrG(13-72) interaction. Inter-genus complexes of LcrV-PcrG and PcrV-LcrG exhibited elongated conformation and 1:1 heterodimeric state like the native complex of PcrV-PcrG and LcrV-LcrG. Both native and inter-genus complexes showed rigid tertiary structure, solvent-exposed hydrophobic patches, and cooperative melting behavior with high melting temperature. LcrV-PcrG and PcrV-LcrG showed nanomolar affinity of interaction, identical to PcrV-PcrG interaction, but stronger than LcrV-LcrG interaction. Calcium (a secretion blocker of T3SS) propels all the complexes towards a highly monodisperse form. Calcium and magnesium increase the helicity of the native and inter-genus complexes, and causes helix-helix stabilization. Stabilization of helices leads to a slight increase in the melting temperature by 1.5-2.0 °C. However, calcium does not alter the affinity of interaction of V-antigen and its regulator, emphasizing the effect of divalent of cations at the structural level without any regulatory implications. Therefore, the structural conservation of these inter-genus complexes could be the basis for their functional complementation.

  9. Construction of bifunctional molecules specific to antigen and antibody’s Fc-fragment by fusion of scFv-antibodies with staphylococcal protein A

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kolibo D. V.

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Aim. To develop approach for detection of scFv and their complexes with antigens. Methods. The fusion proteins, which include sequences of scFv and staphylococcal protein A, were constructed and the obtained bifunctional molecules were immunochemically analysed. Results. It was shown, that scFv fused with protein A and their complexes with antigens are effectively recognized by labelled immunoglobulins with unrestricted antigenic specificity. Conclusions. The fusion of scFv with protein A fragment is a perspective approach to increase the efficiency of application in ELISA. The obtained scFv, fused with protein A, could be used for development of test-systems for the detection of diphtheria toxin.

  10. The physical stability of the recombinant tuberculosis fusion antigens h1 and h56

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hamborg, Mette; Kramer, Ryan; Schanté, Carole E

    2013-01-01

    a gradual loss of secondary as well as tertiary structure as a function of temperature, with no cooperative transitions observed. Preformulation studies with the Th1-inducing cationic adjuvant CAF01 showed that the antigens were almost completely surface adsorbed. Upon adsorption, the liposome size...... and it is therefore important to characterize their conformational stability in solution as well as upon interaction with adjuvants. In this study, the physical stability of the two antigens was characterized using a number of biophysical techniques. Dynamic light scattering and sodium dodecyl sulfate...... increased; however, the physical stabilities of the bound and the unbound antigens were comparable. This study provides important information about the biophysical properties of H1 and H56 and highlights the analytical challenges of characterizing complex vaccine formulations....

  11. Fusion reactor design and technology 1986. V. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    The first volume of the Proceedings of the Fourth Technical Committee Meeting and Workshop on Fusion Reactor Design and Technology organized by the IAEA (Yalta, 26 May - 6 June 1986) includes 36 papers devoted to the following topics: fusion programmes (3 papers), tokamaks (15 papers), non-tokamak reactors and open systems (9 papers), inertial confinement concepts (5 papers), fission-fusion hybrids (4 papers). Each of these papers has a separate abstract. Refs, figs and tabs

  12. Unraveling a three-step spatiotemporal mechanism of triggering of receptor-induced Nipah virus fusion and cell entry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian Liu

    Full Text Available Membrane fusion is essential for entry of the biomedically-important paramyxoviruses into their host cells (viral-cell fusion, and for syncytia formation (cell-cell fusion, often induced by paramyxoviral infections [e.g. those of the deadly Nipah virus (NiV]. For most paramyxoviruses, membrane fusion requires two viral glycoproteins. Upon receptor binding, the attachment glycoprotein (HN/H/G triggers the fusion glycoprotein (F to undergo conformational changes that merge viral and/or cell membranes. However, a significant knowledge gap remains on how HN/H/G couples cell receptor binding to F-triggering. Via interdisciplinary approaches we report the first comprehensive mechanism of NiV membrane fusion triggering, involving three spatiotemporally sequential cell receptor-induced conformational steps in NiV-G: two in the head and one in the stalk. Interestingly, a headless NiV-G mutant was able to trigger NiV-F, and the two head conformational steps were required for the exposure of the stalk domain. Moreover, the headless NiV-G prematurely triggered NiV-F on virions, indicating that the NiV-G head prevents premature triggering of NiV-F on virions by concealing a F-triggering stalk domain until the correct time and place: receptor-binding. Based on these and recent paramyxovirus findings, we present a comprehensive and fundamentally conserved mechanistic model of paramyxovirus membrane fusion triggering and cell entry.

  13. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte recognition of HLA-A/B antigens introduced into EL4 cells by cell-liposome fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelhard, V H; Powers, G A; Moore, L C; Holterman, M J; Correa-Freire, M C

    1984-01-01

    HLA-A2 and -B7 antigens were introduced into EL4 (H-2b) cells by cell-liposome fusion and were used as targets or stimulators for cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) generated in C57B1/6 (H-2b) mice. It was found that such EL4-HLA cells were not recognized by CTL that had been raised against either a human cell line bearing these HLA antigens or the purified HLA-A2 and -B7 antigens reconstituted into liposomes. In addition, EL4-HLA cells were not capable of inducing CTL that could recognize a human cell line bearing HLA-A2 and -B7 antigens. Instead, EL4-HLA cells induced CTL that specifically lysed EL4-HLA cells and not human cells expressing HLA-A2 and -B7. CTL recognition required the presence of HLA antigens on the EL4 cell surface and was inhibited by antibodies against either H-2b or HLA-A/B. Monoclonal antibody binding studies showed that the expected polymorphic determinants of the HLA-A2 and -B7 antigens were still present on EL4-HLA cells. However, the specificity of CTL or their precursors that are capable of recognizing HLA-A2 or -B7 was altered after these antigens became associated with the EL4 surface. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.

  14. Pseudarthrosis after lumbar spinal fusion: the role of 18F-fluoride PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peters, Marloes; Willems, Paul; Jutten, Liesbeth; Arts, Chris; Rhijn, Lodewijk van; Weijers, Rene; Wierts, Roel; Urbach, Christian; Brans, Boudewijn

    2015-01-01

    Painful pseudarthrosis is one of the most important indications for (revision) surgery after spinal fusion procedures. If pseudarthrosis is the source of recurrent pain it may require revision surgery. It is therefore of great clinical importance to ascertain if it is the source of such pain. The correlation between findings on conventional imaging (plain radiography and CT) and clinical well-being has been shown to be moderate. The goal of this study was to determine the possible role of 18 F-fluoride PET in patients after lumbar spinal interbody fusion by investigating the relationship between PET/CT findings and clinical function and pain. A cohort of 36 patients was retrospectively included in the study after 18 F-fluoride PET/CT for either persistent or recurrent low back pain (18 patients) or during routine postoperative investigation (18 patients) between 9 and 76 months and 11 and 14 months after posterior lumbar interbody fusion, respectively. Sixty minutes after intravenous injection of 156 - 263 MBq (mean 199 MBq, median 196 MBq) 18 F-fluoride, PET and CT images were acquired using an integrated PET/CT scanner, followed by a diagnostic CT scan. Two observers independently scored the images. The number of bony bridges between vertebrae was scored on the CT images to quantify interbody fusion (0, 1 or 2). Vertebral endplate and intervertebral disc space uptake were evaluated visually as well as semiquantitatively following 18 F-fluoride PET. Findings on PET and CT were correlated with clinical wellbeing as measured by validated questionnaires concerning general daily functioning (Oswestry Disability Index), pain (visual analogue scale) and general health status (EuroQol). Patients were divided into three categories based on these questionnaire scores. No correlation was found between symptom severity and fusion status. However, 18 F-fluoride activity in the vertebral endplates was significantly higher in patients in the lowest Oswestry Disability Index

  15. Volatility of V15Cr5Ti fusion reactor alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neilson, R.M. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    One potential hazard from the presence of activation products in fusion facilities is accidental oxidation-driven volatility of those activation products. Scoping experiments were conducted to investigate the oxidation and elemental volatility of candidate fusion reactor alloy V15Cr5Ti as a function of time, temperature, and test atmosphere. Experiments in air and in argon carrier gases containing 10 4 to 10 1 Pa (10 -1 to 10 -4 atm) oxygen were conducted to investigate the lower oxygen partial pressure limit for the formation of a low melting point (approximately 650 0 C), high volatility, oxide layer and its formation rate. Experiments to determine the elemental volatility of alloy constituents in air at temperatures of 700 0 C to greater than 1600 0 C. Some of these volatility experiments used V15Cr5Ti that was arc-remelted to incorporate small quantities (<0.1 wt. %) of Sc and Ca. Incorporation of Sc and Ca in test specimens permitted volatility measurement of radioactive constituents present only after activation of V15Cr5Ti

  16. Henipavirus Mediated Membrane Fusion, Virus Entry and Targeted Therapeutics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitar B. Nikolov

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The Paramyxoviridae genus Henipavirus is presently represented by the type species Hendra and Nipah viruses which are both recently emerged zoonotic viral pathogens responsible for repeated outbreaks associated with high morbidity and mortality in Australia, Southeast Asia, India and Bangladesh. These enveloped viruses bind and enter host target cells through the coordinated activities of their attachment (G and class I fusion (F envelope glycoproteins. The henipavirus G glycoprotein interacts with host cellular B class ephrins, triggering conformational alterations in G that lead to the activation of the F glycoprotein, which facilitates the membrane fusion process. Using the recently published structures of HeV-G and NiV-G and other paramyxovirus glycoproteins, we review the features of the henipavirus envelope glycoproteins that appear essential for mediating the viral fusion process, including receptor binding, G-F interaction, F activation, with an emphasis on G and the mutations that disrupt viral infectivity. Finally, recent candidate therapeutics for henipavirus-mediated disease are summarized in light of their ability to inhibit HeV and NiV entry by targeting their G and F glycoproteins.

  17. 18F-FDOPA PET/MRI fusion in patients with primary/recurrent gliomas: Initial experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ledezma, Carlos J.; Chen, Wei; Sai, Victor; Freitas, Bonnie; Cloughesy, Tim; Czernin, Johannes; Pope, Whitney

    2009-01-01

    Background and purpose: 18 F-FDOPA PET demonstrates higher sensitivity and specificity for gliomas than traditional [ 18 F] FDG PET imaging. However, PET provides limited anatomic localization. The purpose of this study was to determine whether 18 F-FDOPA PET/MRI fusion can provide precise anatomic localization of abnormal tracer uptake and how this activity corresponds to MR signal abnormality. Methods: Two groups of patients were analyzed. Group I consisted of 21 patients who underwent 18 F-FDOPA PET and MRI followed by craniotomy for tumor resection. Group II consisted of 70 patients with a pathological diagnosis of glioma that had 18 F-FDOPA PET and MRI but lacked additional pathologic follow-up. Fused 18 F-FDOPA PET and MRI images were analyzed for concordance and correlated with histopathologic data. Results: Fusion technology facilitated precise anatomical localization of 18 F-FDOPA activity. In group I, all 21 cases showed pathology-confirmed tumor. Of these, 18 F-FDOPA scans were positive in 9/10 (90%) previously unresected tumors, and 11/11 (100%) of recurrent tumors. Of the 70 patients in group II, concordance between MRI and 18 F-FDOPA was found in 49/54 (90.1%) of patients with sufficient follow-up; in the remaining 16 patients concordance could not be determined due to lack of follow-up. 18 F-FDOPA labeling was comparable in both high- and low-grade gliomas and identified both enhancing and non-enhancing tumor equally well. In some cases, 18 F-FDOPA activity preceded tumor detection on MRI. Conclusion: 18 F-FDOPA PET/MRI fusion provides precise anatomic localization of tracer uptake and labels enhancing and non-enhancing tumor well. In a small minority of cases, 18 F-FDOPA activity may identify tumor not visible on MRI.

  18. Binding of monoclonal antibody to protein antigen in fluid phase or bound to solid supports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kennel, S J

    1982-01-01

    Rat monoclonal antibody (MoAb) to fragment D (FgD) of human fibrinogen was used to characterize the direct binding of antibody to protein in solution or bound to solid supports. Purified IgG, F(ab')/sub 2/ and Fab' were prepared from ascites fluid of hybridoma 104-14B which is a fusion product of spleen cells from a rat immunized with FgD and the mouse myeloma cell line, P3-X63-Ag8. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of radioiodinated antibody preparations demonstrated the presence of hybrid immunoglobulin molecules, but only structures having rat heavy and rat light chains had active antibody combinig sites. The affinity constant for IgG as well as F(ab')/sub 2/ and Fab', 6x10/sup 9/ M/sup -1/, was identical when tested using fluid phase antigen (/sup 125/I-labeled FgD). Affinity constants determined for direct binding of iodinated IgG using FgD immobilized on solid supports showed a slight dependence on the antigen concentration used in the measurement. These values ranged from 0.5x10/sup 9/ M/sup -1/ at high antigen concentrations (1.3x10/sup -7/ M) to 9x10/sup 9/ M/sup -1/ at low antigen concentration (1.3x10/sup -10/ M). Binding constants for F(ab')/sub 2/ and Fab' gave similar results indicating that binding was homogeneous and univalent. The capacity of solid state antigen to bind antibody varied with the method used to bind FgD to the solid support. FgD bound directly to polystyrene plates was least efficient at binding labeled antibody; FgD bound to plates through intermediate carriers poly(L-lysine) was only slightly more efficient, while antigen bound to Sepharose beads by cyanogen bromide activation was the most active.

  19. Pseudarthrosis after lumbar spinal fusion: the role of {sup 18}F-fluoride PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peters, Marloes; Willems, Paul; Jutten, Liesbeth; Arts, Chris; Rhijn, Lodewijk van [Maastricht University Medical Center, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Postbox 5800, Maastricht (Netherlands); Weijers, Rene; Wierts, Roel; Urbach, Christian; Brans, Boudewijn [Maastricht University Medical Center, Radiology /Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht (Netherlands)

    2015-11-15

    Painful pseudarthrosis is one of the most important indications for (revision) surgery after spinal fusion procedures. If pseudarthrosis is the source of recurrent pain it may require revision surgery. It is therefore of great clinical importance to ascertain if it is the source of such pain. The correlation between findings on conventional imaging (plain radiography and CT) and clinical well-being has been shown to be moderate. The goal of this study was to determine the possible role of {sup 18}F-fluoride PET in patients after lumbar spinal interbody fusion by investigating the relationship between PET/CT findings and clinical function and pain. A cohort of 36 patients was retrospectively included in the study after {sup 18}F-fluoride PET/CT for either persistent or recurrent low back pain (18 patients) or during routine postoperative investigation (18 patients) between 9 and 76 months and 11 and 14 months after posterior lumbar interbody fusion, respectively. Sixty minutes after intravenous injection of 156 - 263 MBq (mean 199 MBq, median 196 MBq) {sup 18}F-fluoride, PET and CT images were acquired using an integrated PET/CT scanner, followed by a diagnostic CT scan. Two observers independently scored the images. The number of bony bridges between vertebrae was scored on the CT images to quantify interbody fusion (0, 1 or 2). Vertebral endplate and intervertebral disc space uptake were evaluated visually as well as semiquantitatively following {sup 18}F-fluoride PET. Findings on PET and CT were correlated with clinical wellbeing as measured by validated questionnaires concerning general daily functioning (Oswestry Disability Index), pain (visual analogue scale) and general health status (EuroQol). Patients were divided into three categories based on these questionnaire scores. No correlation was found between symptom severity and fusion status. However, {sup 18}F-fluoride activity in the vertebral endplates was significantly higher in patients in the lowest

  20. [JAK2 V617F and exon 12 genetic variations in Korean patients with BCR/ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jeong Tae; Cho, Yong Gon; Choi, Sam Im; Lee, Young Jin; Kim, Hye Ran; Jang, Sook Jin; Moon, Dae Soo; Park, Young Jin; Park, Geon

    2010-12-01

    JAK2 genetic variations have been described in a high proportion of patients with BCR/ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). This study was designed to analyze the frequencies of JAK2 V617F and exon 12 variations, and their correlations with clinical characteristics of Korean patients with BCR/ABL1-negative MPN. We examined a total of 154 patients with BCR/ABL1-negative MPN that included 24, 26, 89, and 15 patients with polycythemia vera (PV), primary myelofibrosis (PMF), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and unclassified myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNU), respectively. We performed allele-specific PCR to detect V617F in all BCR/ABL1-negative patients, and performed direct sequencing to detect exon 12 variations in 47 V617F-negative MPN patients. JAK2 c.1641+179_183del5 variation was detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism assay in 176 healthy subjects. JAK2 V617F was detected in 91 patients (59.1%): PV (91.6%), PMF (46.2%), ET (52.8%), and MPNU (66.7%). In V617F-negative MPN patients, no mutations were found in exon 12. The c.1641+179_183del5 was detected in 68.1% of V617F-negative MPN patients and 45.4% of healthy subjects (P=0.008). JAK2 V617F was closely correlated with age and leukocytosis in BCR/ABL1-negative MPN patients (P<0.05). However, c.1641+179_183del5 was not related to age, sex, or complete blood cell count parameters in V617F-negative MPN patients and healthy subjects. The c.1641+179_183del5 was associated with an increased odds ratio for MPN (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidences interval, 1.3-5.1; P=0.007). Frequencies of V617F are similar to reported results. JAK2 exon 12 mutations may be rare and c.1641+179_183del5 may influence the occurrence of MPN in Korean patients with V6 17F-negative MPN.

  1. Fusion of Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1-derived glycine-alanine repeat to trans-dominant HIV-1 Gag increases inhibitory activities and survival of transduced cells in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Diana; Wild, Jens; Ludwig, Christine; Asbach, Benedikt; Notka, Frank; Wagner, Ralf

    2008-06-01

    Trans-dominant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag derivatives have been shown to efficiently inhibit late steps of HIV-1 replication in vitro by interfering with Gag precursor assembly, thus ranking among the interesting candidates for gene therapy approaches. However, efficient antiviral activities of corresponding transgenes are likely to be counteracted in particular by cell-mediated host immune responses toward the transgene-expressing cells. To decrease this potential immunogenicity, a 24-amino acid Gly-Ala (GA) stretch derived from Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA1) and known to overcome proteasomal degradation was fused to a trans-dominant Gag variant (sgD1). To determine the capacity of this fusion polypeptide to repress viral replication, PM-1 cells were transduced with sgD1 and GAsgD1 transgenes, using retroviral gene transfer. Challenge of stably transfected permissive cell lines with various viral strains indicated that N-terminal GA fusion even enhanced the inhibitory properties of sgD1. Further studies revealed that the GA stretch increased protein stability by blocking proteasomal degradation of Gag proteins. Immunization of BALB/c mice with a DNA vaccine vector expressing sgD1 induced substantial Gag-specific immune responses that were, however, clearly diminished in the presence of GA. Furthermore, recognition of cells expressing the GA-fused transgene by CD8(+) T cells was drastically reduced, both in vitro and in vivo, resulting in prolonged survival of the transduced cells in recipient mice.

  2. The human leukocyte antigen G promotes trophoblast fusion and β-hCG production through the Erk1/2 pathway in human choriocarcinoma cell lines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Ji-meng [School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China); State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Zhao, Hong-xi [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710038 (China); Wang, Li [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Beijing 100853 (China); Gao, Zhi-ying, E-mail: gaozy301@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Beijing 100853 (China); Yao, Yuan-qing, E-mail: yqyao@126.com [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Beijing 100853 (China)

    2013-05-10

    Highlights: •HLA-G expression promotes BeWo cells fusion and fusogenic gene expression. •HLA-G is capable of inducing β-hCG production in human choriocarcinoma cell lines. •Up-regulation of β-hCG production by HLA-G is mediated via the Erk1/2 pathway. -- Abstract: The human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) is expressed on the fetal–maternal interface and plays a role in protecting fetal-derived trophoblasts from the maternal immune response, allowing trophoblasts to invade the uterus. However, HLA-G also possesses immune suppressing-independent functions. We found that HLA-G expressing BeWo choriocarcinoma cells increased cell–cell fusion compared to control BeWo cells under forskolin treatment. Regardless of forskolin treatment, the expression of fusogenic gene mRNAs, including syncytin-1, the transcription factor glial cell missing 1 (Gcm1), and beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) were elevated. HLA-G up-regulates β-hCG production in human choriocarcinoma cells because HLA-G knockdown in JEG-3 cells induces a dramatic decrease in β-hCG compared with control cells. The defect in β-hCG production in HLA-G knocked-down cells could not be completely overcome by stimulating hCG production through increasing intracellular cAMP levels. HLA-G expressing cells have increased phosphorylation levels for extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (Erk1/2) in BeWo cells. The Erk1/2 pathway is inactivated after the inhibition of HLA-G expression in JEG-3 cells. Finally, Erk1/2 inhibition was able to suppress the increased hCG production induced by HLA-G expression. Together, these data suggest novel roles for HLA-G in regulating β-hCG production via the modulation of the Erk1/2 pathway and by inducing trophoblast cell fusion.

  3. Repetitively pulsed, high energy KrF lasers for inertial fusion energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myers, M.C.; Sethian, J.D.; Giuliani, J.L.; Lehmberg, R.; Kepple, P.; Wolford, M.F.; Hegeler, F.; Friedman, M.; Jones, T.C.; Swanekamp, S.B.; Weidenheimer, D.; Rose, D.

    2004-01-01

    Krypton fluoride (KrF) lasers produce highly uniform beams at 248 nm, allow the capability of 'zooming' the spot size to follow an imploding pellet, naturally assume a modular architecture and have been developed into a pulsed-power- based industrial technology that readily scales to a fusion power plant sized system. There are two main challenges for the fusion power plant application: to develop a system with an overall efficiency of greater than 6% (based on target gains of 100) and to achieve a durability of greater than 3 x 10 8 shots (two years at 5 Hz). These two issues are being addressed with the Electra (700 J, 5 Hz) and Nike (3000 J, single shot) KrF lasers at the Naval Research Laboratory. Based on recent advances in pulsed power, electron beam generation and transport, hibachi (foil support structure) design and KrF physics, wall plug efficiencies of greater than 7% should be achievable. Moreover, recent experiments show that it may be possible to realize long lived electron beam diodes using ceramic honeycomb cathodes and anode foils that are convectively cooled by periodically deflecting the laser gas. This paper is a summary of the progress in the development of the critical KrF technologies for laser fusion energy. (author)

  4. Antigenic profiling of Yersinia pestis infection in the Wyoming coyote (Canis latrans)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vernati, G.; Edwards, W.H.; Rocke, T.E.; Little, S.F.; Andrews, G.P.

    2011-01-01

    Although Yersinia pestis is classified as a "high-virulence" pathogen, some host species are variably susceptible to disease. Coyotes (Canis latrans) exhibit mild, if any, symptoms during infection, but antibody production occurs postinfection. This immune response has been reported to be against the F1 capsule, although little subsequent characterization has been conducted. To further define the nature of coyote humoral immunity to plague, qualitative serology was conducted to assess the antiplague antibody repertoire. Humoral responses to six plasmid-encoded Y. pestis virulence factors were first examined. Of 20 individual immune coyotes, 90% were reactive to at least one other antigen in the panel other than F1. The frequency of reactivity to low calcium response plasmid (pLcr)-encoded Yersinia protein kinase A (YpkA) and Yersinia outer protein D (YopD) was significantly greater than that previously observed in a murine model for plague. Additionally, both V antigen and plasminogen activator were reactive with over half of the serum samples tested. Reactivity to F1 was markedly less frequent in coyotes (35%). Twenty previously tested antibody-negative samples were also examined. While the majority were negative across the panel, 15% were positive for 1-3 non-F1 antigens. In vivo-induced antigen technology employed to identify novel chromosomal genes of Y. pestis that are up-regulated during infection resulted in the identification of five proteins, including a flagellar component (FliP) that was uniquely reactive with the coyote serum compared with immune serum from two other host species. Collectively, these data suggest that humoral immunity to pLcr-encoded antigens and the pesticin plasmid (pPst)-encoded Pla antigen may be relevant to plague resistance in coyotes. The serologic profile of Y. pestis chromosomal antigens up-regulated in vivo specific to C. latrans may provide insight into the differences in the pathogen-host responses during Y. pestis infection.

  5. Semi empirical model for astrophysical nuclear fusion reactions of 1≤Z≤15

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manjunatha, H.C.; Seenappa, L.; Sridhar, K.N.

    2017-01-01

    The fusion reaction is one of the most important reactions in the stellar evolution. Due to the complicated reaction mechanism of fusion, there is great uncertainty in the reaction rate which limits our understanding of various stellar objects. Low z elements are formed through many fusion reactions such as "4He+"1"2C→"1"6O, "1"2C+"1"2C→"2"0Ne+"4He, "1"2C+"1"2C→"2"3Na, "1"2C+"1"2C→"2"3Mg, "1"6O+"1"6O→"2"8Si+"4He, "1"2C+"1H→"1"3N and "1"3C+"4He→"1"6O. A detail study is required on Coulomb and nuclear interaction in formation of low Z elements in stars through fusion reactions. For astrophysics, the important energy range extends from 1 MeV to 3 MeV in the center of mass frame, which is only partially covered by experiments. In the present work, we have studied the basic fusion parameters such as barrier heights (V_B), positions (R_B), curvature of the inverted parabola (ħω_1) for fusion barrier, cross section and compound nucleus formation probability (P_C_N) and fusion process in the low Z element (1≤Z≤15) formation process. For each isotope, we have studied all possible projectile-target combinations. We have also studied the astrophysical S(E) factor for these reactions. Based on this study, we have formulated the semi empirical relations for barrier heights (V_B), positions (R_B), curvature of the inverted parabola and hence for the fusion cross section and astrophysical S(E) factor. The values produced by the present model compared with the experiments and data available in the literature. (author)

  6. Cloning, sequence analysis, and expression of the large subunit of the human lymphocyte activation antigen 4F2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lumadue, J.A.; Glick, A.B.; Ruddle, F.H.

    1987-01-01

    Among the earliest expressed antigens on the surface of activated human lymphocytes is the surface antigen 4F2. The authors have used DNA-mediated gene transfer and fluorescence-activated cell sorting to obtain cell lines that contain the gene encoding the large subunit of the human 4F2 antigen in a mouse L-cell background. Human DNAs cloned from these cell lines were subsequently used as hybridization probes to isolate a full-length cDNA clone expressing 4F2. Sequence analysis of the coding region has revealed an amino acid sequence of 529 residues. Hydrophobicity plotting has predicted a probable structure for the protein that includes an external carboxyl terminus, an internal leader sequence, a single hydrophobic transmembrane domain, and two possible membrane-associated domains. The 4F2 cDNA detects a single 1.8-kilobase mRNA in T-cell and B-cell lines. RNA gel blot analysis of RNA derived from quiescent and serum-stimulated Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts reveals a cell-cycle modulation of 4F2 gene expression: the mRNA is present in quiescent fibroblasts but increases 8-fold 24-36 hr after stimulation, at the time of maximal DNA synthesis

  7. Cloning, sequence analysis, and expression of the large subunit of the human lymphocyte activation antigen 4F2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lumadue, J.A.; Glick, A.B.; Ruddle, F.H.

    1987-12-01

    Among the earliest expressed antigens on the surface of activated human lymphocytes is the surface antigen 4F2. The authors have used DNA-mediated gene transfer and fluorescence-activated cell sorting to obtain cell lines that contain the gene encoding the large subunit of the human 4F2 antigen in a mouse L-cell background. Human DNAs cloned from these cell lines were subsequently used as hybridization probes to isolate a full-length cDNA clone expressing 4F2. Sequence analysis of the coding region has revealed an amino acid sequence of 529 residues. Hydrophobicity plotting has predicted a probable structure for the protein that includes an external carboxyl terminus, an internal leader sequence, a single hydrophobic transmembrane domain, and two possible membrane-associated domains. The 4F2 cDNA detects a single 1.8-kilobase mRNA in T-cell and B-cell lines. RNA gel blot analysis of RNA derived from quiescent and serum-stimulated Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts reveals a cell-cycle modulation of 4F2 gene expression: the mRNA is present in quiescent fibroblasts but increases 8-fold 24-36 hr after stimulation, at the time of maximal DNA synthesis.

  8. Beam plasma 14 MeV neutron source for fusion materials development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ravenscroft, D.; Bulmer, D.; Coensgen, F.; Doggett, J.; Molvik, A.; Souza, P.; Summers, L.; Williamson, V.

    1991-09-01

    The conceptual engineering design and expected performance for a 14 MeV DT neutron source is detailed. The source would provide an intense neutron flux for accelerated testing of fusion reactor materials. The 150-keV neutral beams inject energetic deuterium atoms, that ionize, are trapped, then react with a warm (200 eV), dense tritium target plasma. This produces a neutron source strength of 3.6 x 10 17 n/sec for a neutron power density at the plasma edge of 5--10 MW/m 2 . This is several times the ∼2 MW/m 2 anticipated at the first wall of fusion reactors. This high flux provides accelerated end-of-life tests of 1- to 2-year duration, thus making materials development possible. The modular design of the source and the facilities are described

  9. Immunization with FSHβ fusion protein antigen prevents bone loss in a rat ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geng, Wenxin; Yan, Xingrong; Du, Huicong; Cui, Jihong; Li, Liwen, E-mail: liven@nwu.edu.cn; Chen, Fulin, E-mail: chenfl@nwu.edu.cn

    2013-05-03

    Highlights: •A GST-FSH fusion protein was successfully expressed in E. coli. •Immunization with GST-FSH antigen can raise high-titer anti-FSH polyclonal sera. •Anti-FSH polyclonal sera can neutralize osteoclastogenic effect of FSH in vitro. •FSH immunization can prevent bone loss in a rat osteoporosis model. -- Abstract: Osteoporosis, a metabolic bone disease, threatens postmenopausal women globally. Hormone replacement therapy (HTR), especially estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), is used widely in the clinic because it has been generally accepted that postmenopausal osteoporosis is caused by estrogen deficiency. However, hypogonadal α and β estrogen receptor null mice were only mildly osteopenic, and mice with either receptor deleted had normal bone mass, indicating that estrogen may not be the only mediator that induces osteoporosis. Recently, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), the serum concentration of which increases from the very beginning of menopause, has been found to play a key role in postmenopausal osteoporosis by promoting osteoclastogenesis. In this article, we confirmed that exogenous FSH can enhance osteoclast differentiation in vitro and that this effect can be neutralized by either an anti-FSH monoclonal antibody or anti-FSH polyclonal sera raised by immunizing animals with a recombinant GST-FSHβ fusion protein antigen. Moreover, immunizing ovariectomized rats with the GST-FSHβ antigen does significantly prevent trabecular bone loss and thereby enhance the bone strength, indicating that a FSH-based vaccine may be a promising therapeutic strategy to slow down bone loss in postmenopausal women.

  10. Bim and Mcl-1 exert key roles in regulating JAK2V617F cell survival

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubert, Joëlle; Qian, Zhiyan; Andraos, Rita; Guthy, Daniel A; Radimerski, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    The JAK2 V617F mutation plays a major role in the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms and is found in the vast majority of patients suffering from polycythemia vera and in roughly every second patient suffering from essential thrombocythemia or from primary myelofibrosis. The V617F mutation is thought to provide hematopoietic stem cells and myeloid progenitors with a survival and proliferation advantage. It has previously been shown that activated JAK2 promotes cell survival by upregulating the anti-apoptotic STAT5 target gene Bcl-xL. In this study, we have investigated the role of additional apoptotic players, the pro-apoptotic protein Bim as well as the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1. Pharmacological inhibition of JAK2/STAT5 signaling in JAK2 V617F mutant SET-2 and MB-02 cells was used to study effects on signaling, cell proliferation and apoptosis by Western blot analysis, WST-1 proliferation assays and flow cytometry. Cells were transfected with siRNA oligos to deplete candidate pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins. Co-immunoprecipitation assays were performed to assess the impact of JAK2 inhibition on complexes of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins. Treatment of JAK2 V617F mutant cell lines with a JAK2 inhibitor was found to trigger Bim activation. Furthermore, Bim depletion by RNAi suppressed JAK2 inhibitor-induced cell death. Bim activation following JAK2 inhibition led to enhanced sequestration of Mcl-1, besides Bcl-xL. Importantly, Mcl-1 depletion by RNAi was sufficient to compromise JAK2 V617F mutant cell viability and sensitized the cells to JAK2 inhibition. We conclude that Bim and Mcl-1 have key opposing roles in regulating JAK2 V617F cell survival and propose that inactivation of aberrant JAK2 signaling leads to changes in Bim complexes that trigger cell death. Thus, further preclinical evaluation of combinations of JAK2 inhibitors with Bcl-2 family antagonists that also tackle Mcl-1, besides Bcl-xL, is warranted to assess the therapeutic potential

  11. Expression of HIV-1 antigens in plants as potential subunit vaccines

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Meyers, A

    2008-06-23

    Full Text Available Open AcceResearch article Expression of HIV-1 antigens in plants as potential subunit vaccines Ann Meyers1,2, Ereck Chakauya1,2,3, Enid Shephard1,4, Fiona L Tanzer1,2, James Maclean1,2, Alisson Lynch1,2, Anna-Lise Williamson1,5 and Edward P Rybicki...Figure 1 The HIV-1 Gag-derived proteins used in this study. Scale diagram showing (A) native Pr55Gag ORF organisation in the Page 2 of 15 (page number not for citation purposes) gag gene, (B) the p17/p24 fusion protein ORF, (C) p24 ORF. ORFs labelled p7...

  12. Conserved antigenic sites between MERS-CoV and Bat-coronavirus are revealed through sequence analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharmin, Refat; Islam, Abul B M M K

    2016-01-01

    MERS-CoV is a newly emerged human coronavirus reported closely related with HKU4 and HKU5 Bat coronaviruses. Bat and MERS corona-viruses are structurally related. Therefore, it is of interest to estimate the degree of conserved antigenic sites among them. It is of importance to elucidate the shared antigenic-sites and extent of conservation between them to understand the evolutionary dynamics of MERS-CoV. Multiple sequence alignment of the spike (S), membrane (M), enveloped (E) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins was employed to identify the sequence conservation among MERS and Bat (HKU4, HKU5) coronaviruses. We used various in silico tools to predict the conserved antigenic sites. We found that MERS-CoV shared 30 % of its S protein antigenic sites with HKU4 and 70 % with HKU5 bat-CoV. Whereas 100 % of its E, M and N protein's antigenic sites are found to be conserved with those in HKU4 and HKU5. This sharing suggests that in case of pathogenicity MERS-CoV is more closely related to HKU5 bat-CoV than HKU4 bat-CoV. The conserved epitopes indicates their evolutionary relationship and ancestry of pathogenicity.

  13. Skew cyclic codes over F_q+uF_q+vF_q+uvF_q

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting Yao

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we study skew cyclic codes over the ring $R=F_q+uF_q+vF_q+uvF_q$, where $u^{2}=u,v^{2}=v,uv=vu$, $q=p^{m}$ and $p$ is an odd prime. We investigate the structural properties of skew cyclic codes over $R$ through a decomposition theorem. Furthermore, we give a formula for the number of skew cyclic codes of length $n$ over $R.$

  14. Aurora: A short-pulse multikilojoule KrF inertial fusion laser system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosocha, L.A.

    1985-01-01

    Aurora is a laser system that serves as an operating technology demonstration prototype for large-scale high-energy KrF laser systems of interest for inertial fusion applications. This system will incorporate the following elements to achieve an end-to-end 248-nm laser fusion concept demonstration: an injection-locked oscillator-amplifier front end; an optical angular multiplexer to produce 96 encoded optical channels each of 5-nsec duration; a chain of four electron-beam-driven KrF laser amplifiers; automated alignment systems for beam alignment; a decoder to provide for pulse compression of some fraction of the total beam train to be delivered to target, and a target chamber to house and diagnose fusion targets. The front end configuration uses a stable resonator master oscillator to drive an injection-locked unstable resonator slave oscillator. An extension of existing technology has been used to develop an electrooptic switchout at 248 nm that produces a 5-nsec pulse from the longer slave oscillator pulse. This short pulse is amplified by a postamplifier. Using these discharge lasers, the front end then delivers at least 250 mJ of KrF laser light output to the optical encoder

  15. Immunity to tumour antigens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Geng; Ali, Selman A; McArdle, Stephanie E B; Mian, Shahid; Ahmad, Murrium; Miles, Amanda; Rees, Robert C

    2005-01-01

    During the last decade, a large number of human tumour antigens have been identified. These antigens are classified as tumour-specific shared antigens, tissue-specific differentiation antigens, overexpressed antigens, tumour antigens resulting from mutations, viral antigens and fusion proteins. Antigens recognised by effectors of immune system are potential targets for antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy. However, most tumour antigens are self-proteins and are generally of low immunogenicity and the immune response elicited towards these tumour antigens is not always effective. Strategies to induce and enhance the tumour antigen-specific response are needed. This review will summarise the approaches to discovery of tumour antigens, the current status of tumour antigens, and their potential application to cancer treatment.

  16. The Presynaptic v-ATPase Reversibly Disassembles and Thereby Modulates Exocytosis but Is Not Part of the Fusion Machinery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Bodzęta

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Vacuolar H+-ATPase (v-ATPase is a multi-subunit complex comprising two domains: the cytosolic V1 domain catalyzing ATP hydrolysis and the membranous V0 sector translocating protons across membranes. In addition to proton pumping, a direct function of the V0 proteolipid ring in membrane fusion has been proposed for yeast vacuolar fusion and synaptic vesicle exocytosis in Drosophila. Here, we show in cultured hippocampal neurons that in recycling synaptic vesicles, v-ATPases are only transiently assembled in a pH-dependent fashion during the tightly coupled cycle of exo-endocytosis. Upon locking v-ATPase in an assembled state by saliphenylhalamide, we observed use- and time-dependent release depression for stimuli exceeding release of primed vesicles but no abrogation of exocytosis. Thus, the membranous V0 sector is not part of the exocytotic fusion machinery. Instead, v-ATPase modulates release upstream of docking to favor fusion of fully filled synaptic vesicles.

  17. Determination of the enthalpy of fusion of K{sub 3}TaF{sub 8} and K{sub 3}TaOF{sub 6}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kosa, L. [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, SK-845 36 Bratislava (Slovakia)]. E-mail: uachkosa@savba.sk; Mackova, I. [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, SK-845 36 Bratislava (Slovakia)

    2006-08-15

    The areas of the fusion and crystallization peaks of K{sub 3}TaF{sub 8} and K{sub 3}TaOF{sub 6} have been measured using the DSC mode of the high-temperature calorimeter (SETARAM 1800 K). On the basis of these quantities and the temperature dependence of the used calorimetric method sensitivity, the values of the enthalpy of fusion of K{sub 3}TaF{sub 8} at temperature of fusion 1039 K: {delta}{sub fus} H {sub m}(K{sub 3}TaF{sub 8}; 1039 K) = (52 {+-} 2) kJ mol{sup -1} and of K{sub 3}TaOF{sub 6} at temperature of fusion 1055 K: {delta}{sub fus} H {sub m}(K{sub 3}TaOF{sub 6}; 1055 K) = (62 {+-} 3) kJ mol{sup -1} have been determined.

  18. Aurora multikilojoule KrF laser system prototype for inertial confinement fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosocha, L.A.; Hanlon, J.A.; Mc Leod, J.; Kang, M.; Kortegaard, B.L.; Burrows, M.D.; Bowling, P.S.

    1987-01-01

    Aurora is the Los Alamos National Laboratory short-pulse, high-power, KrF laser system. It serves as an end-to-end technology demonstration for large-scale ultraviolet laser systems of interest for short wavelength, inertial confinement fusion (ICF) investigations. The systems is a prototype for using optical angular multiplexing and serial amplification by large electron-beam-driven KrF laser amplifiers to deliver stacked, 248-nm, 5-ns duration multikilojoule laser pulses to ICF targets using an --1-km-long optical beam path. The entire Aurora KrF laser system is described and the design features of the following major system components are summarized: front-end lasers, amplifier train, multiplexer, optical relay train, demultiplexer, target irradiation apparatus, and alignment and controls systems

  19. F-18 Labeled Diabody-Luciferase Fusion Proteins for Optical-ImmunoPET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Anna M. [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

    2013-01-18

    The goal of the proposed work is to develop novel dual-labeled molecular imaging probes for multimodality imaging. Based on small, engineered antibodies called diabodies, these probes will be radioactively tagged with Fluorine-18 for PET imaging, and fused to luciferases for optical (bioluminescence) detection. Performance will be evaluated and validated using a prototype integrated optical-PET imaging system, OPET. Multimodality probes for optical-PET imaging will be based on diabodies that are dually labeled with 18F for PET detection and fused to luciferases for optical imaging. 1) Two sets of fusion proteins will be built, targeting the cell surface markers CEA or HER2. Coelenterazine-based luciferases and variant forms will be evaluated in combination with native substrate and analogs, in order to obtain two distinct probes recognizing different targets with different spectral signatures. 2) Diabody-luciferase fusion proteins will be labeled with 18F using amine reactive [18F]-SFB produced using a novel microwave-assisted, one-pot method. 3) Sitespecific, chemoselective radiolabeling methods will be devised, to reduce the chance that radiolabeling will inactivate either the target-binding properties or the bioluminescence properties of the diabody-luciferase fusion proteins. 4) Combined optical and PET imaging of these dual modality probes will be evaluated and validated in vitro and in vivo using a prototype integrated optical-PET imaging system, OPET. Each imaging modality has its strengths and weaknesses. Development and use of dual modality probes allows optical imaging to benefit from the localization and quantitation offered by the PET mode, and enhances the PET imaging by enabling simultaneous detection of more than one probe.

  20. RB1 is the crucial target of the Merkel cell polyomavirus Large T antigen in Merkel cell carcinoma cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesbacher, Sonja; Pfitzer, Lisa; Wiedorfer, Katharina; Angermeyer, Sabrina; Borst, Andreas; Haferkamp, Sebastian; Scholz, Claus-Jürgen; Wobser, Marion; Schrama, David; Houben, Roland

    2016-05-31

    The pocket protein (PP) family consists of the three members RB1, p107 and p130 all possessing tumor suppressive properties. Indeed, the PPs jointly control the G1/S transition mainly by inhibiting E2F transcription factors. Notably, several viral oncoproteins are capable of binding and inhibiting PPs. Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is considered as etiological factor for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) with expression of the viral Large T antigen (LT) harboring an intact PP binding domain being required for proliferation of most MCC cells. Therefore, we analyzed the interaction of MCPyV-LT with the PPs. Co-IP experiments indicate that MCPyV-LT binds potently only to RB1. Moreover, MCPyV-LT knockdown-induced growth arrest in MCC cells can be rescued by knockdown of RB1, but not by p107 or p130 knockdown. Accordingly, cell cycle arrest and E2F target gene repression mediated by the single PPs can only in the case of RB1 be significantly reverted by MCPyV-LT expression. Moreover, data from an MCC patient indicate that loss of RB1 rendered the MCPyV-positive MCC cells LT independent. Thus, our results suggest that RB1 is the dominant tumor suppressor PP in MCC, and that inactivation of RB1 by MCPyV-LT is largely sufficient for its growth supporting function in established MCPyV-positive MCC cells.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-02-01

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

  2. Development and validation of library MUSE-F1.0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Haibo; Chen Yixue; Wu Jun

    2013-01-01

    The multi-group transport library MUSE-F1.0 based on ENDF/B-VII.0 with 175-group neutron and 42-group photon was developed by NJOY99. Weighting function is thermal--l/e--fast reactor-fission + fusion, and Legendre order is six. The library was validated by a series of critical and shielding benchmarks. The shielding test involves nuclear data including fission reactor, fusion reactor and accelerator. The result shows that MUSE-F1.0 is suitable for critical and shielding calculation. And it is competent for the application of fast neutron reactor design. (authors)

  3. Heterologous prime-boost regimens with a recombinant chimpanzee adenoviral vector and adjuvanted F4 protein elicit polyfunctional HIV-1-specific T-Cell responses in macaques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorin, Clarisse; Vanloubbeeck, Yannick; Baudart, Sébastien; Ska, Michaël; Bayat, Babak; Brauers, Geoffroy; Clarinval, Géraldine; Donner, Marie-Noëlle; Marchand, Martine; Koutsoukos, Marguerite; Mettens, Pascal; Cohen, Joe; Voss, Gerald

    2015-01-01

    HIV-1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes are important for HIV-1 replication control. F4/AS01 consists of F4 recombinant fusion protein (containing clade B Gag/p24, Pol/RT, Nef and Gag/p17) formulated in AS01 Adjuvant System, and was shown to induce F4-specific polyfunctional CD4+ T-cell responses in humans. While replication-incompetent recombinant HIV-1/SIV antigen-expressing human adenoviral vectors can elicit high-frequency antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell responses, their use is hampered by widespread pre-existing immunity to human serotypes. Non-human adenovirus serotypes associated with lower prevalence may offer an alternative strategy. We evaluated the immunogenicity of AdC7-GRN ('A'), a recombinant chimpanzee adenovirus type 7 vector expressing clade B Gag, RT and Nef, and F4/AS01 ('P'), when delivered intramuscularly in homologous (PP or AA) and heterologous (AAPP or PPAA) prime-boost regimens, in macaques and mice. Vaccine-induced HIV-1-antigen-specific T cells in peripheral blood (macaques), liver, spleen, and intestinal and genital mucosa (mice) were characterized by intracellular cytokine staining. Vaccine-specific IgG antibodies (macaques) were detected using ELISA. In macaques, only the heterologous prime-boost regimens induced polyfunctional, persistent and balanced CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses specific to each HIV-1 vaccine antigen. AdC7-GRN priming increased the polyfunctionality of F4/AS01-induced CD4+ T cells. Approximately 50% of AdC7-GRN-induced memory CD8+ T cells exhibited an effector-memory phenotype. HIV-1-specific antibodies were detected with each regimen. In mice, antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses were detected in the mucosal and systemic anatomical compartments assessed. When administered in heterologous prime-boost regimens, AdC7-GRN and F4/AS01 candidate vaccines acted complementarily in inducing potent and persistent peripheral blood HIV-1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses and antibodies in macaques. Besides

  4. JAK2 46/1 haplotype is associated with JAK2 V617F--positive myeloproliferative neoplasms in Brazilian patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macedo, L C; Santos, B C; Pagliarini-e-Silva, S; Pagnano, K B B; Rodrigues, C; Quintero, F C; Ferreira, M E; Baraldi, E C; Ambrosio-Albuquerque, E P; Sell, A M; Visentainer, J E L

    2015-10-01

    This study aimed to verify the association between the JAK2 46/1 haplotype (V617F positive) and some hematological parameters in BCR-ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (cMPNs) in our population. The blood samples obtained from the patients with cMPN were genotyped for the JAK2 V617F mutation and JAK2 rs10974944 SNP screening using a PCR-RFLP assay. The JAK2 V617F mutation was detected in 80.15% of patients. The G variant of rs10974944 was more frequent in all MPNs, especially those that were JAK2 V617F positive, than in the control population. We also compared the 46/1 haplotype status in each MPN disease entity, polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), primary myelofibrosis (PMF), and MPNu with controls. The G allele frequency relative to controls was significantly enriched in patients with PV and ET, but not in those with PMF and MPNu. PV and ET patients especially, all of whom had the JAK2 V617F mutation, showed significant excess of the G allele. The frequency of JAK2 V617F mutation was associated with elevated hematological parameters, but when we analyze the occurrence of the mutation and the presence of the G allele, just the high hemoglobin was significantly. In agreement with previous reports, JAK2 46/1 haplotype for JAK2 V617F was associated with cMPN positive in Brazilian patients. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. ^2H(^18F,p)^19F Study at 6 MeV/u

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozub, R. L.; Nesaraja, C. D.; Moazen, B. H.; Scott, J. P.; Bardayan, D. W.; Blackmon, J. C.; Gross, C. J.; Shapira, D.; Smith, M. S.; Batchelder, J. C.; Brune, C. R.; Champagne, A. E.; Sahin, L.; Cizewski, J. A.; Thomas, J. S.; Davinson, T.; Woods, P. J.; Greife, U.; Jewett, C.; Livesay, R. J.; Ma, Z.; Parker, P. D.

    2003-04-01

    The degree to which the (p,α) and (p,γ) reactions destroy ^18F at temperatures ˜1-4 x 10^8 K is important for understanding the synthesis of nuclei in nova explosions and for using ^18F as a monitor of nova mechanisms in gamma ray astronomy. The reactions are dominated by low-lying proton resonances near the ^18F+p threshold (E_x=6.411 MeV excitation energy in ^19Ne). To gain further information about these resonances, we have used the inverse ^18F(d,p)^19F neutron transfer reaction at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility to selectively populate corresponding mirror states in ^19F. Proton angular distributions were measured for states in ^19F in the excitation energy range 0-9 MeV. Results and implications for the ^18F+p reactions and nuclear structure will be presented. ^1Supported by DOE. ^2ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the USDOE.

  6. Expression of alpha V integrin is modulated by Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 3C and the metastasis suppressor Nm23-H1 through interaction with the GATA-1 and Sp1 transcription factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choudhuri, Tathagata; Verma, Subhash C.; Lan, Ke; Robertson, Erle S.

    2006-01-01

    Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a lymphotrophic herpesvirus infecting most of the world's population. It is associated with a number of human lymphoid and epithelial tumors and lymphoproliferative diseases in immunocompromised patients. A subset of latent EBV antigens is required for immortalization of primary B-lymphocytes. The metastatic suppressor Nm23-H1 which is downregulated in human invasive breast carcinoma reduces the migration and metastatic activity of breast carcinoma cells when expressed from a heterologous promoter. Interestingly, the EBV nuclear antigen 3C (EBNA3C) reverses these activities of Nm23-H1. The alpha V integrins recognize a variety of ligands for signaling and are involved in cell migration and proliferation and also serve as major receptors for extracellular-matrix-mediated cell adhesion and migration. The goal of this study was to determine if Nm23-H1 and EBNA3C can modulate alpha V integrin expression and downstream activities. The results of our studies indicate that Nm23-H1 downregulates alpha V intregrin expression in a dose responsive manner. In contrast, EBNA3C can upregulate alpha V integrin expression. Furthermore, the study showed that the association of the Sp1 and GATA transcription factors with Nm23-H1 is required for modulation of the alpha V integrin activity. Thus, these results suggest a direct correlation between the alpha V integrin expression and the interaction of Nm23-H1 with EBNA3C

  7. Cosmology based on f(R) gravity admits 1 eV sterile neutrinos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motohashi, Hayato; Starobinsky, Alexei A; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

    2013-03-22

    It is shown that the tension between recent neutrino oscillation experiments, favoring sterile neutrinos with masses of the order of 1 eV, and cosmological data which impose stringent constraints on neutrino masses from the free streaming suppression of density fluctuations, can be resolved in models of the present accelerated expansion of the Universe based on f(R) gravity.

  8. Screening of random peptide library of hemagglutinin from pandemic 2009 A(H1N1 influenza virus reveals unexpected antigenically important regions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanghui Xu

    Full Text Available The antigenic structure of the membrane protein hemagglutinin (HA from the 2009 A(H1N1 influenza virus was dissected with a high-throughput screening method using complex antisera. The approach involves generating yeast cell libraries displaying a pool of random peptides of controllable lengths on the cell surface, followed by one round of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS against antisera from mouse, goat and human, respectively. The amino acid residue frequency appearing in the antigenic peptides at both the primary sequence and structural level was determined and used to identify "hot spots" or antigenically important regions. Unexpectedly, different antigenic structures were seen for different antisera. Moreover, five antigenic regions were identified, of which all but one are located in the conserved HA stem region that is responsible for membrane fusion. Our findings are corroborated by several recent studies on cross-neutralizing H1 subtype antibodies that recognize the HA stem region. The antigenic peptides identified may provide clues for creating peptide vaccines with better accessibility to memory B cells and better induction of cross-neutralizing antibodies than the whole HA protein. The scheme used in this study enables a direct mapping of the antigenic regions of viral proteins recognized by antisera, and may be useful for dissecting the antigenic structures of other viral proteins.

  9. fMRI orientation decoding in V1 does not require global maps or globally coherent orientation stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alink, Arjen; Krugliak, Alexandra; Walther, Alexander; Kriegeskorte, Nikolaus

    2013-01-01

    The orientation of a large grating can be decoded from V1 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, even at low resolution (3-mm isotropic voxels). This finding has suggested that columnar-level neuronal information might be accessible to fMRI at 3T. However, orientation decodability might alternatively arise from global orientation-preference maps. Such global maps across V1 could result from bottom-up processing, if the preferences of V1 neurons were biased toward particular orientations (e.g., radial from fixation, or cardinal, i.e., vertical or horizontal). Global maps could also arise from local recurrent or top-down processing, reflecting pre-attentive perceptual grouping, attention spreading, or predictive coding of global form. Here we investigate whether fMRI orientation decoding with 2-mm voxels requires (a) globally coherent orientation stimuli and/or (b) global-scale patterns of V1 activity. We used opposite-orientation gratings (balanced about the cardinal orientations) and spirals (balanced about the radial orientation), along with novel patch-swapped variants of these stimuli. The two stimuli of a patch-swapped pair have opposite orientations everywhere (like their globally coherent parent stimuli). However, the two stimuli appear globally similar, a patchwork of opposite orientations. We find that all stimulus pairs are robustly decodable, demonstrating that fMRI orientation decoding does not require globally coherent orientation stimuli. Furthermore, decoding remained robust after spatial high-pass filtering for all stimuli, showing that fine-grained components of the fMRI patterns reflect visual orientations. Consistent with previous studies, we found evidence for global radial and vertical preference maps in V1. However, these were weak or absent for patch-swapped stimuli, suggesting that global preference maps depend on globally coherent orientations and might arise through recurrent or top-down processes related to the perception of

  10. Reversible conformational change in herpes simplex virus glycoprotein B with fusion-from-without activity is triggered by mildly acidic pH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Anthony V

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The pre-fusion form of the herpes simplex virus (HSV fusion protein gB undergoes pH-triggered conformational change in vitro and during viral entry (Dollery et al., J. Virol. 84:3759-3766, 2010. The antigenic structure of gB from the fusion-from-without (FFWO strain of HSV-1, ANG path, resembles wild type gB that has undergone pH-triggered changes. Together, changes in the antigenic and oligomeric conformation of gB correlate with fusion activity. We tested whether the pre-fusion form of FFWO gB undergoes altered conformational change in response to low pH. Results A pH of 5.5 - 6.0 altered the conformation of Domains I and V of FFWO gB, which together comprise the functional region containing the hydrophobic fusion loops. The ANG path gB oligomer was altered at a similar pH. All changes were reversible. In wild type HSV lacking the UL45 protein, which has been implicated in gB-mediated fusion, gB still underwent pH-triggered changes. ANG path entry was inactivated by pretreatment of virions with low pH. Conclusion The pre-fusion conformation of gB with enhanced fusion activity undergoes alteration in antigenic structure and oligomeric conformation in response to acidic pH. We propose that endosomal pH triggers conformational change in mutant gB with FFWO activity in a manner similar to wild type. Differences apart from this trigger may account for the increased fusion activity of FFWO gB.

  11. Initial investigation of 18F-NaF PET/CT for identification of vertebral sites amenable to surgical revision after spinal fusion surgery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quon, Andrew; Iagaru, Andrei; Dodd, Robert; Abreu, Marcelo Rodrigues de; Sprinz, Clarice; Hennemann, Sergio; Alves Neto, Jose Maria

    2012-01-01

    A pilot study was performed in patients with recurrent back pain after spinal fusion surgery to evaluate the ability of 18 F-NaF PET/CT imaging to correctly identify those requiring surgical intervention and to locate a site amenable to surgical intervention. In this prospective study 22 patients with recurrent back pain after spinal surgery and with equivocal findings on physical examination and CT were enrolled for evaluation with 18 F-NaF PET/CT. All PET/CT images were prospectively reviewed with the primary objective of identifying or ruling out the presence of lesions amenable to surgical intervention. The PET/CT results were then validated during surgical exploration or clinical follow-up of at least 15 months. Abnormal 18 F-NaF foci were found in 16 of the 22 patients, and surgical intervention was recommended. These foci were located at various sites: screws, cages, rods, fixation hardware, and bone grafts. In 6 of the 22 patients no foci requiring surgical intervention were found. Validation of the results by surgery (15 patients) or on clinical follow-up (7 patients) showed that 18 F-NaF PET/CT correctly predicted the presence of an abnormality requiring surgical intervention in 15 of 16 patients and was falsely positive in 1 of 16. In this initial investigation, 18 F-NaF PET/CT imaging showed potential utility for evaluation of recurrent symptoms after spinal fusion surgery by identifying those patients requiring surgical management. (orig.)

  12. Binding of cholesterol and inhibitory peptide derivatives with the fusogenic hydrophobic sequence of F-glycoprotein of HVJ (Sendai virus): possible implication in the fusion reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asano, K.; Asano, A.

    1988-01-01

    Specificity of the binding of sterols and related compounds with purified F-protein (fusion protein) of the HVJ (Sendai virus) was studied by binding competition with [ 3 H] cholesterol. Requirement for cholesterol or the A/B ring trans structure and nonrequirement for the 3-hydroxyl group were found in this binding. Binding of 125 I-labeled Z-Phe-Tyr, an inhibitory peptide of viral membrane-cell membrane fusion, was studied by using purified proteins and virions. F-Protein and virions showed a specific binding with the peptide, whereas the result was negative with hemagglutinin and neuraminidase protein. Thermolysin-truncated F-protein (an F-protein derivative deprived of a 2.5-kDa fragment from the N-terminal of the F 1 subunit and without fusogenic activity) exhibited a considerably diminished binding ability both to cholesterol and to inhibitory peptides. Therefore, the N-terminal hydrophobic sequence that was previously assigned as fusogenic seems to be the binding site of these molecules. In support of this, the binding of cholesterol with F-protein was inhibited by Z-Phe-Tyr and other fusion inhibitory peptides, whereas it was not affected with non-fusion-inhibitory Z-Gly-Phe. These results are discussed in relation to the notion that the binding of the N-terminal portion of the F 1 subunit of F-protein with cholesterol in the target cell membranes facilitiates the fusion reaction

  13. Fusion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen 85A to an oligomerization domain enhances its immunogenicity in both mice and non-human primates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra J Spencer

    Full Text Available To prevent important infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV, vaccines inducing greater T cell responses are required. In this study, we investigated whether fusion of the M. tuberculosis antigen 85A to recently described adjuvant IMX313, a hybrid avian C4bp oligomerization domain, could increase T cell responses in pre-clinical vaccine model species. In mice, the fused antigen 85A showed consistent increases in CD4(+ and CD8(+ T cell responses after DNA and MVA vaccination. In rhesus macaques, higher IFN-γ responses were observed in animals vaccinated with MVA-Ag85A IMX313 after both primary and secondary immunizations. In both animal models, fusion to IMX313 induced a quantitative enhancement in the response without altering its quality: multifunctional cytokines were uniformly increased and differentiation into effector and memory T cell subsets was augmented rather than skewed. An extensive in vivo characterization suggests that IMX313 improves the initiation of immune responses as an increase in antigen 85A specific cells was observed as early as day 3 after vaccination. This report demonstrates that antigen multimerization using IMX313 is a simple and effective cross-species method to improve vaccine immunogenicity with potentially broad applicability.

  14. Characterization and immunogenicity of rLipL32/1-LipL21-OmpL1/2 fusion protein as a novel immunogen for a vaccine against Leptospirosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao Xin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Vaccination is an effective strategy to prevent leptospirosis, a global zoonotic disease caused by infection with pathogenic Leptospira species. However, the currently used multiple-valence vaccine, which is prepared with whole cells of several Leptospira serovars, has major side effects, while its cross-immunogenicity among different Leptospira serovars is weak. LipL32, LipL21 and 2 OmpL1 have been confirmed as surface-exposed antigens in all pathogenic Leptospira strains, but their immunoprotective efficiency needs to be improved. In the present study, we generated a fusion gene lipL32/1-lipL21-ompL1/2 using primer-linking PCR and an engineered E. coli strain to express the recombinant fusion protein rLipL32/1-LipL21-OmpL1/2 (rLLO. Subsequently, the expression conditions were optimized using a central composite design that increased the fusion protein yield 2.7-fold. Western blot assays confirmed that rLLO was recognized by anti-rLipL32/1, anti-rLipL21, and anti-rOmpL1/2 sera as well as 98.5% of the sera from leptospirosis patients. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT demonstrated that rLLO antiserum had a stronger ability to agglutinate the strains of different Leptospira serovars than the rLipL32/1, rLipL21, and rOmpL1/2 antisera. More importantly, tests in hamsters showed that rLLO provided higher immunoprotective rates (91.7% than rLipL32/1, rLipL21 and rOmpL1/2 (50.0-75.0%. All the data indicate that rLLO, a recombinant fusion protein incorporating three antigens, has increased antigenicity and immunoprotective effects, and so can be used as a novel immunogen to develop a universal genetically engineered vaccine against leptospirosis.

  15. 1.5-V-threshold-voltage Schottky barrier normally-off AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors with f T/f max of 41/125 GHz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Bin; Ma, Xiaohua; Yang, Ling; Zhu, Jiejie; Zhu, Qing; Chen, Lixiang; Mi, Minhan; Zhang, Hengshuang; Zhang, Meng; Zhang, Peng; Zhou, Xiaowei; Hao, Yue

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, a normally-off AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT) fabricated using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) CF4 plasma recessing and an implantation technique is reported. A gate-to-channel distance of ˜10 nm and an equivalent negative fluorine sheet charge density of -1.21 × 1013 cm-2 extracted using a simple threshold voltage (V th) analytical model result in a high V th of 1.5 V, a peak transconductance of 356 mS/mm, and a subthreshold slope of 133 mV/decade. A small degradation of channel mobility leads to a high RF performance with f T/f max of 41/125 GHz, resulting in a record high f T × L g product of 10.66 GHz·µm among Schottky barrier AlGaN/GaN normally-off HEMTs with V th exceeding 1 V, to the best of our knowledge.

  16. Fusion energy 1996. V. 1. Proceedings of the 16. international conference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    The sixteenth International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fusion Energy Conference was held in Montreal, Canada, from 7 to 11 October 1996. The conference, which was attended by some 500 participants from over thirty countries and two international organizations, was organized by the IAEA in cooperation with the Centre canadien de fusion magnetique and the Canadian National Fusion Program. Some 270 papers were presented in 19 oral and 8 poster sessions on magnetic and inertial confinement systems, plasma theory, computer modelling, alternative confinement approaches, fusion technology and future experiments. Refs, figs, tabs

  17. Effects of sequence changes in the HIV-1 gp41 fusion peptide on CCR5 inhibitor resistance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anastassopoulou, Cleo G.; Ketas, Thomas J.; Sanders, Rogier W.; Johan Klasse, Per; Moore, John P.

    2012-01-01

    A rare pathway of HIV-1 resistance to small molecule CCR5 inhibitors such as Vicriviroc (VCV) involves changes solely in the gp41 fusion peptide (FP). Here, we show that the G516V change is critical to VCV resistance in PBMC and TZM-bl cells, although it must be accompanied by either M518V or F519I to have a substantial impact. Modeling VCV inhibition data from the two cell types indicated that G516V allows both double mutants to use VCV-CCR5 complexes for entry. The model further identified F519I as an independent determinant of preference for the unoccupied, high-VCV affinity form of CCR5. From inhibitor-free reversion cultures, we also identified a substitution in the inner domain of gp120, T244A, which appears to counter the resistance phenotype created by the FP substitutions. Examining the interplay of these changes will enhance our understanding of Env complex interactions that influence both HIV-1 entry and resistance to CCR5 inhibitors.

  18. Increasing vaccine potency through exosome antigen targeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartman, Zachary C; Wei, Junping; Glass, Oliver K; Guo, Hongtao; Lei, Gangjun; Yang, Xiao-Yi; Osada, Takuya; Hobeika, Amy; Delcayre, Alain; Le Pecq, Jean-Bernard; Morse, Michael A; Clay, Timothy M; Lyerly, Herbert K

    2011-11-21

    While many tumor associated antigens (TAAs) have been identified in human cancers, efforts to develop efficient TAA "cancer vaccines" using classical vaccine approaches have been largely ineffective. Recently, a process to specifically target proteins to exosomes has been established which takes advantage of the ability of the factor V like C1C2 domain of lactadherin to specifically address proteins to exosomes. Using this approach, we hypothesized that TAAs could be targeted to exosomes to potentially increase their immunogenicity, as exosomes have been demonstrated to traffic to antigen presenting cells (APC). To investigate this possibility, we created adenoviral vectors expressing the extracellular domain (ECD) of two non-mutated TAAs often found in tumors of cancer patients, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and HER2, and coupled them to the C1C2 domain of lactadherin. We found that these C1C2 fusion proteins had enhanced expression in exosomes in vitro. We saw significant improvement in antigen specific immune responses to each of these antigens in naïve and tolerant transgenic animal models and could further demonstrate significantly enhanced therapeutic anti-tumor effects in a human HER2+ transgenic animal model. These findings demonstrate that the mode of secretion and trafficking can influence the immunogenicity of different human TAAs, and may explain the lack of immunogenicity of non-mutated TAAs found in cancer patients. They suggest that exosomal targeting could enhance future anti-tumor vaccination protocols. This targeting exosome process could also be adapted for the development of more potent vaccines in some viral and parasitic diseases where the classical vaccine approach has demonstrated limitations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. v-SNAREs control exocytosis of vesicles from priming to fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borisovska, Maria; Zhao, Ying; Tsytsyura, Yaroslav; Glyvuk, Nataliya; Takamori, Shigeo; Matti, Ulf; Rettig, Jens; Südhof, Thomas; Bruns, Dieter

    2005-06-15

    SNARE proteins (soluble NSF-attachment protein receptors) are thought to be central components of the exocytotic mechanism in neurosecretory cells, but their precise function remained unclear. Here, we show that each of the vesicle-associated SNARE proteins (v-SNARE) of a chromaffin granule, synaptobrevin II or cellubrevin, is sufficient to support Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis and to establish a pool of primed, readily releasable vesicles. In the absence of both proteins, secretion is abolished, without affecting biogenesis or docking of granules indicating that v-SNAREs are absolutely required for granule exocytosis. We find that synaptobrevin II and cellubrevin differentially control the pool of readily releasable vesicles and show that the v-SNARE's amino terminus regulates the vesicle's primed state. We demonstrate that dynamics of fusion pore dilation are regulated by v-SNAREs, indicating their action throughout exocytosis from priming to fusion of vesicles.

  20. Plasma-Jet Magneto-Inertial Fusion Burn Calculations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santarius, John

    2010-11-01

    Several issues exist related to using plasma jets to implode a Magneto-Inertial Fusion (MIF) liner onto a magnetized plasmoid and compress it to fusion-relevant temperatures [1]. The poster will explore how well the liner's inertia provides transient plasma confinement and affects the burn dynamics. The investigation uses the University of Wisconsin's 1-D Lagrangian radiation-hydrodynamics code, BUCKY, which solves single-fluid equations of motion with ion-electron interactions, PdV work, table-lookup equations of state, fast-ion energy deposition, pressure contributions from all species, and one or two temperatures. Extensions to the code include magnetic field evolution as the plasmoid compresses plus dependence of the thermal conductivity on the magnetic field. [4pt] [1] Y.C. F. Thio, et al.,``Magnetized Target Fusion in a Spheroidal Geometry with Standoff Drivers,'' in Current Trends in International Fusion Research, E. Panarella, ed. (National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 1999), p. 113.

  1. Jak2 46/1 Haplotype Is Associated With Jak2 V617f--positive Myeloproliferative Neoplasms In Brazilian Patients.

    OpenAIRE

    Macedo, L C; Santos, B C; Pagliarini-e-Silva, S; Pagnano, K B B; Rodrigues, C; Quintero, F C; Ferreira, M E; Baraldi, E C; Ambrosio-Albuquerque, E P; Sell, A M; Visentainer, J E L

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to verify the association between the JAK2 46/1 haplotype (V617F positive) and some hematological parameters in BCR-ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (cMPNs) in our population. The blood samples obtained from the patients with cMPN were genotyped for the JAK2 V617F mutation and JAK2 rs10974944 SNP screening using a PCR-RFLP assay. The JAK2 V617F mutation was detected in 80.15% of patients. The G variant of rs10974944 was more frequent in all MPNs, especially t...

  2. PAX-FOXO1 fusion status drives unfavorable outcome for children with rhabdomyosarcoma: a children's oncology group report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skapek, Stephen X; Anderson, James; Barr, Frederic G; Bridge, Julia A; Gastier-Foster, Julie M; Parham, David M; Rudzinski, Erin R; Triche, Timothy; Hawkins, Douglas S

    2013-09-01

    Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is divided into two major histological subtypes: alveolar (ARMS) and embryonal (ERMS), with most ARMS expressing one of two oncogenic genes fusing PAX3 or PAX7 with FOXO1 (P3F and P7F, respectively). The Children's Oncology Group (COG) carried out a multi-institutional clinical trial to evaluate the prognostic value of PAX-FOXO1 fusion status. Study participants were treated on COG protocol D9803 for intermediate risk ARMS or ERMS using multi-agent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Central diagnostic pathology review and molecular testing for fusion genes were carried out on prospectively collected specimens. Event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS) at 5 years were correlated with histological subtype and PAX-FOXO1 status. Of 616 eligible D9803 enrollees, 434 cases had adequate clinical, molecular, and pathology data for definitive classification as ERMS, ARMS P3F+ or P7F+, or ARMSn (without detectable fusion). EFS was worse for those with ARMS P3F+ (54%) and P7F+ (65%) than those with ERMS (77%; P < 0.001). EFS for ARMSn and ERMS were not statistically different (90% vs. 77%, P = 0.15). ARMS P3F+ had poorer OS (64%) than ARMS P7F+ (87%), ARMSn (89%), and ERMS (82%; P = 0.006). ARMSn has an outcome similar to ERMS and superior EFS compared to ARMS with either P3F or P7F, when given therapy designed for children with intermediate risk RMS. This prospective analysis supports incorporation of PAX-FOXO1 fusion status into risk stratification and treatment allocation. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Constacyclic codes over the ring F_q+v{F}_q+v2F_q and their applications of constructing new non-binary quantum codes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Fanghui; Gao, Jian; Fu, Fang-Wei

    2018-06-01

    Let R={F}_q+v{F}_q+v2{F}_q be a finite non-chain ring, where q is an odd prime power and v^3=v. In this paper, we propose two methods of constructing quantum codes from (α +β vv2)-constacyclic codes over R. The first one is obtained via the Gray map and the Calderbank-Shor-Steane construction from Euclidean dual-containing (α +β vv2)-constacyclic codes over R. The second one is obtained via the Gray map and the Hermitian construction from Hermitian dual-containing (α +β vv2)-constacyclic codes over R. As an application, some new non-binary quantum codes are obtained.

  4. 13.-20. VI võtab ehtekunstnike rühmitus F.F.F.F....

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2004-01-01

    Rühmitus F.F.F.F. (Ketli Tiitsar, Kristi Paap, Kaire Rannik, Berit Teeäär, Maria Valdma) võtab osa Bostonis toimuvast rahvusvahelisest ehtekunstinäitusest ja konverentsist "ContacT 2004", juhendab Massachusetts College of Art üliõpilastele ja kunstnikele korraldatud workshop'i "SWOP". Bakalar Gallerys esineb rühmitus näitusega "Igapäevaleib", osalejate individuaalset loomingut eksponeerib galerii Mobilia

  5. Fusion Technology 1996. Proceedings. Volume 1 and 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varandas, C.; Serra, F.

    1997-01-01

    The objective of these proceedings was to provide a platform for the exchange of information on the design, construction and operation of fusion experiments. The technology which is being developed for the next step devices and fusion reactors was also covered. Sections in volume 1 concern (A) first wall, divertors and vacuum systems; (B) plasma heating and control; (C) plasma engineering and control; and (D) experimental systems. The sections in volume 2 deal with (E) magnet and related power supplies; (F) fuel cycle and tritium processing systems; (G) blanket technology/materials; (H) assembly, remote handling and waste management and storage; and (I) safety and environment, and reactor studies

  6. California serogroup GC (G1) glycoprotein is the principal determinant of pH-dependent cell fusion and entry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plassmeyer, Matthew L.; Soldan, Samantha S.; Stachelek, Karen M.; Martin-Garcia, Julio; Gonzalez-Scarano, Francisco

    2005-01-01

    Members of the California serogroup of orthobunyaviruses, particularly La Crosse (LAC) and Tahyna (TAH) viruses, are significant human pathogens in areas where their mosquito vectors are endemic. Previous studies using wild-type LAC and TAH181/57, a highly neurovirulent strain with low neuroinvasiveness (Janssen, R., Gonzalez-Scarano, F., Nathanson, N., 1984. Mechanisms of bunyavirus virulence. Comparative pathogenesis of a virulent strain of La Crosse and an avirulent strain of Tahyna virus. Lab. Invest. 50 (4), 447-455), have demonstrated that the neuroinvasive phenotype maps to the M segment, the segment that encodes the two viral glycoproteins GN (G2) and GC (G1), as well as a non-structural protein NSm. To further define the role of GN and GC in fusion and entry, we prepared a panel of recombinant M segment constructs using LAC, TAH181/57, and V22F, a monoclonal-resistant variant of LAC with deficient fusion function. These M segment constructs were then tested in two surrogate assays for virus entry: a cell-to-cell fusion assay based on T7-luciferase expression, and a pseudotype transduction assay based on the incorporation of the bunyavirus glycoproteins on an MLV backbone. Both assays demonstrated that GC is the principal determinant of virus fusion and cell entry, and furthermore that the region delineated by amino acids 860-1442, corresponding to the membrane proximal two-thirds of GC, is key to these processes. These results, coupled with structural modeling suggesting homologies between the carboxy region of GC and Sindbis virus E1, suggest that the LAC GC functions as a type II fusion protein

  7. Plasma physics and controlled nuclear fusion research 1990. V. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    Volume 1 of the Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research contains papers given in two of the sessions: A and E. Session A contains the Artsimovich Memorial Lecture and papers on tokamaks; session E papers on plasma heating and current drive. The titles and authors of each paper are listed in the Contents. Abstracts accompany each paper. Refs, figs and tabs

  8. PAX-FOXO1 Fusion Status Drives Unfavorable Outcome for Children With Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Children’s Oncology Group Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skapek, Stephen X.; Anderson, James; Barr, Frederic G.; Bridge, Julia A.; Gastier-Foster, Julie M.; Parham, David M.; Rudzinski, Erin R.; Triche, Timothy; Hawkins, Douglas S.

    2015-01-01

    Background Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is divided into two major histological subtypes: alveolar (ARMS) and embryonal (ERMS), with most ARMS expressing one of two oncogenic genes fusing PAX3 or PAX7 with FOXO1 (P3F and P7F, respectively). The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) carried out a multi-institutional clinical trial to evaluate the prognostic value of PAX-FOXO1 fusion status. Methods Study participants were treated on COG protocol D9803 for intermediate risk ARMS or ERMS using multi-agent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Central diagnostic pathology review and molecular testing for fusion genes were carried out on prospectively collected specimens. Event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS) at 5 years were correlated with histological subtype and PAX-FOXO1 status. Results Of 616 eligible D9803 enrollees, 434 cases had adequate clinical, molecular, and pathology data for definitive classification as ERMS, ARMS P3F+ or P7F+, or ARMSn (without detectable fusion). EFS was worse for those with ARMS P3F+ (54%) and P7F+ (65%) than those with ERMS (77%; P < 0.001). EFS for ARMSn and ERMS were not statistically different (90% vs. 77%, P = 0.15). ARMS P3F+had poorer OS (64%) than ARMS P7F+ (87%), ARMSn (89%), and ERMS (82%; P = 0.006). Conclusions ARMSn has an outcome similar to ERMS and superior EFS compared to ARMS with either P3F or P7F, when given therapy designed for children with intermediate risk RMS. This prospective analysis supports incorporation of PAX-FOXO1 fusion status into risk stratification and treatment allocation. PMID:23526739

  9. A novel strategy to improve antigen presentation for active immunotherapy in cancer. Fusion of the human papillomavirus type 16 E7 antigen to a cell penetrating peptide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Granadillo, Milaid; Torrens, Isis; Guerra, Maribel

    2012-01-01

    Facilitating the delivery of exogenous antigens to antigen-presenting cells, ensuing processing and presentation via the major histocompatibility complex class I and induction of an effective immune response are fundamental for an effective therapeutic cancer vaccine. In this regard, we propose the use of cell-penetrating peptides fused to a tumor antigen. To demonstrate this concept we designed a fusion protein comprising a novel cell-penetrating and immunostimulatory peptide corresponding to residues 32 to 51 of the Limulus anti-lipopolysaccharide factor protein (LALF 32-51 ) linked to human papillomavirus 16 E7 antigen (LALF 32-51 -E7). In this work, we demonstrated that the immunization with LALF 32-51 -E7 using the TC-1 mouse model induces a potent and long-lasting anti-tumor response supported on an effective E7-specific CD8 +T -cell response. The finding that therapeutic immunization with LALF 32-51 or E7 alone, or an admixture of LALF32-51 and E7, does not induce significant tumor reduction indicates that covalent linkage between LALF 32-51 and E7 is required for the anti-tumor effect. These results support the use of this novel cell-penetrating peptide as an efficient means for delivering therapeutic targets into cellular compartments with the induction of a cytotoxic CD8 +T lymphocyte immune response. This approach is promissory for the treatment of tumors associated with the human papillomavirus 16, which is responsible for the 50% of cervical cancer cases worldwide and other malignancies. Furthermore, protein-based vaccines can circumvent the major histocompatibility complex specificity limitation associated with peptide vaccines providing a greater extent in their application

  10. ICF burn-history measurments using 17-MeV fusion gamma rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lerche, R.A.; Cable, M.D.; Dendooven, P.G.

    1995-01-01

    Fusion reaction rate for inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at the Nova Laser Facility is measured with 30-ps resolution using a high-speed neutron detector. We are investigating a measurement technique based on the 16.7-MeV gamma rays that are released in deuterium-tritium fusion. Our concept is to convert gamma-ray energy into a fast burst of Cerenkov light that can be recorded with a high-speed optical detector. We have detected fusion gamma rays in preliminary experiments conducted at Nova where we used a tungsten/aerogel converter to generate Cerenkov light and an optical streak camera to record the signal

  11. Near term, low cost, 14 MeV fusion neutron irradiation facility for testing the viability of fusion structural materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kulcinski, Gerald L., E-mail: glkulcin@wisc.edu [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI (United States); Radel, Ross F. [Phoenix Nuclear Labs LLC, Monona, WI (United States); Davis, Andrew [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI (United States)

    2016-11-01

    For over 50 years, engineers have been looking for an irradiation facility that can provide a fusion reactor appropriate neutron spectrum over a significant volume to test fusion reactor materials that is relatively inexpensive and can be built in a minimum of time. The 14 MeV neutron irradiation facility described here can nearly exactly duplicate the neutron spectrum typical of a DT fusion reactor first wall at damage rates of ≈4 displacements per atom and 40 appm He generated over a 2 l volume per full power year of operation. The projected cost of this multi-beam facility is estimated at ≈$20 million and it can be built in <4 years. A single-beam prototype, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is already being built to produce medical isotopes. The neutrons are produced by a 300 keV deuterium beam accelerated into 4 kPa (30 Torr) tritium target. The total tritium inventory is <2 g and <0.1 g of T{sub 2} is consumed per year. The core technology proposed has already been fully demonstrated, and no new plasma physics or materials innovations will be required for the test facility to become operational.

  12. Production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the fusion protein CusF3H.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Zarate, Xristo

    2017-04-01

    Recombinant protein expression in the bacterium Escherichia coli still is the number one choice for large-scale protein production. Nevertheless, many complications can arise using this microorganism, such as low yields, the formation of inclusion bodies, and the requirement for difficult purification steps. Most of these problems can be solved with the use of fusion proteins. Here, the use of the metal-binding protein CusF3H+ is described as a new fusion protein for recombinant protein expression and purification in E. coli. We have previously shown that CusF produces large amounts of soluble protein, with low levels of formation of inclusion bodies, and that proteins can be purified using IMAC resins charged with Cu(II) ions. CusF3H+ is an enhanced variant of CusF, formed by the addition of three histidine residues at the N-terminus. These residues then can bind Ni(II) ions allowing improved purity after affinity chromatography. Expression and purification of Green Fluorescent Protein tagged with CusF3H+ showed that the mutation did not alter the capacity of the fusion protein to increase protein expression, and purity improved considerably after affinity chromatography with immobilized nickel ions; high yields are obtained after tag-removal since CusF3H+ is a small protein of just 10 kDa. Furthermore, the results of experiments involving expression of tagged proteins having medium to large molecular weights indicate that the presence of the CusF3H+ tag improves protein solubility, as compared to a His-tag. We therefore endorse CusF3H+ as a useful alternative fusion protein/affinity tag for production of recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Cosmology based on f(R) gravity with O(1) eV sterile neutrino

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chudaykin, Anton S.; Gorbunov, Dmitry S. [Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 60th October Anniversary prospect 7a, Moscow 117312 (Russian Federation); Starobinsky, Alexei A. [L.D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119334 (Russian Federation); Burenin, Rodion A., E-mail: chudy@ms2.inr.ac.ru, E-mail: gorby@ms2.inr.ac.ru, E-mail: alstar@landau.ac.ru, E-mail: rodion@hea.iki.rssi.ru [Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI), Moscow, ul. Profsoyuznaya, 84/32, 117997 (Russian Federation)

    2015-05-01

    We address the cosmological role of an additional O(1) eV sterile neutrino in modified gravity models. We confront the present cosmological data with predictions of the FLRW cosmological model based on a variant of f(R) modified gravity proposed by one of the authors previously. This viable cosmological model which deviation from general relativity with a cosmological constant Λ decreases as R{sup −2n} for large, but not too large values of the Ricci scalar R (while no Λ is introduced by hand at small R) provides an alternative explanation of present dark energy and the accelerated expansion of the Universe (the case n=2 is considered in the paper). Various up-to-date cosmological data sets exploited include measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy, the CMB lensing potential, the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), the cluster mass function and the Hubble constant. We find that the CMB+BAO constraints strongly restrict the sum of neutrino masses from above. This excludes values of the model parameter λ∼ 1 for which distinctive cosmological features of the model are mostly pronounced as compared to the ΛCDM model, since then free streaming damping of perturbations due to neutrino rest masses is not sufficient to compensate their extra growth occurring in f(R) modified gravity. Thus, in the gravity sector we obtain λ>8.2 (2σ) with the account of systematic uncertainties in galaxy cluster mass function measurements and λ>9.4 (2σ) without them. At the same time in the latter case we find for the sterile neutrino mass 0.47 eV < m{sub ν, sterile} < 1 eV (2σ) assuming that the sterile neutrinos are thermalized and the active neutrinos are massless, not significantly larger than in the standard ΛCDM with the same data set: 0.45 eV < m{sub ν, sterile} < 0.92 eV (2σ). However, a possible discovery of a sterile neutrino with the mass m{sub ν, sterile} ≈ 1.5 eV motivated by various anomalies in neutrino oscillation

  14. Fast power cycle for fusion reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Powell, J.; Fillo, J.; Makowitz, H.

    1978-01-01

    The unique, deep penetration capability of 14 MeV neutrons produced in DT fusion reactions allows the generation of very high temperature working fluid temperatures in a thermal power cycle. In the FAST (Fusion Augmented Steam Turbine) power cycle steam is directly superheated by the high temperature ceramic refractory interior of the blanket, after being generated by heat extracted from the relatively cool blanket structure. The steam is then passed to a high temperature gas turbine for power generation. Cycle studies have been carried out for a range of turbine inlet temperatures [1600 0 F to 3000 0 F (870 to 1650 0 C)], number of reheats, turbine mechanical efficiency, recuperator effectiveness, and system pressure losses. Gross cycle efficiency is projected to be in the range of 55 to 60%, (fusion energy to electric power), depending on parameters selected. Turbine inlet temperatures above 2000 0 F, while they do increase efficiency somewhat, are not necessarily for high cycle efficiency

  15. Measurement of the 19F(n,2n)18F cross section from 18 to 27 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartmann, C.L.; DeLuca, P.M. Jr.

    1990-01-01

    the 19 F(n,2n) 18 F cross section was measured at neutron energies of 18, 21, 23, and 27 MeV. Nearly monoenergetic neutrons bombarded teflon (CF 2 ), Zr, and Au samples. 19 F(n,2n) 18 F cross section values were determined relative to nat Zr(n,xn) 89 Zr and 197 Au(n,2n) 196 Au from measurements of the 18 F, 89 Zr, and 196 Au activities. Our results are in agreement with previous measurements below 20 MeV and extend the usefulness of this reaction to 27 MeV. 22 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

  16. V-set and Ig domain-containing 4 (VSIG4)-expressing hepatic F4/80+ cells regulate oral antigen-specific responses in mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Wonhwa; Jeon, Youkyoung; Choi, Inhak; Kim, Yeon-Jeong

    2018-04-01

    Oral tolerance can prevent unnecessary immune responses against dietary antigens. Members of the B7 protein family play critical roles in the positive and/or negative regulation of T cell responses to interactions between APCs and T cells. V-set and Ig domain-containing 4 (VSIG4), a B7-related co-signaling molecule, has been known to act as a co-inhibitory ligand and may be critical in establishing immune tolerance. Therefore, we investigated the regulation of VSIG4 signaling in a food allergy and experimental oral tolerance murine models. We analyzed the contributions of the two main sites involved in oral tolerance, the mesenteric lymph node (MLN) and the liver, in VSIG4-mediated oral tolerance induction. Through the comparative analysis of major APCs, dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, we found that Kupffer cells play a critical role in inducing regulatory T cells (Tregs) and establishing immune tolerance against oral antigens via VSIG4 signaling. Taken together, these results suggest the possibility of VSIG4 signaling-based regulation of orally administered antigens. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. A Role of Sp1 Binding Motifs in Basal and Large T-Antigen-Induced Promoter Activities of Human Polyomavirus HPyV9 and Its Variant UF-1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ugo Moens

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Human polyomavirus 9 (HPyV9 was originally detected in the serum of a renal transplant patient. Seroepidemiological studies showed that ~20–50% of the human population have antibodies against this virus. HPyV9 has not yet been associated with any disease and little is known about the route of infection, transmission, host cell tropism, and genomic variability in circulating strains. Recently, the HPyV9 variant UF-1 with an eight base-pair deletion, a thirteen base-pair insertion and with point mutations, creating three putative Sp1 binding sites in the late promoter was isolated from an AIDS patient. Transient transfection studies with a luciferase reporter plasmid driven by HPyV9 or UF1 promoter demonstrated that UF1 early and late promoters were stronger than HPyV9 promoters in most cell lines, and that the UF1 late promoter was more potently activated by HPyV9 large T-antigen (LTAg. Mutation of two Sp1 motifs strongly reduced trans-activation of the late UF1 promoter by HPyV9 LTAg in HeLa cells. In conclusion, the mutations in the UF1 late promoter seem to strengthen its activity and its response to stimulation by HPyV9 LTAg in certain cells. It remains to be investigated whether these promoter changes have an influence on virus replication and affect the possible pathogenic properties of the virus.

  18. Chimaerism in lymph nodes of F1 into irradiated parental recipient chimaeras rejecting skin allografts from the other parent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suman, L.; Silobrcic, V.; Kastelan, A.

    1978-01-01

    Mice of the C57BL strain were irradiated with 800 R over the whole body. The next day they received i.v. a mixture of 50 x 10 6 spleen and bone marrow cells from (C57BL x CBA-T6T6)F 1 hybrid mice, and were challenged with CBA-T6T6 skin grafts later on. About 20% of the recipients rejected the CBA-T6T6 skin, whereas the others were completely tolerant for more than 200 days. By using the cytotoxic test, we found that both tolerant and nontolerant recipients were complete chimaeras, i.e., had only (C57BL x CBA-T6T6)F 1 cells in their lymph nodes. However, analysis of the same mice by the chromosome marker technique disclosed a proportion of host (C57BL) cells in lymph nodes of both tolerant and nontolerant chimaeras. The percentage of host metaphases in nontolerant chimaeras was significantly higher than that in tolerant chimaeras (P 1 cells reacting against skin-specific transplantation antigen(s) of the parental graft

  19. Atomic and plasma-material interaction data for fusion. V. 5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    Volume 5 of the supplements on ''atomic and plasma-material interaction data for fusion'' to the journal ''Nuclear Fusion'' is devoted to a critical assessment of the physical and thermo-mechanical properties of presently considered candidate plasma-facing and structural materials for next-generation thermonuclear fusion devices. It contains 9 papers. The subjects are: (i) requirements and selection criteria for plasma-facing materials and components in the ITER EDA (Engineering Design Activities) design; (ii) thermomechanical properties of Beryllium; (iii) material properties data for fusion reactor plasma-facing carbon-carbon composites; (iv) high-Z candidate plasma facing materials; (v) recommended property data for Molybdenum, Niobium and Vanadium alloys; (vi) copper alloys for high heat flux structure applications; (vii) erosion of plasma-facing materials during a tokamak disruption; (viii) runaway electron effects; and (ix) data bases for thermo-hydrodynamic coupling with coolants. Refs, figs, tabs

  20. Neutron irradiation of V-Cr-Ti alloys in the BOR-60 fast reactor: Description of the fusion-1 experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rowcliffe, A.F. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN (United States); Tsai, H.C.; Smith, D.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)] [and others

    1997-08-01

    The FUSION-1 irradiation capsule was inserted in Row 5 of the BOR-60 fast reactor in June 1995. The capsule contains a collaborative RF/U.S. experiment to investigate the irradiation performance of V-Cr-Ti alloys in the temperature range 310 to 350{degrees}C. This report describes the capsule layout, specimen fabrication history, and the detailed test matrix for the U.S. specimens. A description of the operating history and neutronics will be presented in the next semiannual report.

  1. Antigenic evaluation of a recombinant baculovirus-expressed Sarcocystis neurona SAG1 antigen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, G D; Lakritz, J; Saville, W J; Livingston, R S; Dubey, J P; Middleton, J R; Marsh, A E

    2004-10-01

    Sarcocystis neurona is the primary parasite associated with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). This is a commonly diagnosed neurological disorder in the Americas that infects the central nervous system of horses. Current serologic assays utilize culture-derived parasites as antigen. This method requires large numbers of parasites to be grown in culture, which is labor intensive and time consuming. Also, a culture-derived whole-parasite preparation contains conserved antigens that could cross-react with antibodies against other Sarcocystis species and members of Sarcocystidae such as Neospora spp., Hammondia spp., and Toxoplasma gondii. Therefore, there is a need to develop an improved method for the detection of S. neurona-specific antibodies. The sera of infected horses react strongly to surface antigen 1 (SnSAG1), an approximately 29-kDa protein, in immunoblot analysis, suggesting that it is an immunodominant antigen. The SnSAG1 gene of S. neurona was cloned, and recombinant S. neurona SAG1 protein (rSnSAG1-Bac) was expressed with the use of a baculovirus system. By immunoblot analysis, the rSnSAG1-Bac antigen detected antibodies to S. neurona from naturally infected and experimentally inoculated equids, cats, rabbit, mice, and skunk. This is the first report of a baculovirus-expressed recombinant S. neurona antigen being used to detect anti-S. neurona antibodies in a variety of host species.

  2. [Gene deletion and functional analysis of the heptyl glycosyltransferase (waaF) gene in Vibrio parahemolyticus O-antigen cluster].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Feng; Meng, Songsong; Zhou, Deqing

    2016-02-04

    To construct heptyl glycosyltransferase gene II (waaF) gene deletion mutant of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and explore the function of the waaF gene in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The waaF gene deletion mutant was constructed by chitin-based transformation technology using clinical isolates, and then the growth rate, morphology and serotypes were identified. The different sources (O3, O5 and O10) waaF gene complementations were constructed through E. coli S17λpir strains conjugative transferring with Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and the function of the waaF gene was further verified by serotypes. The waaF gene deletion mutant strain was successfully constructed and it grew normally. The growth rate and morphology of mutant were similar with the wild type strains (WT), but the mutant could not occurred agglutination reaction with O antisera. The O3 and O5 sources waaF gene complementations occurred agglutination reaction with O antisera, but the O10 sources waaF gene complementations was not. The waaF gene was related with O-antigen synthesis and it was the key gene of O-antigen synthesis pathway in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The function of different sources waaF gene were not the same.

  3. Limited antigenic variation in the Trypanosoma cruzi candidate vaccine antigen TSA-1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, J M; Zingales, B; Bottazzi, M E; Hotez, P; Zhan, B

    2014-12-01

    Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi) is one of the most important neglected tropical diseases in the Western Hemisphere. The toxicities and limited efficacies of current antitrypanosomal drugs have prompted a search for alternative technologies such as a therapeutic vaccine comprised of T. cruzi antigens, including a recombinant antigen encoding the N-terminal 65 kDa portion of Trypomastigote surface antigen-1 (TSA-1). With at least six known genetically distinct T. cruzi lineages, variability between the different lineages poses a unique challenge for the development of broadly effective therapeutic vaccine. The variability across the major lineages in the current vaccine candidate antigen TSA-1 has not previously been addressed. To assess the variation in TSA-1, we cloned and sequenced TSA-1 from several different T. cruzi strains representing three of the most clinically relevant lineages. Analysis of the different alleles showed limited variation in TSA-1 across the different strains and fit with the current theory for the evolution of the different lineages. Additionally, minimal variation in known antigenic epitopes for the HLA-A 02 allele suggests that interlineage variation in TSA-1 would not impair the range and efficacy of a vaccine containing TSA-1. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Color tuning in alert macaque V1 assessed with fMRI and single-unit recording shows a bias toward daylight colors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafer-Sousa, Rosa; Liu, Yang O; Lafer-Sousa, Luis; Wiest, Michael C; Conway, Bevil R

    2012-05-01

    Colors defined by the two intermediate directions in color space, "orange-cyan" and "lime-magenta," elicit the same spatiotemporal average response from the two cardinal chromatic channels in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). While we found LGN functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to these pairs of colors were statistically indistinguishable, primary visual cortex (V1) fMRI responses were stronger to orange-cyan. Moreover, linear combinations of single-cell responses to cone-isolating stimuli of V1 cone-opponent cells also yielded stronger predicted responses to orange-cyan over lime-magenta, suggesting these neurons underlie the fMRI result. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that V1 recombines LGN signals into "higher-order" mechanisms tuned to noncardinal color directions. In light of work showing that natural images and daylight samples are biased toward orange-cyan, our findings further suggest that V1 is adapted to daylight. V1, especially double-opponent cells, may function to extract spatial information from color boundaries correlated with scene-structure cues, such as shadows lit by ambient blue sky juxtaposed with surfaces reflecting sunshine. © 2012 Optical Society of America

  5. (NH4)[V1-xIIIVxIV(AsO4)F1-xOx]: A new mixed valence vanadium(III,IV) fluoro-arsenate with ferromagnetic interactions and electronic conductivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berrocal, Teresa; Mesa, Jose L.; Pizarro, Jose L.; Bazan, Begona; Ruiz de Larramendi, Idoia; Arriortua, Maria I.; Rojo, Teofilo

    2009-01-01

    A new mixed valence vanadium(III,IV) fluoro-arsenate compound, with formula (NH 4 )[V 1-x III V x IV (AsO 4 )F 1-x O x ] and KTP structure-type, has been synthesized by mild hydrothermal techniques. The crystal structure has been solved from single crystal X-ray diffraction data in the Pna2 1 orthorhombic space group. The unit-cell parameters are a=13.196(2) A, b=6.628(1) A and c=10.7379(7) A with Z=8. The final R factors were R1=0.0438 and wR2=0.0943 [all data]. The crystal structure consists of a three-dimensional framework formed by (V III,IV O 4 F 2 ) octahedra and (AsO 4 ) 3- tetrahedra arsenate oxoanions. The vanadium(III,IV) cations, from the (V III,IV O 4 F 2 ) octahedra, are linked through the fluorine atoms giving rise to zigzag chains. The ammonium cations are located in the cavities of the structure compensating the anionic charge of the [V 1-x III V x IV (AsO 4 )F 1-x O x ] - inorganic skeleton. The thermal stability limit of the phase is 345 deg. C, around to this temperature the ammonium cation and fluoride anion are lost. The IR spectrum shows the characteristic bands of the (NH 4 ) + and (AsO 4 ) 3- ions. Magnetic measurements indicate the existence of weak ferromagnetic interactions. Electronic conductivity, via a hopping mechanism, occurs with an activation energy of 0.66 eV. - Graphical abstract: Polyhedral view of the crystal structure of (NH 4 )[V III 1-x V IV x (AsO 4 )F 1-x O x

  6. Structural characterization of respiratory syncytial virus fusion inhibitor escape mutants: homology model of the F protein and a syncytium formation assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morton, Craig J.; Cameron, Rachel; Lawrence, Lynne J.; Lin Bo; Lowe, Melinda; Luttick, Angela; Mason, Anthony; McKimm-Breschkin, Jenny; Parker, Michael W.; Ryan, Jane; Smout, Michael; Sullivan, Jayne; Tucker, Simon P.; Young, Paul R.

    2003-01-01

    Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen and the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants. Infection of cells and subsequent formation of syncytia occur through membrane fusion mediated by the RSV fusion protein (RSV-F). A novel in vitro assay of recombinant RSV-F function has been devised and used to characterize a number of escape mutants for three known inhibitors of RSV-F that have been isolated. Homology modeling of the RSV-F structure has been carried out on the basis of a chimera derived from the crystal structures of the RSV-F core and a fragment from the orthologous fusion protein from Newcastle disease virus (NDV). The structure correlates well with the appearance of RSV-F in electron micrographs, and the residues identified as contributing to specific binding sites for several monoclonal antibodies are arranged in appropriate solvent-accessible clusters. The positions of the characterized resistance mutants in the model structure identify two promising regions for the design of fusion inhibitors

  7. 1g(9/2), 1f(5/2), and 1f(7/2) neutron inner hole responses in Sn-115 and Sn-119 via the ((d)over-right-arrow,t) reaction at E-d=200 MeV

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Langevin-Joliot, H; Van de Wiele, J; Guillot, J; Gerlic, E; Rosier, LH; Willis, A; Djalali, C; Morlet, M; Tomasi-Gustafsson, E; Blasi, N; Micheletti, S; van der Werf, SY

    Neutron inner hole responses in Sn-115 and Sn-119 nuclei have been studied via the ((d) over right arrow ,t) reaction at E-d=200 MeV using a polarized beam with both vector and tensor components. One-step pickup observables corresponding to the overlapping 1g(9/2), 1f(5/2), and 1f(7/2) responses

  8. Multiepitope fusion antigen induces broadly protective antibodies that prevent adherence of Escherichia coli strains expressing colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I), CFA/II, and CFA/IV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Xiaosai; Knudsen, David E; Wollenberg, Katie M; Sack, David A; Zhang, Weiping

    2014-02-01

    Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years and continues to be a major threat to global health. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains are the most common bacteria causing diarrhea in developing countries. ETEC strains are able to attach to host small intestinal epithelial cells by using bacterial colonization factor antigen (CFA) adhesins. This attachment helps to initiate the diarrheal disease. Vaccines that induce antiadhesin immunity to block adherence of ETEC strains that express immunologically heterogeneous CFA adhesins are expected to protect against ETEC diarrhea. In this study, we created a CFA multiepitope fusion antigen (MEFA) carrying representative epitopes of CFA/I, CFA/II (CS1, CS2, and CS3), and CFA/IV (CS4, CS5, and CS6), examined its immunogenicity in mice, and assessed the potential of this MEFA as an antiadhesin vaccine against ETEC. Mice intraperitoneally immunized with this CFA MEFA exhibited no adverse effects and developed immune responses to CFA/I, CFA/II, and CFA/IV adhesins. Moreover, after incubation with serum of the immunized mice, ETEC or E. coli strains expressing CFA/I, CFA/II, or CFA/IV adhesins were significantly inhibited in adherence to Caco-2 cells. Our results indicated this CFA MEFA elicited antibodies that not only cross-reacted to CFA/I, CFA/II and CFA/IV adhesins but also broadly inhibited adherence of E. coli strains expressing these seven adhesins and suggested that this CFA MEFA could be a candidate to induce broad-spectrum antiadhesin protection against ETEC diarrhea. Additionally, this antigen construction approach (creating an MEFA) may be generally used in vaccine development against heterogenic pathogens.

  9. One-Dimensional Burn Dynamics of Plasma-Jet Magneto-Inertial Fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santarius, John

    2009-11-01

    This poster will discuss several issues related to using plasma jets to implode a Magneto-Inertial Fusion (MIF) liner onto a magnetized plasmoid and compress it to fusion-relevant temperatures [1]. The problem of pure plasma jet convergence and compression without a target present will be investigated. Cases with a target present will explore how well the liner's inertia provides transient plasma stability and confinement. The investigation uses UW's 1-D Lagrangian radiation-hydrodynamics code, BUCKY, which solves single-fluid equations of motion with ion-electron interactions, PdV work, table-lookup equations of state, fast-ion energy deposition, and pressure contributions from all species. Extensions to the code include magnetic field evolution as the plasmoid compresses plus dependence of the thermal conductivity and fusion product energy deposition on the magnetic field.[4pt] [1] Y.C. F. Thio, et al.,``Magnetized Target Fusion in a Spheroidal Geometry with Standoff Drivers,'' in Current Trends in International Fusion Research, E. Panarella, ed. (National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 1999), p. 113.

  10. Development and validation of an antigen-binding capture ELISA for native and putrescine-modified anti-tetanus F(ab')2 fragments for the assessment of the cellular uptake and plasma kinetics of the antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welfringer, Frédéric; d'Athis, Philippe; Scherrmann, Jean-Michel; Hervé, Françoise

    2005-12-20

    Cationization is a strategy to enhance the permeability of antibodies to physiological membranes for potential therapeutic and diagnostic applications of these proteins, with one of its crucial points being the retention of antigen binding activity. Here, we describe the cationization of horse polyclonal anti-tetanus F(ab')(2) fragments and the development and validation of an ELISA for quantitative measurements of the binding activity of the native and cationized F(ab')(2) in cell lysates and rat plasma samples, assessing the cellular uptake and plasma kinetics of these antibodies, respectively. The method used tetanus anatoxin coated on microtitre plates as capture antigen to bind sample or standard F(ab')(2), the amount of antibody binding being quantified using, first, a secondary biotinylated anti-horse antibody/streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase complex in situ and then a measurement of the substrate product. Cationization of the F(ab')(2) was performed with putrescine at pH 4.5 using soluble carbodiimide as carboxyl activator. The average substitution ratio was determined at 3 putrescine molecules per F(ab')(2) molecule. The cationized F(ab')(2) retained roughly 80% of the initial antigen binding activity and was stable over a 1 year period of storage at -20 degrees C. The ELISA validation data showed that the method was linear for both the native and cationized F(ab')(2) using Hanks' balanced saline solution with 0.2% bovine serum albumin as assay diluent for the cell lysate samples. The useful F(ab')(2) concentration range was 2.5-25 ng/ml and the limit of quantification was 2.5 ng/ml. With rat blank plasma used as assay diluent for the rat plasma samples the useful F(ab')(2) concentration range was 3.5-25 ng/ml and the limit of quantification was 3.5 ng/ml. Specific requirements for the limits of quantification were fulfilled: precision tetanus F(ab')(2) in an HL 60 cell model, and of plasma kinetics after i.v. administration to rats.

  11. Nanolipoprotein Particles (NLPs) as Versatile Vaccine Platforms for Co-delivery of Multiple Adjuvants with Subunit Antigens from Burkholderia spp. and F. tularensis - Annual Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, N. O. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2015-04-16

    The goal of this proposal is to demonstrate that co-localization of protein subunit antigens and adjuvants on nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs) can increase the protective efficacy of recombinant subunit antigens from Burkholderia spp. and Francisella tularensis against an aerosol challenge. NLPs are are biocompatible, high-density lipoprotein mimetics that are amenable to the incorporation of multiple, chemically-disparate adjuvant and antigen molecules. We hypothesize that the ability to co-localize optimized adjuvant formulations with subunit antigens within a single particle will enhance the stimulation and activation of key immune effector cells, increasing the protective efficacy of subunit antigen-based vaccines. While Burkholderia spp. and F. tularensis subunit antigens are the focus of this proposal, we anticipate that this approach is applicable to a wide range of DOD-relevant biothreat agents. The F344 rat aerosol challenge model for F. tularensis has been successfully established at Battelle under this contract, and Year 3 efficacy studies performed at Battelle demonstrated that an NLP vaccine formulation was able to enhance survival of female F344 rats relative to naïve animals. In addition, Year 3 focused on the incorporation of multiple Burkholderia antigens (both polysaccharides and proteins) onto adjuvanted NLPs, with immunological analysis poised to begin in the next quarter.

  12. The nectin-1α transmembrane domain, but not the cytoplasmic tail, influences cell fusion induced by HSV-1 glycoproteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Subramanian, Ravi P.; Dunn, Jennifer E.; Geraghty, Robert J.

    2005-01-01

    Nectin-1 is a receptor for herpes simplex virus (HSV), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, and a cellular adhesion molecule. To study domains of nectin-1α involved in cell fusion, we measured the ability of nectin-1α/nectin-2α chimeras, nectin-1α/CD4 chimeras, and transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic tail mutants of nectin-1α to promote cell fusion induced by HSV-1 glycoproteins. Our results demonstrate that only chimeras and mutants containing the entire V-like domain and a link to the plasma membrane conferred cell-fusion activity. The transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic tail of nectin-1 were not required for any viral receptor or cell adhesion function tested. Cellular cytoplasmic factors that bind to the nectin-1α cytoplasmic tail, therefore, did not influence virus entry or cell fusion. Interestingly, the efficiency of cell fusion was reduced when membrane-spanning domains of nectin-1α and gD were replaced by glycosylphosphatidylinositol tethers, indicating that transmembrane domains may play a modulatory role in the gD/nectin-1α interaction in fusion

  13. Blockade of CD26-mediated T cell costimulation with soluble caveolin-1-Ig fusion protein induces anergy in CD4{sup +}T cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohnuma, Kei [Department of Rheumatology and Allergy, Research Hospital, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Division of Clinical Immunology, The Advanced Clinical Research Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Uchiyama, Masahiko [Department of Rheumatology and Allergy, Research Hospital, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Department of Computational Intelligence and System Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8503 (Japan); Hatano, Ryo; Takasawa, Wataru; Endo, Yuko [Department of Rheumatology and Allergy, Research Hospital, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Dang, Nam H. [Department of Hematologic Malignancies, Nevada Cancer Institute, Las Vegas, NV 89135 (United States); Morimoto, Chikao, E-mail: morimoto@ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Rheumatology and Allergy, Research Hospital, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Division of Clinical Immunology, The Advanced Clinical Research Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan)

    2009-08-21

    CD26 binds to caveolin-1 in antigen-presenting cells (APC), and that ligation of CD26 by caveolin-1 induces T cell proliferation in a TCR/CD3-dependent manner. We report herein the effects of CD26-caveolin-1 costimulatory blockade by fusion protein caveolin-1-Ig (Cav-Ig). Soluble Cav-Ig inhibits T cell proliferation and cytokine production in response to recall antigen, or allogeneic APC. Our data hence suggest that blocking of CD26-associated signaling by soluble Cav-Ig may be an effective approach as immunosuppressive therapy.

  14. Human Parvovirus B19 Induced Apoptotic Bodies Contain Altered Self-Antigens that are Phagocytosed by Antigen Presenting Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thammasri, Kanoktip; Rauhamäki, Sanna; Wang, Liping; Filippou, Artemis; Kivovich, Violetta; Marjomäki, Varpu; Naides, Stanley J.; Gilbert, Leona

    2013-01-01

    Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) from the erythrovirus genus is known to be a pathogenic virus in humans. Prevalence of B19V infection has been reported worldwide in all seasons, with a high incidence in the spring. B19V is responsible for erythema infectiosum (fifth disease) commonly seen in children. Its other clinical presentations include arthralgia, arthritis, transient aplastic crisis, chronic anemia, congenital anemia, and hydrops fetalis. In addition, B19V infection has been reported to trigger autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the mechanisms of B19V participation in autoimmunity are not fully understood. B19V induced chronic disease and persistent infection suggests B19V can serve as a model for viral host interactions and the role of viruses in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Here we investigate the involvement of B19V in the breakdown of immune tolerance. Previously, we demonstrated that the non-structural protein 1 (NS 1) of B19V induces apoptosis in non-permissive cells lines and that this protein can cleave host DNA as well as form NS1-DNA adducts. Here we provide evidence that through programmed cell death, apoptotic bodies (ApoBods) are generated by B19V NS1 expression in a non-permissive cell line. Characterization of purified ApoBods identified potential self-antigens within them. In particular, signature self-antigens such as Smith, ApoH, DNA, histone H4 and phosphatidylserine associated with autoimmunity were present in these ApoBods. In addition, when purified ApoBods were introduced to differentiated macrophages, recognition, engulfment and uptake occurred. This suggests that B19V can produce a source of self-antigens for immune cell processing. The results support our hypothesis that B19V NS1-DNA adducts, and nucleosomal and lysosomal antigens present in ApoBods created in non-permissive cell lines, are a source of self-antigens. PMID:23776709

  15. Semiallogenic fusions of MSI+ tumor cells and activated B cells induce MSI-specific T cell responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garbe, Yvette; Klier, Ulrike; Linnebacher, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Various strategies have been developed to transfer tumor-specific antigens into antigen presenting cells in order to induce cytotoxic T cell responses against tumor cells. One approach uses cellular vaccines based on fusions of autologous antigen presenting cells and allogeneic tumor cells. The fusion cells combine antigenicity of the tumor cell with optimal immunostimulatory capacity of the antigen presenting cells. Microsatellite instability caused by mutational inactivation of DNA mismatch repair genes results in translational frameshifts when affecting coding regions. It has been shown by us and others that these mutant proteins lead to the presentation of immunogenic frameshift peptides that are - in principle - recognized by a multiplicity of effector T cells. We chose microsatellite instability-induced frameshift antigens as ideal to test for induction of tumor specific T cell responses by semiallogenic fusions of microsatellite instable carcinoma cells with CD40-activated B cells. Two fusion clones of HCT116 with activated B cells were selected for stimulation of T cells autologous to the B cell fusion partner. Outgrowing T cells were phenotyped and tested in functional assays. The fusion clones expressed frameshift antigens as well as high amounts of MHC and costimulatory molecules. Autologous T cells stimulated with these fusions were predominantly CD4 + , activated, and reacted specifically against the fusion clones and also against the tumor cell fusion partner. Interestingly, a response toward 6 frameshift-derived peptides (of 14 tested) could be observed. Cellular fusions of MSI + carcinoma cells and activated B cells combine the antigen-presenting capacity of the B cell with the antigenic repertoire of the carcinoma cell. They present frameshift-derived peptides and can induce specific and fully functional T cells recognizing not only fusion cells but also the carcinoma cells. These hybrid cells may have great potential for cellular immunotherapy and

  16. Sequence motif upstream of the Hendra virus fusion protein cleavage site is not sufficient to promote efficient proteolytic processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Craft, Willie Warren; Dutch, Rebecca Ellis

    2005-01-01

    The Hendra virus fusion (HeV F) protein is synthesized as a precursor, F 0 , and proteolytically cleaved into the mature F 1 and F 2 heterodimer, following an HDLVDGVK 109 motif. This cleavage event is required for fusogenic activity. To determine the amino acid requirements for processing of the HeV F protein, we constructed multiple mutants. Individual and simultaneous alanine substitutions of the eight residues immediately upstream of the cleavage site did not eliminate processing. A chimeric SV5 F protein in which the furin site was substituted for the VDGVK 109 motif of the HeV F protein was not processed but was expressed on the cell surface. Another chimeric SV5 F protein containing the HDLVDGVK 109 motif of the HeV F protein underwent partial cleavage. These data indicate that the upstream region can play a role in protease recognition, but is neither absolutely required nor sufficient for efficient processing of the HeV F protein

  17. Pulse shaping and energy storage capabilities of angularly multiplexed KrF laser fusion drivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmberg, R. H.; Giuliani, J. L.; Schmitt, A. J.

    2009-07-01

    This paper describes a rep-rated multibeam KrF laser driver design for the 500kJ Inertial Fusion test Facility (FTF) recently proposed by NRL, then models its optical pulse shaping capabilities using the ORESTES laser kinetics code. It describes a stable and reliable iteration technique for calculating the required precompensated input pulse shape that will achieve the desired output shape, even when the amplifiers are heavily saturated. It also describes how this precompensation technique could be experimentally implemented in real time on a reprated laser system. The simulations show that this multibeam system can achieve a high fidelity pulse shaping capability, even for a high gain shock ignition pulse whose final spike requires output intensities much higher than the ˜4MW/cm2 saturation levels associated with quasi-cw operation; i.e., they show that KrF can act as a storage medium even for pulsewidths of ˜1ns. For the chosen pulse, which gives a predicted fusion energy gain of ˜120, the simulations predict the FTF can deliver a total on-target energy of 428kJ, a peak spike power of 385TW, and amplified spontaneous emission prepulse contrast ratios IASE/Ilaser.

  18. Functional antigen binding by the defective B cells of CBA/N mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snippe, H; Merchant, B; Lizzio, E F; Inman, J K

    1982-01-01

    CBA/N mice have an X-linked B cell defect which prevents them from responding to nonmitogenic thymic independent (TI-2) antigens such as dinitrophenylated DNP-Ficoll (1,2). The F1 male progeny of CBA/N female mice express the same defect. Spleen cell suspensions from such defective mice (CBA/N X C3H/HeN F1 males) could not respond to DNP-Ficoll following in vitro immunization and subsequent transfer into irradiated, syngeneic, F1 male recipients as expected. In contrast, normal CBA/N X C3H/HeN F1 female spleen cells could respond and effect a "rescue"; they mounted strong plaque-forming cell responses 7 days after in vitro exposure to DNP-Ficoll and subsequent transfer into irradiated F1 male recipients. Defective F1 male spleen cells, however, could bind significant quantities of 125I-DNP-Ficoll after in vitro exposure. Extensive washing of these spleen cells could not reverse this binding. Such DNP-Ficoll-exposed and washed F1 male spleen cells could, after transfer, aid normal untreated F1 female cells in their rescue function. The defective F1 male spleen cells could convey immunogenic quantities of DNP-Ficoll to the "rescuing" F1 female cells. Mitomycin treatment of F1 male cells did not interfere with their conveyor function. Goat anti-mouse mu serum impeded the passive antigen conveyor function of defective F1 male cells as did prior exposure to high concentrations of free DNP hapten. Our data support the view that the B cell defect of CBA/N X C3H/HeN F1 male mice does not relate to antigen binding, but rather to an inability to be effectively triggered by certain cell-bound polymeric antigens.

  19. A camel-derived MERS-CoV with a variant spike protein cleavage site and distinct fusion activation properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millet, Jean Kaoru; Goldstein, Monty E; Labitt, Rachael N; Hsu, Hung-Lun; Daniel, Susan; Whittaker, Gary R

    2016-01-01

    Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) continues to circulate in both humans and camels, and the origin and evolution of the virus remain unclear. Here we characterize the spike protein of a camel-derived MERS-CoV (NRCE-HKU205) identified in 2013, early in the MERS outbreak. NRCE-HKU205 spike protein has a variant cleavage motif with regard to the S2′ fusion activation site—notably, a novel substitution of isoleucine for the otherwise invariant serine at the critical P1′ cleavage site position. The substitutions resulted in a loss of furin-mediated cleavage, as shown by fluorogenic peptide cleavage and western blot assays. Cell–cell fusion and pseudotyped virus infectivity assays demonstrated that the S2′ substitutions decreased spike-mediated fusion and viral entry. However, cathepsin and trypsin-like protease activation were retained, albeit with much reduced efficiency compared with the prototypical EMC/2012 human strain. We show that NRCE-HKU205 has more limited fusion activation properties possibly resulting in more restricted viral tropism and may represent an intermediate in the complex pattern of MERS-CoV ecology and evolution. PMID:27999426

  20. Angular momentum distribution for the formation of evaporation residues in fusion of 19F with 184W near the Coulomb barrier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nath, S.; Gehlot, J.; Prasad, E.; Sadhukhan, Jhilam; Shidling, P.D.; Madhavan, N.; Muralithar, S.; Golda, K.S.; Jhingan, A.; Varughese, T.; Rao, P.V. Madhusudhana; Sinha, A.K.; Pal, Santanu

    2011-01-01

    We present γ-ray multiplicity distributions for the formation of evaporation residues in the fusion reaction 19 F + 184 W → 203 83 Bi 120 at beam energies in the range of 90-110 MeV. The measurements were carried out using a 14 element BGO detector array and the Heavy Ion Reaction Analyzer at the Inter University Accelerator Centre. The data have been unfolded to obtain angular momentum distributions with inputs from the statistical model calculation. Comparison with another neighboring system, viz. 19 F + 175 Lu → 194 80 Hg 114 with nearly similar entrance-channel mass asymmetry, hints at the depletion of higher angular momenta after crossing of the Z=82 shell in the compound nucleus.

  1. Antigenically Diverse Swine Origin H1N1 Variant Influenza Viruses Exhibit Differential Ferret Pathogenesis and Transmission Phenotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulit-Penaloza, Joanna A; Jones, Joyce; Sun, Xiangjie; Jang, Yunho; Thor, Sharmi; Belser, Jessica A; Zanders, Natosha; Creager, Hannah M; Ridenour, Callie; Wang, Li; Stark, Thomas J; Garten, Rebecca; Chen, Li-Mei; Barnes, John; Tumpey, Terrence M; Wentworth, David E; Maines, Taronna R; Davis, C Todd

    2018-06-01

    Influenza A(H1) viruses circulating in swine represent an emerging virus threat, as zoonotic infections occur sporadically following exposure to swine. A fatal infection caused by an H1N1 variant (H1N1v) virus was detected in a patient with reported exposure to swine and who presented with pneumonia, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest. To understand the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of the virus, genome sequence analysis, antigenic characterization, and ferret pathogenesis and transmissibility experiments were performed. Antigenic analysis of the virus isolated from the fatal case, A/Ohio/09/2015, demonstrated significant antigenic drift away from the classical swine H1N1 variant viruses and H1N1 pandemic 2009 viruses. A substitution in the H1 hemagglutinin (G155E) was identified that likely impacted antigenicity, and reverse genetics was employed to understand the molecular mechanism of antibody escape. Reversion of the substitution to 155G, in a reverse genetics A/Ohio/09/2015 virus, showed that this residue was central to the loss of hemagglutination inhibition by ferret antisera raised against a prototypical H1N1 pandemic 2009 virus (A/California/07/2009), as well as gamma lineage classical swine H1N1 viruses, demonstrating the importance of this residue for antibody recognition of this H1 lineage. When analyzed in the ferret model, A/Ohio/09/2015 and another H1N1v virus, A/Iowa/39/2015, as well as A/California/07/2009, replicated efficiently in the respiratory tract of ferrets. The two H1N1v viruses transmitted efficiently among cohoused ferrets, but respiratory droplet transmission studies showed that A/California/07/2009 transmitted through the air more efficiently. Preexisting immunity to A/California/07/2009 did not fully protect ferrets from challenge with A/Ohio/09/2015. IMPORTANCE Human infections with classical swine influenza A(H1N1) viruses that circulate in pigs continue to occur in the United States following exposure to swine. To

  2. CR-39 track detector calibration for H, He, and C ions from 0.1-0.5 MeV up to 5 MeV for laser-induced nuclear fusion product identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baccou, C; Yahia, V; Depierreux, S; Neuville, C; Goyon, C; Consoli, F; De Angelis, R; Ducret, J E; Boutoux, G; Rafelski, J; Labaune, C

    2015-08-01

    Laser-accelerated ion beams can be used in many applications and, especially, to initiate nuclear reactions out of thermal equilibrium. We have experimentally studied aneutronic fusion reactions induced by protons accelerated by the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism, colliding with a boron target. Such experiments require a rigorous method to identify the reaction products (alpha particles) collected in detectors among a few other ion species such as protons or carbon ions, for example. CR-39 track detectors are widely used because they are mostly sensitive to ions and their efficiency is near 100%. We present a complete calibration of CR-39 track detector for protons, alpha particles, and carbon ions. We give measurements of their track diameters for energy ranging from hundreds of keV to a few MeV and for etching times between 1 and 8 h. We used these results to identify alpha particles in our experiments on proton-boron fusion reactions initiated by laser-accelerated protons. We show that their number clearly increases when the boron fuel is preformed in a plasma state.

  3. Sensorless V/f Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

    OpenAIRE

    Montesinos-Miracle, Daniel; Perera, P. D. Chandana; Galceran-Arellano, Samuel; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2010-01-01

    V/f control strategy for permanent magnet synchronous motors can be useful for HVAC applications, where not high performance is required. Permanent magnet synchronous motors have efficiency advantages over the induction motor. But open loop V/f control is not stable in the whole frequency range. As demonstrated, the V/f control strategy becomes

  4. Fusion Canada issue 28

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-06-01

    A short bulletin from the National Fusion Program highlighting in this issue the Canada - US fusion meeting in Montreal, fusion breeder work in Chile, new management at CFFTP, fast electrons in tokamaks: new data from TdeV, a program review of CCFM and Velikhov to address Montreal fusion meeting. 1 fig

  5. Antigenic determinants of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and development of assays specific for different forms of PSA.

    OpenAIRE

    Nilsson, O.; Peter, A.; Andersson, I.; Nilsson, K.; Grundstr?m, B.; Karlsson, B.

    1997-01-01

    Monoclonal antibodies were raised against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) by immunization with purified free PSA, i.e. not in complex with any protease inhibitor (F-PSA) and PSA in complex with alpha1-anti-chymotrypsin (PSA-ACT). Epitope mapping of PSA using the established monoclonal antibody revealed a complex pattern of independent and partly overlapping antigenic domains in the PSA molecule. Four independent antigenic domains and at least three partly overlapping domains were exposed both...

  6. Inclusion bodies of recombinant Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen p18 as potential immobilized antigens in enzyme immunoassays for detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Chun Shen; Goh, Siang Ling; Kariapper, Leena; Krishnan, Gopala; Lim, Yat-Yuen; Ng, Ching Ching

    2015-08-25

    Development of indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) often utilizes synthetic peptides or recombinant proteins from Escherichia coli as immobilized antigens. Because inclusion bodies (IBs) formed during recombinant protein expression in E. coli are commonly thought as misfolded aggregates, only refolded proteins from IBs are used to develop new or in-house diagnostic assays. However, the promising utilities of IBs as nanomaterials and immobilized enzymes as shown in recent studies have led us to explore the potential use of IBs of recombinant Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen p18 (VCA p18) as immobilized antigens in ELISAs for serologic detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Thioredoxin fusion VCA p18 (VCA-Trx) and IBs of VCA p18 without fusion tags (VCA-IBs) were purified from E. coli. The diagnostic performances of IgG/VCA-IBs, IgG/VCA-Denat-IBs (using VCA-IBs coated in 8mol/l urea), IgG/VCA-Trx, and IgG/VCA-Peptide assays were compared by screening 100 NPC case-control pairs. The IgG/VCA-Denat-IBs assay showed the best area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC: 0.802; p<0.05), while the AUCs for the IgG/VCA-IBs, IgG/VCA-Trx, and IgG/VCA-Peptide assays were comparable (AUC: 0.740, 0.727, and 0.741, respectively). We improved the diagnostic performance of the ELISA significantly using IBs of recombinant VCA p18. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Parameter studies for a two-component fusion experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Towner, H.H.

    1975-01-01

    The sensitivity of the energy multiplication of a two-component fusion experiment is examined relative to the following parameters: energy confinement time (tau/sub E/), particle confinement time (tau/sub p/), effective Z of the plasma (Z/sub eff/), injection rate (j/sub I/) and injection energy (E/sub I/). The Energy Research and Development Administration recently approved funding for such a fusion device (the Toroidal Fusion Test Reactor or TFTR) which will be built at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Hence, such a parameter study seems both timely and necessary. This work also serves as an independent check on the design values proposed for the TFTR to enable it to achieve energy breakeven (F = 1). Using the nominal TFTR design parameters and a self-consistent ion-electron power balance, the maximum F-value is found to be approximately 1.2 which occurs at an injection energy of approximately 210 KeV. The injector operation, i.e. its current and energy capability are shown to be a very critical factor in the TFTR performance. However, if the injectors meet the design objectives, there appears to be sufficient latitude in the other parameters to offer reasonable assurance that energy breakeven can be achieved. (U.S.)

  8. Detection and monitoring of human bocavirus 1 infection by a new rapid antigen test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.H.L. Bruning

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Clinically relevant diagnosis of human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1 is challenging, as the virus is frequently detected in asymptomatic patients, and cofindings with other respiratory viruses are common. The clinical value of current diagnostic methods, such as PCR, is therefore low, and alternative diagnostic strategies are needed. We describe for the first time the use of an antigen detection assay for the rapid identification of HBoV1 in a paediatric patient with respiratory tract infection symptoms. We estimate the duration of active HBoV1 infection to be 6 days.

  9. Oral vaccine of Lactococcus lactis harbouring pandemic H1N1 2009 haemagglutinin1 and nisP anchor fusion protein elevates anti-HA1 sIgA levels in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joan, Stella Siaw Xiu; Pui-Fong, Jee; Song, Adelene Ai-Lian; Chang, Li-Yen; Yusoff, Khatijah; AbuBakar, Sazaly; Rahim, Raha Abdul

    2016-05-01

    An oral lactococcal-based vaccine which haboured the haemagglutinin1 (HA1) antigen fused to nisP anchor protein for the purpose of surface displaying the HA1 antigen was developed against H1N1 virus. Recombinant L. lactis strains expressed HA1-nisP fusion proteins when induced with nisin, as confirmed through western blotting. However, immunofluorescense did not detect any surface-displayed proteins, suggesting that the protein was either unsuccessfully translocated or improperly displayed. Despite this, oral administration of recombinant L. lactis strains to BALB/c mice revealed that significant levels of anti-HA1 sIgA antibodies were detected in mice fecal suspension samples of mice group NZ9000 (pNZ:HN) when compared to the negative control NZ9000 (pNZ8048) group. Specific anti-HA1 sIgA antibodies were locally produced and live recombinant lactococcal vaccine was able to elicit humoral response of BALB/c mice despite unsuccessful surface display of the HA1 epitope.

  10. Individual contributions of the human metapneumovirus F, G, and SH surface glycoproteins to the induction of neutralizing antibodies and protective immunity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skiadopoulos, Mario H.; Biacchesi, Stephane; Buchholz, Ursula J.; Amaro-Carambot, Emerito; Surman, Sonja R.; Collins, Peter L.; Murphy, Brian R.

    2006-01-01

    We evaluated the individual contributions of the three surface glycoproteins of human metapneumovirus (HMPV), namely the fusion F, attachment G, and small hydrophobic SH proteins, to the induction of serum HMPV-binding antibodies, serum HMPV-neutralizing antibodies, and protective immunity. Using reverse genetics, each HMPV protein was expressed individually from an added gene in recombinant human parainfluenza virus type 1 (rHPIV1) and used to infect hamsters once or twice by the intranasal route. The F protein was highly immunogenic and protective, whereas G and SH were only weakly or negligibly immunogenic and protective, respectively. Thus, in contrast to other paramyxoviruses, the HMPV attachment G protein is not a major neutralization or protective antigen. Also, although the SH protein of HMPV is a virion protein that is much larger than its counterparts in previously studied paramyxoviruses, it does not appear to be a significant neutralization or protective antigen

  11. Recombinant antigen-based immuno-slot blot method for serodiagnosis of syphilis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.S. Sato

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available Three recombinant antigens of Treponema pallidum Nichols strain were fused with GST, cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, resulting in high levels of GST-rTp47 and GST-rTp17 expression, and supplementation with arginine tRNA for the AGR codon was needed to obtain GST-rTp15 overexpression. Purified fusion protein yields were 1.9, 1.7 and 5.3 mg/l of cell culture for GST-rTp47, GST-rTp17 and GST-rTp15, respectively. The identities of the antigens obtained were confirmed by automated DNA sequencing using ABI Prism 310 and peptide mapping by Finningan LC/MS. These recombinant antigens were evaluated by immuno-slot blot techniques applied to 137 serum samples from patients with a clinical and laboratory diagnosis of syphilis (61 samples, from healthy blood donors (50 samples, individuals with sexually transmitted disease other than syphilis (3 samples, and from individuals with other spirochetal diseases such as Lyme disease (20 samples and leptospirosis (3 samples. The assay had sensitivity of 95.1% (95% CI, 86.1 to 98.7% and a specificity of 94.7% (95% CI, 87.0 to 98.7%; a stronger reactivity was observed with fraction rTp17. The immunoreactivity results showed that fusion recombinant antigens based-immuno-slot blot techniques are suitable for use in diagnostic assays for syphilis.

  12. F.S.V.B. Volleyball

    CERN Multimedia

    unknown

    1980-01-01

    22me assemblée des délégués de la Fédération Suisse de Volley Ball (F.S.V.B.), en présence entre autres de Claude Delay, représentant de la société fédérale de gymnastique et Hans Gauer, représentant de l'association suisse de gymnastique féminine. Annonce d'une démonstration d'un mini match de volley ball à Meyrin dans l'après-midi.

  13. 18F-labelled annexin V: a PET tracer for apoptosis imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murakami, Yoshihiro; Tatsumi, Mitsuyoshi; Ichise, Rikiya; Nishimura, Shintaro; Takamatsu, Hiroyuki; Noda, Akihiro; Taki, Junichi; Tait, Jonathan F.

    2004-01-01

    Annexin V can be used to detect apoptotic cells in vitro and in vivo, based on its ability to identify extracellular phosphatidylserine, which arises during apoptosis. In the present study, we examined the synthesis of fluorine-18 labelled annexin V as a positron emission tomography tracer for apoptosis imaging. The distribution of [ 18 F]annexin V and technetium-99m labelled annexin V, a well-characterised SPET tracer for apoptosis imaging, was compared. [ 18 F]annexin V was synthesised using N-succinimidyl 4-[ 18 F]fluorobenzoate as an 18 F labelling reagent. Synthesised and purified [ 18 F]annexin V was confirmed by SDS-PAGE. In an ex vivo imaging experiment, [ 18 F]annexin V was intravenously injected into rats 24 h after the induction of myocardial ischaemia, and accumulation in the left ventricle was examined. [ 18 F]annexin V accumulated in the infarct area of the left ventricle, where apoptotic cells were observed. In separate experiments, [ 18 F]annexin V or [ 99m Tc]annexin V was intravenously injected into ischaemic or normal animals, and the distribution of the tracers was compared. In ischaemic animals, accumulation of [ 18 F]annexin V and [ 99m Tc]annexin V in the infarct area was about threefold higher than in the non-infarct area. Furthermore, the ratio of accumulation in the normal heart to the blood radioactivity was not significantly different between the tracers. In normal animals, however, the uptake of [ 18 F]annexin V in the liver, spleen and kidney was much lower than that of [ 99m Tc]annexin V. The low uptake of [ 18 F]annexin V in these organs might represent an advantage over [ 99m Tc]annexin V. (orig.)

  14. Fetal antigen 1 (FA1), a circulating member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) superfamily

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Charlotte Harken; Krogh, T N; Støving, René Klinkby

    1997-01-01

    We describe an ELISA technique for quantification of fetal antigen 1 (FA1), a glycoprotein belonging to the EGF-superfamily. The ELISA is based on immunospecifically purified polyclonal antibodies and has a dynamic range of 0.7-5.3 ng/ml, intra- and inter-assay C.V.s of less than 3.2% and an aver......We describe an ELISA technique for quantification of fetal antigen 1 (FA1), a glycoprotein belonging to the EGF-superfamily. The ELISA is based on immunospecifically purified polyclonal antibodies and has a dynamic range of 0.7-5.3 ng/ml, intra- and inter-assay C.V.s of less than 3.......2% and an average recovery of 105% in serum and 98% in urine. Comparison of FA1 in amniotic fluid, serum and urine revealed parallel titration curves, identical elution volumes following size chromatography, immunological identity and similar profiles when analysed by MALDI-MS. The reference interval for serum FA1...... was 12.3-46.6 ng/ml and the levels were 10 times higher in patients with renal failure. FA1 showed no diurnal variation, no variation during the menstrual cycle and was not influenced by the acute phase reaction. In humans (n = 10) the renal clearance of FA1 was 11 ml/min and an identical high renal...

  15. Protein modeling of apical membrane antigen-1(AMA-1) of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Apical membrane Antigen-1(AMA-1), an asexual blood stage antigen of Plasmodium cynomolgi, is an important candidate for testing as a component of malarial vaccine. The degree of conservation of. AMA-1 sequences implies a conserved function for this molecule across different species of Plasmodium. Since the AMA-1 ...

  16. Calculations of Excitation Functions of Some Structural Fusion Materials for ( n, t) Reactions up to 50 MeV Energy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tel, E.; Durgu, C.; Aktı, N. N.; Okuducu, Ş.

    2010-06-01

    Fusion serves an inexhaustible energy for humankind. Although there have been significant research and development studies on the inertial and magnetic fusion reactor technology, there is still a long way to go to penetrate commercial fusion reactors to the energy market. Tritium self-sufficiency must be maintained for a commercial power plant. For self-sustaining (D-T) fusion driver tritium breeding ratio should be greater than 1.05. So, the working out the systematics of ( n, t) reaction cross sections is of great importance for the definition of the excitation function character for the given reaction taking place on various nuclei at different energies. In this study, ( n, t) reactions for some structural fusion materials such as 27Al, 51V, 52Cr, 55Mn, and 56Fe have been investigated. The new calculations on the excitation functions of 27Al( n, t)25Mg, 51V( n, t)49Ti, 52Cr( n, t)50V, 55Mn( n, t)53Cr and 56Fe( n, t)54Mn reactions have been carried out up to 50 MeV incident neutron energy. In these calculations, the pre-equilibrium and equilibrium effects have been investigated. The pre-equilibrium calculations involve the new evaluated the geometry dependent hybrid model, hybrid model and the cascade exciton model. Equilibrium effects are calculated according to the Weisskopf-Ewing model. Also in the present work, we have calculated ( n, t) reaction cross-sections by using new evaluated semi-empirical formulas developed by Tel et al. at 14-15 MeV energy. The calculated results are discussed and compared with the experimental data taken from the literature.

  17. Percent free prostate-specific antigen is effective to predict prostate biopsy outcome in Chinese men with prostate-specific antigen between 10.1 and 20.0 ng ml−1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rui; Zhou, Li-Qun; Cai, Xiao-Bing; Xie, Li-Ping; Huang, Yi-Ran; He, Da-Lin; Gao, Xu; Xu, Chuan-Liang; Ding, Qiang; Wei, Qiang; Yin, Chang-Jun; Ren, Shan-Cheng; Wang, Fu-Bo; Tian, Ye; Sun, Zhong-Quan; Fu, Qiang; Ma, Lu-Lin; Zheng, Jun-Hua; Ye, Zhang-Qun; Ye, Ding-Wei; Xu, Dan-Feng; Hou, Jian-Quan; Xu, Ke-Xin; Yuan, Jian-Lin; Gao, Xin; Liu, Chun-Xiao; Pan, Tie-Jun; Sun, Ying-Hao

    2015-01-01

    Percent free prostatic-specific antigen (%fPSA) has been introduced as a tool to avoid unnecessary biopsies in patients with a serum PSA level of 4.0–10.0 ng ml−1, however, it remains controversial whether %fPSA is effective in PSA range of 10.1–20.0 ng ml−1 in both Chinese and Western population. In this study, the diagnostic performance of %fPSA and serum PSA in predicting prostate cancer (PCa) and high-grade PCa (HGPCa) was analyzed in a multi-center biopsy cohort of 5915 consecutive Chinese patients who underwent prostate biopsy in 22 hospitals across China from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. The indication for biopsy was PSA>4.0 ng ml−1 or/and suspicious digital rectal examination. Total and free serum PSA determinations were performed by three types of electrochemiluminescence immunoassays with recalibration to the World Health Organization standards. The diagnostics accuracy of PSA, %fPSA and %fPSA in combination with PSA (%fPSA + PSA) was determined by the area under the receivers operating characteristic curve (AUC). %fPSA was more effective than PSA in men aged ≥60 years old. The AUC was 0.584 and 0.635 in men aged ≥60 years old with a PSA of 4.0–10.0 ng ml−1 and 10.1–20.0 ng ml−1, respectively. The AUC of %fPSA was superior to that of PSA in predicting HGPCa in patients ≥60 years old in these two PSA range. Our results indicated that %fPSA is both statistically effective and clinical applicable to predict prostate biopsy outcome in Chinese patients aged ≥60 years old with a PSA of 4.0–10.0 ng ml−1 and 10.1–20.0 ng ml−1. PMID:25926603

  18. Percent free prostate-specific antigen is effective to predict prostate biopsy outcome in Chinese men with prostate-specific antigen between 10.1 and 20.0 ng ml(-1).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rui; Zhou, Li-Qun; Cai, Xiao-Bing; Xie, Li-Ping; Huang, Yi-Ran; He, Da-Lin; Gao, Xu; Xu, Chuan-Liang; Ding, Qiang; Wei, Qiang; Yin, Chang-Jun; Ren, Shan-Cheng; Wang, Fu-Bo; Tian, Ye; Sun, Zhong-Quan; Fu, Qiang; Ma, Lu-Lin; Zheng, Jun-Hua; Ye, Zhang-Qun; Ye, Ding-Wei; Xu, Dan-Feng; Hou, Jian-Quan; Xu, Ke-Xin; Yuan, Jian-Lin; Gao, Xin; Liu, Chun-Xiao; Pan, Tie-Jun; Sun, Ying-Hao

    2015-01-01

    Percent free prostatic-specific antigen (%fPSA) has been introduced as a tool to avoid unnecessary biopsies in patients with a serum PSA level of 4.0-10.0 ng ml-1 , however, it remains controversial whether %fPSA is effective in PSA range of 10.1-20.0 ng ml-1 in both Chinese and Western population. In this study, the diagnostic performance of %fPSA and serum PSA in predicting prostate cancer (PCa) and high-grade PCa (HGPCa) was analyzed in a multi-center biopsy cohort of 5915 consecutive Chinese patients who underwent prostate biopsy in 22 hospitals across China from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. The indication for biopsy was PSA>4.0 ng ml-1 or/and suspicious digital rectal examination. Total and free serum PSA determinations were performed by three types of electrochemiluminescence immunoassays with recalibration to the World Health Organization standards. The diagnostics accuracy of PSA, %fPSA and %fPSA in combination with PSA (%fPSA + PSA) was determined by the area under the receivers operating characteristic curve (AUC). %fPSA was more effective than PSA in men aged ≥60 years old. The AUC was 0.584 and 0.635 in men aged ≥60 years old with a PSA of 4.0-10.0 ng ml-1 and 10.1-20.0 ng ml-1 , respectively. The AUC of %fPSA was superior to that of PSA in predicting HGPCa in patients ≥60 years old in these two PSA range. Our results indicated that %fPSA is both statistically effective and clinical applicable to predict prostate biopsy outcome in Chinese patients aged ≥60 years old with a PSA of 4.0-10.0 ng ml-1 and 10.1-20.0 ng ml-1 .

  19. Molecular dynamics analysis of conformational change of paramyxovirus F protein during the initial steps of membrane fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martín-García, Fernando; Mendieta-Moreno, Jesús Ignacio; Mendieta, Jesús; Gómez-Puertas, Paulino

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Initial conformational change of paramyxovirus F protein is caused only by mechanical forces. ► HRA region undergoes a structural change from a beta + alpha conformation to an extended coil and then to an all-alpha conformation. ► HRS domains of F protein form three single α-helices prior to generation of the coiled coil. -- Abstract: The fusion of paramyxovirus to the cell membrane is mediated by fusion protein (F protein) present in the virus envelope, which undergoes a dramatic conformational change during the process. Unlike hemagglutinin in orthomyxovirus, this change is not mediated by an alteration of environmental pH, and its cause remains unknown. Steered molecular dynamics analysis leads us to suggest that the conformational modification is mediated only by stretching mechanical forces once the transmembrane fusion peptide of the protein is anchored to the cell membrane. Such elongating forces will generate major secondary structure rearrangement in the heptad repeat A region of the F protein; from β-sheet conformation to an elongated coil and then spontaneously to an α-helix. In addition, it is proposed that the heptad repeat A region adopts a final three-helix coiled coil and that this structure appears after the formation of individual helices in each monomer.

  20. Fusion Canada issue 25

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-08-01

    A short bulletin from the National Fusion Program highlighting in this issue an economic impact study of the Canadian site for ITER, Harvey Skarsgard: fusion pioneer retires, NFP: Phillips and Holtslander exchange roles, Europe's fusion funding proposals and an update of CCFM/TdeV. 1 fig

  1. Fusion events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aboufirassi, M; Angelique, J.C.; Bizard, G.; Bougault, R.; Brou, R.; Buta, A.; Colin, J.; Cussol, D.; Durand, D.; Genoux-Lubain, A.; Horn, D.; Kerambrun, A.; Laville, J.L.; Le Brun, C.; Lecolley, J.F.; Lefebvres, F.; Lopez, O.; Louvel, M.; Meslin, C.; Metivier, V.; Nakagawa, T.; Peter, J.; Popescu, R.; Regimbart, R.; Steckmeyer, J.C.; Tamain, B.; Vient, E.; Wieloch, A.; Yuasa-Nakagawa, K.

    1998-01-01

    The fusion reactions between low energy heavy ions have a very high cross section. First measurements at energies around 30-40 MeV/nucleon indicated no residue of either complete or incomplete fusion, thus demonstrating the disappearance of this process. This is explained as being due to the high amount o energies transferred to the nucleus, what leads to its total dislocation in light fragments and particles. Exclusive analyses have permitted to mark clearly the presence of fusion processes in heavy systems at energies above 30-40 MeV/nucleon. Among the complete events of the Kr + Au reaction at 60 MeV/nucleon the majority correspond to binary collisions. Nevertheless, for the most considerable energy losses, a class of events do occur for which the detected fragments appears to be emitted from a unique source. These events correspond to an incomplete projectile-target fusion followed by a multifragmentation. Such events were singled out also in the reaction Xe + Sn at 50 MeV/nucleon. For the events in which the energy dissipation was maximal it was possible to isolate an isotropic group of events showing all the characteristics of fusion nuclei. The fusion is said to be incomplete as pre-equilibrium Z = 1 and Z = 2 particles are emitted. The cross section is of the order of 25 mb. Similar conclusions were drown for the systems 36 Ar + 27 Al and 64 Zn + nat Ti. A cross section value of ∼ 20 mb was determined at 55 MeV/nucleon in the first case, while the measurement of evaporation light residues in the last system gave an upper limit of 20-30 mb for the cross section at 50 MeV/nucleon

  2. Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus GP64 protein: Analysis of domain I and V amino acid interactions and membrane fusion activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Qianlong [State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Key Laboratory of Northwest Loess Plateau Crop Pest Management of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A& F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100 (China); Blissard, Gary W. [Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United State (United States); Liu, Tong-Xian [State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Key Laboratory of Northwest Loess Plateau Crop Pest Management of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A& F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100 (China); Li, Zhaofei, E-mail: zhaofeili73@outlook.com [State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Key Laboratory of Northwest Loess Plateau Crop Pest Management of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A& F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100 (China)

    2016-01-15

    The Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus GP64 is a class III viral fusion protein. Although the post-fusion structure of GP64 has been solved, its pre-fusion structure and the detailed mechanism of conformational change are unknown. In GP64, domain V is predicted to interact with two domain I segments that flank fusion loop 2. To evaluate the significance of the amino acids involved in these interactions, we examined 24 amino acid positions that represent interacting and conserved residues within domains I and V. In several cases, substitution of a single amino acid involved in a predicted interaction disrupted membrane fusion activity, but no single amino acid pair appears to be absolutely required. We identified 4 critical residues in domain V (G438, W439, T452, and T456) that are important for membrane fusion, and two residues (G438 and W439) that appear to be important for formation or stability of the pre-fusion conformation of GP64. - Highlights: • The baculovirus envelope glycoprotein GP64 is a class III viral fusion protein. • The detailed mechanism of conformational change of GP64 is unknown. • We analyzed 24 positions that might stabilize the post-fusion structure of GP64. • We identified 4 residues in domain V that were critical for membrane fusion. • Two residues are critical for formation of the pre-fusion conformation of GP64.

  3. COLONOSCOPY AND CARCINOEMBRYONIC ANTIGEN VARIATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita G SOUSA

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Context Colonoscopy is essential for synchronous and metachronous cancer detection. Carcinoembryonic antigen is a colorectal cancer tumor marker, important as a follow-up tool in patients with previous colorectal cancer. False-positive carcinoembryonic antigen elevation results in multiples exams and in patient anxiety. In literature, there is reference to transient carcinoembryonic antigen increase with colonoscopy. Objective To evaluate the influence of bowel preparation and colonoscopy in carcinoembryonic antigen blood levels. Methods We prospectively studied subjects that underwent routine colonoscopy in our institution. Blood samples were collected (1 before bowel cleaning, (2 before colonoscopy and (3 immediately after colonoscopy. Blood carcinoembryonic antigen levels were determined by “Sandwich” immunoassay. The statistical methods used were the paired t-test and ANOVA. Results Thirty-seven patients (22M/15F were included; age range 28-84 (mean 56 years. Mean carcinoembryonic antigen values were 1.9, 2 and 1.8 for (1, (2 and (3, respectively. An increase in value (2 compared with (1 was observed in 20/37 patients (P = 0.018, mainly in younger patients and in patients requiring more endoluminal interventions. In 29/37 patients, the CEA value decreased from (2 to (3 (P = 1.3x10-7. Conclusions A trend for carcinoembryonic antigen increase after bowel cleaning was observed, especially in younger patients and in patients with more endoluminal interventions, but without clinical meaning.

  4. Murine analogues of etanercept and of F8-IL10 inhibit the progression of collagen-induced arthritis in the mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doll, Fabia; Schwager, Kathrin; Hemmerle, Teresa; Neri, Dario

    2013-09-27

    Etanercept is a fusion protein consisting of the soluble portion of the p75-tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) and the Fc fragment of human IgG1, which is often used for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. F8-IL10 is a human immunocytokine based on the F8 antibody and interleukin-10, which is currently being investigated in rheumatoid arthritis with promising clinical results. We have aimed at expressing murine versions of these two fusion proteins, in order to assess their pharmaceutical performance in the collagen-induced model of rheumatoid arthritis in the mouse. Two fusion proteins (termed muTNFR-Fc and F8-muIL10) were cloned, expressed in chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, purified and characterized. Biological activity of muTNFR-Fc was assessed by its ability to inhibit TNF-induced killing of mouse fibroblasts, while F8-muIL10 was characterized in terms of muIL10 activity, of binding affinity to the cognate antigen of F8, the alternatively-spliced EDA domain of fibronectin, by quantitative biodistribution analysis and in vivo imaging. The therapeutic activity of both fusion proteins was investigated in a collagen-induced mouse model of arthritis. Mouse plasma was analyzed for anti-drug antibody formation and cytokine levels were determined by bead-based multiplex technology. The association of F8-IL10 proteins with blood cells was studied in a centrifugation assay with radiolabeled protein. Both fusion proteins exhibited excellent purity and full biological activity in vitro. In addition, F8-muIL10 was able to localize on newly-formed blood vessels in vivo. When used in a murine model of arthritis, the two proteins inhibited arthritis progression. The activity of muTNFR-Fc was tested alone and in combination with F8-huIL10. The chimeric version of F8-IL10 was not better then the fully human fusion protein and showed similar generation of mouse anti-fusion protein antibodies. Incubation studies of F8-muIL10 and F8-huIL10 with blood

  5. Phosphorylation of the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grässer, F A; Göttel, S; Haiss, P

    1992-01-01

    A major in vivo phosphorylation site of the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA-2) was found to be localized at the C-terminus of the protein. In vitro phosphorylation studies using casein kinase 1 (CK-1) and casein kinase 2 (CK-2) revealed that EBNA-2 is a substrate for CK-2, but not for CK......-1. The CK-2 specific phosphorylation site was localized in the 140 C-terminal amino acids using a recombinant trpE-C-terminal fusion protein. In a similar experiment, the 58 N-terminal amino acids expressed as a recombinant trpE-fusion protein were not phosphorylated. Phosphorylation of a synthetic...

  6. Induction of Th1 polarized immune responses by thiolated Eudragit-coated F4 and F18 fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Won-Jung; Cha, Seungbin; Shin, Minkyoung; Islam, Mohammad Ariful; Cho, Chong-su; Yoo, Han Sang

    2011-10-01

    Diarrhea in newborn and weaned piglets is mainly induced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) with fimbriae F4 (K88) and F18 (F107). In this study, we evaluated F4 and F18 coated with thiolated Eudragit microspheres (TEMS) as a candidate for an oral vaccine. The average particle sizes of TEMS, F4-loaded TEMS, and F18-loaded TEMS were measured as 4.2±0.75 μm, 4.7±0.50 μm, and 4.5±0.37 μm, respectively. F4 is more efficiently encapsulated than F18 in the loading with TEMS. In the release test, F4 and F18 fimbriae were protected in acidic circumstances, whereas most were released at pH 7.4 of intestine circumstances. Production of TNF-α and NO from RAW 264.7 cells was increased in a time-dependent manner after exposure to all groups, whereas only F4- or F18-loaded TEMS-stimulated IL-6 secretion. The levels of IFN-γ from mouse splenocytes after exposure to F4 or F18 were increased while IL-4 was not detectable. These results suggest that F4- and F18-loaded TEMS may effectively induce immune response with the efficient release of antigens to appropriate target sites. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Engineering of a parainfluenza virus type 5 fusion protein (PIV-5 F): development of an autonomous and hyperfusogenic protein by a combinational mutagenesis approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrier, O; Durupt, F; Cartet, G; Thomas, L; Lina, B; Rosa-Calatrava, M

    2009-12-01

    The entry of enveloped viruses into host cells is accomplished by fusion of the viral envelope with the target cell membrane. For the paramyxovirus parainfluenza virus type 5 (PIV-5), this fusion involves an attachment protein (HN) and a class I viral fusion protein (F). We investigated the effect of 20 different combinations of 12 amino-acid substitutions within functional domains of the PIV-5 F glycoprotein, by performing cell surface expression measurements, quantitative fusion and syncytia assays. We found that combinations of mutations conferring an autonomous phenotype with mutations leading to an increased fusion activity were compatible and generated functional PIV-5 F proteins. The addition of mutations in the heptad-repeat domains led to both autonomous and hyperfusogenic phenotypes, despite the low cell surface expression of the corresponding mutants. Such engineering approach may prove useful not only for deciphering the fundamental mechanism behind viral-mediated membrane fusion but also in the development of potential therapeutic applications.

  8. Antibody production of wild-type and enzyme V279F variants of PAF-AH as a risk factor for Cardiovascular disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramadhani, Anggia N.; Puspitarini, Sapti; Sari, Anissa N.; Widodo

    2017-11-01

    Coronary artery disease (CAD) has emerged as a leading cause of death in Indonesia nowadays. WHO data in 2012 revealed that 37% of the Indonesian population died from this disease. CAD occurs because of endothelial dysfunction in the arteries. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), also known as platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH), is a phospholipase A2 enzyme, encoded by the PLA2G7 gene. This protein is predicted to be involved in inflammatory phospholipid metabolism so it can be used as a biomarker of CAD in the early phase. Thus, the purpose of this research is to discover the difference in antibody production between wild-type and mutant V279F. The PAF-AH enzyme was isolated from mice lymphocyte cells in order to develop this enzyme as a biomarker of cardiovascular disease. PAF-AH migrates at 55kDa according to SDS-PAGE analysis. Flow cytometry analysis showed that mutant PAF-AH (V279F) is more antigenic than wild-type PAF-AH. The missense mutation of V279F PAF-AH means this enzyme cannot catabolize the acetyl group at the sn-2 position of PAF.

  9. Identification and analysis of cytochrome P450IID6 antigenic sites recognized by anti-liver-kidney microsome type-1 antibodies (LKM1).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, A M; Cresteil, D; Boniface, O; Clerc, F F; Alvarez, F

    1993-05-01

    Anti-liver-kidney microsome type-1 antibodies (LKM1), present in sera from a group of patients with autoimmune hepatitis, are directed against P450IID6. Previous work, using cDNA constructions spanning most of the P450IID6 protein defined the main immunogenic site between the amino acids (aa), 254-271 and predicted the presence of other putative immunogenic sites in the molecule. Fusion proteins from new cDNA constructions, spanning so-far-untested regions between aa 1-125 and 431-522, were not recognized by LKM1-positive sera. Synthetic peptides, representing sequences from putative immunogenic regions or previously untested regions, allowed a precise definition of four antigenic sites located between peptides 257-269, 321-351, 373-389 and 410-429, which were recognized, respectively, by 14, 8, 1 and 2 out of 15 LKM1-positive sera tested. The minimal sequence of the main antigenic site (peptide 257-269) recognized by the autoantibody was established to be WDPAQPPRD (peptide 262-270). In addition, deletion and replacement experiments showed that aa 263 (Asp) was essential for the binding of the autoantibody to peptide 262-270. Analysis of the second most frequently recognized peptide between aa 321-351, was performed using peptides 321-339 and 340-351 in competitive inhibition studies. Complete elimination of antibody binding to peptide 321-351 obtained by absorption of both shorter peptides indicated that peptide 321-351 is a discontinuous antigenic site. LKM1-positive sera reacting against peptide 321-351 recognized either both the shorter peptides or just one of them preferentially. Results of the present study suggest that the production of LKM1 antibodies is an antigen-driven, poly- or oligoclonal B cell response. The identification of antigenic sites will allow: (i) the development of specific diagnostic tests and (ii) further studies on the pathogenic value of LKM1 antibodies in autoimmune hepatitis.

  10. Fusion neutron irradiation of Ni-Si alloys at high temperature*1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, J. S.; Guinan, M. W.; Hahn, P. A.

    1988-07-01

    Two Ni-4% Si alloys, with different cold work levels, have been irradiated with 14-MeV fusion neutrons at 623 K, and their Curie temperatures have been monitored during irradiation. The results are compared to those of an identical alloy irradiated by 2-MeV electrons. The results show that increasing dislocation density increases the Curie temperature change rate. At the same damage rate, the Curie temperature change rate for the alloy irradiated by 14-MeV fusion neutrons is only 6-7% of that for an identical alloy irradiated by 2-MeV electrons. It is well known that the migration of radiation induced defects contributes to segregation of silicon atoms at sinks in this alloy, causing the Curie temperature changes. The current results imply that the relative free defect production efficiency decreases from one for the electron irradiated sample to 6-7% for the fusion neutron irradiated sample.

  11. Mutation Analysis of JAK2V617F, FLT3-ITD, NPM1, and DNMT3A in Chinese Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Since the discovery of JAK2V617F tyrosine kinase-activating mutation, several genes have been found mutated in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs. FLT3-ITD, NPM1, and DNMT3A mutations frequently occurred in AML patients and have been found conferred with myeloproliferative neoplasms in mouse model. Therefore, we sought to search for mutations in JAK2V617F, FLT3-ITD, NPM1, and DNMT3A in 129 cases including 120 classic MPN cases and 9 MDS/MPN cases. JAK2V617F mutation was found in 60% of the 120 classic MPNs. However, none of the patients displayed FLT3-ITD and NPM1 mutations; only 2 patients harbored DNMT3A R882 mutation. Further studies including whole-genome sequence will be conducted to investigate the possible involvement of these genes in MPN.

  12. Základy fúzní energetiky V. – Výroba elektřiny

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Entler, Slavomír; Mlynář, Jan; Dostál, V.

    Září (2016), č. článku 14704. ISSN 1801-4399 Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : Production of electricity * Fusion Energy * Nuclear fusion Subject RIV: JF - Nuclear Energetics http://energetika.tzb-info.cz/elektroenergetika/14704-zaklady-fuzni-energetiky-v-vyroba-elektriny

  13. JAK2 V617F-dependent upregulation of PU.1 expression in the peripheral blood of myeloproliferative neoplasm patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamotsu Irino

    Full Text Available Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN are multiple disease entities characterized by clonal expansion of one or more of the myeloid lineages (i.e. granulocytic, erythroid, megakaryocytic and mast cell. JAK2 mutations, such as the common V617F substitution and the less common exon 12 mutations, are frequently detected in such tumor cells and have been incorporated into the diagnostic criteria published by the World Health Organization since 2008. However, the mechanism by which these mutations contribute to MPN development is poorly understood. We examined gene expression profiles of MPN patients focusing on genes in the JAK-STAT signaling pathway using low-density real-time PCR arrays. We identified the following 2 upregulated genes in MPN patients: a known target of the JAK-STAT axis, SOCS3, and a potentially novel target, SPI1, encoding PU.1. Induction of PU.1 expression by JAK2 V617F in JAK2-wildtype K562 cells and its downregulation by JAK2 siRNA transfection in JAK2 V617F-positive HEL cells supported this possibility. We also found that the ABL1 kinase inhibitor imatinib was very effective in suppressing PU.1 expression in BCR-ABL1-positive K562 cells but not in HEL cells. This suggests that PU.1 expression is regulated by both JAK2 and ABL1. The contribution of the two kinases in driving PU.1 expression was dominant for JAK2 and ABL1 in HEL and K562 cells, respectively. Therefore, PU.1 may be a common transcription factor upregulated in MPN. PU.1 is a transcription factor required for myeloid differentiation and is implicated in erythroid leukemia. Therefore, expression of PU.1 downstream of activated JAK2 may explain why JAK2 mutations are frequently observed in MPN patients.

  14. Localization of a Region in the Fusion Protein of Avian Metapneumovirus That Modulates Cell-Cell Fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Yongwei; Feng, Kurtis; Yao, Xiangjie; Cai, Hui; Li, Junan; Mirza, Anne M.; Iorio, Ronald M.

    2012-01-01

    The genus Metapneumovirus within the subfamily Pneumovirinae of the family Paramyxoviridae includes two members, human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), causing respiratory tract infections in humans and birds, respectively. Paramyxoviruses enter host cells by fusing the viral envelope with a host cell membrane. Membrane fusion of hMPV appears to be unique, in that fusion of some hMPV strains requires low pH. Here, we show that the fusion (F) proteins of aMPV promote fusion in the absence of the attachment protein and low pH is not required. Furthermore, there are notable differences in cell-cell fusion among aMPV subtypes. Trypsin was required for cell-cell fusion induced by subtype B but not subtypes A and C. The F protein of aMPV subtype A was highly fusogenic, whereas those from subtypes B and C were not. By construction and evaluation of chimeric F proteins composed of domains from the F proteins of subtypes A and B, we localized a region composed of amino acid residues 170 to 338 in the F protein that is responsible for the hyperfusogenic phenotype of the F from subtype A. Further mutagenesis analysis revealed that residues R295, G297, and K323 in this region collectively contributed to the hyperfusogenicity. Taken together, we have identified a region in the aMPV F protein that modulates the extent of membrane fusion. A model for fusion consistent with these data is presented. PMID:22915815

  15. Localization of a region in the fusion protein of avian metapneumovirus that modulates cell-cell fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Yongwei; Feng, Kurtis; Yao, Xiangjie; Cai, Hui; Li, Junan; Mirza, Anne M; Iorio, Ronald M; Li, Jianrong

    2012-11-01

    The genus Metapneumovirus within the subfamily Pneumovirinae of the family Paramyxoviridae includes two members, human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), causing respiratory tract infections in humans and birds, respectively. Paramyxoviruses enter host cells by fusing the viral envelope with a host cell membrane. Membrane fusion of hMPV appears to be unique, in that fusion of some hMPV strains requires low pH. Here, we show that the fusion (F) proteins of aMPV promote fusion in the absence of the attachment protein and low pH is not required. Furthermore, there are notable differences in cell-cell fusion among aMPV subtypes. Trypsin was required for cell-cell fusion induced by subtype B but not subtypes A and C. The F protein of aMPV subtype A was highly fusogenic, whereas those from subtypes B and C were not. By construction and evaluation of chimeric F proteins composed of domains from the F proteins of subtypes A and B, we localized a region composed of amino acid residues 170 to 338 in the F protein that is responsible for the hyperfusogenic phenotype of the F from subtype A. Further mutagenesis analysis revealed that residues R295, G297, and K323 in this region collectively contributed to the hyperfusogenicity. Taken together, we have identified a region in the aMPV F protein that modulates the extent of membrane fusion. A model for fusion consistent with these data is presented.

  16. Impact of JAK2V617F Mutation Burden on Disease Phenotype in Chinese Patients with JAK2V617F-positive Polycythemia Vera (PV) and Essential thrombocythemia (ET).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shixiang; Zhang, Xiang; Xu, Yang; Feng, Yufeng; Sheng, Wenhong; Cen, Jiannong; Wu, Depei; Han, Yue

    2016-01-01

    Most patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and half of essential thrombocythemia (ET) possess an activating JAK2V617F mutation. The objective of this study was to better define the effect of JAK2V617F mutant allele burden on clinical phenotypes in Chinese patients, especially thrombosis. By real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the JAK2V617F mutation burden was detected in 170 JAK2V617F-positive patients, including 54 PV and 116 ET. The results showed that JAK2V617F allele burden was higher in PV than in ET (PET (68.5% VS 26.7%) (PET patients showed increased JAK2V617F allele burden in the group with higher hemoglobin (HGB above 150 g/L) (PET. In PV patients, JAK2V617F mutation burden had influence on WBC counts. And the clinical characteristics of ET patients, such as WBC counts, hemoglobin level, splenomegaly and thrombosis, were influenced by JAK2V617F mutation burden. Male, high hemoglobin (HGB above 150 g/L), and increased JAK2V617F mutation burden (JAK2V617F allele burden ≥ 16.5%) were risks of thrombosis (PET patients by Logistic Regression.

  17. Fusion reactor technology studies. Final report for period August 1, 1972 - October 31, 1978

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulcinski, G.L.; Maynard, C.W.

    1984-04-01

    Major accomplishments for the period August 1, 1972 - October 31, 1978 include the publishing of four comprehensive fusion reactor conceptual design studies; experimental studies in the areas of radiation damage, plasma-wall interactions, superconducting magnets and 14-MeV neutron cross sections; development of the concepts of carbon curtains and ISSEC's for use in fusion reactors; development of a neutron and gamma heating computer code, a radioactivity and afterheat computer code and a neutral transport computer code; and studies in the areas of RF heating for tokamaks and resource assessment for fusion reactors

  18. Assessment of realizability constraints in v2-f turbulence models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sveningsson, A.; Davidson, L.

    2004-01-01

    The use of the realizability constraint in v 2 -f turbulence models is assessed by computing a stator vane passage flow. In this flow the stagnation region is large and it is shown that the time scale bound suggested by [Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow 17 (1995) 89] is well suited to prevent unphysical growth of turbulence kinetic energy. However, this constraint causes numerical instabilities when used in the equation for the relaxation parameter, f. It is also shown that the standard use of the realizability constraint in the v 2 -f model is inconsistent and some modifications are suggested. These changes of the v 2 -f model are examined and shown to have negligible effect on the overall performance of the v 2 -f model. In this work two different versions of the v 2 -f model are investigated and the results obtained are compared with experimental data. The model on a form similar to that originally suggested by Durbin (e.g. [AIAA J. 33 (1995) 659]) produced the overall best agreement with stator vane heat transfer data

  19. Binding of hydrophobic antigens to surfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2017-01-01

    A first aspect of the present invention is a method of detecting antibodies comprising the steps of: i) providing a first group of beads comprising a surface modified with C1-C10 alkyl groups comprising amine, ammonium, ether and/or hydroxyl groups, ii) contacting said first group of beads......-antigen-antibody conjugates, and v) detecting said bead-antigen-antibody conjugates. Further aspects include an antibody detection kit, a bead-antigen conjugate and a composition comprising at least two different groups of bead-antigen-conjugates....

  20. Immune responses of B. malayi thioredoxin (TRX) and venom allergen homologue (VAH) chimeric multiple antigen for lymphatic filariasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anugraha, Gandhirajan; Jeyaprita, Parasurama Jawaharlal; Madhumathi, Jayaprakasam; Sheeba, Tamilvanan; Kaliraj, Perumal

    2013-12-01

    Although multiple vaccine strategy for lymphatic filariasis has provided tremendous hope, the choice of antigens used in combination has determined its success in the previous studies. Multiple antigens comprising key vaccine candidates from different life cycle stages would provide a promising strategy if the antigenic combination is chosen by careful screening. In order to analyze one such combination, we have used a chimeric construct carrying the well studied B. malayi antigens thioredoxin (BmTRX) and venom allergen homologue (BmVAH) as a fusion protein (TV) and evaluated its immune responses in mice model. The efficacy of fusion protein vaccine was explored in comparison with the single antigen vaccines and their cocktail. In mice, TV induced significantly high antibody titer of 1,28,000 compared to cocktail vaccine TRX+VAH (50,000) and single antigen vaccine TRX (16,000) or VAH (50,000). Furthermore, TV elicited higher level of cellular proliferative response together with elevated levels of IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-5 indicating a Th1/Th2 balanced response. The isotype antibody profile showed significantly high level of IgG1 and IgG2b confirming the balanced response elicited by TV. Immunization with TV antigen induced high levels of both humoral and cellular immune responses compared to either cocktail or antigen given alone. The result suggests that TV is highly immunogenic in mice and hence the combination needs to be evaluated for its prophylactic potential.

  1. Complete fusion 20Ne + 12C at 110 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saulnier, J.-C.

    1978-01-01

    Identification in mass and charge of products of the reaction 20 Ne (Elab = 110 MeV) + 12 C has been obtained using a time-of-flight system and a ΔE-E telescope. Angular distributions and energy spectra have been measured between laboratory angles of 3,7 0 and 17 0 . The fusion cross-section has been measured to be 1270 +- 150 mb, with the reaction cross-section of 1700 +- 170 mb. Yields of evaporation residues are compared to predictions of the code GROGI2, using the Hauser-Feshbach angular momentum dependent formalism. Calculations of the laboratory energy and angular distributions of evaporation residues are carried out and compared with the experimental data for several center of mass angular distributions (isotropic, 1/sin theta, 1/sin 2 theta) [fr

  2. The yeast cell fusion protein Prm1p requires covalent dimerization to promote membrane fusion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Engel

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Prm1p is a multipass membrane protein that promotes plasma membrane fusion during yeast mating. The mechanism by which Prm1p and other putative regulators of developmentally controlled cell-cell fusion events facilitate membrane fusion has remained largely elusive. Here, we report that Prm1p forms covalently linked homodimers. Covalent Prm1p dimer formation occurs via intermolecular disulfide bonds of two cysteines, Cys-120 and Cys-545. PRM1 mutants in which these cysteines have been substituted are fusion defective. These PRM1 mutants are normally expressed, retain homotypic interaction and can traffic to the fusion zone. Because prm1-C120S and prm1-C545S mutants can form covalent dimers when coexpressed with wild-type PRM1, an intermolecular C120-C545 disulfide linkage is inferred. Cys-120 is adjacent to a highly conserved hydrophobic domain. Mutation of a charged residue within this hydrophobic domain abrogates formation of covalent dimers, trafficking to the fusion zone, and fusion-promoting activity. The importance of intermolecular disulfide bonding informs models regarding the mechanism of Prm1-mediated cell-cell fusion.

  3. Molecular mimics of the tumour antigen MUC1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tharappel C James

    Full Text Available A key requirement for the development of cancer immunotherapy is the identification of tumour-associated antigens that are differentially or exclusively expressed on the tumour and recognized by the host immune system. However, immune responses to such antigens are often muted or lacking due to the antigens being recognized as "self", and further complicated by the tumour environment and regulation of immune cells within. In an effort to circumvent the lack of immune responses to tumour antigens, we have devised a strategy to develop potential synthetic immunogens. The strategy, termed mirror image phage display, is based on the concept of molecular mimicry as demonstrated by the idiotype/anti-idiotype paradigm in the immune system. Here as 'proof of principle' we have selected molecular mimics of the well-characterised tumour associated antigen, the human mucin1 protein (MUC1 from two different peptide phage display libraries. The putative mimics were compared in structure and function to that of the native antigen. Our results demonstrate that several of the mimic peptides display T-cell stimulation activity in vitro when presented by matured dendritic cells. The mimic peptides and the native MUC1 antigenic epitopes can cross-stimulate T-cells. The data also indicate that sequence homology and/or chemical properties to the original epitope are not the sole determining factors for the observed immunostimulatory activity of the mimic peptides.

  4. Atomic fusion, Gerrard atomic fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerrard, T.H.

    1980-01-01

    In the approach to atomic fusion described here the heat produced in a fusion reaction, which is induced in a chamber by the interaction of laser beams and U.H.F. electromagnetic beams with atom streams, is transferred to a heat exchanger for electricity generation by a coolant flowing through a jacket surrounding the chamber. (U.K.)

  5. Optimization of fusion power density in the two-energy-component tokamak reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jassby, D.L.

    1974-10-01

    The optimal plasma conditions for maximizing fusion power density P/sub f/ in a beam-driven D--T tokamak reactor (TCT) are considered. Given T/sub e/ = T/sub i/ and fixed total plasma pressure, there is an optimal n/sub e/tau/sub E/ for maximizing P/sub f/, viz. n/sub e/tau/sub E/ = 4 x 10 12 to 2 x 10 13 cm -3 sec for T/sub e/ = 3--15 keV and 200-keV D beams. The corresponding anti GAMMA equals (beam pressure/bulk-plasma pressure) is 0.96 to 0.70. P/sub fmax/ increases as T/sub e/ is reduced and can be an order of magnitude larger than the maximum P/sub f/ of a thermal reactor of the same beta, at any temperature. A lower practical limit to T/sub e/ may be set by requiring a minimum beam power multiplication Q/sub b/. For the purpose of fissile breeding, the minimum Q/sub b/ approximately 0.6, requiring T/sub e/ greater than or equal to 3 keV if Z = 1. The optimal operating conditions of a TCT for obtaining P/sub fmax/ are considerably different from those for enhancing Q/sub b/. Maximizing P/sub f/ requires restricting both T/sub e/ and n/sub e/tau/sub E/, maintaining a bulk plasma markedly enriched in tritium, and spoiling confinement of fusion alphas. Considerable impurity content can be tolerated without seriously degrading P/sub fmax/, and high-Z impurity radiation may be useful for regulating tau/sub E/. (auth)

  6. Tumor immunolocalization using 124I-iodine-labeled JAA-F11 antibody to Thomsen-Friedenreich alpha-linked antigen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaturvedi, Richa; Heimburg, Jamie; Yan, Jun; Koury, Stephen; Sajjad, Munawwar; Abdel-Nabi, Hani H.; Rittenhouse-Olson, Kate

    2008-01-01

    Clinical immunolocalization has been attempted by others with an anti-Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (TF-Ag) mAb that bound both alpha- and beta-linked TF-Ag. In this report, 124 I-labeled mAb JAA-F11 specific for alpha-linked TF-Ag showed higher tumor specificity in in vivo micro-positron emission tomography (micro-PET) of the mouse mammary adenocarcinoma line, 4T1, showing no preferential uptake by the kidney. Labeled product remained localized in the tumor for at least 20 days. Glycan array analysis showed structural specificity of the antibody

  7. Human NTH1 physically interacts with p53 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oyama, Masaki; Wakasugi, Mitsuo; Hama, Takashi; Hashidume, Hatsuho; Iwakami, Yasutaka; Imai, Rika; Hoshino, Sanae; Morioka, Hiroshi; Ishigaki, Yasuhito; Nikaido, Osamu; Matsunaga, Tsukasa

    2004-01-01

    Thymine glycol (Tg) is one of predominant oxidative DNA lesions caused by ionizing radiation and other oxidative stresses. Human NTH1 is a bifunctional enzyme with DNA glycosylase and AP lyase activities and removes Tg as the first step of base excision repair (BER). We have searched for the factors interacting with NTH1 by using a pull-down assay and found that GST-NTH1 fusion protein precipitates proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and p53 as well as XPG from human cell-free extracts. GST-NTH1 also bound to recombinant FLAG-tagged XPG, PCNA, and (His) 6 -tagged p53 proteins, indicating direct protein-protein interaction between those proteins. Furthermore, His-p53 and FLAG-XPG, but not PCNA, stimulated the Tg DNA glycosylase/AP lyase activity of GST-NTH1 or NTH1. These results provide an insight into the positive regulation of BER reaction and also suggest a possible linkage between BER of Tg and other cellular mechanisms

  8. A Replication-Defective Human Type 5 Adenovirus-Based Trivalent Vaccine Confers Complete Protection against Plague in Mice and Nonhuman Primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sha, Jian; Kirtley, Michelle L; Klages, Curtis; Erova, Tatiana E; Telepnev, Maxim; Ponnusamy, Duraisamy; Fitts, Eric C; Baze, Wallace B; Sivasubramani, Satheesh K; Lawrence, William S; Patrikeev, Igor; Peel, Jennifer E; Andersson, Jourdan A; Kozlova, Elena V; Tiner, Bethany L; Peterson, Johnny W; McWilliams, David; Patel, Snehal; Rothe, Eric; Motin, Vladimir L; Chopra, Ashok K

    2016-07-01

    Currently, no plague vaccine exists in the United States for human use. The capsular antigen (Caf1 or F1) and two type 3 secretion system (T3SS) components, the low-calcium-response V antigen (LcrV) and the needle protein YscF, represent protective antigens of Yersinia pestis We used a replication-defective human type 5 adenovirus (Ad5) vector and constructed recombinant monovalent and trivalent vaccines (rAd5-LcrV and rAd5-YFV) that expressed either the codon-optimized lcrV or the fusion gene designated YFV (consisting of ycsF, caf1, and lcrV). Immunization of mice with the trivalent rAd5-YFV vaccine by either the intramuscular (i.m.) or the intranasal (i.n.) route provided protection superior to that with the monovalent rAd5-LcrV vaccine against bubonic and pneumonic plague when animals were challenged with Y. pestis CO92. Preexisting adenoviral immunity did not diminish the protective response, and the protection was always higher when mice were administered one i.n. dose of the trivalent vaccine (priming) followed by a single i.m. booster dose of the purified YFV antigen. Immunization of cynomolgus macaques with the trivalent rAd5-YFV vaccine by the prime-boost strategy provided 100% protection against a stringent aerosol challenge dose of CO92 to animals that had preexisting adenoviral immunity. The vaccinated and challenged macaques had no signs of disease, and the invading pathogen rapidly cleared with no histopathological lesions. This is the first report showing the efficacy of an adenovirus-vectored trivalent vaccine against pneumonic plague in mouse and nonhuman primate (NHP) models. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  9. Characterization of the fusion-fission process in light nuclear systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anjos, R.M. dos.

    1992-01-01

    Fusion cross sections measurements of highly damped processes and elastic scattering were performed for the 16, 17, 18 O + 10, 11 B and 19 F + 9 Be, in the incident energy interval 22 ≤ E LAB ≤ 64 MeV. Evidences are presented that highly damped binary processes observed in these systems are originated from a fusion-fission process rather than a dinuclear ''orbiting'' mechanism. The relative importance of the fusion-fission process in these very light systems is demonstrated both by the experimental results, which indicate a statistically balanced compound nucleus fission process occurrence, and theoretical calculations. (L.C.J.A.)

  10. Fusion with projectiles from carbon to argon at energies between 20A MeV and 60A MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galin, J.

    1986-01-01

    Fusion reactions are known to be the dominant reaction channel at low bombarding energies and can now be investigated with a large variety of projectiles at several tens of MeV per nucleon. The gross characteristics of the fusion process can be studied by measuring global quantities, such as the linear momentum transferred from projectile to target and the dissipated energy of the reaction. The strong correlation between these two quantities is demonstrated at moderate bombarding energies, with a Ne projectile on a U target. It is expected that light particle (charged or neutron) multiplicity measurements can be extended to this higher energy domain and be used to selectively filter these collisions, according to their degree of violence. A review of the linear momentum transfer is made, considering essentially heavy targets and two important parameters in the entrance channel: the projectile energy and its mass. Over a broad mass range, and for energies up to 30A MeV, the momentum transfer scales with the mass of the projectile. At 30A MeV, the most probable value of projectile momentum transferred to the fused system is 80%, and this represents roughly 180 MeV/c per projectile nucleon. At higher bombarding energies, the momentum distribution in the fused systems, as observed from binary fission events, seems to depend on the mass of the projectile. Further studies are still needed to understand this behavior. Finally, the decay of highly excited (E* similarly ordered 500-800 MeV) fused systems, with masses close to 270 amu, is studied from the characteristics of both fusion fragments and light charged particles. It is shown that thermal equilibrium is reached before fission, even for such high energy deposition. However, the decay sequence is sensitive to dynamical effects and does not depend only on available phase space

  11. Arsenate reduction and methylation in the cells of Trichoderma asperellum SM-12F1, Penicillium janthinellum SM-12F4, and Fusarium oxysporum CZ-8F1 investigated with X-ray absorption near edge structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Su, S.M., E-mail: shimingsu@163.com [Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing (China); Zeng, X.B., E-mail: zengxb@ieda.org.cn [Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing (China); Li, L.F.; Duan, R.; Bai, L.Y. [Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing (China); Li, A.G.; Wang, J.; Jiang, S. [Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai (China)

    2012-12-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Three fungal strains are capable of As(V) reduction and methylation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer As(V) reduction might be more easily processed than the methylation in fungal cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer As sequestration and speciation transformation might be the detoxification processes. - Abstract: Synchrotron radiation-based X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) was introduced to directly analysis chemical species of arsenic (As) in the cells of Trichoderma asperellum SM-12F1, Penicillium janthinellum SM-12F4, and Fusarium oxysporum CZ-8F1 capable of As accumulation and volatilisation. After exposure to As(V) of 500 mg L{sup -1} for 15 days, a total of 60.5% and 65.3% of the accumulated As in the cells of T. asperellum SM-12F1 and P. janthinellum SM-12F4, respectively, was As(III), followed by 31.3% and 32.4% DMA (dimethylarsinic acid), 8.3% and 2.3% MMA (monomethylarsonic acid), respectively. However, for F. oxysporum CZ-8F1, 54.5% of the accumulated As was As(III), followed by 37.8% MMA and 7.7% As(V). The reduction and methylation of As(V) formed As(III), MMA, and DMA as the primacy products, and the reduction of As(V) might be more easily processed than the methylation. These results will help to understanding the mechanisms of As detoxification and its future application in bioremediation.

  12. Arsenate reduction and methylation in the cells of Trichoderma asperellum SM-12F1, Penicillium janthinellum SM-12F4, and Fusarium oxysporum CZ-8F1 investigated with X-ray absorption near edge structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, S.M.; Zeng, X.B.; Li, L.F.; Duan, R.; Bai, L.Y.; Li, A.G.; Wang, J.; Jiang, S.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Three fungal strains are capable of As(V) reduction and methylation. ► As(V) reduction might be more easily processed than the methylation in fungal cells. ► As sequestration and speciation transformation might be the detoxification processes. - Abstract: Synchrotron radiation-based X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) was introduced to directly analysis chemical species of arsenic (As) in the cells of Trichoderma asperellum SM-12F1, Penicillium janthinellum SM-12F4, and Fusarium oxysporum CZ-8F1 capable of As accumulation and volatilisation. After exposure to As(V) of 500 mg L −1 for 15 days, a total of 60.5% and 65.3% of the accumulated As in the cells of T. asperellum SM-12F1 and P. janthinellum SM-12F4, respectively, was As(III), followed by 31.3% and 32.4% DMA (dimethylarsinic acid), 8.3% and 2.3% MMA (monomethylarsonic acid), respectively. However, for F. oxysporum CZ-8F1, 54.5% of the accumulated As was As(III), followed by 37.8% MMA and 7.7% As(V). The reduction and methylation of As(V) formed As(III), MMA, and DMA as the primacy products, and the reduction of As(V) might be more easily processed than the methylation. These results will help to understanding the mechanisms of As detoxification and its future application in bioremediation.

  13. Prevalence and sequence variations of the genes encoding the five antigens included in the novel 5CVMB vaccine covering group B meningococcal disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobsson, Susanne; Hedberg, Sara Thulin; Mölling, Paula; Unemo, Magnus; Comanducci, Maurizio; Rappuoli, Rino; Olcén, Per

    2009-03-04

    During the recent years, projects are in progress for designing broad-range non-capsular-based meningococcal vaccines, covering also serogroup B isolates. We have examined three genes encoding antigens (NadA, GNA1030 and GNA2091) included in a novel vaccine, i.e. the 5 Component Vaccine against Meningococcus B (5CVMB), in terms of gene prevalence and sequence variations. These data were combined with the results from a similar study, examining the two additional antigens included in the 5CVMB (fHbp and GNA2132). nadA and fHbp v. 1 were present in 38% (n=36), respectively 71% (n=67) of the isolates, whereas gna2132, gna1030 and gna2091 were present in all the Neisseria meningitidis isolates tested (n=95). The level of amino acid conservation was relatively high in GNA1030 (93%), GNA2091 (92%), and within the main variants of NadA and fHbp. GNA2132 (54% of the amino acids conserved) appeared to be the most diversified antigen. Consequently, the theoretical coverage of the 5CVMB antigens and the feasibility to use these in a broad-range meningococcal vaccine is appealing.

  14. Inhibition of Spontaneous Breast Cancer Metastasis by Anti—Thomsen-Friedenreich Antigen Monoclonal Antibody JAA-F11

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamie Heimburg

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (TF-Ag is expressed in many carcinomas, including those of the breast, colon, bladder, prostate. TF-Ag is important in adhesion and metastasis and as a potential immunotherapy target. We hypothesized that passive transfer of JAAF11, an anti -TF-Ag monoclonal antibody, may create a survival advantage for patients with TIF-Ag -expressing tumors by cytotoxicity, blocking of tumor cell adhesion, inhibition of metastasis. This was tested using in vitro models of tumor cell growth; cytotoxicity assays; in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo models of cancer metastasis; and, finally, in vivo effects in mice with metastatic breast cancer. Unlike some anti-TF-Ag antibodies, JAA-F11 did not enhance breast carcinoma cell growth. JAA-F11 did not induce the killing of 4T1 tumor cells through complement-dependent cytotoxicity or apoptotic mechanisms. However, JAA-F11 blocked the stages of metastasis that involve the adhesion of human breast carcinoma cells to human endothelial cells (human umbilical vein endothelial cells and human bone marrow endothelial cells 60 in in vitro static adhesion models, in a perfused ex vivo model, in murine lung vasculature in an in vivo metastatic deposit formation assay. JAA-F11 significantly extended the median survival time of animals bearing metastatic 4T1 breast tumors and caused a > 50% inhibition of lung metastasis.

  15. 21 CFR 660.1 - Antibody to Hepatitis B Surface Antigen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Antibody to Hepatitis B Surface Antigen. 660.1... Hepatitis B Surface Antigen § 660.1 Antibody to Hepatitis B Surface Antigen. (a) Proper name and definition. The proper name of this product shall be Antibody to Hepatitis B Surface Antigen. The product is...

  16. Insights into the mechanism of drug resistance: X-ray structure analysis of G48V/C95F tethered HIV-1 protease dimer/saquinavir complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prashar, Vishal; Bihani, Subhash C.; Das, Amit; Rao, D.R.; Hosur, M.V.

    2010-01-01

    The mutation G48V in HIV-1 protease is a major resistance mutation against the drug saquinavir. Recently, G48V mutation is found to co-exist with the mutation C95F in AIDS patients treated with saquinavir. We report here the three-dimensional crystal structure of G48V/C95F tethered HIV-1 protease/saquinavir complex. The structure indicates following as the possible causes of drug resistance: (1) loss of direct van der Waals interactions between saquinavir and enzyme residues PHE-53 and PRO-1081, (2) loss of water-mediated hydrogen bonds between the carbonyl oxygen atoms in saquinavir and amide nitrogen atoms of flap residues 50 and 1050, (3) changes in inter-monomer interactions, which could affect the energetics of domain movements associated with inhibitor-binding, and (4) significant reduction in the stability of the mutant dimer. The present structure also provides a rationale for the clinical observation that the resistance mutations C95F/G48V/V82A occur as a cluster in AIDS patients.

  17. Enhancement of antitumor activity by using a fully human gene encoding a single-chain fragmented antibody specific for carcinoembryonic antigen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shibaguchi H

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Hirotomo Shibaguchi,1,* Naixiang Luo,1,* Naoto Shirasu,1,* Motomu Kuroki,2 Masahide Kuroki1 1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan; 2School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan *These authors equally contributed to this work Abstract: Human leukocyte antigen and/or costimulatory molecules are frequently lacking in metastatic tumor cells, and thus tumor cells are able to escape from the immune system. Although lymphocytes with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR is a promising approach for overcoming this challenge in cancer immunotherapy, administration of modified T cells alone often demonstrates little efficacy in patients. Therefore, in order to enhance the antitumor activity of immune cells in the cancer microenvironment, we used lymphocytes expressing CAR in combination with a fusion protein of IL-2 that contained the single-chain fragmented antibody (scFv specific for the carcinoembryonic antigen. Among a series of CAR constructs, with or without a spacer and the intracellular domain of CD28, the CAR construct containing CD8α, CD28, and CD3ζ most effectively activated and expressed INF-γ in CAR-bearing T cells. Furthermore, in comparison with free IL-2, the combination of peripheral blood mononuclear cells expressing CAR and the fusion protein containing IL-2 significantly enhanced the antitumor activity against MKN-45 cells, a human gastric cancer cell line. In conclusion, this novel combination therapy of CAR and a fusion protein consisting of a functional cytokine and a fully human scFv may be a promising approach for adoptive cancer immunotherapy. Keywords: chimeric antigen receptor, fusion protein, human scFv, CEA, combination therapy

  18. Strategic evaluation of vaccine candidate antigens for the prevention of Visceral Leishmaniasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duthie, Malcolm S; Favila, Michelle; Hofmeyer, Kimberley A; Tutterrow, Yeung L; Reed, Steven J; Laurance, John D; Picone, Alessandro; Guderian, Jeffrey; Bailor, H Remy; Vallur, Aarthy C; Liang, Hong; Mohamath, Raodoh; Vergara, Julie; Howard, Randall F; Coler, Rhea N; Reed, Steven G

    2016-05-27

    Infection with Leishmania parasites results in a range of clinical manifestations and outcomes, the most severe of which is visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Vaccination will likely provide the most effective long-term control strategy, as the large number of vectors and potential infectious reservoirs renders sustained interruption of Leishmania parasite transmission extremely difficult. Selection of the best vaccine is complicated because, although several vaccine antigen candidates have been proposed, they have emerged following production in different platforms. To consolidate the information that has been generated into a single vaccine platform, we expressed seven candidates as recombinant proteins in E. coli. After verifying that each recombinant protein could be recognized by VL patients, we evaluated their protective efficacy against experimental L. donovani infection of mice. Administration in formulation with the Th1-potentiating adjuvant GLA-SE indicated that each antigen could elicit antigen-specific Th1 responses that were protective. Considering the ability to reduce parasite burden along with additional factors such as sequence identity across Leishmania species, we then generated a chimeric fusion protein comprising a combination of the 8E, p21 and SMT proteins. This E. coli -expressed fusion protein was also demonstrated to protect against L. donovani infection. These data indicate a novel recombinant vaccine antigen with the potential for use in VL control programs. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Investigation of the influence of incomplete fusion on complete fusion of {sup 12}C-induced reactions at {approx} 4-7.2 MeV/nucleon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amanuel, F.K. [INFN, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Legnaro (Padova) (Italy); Zelalem, B.; Chaubey, A.K. [Addis Ababa University, Department of Physics, P.O.Box 1176, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Agarwal, Avinash [Bareilly College, Department of Physics, Bareilly (India); Rizvi, I.A.; Maheshwari, Anjana; Ahmed, Tauseef [Aligarh Muslim University, Department of Physics, Aligarh (India)

    2011-12-15

    In this paper, we present the results of our investigation of reaction dynamics leading to incomplete fusion of heavy ions at moderate excitation energies, especially the influence of incomplete fusion on complete fusion of {sup 12}C -induced reactions at specific energies {approx} 4-7.2M eV/nucleon. Excitation functions of various reaction products populated via complete and/or incomplete fusions of a {sup 12}C projectile with {sup 93}Nb, {sup 59}Co and {sup 52}Cr targets were measured at several specific energies {approx} 4-7.2 MeV/nucleon, using a recoil catcher technique, followed by off-line {gamma}-ray spectrometry. The measured excitation functions were compared with theoretical values obtained using the PACE4 statistical model code. For representative non-{alpha}-emitting channels in the {sup 12}C + {sup 93}Nb system, the experimentally measured excitation functions were, in general, found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. However, for {alpha}-emitting channels in the {sup 12}C + {sup 93}Nb, {sup 12}C + {sup 59}Co, and {sup 12}C + {sup 52}Cr systems, the measured excitation functions were higher than the predictions of the theoretical model code, which may be credited to incomplete fusion reactions at these energies. An attempt was made to estimate the incomplete fusion fraction for the present systems, which revealed that the fraction was sensitive to the projectile energy and mass asymmetry of the entrance channel. (orig.)

  20. Theoretical estimation of "6"4Cu production with neutrons emitted during "1"8F production with a 30 MeV medical cyclotron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auditore, Lucrezia; Amato, Ernesto; Baldari, Sergio

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This work presents the theoretical estimation of a combined production of "1"8F and "6"4Cu isotopes for PET applications. "6"4Cu production is induced in a secondary target by neutrons emitted during a routine "1"8F production with a 30 MeV cyclotron: protons are used to produce "1"8F by means of the "1"8O(p,n)"1"8F reaction on a ["1"8O]-H_2O target (primary target) and the emitted neutrons are used to produce "6"4Cu by means of the "6"4Zn(n,p)"6"4Cu reaction on enriched zinc target (secondary target). Methods: Monte Carlo simulations were carried out using Monte Carlo N Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code to evaluate flux and energy spectra of neutrons produced in the primary (Be+["1"8O]-H_2O) target by protons and the attenuation of neutron flux in the secondary target. "6"4Cu yield was estimated using an analytical approach based on both TENDL-2015 data library and experimental data selected from EXFOR database. Results: Theoretical evaluations indicate that about 3.8 MBq/μA of "6"4Cu can be obtained as a secondary, ‘side’ production with a 30 MeV cyclotron, for 2 h of irradiation of a proper designed zinc target. Irradiating for 2 h with a proton current of 120 μA, a yield of about 457 MBq is expected. Moreover, the most relevant contaminants result to be "6"3","6"5Zn, which can be chemically separated from "6"4Cu contrarily to what happens with proton irradiation of an enriched "6"4Ni target, which provides "6"4Cu mixed to other copper isotopes as contaminants. Conclusions: The theoretical study discussed in this paper evaluates the potential of the combined production of "1"8F and "6"4Cu for medical purposes, irradiating a properly designed target with 30 MeV protons. Interesting yields of "6"4Cu are obtainable and the estimation of contaminants in the irradiated zinc target is discussed. - Highlights: • "6"4Cu production with secondary neutrons from "1"8F production with protons was investigated. • Neutron reactions induced in enriched "6"4Zn

  1. [Construction and application of prokaryotic expression system of Leptospira interrogans lipL32/1-lipL41/1 fusion gene].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Dong-jiao; Yan, Jie; Mao, Ya-fei; Li, Shu-ping; Luo, Yi-hui; Li, Li-wei

    2005-01-01

    To construct lipL32/1-lipL41/1 fusion gene and its prokaryotic expression system and to determine frequencies of carrying and expression of lipL32 and lipL41 genes in L.interrogans wild strains and specific antibody levels in sera from leptospirosis patients. lipL32/1-lipL41/1 fusion gene was constructed using linking primer PCR method and the prokaryotic expression system of the fusion gene done with routine techniques. SDS-PAGE was used to examine expression of the target recombinant protein rLipL32/1-rLipL41/1. Immunogenicity of rLipL32/1-rLipL41/1 was identified by Western blot. PCR and MAT were performed to detect carrying and expression of lipL32 and lipL41 genes in 97 wild L.interrogans strains. Antibodies against products of lipL32 and lipL41 genes in serum samples from 228 leptospirosis patients were detected by ELISA method. The homogeneity of nucleotide and putative amino acid sequence of lipL32/1-lipL41/1 fusion gene were 99.9 % and 99.8 % in comparison with the reported sequences. Expression output of the target recombinant protein rLipL32/1-rLipL41/1, mainly present in inclusion body, accounted for 10 % of the total bacterial proteins. Both the rabbit antisera against rLipL32/1 and rLipL41/1 could combine to rLipL32/1-rLipL41/1. 97.9 % and 87.6 % of the L.interrogans wild strains had lipL32 and lipL41 genes, respectively. 95.9 % and 84.5 % of the wild strains were positive for MAT with titers of 1:4 - 1:128 using rabbit anti-rLipL32s or anti-rLipL41s sera, respectively. 94.7 % - 97.4 % of the patients'serum samples were positive for rLipL32s antibodies, while 78.5 % - 84.6 % of them were rLipL41s antibodies detectable. lipL32/1-jlipL41/1 fusion gene and its prokaryotic expression system were successfully constructed. The expressed fusion protein had qualified immunogenicity. Both the lipL32 and lipL41 genes are extensively carried and frequently expressed by different serogroups of L.interrogans, and their expression products exhibit cross-antigenicity.

  2. V. F. Gening and problems of the Volga Bulgaria archaeology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudenko Konstantin A.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available V.F. Gening’s contribution to the study of the Volga Bulgaria and his views concerning the history and archaeology of this state formation are considered in the article. His sphere of interest first of all included the links between the Volga Bulgaria population and the tribes belonging to preceding cultures, such as Pyanoborye and Imenkovo ones. V.F. Gening investigated the Bolshie Tarkhany, Turaevo and Rozdestveno burial grounds dated by the 8-9th, 5th and 6-7th centuries A.D., and the materials collected modified the notion of the time and character of the Bulgars arrival in the Volga area. He reconsidered the chronology and interpretation of the archaeological monuments, which referred to the epoch preceding the Bulgars appearance on the Volga, and proposed a hypothesis of the Volga Bulgars as a Turkic-Ugrian ethnos. V.F. Gening created a periodization of the Bolgars history in Eastern Europe within the time span between 1st-3rd centuries AD and the early 13th century AD

  3. Measurement of Inclusive $f_1(1285)$ and $f_1(1420)$ Production in $Z$ Decays with the DELPHI Detector

    CERN Document Server

    Gavillet, P.

    2002-01-01

    Inclusive production of two $(K\\bar K\\pi)^0$ states in the mass region 1.22--1.56 GeV in $Z$ decay at LEP I has been observed by the DELPHI Collaboration. The measured masses and widths are $1274\\pm4$ and $29\\pm12$ MeV for the first peak and $1426\\pm4$ and $51\\pm14$ MeV for the second. A partial-wave analysis has been performed on the $(K\\bar K\\pi)^0$ spectrum in this mass range; the first peak is consistent with the quantum numbers $I^G(J^{PC})=0^+(0^{-+}/1^{++})$ and the second with $I^G(J^{PC})=0^+(1^{++})$. These measurements, as well as their total hadronic production rates per hadronic $Z$ decay, are consistent with the mesons of the type $n\\bar n$, where $n=\\{u,d\\}$. They are very likely to be the $f_1(1285)$ and the $f_1(1420)$, respectively.

  4. The value of 18F-fluoride PET/CT in the assessment of screw loosening in patients after intervertebral fusion stabilization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seifen, Tanja; Rodrigues, Margarida; Rettenbacher, Lukas; Holzmannhofer, Johannes; Pirich, Christian; Piotrowski, Wolfgang; Mc Coy, Mark

    2015-01-01

    We evaluated 18 F-fluoride PET/CT for the diagnosis of screw loosening after intervertebral fusion stabilization and compared the results with those from functional radiography. A group of 59 patients with pain in the region of previous intervertebral fusion stabilization and suspicion of implant instability due to screw loosening were investigated with 18 F-fluoride PET/CT and functional radiography, 30.1 ± 3.4 and 29.3 ± 3.2 months, respectively, after surgery. The criterion for loosening was increased focal uptake surrounding the screw entry point and shaft. SUV max and SUV mean were measured in a region of interest (ROI) drawn around each screw (334 screws analysed). The final diagnosis was established by surgical exploration in 27 patients and clinical follow-up after intervertebral fusion stabilization in 32 patients. Of the 59 patients, 20 were proven positive for implant failure due to screw loosening and 39 were confirmed negative. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 18 F-fluoride PET/CT were 75 %, 97.4 % and 89.8 % in the patient-based analysis, and 45.6 %, 100 % and 80 % in the screw-based analysis, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 93.8 % and 100 % in the patient-based analysis, and 88.4 and 76 % in the screw-based analysis, respectively. CT signs in PET/CT allowed screw breakage to be detected in three patients. SUV max , SUV mean and SUV max /SUV mean ratios in screw ROIs and respective values in reference regions were all found to be significantly different between screws positive for loosening (58 screws) and screws negative for loosening (276 screws). The ratio between SUV max in screw ROIs and the values in reference regions was the most significant parameter for distinguishing screws positive and screws negative for loosening. 18 F-Fluoride PET/CT imaging is useful for the diagnosis of screw loosening in patients with persistent symptoms after intervertebral fusion stabilization. (orig.)

  5. Fusion breeder: its potential role and prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J.D.

    1981-01-01

    The fusion breeder is a concept that utilizes 14 MeV neutrons from D + T → n(14.1 MeV) + α(3.5 MeV) fusion reactions to produce more fuel than the tritium (T) needed to sustain the fusion process. This excess fuel production capacity is used to produce fissile material (Pu-239 or U-233) for subsequent use in fission reactors. We are concentrating on a class of blankets we call fission suppressed. The blanket is the region surrounding the fusion plasma in which fusion neutrons interact to produce fuel and heat. The fission-suppressed blanket uses non-fission reactions (mainly (n,2n) or (n,n't)) to generate excess neutrons for the production of net fuel. This is in contrast to the fast fission class of blankets which use (n,fiss) reactions to generate excess neutrons. Fusion reactors with fast fission blankets are commony known as fusion-fission hybrids because they combine fusion and fission in the same device

  6. Drug-resistant molecular mechanism of CRF01_AE HIV-1 protease due to V82F mutation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaoqing; Xiu, Zhilong; Hao, Ce

    2009-05-01

    Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease (HIV-1 PR) is one of the major targets of anti-AIDS drug discovery. The circulating recombinant form 01 A/E (CRF01_AE, abbreviated AE) subtype is one of the most common HIV-1 subtypes, which is infecting more humans and is expanding rapidly throughout the world. It is, therefore, necessary to develop inhibitors against subtype AE HIV-1 PR. In this work, we have performed computer simulation of subtype AE HIV-1 PR with the drugs lopinavir (LPV) and nelfinavir (NFV), and examined the mechanism of resistance of the V82F mutation of this protease against LPV both structurally and energetically. The V82F mutation at the active site results in a conformational change of 79's loop region and displacement of LPV from its proper binding site, and these changes lead to rotation of the side-chains of residues D25 and I50'. Consequently, the conformation of the binding cavity is deformed asymmetrically and some interactions between PR and LPV are destroyed. Additionally, by comparing the interactive mechanisms of LPV and NFV with HIV-1 PR we discovered that the presence of a dodecahydroisoquinoline ring at the P1' subsite, a [2-(2,6-dimethylphenoxy)acetyl]amino group at the P2' subsite, and an N2 atom at the P2 subsite could improve the binding affinity of the drug with AE HIV-1 PR. These findings are helpful for promising drug design.

  7. Identification of threshold prostate specific antigen levels to optimize the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer by magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound fusion guided biopsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shakir, Nabeel A; George, Arvin K; Siddiqui, M Minhaj; Rothwax, Jason T; Rais-Bahrami, Soroush; Stamatakis, Lambros; Su, Daniel; Okoro, Chinonyerem; Raskolnikov, Dima; Walton-Diaz, Annerleim; Simon, Richard; Turkbey, Baris; Choyke, Peter L; Merino, Maria J; Wood, Bradford J; Pinto, Peter A

    2014-12-01

    Prostate specific antigen sensitivity increases with lower threshold values but with a corresponding decrease in specificity. Magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound targeted biopsy detects prostate cancer more efficiently and of higher grade than standard 12-core transrectal ultrasound biopsy but the optimal population for its use is not well defined. We evaluated the performance of magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound targeted biopsy vs 12-core biopsy across a prostate specific antigen continuum. We reviewed the records of all patients enrolled in a prospective trial who underwent 12-core transrectal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound targeted biopsies from August 2007 through February 2014. Patients were stratified by each of 4 prostate specific antigen cutoffs. The greatest Gleason score using either biopsy method was compared in and across groups as well as across the population prostate specific antigen range. Clinically significant prostate cancer was defined as Gleason 7 (4 + 3) or greater. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. A total of 1,003 targeted and 12-core transrectal ultrasound biopsies were performed, of which 564 diagnosed prostate cancer for a 56.2% detection rate. Targeted biopsy led to significantly more upgrading to clinically significant disease compared to 12-core biopsy. This trend increased more with increasing prostate specific antigen, specifically in patients with prostate specific antigen 4 to 10 and greater than 10 ng/ml. Prostate specific antigen 5.2 ng/ml or greater captured 90% of upgrading by targeted biopsy, corresponding to 64% of patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and subsequent fusion biopsy. Conversely a greater proportion of clinically insignificant disease was detected by 12-core vs targeted biopsy overall. These differences persisted when controlling for potential confounders on multivariate analysis. Prostate cancer upgrading with targeted biopsy increases

  8. Investigation on the radiation damage behavior of various alloys in a fusion reactor using thorium molten salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ubeyli, Mustafa; Demir, Teyfik

    2008-01-01

    In fusion reactors, one of the most important problems is the need for the frequent change of the first wall material during the reactor's operation due to the radiation damage induced by high energetic particles, especially fusion neutrons coming from fusion plasma. In order to solve this problem, in HYLIFE-II fusion reactor design, a liquid wall between the fusion plasma and first wall is used. This study presents the radiation damage behaviors of candidate structural materials (9Cr-2WVTa, V-4Cr-4Ti and W-5Re alloys) considered to be used in fusion reactors to determine the optimum thickness of the liquid wall in HYLIFE-II fusion reactor. In the liquid wall, a thorium molten salt consisting of 75%LiF-23%ThF 4 -2% 233 UF 4 was used. Calculations were carried out with respect to the variable liquid wall thickness and for an operation period of 30 years. Numerical results related to atomic displacement and helium generation damage pointed out that the liquid wall thickness should be at least 42, 66 and 81 cm for the materials, W-5Re, 9Cr-2WVTa, V-4Cr-4Ti, respectively in order not to exceed relevant damage limits after a reactor operation of 30 years

  9. Outgassing characteristics of F82H ferritic steel as a low activation material for fusion reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odaka, Kenji; Satou, Osamu; Ootsuka, Michio; Abe, Tetsuya; Hara, Shigemitsu; Takatsu, Hideyuki; Enoeda, Mikio.

    1997-01-01

    Outgassing characteristics of F82H ferritic steel as a low activation material for the blanket of fusion device were investigated. A test chamber was constructed by welding F82H ferritic steel plates. The inner surface of the chamber was buffed and electropolished. The test chamber was degassed by the prebaking at temperature of 350degC for 20 h in vacuum. Then outgassing rates of the test chamber were measured by the throughput method as a function of pumping time for the cases that the test chamber was baked and not baked. The typical outgassing rate after baking at 250degC for 24 h was 3 x 10 -9 Pa·ms -1 and it seems that this value is sufficiently small to produce pressures at least as low as 10 -9 Pa in the vacuum chamber made of F82H ferritic steel. In the pump-down of the test chamber without baking after exposure to air, the outgassing rate decreases with pumping time and reached 1 x 10 -7 Pa·ms -1 at t = 10 5 s. The activation energy of hydrogen in bulk diffusion in the F82H ferritic steel was measured and found to be 7 kcal/mol. (author)

  10. MeV and GeV prospects for producing a large ion layer configuration for fusion power generation and breeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNally, J.R. Jr.

    1983-01-01

    Injection of multi-MeV molecular hydrogen ions into a magnetic mirror or magnetic mirror well can lead to the production of an ion (or proton-E) Layer with prospects for fusion power generation. This involves: (1) slow (exponential or Lorentz) trapping of protons from dissociation and/or ionization of H 2 + ions; (2) electron cyclotron drive of the electronic temperature to reduce the electron stopping power; (3) production of an Ion-Layer, E-Core plasma configuration having prospects for cold fuel feed with in situ axial acceleration of say D 2 + ions into the negative E-Core; (4) ignited advanced fuel burns in the resulting high beta plasma with excess (free) neutrons available for energy multiplication of fissile fuel breeding; (5) development of a nuclear dynamo with fuel feed, plasma energy, and Ion-Layer current maintenance by fusion products; and (6) a natural divertor end loss of ashes with charge separation permitting a natural direct electrical conversion prospect

  11. Systematic of fusion incompleteness in 20Ne induced reactions at energy 4-7 MeV/nucleon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, Sabir; Ahmad, Tauseef; Kumar, Kamal

    2016-01-01

    In the present work, a study of fusion incompleteness using the 20 Ne projectile over 51 V, 55 Mn and 59 Co and targets has been carried out. The experiment involving 20 N e+ 51 V system was performed at VECC, Kolkata, India. The targets of thickness range 1.19-1.50 rug/cm 2 of spectroscopically pure 51 V (purity 99.99%) were prepared by depositing on aluminum backing of thickness range 1.47-1.64 mg/cm 2 by the vacuum evaporation technique at the target lab of VECC. A stack of six 51 V targets was irradiated for ≈ 11 hrs by 20 Ne 6+ beam at ≈145 MeV. The irradiation of the stack covered the desired energy range of 82-145 MeV. The beam current was ≈ 40 nA during the irradiation hours. The energy of the 20 Ne ion beam incident on each target foil was calculated using stopping power software SRIM. The overall error in the present work is estimated to be ≤20%

  12. Anti-idiotypic nanobody-alkaline phosphatase fusion proteins: Development of a one-step competitive enzyme immunoassay for fumonisin B_1 detection in cereal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shu, Mei; Xu, Yang; Liu, Xing; Li, Yanping; He, Qinghua; Tu, Zhui; Fu, Jinheng; Gee, Shirley J.; Hammock, Bruce D.

    2016-01-01

    A rapid and sensitive one-step competitive enzyme immunoassay for the detection of FB_1 was developed. The anti-idiotypic nanobody–alkaline phosphatase (Ab2β−Nb−AP) was validated by the AP enzyme activity and the properties of bounding to anti-FB1-mAb (3F11) through colorimetric and chemiluminescence analyses. The 50% inhibitory concentration and the detection limit (LOD) of colorimetric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for FB_1 were 2.69 and 0.35 ng mL"−"1, respectively, with a linear range of 0.93–7.73 ng mL"−"1. The LOD of the chemiluminescence ELISA (CLIA) was 0.12 ng mL"−"1, and the IC_5_0 was 0.89 ± 0.09 ng mL"−"1 with a linear range of 0.29–2.68 ng mL"−"1. Compared with LC-MS/MS, the results of this assay indicated the reliability of the Ab2β−Nb−AP fusion protein based one-step competitive immunoassay for monitoring FB_1 contamination in cereals. The Ab2β−Nb−AP fusion proteins have the potential to replace chemically-coupled probes in competitive enzyme immunoassay systems. - Highlights: • Ab2β−Nb−AP has the potential to replace chemically-coupled probes. • Ab2β−Nb−AP is homogeneous enzyme-labelled antigen can be prepared reproducibly. • We developed a green and rapid one-step competitive enzyme immunoassay. • The sensitivity of one-step CLIA was 9-folds higher than two-step ELISA.

  13. Dengue NS1 Antigen - for Early Detection of Dengue Virus Infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amol Hartalkar

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of NS1 antigen assay for early diagnosis of dengue virus infection in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out in department of Medicine from August to December 2013. Total 100 patients with dengue fever were included. Complete blood count, alanine aminotransferase (ALT, aspartate aminotransferase (AST, Dengue NS1 antigen and IgM and IgG antibodies of dengue virus were done in all cases. Results: Of the 100 sera tested, 75% were positive for dengue virus infection based on dengue NS1 antigen, IgM antibody and IgG antibody. Dengue NS1 antigen and IgM, IgG antibody were able to detect dengue virus infection between day 1 to day 8 in 92% of samples, 86.7% of samples and 82.6% of samples respectively. Sixty nine percent (69% were found positive for dengue NS1 antigen, 65% were IgM positive and 62% were IgG positive. Based on the dengue NS1 antigen and IgM antibody combination, 74% were positive for dengue virus infections. Sensitivity of Dengue NS1 antigen was 92.3% and specificity of 74.28% in comparison to IgM antibody. Detection rate increased to 75%, based on the antigen and IgG antibody combination. Sensitivity of dengue NS1 antigen was 90.3% and specificity of 65.8% in comparison to IgG antibody. Conclusion: Dengue NS1 antigen is a useful, sensitive and specific test for early diagnosis of dengue virus infection and it improves diagnostic efficiency in combination with antibody test. Key words: Dengue fever, NS1 antigen. Introduction: Dengue fever (DF is the most common arboviral illness in humans. Each year, an estimated 50-100 million cases of dengue fever and 500,000 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever occur worldwide, with 30000 deaths (mainly in children. Globally 2.5-3 billion people in approximately 112 tropical and subtropical countries are at risk of dengue.of samples respectively. Sixty nine percent (69% were found positive for dengue NS1 antigen, 65% were Ig

  14. Effect of amino acid sequence variations at position 149 on the fusogenic activity of the subtype B avian metapneumovirus fusion protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Bingling; Gao, Yanni; Liu, Yongzhen; Guan, Xiaolu; Wang, Yongqiang; Qi, Xiaole; Gao, Honglei; Liu, Changjun; Cui, Hongyu; Zhang, Yanping; Gao, Yulong; Wang, Xiaomei

    2015-10-01

    The entry of enveloped viruses into host cells requires the fusion of viral and cell membranes. These membrane fusion reactions are mediated by virus-encoded glycoproteins. In the case of avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), the fusion (F) protein alone can mediate virus entry and induce syncytium formation in vitro. To investigate the fusogenic activity of the aMPV F protein, we compared the fusogenic activities of three subtypes of aMPV F proteins using a TCSD50 assay developed in this study. Interestingly, we found that the F protein of aMPV subtype B (aMPV/B) strain VCO3/60616 (aMPV/vB) was hyperfusogenic when compared with F proteins of aMPV/B strain aMPV/f (aMPV/fB), aMPV subtype A (aMPV/A), and aMPV subtype C (aMPV/C). We then further demonstrated that the amino acid (aa) residue 149F contributed to the hyperfusogenic activity of the aMPV/vB F protein. Moreover, we revealed that residue 149F had no effect on the fusogenic activities of aMPV/A, aMPV/C, and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) F proteins. Collectively, we provide the first evidence that the amino acid at position 149 affects the fusogenic activity of the aMPV/B F protein, and our findings will provide new insights into the fusogenic mechanism of this protein.

  15. Impact fusion with a segmented rail gun

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muller, R.A.; Garwin, R.L.; Richter, B.

    1979-01-01

    The basic rail gun equations are reviewed. The delivery of E = 1 megajoule in dt = 10 nanoseconds, with a specific energy of 20 MJ/g (i.e., a bullet mass of 0.05 g) is considered. These values are taken from the requirements being considered for heavy-ion fusion. Using these numbers, we can solve immediately for the final particle velocity u/sub f/ from E = 1/2 mu/sub f/ 2 to get u/sub f/ = 200 km/sec. For a delivery time of 10 nanoseconds, this velocity implies that the projectile length is about 2 mm. Impact fusion is feasible because of the coincidence that a bullet with all dimensions roughly 2 mm has the required mass

  16. Is Self-Interacting Dark Matter Undergoing Dark Fusion?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDermott, Samuel D.

    2017-11-02

    We suggest that two-to-two dark matter fusion may be the relaxation process that resolves the small-scale structure problems of the cold collisionless dark matter paradigm. In order for the fusion cross section to scale correctly across many decades of astrophysical masses from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters, we require the fractional binding energy released to be greater than v^n ~ [10^{-(2-3)}]^n, where n=1,2 depends on local dark sector chemistry. The size of the dark-sector interaction cross sections must be sigma ~ 0.1-1 barn, moderately larger than for Standard Model deuteron fusion, indicating a dark nuclear scale Lambda ~ O(100 MeV). Dark fusion firmly predicts constant sigma v below the characteristic velocities of galaxy clusters. Observations of the inner structure of galaxy groups with velocity dispersion of several hundred kilometer per second, of which a handful have been identified, could differentiate dark fusion from a dark photon model.

  17. Identification of specific antigenic epitope at N-terminal segment of enterovirus 71 (EV-71) VP1 protein and characterization of its use in recombinant form for early diagnosis of EV-71 infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jianhua; Jiang, Bingfu; Xu, Mingjie; Dai, Xing; Purdy, Michael A; Meng, Jihong

    2014-08-30

    Human enterovirus 71 (EV-71) is the main etiologic agent of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). We sought to identify EV-71 specific antigens and develop serologic assays for acute-phase EV-71 infection. A series of truncated proteins within the N-terminal 100 amino acids (aa) of EV-71 VP1 was expressed in Escherichia coli. Western blot (WB) analysis showed that positions around 11-21 aa contain EV-71-specific antigenic sites, whereas positions 1-5 and 51-100 contain epitopes shared with human coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16) and human echovirus 6 (E-6). The N-terminal truncated protein of VP1, VP₁₆₋₄₃, exhibited good stability and was recognized by anti-EV-71 specific rabbit sera. Alignment analysis showed that VP₁₆₋₄₃ is highly conserved among EV-71 strains from different genotypes but was heterologous among other enteroviruses. When the GST-VP₁₆₋₄₃ fusion protein was incorporated as antibody-capture agent in a WB assay and an ELISA for detecting anti-EV-71 IgM in human sera, sensitivities of 91.7% and 77.8% were achieved, respectively, with 100% specificity for both. The characterized EV-71 VP1 protein truncated to positions 6-43 aa has potential as an antigen for detection of anti-EV-71 IgM for early diagnosis of EV-71 infection in a WB format. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. The interaction between Xe and F in Si (1 0 0) pre-amorphised with 20 keV Xe and implanted with low energy BF{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Werner, M. [Joule Physics Laboratory, Institute of Materials Research, University of Salford, Salford M54WT (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: m.werner@pgr.salford.ac.uk; Berg, J.A. van den [Joule Physics Laboratory, Institute of Materials Research, University of Salford, Salford M54WT (United Kingdom); Armour, D.G. [Joule Physics Laboratory, Institute of Materials Research, University of Salford, Salford M54WT (United Kingdom); Carter, G. [Joule Physics Laboratory, Institute of Materials Research, University of Salford, Salford M54WT (United Kingdom); Feudel, T. [AMD Saxony LLC and Co. KG, Wilschdorfer Landstrasse, 101 D-01109 Dresden (Italy); Herden, M. [AMD Saxony LLC and Co. KG, Wilschdorfer Landstrasse, 101 D-01109 Dresden (Italy); Bersani, M. [ITC IRST, 38050 Povo, Trento (Italy); Giubertoni, D. [ITC IRST, 38050 Povo, Trento (Italy); Bailey, P. [CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury WA44A (United Kingdom); Noakes, T.C.Q. [CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury WA44A (United Kingdom)

    2004-12-15

    The pre-amorphisation of Si by Xe{sup +} ions, before source/drain and extension implants, is an attractive alternative to Ge{sup +} or Si{sup +}, as it produces sharper amorphous/crystalline interfaces. Si (1 0 0) samples pre-amorphised with 20 keV Xe{sup +} to a nominal dose of 2E14 cm{sup -2} were implanted with 1 and 3 keV BF{sub 2} {sup +} to doses of 7E14 cm{sup -2}. Samples were annealed at temperatures ranging from 600 to 1130 deg. C and investigated by medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Following annealing, it was observed that implanted Xe has interacted with F originating from the BF{sub 2} {sup +} implant. MEIS studies showed that for all annealing conditions, approximately half of the Xe accumulated at depths of 7 nm for the 1 keV and at 13 nm for the 3 keV BF{sub 2} {sup +} implant. This equates to the end of range of B and F within the amorphous Si. SIMS showed that in the pre-amorphised samples, approximately 10% of the F migrates into the bulk and is trapped at the same depth in a {approx}1:1 ratio to Xe. A small fraction of the implanted B is also trapped. The effect is interpreted in terms of the formation of a defect structure within the amorphised Si, leading to F stabilised Xe bubble or XeF compound formation.

  19. Dog Erythrocyte Antigen 1 (DEA 1): Mode of Inheritance and Initial Characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polak, Klaudia; Acierno, Michelle; Raj, Karthik; Mizukami, Keijiro; Siegel, Don L.; Giger, Urs

    2015-01-01

    Background The Dog Erythrocyte Antigen (DEA) 1 blood group system remains poorly defined. Objectives The purpose of the study was to determine the DEA 1 mode of inheritance and to characterize the DEA 1 antigen and alloantibodies. Animals Canine research colony families, clinic canine patients, and DEA 1.2+ blood bank dogs were studied. Methods Canine blood was typed by flow cytometry and immunochromatographic strips using anti-DEA 1 monoclonal antibodies. Gel column experiments with polyclonal and immunoblotting with monoclonal anti-DEA 1 antibodies were performed to analyze select samples. Cross-reactivity of human typing reagents against canine RBCs and one monoclonal anti-DEA 1 antibody against human RBC panels was assessed. Results Typing of 12 families comprising 144 dogs indicated an autosomal dominant inheritance with ≥4 alleles: DEA 1− (0) and DEA 1+ weak (1+), intermediate (2+) and strong (3+ and 4+). Samples from 6 dogs previously typed as DEA 1.2+ were typed as DEA 1+ or DEA 1− using monoclonal antibodies. Human typing reagents produced varied reactions in tube agglutination experiments against DEA 1+ and DEA 1− RBCs. Polypeptide bands were not detected on immunoblots using a monoclonal anti-DEA 1 antibody, therefore the anti-DEA 1 antibody may be specific for conformational epitopes lost during denaturation. Conclusions The autosomal dominant inheritance of DEA 1 with ≥4 alleles indicates a complex blood group system; the antigenicity of each DEA 1+ type will need to be determined. The biochemical nature of the DEA 1 antigen(s) appears different from human blood group systems tested. PMID:26291052

  20. Sensitivity of low-energy incomplete fusion to various entrance-channel parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Harish; Tali, Suhail A.; Afzal Ansari, M.; Singh, D.; Ali, Rahbar; Kumar, Kamal; Sathik, N. P. M.; Ali, Asif; Parashari, Siddharth; Dubey, R.; Bala, Indu; Kumar, R.; Singh, R. P.; Muralithar, S.

    2018-03-01

    The disentangling of incomplete fusion dependence on various entrance channel parameters has been made from the forward recoil range distribution measurement for the 12C+175Lu system at ≈ 88 MeV energy. It gives the direct measure of full and/or partial linear momentum transfer from the projectile to the target nucleus. The comparison of observed recoil ranges with theoretical ranges calculated using the code SRIM infers the production of evaporation residues via complete and/or incomplete fusion process. Present results show that incomplete fusion process contributes significantly in the production of α xn and 2α xn emission channels. The deduced incomplete fusion probability (F_{ICF}) is compared with that obtained for systems available in the literature. An interesting behavior of F_{ICF} with ZP ZT is observed in the reinvestigation of incomplete fusion dependency with the Coulomb factor (ZPZT), contrary to the recent observations. The present results based on (ZPZT) are found in good agreement with recent observations of our group. A larger F_{ICF} value for 12C induced reactions is found than that for 13C, although both have the same ZPZT. A nonsystematic behavior of the incomplete fusion process with the target deformation parameter (β2) is observed, which is further correlated with a new parameter (ZP ZT . β2). The projectile α -Q-value is found to explain more clearly the discrepancy observed in incomplete fusion dependency with parameters ( ZPZT) and (ZP ZT . β2). It may be pointed out that any single entrance channel parameter (mass-asymmetry or (ZPZT) or β2 or projectile α-Q-value) may not be able to explain completely the incomplete fusion process.

  1. Low temperature synthesis and characterization of Na–M–(O)–F phases with M=Ti, V

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nava-Avendaño, Jessica [Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain); Ayllón, José A. [Departament de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain); Frontera, Carlos; Oró-Solé, Judith [Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain); Estruga, Marc [Departament de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain); Molins, Elies [Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain); Palacín, M. Rosa, E-mail: rosa.palacin@icmab.es [Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain)

    2015-03-15

    Na{sub 5}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 3}F{sub 11} was prepared by the microwave assisted method, and presents a chiolite related structure with cell parameters a=10.5016(5), b=10.4025(5), and c=10.2911(5) Å and Cmca (no. 64) space group. From solvothermal synthesis at 100 °C the cryolite Na{sub 3−δ}VO{sub 1−δ}F{sub 5+δ} was prepared, which crystallizes in the monoclinic system with a=5.5403(2), b=5.6804(2), c=7.9523(2) Å, β=90.032(7)° cell parameters and P2{sub 1}/n (no. 14) space group. Under similar synthesis conditions but with higher HF concentration the chiolite-type phase Na{sub 5−δ}V{sub 3}F{sub 14} was achieved, which exhibits a=10.5482(2), b=10.4887(1) and c=10.3243(1) Å cell parameters and Cmc2{sub 1} (no. 36) space group. A single crystal also having the chiolite structure was synthesized at 200 °C which exhibits tetragonal symmetry (a=7.380(3) and c=10.381(11) Å and space group P4{sub 2}2{sub 1}2 (no. 94)). Bond valence sum indicates that it contains V{sup 4+} and therefore can be formulated as Na{sub 5}V{sub 3}O{sub 3}F{sub 11}. - Graphical abstract: Na{sub 5}M{sub 3}(O,F){sub 14} with M=Ti and V having chiolite structure and Na{sub 3−δ}VO{sub 1−δ}F{sub 5+δ} cryolite were prepared by means of microwave-assisted and solvothermal synthesis. - Highlights: • Na{sub 5}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 3}F{sub 11} chiolite was prepared by a microwave assisted method and characterized. • Na{sub 3−δ}VO{sub 1−δ}F{sub 5+δ} and Na{sub 5−δ}V{sub 3}F{sub 14} were prepared by solvothermal synthesis. • The compounds were structurally characterized by diffraction techniques. • O/F distribution was estimated by applying Pauling’s second rule.

  2. Congenital hypopituitarism due to POU1F1 gene mutation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ni-Chung; Tsai, Wen-Yu; Peng, Shinn-Forng; Tung, Yi-Ching; Chien, Yin-Hsiu; Hwu, Wuh-Liang

    2011-01-01

    POU1F1 (Pit-1; Gene ID 5449) is an anterior pituitary transcriptional factor, and POU1F1 mutation is known to cause anterior pituitary hypoplasia, growth hormone and prolactin deficiency and various degree of hypothyroidism. We report here a patient who presented with growth failure and central hypothyroidism since early infancy. However, treatment with thyroxine gave no effect and he subsequently developed calf muscle pseudohypertrophy (Kocher-Debre-Semelaigne syndrome), elevation of creatinine kinase, dilated cardiomyopathy and pericardial effusion. Final diagnosis was made by combined pituitary function test and sequencing analysis that revealed POU1F1 gene C.698T > C (p.F233S) mutation. The rarity of the disease can result in delayed diagnosis and treatment. Copyright © 2011 Formosan Medical Association & Elsevier. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Augmentation of antigen-specific immune responses using DNA-fusogenic liposome vaccine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshikawa, Tomoaki; Imazu, Susumu; Gao Jianqing; Hayashi, Kazuyuki; Tsuda, Yasuhiro; Shimokawa, Mariko; Sugita, Toshiki; Niwa, Takako; Oda, Atushi; Akashi, Mitsuru; Tsutsumi, Yasuo; Mayumi, Tadanori; Nakagawa, Shinsaku

    2004-01-01

    In an attempt to enhance the immunological efficacy of genetic immunization, we investigated a new biological means for delivering antigen gene directly to the cytoplasm via membrane fusion. In this context, we investigated fusogenic liposome (FL) encapsulating DNA as a possible genetic immunization vehicle. RT-PCR analysis indicated that a FL could introduce and express encapsulating OVA gene efficiently and rapidly in vitro. Consistent with this observation, an in vitro assay showed that FL-mediated antigen-gene delivery can induce potent presentation of antigen via the MHC class I-dependent pathway. Accordingly, immunization with FL containing the OVA-gene induced potent OVA-specific Th1 and Th2 cytokine production. Additionally, OVA-specific CTL responses and antibody production were also observed in systemic compartments including the spleen, upon immunization with the OVA-gene encapsulating FL. These findings suggest that FL is an effective genetic immunization carrier system for the stimulation of antigen-specific immune responses against its encoding antigen

  4. Advanced fusion reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomita, Yukihiro

    2003-01-01

    The main subjects on fusion research are now on D-T fueled fusion, mainly due to its high fusion reaction rate. However, many issues are still remained on the wall loading by the 14 MeV neutrons. In the case of D-D fueled fusion, the neutron wall loading is still remained, though the technology related to tritium breeding is not needed. The p- 6 Li and p- 11 B fueled fusions are not estimated to be the next generation candidate until the innovated plasma confinement technologies come in useful to achieve the high performance plasma parameters. The fusion reactor of D- 3 He fuels has merits on the smaller neutron wall loading and tritium handling. However, there are difficulties on achieving the high temperature plasma more than 100 keV. Furthermore the high beta plasma is needed to decrease synchrotron radiation loss. In addition, the efficiency of the direct energy conversion from protons coming out from fusion reaction is one of the key parameters in keeping overall power balance. Therefore, open magnetic filed lines should surround the plasma column. In this paper, we outlined the design of the commercial base reactor (ARTEMIS) of 1 GW electric output power configured by D- 3 He fueled FRC (Field Reversed Configuration). The ARTEMIS needs 64 kg of 3 He per a year. On the other hand, 1 million tons of 3 He is estimated to be in the moon. The 3 He of about 10 23 kg are to exist in gaseous planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. (Y. Tanaka)

  5. Premature activation of the paramyxovirus fusion protein before target cell attachment with corruption of the viral fusion machinery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farzan, Shohreh F; Palermo, Laura M; Yokoyama, Christine C; Orefice, Gianmarco; Fornabaio, Micaela; Sarkar, Aurijit; Kellogg, Glen E; Greengard, Olga; Porotto, Matteo; Moscona, Anne

    2011-11-04

    Paramyxoviruses, including the childhood pathogen human parainfluenza virus type 3, enter host cells by fusion of the viral and target cell membranes. This fusion results from the concerted action of its two envelope glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and the fusion protein (F). The receptor-bound HN triggers F to undergo conformational changes that render it competent to mediate fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. We proposed that, if the fusion process could be activated prematurely before the virion reaches the target host cell, infection could be prevented. We identified a small molecule that inhibits paramyxovirus entry into target cells and prevents infection. We show here that this compound works by an interaction with HN that results in F-activation prior to receptor binding. The fusion process is thereby prematurely activated, preventing fusion of the viral membrane with target cells and precluding viral entry. This first evidence that activation of a paramyxovirus F can be specifically induced before the virus contacts its target cell suggests a new strategy with broad implications for the design of antiviral agents.

  6. Microstructural evolutions of friction stir welded F82H steel for fusion applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noh, Sang Hoon; Shim, Jae Won; Kim, Tae Kyu [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Tani Gawa, Hiro Yasu [JAEA, Rokasho (Japan); Fujii, Hideto Shi [Osaka Univ., Osaka (Japan); Kim Ura, Aki Hiko [Kyoto Univ., Kyoto (Japan)

    2012-10-15

    A blanket is the most important component functionalized as plasma confining, tritium breeding, heat exchanging, and irradiation shielding from severe thermo neutron loads in a fusion reactor. Its structure consists of first walls, side walls, a back board, and coolant channels mainly made of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel, which is the most promising candidate as a structural material for fusion reactors. To fabricate this blanket structure, some welding and joining methods have being carefully applied. However, when fusion welding, such as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, electron beam, and laser welding was performed between F82H and itself, the strength of welds significantly deteriorated due to the development of {delta} ferrite and precipitate dissolution. Post welding heat treatment (PWHT) should be followed to restore the initial microstructure. Nevertheless, microstructural discontinuity inevitably occurs between the weld metal, heat affected zone and base metal and this seriously degrades the entire structural stability under pulsed operation at high temperature in test blanket module (TBM). A phase transformation can also be an issue to be solved, which leads to a difficult replacement of the blanket module. Therefore, a reliable and field applicable joining technique should be developed not to accompany with PWHT after the joining process. Friction stir welding (FSW) is one of the solid state processes that does not create a molten zone at the joining area, so the degradation of the featured microstructures may be avoided or minimized. In this study, FSW was employed to join F82H steels to develop a potential joining technique for RAFM steel. The microstructural features on the joint region were investigated to evaluate the applicability of the FSW.

  7. Search for V+A current in top-quark decays in pp collisions at sqrts=1.96 TeV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abulencia, A; Adelman, J; Affolder, T; Akimoto, T; Albrow, M G; Ambrose, D; Amerio, S; Amidei, D; Anastassov, A; Anikeev, K; Annovi, A; Antos, J; Aoki, M; Apollinari, G; Arguin, J-F; Arisawa, T; Artikov, A; Ashmanskas, W; Attal, A; Azfar, F; Azzi-Bacchetta, P; Azzurri, P; Bacchetta, N; Badgett, W; Barbaro-Galtieri, A; Barnes, V E; Barnett, B A; Baroiant, S; Bartsch, V; Bauer, G; Bedeschi, F; Behari, S; Belforte, S; Bellettini, G; Bellinger, J; Belloni, A; Benjamin, D; Beretvas, A; Beringer, J; Berry, T; Bhatti, A; Binkley, M; Bisello, D; Blair, R E; Blocker, C; Blumenfeld, B; Bocci, A; Bodek, A; Boisvert, V; Bolla, G; Bolshov, A; Bortoletto, D; Boudreau, J; Boveia, A; Brau, B; Brigliadori, L; Bromberg, C; Brubaker, E; Budagov, J; Budd, H S; Budd, S; Budroni, S; Burkett, K; Busetto, G; Bussey, P; Byrum, K L; Cabrera, S; Campanelli, M; Campbell, M; Canelli, F; Canepa, A; Carillo, S; Carlsmith, D; Carosi, R; Carron, S; Casarsa, M; Castro, A; Catastini, P; Cauz, D; Cavalli-Sforza, M; Cerri, A; Cerrito, L; Chang, S H; Chen, Y C; Chertok, M; Chiarelli, G; Chlachidze, G; Chlebana, F; Cho, I; Cho, K; Chokheli, D; Chou, J P; Choudalakis, G; Chuang, S H; Chung, K; Chung, W H; Chung, Y S; Ciljak, M; Ciobanu, C I; Ciocci, M A; Clark, A; Clark, D; Coca, M; Compostella, G; Convery, M E; Conway, J; Cooper, B; Copic, K; Cordelli, M; Cortiana, G; Crescioli, F; Almenar, C Cuenca; Cuevas, J; Culbertson, R; Cully, J C; Cyr, D; Daronco, S; Datta, M; D'Auria, S; Davies, T; D'Onofrio, M; Dagenhart, D; de Barbaro, P; Cecco, S De; Deisher, A; De Lentdecker, G; Dell'Orso, M; Delli Paoli, F; Demortier, L; Deng, J; Deninno, M; De Pedis, D; Derwent, P F; Di Giovanni, G P; Dionisi, C; Di Ruzza, B; Dittmann, J R; Dituro, P; Dörr, C; Donati, S; Donega, M; Dong, P; Donini, J; Dorigo, T; Dube, S; Efron, J; Erbacher, R; Errede, D; Errede, S; Eusebi, R; Fang, H C; Farrington, S; Fedorko, I; Fedorko, W T; Feild, R G; Feindt, M; Fernandez, J P; Field, R; Flanagan, G; Foland, A; Forrester, S; Foster, G W; Franklin, M; Freeman, J C; Furic, I; Gallinaro, M; Galyardt, J; Garcia, J E; Garberson, F; Garfinkel, A F; Gay, C; Gerberich, H; Gerdes, D; Giagu, S; Giannetti, P; Gibson, A; Gibson, K; Gimmell, J L; Ginsburg, C; Giokaris, N; Giordani, M; Giromini, P; Giunta, M; Giurgiu, G; Glagolev, V; Glenzinski, D; Gold, M; Goldschmidt, N; Goldstein, J; Golossanov, A; Gomez, G; Gomez-Ceballos, G; Goncharov, M; González, O; Gorelov, I; Goshaw, A T; Goulianos, K; Gresele, A; Griffiths, M; Grinstein, S; Grosso-Pilcher, C; Grundler, U; da Costa, J Guimaraes; Gunay-Unalan, Z; Haber, C; Hahn, K; Hahn, S R; Halkiadakis, E; Hamilton, A; Han, B-Y; Han, J Y; Handler, R; Happacher, F; Hara, K; Hare, M; Harper, S; Harr, R F; Harris, R M; Hartz, M; Hatakeyama, K; Hauser, J; Heijboer, A; Heinemann, B; Heinrich, J; Henderson, C; Herndon, M; Heuser, J; Hidas, D; Hill, C S; Hirschbuehl, D; Hocker, A; Holloway, A; Hou, S; Houlden, M; Hsu, S-C; Huffman, B T; Hughes, R E; Husemann, U; Huston, J; Incandela, J; Introzzi, G; Iori, M; Ishizawa, Y; Ivanov, A; Iyutin, B; James, E; Jang, D; Jayatilaka, B; Jeans, D; Jensen, H; Jeon, E J; Jindariani, S; Jones, M; Joo, K K; Jun, S Y; Jung, J E; Junk, T R; Kamon, T; Karchin, P E; Kato, Y; Kemp, Y; Kephart, R; Kerzel, U; Khotilovich, V; Kilminster, B; Kim, D H; Kim, H S; Kim, J E; Kim, M J; Kim, S B; Kim, S H; Kim, Y K; Kimura, N; Kirsch, L; Klimenko, S; Klute, M; Knuteson, B; Ko, B R; Kondo, K; Kong, D J; Konigsberg, J; Korytov, A; Kotwal, A V; Kovalev, A; Kraan, A C; Kraus, J; Kravchenko, I; Kreps, M; Kroll, J; Krumnack, N; Kruse, M; Krutelyov, V; Kubo, T; Kuhlmann, S E; Kuhr, T; Kusakabe, Y; Kwang, S; Laasanen, A T; Lai, S; Lami, S; Lammel, S; Lancaster, M; Lander, R L; Lannon, K; Lath, A; Latino, G; Lazzizzera, I; Lecompte, T; Lee, J; Lee, J; Lee, Y J; Lee, S W; Lefèvre, R; Leonardo, N; Leone, S; Levy, S; Lewis, J D; Lin, C; Lin, C S; Lindgren, M; Lipeles, E; Lister, A; Litvintsev, D O; Liu, T; Lockyer, N S; Loginov, A; Loreti, M; Loverre, P; Lu, R-S; Lucchesi, D; Lujan, P; Lukens, P; Lungu, G; Lyons, L; Lys, J; Lysak, R; Lytken, E; Mack, P; Macqueen, D; Madrak, R; Maeshima, K; Makhoul, K; Maki, T; Maksimovic, P; Malde, S; Manca, G; Margaroli, F; Marginean, R; Marino, C; Marino, C P; Martin, A; Martin, M; Martin, V; Martínez, M; Maruyama, T; Mastrandrea, P; Masubuchi, T; Matsunaga, H; Mattson, M E; Mazini, R; Mazzanti, P; McFarland, K S; McIntyre, P; McNulty, R; Mehta, A; Mehtala, P; Menzemer, S; Menzione, A; Merkel, P; Mesropian, C; Messina, A; Miao, T; Miladinovic, N; Miles, J; Miller, R; Mills, C; Milnik, M; Mitra, A; Mitselmakher, G; Miyamoto, A; Moed, S; Moggi, N; Mohr, B; Moore, R; Morello, M; Fernandez, P Movilla; Mülmenstädt, J; Mukherjee, A; Muller, Th; Mumford, R; Murat, P; Nachtman, J; Nagano, A; Naganoma, J; Nakano, I; Napier, A; Necula, V; Neu, C; Neubauer, M S; Nielsen, J; Nigmanov, T; Nodulman, L; Norniella, O; Nurse, E; Oh, S H; Oh, Y D; Oksuzian, I; Okusawa, T; Oldeman, R; Orava, R; Osterberg, K; Pagliarone, C; Palencia, E; Papadimitriou, V; Paramonov, A A; Parks, B; Pashapour, S; Patrick, J; Pauletta, G; Paulini, M; Paus, C; Pellett, D E; Penzo, A; Phillips, T J; Piacentino, G; Piedra, J; Pinera, L; Pitts, K; Plager, C; Pondrom, L; Portell, X; Poukhov, O; Pounder, N; Prakoshyn, F; Pronko, A; Proudfoot, J; Ptohos, F; Punzi, G; Pursley, J; Rademacker, J; Rahaman, A; Ranjan, N; Rappoccio, S; Reisert, B; Rekovic, V; Renton, P; Rescigno, M; Richter, S; Rimondi, F; Ristori, L; Robson, A; Rodrigo, T; Rogers, E; Rolli, S; Roser, R; Rossi, M; Rossin, R; Ruiz, A; Russ, J; Rusu, V; Saarikko, H; Sabik, S; Safonov, A; Sakumoto, W K; Salamanna, G; Saltó, O; Saltzberg, D; Sánchez, C; Santi, L; Sarkar, S; Sartori, L; Sato, K; Savard, P; Savoy-Navarro, A; Scheidle, T; Schlabach, P; Schmidt, E E; Schmidt, M P; Schmitt, M; Schwarz, T; Scodellaro, L; Scott, A L; Scribano, A; Scuri, F; Sedov, A; Seidel, S; Seiya, Y; Semenov, A; Sexton-Kennedy, L; Sfyrla, A; Shapiro, M D; Shears, T; Shepard, P F; Sherman, D; Shimojima, M; Shochet, M; Shon, Y; Shreyber, I; Sidoti, A; Sinervo, P; Sisakyan, A; Sjolin, J; Slaughter, A J; Slaunwhite, J; Sliwa, K; Smith, J R; Snider, F D; Snihur, R; Soderberg, M; Soha, A; Somalwar, S; Sorin, V; Spalding, J; Spinella, F; Spreitzer, T; Squillacioti, P; Stanitzki, M; Staveris-Polykalas, A; Denis, R St; Stelzer, B; Stelzer-Chilton, O; Stentz, D; Strologas, J; Stuart, D; Suh, J S; Sukhanov, A; Sun, H; Suzuki, T; Taffard, A; Takashima, R; Takeuchi, Y; Takikawa, K; Tanaka, M; Tanaka, R; Tecchio, M; Teng, P K; Terashi, K; Thom, J; Thompson, A S; Thomson, E; Tipton, P; Tiwari, V; Tkaczyk, S; Toback, D; Tokar, S; Tollefson, K; Tomura, T; Tonelli, D; Torre, S; Torretta, D; Tourneur, S; Trischuk, W; Tsuchiya, R; Tsuno, S; Turini, N; Ukegawa, F; Unverhau, T; Uozumi, S; Usynin, D; Vallecorsa, S; van Remortel, N; Varganov, A; Vataga, E; Vázquez, F; Velev, G; Veramendi, G; Veszpremi, V; Vidal, R; Vila, I; Vilar, R; Vine, T; Vollrath, I; Volobouev, I; Volpi, G; Würthwein, F; Wagner, P; Wagner, R G; Wagner, R L; Wagner, J; Wagner, W; Wallny, R; Wang, S M; Warburton, A; Waschke, S; Waters, D; Weinberger, M; Wester, W C; Whitehouse, B; Whiteson, D; Wicklund, A B; Wicklund, E; Williams, G; Williams, H H; Wilson, P; Winer, B L; Wittich, P; Wolbers, S; Wolfe, C; Wright, T; Wu, X; Wynne, S M; Yagil, A; Yamamoto, K; Yamaoka, J; Yamashita, T; Yang, C; Yang, U K; Yang, Y C; Yao, W M; Yeh, G P; Yoh, J; Yorita, K; Yoshida, T; Yu, G B; Yu, I; Yu, S S; Yun, J C; Zanello, L; Zanetti, A; Zaw, I; Zhang, X; Zhou, J; Zucchelli, S

    2007-02-16

    We report an upper limit on the fraction of V+A current, fV+A, in top-quark decays, using approximately 700 pb-1 of pp[over ] collisions at sqrts=1.96 TeV acquired by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab. For the decay t-->Wb-->lnub (where l=e or micro), the invariant mass of the charged lepton and the bottom quark jet is sensitive to the polarization of the W boson. We determine fV+A=-0.06+/-0.25 given a top-quark mass of 175 GeV/c2. We set an upper limit on fV+A of 0.29 at the 95% confidence level, an improvement by a factor of 2 on the previous best direct limit.

  8. (C2N2H10)[Fe xV1-x(HPO3)F3] (x = 0.44, 0.72): Two new organically templated phosphites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cisneros, Jose L.; Fernandez-Armas, Sergio; Mesa, Jose L.; Pizarro, Jose L.; Arriortua, Maria I.; Rojo, Teofilo

    2006-01-01

    (C 2 N 2 H 10 )[Fe x V 1-x (HPO 3 )F 3 ] (x = 0.44, 0.72) have been synthesized using mild solvothermal conditions under autogenous pressure and the ethylenediamine molecule as templating agent. The crystal structures have been determined from X-ray single-crystal diffraction data. The compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic P2 1 2 1 2 1 space group with Z = 4 and unit-cell parameters a = 12.8494(9), b = 9.5430(6), c = 6.4372(5) A, and a = 12.8578(1), b = 9.5342(1), c = 6.4370(7) A for (C 2 N 2 H 10 )[Fe 0.44 V 0.56 (HPO 3 )F 3 ] and (C 2 N 2 H 10 )[Fe 0.72 V 0.28 (HPO 3 )F 3 ] (1) and (2), respectively. These isostructural compounds exhibit a monodimensional crystal structure formed by pillared double anionic chains with the formula [M(HPO 3 )F 3 ] 2- , extended along the [0 0 1] direction. These doubled ionic chains are the result of the linking of two simple chains in which there are alternating octahedral [MO 3 F 3 ] and tetrahedral groups [HPO 3 ]. The ethylendiammonium cations are placed in the space delimited by three different chains. The metallic ions are interconnected by the pseudo-pyramidal (HPO 3 ) 2- phosphite oxoanions, adopting a slightly distorted octahedral geometry. The IR spectra show bands corresponding to the phosphite oxoanion and the ethylendiamonium cation at 2400 and 1600 cm -1 , respectively. The thermogravimetric analyses show that these phases are stable up to ca. 280 deg. C, at higher temperatures, the decomposition of the crystal structure begins by calcination of the organic cation and the elimination of the fluoride anions. The diffuse reflectance spectra show bands of the V 3+ ion (d 2 ) in octahedral symmetry. The values of the Dq (1540, 1540 cm -1 ), and Racah parameters, B (560, 535 cm -1 ) and C (3055, 3140 cm -1 ) for (1) and (2), respectively, correspond with those usually found for octahedrically coordinated V(III) compounds. Magnetic measurements, performed on a powered sample from 5.0 to 300 K at 1000 G, in the ZFC and

  9. Investigation of complete and incomplete fusion in 20Ne + 51V system using recoil range measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Sabir

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Recoil range distributions of evaporation residues, populated in 20Ne + 51V reaction at Elab ≈ 145 MeV, have been studied to determine the degree of momentum transferred through the complete and incomplete fusion reactions. Evaporation residues (ERs populated through the complete and incomplete fusion reactions have been identified on the basis of their recoil range in the Al catcher medium. Measured recoil range of evaporation residues have been compared with the theoretical value calculated using the code SRIM. Range integrated cross section of observed ERs have been compared with the value predicted by statistical model code PACE4.

  10. D-meson production from 400 GeV/c pp interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aguilar-Benitez, M.; Colino, N.; Diez-Hedo, F.

    1987-01-01

    We have measured the inclusive production properties of D and anti D mesons produced from pp interations at √s = 27.4 GeV. The differential production cross section is well represented by the empirical form d 2 σdx F /dP T 2 = 1/2 [σ(D/anti D)(n+1) b](1-vertical strokex F vertical stroke) n exp(-bp T 2 ) with n = 4.9±0.5, b = (1.0±0.1) (GeV/c) -2 , and the inclusive D/anti D cross section σ(D/anti D) is (30.2±3.3) μb. The QCD fusion model predicts D/anti D production which is in good agreement with our data except for the magnitude of the cross section which depends sensitively on the assumed mass of the charm quark. (orig.)

  11. The binding parameters of radiolabelled monoclonal F (ab')2 and Fab' fragments relative to immunoglobulin G in reactions with surface-bound antigens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fjeld, J.G.; Nustad, K.; Michaelsen, T.E.

    1992-01-01

    The binding parameters of iodine-125-labelled intact monoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG), F(ab') 2 and Fab' fragments were compared. The study was carried out with the two monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) K13 and K16 specific for human Ig light chains κ and λ, respectively. When testing the 125 I-MoAbs against monodisperse polymer particles coated with the specific antigens, the K a for the F(ab') 2 fragments were similar to that for IgG, while the K a for the Fab' fragments were reduced to 10%-20% of that for IgG. The number N of effective target sites revealed with Fab' was higher than with F(ab') and IgG, presumably because less surface area is occupied by the small Fab' molecules. The immunoreactive fraction F ranged according to IgG>F(ab') 2 >Fab'. The explanation of the moderate difference between the K a of the monoclonal Fab' and the divalent IgG and F(ab') 2 was that the divalent molecules were not divalently attached to the particles. When testing the same antibody preparations against humanlymphoma cells producing Ig with light chains κ or λ, the binding results were less reliable than when particles were utilised, presumably due to antigen shedding. Different MoAbs vary in their loss of immunoreactivity due to enzymatic degradation and the radiolabelling procedure. The preparation of the radiolabelled fragments should therefore be optimized for each MoAb, and evaluation is necessary before injection. Artificial targets with a low leakage of antigen, like the monodisperse polymer particles here applied, are recommended for the in vitro evaluation of the immunoreactivity of labelled MoAb preparations. (orig.)

  12. Nanolipoprotein Particles (NLPs) as Versatile Vaccine Platforms for Co-delivery of Multiple Adjuvants with Subunit Antigens from Burkholderia spp. and F. tularensis - Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, N. O. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2015-01-13

    The goal of this proposal is to demonstrate that colocalization of protein subunit antigens and adjuvants on nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs) can increase the protective efficacy of subunit antigens from Burkholderia spp. and Francisella tularensis against an aerosol challenge. In the third quarter of the third year, F344 rats vaccinated with adjuvanted NLP formulations were challenged with F. tularensis SCHU S4 at Battelle. Preliminary data indicate that up to 65% of females vaccinated intranasally with an NLP-based formulation survived this challenge, compared to only 20% survival of naïve animals. In addition, NLPs were successfully formulated with Burkholderia protein antigens. IACUC approval for immunological assessments in BALB/c mice was received and we anticipate that these assessments will begin by March 2015, pending ACURO approval.

  13. Characterization of WbiQ: An α1,2-fucosyltransferase from Escherichia coli O127:K63(B8), and synthesis of H-type 3 blood group antigen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pettit, Nicholas; Styslinger, Thomas; Mei, Zhen; Han, Weiqing; Zhao, Guohui; Wang, Peng George

    2010-01-01

    Research highlights: → WbiQ is an α1,2-fucosyltransferase from Escherichia coli O127. → WbiQ demonstrates strict substrate specificity for the Gal-β1,3-GalNAc acceptor. → WbiQ was used to synthesize milligram scale of the H-type 3 blood group antigen. -- Abstract: Escherichia coli O127:K63(B8) possesses high human blood group H (O) activity due to its O-antigen repeating unit structure. In this work, the wbiQ gene from E. coli O127:K63(B8) was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) and purified as a fusion protein containing an N-terminal GST affinity tag. Using the GST-WbiQ fusion protein, the wbiQ gene was identified to encode an α1,2-fucosyltransferase using a radioactivity based assay, thin-layer chromatography assay, as well confirming product formation by using mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The fused enzyme (GST-WbiQ) has an optimal pH range from 6.5 to 7.5 and does not require the presence of a divalent metal to be enzymatically active. WbiQ displays strict substrate specificity, displaying activity only towards acceptors that contain Gal-β1,3-GalNAc-α-OR linkages; indicating that both the Gal and GalNAc residues are vital for enzymatic activity. In addition, WbiQ was used to prepare the H-type 3 blood group antigen, Fuc-α1,2-Gal-β1,3-GalNAc-α-OMe, on a milligram scale.

  14. Cloning, Expression and Purification of the Recombinant HIV-1 Tat-Nef Fusion Protein in Prokaryotic Expression System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Somayeh Kadkhodayan

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background: Nef is one of the HIV-1 critical proteins, because it is essential for viral replication and AIDS disease progression and induction of immune response against it can partially inhibit viral infection. Moreover, a domain of the HIV-1 Trans-Activator of Transcription (Tat, 48-60 aa could act as a cell penetrating peptide (CPP. In current study, cloning and expression of Tat-Nef fusion protein was performed in E. coli for the first time. The protein expression was confirmed by western blot analysis and was purified using reverse staining method. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, primarily, cloning of Tat-Nef fusion gene was done in pGEX6p2 expression vector. Then, the expression of Tat-Nef recombinat protein in E.coli BL21 (DE3 strain was performed by using IPTG inducer. The protein expression was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and western blotting using anti-Nef monoclonal antibody. Then, the recombinant fusion protein was purified from gel using reverse staining method. Results: The results of PCR analysis and enzyme digestion showed a clear band of ~ 726 bp in agarose gel indicating the correct Tat-Nef fusion cloning in pGEX6p2 prokaryotic expression vector. In addition, a 54 kDa band of Tat-Nef on SDS-PAGE revealed Tat-Nef protein expression that western blot analysis using anti-Nef monoclonal antibody confirmed it. Conclusion: The purified Tat-Nef recombinant fusion protein will be used as an antigen for protein vaccine design against HIV infection.

  15. Affinity Maturation of an Anti-V Antigen IgG Expressed In Situ Via Adenovirus Gene Delivery Confers Enhanced Protection Against Yersinia pestis Challenge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Blarcom, Thomas J.; Sofer-Podesta, Carolina; Ang, John; Boyer, Julie L.; Crystal, Ronald G.; Georgiou, George

    2013-01-01

    Genetic transfer of neutralizing antibodies has been shown to confer strong and persistent protection against bacterial and viral infectious agents. While it is well established that for many exogenous neutralizing antibodies increased antigen affinity correlates with protection, the effect of antigen affinity on antibodies produced in situ following adenoviral gene transfer has not been examined. The mouse IgG2b monoclonal antibody 2C12.4 recognizes the Yersinia pestis Type III secretion apparatus protein LcrV (V antigen) and confers protection in mice when administered as an IgG intraperitoneally or, following genetic immunization with engineered, replication-defective serotype 5 human adenovirus (Ad) 1. 2C12.4 was expressed as a scFv fragment in E. coli and was shown to display a KD=3.5 nM by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis. The 2C12.4 scFv was subjected to random mutagenesis and variants with increased affinity were isolated by flow cytometry using the Anchored Periplasmic Expression (APEx) bacterial display system. After a single round of mutagenesis, variants displaying up to 35-fold lower KD values (H8, KD=100 pM) were isolated. The variable domains of the H8 scFv were used to replace those of the parental 2C12.4 IgG encoded in the Ad vector, AdαV giving rise to AdαV.H8. The two adenoviral vectors resulted in similar titers of anti-V antigen antibodies 3 days post-immunization with 109, 1010 or 1011 particle units. Following intranasal challenge with 363 LD50Y. pestis CO92, 54% of the mice immunized with 1010 pu of AdαV.H8 survived at the 14 day end point compared to only 15% survivors for the group immunized with AdαV expressing the lower affinity 2C12.4 (Pgenetic transfer may confer increased protection not only for Y. pestis challenge but possibly for other pathogens. PMID:20393511

  16. [Fusion of MRI, fMRI and intraoperative MRI data. Methods and clinical significance exemplified by neurosurgical interventions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moche, M; Busse, H; Dannenberg, C; Schulz, T; Schmitgen, A; Trantakis, C; Winkler, D; Schmidt, F; Kahn, T

    2001-11-01

    The aim of this work was to realize and clinically evaluate an image fusion platform for the integration of preoperative MRI and fMRI data into the intraoperative images of an interventional MRI system with a focus on neurosurgical procedures. A vertically open 0.5 T MRI scanner was equipped with a dedicated navigation system enabling the registration of additional imaging modalities (MRI, fMRI, CT) with the intraoperatively acquired data sets. These merged image data served as the basis for interventional planning and multimodal navigation. So far, the system has been used in 70 neurosurgical interventions (13 of which involved image data fusion--requiring 15 minutes extra time). The augmented navigation system is characterized by a higher frame rate and a higher image quality as compared to the system-integrated navigation based on continuously acquired (near) real time images. Patient movement and tissue shifts can be immediately detected by monitoring the morphological differences between both navigation scenes. The multimodal image fusion allowed a refined navigation planning especially for the resection of deeply seated brain lesions or pathologies close to eloquent areas. Augmented intraoperative orientation and instrument guidance improve the safety and accuracy of neurosurgical interventions.

  17. Verwendung von Kabeln und isolierten Leitungen für Fernmeldeanlagen und Informationsverarbeitungsanlagen; Besondere Richtlinie für selbsttragende Fernmelde-Luftkabel auf Starkstrom-Freileitungen über 1 kV nach DIN 57818/VDE 0818 [VDE-Richtlinie

    CERN Document Server

    Deutsches Institut für Normung. Berlin

    1983-01-01

    Verwendung von Kabeln und isolierten Leitungen für Fernmeldeanlagen und Informationsverarbeitungsanlagen; Besondere Richtlinie für selbsttragende Fernmelde-Luftkabel auf Starkstrom-Freileitungen über 1 kV nach DIN 57818/VDE 0818 [VDE-Richtlinie

  18. V.F. Gening and issues on the archaeology of Volga Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudenko Konstantin A.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available V.F. Gening’s contribution to the study of the Volga Bulgaria and his views concerning the history and archaeology of this state formation are considered in the article. His sphere of interest first of all included the links between the Volga Bulgaria population and the tribes belonging to preceding cultures, such as Pyanoborye and Imenkovo ones. V.F. Gening investigated the Bolshie Tarkhany, Turaevo and Rozdestveno burial grounds dated by the 8-9th, 5th and 6-7th centuries A.D., and the materials collected modified the notion of the time and character of the Bulgars arrival in the Volga area. He reconsidered the chronology and interpretation of the archaeological monuments, which referred to the epoch preceding the Bulgars appearance on the Volga, and proposed a hypothesis of the Volga Bulgars as a Turkic-Ugrian ethnos. V.F. Gening created a periodization of the Bolgars history in Eastern Europe within the time span between 1st-3rd centuries AD and the early 13th century AD

  19. Immunochemical analysis of Micrococcus lysodeikticus (luteus) F1-ATPase and its subunits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urban, C; Salton, M R

    1983-08-31

    The F1-ATPase from Micrococcus lysodeikticus has been purified to 95% protein homogeneity in this laboratory and as all other bacterial F1S, possesses five distinct subunits with molecular weights ranging from 60 000 to 10 000 (Huberman, M. and Salton, M.R.J. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 547, 230-240). In this communication, we demonstrate the immunochemical reactivities of antibodies to native and SDS-dissociated subunits with the native and dissociated F1-ATPase and show that: (1) the antibodies generated to the native or SDS-dissociated subunits react with the native molecule; (2) all of the subunits comprising the F1 are antigenically unique as determined by crossed immunoelectrophoresis and the Ouchterlony double-diffusion techniques; (3) antibodies to the SDS-denatured individual delta- and epsilon-subunits can be used to destabilize the interaction of these specific subunits with the rest of the native F1; and (4) all subunit antibodies as well as anti-native F1 were found to inhibit ATPase activity to varying degrees, the strongest inhibition being seen with antibodies to the total F1 and anti-alpha- and anti-beta-subunit antibodies. The interaction of specific subunit antibodies may provide a new and novel way to study further and characterize the catalytic portions of F1-ATPases and in general may offer an additional method for the examination of multimeric proteins.

  20. Incomplete momentum transfer components in /sup 16/O + /sup 12/C Fusion at 20 MeV/A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Brandan, M.E. (Grenoble-1 Univ., 38 (France). Inst. des Sciences Nucleaires); Dacal, A.; Galindo, A.; Mahoney, J.; Murphy, M.; Rae, W.D.M. (California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.)

    1983-01-27

    The energy spectra of Z = 3-9 particles from reactions induced by 20 MeV/A /sup 16/O on /sup 12/C have been measured. The systematics found from the fusion-like residues clearly deviate from those expected for complete fusion, giving evidence for important incomplete momentum transfer components.

  1. Identification of two Th1 cell epitopes on the Babesia bovis-encoded 77-kilodalton merozoite protein (Bb-1) by use of truncated recombinant fusion proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, W C; Zhao, S; Woods, V M; Tripp, C A; Tetzlaff, C L; Heussler, V T; Dobbelaere, D A; Rice-Ficht, A C

    1993-01-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated the serologic and T-cell immunogenicity for cattle of a recombinant form of the apical complex-associated 77-kDa merozite protein of Babesia bovis, designated Bb-1. The present study characterizes the immunogenic epitopes of the Bb-1 protein. A series of recombinant truncated fusion proteins spanning the majority of the Bb-1 protein were expressed in Escherichia coli, and their reactivities with bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells and T-cell clones derived from B. bovis-immune cattle and with rabbit antibodies were determined. Lymphocytes from two immune cattle were preferentially stimulated by the N-terminal half of the Bb-1 protein (amino acids 23 to 266, termed Bb-1A), localizing the T-cell epitopes to the Bb-1A portion of the molecule. CD4+ T-cell clones derived by stimulation with the intact Bb-1 fusion protein were used to identify two T-cell epitopes in the Bb-1A protein, consisting of amino acids SVVLLSAFSGN VWANEAEVSQVVK and FSDVDKTKSTEKT (residues 23 to 46 and 82 to 94). In contrast, rabbit antiserum raised against the intact fusion protein reacted only with the C-terminal half of the protein (amino acids 267 to 499, termed Bb-1B), which contained 28 tandem repeats of the tetrapeptide PAEK or PAET. Biological assays and Northern (RNA) blot analyses for cytokines revealed that following activation with concanavalin A, T-cell clones reactive against the two Bb-1A epitopes produced interleukin-2, gamma interferon, and tumor necrosis factors beta and alpha, but not interleukin-4, suggesting that the Bb-1 antigen preferentially stimulates the Th1 subset of CD4+ T cells in cattle. The studies described here report for the first time the characterization, by cytokine production, of the Th1 subset of bovine T cells and show that, as in mice, protozoal antigens can induce Th1 cells in ruminants. This first demonstration of B. bovis-encoded Th1 cell epitopes provides a rationale for incorporation of all or part of the Bb-1

  2. HUWE1 and TRIP12 Collaborate in Degradation of Ubiquitin-Fusion Proteins and Misframed Ubiquitin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Esben G; Steinhauer, Cornelia; Lees, Michael

    2012-01-01

    In eukaryotic cells an uncleavable ubiquitin moiety conjugated to the N-terminus of a protein signals the degradation of the fusion protein via the proteasome-dependent ubiquitin fusion degradation (UFD) pathway. In yeast the molecular mechanism of the UFD pathway has been well characterized...... in degradation of the UFD substrate Ub(G76V)-YFP. The most significant hits from the screen were the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase HUWE1, as well as PSMD7 and PSMD14 that encode proteasome subunits. Accordingly, knock down of HUWE1 led to an increase in the steady state level and a retarded degradation of the UFD...... substrate. Knock down of HUWE1 also led to a stabilization of the physiological UFD substrate UBB(+1). Precipitation experiments revealed that HUWE1 is associated with both the Ub(G76V)-YFP substrate and the 26S proteasome, indicating that it functions late in the UFD pathway. Double knock down of HUWE1...

  3. cDNA sequence analysis of a 29-kDa cysteine-rich surface antigen of pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torian, B.E.; Stroeher, V.L.; Stamm, W.E.; Flores, B.M.; Hagen, F.S.

    1990-01-01

    A λgt11 cDNA library was constructed from poly(U)-Spharose-selected Entamoeba histolytica trophozoite RNA in order to clone and identify surface antigens. The library was screened with rabbit polyclonal anti-E. histolytica serum. A 700-base-pair cDNA insert was isolated and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cDNA revealed a cysteine-rich protein. DNA hybridizations showed that the gene was specific to E. histolytica since the cDNA probe reacted with DNA from four axenic strains of E. histolytica but did not react with DNA from Entamoeba invadens, Acanthamoeba castellanii, or Trichomonas vaginalis. The insert was subcloned into the expression vector pGEX-1 and the protein was expressed as a fusion with the C terminus of glutathione S-transferase. Purified fusion protein was used to generate 22 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and a mouse polyclonal antiserum specific for the E. histolytica portion of the fusion protein. A 29-kDa protein was identified as a surface antigen when mAbs were used to immunoprecipitate the antigen from metabolically 35 S-labeled live trophozoites. The surface location of the antigen was corroborated by mAb immunoprecipitation of a 29-kDa protein from surface- 125 I-labeled whole trophozoites as well as by the reaction of mAbs with live trophozoites in an indirect immunofluorescence assay performed at 4 degree C. Immunoblotting with mAbs demonstrated that the antigen was present on four axenic isolates tested. mAbs recognized epitopes on the 29-kDa native antigen on some but not all clinical isolates tested

  4. cDNA sequence analysis of a 29-kDa cysteine-rich surface antigen of pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Torian, B.E.; Stroeher, V.L.; Stamm, W.E. (Univ. of Washington, Seattle (USA)); Flores, B.M. (Louisiana State Univ. Medical Center, New Orleans (USA)); Hagen, F.S. (Zymogenetics Incorporated, Seattle, WA (USA))

    1990-08-01

    A {lambda}gt11 cDNA library was constructed from poly(U)-Spharose-selected Entamoeba histolytica trophozoite RNA in order to clone and identify surface antigens. The library was screened with rabbit polyclonal anti-E. histolytica serum. A 700-base-pair cDNA insert was isolated and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cDNA revealed a cysteine-rich protein. DNA hybridizations showed that the gene was specific to E. histolytica since the cDNA probe reacted with DNA from four axenic strains of E. histolytica but did not react with DNA from Entamoeba invadens, Acanthamoeba castellanii, or Trichomonas vaginalis. The insert was subcloned into the expression vector pGEX-1 and the protein was expressed as a fusion with the C terminus of glutathione S-transferase. Purified fusion protein was used to generate 22 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and a mouse polyclonal antiserum specific for the E. histolytica portion of the fusion protein. A 29-kDa protein was identified as a surface antigen when mAbs were used to immunoprecipitate the antigen from metabolically {sup 35}S-labeled live trophozoites. The surface location of the antigen was corroborated by mAb immunoprecipitation of a 29-kDa protein from surface-{sup 125}I-labeled whole trophozoites as well as by the reaction of mAbs with live trophozoites in an indirect immunofluorescence assay performed at 4{degree}C. Immunoblotting with mAbs demonstrated that the antigen was present on four axenic isolates tested. mAbs recognized epitopes on the 29-kDa native antigen on some but not all clinical isolates tested.

  5. Poly(d,l)-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) microspheres as immunoadjuvant for Brugia malayi antigens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saini, Vinay; Verma, Shiv Kumar; Murthy, P Kalpana; Kohli, Dharmveer

    2013-08-28

    Recently we identified in Brugia malayi adult worm extract (BmA) a pro-inflammatory 54-68kDa SDS-PAGE resolved fraction F6 that protects the host from the parasite via Th1/Th2 type responses. We are currently investigating F6 as a potential source of vaccine candidate(s) and the present study is aimed at investigating the suitability of poly(d,l)-lactide-co-glycolide microspheres (PLGA-Ms) as immunoadjuvant for the antigen administration in a single dose. PLGA-Ms were prepared aseptically by a modified double emulsion (w/o/w) solvent evaporation technique and their size, shape, antigen adsorption efficiency, in-process stability, and antigen release were characterized. Swiss mice were immunized by a single subcutaneous administration of BmA and F6 adsorbed on PLGA-Ms (lactide:glycolide ratios 50:50 and 75:25) and the immune responses were compared with administration of 1 or 2 doses of plain BmA and F6. Specific IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgE levels in serum, cellular-proliferative response and release of IFN-γ, TNF-α and nitric oxide from the cells of immunized host in response to the antigens/LPS/Con A challenge and antibody-dependant cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) to parasite life stages were determined. The average size of PLGA-Ms 50:50 was smaller than the size of PLGA-Ms 75:25 and the % antigen adsorption efficiency of PLGA-Ms 50:50 was greater than PLGA-Ms 75:25. Single shot injection of PLGA-Ms 50:50/75:25-BmA/F6 produced better and stronger IgG, IgG1/IgG2a and cell-mediated immune responses than even two injections of plain BmA or F6. Further, PLGA-Ms 50:50-F6 produced stronger responses than PLGA-Ms 50:50-BmA. Anti-PLGA-Ms 50:50-F6 antibodies elicited higher ADCC response to infective larval and microfilarial stages of the parasite than anti-PLGA-Ms 75:25-F6 antibodies. The findings demonstrate that PLGA-Ms 50:50 is an excellent adjuvant for use with F6 in a single administration. This is the first ever report on PLGA as immunoadjuvant for filarial antigens

  6. Sequence similarity between the erythrocyte binding domain 1 of the Plasmodium vivax Duffy binding protein and the V3 loop of HIV-1 strain MN reveals binding residues for the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines

    OpenAIRE

    Bolton, Michael J; Garry, Robert F

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Background The surface glycoprotein (SU, gp120) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) must bind to a chemokine receptor, CCR5 or CXCR4, to invade CD4+ cells. Plasmodium vivax uses the Duffy Binding Protein (DBP) to bind the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) and invade reticulocytes. Results Variable loop 3 (V3) of HIV-1 SU and domain 1 of the Plasmodium vivax DBP share a sequence similarity. The site of amino acid sequence similarity was necessary, but not sufficient, ...

  7. Participation of L3T4 in T cell activation in the absence of class II major histocompatibility complex antigens. Inhibition by anti-L3T4 antibodies is a function both of epitope density and mode of presentation of anti-receptor antibody

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Owens, T; Fazekas de St Groth, B

    1987-01-01

    two monoclonal antibodies, KJ16-133.18 and F23.1, that recognize a determinant encoded by the T cell receptor V beta 8 gene family. These antibodies were used to select two clones of T cells with surface phenotype Thy-1.2+, L3T4+, Lyt-2-, KJ16-133.18+, F23.1+, IA-, IE-. One of these clones (E9.D4......The recognition of many class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-associated antigens by T cells requires the participation of the L3T4 molecule. It has been proposed that this molecule acts to stabilize low affinity binding to antigen in association with MHC and thereby increases the avidity...... of T cell/antigen interactions. By using antibodies against the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) to activate T cells, thereby circumventing the requirement for antigen presenting cells and MHC-associated antigen, we have been able to study the function of L3T4 in the absence of class II MHC. We have used...

  8. Extricate of incomplete fusion reactions at 4-7 MeV/A System:19F+159Tb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Unnati; Mandal, S.K.; Yadav, A.; Singh, D.P.; Goswami, S.; Singh, B.P.; Sharma, M.K.

    2015-01-01

    Probing of heavy ion interactions and extricating of incomplete fusion (ICF) reactions at low energy regime is a topic of current interest. The main points of such studies is to explore the effect of various entrance channel parameters, viz., (i) the projectile energy, (ii) the mass asymmetry of interacting partners, and (iii) the input angular momenta imparted into the system. It is also pointed out that a separation of CF (Complete Fusion) from ICF is important for meaningful interpretation towards the splitting of nuclei. Further, considerable efforts are being employed to synthesize super heavy nuclei, the presence of various competing channels may add complexity to the synthesis of super heavy nuclei and obstruct the formation of such nuclei. Although, it is now possible to investigate reaction mechanism involved in formation of such nuclei but experimental studies are limited

  9. A mature and fusogenic form of the Nipah virus fusion protein requires proteolytic processing by cathepsin L

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pager, Cara Theresia; Craft, Willie Warren; Patch, Jared; Dutch, Rebecca Ellis

    2006-01-01

    The Nipah virus fusion (F) protein is proteolytically processed to F 1 + F 2 subunits. We demonstrate here that cathepsin L is involved in this important maturation event. Cathepsin inhibitors ablated cleavage of Nipah F. Proteolytic processing of Nipah F and fusion activity was dramatically reduced in cathepsin L shRNA-expressing Vero cells. Additionally, Nipah virus F-mediated fusion was inhibited in cathepsin L-deficient cells, but coexpression of cathepsin L restored fusion activity. Both purified cathepsin L and B could cleave immunopurified Nipah F protein, but only cathepsin L produced products of the correct size. Our results suggest that endosomal cathepsins can cleave Nipah F, but that cathepsin L specifically converts Nipah F to a mature and fusogenic form

  10. Utility of 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging in the evaluation of postoperative pain following surgical spine fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pouldar, D; Bakshian, S; Matthews, R; Rao, V; Manzano, M; Dardashti, S

    2017-08-01

    A retrospective case review of patients who underwent 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging of the spine with postoperative pain following vertebral fusion. To determine the benefit of 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging in the diagnosis of persistent pain in the postoperative spine. The diagnosis of pain generators in the postoperative spine has proven to be a diagnostic challenge. The conventional radiologic evaluation of persistent pain after spine surgery with the use of plain radiographs, MRI, and CT can often fall short of diagnosis in the complex patient. 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging is an alternative tool to accurately identify a patient's source of pain in the difficult patient. This retrospective study looked at 25 adult patients who had undergone 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging. All patients had persistent or recurrent back pain over the course of a 15-month period after having undergone spinal fusion surgery. All patients had inconclusive dedicated MRI. The clinical accuracy of PET/CT in identifying the pain generator and contribution to altering the decision making process was compared to the use of CT scan alone. Of the 25 patients studied, 17 patients had increased uptake on the 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT fusion images. There was a high-level correlation of radiotracer uptake to the patients' pain generator. Overall 88% of the studies were considered beneficial with either PET/CT altering the clinical diagnosis and treatment plan of the patient or confirming unnecessary surgery. 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT proves to be a useful tool in the diagnosis of complex spine pathology of the postoperative patients. In varied cases, a high correlation of metabolic activity to the source of the patient's pain was observed.

  11. Design study of prototype accelerator and MeV test facility for demonstration of 1 MeV, 1 A negative ion beam production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inoue, Takashi; Hanada, Masaya; Miyamoto, Kenji; Ohara, Yoshihiro; Okumura, Yoshikazu; Watanabe, Kazuhiro; Maeno, Shuichi.

    1994-08-01

    In fusion reactors such as ITER, a neutral beam injector of MeV class beam energy and several tens MW class power is required as one of candidates of heating and current drive systems. However, the beam energy of existing high power accelerators are one order of magnitude lower than the required value. In order to realize a neutral beam injector for the fusion reactor, 'Proof-of-Principle' of such high energy acceleration is a critical issue at a reactor relevant beam current and pulse length. An accelerator and an accelerator facility which are necessary to demonstrate the Proof-of-Principle acceleration of negative ion beams up to 1 MeV, have been designed in the present study. The accelerator is composed of a cesium-volume type ion source and a multi-stage electrostatic acceleration system [Prototype Accelerator]. A negative hydrogen ion beam with the current of about one ampere (1 A) can be accelerated up to 1 MeV at a low operating pressure. Two types of acceleration system, a multi-multi type and a multi-single type, have been studied. The test facility has sufficient capability for the test of the Prototype Accelerator [MeV Test Facility]. The dc high voltage generator for negative ion acceleration is a Cockcroft-Walton type and capable of delivering 1 A at 1 MV (=1 MW) for 60 s. High voltage components including Prototype Accelerator are installed in a SF 6 vessel pressurized at 6 kg/cm 2 to overcome high voltage gradients. The vessel and the beamline are installed in a X-ray shield. (author)

  12. Once more about cold nuclear fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brudanin, V.B.; Bystritsky, V.M.; Egorov, V.G.

    1989-01-01

    The results of the experiments on the search for cold nuclear d-d fusion in chemically pure titanium are given both for electrolysis of heavy water D 2 O and for titanium saturation with gaseous deuterium. The saturation took place at the temperature of 77K and pressure of 50 and 150 atm. A round of experiments with temperature varying from 1 to 600 atm was carried out. The limiting values of the partial rate of the nuclear reaction of d-d fusion with neutron production were obtained per deuteron (at the 95% confidence level): λ f ≤4x10 -25 s -1 (experiment with electrolysis), λ f ≤7x10 -28 s -1 (experiment with gaseous deuterium). 7 refs.; 5 figs.; 2 tabs

  13. Immunomodulatory effects of intravenous bis-1 f(ab')(2) administration in renal-cell cancer-patients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, R. A. J.; Kroesen, B. J.; Mesander, G.; Sleijfer, D. T.; The, T. Hauw; Mulder, N. H.; de Leij, L

    We report the immunomodulatory effects of an intravenous treatment with F(ab')(2) fragments of the bispecific monoclonal antibody BIS-1 during subcutaneous recombinant interleukin 2 (rIL-2) therapy of renal cell cancer (RCC) patients. BIS-1 is directed against both the CD3 antigen on T cells and the

  14. Advanced fusion reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomita, Yukihiro [National Inst. for Fusion Science, Toki, Gifu (Japan)

    2003-04-01

    The main subjects on fusion research are now on D-T fueled fusion, mainly due to its high fusion reaction rate. However, many issues are still remained on the wall loading by the 14 MeV neutrons. In the case of D-D fueled fusion, the neutron wall loading is still remained, though the technology related to tritium breeding is not needed. The p-{sup 6}Li and p-{sup 11}B fueled fusions are not estimated to be the next generation candidate until the innovated plasma confinement technologies come in useful to achieve the high performance plasma parameters. The fusion reactor of D-{sup 3}He fuels has merits on the smaller neutron wall loading and tritium handling. However, there are difficulties on achieving the high temperature plasma more than 100 keV. Furthermore the high beta plasma is needed to decrease synchrotron radiation loss. In addition, the efficiency of the direct energy conversion from protons coming out from fusion reaction is one of the key parameters in keeping overall power balance. Therefore, open magnetic filed lines should surround the plasma column. In this paper, we outlined the design of the commercial base reactor (ARTEMIS) of 1 GW electric output power configured by D-{sup 3}He fueled FRC (Field Reversed Configuration). The ARTEMIS needs 64 kg of {sup 3}He per a year. On the other hand, 1 million tons of {sup 3}He is estimated to be in the moon. The {sup 3}He of about 10{sup 23} kg are to exist in gaseous planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. (Y. Tanaka)

  15. Frequency and clinical features of the JAK2 V617F mutation in pediatric patients with sporadic essential thrombocythemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakatani, Takuya; Imamura, Toshihiko; Ishida, Hiroyuki; Wakaizumi, Katsuji; Yamamoto, Tohru; Otabe, Osamu; Ishigami, Tsuyoshi; Adachi, Souichi; Morimoto, Akira

    2008-12-01

    Pediatric essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a rare and heterogenous disease entity. While several recent studies have focused on the role of the JAK2 V617F mutation in pediatric ET, the frequency of pediatric ET cases with this mutation and the associated clinical features remain unclear. We examined six childhood cases who had been diagnosed with ET according to WHO criteria (onset age: 0.2-14 years) for the presence of the JAK2 V617F mutation, MPLW515L mutation and JAK2 exon 12 mutations. Two sensitive PCR-based methods were used for the JAK2 V617F genotyping. We also examined the expression of polycythemia rubra vera-1 (PRV-1), which is a diagnostic marker for clonal ET. We found that three of the six cases had the JAK2 V617F mutation and that all six cases expressed PRV-1 in their peripheral granulocytes. Neither MPL W515L mutation nor JAK2 exon 12 mutations was detected in the patients without JAK2 V617F mutation. The two patients who developed thrombocythemia during infancy were JAK2 V617F-negative. These findings suggest that the JAK2 V617F mutation is not rare in childhood sporadic ET cases, and that these cases might be older and myeloproliferative features.

  16. [Optimization of prokaryotic expression conditions of Leptospira interrogans trigeminy genus-specific protein antigen based on surface response analysis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiang; Luo, Dongjiao; Sun, Aihua; Yan, Jie

    2008-07-01

    Lipoproteins LipL32 and LipL21 and transmembrane protein OMPL1 have been confirmed as the superficial genus-specific antigens of Leptospira interrogans, which can be used as antigens for developing a universal genetic engineering vaccine. In order to obtain high expression of an artificial fusion gene lipL32/1-lipL21-ompL1/2, we optimized prokaryotic expression conditions. We used surface response analysis based on the central composite design to optimize culture conditions of a new antigen protein by recombinant Escherichia coli DE3.The culture conditions included initial pH, induction start time, post-induction time, Isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentration, and temperature. The maximal production of antigen protein was 37.78 mg/l. The optimal culture conditions for high recombinant fusion protein was determined: initial pH 7.9, induction start time 2.5 h, a post-induction time of 5.38 h, 0.20 mM IPTG, and a post-induction temperature of 31 degrees C. Surface response analysis based on CCD increased the target production. This statistical method reduced the number of experiments required for optimization and enabled rapid identification and integration of the key culture condition parameters for optimizing recombinant protein expression.

  17. Respiratory syncytial virus fusion glycoprotein expressed in insect cells form protein nanoparticles that induce protective immunity in cotton rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gale Smith

    Full Text Available Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV is an important viral agent causing severe respiratory tract disease in infants and children as well as in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. The lack of a safe and effective RSV vaccine represents a major unmet medical need. RSV fusion (F surface glycoprotein was modified and cloned into a baculovirus vector for efficient expression in Sf9 insect cells. Recombinant RSV F was glycosylated and cleaved into covalently linked F2 and F1 polypeptides that formed homotrimers. RSV F extracted and purified from insect cell membranes assembled into 40 nm protein nanoparticles composed of multiple RSV F oligomers arranged in the form of rosettes. The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of purified RSV F nanoparticles was compared to live and formalin inactivated RSV in cotton rats. Immunized animals induced neutralizing serum antibodies, inhibited virus replication in the lungs, and had no signs of disease enhancement in the respiratory track of challenged animals. RSV F nanoparticles also induced IgG competitive for binding of palivizumab neutralizing monoclonal antibody to RSV F antigenic site II. Antibodies to this epitope are known to protect against RSV when passively administered in high risk infants. Together these data provide a rational for continued development a recombinant RSV F nanoparticle vaccine candidate.

  18. Nuclear and activation characteristics of materials in 14.1-MeV and 2.5-MeV neutron field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seki, Yasushi; Takeyasu, Yuuichi.

    1988-11-01

    The nuclear and activation characteristics of various materials and elements of interest in terms of fusion reactor design are calculated and the results are graphically shown. The elements and materials are placed in a simple geometry modelling a blanket and shield of a fusion reactor. The neutrons with 14.1-MeV and 2.5-MeV energy are generated from the region represented as D-T and D-D plasma, respectively. The following activation characteristics after neutron irradiation are shown for each material and element; 1. Time evolution of induced activity, 2. Time evolution of decay heat, 3. Delayed gamma-ray dose distribution, 4. Decay heat distribution. In addition to the above activation characteristics, nuclear characteristics during the neutron irradiation, e.g. neutron energy spectra, neutron and gamma-ray flux distribution, nuclear heating distributions, and neutron and gamma-ray dose rate are also shown. (author)

  19. Tetrahymena gene encodes a protein that is homologous with the liver-specific F-antigen and associated with membranes of the Golgi apparatus and transport vesicles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hummel, R; Nørgaard, P; Andreasen, P H

    1992-01-01

    The F-antigen is a prominent liver protein which has been extensively used in studies on natural and induced immunological tolerance. However, its intracellular localization and biological function have remained elusive. It has generally been assumed that the F-antigen is confined phylogenetically...... of the Golgi apparatus and transport vesicles pointing to a role of TF-ag in membrane trafficking. Transcription of the TF-ag gene, as determined by run-on analyses, was only detectable in growing cells, and following transfer to starvation condition pre-existing TF-ag mRNA was rapidly degraded. The abundance...

  20. An overview of Aurora: a multi-kilojoule KrF laser system for inertial confinement fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosocha, L.A.; Bowling, P.S.; Burrows, M.D.; Kang, M.; Hanlon, J.; McLeod, J.; York, G.W.

    1986-01-01

    Aurora is a short-pulse high-power krypton-fluoride laser system that serves as an end-to-end technology demonstration prototype for large-scale ultraviolet laser systems of interest for short wavelength inertial confinement fusion (ICF) studies. The system is designed to employ optical angular multiplexing and serial amplification by electron-beam-driven KrF laser amplifiers to deliver 248 nm, 5-ns duration multi-kilojoule laser pulses to ICF targets using a beam train of approximately 1 km in length. The goals for the system are discussed and the design features of the major system components: front-end lasers, amplifier train, and the alignment and controls systems are summarised. (author)

  1. DNA fusion gene vaccines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holst, Peter Johannes; Bassi, Maria Rosaria; Thomsen, Allan Randrup

    2010-01-01

    DNA vaccines are versatile and safe, but limited immunogenicity has prevented their use in the clinical setting. Experimentally, immunogenicity may be enhanced by the use of new delivery technologies, by coadministration of cytokines and pathogen-associated molecular patterns, or by fusion...... of antigens into molecular domains that enhance antigen presentation. More specifically, the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines may benefit from increased protein synthesis, increased T-cell help and MHC class I presentation, and the addition of a range of specific cytokines and pathogen-associated molecular...... with viral-vectored vaccines, various synergistic components may need to be incorporated into DNA vaccines. From the perspective of the future clinical use of DNA vaccines, it has been suggested that antigen presentation should be improved and cytokine coadministration attempted. However, even...

  2. Immunogenic Properties of Lactobacillus plantarum Producing Surface-Displayed Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuczkowska, Katarzyna; Kleiveland, Charlotte R; Minic, Rajna; Moen, Lars F; Øverland, Lise; Tjåland, Rannei; Carlsen, Harald; Lea, Tor; Mathiesen, Geir; Eijsink, Vincent G H

    2017-01-15

    Tuberculosis (TB) remains among the most deadly diseases in the world. The only available vaccine against tuberculosis is the bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, which does not ensure full protection in adults. There is a global urgency for the development of an effective vaccine for preventing disease transmission, and it requires novel approaches. We are exploring the use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as a vector for antigen delivery to mucosal sites. Here, we demonstrate the successful expression and surface display of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis fusion antigen (comprising Ag85B and ESAT-6, referred to as AgE6) on Lactobacillus plantarum The AgE6 fusion antigen was targeted to the bacterial surface using two different anchors, a lipoprotein anchor directing the protein to the cell membrane and a covalent cell wall anchor. AgE6-producing L. plantarum strains using each of the two anchors induced antigen-specific proliferative responses in lymphocytes purified from TB-positive donors. Similarly, both strains induced immune responses in mice after nasal or oral immunization. The impact of the anchoring strategies was reflected in dissimilarities in the immune responses generated by the two L. plantarum strains in vivo The present study comprises an initial step toward the development of L. plantarum as a vector for M. tuberculosis antigen delivery. This work presents the development of Lactobacillus plantarum as a candidate mucosal vaccine against tuberculosis. Tuberculosis remains one of the top infectious diseases worldwide, and the only available vaccine, bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), fails to protect adults and adolescents. Direct antigen delivery to mucosal sites is a promising strategy in tuberculosis vaccine development, and lactic acid bacteria potentially provide easy, safe, and low-cost delivery vehicles for mucosal immunization. We have engineered L. plantarum strains to produce a Mycobacterium tuberculosis fusion antigen and to anchor this

  3. Performance of the 10-kV, 5-MA pulsed-power system for the FRX-C compression experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rej, D.J.; Waganaar, W.J.

    1991-01-01

    Performance data are presented for the 10-kV, 5-MA, 1.5-MJ pulsed-power system developed for the Los Alamos magnetic fusion facility FRX-C. This system energizes a low-inductance magnet for the high-power, compression heating of compact toroid plasmas. An ignitron-switched, 20-mF, 10-kV, 4-MA capacitor bank is discharged to produce the main compression field, while an inductively-isolated, 10-mF, 10-kV, 1-MA bank generates an initial magnetic field to accept the translated plasma. To date, the complete system has successfully operated for two years and approximately 2000 high-power discharges. Component performance during typical and fault-mode operation is reviewed. 5 refs., 5 figs

  4. Deregulation of apoptosis-related genes is associated with PRV1 overexpression and JAK2 V617F allele burden in Essential Thrombocythemia and Myelofibrosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tognon Raquel

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Essential Thrombocythemia (ET and Primary Myelofibrosis (PMF are Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN characterized by clonal myeloproliferation/myeloaccumulation without cell maturation impairment. The JAK2 V617F mutation and PRV1 gene overexpression may contribute to MPN physiopathology. We hypothesized that deregulation of the apoptotic machinery may also play a role in the pathogenesis of ET and PMF. In this study we evaluated the apoptosis-related gene and protein expression of BCL2 family members in bone marrow CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSC and peripheral blood leukocytes from ET and PMF patients. We also tested whether the gene expression results were correlated with JAK2 V617F allele burden percentage, PRV1 overexpression, and clinical and laboratory parameters. Results By real time PCR assay, we observed that A1, MCL1, BIK and BID, as well as A1, BCLW and BAK gene expression were increased in ET and PMF CD34+ cells respectively, while pro-apoptotic BAX and anti-apoptotic BCL2 mRNA levels were found to be lower in ET and PMF CD34+ cells respectively, in relation to controls. In patients' leukocytes, we detected an upregulation of anti-apoptotic genes A1, BCL2, BCL-XL and BCLW. In contrast, pro-apoptotic BID and BIMEL expression were downregulated in ET leukocytes. Increased BCL-XL protein expression in PMF leukocytes and decreased BID protein expression in ET leukocytes were observed by Western Blot. In ET leukocytes, we found a correlation between JAK2 V617F allele burden and BAX, BIK and BAD gene expression and between A1, BAX and BIK and PRV1 gene expression. A negative correlation between PRV1 gene expression and platelet count was observed, as well as a positive correlation between PRV1 gene expression and splenomegaly. Conclusions Our results suggest the participation of intrinsic apoptosis pathway in the MPN physiopathology. In addition, PRV1 and JAK2 V617F allele burden were linked to deregulation

  5. Identification of pre-erythrocytic malaria antigens that target hepatocytes for killing in vivo and contribute to protection elicited by whole-parasite vaccination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Chen

    Full Text Available Pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines, including those based on whole-parasite approaches, have shown protective efficacy in animal and human studies. However few pre-erythocytic antigens other than the immunodominant circumsporozoite protein (CSP have been studied in depth with the goal of developing potent subunit malaria vaccines that are suited for use in endemic areas. Here we describe a novel technique to identify pre-erythrocytic malaria antigens that contribute to protection elicited by whole-parasite vaccination in the mouse model. Our approach combines immunization with genetically attenuated parasites and challenge with DNA plasmids encoding for potential protective pre-erythrocytic malaria antigens as luciferase fusions by hydrodynamic tail vein injection. After optimizing the technique, we first showed that immunization with Pyfabb/f-, a P. yoelii genetically attenuated parasite, induces killing of CSP-presenting hepatocytes. Depletion of CD8+ but not CD4+ T cells diminished the killing of CSP-expressing hepatocytes, indicating that killing is CD8+ T cell-dependent. Finally we showed that the use of heterologous prime/boost immunization strategies that use genetically attenuated parasites and DNA vaccines enabled the characterization of a novel pre-erythrocytic antigen, Tmp21, as a contributor to Pyfabb/f- induced protection. This technique will be valuable for identification of potentially protective liver stage antigens and has the potential to contribute to the understanding of immunity elicited by whole parasite vaccination, as well as the development of effective subunit malaria vaccines.

  6. Evaluation of 235U(n,f) between 100 keV and 20 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poenitz, W.P.

    1979-07-01

    The 235 U(n,f) cross section is evaluated in the energy range from 100 keV to 20 MeV. Experimental data are included up to the 1978 Harwell Conference on Neutron Physics. The evaluation methodology is discussed in detail. The shape and the normalization of the cross section are evalutated in separate steps. An extensive comparison of the evaluation result with experimental data sets is made. The shape of the cross section obtained in a preliminary version of the present evaluation and a normalization factor extracted from data provided within the framework of this evaluation were used by the Subcommittee on Standards and Normalizations of the Cross Sections Evaluation Working Group to establish 235 U(n,f) for ENDF/B-V above 100 keV. 20 figures, 6 tables

  7. Expression and immunogenicity of novel subunit enterovirus 71 VP1 antigens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Juan; Wang, Shixia; Gan, Weihua; Zhang, Wenhong; Ju, Liwen; Huang, Zuhu; Lu, Shan

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► EV71 is a major emerging infectious disease in many Asian countries. ► Inactivated EV71 vaccines are in clinical studies but their safety and efficacy are unknown. ► Developing subunit based EV71 vaccines is significant and novel antigen design is needed. ► DNA immunization is an efficient tool to test the immunogenicity of VP1 based EV71 vaccines. ► Multiple VP1 antigens are developed showing immunogenic potential. -- Abstract: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness in young children. HFMD is caused by viruses belonging to the enterovirus genus of the picornavirus family. Recently, enterovirus 71 (EV71) has emerged as a virulent agent for HFMD with severe clinical outcomes. In the current report, we conducted a pilot antigen engineering study to optimize the expression and immunogenicity of subunit VP1 antigen for the design of EV71 vaccines. DNA immunization was adopted as a simple technical approach to test different designs of VP1 antigens without the need to express VP1 protein in vitro first. Our studies indicated that the expression and immunogenicity of VP1 protein can be improved with alternated VP1 antigen designs. Data presented in the current report revealed novel pathways to optimize the design of VP1 antigen-based EV71 vaccines.

  8. Multimodal functional network connectivity: an EEG-fMRI fusion in network space.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Lei

    Full Text Available EEG and fMRI recordings measure the functional activity of multiple coherent networks distributed in the cerebral cortex. Identifying network interaction from the complementary neuroelectric and hemodynamic signals may help to explain the complex relationships between different brain regions. In this paper, multimodal functional network connectivity (mFNC is proposed for the fusion of EEG and fMRI in network space. First, functional networks (FNs are extracted using spatial independent component analysis (ICA in each modality separately. Then the interactions among FNs in each modality are explored by Granger causality analysis (GCA. Finally, fMRI FNs are matched to EEG FNs in the spatial domain using network-based source imaging (NESOI. Investigations of both synthetic and real data demonstrate that mFNC has the potential to reveal the underlying neural networks of each modality separately and in their combination. With mFNC, comprehensive relationships among FNs might be unveiled for the deep exploration of neural activities and metabolic responses in a specific task or neurological state.

  9. Study of heavy ion fusion reaction of 58Ni + 24Mg at 11 MeV/nucleon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shea, J.Y.

    1991-01-01

    This thesis presents a study of the heavy ion fusion reaction in which a 58 Ni projectile bombards a 24 Mg target at 11 MeV/nucleon. The incident projectile energy was purposefully chosen so as the system studied to be at the onset of the more complex and interesting phenomenon of incomplete fusion. The physics motivation is to probe the central collision of a heavy, energetic, and asymmetric system by means of both inclusive and exclusive experimental measurements. The experiment was performed at HHIRF (Holifield Heavy Ion Research Facility) by using the coupled accelerators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The reaction products were measured by the new open-quotes HILI-Ringclose quotes large solid angle detector system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The thesis discusses the physics motivation and the systematics of heavy ion fusion reactions. Details of the design and construction of a new CsI(T1) Ring detector is given. Since this is the first such study performed on the Heavy Ion Light Ion (HILI) detector, an extensive discussion of the calibration procedures and the data reduction methods are given. The fusion reaction data were analyzed in both inclusive and exclusive modes with the result that a valuable new perspective on the deconvolution of the reaction mechanism has been achieved

  10. Influence of mass asymmetry in fusion cross section of intermediate weight ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anjos, R.M. dos.

    1987-01-01

    The mass asymmetry degree effect on fusion, was investigated for different systems involving nucleus A projectie , A target ≤ 40, populating a compound nucleus. The following systems were studied: ( 19 F + 19 F), ( 12 C + 26 Mg) and ( 19 F + 12 C, 16 O, 27 Al, 40 Ca) in the energy range of 32 ≤ E lab ≤ 72 MeV and angular range 6 0 ≤ Θ lab ≤ 28 0 . The experimental method employed the time of flight technique, of the evaporation residuals. Analysis of excitation function indicate different behavior for symmetric and asymmetric systems suggesting that the presence of other more competitive processes is more pronounced in asymmetric entrance channels at high energies. These behaviors indicate that mass asymmetry is an important point in complete and incomplete fusion processes. (A.C.A.S.) [pt

  11. Clinical significance of MRI/18F-FDG PET fusion imaging of the spinal cord in patients with cervical compressive myelopathy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uchida, Kenzo; Nakajima, Hideaki; Watanabe, Shuji; Yoshida, Ai; Baba, Hisatoshi; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Kimura, Hirohiko; Kudo, Takashi

    2012-01-01

    18 F-FDG PET is used to investigate the metabolic activity of neural tissue. MRI is used to visualize morphological changes, but the relationship between intramedullary signal changes and clinical outcome remains controversial. The present study was designed to evaluate the use of 3-D MRI/ 18 F-FDG PET fusion imaging for defining intramedullary signal changes on MRI scans and local glucose metabolic rate measured on 18 F-FDG PET scans in relation to clinical outcome and prognosis. We studied 24 patients undergoing decompressive surgery for cervical compressive myelopathy. All patients underwent 3-D MRI and 18 F-FDG PET before surgery. Quantitative analysis of intramedullary signal changes on MRI scans included calculation of the signal intensity ratio (SIR) as the ratio between the increased lesional signal intensity and the signal intensity at the level of the C7/T1 disc. Using an Advantage workstation, the same slices of cervical 3-D MRI and 18 F-FDG PET images were fused. On the fused images, the maximal count of the lesion was adopted as the standardized uptake value (SUV max ). In a similar manner to SIR, the SUV ratio (SUVR) was also calculated. Neurological assessment was conducted using the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scoring system for cervical myelopathy. The SIR on T1-weighted (T1-W) images, but not SIR on T2-W images, was significantly correlated with preoperative JOA score and postoperative neurological improvement. Lesion SUV max was significantly correlated with SIR on T1-W images, but not with SIR on T2-W images, and also with postoperative neurological outcome. The SUVR correlated better than SIR on T1-W images and lesion SUV max with neurological improvement. Longer symptom duration was correlated negatively with SIR on T1-W images, positively with SIR on T2-W images, and negatively with SUV max . Our results suggest that low-intensity signal on T1-W images, but not on T2-W images, is correlated with a poor postoperative neurological

  12. Electron-detachment cross sections of halogen negative-ion projectiles for inertial confinement fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sant'Anna, M. M.; Zappa, F.; Santos, A. C. F.; de Barros, A. L. F.; Wolff, W.; Coelho, L. F. S.; de Castro Faria, N. V.

    2004-07-01

    Negative-ion beams have recently been suggested as sources of high-energy heavy atoms to be used as drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Owing to their electron affinities limited to a few eV, anions can be efficiently photo-detached in the vicinity of the fusion chamber, with the resulting high-velocity neutral projectiles following ballistic trajectories towards the hydrogen pellet target. Electron-detachment cross sections are needed as parameters to estimate the beam attenuation in the path from the ion source to the hydrogen pellet. Halogen anions are possible projectile choices. In this paper we present experimental data for total electron-detachment cross sections for F-, Cl-, Br- and I- ions incident on N2, in the 0.94-74 keV u-1 energy range. Our measurements can benchmark theory on anion electron detachment at intermediate to high velocities. Comparison between different projectiles shows very similar collision velocity dependencies. A simple geometrical scaling is presented, providing an estimate for electron-detachment cross sections at the MeV u-1 energy range. The presented scaling indicates that the vacuum requirements due to the use of halogen anions for ICF are less critical than previously suggested.

  13. Electron-detachment cross sections of halogen negative-ion projectiles for inertial confinement fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sant'Anna, M M; Zappa, F; Santos, A C F; Barros, A L F de; Wolff, W; Coelho, L F S; Faria, N V de Castro

    2004-01-01

    Negative-ion beams have recently been suggested as sources of high-energy heavy atoms to be used as drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Owing to their electron affinities limited to a few eV, anions can be efficiently photo-detached in the vicinity of the fusion chamber, with the resulting high-velocity neutral projectiles following ballistic trajectories towards the hydrogen pellet target. Electron-detachment cross sections are needed as parameters to estimate the beam attenuation in the path from the ion source to the hydrogen pellet. Halogen anions are possible projectile choices. In this paper we present experimental data for total electron-detachment cross sections for F - , Cl - , Br - and I - ions incident on N 2 , in the 0.94-74 keV u -1 energy range. Our measurements can benchmark theory on anion electron detachment at intermediate to high velocities. Comparison between different projectiles shows very similar collision velocity dependencies. A simple geometrical scaling is presented, providing an estimate for electron-detachment cross sections at the MeV u -1 energy range. The presented scaling indicates that the vacuum requirements due to the use of halogen anions for ICF are less critical than previously suggested

  14. 1/f noise in music and speech. [Power spectrum studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voss, R.F.; Clarke, J.

    1975-11-27

    The power spectrum, S(f), of many fluctuating physical variables, V(t), is approximately ''1/f-like.'' Loudness fluctuations in music and speech and pitch (melody) fluctuations in music were found to exhibit 1/f power spectra. This observation has implications for stochastic music composition. 3 figures. (RWR)

  15. f$_1$(1285) Formation in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP

    CERN Document Server

    Achard, P.; Aguilar-Benitez, M.; Alcaraz, J.; Alemanni, G.; Allaby, J.; Aloisio, A.; Alviggi, M.G.; Anderhub, H.; Andreev, Valery P.; Anselmo, F.; Arefev, A.; Azemoon, T.; Aziz, T.; Bagnaia, P.; Bajo, A.; Baksay, G.; Baksay, L.; Baldew, S.V.; Banerjee, S.; Banerjee, Sw.; Barczyk, A.; Barillere, R.; Bartalini, P.; Basile, M.; Batalova, N.; Battiston, R.; Bay, A.; Becattini, F.; Becker, U.; Behner, F.; Bellucci, L.; Berbeco, R.; Berdugo, J.; Berges, P.; Bertucci, B.; Betev, B.L.; Biasini, M.; Biglietti, M.; Biland, A.; Blaising, J.J.; Blyth, S.C.; Bobbink, G.J.; Bohm, A.; Boldizsar, L.; Borgia, B.; Bottai, S.; Bourilkov, D.; Bourquin, M.; Braccini, S.; Branson, J.G.; Brochu, F.; Buijs, A.; Burger, J.D.; Burger, W.J.; Cai, X.D.; Capell, M.; Cara Romeo, G.; Carlino, G.; Cartacci, A.; Casaus, J.; Cavallari, F.; Cavallo, N.; Cecchi, C.; Cerrada, M.; Chamizo, M.; Chang, Y.H.; Chemarin, M.; Chen, A.; Chen, G.; Chen, G.M.; Chen, H.F.; Chen, H.S.; Chiefari, G.; Cifarelli, L.; Cindolo, F.; Clare, I.; Clare, R.; Coignet, G.; Colino, N.; Costantini, S.; de la Cruz, B.; Cucciarelli, S.; van Dalen, J.A.; de Asmundis, R.; Deglon, P.; Debreczeni, J.; Degre, A.; Deiters, K.; della Volpe, D.; Delmeire, E.; Denes, P.; DeNotaristefani, F.; De Salvo, A.; Diemoz, M.; Dierckxsens, M.; van Dierendonck, D.; Dionisi, C.; Dittmar, M.; Doria, A.; Dova, M.T.; Duchesneau, D.; Duinker, P.; Echenard, B.; Eline, A.; El Mamouni, H.; Engler, A.; Eppling, F.J.; Ewers, A.; Extermann, P.; Falagan, M.A.; Falciano, S.; Favara, A.; Fay, J.; Fedin, O.; Felcini, M.; Ferguson, T.; Fesefeldt, H.; Fiandrini, E.; Field, J.H.; Filthaut, F.; Fisher, P.H.; Fisher, W.; Fisk, I.; Forconi, G.; Freudenreich, K.; Furetta, C.; Galaktionov, Iouri; Ganguli, S.N.; Garcia-Abia, Pablo; Gataullin, M.; Gentile, S.; Giagu, S.; Gong, Z.F.; Grenier, Gerald Jean; Grimm, O.; Gruenewald, M.W.; Guida, M.; van Gulik, R.; Gupta, V.K.; Gurtu, A.; Gutay, L.J.; Haas, D.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Hebbeker, T.; Herve, Alain; Hirschfelder, J.; Hofer, H.; Hohlmann, M.; Holzner, G.; Hou, S.R.; Hu, Y.; Jin, B.N.; Jones, Lawrence W.; de Jong, P.; Josa-Mutuberria, I.; Kafer, D.; Kaur, M.; Kienzle-Focacci, M.N.; Kim, J.K.; Kirkby, Jasper; Kittel, W.; Klimentov, A.; Konig, A.C.; Kopal, M.; Koutsenko, V.; Kraber, M.; Kraemer, R.W.; Krenz, W.; Kruger, A.; Kunin, A.; Ladron de Guevara, P.; Laktineh, I.; Landi, G.; Lebeau, M.; Lebedev, A.; Lebrun, P.; Lecomte, P.; Lecoq, P.; Le Coultre, P.; Le Goff, J.M.; Leiste, R.; Levtchenko, P.; Li, C.; Likhoded, S.; Lin, C.H.; Lin, W.T.; Linde, F.L.; Lista, L.; Liu, Z.A.; Lohmann, W.; Longo, E.; Lu, Y.S.; Lubelsmeyer, K.; Luci, C.; Luminari, L.; Lustermann, W.; Ma, W.G.; Malgeri, L.; Malinin, A.; Mana, C.; Mangeol, D.; Mans, J.; Martin, J.P.; Marzano, F.; Mazumdar, K.; McNeil, R.R.; Mele, S.; Merola, L.; Meschini, M.; Metzger, W.J.; Mihul, A.; Milcent, H.; Mirabelli, G.; Mnich, J.; Mohanty, G.B.; Muanza, G.S.; Muijs, A.J.M.; Musicar, B.; Musy, M.; Nagy, S.; Natale, S.; Napolitano, M.; Nessi-Tedaldi, F.; Newman, H.; Niessen, T.; Nisati, A.; Kluge, Hannelies; Ofierzynski, R.; Organtini, G.; Palomares, C.; Pandoulas, D.; Paolucci, P.; Paramatti, R.; Passaleva, G.; Patricelli, S.; Paul, Thomas Cantzon; Pauluzzi, M.; Paus, C.; Pauss, F.; Pedace, M.; Pensotti, S.; Perret-Gallix, D.; Petersen, B.; Piccolo, D.; Pierella, F.; Pioppi, M.; Piroue, P.A.; Pistolesi, E.; Plyaskin, V.; Pohl, M.; Pojidaev, V.; Pothier, J.; Prokofev, D.O.; Prokofiev, D.; Quartieri, J.; Rahal-Callot, G.; Rahaman, M.A.; Raics, P.; Raja, N.; Ramelli, R.; Rancoita, P.G.; Ranieri, R.; Raspereza, A.; Razis, P.; Ren, D.; Rescigno, M.; Reucroft, S.; Riemann, S.; Riles, Keith; Roe, B.P.; Romero, L.; Rosca, A.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Roth, Stefan; Rosenbleck, C.; Roux, B.; Rubio, J.A.; Ruggiero, G.; Rykaczewski, H.; Sakharov, A.; Saremi, S.; Sarkar, S.; Salicio, J.; Sanchez, E.; Sanders, M.P.; Schafer, C.; Schegelsky, V.; Schmidt-Kaerst, S.; Schmitz, D.; Schopper, H.; Schotanus, D.J.; Schwering, G.; Sciacca, C.; Servoli, L.; Shevchenko, S.; Shivarov, N.; Shoutko, V.; Shumilov, E.; Shvorob, A.; Siedenburg, T.; Son, D.; Spillantini, P.; Steuer, M.; Stickland, D.P.; Stoyanov, B.; Straessner, A.; Sudhakar, K.; Sultanov, G.; Sun, L.Z.; Sushkov, S.; Suter, H.; Swain, J.D.; Szillasi, Z.; Tang, X.W.; Tarjan, P.; Tauscher, L.; Taylor, L.; Tellili, B.; Teyssier, D.; Timmermans, Charles; Ting, Samuel C.C.; Ting, S.M.; Tonwar, S.C.; Toth, J.; Tully, C.; Tung, K.L.; Ulbricht, J.; Valente, E.; Van de Walle, R.T.; Veszpremi, V.; Vesztergombi, G.; Vetlitsky, I.; Vicinanza, D.; Viertel, G.; Villa, S.; Vivargent, M.; Vlachos, S.; Vodopianov, I.; Vogel, H.; Vogt, H.; Vorobev, I.; Vorobyov, A.A.; Wadhwa, M.; Wallraff, W.; Wang, X.L.; Wang, Z.M.; Weber, M.; Wienemann, P.; Wilkens, H.; Wynhoff, S.; Xia, L.; Xu, Z.Z.; Yamamoto, J.; Yang, B.Z.; Yang, C.G.; Yang, H.J.; Yang, M.; Yeh, S.C.; Zalite, A.; Zalite, Yu.; Zhang, Z.P.; Zhao, J.; Zhu, G.Y.; Zhu, R.Y.; Zhuang, H.L.; Zichichi, A.; Zilizi, G.; Zimmermann, B.; Zoller, M.

    2002-01-01

    The $\\eta \\pi^+ \\pi^-$ final state in two-photon collisions is studied with the L3 detector at LEP, at centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209~GeV with an integrated luminosity of 664.6~pb$^{-1}$. The f$_1$(1285) meson is observed and the $Q^2$ dependence of its production is compared to different form factor models. The $\\gamma\\gamma$-coupling parameter $\\tilde\\Gamma_{\\gamma\\gamma}$ is found to be $3.5 \\pm 0.6\\,(stat.) \\pm 0.5\\,(sys.)$~keV. The branching fraction $\\Gamma\\bigl({\\rm f}_1(1285)\\rightarrow{\\rm a}_0\\pi\\bigr) / \\Gamma\\bigl({\\rm f}_1(1285)\\rightarrow\\eta\\pi\\pi\\bigr)$ is also measured.

  16. Investigation of tritium and 233U breeding in a fission-fusion hybrid reactor fuelling with ThO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yildiz, K.; Sahin, S.; Sahin, H. M.; Acir, A.; Yalcin, S.; Altinok, T.; Bayrak, M.; Alkan, M.; Durukan, O.

    2007-01-01

    In the world, thorium reserves are three times more than natural Uranium reserves. It is planned in the near future that nuclear reactors will use thorium as a fuel. Thorium is not a fissile isotope because it doesn't make fission with thermal neutrons so it could be converted to 2 33U isotope which has very high quality fission cross-section with thermal neutrons. 2 33U isotope can be used in present LWRs as an enrichment fuel. In the fusion reactors, tritium is the most important fossil fuel. Because tritium is not natural isotope, it has to be produced in the reactor. The purpose of this work is to investigate the tritium and 2 33U breeding in a fission-fusion hybrid reactor fuelling with ThO 2 for Δt=10 days during a reactor operation period in five years. The neutronic analysis is performed on an experimental hybrid blanket geometry. In the center of the hybrid blanket, there is a line neutron source in a cylindrical cavity, which simulates the fusion plasma chamber where high energy neutrons (14.1 MeV) are produced. The conventional fusion reaction delivers the external neutron source for blankets following, 2 D + 3 T →? 4 He (3.5 MeV) + n (14.1 MeV). (1) The fuel zone made up of natural-ThO 2 fuel and it is cooled with different coolants. In this work, five different moderator materials, which are Li 2 BeF 4 , LiF-NaF-BeF 2 , Li 2 0Sn 8 0, natural Lithium and Li 1 7Pb 8 3, are used as coolants. The radial reflector, called tritium breeding zones, is made of different Lithium compounds and graphite in sandwich structure. In the work, eight different Lithium compounds were used as tritium breeders in the tritium breeding zones, which are Li 3 N, Li 2 O, Li 2 O 2 , Li 2 TiO 3 , Li 4 SiO 3 , Li 2 ZrO 3 , LiBr and LiH. Neutron transport calculations are conducted in spherical geometry with the help of SCALE4.4A SYSTEM by solving the Boltzmann transport equation with code CSAS and XSDRNPM, under consideration of unresolved and resolved resonances, in S 8 -P 3

  17. [Synthesis of protective antigens during submerged cultivation of Vibrio cholerae].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fedorova, V A; Syrova, N A; Gromova, O V; Tershkina, N E; Devdariani, Z L; Dzhaparidze, M N; Meleshchenko, M V; Dobrova, G V; Beliakova, N I; Ermakov, N M; Eliseev, Iu Iu

    2000-01-01

    The effectiveness of dot immunoanalysis for evaluating the dynamics of the synthesis of O-antigen, cholera toxin, neuraminidase, adhesin CFA1 in the process of the reactor cultivation of V. cholerae used for the production of oral chemical cholera vaccine is shown. The established regularities of the synthesis of the protective antigens of V. cholerae in the process of scaled-up cultivation are discussed.

  18. Membrane fusion by VAMP3 and plasma membrane t-SNAREs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Chuan; Hardee, Deborah; Minnear, Fred

    2007-01-01

    Pairing of SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) proteins on vesicles (v-SNAREs) and SNARE proteins on target membranes (t-SNAREs) mediates intracellular membrane fusion. VAMP3/cellubrevin is a v-SNARE that resides in recycling endosomes and endosome-derived transport vesicles. VAMP3 has been implicated in recycling of transferrin receptors, secretion of α-granules in platelets, and membrane trafficking during cell migration. Using a cell fusion assay, we examined membrane fusion capacity of the ternary complexes formed by VAMP3 and plasma membrane t-SNAREs syntaxin1, syntaxin4, SNAP-23 and SNAP-25. VAMP3 forms fusogenic pairing with t-SNARE complexes syntaxin1/SNAP-25, syntaxin1/SNAP-23 and syntaxin4/SNAP-25, but not with syntaxin4/SNAP-23. Deletion of the N-terminal domain of syntaxin4 enhanced membrane fusion more than two fold, indicating that the N-terminal domain negatively regulates membrane fusion. Differential membrane fusion capacities of the ternary v-/t-SNARE complexes suggest that transport vesicles containing VAMP3 have distinct membrane fusion kinetics with domains of the plasma membrane that present different t-SNARE proteins

  19. Photoproduction of the f1(1285 ) meson

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickson, R.; Schumacher, R. A.; Adhikari, K. P.; Akbar, Z.; Amaryan, M. J.; Anefalos Pereira, S.; Badui, R. A.; Ball, J.; Battaglieri, M.; Batourine, V.; Bedlinskiy, I.; Biselli, A.; Boiarinov, S.; Briscoe, W. J.; Burkert, V. D.; Cao, T.; Carman, D. S.; Celentano, A.; Chandavar, S.; Charles, G.; Chetry, T.; Ciullo, G.; Colaneri, L.; Cole, P. L.; Compton, N.; Contalbrigo, M.; Cortes, O.; Crede, V.; D'Angelo, A.; Dashyan, N.; De Vita, R.; De Sanctis, E.; Deur, A.; Djalali, C.; Dugger, M.; Dupre, R.; El Alaoui, A.; El Fassi, L.; Eugenio, P.; Fanchini, E.; Fedotov, G.; Filippi, A.; Fleming, J. A.; Gevorgyan, N.; Ghandilyan, Y.; Gilfoyle, G. P.; Giovanetti, K. L.; Girod, F. X.; Gothe, R. W.; Griffioen, K. A.; Guo, L.; Hafidi, K.; Hakobyan, H.; Hanretty, C.; Harrison, N.; Hattawy, M.; Holtrop, M.; Hicks, K.; Hughes, S. M.; Ilieva, Y.; Ireland, D. G.; Ishkhanov, B. S.; Isupov, E. L.; Jiang, H.; Jo, H. S.; Joosten, S.; Keller, D.; Khachatryan, G.; Khandaker, M.; Kim, A.; Kim, W.; Klein, F. J.; Kubarovsky, V.; Kuleshov, S. V.; Lanza, L.; Lenisa, P.; Livingston, K.; Lu, H. Y.; MacGregor, I. J. D.; Mattione, P.; McKinnon, B.; Meyer, C. A.; Mirazita, M.; Markov, N.; Mokeev, V.; Moriya, K.; Munevar, E.; Murdoch, G.; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Net, L. A.; Ni, A.; Osipenko, M.; Ostrovidov, A. I.; Park, K.; Pasyuk, E.; Phelps, W.; Pisano, S.; Pogorelko, O.; Price, J. W.; Prok, Y.; Puckett, A. J. R.; Raue, B. A.; Ripani, M.; Rizzo, A.; Rosner, G.; Roy, P.; Salgado, C.; Seder, E.; Sharabian, Y. G.; Skorodumina, Iu.; Smith, E. S.; Smith, G. D.; Sober, D.; Sokhan, D.; Sparveris, N.; Stepanyan, S.; Strakovsky, I. I.; Stankovic, I.; Strauch, S.; Sytnik, V.; Taiuti, M.; Ungaro, M.; Voskanyan, H.; Voutier, E.; Walford, N. K.; Watts, D. P.; Weygand, D.; Wood, M. H.; Zachariou, N.; Zana, L.; Zhang, J.; Zonta, I.; CLAS Collaboration

    2016-06-01

    The f1(1285 ) meson with mass 1281.0 ±0.8 MeV/c2 and width 18.4 ±1.4 MeV (full width at half maximum) was measured for the first time in photoproduction from a proton target using CLAS at Jefferson Lab. Differential cross sections were obtained via the η π+π-,K+K¯0π- , and K-K0π+ decay channels from threshold up to a center-of-mass energy of 2.8 GeV. The mass, width, and an amplitude analysis of the η π+π- final-state Dalitz distribution are consistent with the axial-vector JP=1+ f1(1285 ) identity, rather than the pseudoscalar 0- η (1295 ) . The production mechanism is more consistent with s -channel decay of a high-mass N* state and not with t -channel meson exchange. Decays to η π π go dominantly via the intermediate a0±(980 ) π∓ states, with the branching ratio Γ [a0π (noK ¯K )] /Γ [η π π (all)] =0.74 ±0.09 . The branching ratios Γ (K K ¯π ) /Γ (η π π ) =0.216 ±0.033 and Γ (γ ρ0) /Γ (η π π ) =0.047 ±0.018 were also obtained. The first is in agreement with previous data for the f1(1285 ) , while the latter is lower than the world average.

  20. Anti-idiotypic nanobody-alkaline phosphatase fusion proteins: Development of a one-step competitive enzyme immunoassay for fumonisin B{sub 1} detection in cereal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shu, Mei [State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); Jiangxi-OAI Joint Research Institute, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); Xu, Yang, E-mail: xuyang@ncu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); Jiangxi-OAI Joint Research Institute, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); Liu, Xing [State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); College of Food Science and Technology, Hainan University, No. 58 Renmin Avenue, Haikou 570228 (China); Li, Yanping; He, Qinghua [Jiangxi-OAI Joint Research Institute, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); Tu, Zhui [State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); Fu, Jinheng [Jiangxi-OAI Joint Research Institute, Nanchang University, No. 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang 330047 (China); Gee, Shirley J.; Hammock, Bruce D. [Department of Entomology and UCD Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (United States)

    2016-06-14

    A rapid and sensitive one-step competitive enzyme immunoassay for the detection of FB{sub 1} was developed. The anti-idiotypic nanobody–alkaline phosphatase (Ab2β−Nb−AP) was validated by the AP enzyme activity and the properties of bounding to anti-FB1-mAb (3F11) through colorimetric and chemiluminescence analyses. The 50% inhibitory concentration and the detection limit (LOD) of colorimetric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for FB{sub 1} were 2.69 and 0.35 ng mL{sup −1}, respectively, with a linear range of 0.93–7.73 ng mL{sup −1}. The LOD of the chemiluminescence ELISA (CLIA) was 0.12 ng mL{sup −1}, and the IC{sub 50} was 0.89 ± 0.09 ng mL{sup −1} with a linear range of 0.29–2.68 ng mL{sup −1}. Compared with LC-MS/MS, the results of this assay indicated the reliability of the Ab2β−Nb−AP fusion protein based one-step competitive immunoassay for monitoring FB{sub 1} contamination in cereals. The Ab2β−Nb−AP fusion proteins have the potential to replace chemically-coupled probes in competitive enzyme immunoassay systems. - Highlights: • Ab2β−Nb−AP has the potential to replace chemically-coupled probes. • Ab2β−Nb−AP is homogeneous enzyme-labelled antigen can be prepared reproducibly. • We developed a green and rapid one-step competitive enzyme immunoassay. • The sensitivity of one-step CLIA was 9-folds higher than two-step ELISA.

  1. A sensitive HIV-1 envelope induced fusion assay identifies fusion enhancement of thrombin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, De-Chun; Zhong, Guo-Cai; Su, Ju-Xiang; Liu, Yan-Hong; Li, Yan; Wang, Jia-Ye; Hattori, Toshio; Ling, Hong; Zhang, Feng-Min

    2010-01-01

    To evaluate the interaction between HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) and target cell receptors, various cell-cell-fusion assays have been developed. In the present study, we established a novel fusion system. In this system, the expression of the sensitive reporter gene, firefly luciferase (FL) gene, in the target cells was used to evaluate cell fusion event. Simultaneously, constitutively expressed Renilla luciferase (RL) gene was used to monitor effector cell number and viability. FL gave a wider dynamic range than other known reporters and the introduction of RL made the assay accurate and reproducible. This system is especially beneficial for investigation of potential entry-influencing agents, for its power of ruling out the false inhibition or enhancement caused by the artificial cell-number variation. As a case study, we applied this fusion system to observe the effect of a serine protease, thrombin, on HIV Env-mediated cell-cell fusion and have found the fusion enhancement activity of thrombin over two R5-tropic HIV strains.

  2. Expression and immunogenicity of novel subunit enterovirus 71 VP1 antigens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Juan [China-US Vaccine Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (China); Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Nanjing Medical University (China); Wang, Shixia [China-US Vaccine Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (China); Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School (United States); Gan, Weihua [Department of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (China); Zhang, Wenhong [Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University (China); Ju, Liwen [School of Public Health, Fudan University (China); Huang, Zuhu [Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (China); China-US Vaccine Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (China); Lu, Shan, E-mail: shan.lu@umassmed.edu [Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (China); China-US Vaccine Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (China); Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School (United States)

    2012-04-20

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer EV71 is a major emerging infectious disease in many Asian countries. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Inactivated EV71 vaccines are in clinical studies but their safety and efficacy are unknown. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Developing subunit based EV71 vaccines is significant and novel antigen design is needed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer DNA immunization is an efficient tool to test the immunogenicity of VP1 based EV71 vaccines. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Multiple VP1 antigens are developed showing immunogenic potential. -- Abstract: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness in young children. HFMD is caused by viruses belonging to the enterovirus genus of the picornavirus family. Recently, enterovirus 71 (EV71) has emerged as a virulent agent for HFMD with severe clinical outcomes. In the current report, we conducted a pilot antigen engineering study to optimize the expression and immunogenicity of subunit VP1 antigen for the design of EV71 vaccines. DNA immunization was adopted as a simple technical approach to test different designs of VP1 antigens without the need to express VP1 protein in vitro first. Our studies indicated that the expression and immunogenicity of VP1 protein can be improved with alternated VP1 antigen designs. Data presented in the current report revealed novel pathways to optimize the design of VP1 antigen-based EV71 vaccines.

  3. F1 Domain of the Leishmania (Leishmania donovani Nucleoside Hydrolase Promotes a Th1 Response in Leishmania (Leishmania infantum Cured Patients and in Asymptomatic Individuals Living in an Endemic Area of Leishmaniasis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia Carrillo

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The Leishmania (Leishmania donovani nucleoside hydrolase NH36 is the main antigen of the Leishmune® vaccine and one of the promising candidates for vaccination against visceral leishmaniasis. The antigenicity of the N-terminal (F1, the central (F2, or the C-terminal recombinant domain (F3 of NH36 was evaluated using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC from individuals infected with L. (L. infantum from an endemic area of visceral leishmaniasis of Spain. Both NH36 and F1 domains significantly increased the PBMC proliferation stimulation index of cured patients and infected asymptomatic individuals compared to healthy controls. Moreover, F1 induced a 19% higher proliferative response than NH36 in asymptomatic exposed subjects. In addition, in patients cured from visceral leishmaniasis, proliferation in response to NH36 and F1 was accompanied by a significant increase of IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion, which was 42–43% higher, in response to F1 than to NH36. The interleukin 17 (IL-17 secretion was stronger in asymptomatic subjects, in response to F1, as well as in cured cutaneous leishmaniasis after NH36 stimulation. While no IL-10 secretion was determined by F1, a granzyme B increase was detected in supernatants from cured patients after stimulation with either NH36 or F1. These data demonstrate that F1 is the domain of NH36 that induces a recall cellular response in individuals with acquired resistance to the infection by L. (L. infantum. In addition, F1 and NH36 discriminated the IgG3 humoral response in patients with active visceral leishmaniasis due to L. (L. donovani (Ethiopia and L. (L. infantum (Spain from that of endemic and non-endemic area controls. NH36 showed higher reactivity with sera from L. (L. donovani-infected individuals, indicating species specificity. We conclude that the F1 domain, previously characterized as an inducer of the Th1 and Th17 responses in cured/exposed patients infected with L. (L. infantum chagasi, may

  4. Molecular cloning, characterization and antigenicity of Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) (Babesia cf. motasi) apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA-1).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Qingli; Liu, Zhijie; Yang, Jifei; Guan, Guiquan; Pan, Yuping; Luo, Jianxun; Yin, Hong

    2017-04-01

    Apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA-1) has been described as a potential vaccine candidate in apicomplexan parasites. Here we characterize the ama-1 gene. The full-length ama-1 gene of Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) (BLTAMA-1) is 1785 bp, which contains an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 65-kDa protein of 594 amino acid residues; by definition, the 5' UTR precedes the first methionine of the ORF. Phylogenetic analysis based on AMA-1 amino acid sequences clearly separated Piroplasmida from other Apicomplexa parasites. The Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) AMA-1 sequence is most closely associated with that of B. ovata and B. bigemina, with high bootstrap value. A recombinant protein encoding a conserved region and containing ectodomains I and II of BLTAMA-1 was constructed. BLTrAMA-1-DI/DII proteins were tested for reactivity with sera from sheep infected by Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan). In Western-blot analysis, native Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) AMA-1 proteins were recognized by antibodies raised in rabbits against BLTrAMA-1 in vitro. The results of this study are discussed in terms of gene characterization, taxonomy and antigenicity.

  5. Structure of the cleavage-activated prefusion form of the parainfluenza virus 5 fusion protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, Brett D; Liu, Yuanyuan; Kors, Christopher A; Leser, George P; Jardetzky, Theodore S; Lamb, Robert A

    2012-10-09

    The paramyxovirus parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) enters cells by fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane through the concerted action of the fusion (F) protein and the receptor binding protein hemagglutinin-neuraminidase. The F protein folds initially to form a trimeric metastable prefusion form that is triggered to undergo large-scale irreversible conformational changes to form the trimeric postfusion conformation. It is thought that F refolding couples the energy released with membrane fusion. The F protein is synthesized as a precursor (F0) that must be cleaved by a host protease to form a biologically active molecule, F1,F2. Cleavage of F protein is a prerequisite for fusion and virus infectivity. Cleavage creates a new N terminus on F1 that contains a hydrophobic region, known as the FP, which intercalates target membranes during F protein refolding. The crystal structure of the soluble ectodomain of the uncleaved form of PIV5 F is known; here we report the crystal structure of the cleavage-activated prefusion form of PIV5 F. The structure shows minimal movement of the residues adjacent to the protease cleavage site. Most of the hydrophobic FP residues are buried in the uncleaved F protein, and only F103 at the newly created N terminus becomes more solvent-accessible after cleavage. The conformational freedom of the charged arginine residues that compose the protease recognition site increases on cleavage of F protein.

  6. Image fusion of MRI and fMRI with intraoperative MRI data: methods and clinical relevance for neurosurgical interventions; Fusion von MRT-, fMRT- und intraoperativen MRT-Daten. Methode und klinische Bedeutung am Beispiel neurochirurgischer Interventionen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moche, M.; Busse, H.; Dannenberg, C.; Schulz, T.; Schmidt, F.; Kahn, T. [Universitaetsklinikum Leipzig (Germany). Klinik und Poliklinik fuer Diagnostische Radiologie; Schmitgen, A. [GMD Forschungszentrum Informationstechnik GmbH-FIT, Sankt Augustin (Germany); Trantakis, C.; Winkler, D. [Klinik und Poliklinik fuer Neurochirurgie, Universitaetsklinikum Leipzig (Germany)

    2001-11-01

    The aim of this work was to realize and clinically evaluate an image fusion platform for the integration of preoperative MRI and fMRI data into the intraoperative images of an interventional MRI system with a focus on neurosurgical procedures. A vertically open 0.5 T MRI scanner was equipped with a dedicated navigation system enabling the registration of additional imaging modalities (MRI, fMRI, CT) with the intraoperatively acquired data sets. These merged image data served as the basis for interventional planning and multimodal navigation. So far, the system has been used in 70 neurosurgical interventions (13 of which involved image data fusion - requiring 15 minutes extra time). The augmented navigation system is characterized by a higher frame rate and a higher image quality as compared to the system-integrated navigation based on continuously acquired (near) real time images. Patient movement and tissue shifts can be immediately detected by monitoring the morphological differences between both navigation scenes. The multimodal image fusion allowed a refined navigation planning especially for the resection of deeply seated brain lesions or pathologies close to eloquent areas. Augmented intraoperative orientation and instrument guidance improve the safety and accuracy of neurosurgical interventions. (orig.) [German] Ziel dieser Arbeit waren die Realisierung und klinische Bewertung einer Bildfusion praeoperativer MRT- und fMRT-Bilder mit intraoperativen Datensaetzen eines interventionellen MRT-Systems am Beispiel neurochirurgischer Eingriffe. Ein vertikal offenes 0,5-T-MRT-System wurde mit einem erweiterten Navigationssystem ausgestattet, welches eine Integration zusaetzlicher Bildinformationen (Hochfeld-MRT, fMRT, CT) in die intraoperativ akquirierten Datensaetze erlaubt. Diese fusionierten Bilddaten wurden zur Interventionsplanung und multimodalen Navigation verwendet. Bisher wurde das System bei insgesamt 70 neurochirurgischen Eingriffen eingesetzt, davon 13

  7. Decomposition of incomplete fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobotka, L.B.; Sarantities, D.G.; Stracener, D.W.; Majka, Z.; Abenante, V.; Semkow, T.M.; Hensley, D.C.; Beene, J.R.; Halbert, M.L.

    1989-01-01

    The velocity distribution of fusion-like products formed in the reaction 701 MeV 28 Si+ 100 Mo is decomposed into 26 incomplete fusion channels. The momentum deficit of the residue per nonevaporative mass unit is approximately equal to the beam momentum per nucleon. The yields of the incomplete fusion channels correlate with the Q-value for projectile fragmentation rather than that for incomplete fusion. The backward angle multiplicities of light particles and heavy ions increase with momentum transfer, however, the heavy ion multiplicities also depend on the extent of the fragmentation of the incomplete fusion channel. These data indicate that at fixed linear momentum transfer, increased fragmentation of the unfused component is related to a reduced transferred angular momentum. 22 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

  8. Coulometric titration of niobium in 1F sulfuric acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pannu, S.S.

    1975-01-01

    A coulometric titration at constant current has been devised for Nb in 1F sulfuric acid. The titration was based on the oxidation of Nb(III) to Nb(V) by Fe(III) electrogenerated at a graphite anode. Both potentiometric and amperometric end points were used. The Nb(V) was prior reduced at a mercury cathode by exhaustive electrolysis at a current density of 15 ma/mc 2 for at least 10 hr. Ta,V,Ti and a working platinum anode interfered, but the separation of the potentials of Nb(V)/Nb(III) and Ti(IV)/Ti(III) permitted the titration of first Nb and then Ti. The average error for the titration of 0.30 to 13.00 mg of niobium in 100 ml of 1F sulfuric acid was + 0.57%. (author)

  9. Structural characterization of Mumps virus fusion protein core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yueyong; Xu Yanhui; Lou Zhiyong; Zhu Jieqing; Hu Xuebo; Gao, George F.; Qiu Bingsheng; Rao Zihe; Tien, Po

    2006-01-01

    The fusion proteins of enveloped viruses mediating the fusion between the viral and cellular membranes comprise two discontinuous heptad repeat (HR) domains located at the ectodomain of the enveloped glycoproteins. The crystal structure of the fusion protein core of Mumps virus (MuV) was determined at 2.2 A resolution. The complex is a six-helix bundle in which three HR1 peptides form a central highly hydrophobic coiled-coil and three HR2 peptides pack against the hydrophobic grooves on the surface of central coiled-coil in an oblique antiparallel manner. Fusion core of MuV, like those of simian virus 5 and human respiratory syncytium virus, forms typical 3-4-4-4-3 spacing. The similar charecterization in HR1 regions, as well as the existence of O-X-O motif in extended regions of HR2 helix, suggests a basic rule for the formation of the fusion core of viral fusion proteins

  10. Fusion Canada issue 23

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1994-01-01

    A short bulletin from the National Fusion Program highlighting in this issue TdeV tokamak updates, fusion research in Korea, CCFM program review, TdeV divertor plasma, and CFFTP program review. 4 figs.

  11. Fusion Canada issue 23

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    A short bulletin from the National Fusion Program highlighting in this issue TdeV tokamak updates, fusion research in Korea, CCFM program review, TdeV divertor plasma, and CFFTP program review. 4 figs

  12. JAK2V617F mutation is associated with special alleles in essential thrombocythemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Hui-Hua; Liu, Yi-Chang; Tsai, Hui-Jen; Lee, Ching-Ping; Hsu, Jui-Feng; Lin, Sheng-Fung

    2011-03-01

    Janus kinase 2 mutation (JAK2V617F) has been identified in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Furthermore, special single nucleoside polymorphisms (SNPs) have been found to be associated with the JAK2V617F mutation. Therefore, the associations among JAK2V617F and special SNPs and the allelic location between them were investigated in patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET). A total of 61 patients with ET and 106 healthy individuals were enrolled. The PCR-RFLP method was applied to investigate the pattern of three SNPs, rs10974944, rs12343867, and rs12340895. Allele-specific PCR was used to examine the allelic location between rs10974944 and JAK2V617F. Among the patients with ET, 34 (55.7%, 34/61) were JAK2V617F positive (heterozygous) while the other 27 (44.3%, 27/61) were negative, and there were no MPLW515L/K mutations noted. The pattern of special SNPs in JAK2V617F(+) was significantly different from that in normal individuals (p <0.05), while there was no difference between JAK2V617F(-) patients and normal individuals. Allele-specific PCR showed high association of a cis-location between the special G-allele of rs10974944 and JAK2V617F(+). Based on this small numbered study, the results show the association between special SNPs and JAK2V617F mutation and a cis-location between the special G-allelic form of rs10974944 and the JAK2V617F mutation. These data highlight a close relationship between them in patients with ET.

  13. Diagnostic utility of PET/CT with {sup 18}F-DOPA and {sup 18}F-FDG in persistent or recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma: the importance of calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen cutoff

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romero-Lluch, Ana Reyes; Guerrero-Vazquez, Raquel; Martinez-Ortega, Antonio Jesus; Navarro-Gonzalez, Elena [Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Unidad de Gestion Clinica de Endocrinologia y Nutricion, Seville (Spain); Cuenca-Cuenca, Juan Ignacio; Tirado-Hospital, Juan Luis; Borrego-Dorado, Isabel [Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Unidad de Medicina Nuclear, Seville (Spain)

    2017-11-15

    This study sought to evaluate and compare the utility of 18-F-fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine ({sup 18}F-DOPA) and 18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose ({sup 18}F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for identification of lesions in patients with recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). In addition, we analyzed the correlation between the calcitonin (Ct), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, each doubling time (DT), and PET positivity. We evaluated the reliability of the 150 pg/mL Ct cutoff set by the American Thyroid Association guidelines for further imaging (including {sup 18}F-DOPA PET/CT). We prospectively recruited 18 patients with recurrent MTC, identified by elevation of Ct or CEA. Each patient underwent a {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT and a {sup 18}F-DOPA PET/CT. Abnormal uptakes were detected with {sup 18}F-DOPA (n=12) and {sup 18}F-FDG (n=9), (sensitivity of 66.7% vs. 50%; p<0.01). Twenty-eight lesions were detected with {sup 18}F-DOPA vs. 16 lesions with {sup 18}F-FDG (1.56±1.5 vs. 0.89±1.18 lesions per patient; p=0.01). None of our patients showed additional lesions with {sup 18}F-FDG in comparison to {sup 18}F-DOPA. Patient-based detection rate increased significantly with Ct levels ≥150 pg/mL vs. Ct<150 pg/mL for both {sup 18}F-DOPA (sensitivity 90.9% vs. 28.6%; p=0.013) and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT (sensitivity 72.7% vs. 14.3%; p=0.025). Using a CEA cutoff of ≥5 ng/mL, detection rates of {sup 18}F-DOPA and {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT were 81.1% and 72.7%, respectively. No correlation between Ct-DT or CEA-DT and PET positivity was found. Histological confirmation was obtained in eight patients. {sup 18}F-DOPA PET/CT appears to be superior to {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT in detecting and locating lesions in patients with recurrent MTC. This technique tends to be especially useful in patients with negative results in other imaging modalities and Ct≥150 pg/mL or CEA≥5 ng/mL. (orig.)

  14. Role for the disulfide-bonded region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp41 in receptor-triggered activation of membrane fusion function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bellamy-McIntyre, Anna K.; Baer, Severine; Ludlow, Louise; Drummer, Heidi E.; Poumbourios, Pantelis

    2010-01-01

    The conserved disulfide-bonded region (DSR) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) fusion glycoprotein, gp41, mediates association with the receptor-binding glycoprotein, gp120. Interactions between gp120, CD4 and chemokine receptors activate the fusion activity of gp41. The introduction of W596L and W610F mutations to the DSR of HIV-1 QH1549.13 blocked viral entry and hemifusion without affecting gp120-gp41 association. The fusion defect correlated with inhibition of CD4-triggered gp41 pre-hairpin formation, consistent with the DSR mutations having decoupled receptor-induced conformational changes in gp120 from gp41 activation. Our data implicate the DSR in sensing conformational changes in the gp120-gp41 complex that lead to fusion activation.

  15. A Novel Approach to Reinstating Tolerance in Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis Using a Targeted Fusion Protein, mCTA1–T146

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Consonni

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Reinstating tissue-specific tolerance has attracted much attention as a means to treat autoimmune diseases. However, despite promising results in rodent models of autoimmune diseases, no established tolerogenic therapy is clinically available yet. In the experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG model several protocols have been reported that induce tolerance against the prime disease-associated antigen, the acetylcholine receptor (AChR at the neuromuscular junction. Using the whole AChR, the extracellular part or peptides derived from the receptor, investigators have reported variable success with their treatments, though, usually relatively large amounts of antigen has been required. Hence, there is a need for better formulations and strategies to improve on the efficacy of the tolerance-inducing therapies. Here, we report on a novel targeted fusion protein carrying the immunodominant peptide from AChR, mCTA1–T146, which given intranasally in repeated microgram doses strongly suppressed induction as well as ongoing EAMG disease in mice. The results corroborate our previous findings, using the same fusion protein approach, in the collagen-induced arthritis model showing dramatic suppressive effects on Th1 and Th17 autoaggressive CD4 T cells and upregulated regulatory T cell activities with enhanced IL10 production. A suppressive gene signature with upregulated expression of mRNA for TGFβ, IL10, IL27, and Foxp3 was clearly detectable in lymph node and spleen following intranasal treatment with mCTA1–T146. Amelioration of EAMG disease was accompanied by reduced loss of muscle AChR and lower levels of anti-AChR serum antibodies. We believe this targeted highly effective fusion protein mCTA1–T146 is a promising candidate for clinical evaluation in myasthenia gravis patients.

  16. Some fusion perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNally, J.R. Jr.

    1977-01-01

    Some of the concepts of nuclear fusion reactions, advanced fusion fuels, environmental impacts, etc., are explored using the following general outline: I. Principles of Fusion (Nuclear Fuels and Reactions, Lawson Condition, n tau vs T, Nuclear Burn Characteristics); II. Magnetic Mirror Possibilities (the Ion Layer and Electron Layer, Exponential Build-up at MeV energies, Lorentz trapping at GeV energies); III. Pellet Fuel Fusion Prospects (Advanced Pellet Fuel Fusion Prospects, Burn Characteristics and Applications, Excitation-heating Prospects for Runaway Ion Temperatures). Inasmuch as the outline is very skeletal, a significant research and development effort may be in order to evaluate these prospects in more detail and hopefully ''harness the H-bomb'' for peaceful applications, the author concludes. 28 references

  17. Healthy human T-Cell Responses to Aspergillus fumigatus antigens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neelkamal Chaudhary

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus fumigatus is associated with both invasive and allergic pulmonary diseases, in different hosts. The organism is inhaled as a spore, which, if not cleared from the airway, germinates into hyphal morphotypes that are responsible for tissue invasion and resultant inflammation. Hyphae secrete multiple products that function as antigens, evoking both a protective (T(H1-T(H17 and destructive allergic (T(H2 immunity. How Aspergillus allergens (Asp f proteins participate in the development of allergic sensitization is unknown.To determine whether Asp f proteins are strictly associated with T(H2 responses, or represent soluble hyphal products recognized by healthy hosts, human T cell responses to crude and recombinant products were characterized by ELISPOT. While responses (number of spots producing IFN-gamma, IL-4 or IL-17 to crude hyphal antigen preparations were weak, responses to recombinant Asp f proteins were higher. Recombinant allergens stimulated cells to produce IFN-gamma more so than IL-4 or IL-17. Volunteers exhibited a diverse CD4+ and CD8+ T cell antigen recognition profile, with prominent CD4 T(H1-responses to Asp f3 (a putative peroxismal membrane protein, Asp f9/16 (cell wall glucanase, Asp f11 (cyclophilin type peptidyl-prolyl isomerase and Asp f22 (enolase. Strong IFN-gamma responses were reproduced in most subjects tested over 6 month intervals.Products secreted after conidial germination into hyphae are differentially recognized by protective T cells in healthy, non-atopic individuals. Defining the specificity of the human T cell repertoire, and identifying factors that govern early responses may allow for development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for both invasive and allergic Aspergillus diseases.

  18. KrF laser development for fusion energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolford, Matthew F.; Sethian, John D.; Myers, Matthew C.; Giuliani, John L.; Obenschain, Stephen P.; Hegeler, Frank

    2013-01-01

    The United States Naval Research Laboratory is developing an electron beam pumped krypton fluoride laser technology for a direct drive inertial fusion energy power plant. The repetitively pulsed krypton fluoride laser technology being developed meets the fusion energy requirements for laser beam quality, wavelength, and repetition rate. The krypton fluoride laser technology is projected, based on experiments, to meet the requirements for wall plug efficiency and durability. The projected wall plug efficiency based on experiments is greater than 7 percent. The Electra laser using laser triggered gas switches has conducted continuous operation for 90,000 shots at 2.5 Hertz operation (ten hours). The Electra laser has achieved greater than 700 Joules per pulse at 1 and 2.5 Hertz repetition rate. The comparison of krypton fluoride laser performance with krypton fluoride kinetics code shows good agreement for pulse shape and laser yield. Development and operation of a durable pulse power system with solid state switches has achieved a continuous run of 11 million pulses into a resistive load at 10 Hz. (author)

  19. The 2.5 Å Structure of CD1c in Complex with a Mycobacterial Lipid Reveals an Open Groove Ideally Suited for Diverse Antigen Presentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scharf, Louise; Li, Nan-Sheng; Hawk, Andrew J.; Garzón, Diana; Zhang, Tejia; Fox, Lisa M.; Kazen, Allison R.; Shah, Sneha; Haddadian, Esmael J.; Gumperz, Jenny E.; Saghatelian, Alan; Faraldo-Gómez, José D.; Meredith, Stephen C.; Piccirilli, Joseph A.; Adams, Erin J. (Harvard); (UC); (MXPL-G); (UW-MED)

    2011-08-24

    CD1 molecules function to present lipid-based antigens to T cells. Here we present the crystal structure of CD1c at 2.5 {angstrom} resolution, in complex with the pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen mannosyl-{beta}1-phosphomycoketide (MPM). CD1c accommodated MPM's methylated alkyl chain exclusively in the A pocket, aided by a unique exit portal underneath the {alpha}1 helix. Most striking was an open F pocket architecture lacking the closed cavity structure of other CD1 molecules, reminiscent of peptide binding grooves of classical major histocompatibility complex molecules. This feature, combined with tryptophan-fluorescence quenching during loading of a dodecameric lipopeptide antigen, provides a compelling model by which both the lipid and peptide moieties of the lipopeptide are involved in CD1c presentation of lipopeptides.

  20. Sällskapsdjurens betydelse för de äldres välbefinnande

    OpenAIRE

    Gäddnäs, Emma

    2016-01-01

    Denna studie undersöker sällskapsdjurens betydelse för de äldres välbefinnande. Syftet med studien är att diskutera vad sällskapsdjur betyder för de äldres välbefinnande och vad djur kan betyda för de äldre som bor på äldreboende. Frågeställningarna i studien lyder ”Vilken betydelse har sällskapsdjur för de äldres välbefinnande och deras känsla av delaktighet?” och ”Vilken betydelse har sällskapsdjur inom äldreomsorgen?” Metoden som används för att svara på frågeställningarna är både tidigare...

  1. 238U (n,f) measurements below 30 keV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slovacek, R.E.; Cramer, D.S.; Bean, E.B.; Hockenbury, R.W.; Valentine, J.R.; Block, R.C.

    1975-01-01

    The 238 U (n,f) cross section has been measured from 3 eV to about 30 keV with the lead slowing down spectrometer at the RPI Linac. Four fission ionization chambers containing a total of about 0.8 gm of 238 U (4.1 ppm 235 U) were used for the measurements. The fission widths of the 6.67, 20.9, and the 36.8 eV resonances were measured as (10 +- 1), (58 +- 9), and (12 +- 2) nanoelectron-volts respectively. The fission cross section integrated over the two subthreshold groups at 720 and 1210 eV and the average fission cross section from 10 to 30 keV are in agreement with a previous time of flight measurement. The fission width at 6.67 eV is 20 times smaller than an upper limit set by the only reported measurement in this energy region; the fission widths obtained in the present investigation are consistent with the (30 +- 50) nanoelectronvolt average width previously obtained for the resonances between 37 and 327 eV in a time of flight measurement using a nuclear device. From the measured fission widths, the 238 U thermal fission cross section was determined to be 2.7 +- 0.3 μ barns. The resonance fission integral was also obtained from the data as 1.33 +- 0.15 mbarns for 238 U. (4 figures, 4 tables) (U.S.)

  2. Self-sustaining nuclear pumped laser-fusion reactor experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boody, F.P.; Choi, C.K.; Miley, G.H.

    1977-01-01

    The features of a neutron feedback nuclear pumped (NFNP) laser-fusion reactor equipment were studied with the intention of establishing the feasibility of the concept. The NFNP laser-fusion concept is compared schematically to electrically pumped laser fusion. The study showed that, once a method of energy storage has been demonstrated, a self-sustaining fusion-fission hybrid reactor with a ''blanket multiplication'' of two would be feasible using nuclear pumped Xe F* excimer lasers having efficiencies of 1 to 2 percent and D-D-T pellets with gains of 50 to 100

  3. Mapping of the antigenic and allergenic epitopes of Lol p VB using gene fragmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, E K; Knox, R B; Singh, M B

    1995-03-01

    The recombinant proteins of Lol p VA and Lol p VB expressed in E. coli reacted with IgE antibodies from sera of allergic patients and mAbs FMC A7 and PpV1. Cross-absorption analyses using these recombinant proteins showed that Lol p VA and Lol p VB possess both similar and unique IgE binding determinants. Gene fragmentation was utilized to localize the antigenic and allergenic determinants of Lol p VB. When full-length cDNA of Lol p VB was digested into three fragments and expressed as the fusions from the glutathione transferase of pGEX vectors, fragments Met1-Val196 and Asp197-Val339 bound IgE while fragment Met1-Pro96 did not. The data suggest that there are at least two IgE binding determinants in Lol p VB. In addition, only fragment Met1-Val196 reacted with mAb PpV1. The localization of these determinants was further resolved using random fragment expression libraries. The mAb PpV1 determinant was near the N-terminal region of Lol p VB molecule. The IgE binding determinants were distributed in the central region: region I (amino acids 111-195) and II (199-254). These IgE binding determinants are conserved in Lol p VA.

  4. Pb(n,2n) cross section at 14.1 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Delin

    1991-01-01

    Pb is a potential candidate for the neutron multiplier of the fusion reactor, so its (n, 2n) cross section at 14 MeV is of importance. This work is carried out to get a new evaluation of Pb (n,2n) cross section at 14.1 MeV for checking the angle-integrated neutron emission cross section. The equal weight averaged value 2252 +- 40 Mb is adopted in the evaluation

  5. Feasibility study of LiF-BeF2 and chloride salts as blanket coolants for fusion power reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imamura, Y.

    1977-09-01

    The feasibility of using molten salts, in particular, nonberyllium-bearing chloride salts, as blanket coolants for Tokamak fusion reactors has been examined for the nucleonic and thermal/hydraulic aspects. It is concluded that the chloride salts, i.e., LiCl--KCl, LiCl--PbCl 2 and LiCl--SnCl 2 , can be used as the blanket coolant for a static lithium metal blanket provided that large blanket thickness can be tolerated, along with the use of U-238 for neutron multiplication in the cases of LiCl--KCl or LiCl--SnCl 2 cooled blankets. However, to make the appraisal complete, the tritium recovery and corrosion problems must be examined extensively, based on data not yet at hand. As for LiF--BeF 2 , it is observed that although the salt mixture can be used for a single fluid blanket with satisfactory nuclear performance, careful attention should be paid to the cooling capability

  6. Preventing structural degradation from Na3V2(PO4)3 to V2(PO4)3: F-doped Na3V2(PO4)3/C cathode composite with stable lifetime for sodium ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yanjun; Xu, Youlong; Sun, Xiaofei; Zhang, Baofeng; He, Shengnan; Li, Long; Wang, Chao

    2018-02-01

    A prospective NASICON-type F-doped Na3V2(PO4)2.93F0.07/C (F-0.07-NVP/C) composite is synthesized by a solid-state reaction method. F-doping can restrain the structural degradation from Na3V2(PO4)3 to V2(PO4)3 and enhance the structural stability. Meanwhile, it can decrease the particle size to diminish the pathway of Na+ diffusion, which can increase ionic conductivity efficiently. The kinetic behavior is significantly improved and it is beneficial to reinforcing the electrochemical performance of F-doping composites. Compared with Undoped-NVP/C sample, F-0.07-NVP/C composite delivers a 113 mAh g-1 discharge capacity at 10 mA g-1, which is very close to the theoretical capacity (117 mAh g-1). As for cycle performance, a reversible capacity of 97.8 mAh g-1 can be obtained and it retains 86% capacity after 1000 cycles at 200 mA g-1. F-0.07-NVP/C composite presents the highest DNa+ (2.62 × 10-15 cm2s-1), two orders of magnitude higher than the undoped sample (4.8 × 10-17 cm2s-1). This outstanding electrochemical performance is ascribed to the synergetic effect from improved kinetic behavior and enhanced structural stability due to F-doping. Hence, the F-doped composite would be a promising cathode material in SIB for energy storage and conversion.

  7. Dynamics behind affinity maturation of an anti-HCMV antibody family influencing antigen binding

    KAUST Repository

    Di Palma, Francesco; Tramontano, Anna

    2017-01-01

    The investigation of antibody affinity maturation and its effects on antigen binding is important with respect to understanding the regulation of the immune response. To shed light on this crucial process, we analyzed two Igs neutralizing the human cytomegalovirus: the primary germline antibody M2J1 and its related mature antibody 8F9. Both antibodies target the AD-2S1 epitope of the gB envelope protein and are considered to establish similar interactions with the cognate antigen. We used molecular dynamics simulations to understand the effect of mutations on the antibody–antigen interactions. The results provide a qualitative explanation for the increased 8F9 peptide affinity compared with that of M2J1. The emerging atomistic-detailed description of these complexes reveals the molecular effects of the somatic hypermutations occurring during affinity maturation.

  8. Dynamics behind affinity maturation of an anti-HCMV antibody family influencing antigen binding

    KAUST Repository

    Di Palma, Francesco

    2017-08-03

    The investigation of antibody affinity maturation and its effects on antigen binding is important with respect to understanding the regulation of the immune response. To shed light on this crucial process, we analyzed two Igs neutralizing the human cytomegalovirus: the primary germline antibody M2J1 and its related mature antibody 8F9. Both antibodies target the AD-2S1 epitope of the gB envelope protein and are considered to establish similar interactions with the cognate antigen. We used molecular dynamics simulations to understand the effect of mutations on the antibody–antigen interactions. The results provide a qualitative explanation for the increased 8F9 peptide affinity compared with that of M2J1. The emerging atomistic-detailed description of these complexes reveals the molecular effects of the somatic hypermutations occurring during affinity maturation.

  9. Search for high mass photon pairs in e +e - → f overlinefγγ ( f= e, μ, τ, v, q) at LEP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buskulic, D.; de Bonis, I.; Decamp, D.; Ghez, P.; Goy, C.; Lees, J.-P.; Minard, M.-N.; Pietrzyk, B.; Alemany, R.; Ariztizabal, F.; Comas, P.; Crespo, J. M.; Delfino, M.; Fernandez, E.; Fernandez-Bosman, M.; Gaitan, V.; Garrido, Ll.; Mattison, T.; Pacheco, A.; Padilla, C.; Pascual, A.; Creanza, D.; de Palma, M.; Farilla, A.; Iaselli, G.; Maggi, G.; Natali, S.; Nuzzo, S.; Quattromini, M.; Ranieri, A.; Raso, G.; Romano, F.; Ruggieri, F.; Selvaggi, G.; Silvestris, L.; Tempesta, P.; Zito, G.; Chai, Y.; Hu, H.; Huang, D.; Huang, X.; Lin, J.; Wang, T.; Xie, Y.; Xu, D.; Xu, R.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhao, W.; Blucher, E.; Bonvicini, G.; Boudreau, J.; Casper, D.; Drevermann, H.; Forty, R. W.; Ganis, G.; Gay, C.; Hagelberg, R.; Harvey, J.; Haywood, S.; Hilgart, J.; Jacobsen, R.; Jost, B.; Knobloch, J.; Lehraus, I.; Lohse, T.; Maggi, M.; Markou, C.; Martinez, M.; Mato, P.; Meinhard, H.; Minten, A.; Miotto, A.; Miquel, R.; Moser, H.-G.; Palazzi, P.; Pater, J. R.; Perlas, J. A.; Pusztaszeri, J.-F.; Ranjard, F.; Redlinger, G.; Rolandi, L.; Rothberg, J.; Ruan, T.; Saich, M.; Schlatter, D.; Schmelling, M.; Sefkow, F.; Tejessy, W.; Veenhof, R.; Wachsmuth, H.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wildish, T.; Witzeling, W.; Wotschack, J.; Ajaltouni, Z.; Badaud, F.; Bardadin-Otwinowska, M.; El Fellous, R.; Falvard, A.; Gay, P.; Guicheney, C.; Henrard, P.; Jousset, J.; Michel, B.; Montret, J.-C.; Pallin, D.; Perret, P.; Podlyski, F.; Proriol, J.; Prulhière, F.; Saadi, F.; Fearnley, T.; Hansen, J. D.; Hansen, J. R.; Hansen, P. H.; Møllerud, R.; Nilsson, B. S.; Efthymiopoulos, I.; Kyriakis, A.; Simopoulou, E.; Vayaki, A.; Zachariadou, K.; Badier, J.; Blondel, A.; Bonneaud, G.; Brient, J. C.; Fouque, G.; Orteu, S.; Rougé, A.; Rumpf, M.; Tanaka, R.; Verderi, M.; Videau, H.; Candlin, D. J.; Parsons, M. I.; Veitch, E.; Focardi, E.; Moneta, L.; Parrini, G.; Corden, M.; Georgiopoulos, C.; Ikeda, M.; Lannutti, J.; Levinthal, D.; Sawyer, L.; Wasserbaech, S.; Antonelli, A.; Baldini, R.; Bencivenni, G.; Bologna, G.; Bossi, F.; Campana, P.; Capon, G.; Cerutti, F.; Chiarella, V.; D'Ettorre-Piazzoli, B.; Felici, G.; Laurelli, P.; Mannocchi, G.; Murtas, F.; Murtas, G. P.; Passalacqua, L.; Pepe-Altarelli, M.; Picchi, P.; Colrain, P.; Ten Have, I.; Lynch, J. G.; Maitland, W.; Morton, W. T.; Raine, C.; Reeves, P.; Scarr, J. M.; Smith, K.; Smith, M. G.; Thompson, A. S.; Turnbull, R. M.; Brandl, B.; Braun, O.; Geweniger, C.; Hanke, P.; Hepp, V.; Kluge, E. E.; Maumary, Y.; Putzer, A.; Rensch, B.; Stahl, A.; Tittel, K.; Wunsch, M.; Beuselinck, R.; Binnie, D. M.; Cameron, W.; Cattaneo, M.; Colling, D. J.; Dornan, P. J.; Greene, A. M.; Hassard, J. F.; Lieske, N. M.; Moutoussi, A.; Nash, J.; Patton, S.; Payne, D. G.; Phillips, M. J.; San Martin, G.; Sedgbeer, J. K.; Tomalin, I. R.; Wright, A. G.; Girtler, P.; Kneringer, E.; Kuhn, D.; Rudolph, G.; Bowdery, C. K.; Brodbeck, T. J.; Finch, A. J.; Foster, F.; Hughes, G.; Jackson, D.; Keemer, N. R.; Nuttall, M.; Patel, A.; Sloan, T.; Snow, S. W.; Whelan, E. P.; Kleinknecht, K.; Raab, J.; Renk, B.; Sander, H.-G.; Schmidt, H.; Steeg, F.; Walther, S. M.; Wanke, R.; Wolf, B.; Bencheikh, A. M.; Benchouk, C.; Bonissent, A.; Carr, J.; Coyle, P.; Drinkard, J.; Etienne, F.; Nicod, D.; Paplexiou, S.; Payre, P.; Roos, L.; Rousseau, D.; Schwemling, P.; Talby, M.; Adlung, S.; Assmann, R.; Bauer, C.; Blum, W.; Brown, D.; Cattaneo, P.; Dehning, B.; Dietl, H.; Dydak, F.; Frank, M.; Halley, A. W.; Jacobs, K.; Lauber, J.; Lütjens, G.; Lutz, G.; Männer, W.; Richter, R.; Schröder, J.; Schwarz, A. S.; Settles, R.; Seywerd, H.; Stierlin, U.; Stiegler, U.; St. Denis, R.; Wolf, G.; Boucrot, J.; Callot, O.; Cordier, A.; Davier, M.; Duflot, L.; Grivaz, J.-F.; Heusse, Ph.; Jaffe, D. E.; Janot, P.; Kim, D. W.; Le Diberder, F.; Lefrançois, J.; Lutz, A.-M.; Schune, M.-H.; Veillet, J.-J.; Videau, I.; Zhang, Z.; Abbaneo, D.; Bagliesi, G.; Batignani, G.; Bottigli, U.; Bozzi, C.; Calderini, G.; Carpinelli, M.; Ciocci, M. A.; Dell'Orso, R.; Ferrante, I.; Fidecaro, F.; Foà, L.; Forti, F.; Giassi, A.; Giorgi, M. A.; Gregorio, A.; Ligabue, F.; Lusiani, A.; Mannelli, E. B.; Marrocchesi, P. S.; Messineo, A.; Palla, F.; Rizzo, G.; Sanguinetti, G.; Spagnolo, P.; Steinberger, J.; Tenchini, R.; Tonelli, G.; Triggiani, G.; Vannini, C.; Venturi, A.; Verdini, P. G.; Walsh, J.; Betteridge, A. P.; Carter, J. M.; Gao, Y.; Green, M. G.; March, P. V.; Mir, Ll. M.; Medcalf, T.; Quazi, I. S.; Strong, J. A.; West, L. R.; Botterill, D. R.; Clifft, R. W.; Edgecock, T. R.; Edwards, M.; Fisher, S. M.; Jones, T. J.; Norton, P. R.; Salmon, D. P.; Thompson, J. C.; Bloch-Devaux, B.; Colas, P.; Duarte, H.; Emery, S.; Kozanecki, W.; Lançon, E.; Lemaire, M. C.; Locci, E.; Marx, B.; Perez, P.; Rander, J.; Renardy, J.-F.; Rosowsky, A.; Roussarie, A.; Schuller, J.-P.; Schwindling, J.; Si Mohand, D.; Vallage, B.; Johnson, R. P.; Litke, A. M.; Taylor, G.; Wear, J.; Ashman, J. G.; Babbage, W.; Booth, C. N.; Buttar, C.; Cartwright, S.; Combley, F.; Dawson, I.; Thompson, L. F.; Barberio, E.; Böhrer, A.; Brandt, S.; Cowan, G.; Grupen, C.; Lutters, G.; Rivera, F.; Schäfer, U.; Smolik, L.; Bosisio, L.; Della Marina, R.; Giannini, G.; Gobbo, B.; Ragusa, F.; Bellantoni, L.; Chen, W.; Cinabro, D.; Conway, J. S.; Cowen, D. F.; Ferguson, D. P. S.; Gao, Y. S.; Grahl, J.; Harton, J. L.; Jared, R. C.; Leclaire, B. W.; Lishka, C.; Pan, Y. B.; Saadi, Y.; Schmitt, M.; Sharma, V.; Shi, Z. H.; Walsh, A. M.; Weber, F. V.; Wu, Sau Lan; Wu, X.; Zheng, M.; Zobernig, G.; Aleph Collaboration

    1993-07-01

    The result of a search for high mass photon pairs from the processes e +e - → f overlinefγγ (f = e, μ, τ, v and q) with the ALEPH detector is reported. The result for f = e, μ and τ is to be compared with the observation of 4 events by the L3 Collaboration with invariant masses, Mγγ, of the two photons near 60 GeV. From a data sample approximately twice as large taken from 1990 to 1992, 6 events are found with Mγγ distributed between 50 GeV and 72 GeV, while 4.9 events are expected from a QED calculation. There is no evidence for a mass peak; only one event ( μ+μ-γγ) at Mγγ = 59.4 ± 0.2 GeV is compatible with the L3 observation. In addition, for Mγγ > 50 GeV, no event is found for e +e - → q overlineqγγ and only one event is found consistent with e +e - → v overlinevγγ ; this event has Mγγ = 58.5 ± 1.9 GeV. High mass photon pair events have also been searched for in γγ collisions. This allows one to set an upper limit of 50 MeV for the width of an assumed resonance decaying to photon pairs.

  10. High-energy krypton fluoride lasers for inertial fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obenschain, Stephen; Lehmberg, Robert; Kehne, David; Hegeler, Frank; Wolford, Matthew; Sethian, John; Weaver, James; Karasik, Max

    2015-11-01

    Laser fusion researchers have realized since the 1970s that the deep UV light from excimer lasers would be an advantage as a driver for robust high-performance capsule implosions for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Most of this research has centered on the krypton-fluoride (KrF) laser. In this article we review the advantages of the KrF laser for direct-drive ICF, the history of high-energy KrF laser development, and the present state of the art and describe a development path to the performance needed for laser fusion and its energy application. We include descriptions of the architecture and performance of the multi-kilojoule Nike KrF laser-target facility and the 700 J Electra high-repetition-rate KrF laser that were developed at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Nike and Electra are the most advanced KrF lasers for inertial fusion research and energy applications.

  11. High energy resolution characteristics on 14MeV neutron spectrometer for fusion experimental reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iguchi, Tetsuo [Tokyo Univ., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Nuclear Engineering Research Lab.; Takada, Eiji; Nakazawa, Masaharu

    1996-10-01

    A 14MeV neutron spectrometer suitable for an ITER-like fusion experimental reactor is now under development on the basis of a recoil proton counter telescope principle in oblique scattering geometry. To verify its high energy resolution characteristics, preliminary experiments are made for a prototypical detector system. The comparison results show reasonably good agreement and demonstrate the possibility of energy resolution of 2.5% in full width at half maximum for 14MeV neutron spectrometry. (author)

  12. Immunological comparison of basic encephalitogen and histone F2A1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bustin, M.; Teitelbaum, D.; Webb, C.

    1975-01-01

    The extent of immunological cross-reaction between basic encephalitogen and histone F2A1 on both the humoral antibody level and on the cellular level has been established. The extent of humoral cross-reaction was tested by direct complement fixation employing both anti-histone F2A1 and antisera to basic encephalitogen, by inhibition of complement fixation, by radioimmunoassay and by passive cutaneous anaphylaxis. The data obtained failed to reveal immunological cross-reaction between the proteins on the humoral antibody level. The extent of cross-reaction at the cellular level was tested by the lymphocyte stimulation technique in rabbits and guinea pigs, by inhibition of lymphocyte stimulation and by delayed hypersensitivity skin reactions. It is concluded that the immunological studies provide limited evidence that the two proteins share antigenic determinants. (orig./GSE) [de

  13. Linking retinotopic fMRI mapping and anatomical probability maps of human occipital areas V1 and V2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wohlschläger, A M; Specht, K; Lie, C; Mohlberg, H; Wohlschläger, A; Bente, K; Pietrzyk, U; Stöcker, T; Zilles, K; Amunts, K; Fink, G R

    2005-05-15

    Using functional MRI, we characterized field sign maps of the occipital cortex and created three-dimensional maps of these areas. By averaging the individual maps into group maps, probability maps of functionally defined V1 or V2 were determined and compared to anatomical probability maps of Brodmann areas BA17 and BA18 derived from cytoarchitectonic analysis (Amunts, K., Malikovic, A., Mohlberg, H., Schormann, T., Zilles, K., 2000. Brodmann's areas 17 and 18 brought into stereotaxic space-where and how variable? NeuroImage 11, 66-84). Comparison of areas BA17/V1 and BA18/V2 revealed good agreement of the anatomical and functional probability maps. Taking into account that our functional stimulation (due to constraints of the visual angle of stimulation achievable in the MR scanner) only identified parts of V1 and V2, for statistical evaluation of the spatial correlation of V1 and BA17, or V2 and BA18, respectively, the a priori measure kappa was calculated testing the hypothesis that a region can only be part of functionally defined V1 or V2 if it is also in anatomically defined BA17 or BA18, respectively. kappa = 1 means the hypothesis is fully true, kappa = 0 means functionally and anatomically defined visual areas are independent. When applying this measure to the probability maps, kappa was equal to 0.84 for both V1/BA17 and V2/BA18. The data thus show a good correspondence of functionally and anatomically derived segregations of early visual processing areas and serve as a basis for employing anatomical probability maps of V1 and V2 in group analyses to characterize functional activations of early visual processing areas.

  14. Value of 18F-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine PET/MR image fusion in pediatric supratentorial infiltrative astrocytomas: a prospective pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morana, Giovanni; Piccardo, Arnoldo; Milanaccio, Claudia; Puntoni, Matteo; Nozza, Paolo; Cama, Armando; Zefiro, Daniele; Cabria, Massimo; Rossi, Andrea; Garrè, Maria Luisa

    2014-05-01

    Infiltrative astrocytomas (IAs) represent a group of astrocytic gliomas ranging from low-grade to highly malignant, characterized by diffuse invasion of the brain parenchyma. When compared with their adult counterpart, pediatric IAs may be considered biologically distinct entities; nevertheless, similarly to those in adults they represent a complex oncologic challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic role, clinical contribution, and prognostic value of fused (18)F-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ((18)F-DOPA) PET/MR images in pediatric supratentorial IAs. Pediatric patients with supratentorial IAs involving at least 2 cerebral lobes, either newly diagnosed or with suspected disease progression, prospectively underwent (18)F-DOPA PET and conventional MR imaging, performed within 10 d of each other. (18)F-DOPA PET data were interpreted qualitatively and semiquantitatively, fusing images with MR images. PET scans were classified as positive if tumors identified on MR imaging exhibited tracer uptake above the level of the corresponding contralateral normal brain. Maximum standardized uptake values, tumor-to-normal contralateral tissue ratios, and tumor-to-normal striatum ratios were calculated for all tumors. Correlations between the degree and extent of (18)F-DOPA uptake, MR imaging tumor characteristics, and histologic results were investigated. The contribution of (18)F-DOPA PET/MR image fusion was considered relevant if it enabled one to select the most appropriate biopsy site, discriminate between disease progression and treatment-related changes, or influence treatment strategy. The patient's outcome was finally correlated with (18)F-DOPA uptake. Thirteen patients (8 boys and 5 girls) were included (5 diffuse astrocytomas, 2 anaplastic astrocytomas, 5 gliomatosis cerebri, and 1 glioblastoma multiforme). The (18)F-DOPA uptake pattern was heterogeneous in all positive scans (9/13), revealing metabolic heterogeneities within each tumor. Significant

  15. The dimeric [V2O2F8]4− anion: Structural characterization of a magnetic basic-building-unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Hongcheng; Gautier, Romain; Li, Zuo-Xi; Jie, Wanqi; Liu, Zhengtang; Poeppelmeier, Kenneth R.

    2013-01-01

    New materials built from the [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] 4− anionic basic-building-unit (BBU) exhibit interesting magnetic properties owing to the proximity of the two d 1 V(IV) cations and the orbital interactions of fluoride and oxide ligands. In our search to target such materials, the vanadium oxide–fluoride compound [dpaH 2 ] 2 [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] in which a dimeric anion [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] 4− is isolated in a hydrogen bond network was hydrothermally synthesized (dpa=2,2′-dipyridylamine). This hydrogen bond network is able to stabilize the highly ionic species [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] 4− as demonstrated with bond valence calculations. The coordination of the O 2− /F − ordered ligands was investigated and antiferromagnetic coupling of the isolated BBU was measured. - The new hybrid compound [dpaH 2 ] 2 [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] built from the interesting [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] 4− magnetic basic-building-unit (BBU) was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The coordination of the O 2− /F − ordered ligands was investigated by BVS calculations and antiferromagnetic coupling was measured. Highlights: ► A new vanadium oxyfluoride was synthesized by hydrothermal method. ► The Dimeric [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] 4− basic building unit is isolated in the hydrogen bond networks. ► The coordination of [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] 4− units to the extended structure is investigated. ► Isolated [V 2 O 2 F 8 ] 4− units exhibit antiferromagnetic coupling

  16. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies specific for the six-helix bundle of the human respiratory syncytial virus fusion glycoprotein as probes of the protein post-fusion conformation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palomo, Concepción; Mas, Vicente; Vázquez, Mónica; Cano, Olga; Luque, Daniel; Terrón, María C.; Calder, Lesley J.; Melero, José A.

    2014-01-01

    Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) has two major surface glycoproteins (G and F) anchored in the lipid envelope. Membrane fusion promoted by hRSV F occurs via refolding from a pre-fusion form to a highly stable post-fusion state involving large conformational changes of the F trimer. One of these changes results in assembly of two heptad repeat sequences (HRA and HRB) into a six-helix bundle (6HB) motif. To assist in distinguishing pre- and post-fusion conformations of hRSV F , we have prepared polyclonal (α-6HB) and monoclonal (R145) rabbit antibodies specific for the 6HB. Among other applications, these antibodies were used to explore the requirements of 6HB formation by isolated protein segments or peptides and by truncated mutants of the F protein. Site-directed mutagenesis and electron microscopy located the R145 epitope in the post-fusion hRSV F at a site distantly located from previously mapped epitopes, extending the repertoire of antibodies that can decorate the F molecule. - Highlights: • Antibodies specific for post-fusion respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein are described. • Polyclonal antibodies were obtained in rabbit inoculated with chimeric heptad repeats. • Antibody binding required assembly of a six-helix bundle in the post-fusion protein. • A monoclonal antibody with similar structural requirements is also described. • Binding of this antibody to the post-fusion protein was visualized by electron microscopy

  17. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies specific for the six-helix bundle of the human respiratory syncytial virus fusion glycoprotein as probes of the protein post-fusion conformation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palomo, Concepción; Mas, Vicente; Vázquez, Mónica; Cano, Olga [Unidad de Biología Viral, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Madrid (Spain); CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, 28220 Madrid (Spain); Luque, Daniel; Terrón, María C. [Unidad de Microscopía Electrónica y Confocal, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, 28220 Madrid (Spain); Calder, Lesley J. [National Institute for Medical Research, MRC, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA (United Kingdom); Melero, José A., E-mail: jmelero@isciii.es [Unidad de Biología Viral, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Madrid (Spain); CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, 28220 Madrid (Spain)

    2014-07-15

    Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) has two major surface glycoproteins (G and F) anchored in the lipid envelope. Membrane fusion promoted by hRSV{sub F} occurs via refolding from a pre-fusion form to a highly stable post-fusion state involving large conformational changes of the F trimer. One of these changes results in assembly of two heptad repeat sequences (HRA and HRB) into a six-helix bundle (6HB) motif. To assist in distinguishing pre- and post-fusion conformations of hRSV{sub F}, we have prepared polyclonal (α-6HB) and monoclonal (R145) rabbit antibodies specific for the 6HB. Among other applications, these antibodies were used to explore the requirements of 6HB formation by isolated protein segments or peptides and by truncated mutants of the F protein. Site-directed mutagenesis and electron microscopy located the R145 epitope in the post-fusion hRSV{sub F} at a site distantly located from previously mapped epitopes, extending the repertoire of antibodies that can decorate the F molecule. - Highlights: • Antibodies specific for post-fusion respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein are described. • Polyclonal antibodies were obtained in rabbit inoculated with chimeric heptad repeats. • Antibody binding required assembly of a six-helix bundle in the post-fusion protein. • A monoclonal antibody with similar structural requirements is also described. • Binding of this antibody to the post-fusion protein was visualized by electron microscopy.

  18. Laser-fusion rocket for interplanetary propulsion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hyde, R.A.

    1983-01-01

    A rocket powered by fusion microexplosions is well suited for quick interplanetary travel. Fusion pellets are sequentially injected into a magnetic thrust chamber. There, focused energy from a fusion Driver is used to implode and ignite them. Upon exploding, the plasma debris expands into the surrounding magnetic field and is redirected by it, producing thrust. This paper discusses the desired features and operation of the fusion pellet, its Driver, and magnetic thrust chamber. A rocket design is presented which uses slightly tritium-enriched deuterium as the fusion fuel, a high temperature KrF laser as the Driver, and a thrust chamber consisting of a single superconducting current loop protected from the pellet by a radiation shield. This rocket can be operated with a power-to-mass ratio of 110 W gm -1 , which permits missions ranging from occasional 9 day VIP service to Mars, to routine 1 year, 1500 ton, Plutonian cargo runs

  19. A strong adjuvant based on glycol-chitosan-coated lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles potentiates mucosal immune responses against the recombinant Chlamydia trachomatis fusion antigen CTH522.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Fabrice; Wern, Jeanette Erbo; Gavins, Francesca; Andersen, Peter; Follmann, Frank; Foged, Camilla

    2018-02-10

    Induction of mucosal immunity with vaccines is attractive for the immunological protection against pathogen entry directly at the site of infection. An example is infection with Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct), which is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world, and there is an unmet medical need for an effective vaccine. A vaccine against Ct should elicit protective humoral and cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses in the genital tract mucosa. We previously designed an antibody- and CMI-inducing adjuvant based on poly(dl-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles modified with the cationic surfactant dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide and the immunopotentiator trehalose-6,6'-dibehenate. Here we show that immunization with these lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNs) coated with the mucoadhesive polymer chitosan enhances mucosal immune responses. Glycol chitosan (GC)-modified LPNs were engineered using an oil-in-water single emulsion solvent evaporation method. The nanoparticle design was optimized in a highly systematic way by using a quality-by-design approach to define the optimal operating space and to gain maximal mechanistic information about the GC coating of the LPNs. Cryo-transmission electron microscopy revealed a PLGA core coated with one or several concentric lipid bilayers. The GC coating of the surface was identified as a saturable, GC concentration-dependent increase in particle size and a reduction of the zeta-potential, and the coating layer could be compressed upon addition of salt. Increased antigen-specific mucosal immune responses were induced in the lungs and the genital tract with the optimized GC-coated LPN adjuvant upon nasal immunization of mice with the recombinant Ct fusion antigen CTH522. The mucosal responses were characterized by CTH522-specific IgG/IgA antibodies, together with CTH522-specific interferon γ-producing Th1 cells. This study demonstrates that mucosal administration of CTH522 adjuvanted with chitosan

  20. Compilation of benchmark results for fusion related Nuclear Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maekawa, Fujio; Wada, Masayuki; Oyama, Yukio; Ichihara, Chihiro; Makita, Yo; Takahashi, Akito

    1998-11-01

    This report compiles results of benchmark tests for validation of evaluated nuclear data to be used in nuclear designs of fusion reactors. Parts of results were obtained under activities of the Fusion Neutronics Integral Test Working Group organized by the members of both Japan Nuclear Data Committee and the Reactor Physics Committee. The following three benchmark experiments were employed used for the tests: (i) the leakage neutron spectrum measurement experiments from slab assemblies at the D-T neutron source at FNS/JAERI, (ii) in-situ neutron and gamma-ray measurement experiments (so-called clean benchmark experiments) also at FNS, and (iii) the pulsed sphere experiments for leakage neutron and gamma-ray spectra at the D-T neutron source facility of Osaka University, OKTAVIAN. Evaluated nuclear data tested were JENDL-3.2, JENDL Fusion File, FENDL/E-1.0 and newly selected data for FENDL/E-2.0. Comparisons of benchmark calculations with the experiments for twenty-one elements, i.e., Li, Be, C, N, O, F, Al, Si, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zr, Nb, Mo, W and Pb, are summarized. (author). 65 refs

  1. Accelerators for Fusion Materials Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knaster, Juan; Okumura, Yoshikazu

    Fusion materials research is a worldwide endeavor as old as the parallel one working toward the long term stable confinement of ignited plasma. In a fusion reactor, the preservation of the required minimum thermomechanical properties of the in-vessel components exposed to the severe irradiation and heat flux conditions is an indispensable factor for safe operation; it is also an essential goal for the economic viability of fusion. Energy from fusion power will be extracted from the 14 MeV neutron freed as a product of the deuterium-tritium fusion reactions; thus, this kinetic energy must be absorbed and efficiently evacuated and electricity eventually generated by the conventional methods of a thermal power plant. Worldwide technological efforts to understand the degradation of materials exposed to 14 MeV neutron fluxes >1018 m-2s-1, as expected in future fusion power plants, have been intense over the last four decades. Existing neutron sources can reach suitable dpa (“displacement-per-atom”, the figure of merit to assess materials degradation from being exposed to neutron irradiation), but the differences in the neutron spectrum of fission reactors and spallation sources do not allow one to unravel the physics and to anticipate the degradation of materials exposed to fusion neutrons. Fusion irradiation conditions can be achieved through Li (d, xn) nuclear reactions with suitable deuteron beam current and energy, and an adequate flowing lithium screen. This idea triggered in the late 1970s at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) a campaign working toward the feasibility of continuous wave (CW) high current linacs framed by the Fusion Materials Irradiation Test (FMIT) project. These efforts continued with the Low Energy Demonstrating Accelerator (LEDA) (a validating prototype of the canceled Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) project), which was proposed in 2002 to the fusion community as a 6.7MeV, 100mA CW beam injector for a Li (d, xn) source to bridge

  2. On building superpotentials in F-GUTs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saidi, E. H.

    2016-01-01

    Using characters of finite group representations, we construct the fusion algebras of operators of the spectrum of F-theory grand unified theories (GUTs). These fusion relations are used in building monodromy-invariant superpotentials of the low-energy effective 4D N=1 supersymmetric GUT models

  3. The PP4R1 sub-unit of protein phosphatase PP4 is essential for inhibition of NF-κB by merkel polyomavirus small tumour antigen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdul-Sada, Hussein; Müller, Marietta; Mehta, Rajni; Toth, Rachel; Arthur, J Simon C; Whitehouse, Adrian; Macdonald, Andrew

    2017-04-11

    Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive skin cancer with a high metastatic potential. The majority of MCC cases are caused by the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), through expression of the virus-encoded tumour antigens. Whilst mechanisms attributing tumour antigen expression to transformation are being uncovered, little is known of the mechanisms by which MCPyV persists in the host. We previously identified the MCPyV small T antigen (tAg) as a novel inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) signalling and a modulator of the host anti-viral response. Here we demonstrate that regulation of NF-kB activation involves a previously undocumented interaction between tAg and regulatory sub-unit 1 of protein phosphatase 4 (PP4R1). Formation of a complex with PP4R1 and PP4c is required to bridge MCPyV tAg to the NEMO adaptor protein, allowing deactivation of the NF-kB pathway. Mutations in MCPyV tAg that fail to interact with components of this complex, or siRNA depletion of PP4R1, prevents tAg-mediated inhibition of NF-kB and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Comparison of tAg binding partners from other human polyomavirus demonstrates that interactions with NEMO and PP4R1 are unique to MCPyV. Collectively, these data identify PP4R1 as a novel target for virus subversion of the host anti-viral response.

  4. Multiple antigens of Yersinia pestis delivered by live recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccine strains elicit protective immunity against plague.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanapala, Shilpa; Rahav, Hannah; Patel, Hetal; Sun, Wei; Curtiss, Roy

    2016-05-05

    Based on our improved novel Salmonella vaccine delivery platform, we optimized the recombinant attenuated Salmonella typhimurium vaccine (RASV) χ12094 to deliver multiple Yersinia pestis antigens. These included LcrV196 (amino acids, 131-326), Psn encoded on pYA5383 and F1 encoded in the chromosome, their synthesis did not cause adverse effects on bacterial growth. Oral immunization with χ12094(pYA5383) simultaneously stimulated high antibody titers to LcrV, Psn and F1 in mice and presented complete protection against both subcutaneous (s.c.) and intranasal (i.n.) challenges with high lethal doses of Y. pestis CO92. Moreover, no deaths or other disease symptoms were observed in SCID mice orally immunized with χ12094(pYA5383) over a 60-day period. Therefore, the trivalent S. typhimurium-based live vaccine shows promise for a next-generation plague vaccine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Comparative study of different methodologies to detect the JAK2 V617F mutation in chronic BCR-ABL1 negative myeloproliferative neoplasms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alline Didone

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: A mutation in the JAK2 gene, V617F, has been identified in several BCR-ABL1 negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN: polycythemia vera (PV, essential thrombocythemia (ET, and primary myelofibrosis (PMF. Defining the presence or absence of this mutation is an essential part of clinical diagnostic algorithms and patient management. Here, we aimed to evaluate the performance of three PCR-based assays: Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ARMS, High-Resolution Melting analysis (HRM, and Sanger direct sequencing, and compare their results with those obtained by a PCR restriction fragment polymorphism assay (PCR-RFLP. Design and methods: We used blood samples from 136 patients (PV=20; PMF=20; ET=28, and other MPN suspected cases=68. Results: Comparable results were observed among the four assays in patients with PV, PMF, and MPN suspected cases. In patients with a diagnosis of ET, the JAK2 V617F mutation was detected in 67.8% of them by the PCR-ARMS and PCR-HRM assay and in 64% of them by the conventional Sanger sequence approach. The PCR-ARMS and PCR-HRM assays were 100% concordant. With these tests, only one of the 20 patients with ET and one of the three patients with clinically suspected MPN gave different results compared with those obtained by the PCR-RFLP. Conclusions: Our results have demonstrated that the PCR-ARMS and PCR-HRM assays could detect the JAK2 V617F mutation effectively in MPN patients, but PCR-HRM assays are rapid and the most cost-effective procedures. Keywords: Myeloproliferative, JAK2 V617F, Mutation, Wild type, Screening

  6. Multimerized CHR-derived peptides as HIV-1 fusion inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nomura, Wataru; Hashimoto, Chie; Suzuki, Takaharu; Ohashi, Nami; Fujino, Masayuki; Murakami, Tsutomu; Yamamoto, Naoki; Tamamura, Hirokazu

    2013-08-01

    To date, several HIV-1 fusion inhibitors based on the carboxy-terminal leucine/isoleucine heptad repeat (CHR) region of an HIV-1 envelope protein gp41 have been discovered. We have shown that a synthetic peptide mimetic of a trimer form of the CHR-derived peptide C34 has potent inhibitory activity against the HIV-1 fusion mechanism, compared to a monomer C34 peptide. The present study revealed that a dimeric form of C34 is evidently structurally critical for fusion inhibitors, and that the activity of multimerized CHR-derived peptides in fusion inhibition is affected by the properties of the unit peptides C34, SC34EK, and T20. The fluorescence-based study suggested that the N36-interactive sites of the C34 trimer, including hydrophobic residues, are exposed outside the trimer and that trimerization of C34 caused a remarkable increase in fusion inhibitory activity. The present results could be useful in the design of fusion inhibitors against viral infections which proceed via membrane fusion with host cells. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  7. Electrostatic Architecture of the Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISAV) Core Fusion Protein Illustrates a Carboxyl-Carboxylate pH Sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Jonathan D; Soto-Montoya, Hazel; Korpela, Markus K; Lee, Jeffrey E

    2015-07-24

    Segment 5, ORF 1 of the infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) genome, encodes for the ISAV F protein, which is responsible for viral-host endosomal membrane fusion during a productive ISAV infection. The entry machinery of ISAV is composed of a complex of the ISAV F and ISAV hemagglutinin esterase (HE) proteins in an unknown stoichiometry prior to receptor engagement by ISAV HE. Following binding of the receptor to ISAV HE, dissociation of the ISAV F protein from HE, and subsequent endocytosis, the ISAV F protein resolves into a fusion-competent oligomeric state. Here, we present a 2.1 Å crystal structure of the fusion core of the ISAV F protein determined at low pH. This structure has allowed us to unambiguously demonstrate that the ISAV entry machinery exhibits typical class I viral fusion protein architecture. Furthermore, we have determined stabilizing factors that accommodate the pH-dependent mode of ISAV transmission, and our structure has allowed the identification of a central coil that is conserved across numerous and varied post-fusion viral glycoprotein structures. We then discuss a mechanistic model of ISAV fusion that parallels the paramyxoviral class I fusion strategy wherein attachment and fusion are relegated to separate proteins in a similar fashion to ISAV fusion. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  8. DIAGNOSTIC ROLE OF FLUORINE-18 (18F) FLUORODEOXYGLUCOSE POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN DETECTING RECURRENT DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER AND ELEVATED CARCINOEMBRYONIC ANTIGEN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matovina, Emil; Mihailović, Jasna; Nikoletić, Katarina; Srbovan, Dolores

    2015-01-01

    Early detection of recurrence is an important factor for long term survival of patients with colorectal cancer. Measurement of serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen has been commonly used in the postoperative surveillance of colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of positron emission tomography-computed tomography to detect pathological substrate of elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen in patients with colorectal cancer. The patients with colorectal cancer who underwent curative surgical resection and/ or chemotherapy, who were found in our database, were analyzed retrospectively. Forty-eight 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography studies including 45 patients (14 women, 31 men; mean age: 62.93 years) with elevated serum, carcinoembryonic antigen levels, which had been performed between January 2011 and January 2014, were evaluated. Serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen were measured within 3 months after positron emission tomography-computed tomography examination. Final diagnosis of recurrence was made by histopathological findings, radiology studies or clinical follow-up. Recurrences were diagnosed in 37 patients, the prevalence being 77.1%. Liver metastases were found in 18 patients, abdominal, pelvic and/or mediastinal lymph nodes were positive in 19 patients, 11 patients had loco regional recurrences and 4 patients had pulmonary metastasis, and bone metastases were found in one patient. One patient was diagnosed with metastasis in scar tissue. The overall sensitivity and specificity of positron emission tomography-computed tomography was 90.24% and 71.42%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 94.87% and 55.56%, respectively. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography is a powerful tool that could be used in determining colorectal cancer recurrence in patients with elevated carcinoembryonic antigen levels and could have an

  9. A fusion protein of HCMV IE1 exon4 and IE2 exon5 stimulates potent cellular immunity in an MVA vaccine vector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Z.; Zhou, W.; Srivastava, T.; La Rosa, C.; Mandarino, A.; Forman, S.J.; Zaia, J.A.; Britt, W.J.; Diamond, D.J.

    2008-01-01

    A therapeutic CMV vaccine incorporating an antigenic repertoire capable of eliciting a cellular immune response has yet to be successfully implemented for patients who already have acquired an infection. To address this problem, we have developed a vaccine candidate derived from modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) that expresses three immunodominant antigens (pp65, IE1, IE2) from CMV. The novelty of this vaccine is the fusion of two adjacent exons from the immediate-early region of CMV, their successful expression in MVA, and robust immunogenicity in both primary and memory response models. Evaluation of the immunogenicity of the viral vaccine in mouse models shows that it can stimulate primary immunity against all three antigens in both the CD4 + and CD8 + T cell subsets. Evaluation of human PBMC from healthy CMV-positive donors or patients within 6 months of receiving hematopoietic cell transplant shows robust stimulation of existing CMV-specific CD4 + and CD8 + T cell subsets

  10. 14N + 10B fusion and elastic scattering cross section measurements near the interaction barrier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, S.C.; Overley, J.C.; Barnes, C.A.; Switkowski, Z.E.

    1979-01-01

    The 14 N + 10 B fusion reactions were studied at c.m. energies between 2.9 and 7.5 MeV by measuring the yields of γ-rays from the residual nuclei formed by particle evaporation from the compound system. Cross sections for formation of the evaporation residues 16 O, 19 F, 19 Ne, 20 Ne, 21 Ne, 22 Ne, 22 Na, 23 Na and 23 Mg, as well as the total cross section, were deduced from these yields with the aid of statistical model calculations. 14 N + 10 B elastic scattering differential cross sections were measured from 4.3 to 9.1 MeV at THETA 74.4 degrees, and from 3.3 to 8.3 MeV at THETA = 90.0 degrees. The elastic scattering cross sections were analyzed within the framework of the incoming-wave boundary condition (IWBC) model. The fusion cross sections calculated for the real ion-ion potential deduced from the IWBC model fit to the elastic scattering are in good agreement with the measured values

  11. Antibody-Induced Internalization of the Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leemans, A; De Schryver, M; Van der Gucht, W; Heykers, A; Pintelon, I; Hotard, A L; Moore, M L; Melero, J A; McLellan, J S; Graham, B S; Broadbent, L; Power, U F; Caljon, G; Cos, P; Maes, L; Delputte, P

    2017-07-15

    Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections remain a major cause of respiratory disease and hospitalizations among infants. Infection recurs frequently and establishes a weak and short-lived immunity. To date, RSV immunoprophylaxis and vaccine research is mainly focused on the RSV fusion (F) protein, but a vaccine remains elusive. The RSV F protein is a highly conserved surface glycoprotein and is the main target of neutralizing antibodies induced by natural infection. Here, we analyzed an internalization process of antigen-antibody complexes after binding of RSV-specific antibodies to RSV antigens expressed on the surface of infected cells. The RSV F protein and attachment (G) protein were found to be internalized in both infected and transfected cells after the addition of either RSV-specific polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) or RSV glycoprotein-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), as determined by indirect immunofluorescence staining and flow-cytometric analysis. Internalization experiments with different cell lines, well-differentiated primary bronchial epithelial cells (WD-PBECs), and RSV isolates suggest that antibody internalization can be considered a general feature of RSV. More specifically for RSV F, the mechanism of internalization was shown to be clathrin dependent. All RSV F-targeted MAbs tested, regardless of their epitopes, induced internalization of RSV F. No differences could be observed between the different MAbs, indicating that RSV F internalization was epitope independent. Since this process can be either antiviral, by affecting virus assembly and production, or beneficial for the virus, by limiting the efficacy of antibodies and effector mechanism, further research is required to determine the extent to which this occurs in vivo and how this might impact RSV replication. IMPORTANCE Current research into the development of new immunoprophylaxis and vaccines is mainly focused on the RSV F protein since, among others, RSV F-specific antibodies are

  12. A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yu'an; Zhuang Yiqi

    2014-01-01

    This work presents a theoretical and experimental study on the gate current 1/f noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. Based on the carrier number fluctuation in the two-dimensional electron gas channel of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, a gate current 1/f noise model containing a trap-assisted tunneling current and a space charge limited current is built. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment. Experiments show that, if V g < V x (critical gate voltage of dielectric relaxation), gate current 1/f noise comes from the superimposition of trap-assisted tunneling RTS (random telegraph noise), while V g > V x , gate current 1/f noise comes from not only the trap-assisted tunneling RTS, but also the space charge limited current RTS. This indicates that the gate current 1/f noise of the GaN-based HEMTs device is sensitive to the interaction of defects and the piezoelectric relaxation. It provides a useful characterization tool for deeper information about the defects and their evolution in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. (semiconductor devices)

  13. Characterization of incomplete fusion in the reactions Ar + KCl at 32,40,52 and 74 MeV/u

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bisquer, E.

    1996-01-01

    Heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies (10 to 100 A.MeV) have been investigated and gave evidence to the persistence of so-called low energy mechanisms such as incomplete fusion. This thesis aims at determining the energy threshold beyond which such a mechanism does not occur any more. First we investigated the so-called conventional incomplete fusion. This mechanism is well known from low energy studies: a thermalized compound nucleus is formed which further de-excites by evaporating particles. Residues will be therefore detected in coincidence with mainly light particles. Ar + KCl at incident energies of 32, 40, 52 and 74 A.MeV has been selected for this analysis. These experiments have been performed using the INDRA multidetector in GANIL (Caen). The detection performance of INDRA allowed to use new analysis methods via global variables. In a first step, global variables have been compared in order to find the one that is the most appropriate to our study. Then incomplete fusion events have been extracted from raw events recorded at incident energies of 32, 40 and 52 A.MeV. It turned out that the contribution of this mechanisms was very weak at 52. A.MeV. It turned out that the contribution of this mechanism was very weak at 52 A.MeV and even zero at 74 A.MeV. We then investigated events in which three fragments were detected which could possibly sign multifragmentation. We did not find instantaneous multifragmentation with any expansion contribution. We also performed BNV simulations in order to compare our experimental results to model predictions, solving in a semi-classical way the Vlasov transport equation. A good agreement has been obtained on the size of the compound nucleus formed. However the excitation energy has not been reproduced, as the code seems to overestimate the energy taken away by preequilibrium particles. Incomplete fusion decreases as a function of energy but is not replaced by instantaneous multifragmentation with any expansion

  14. Recipient micro-environment does not dictate the Igh-V restriction specificity of T cell suppressor inducer factor (TsiF) from allogeneic bone marrow chimera in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noguchi, M.; Ogasawara, M.; Iwabuchi, K.; Osgasawara, K.; Ishihara, T.; Good, R.A.; Morikawa, K.; Onoe, K.

    1985-01-01

    The authors have ascertained previously from a study of fully allogeneic irradiation chimeras in mice that the H-2 restriction of the suppressor factor (Ly-2 T suppressor factor) is determined by the post-thymic environment protected by the donor cells, rather than by the thymic environment of the recipient. In the present study, the author analyzed differentiation influences that determine the Igh restriction specificities of the suppressor inducer T cell factor(s) (TsiF) that are produced by Ly-1+ splenic T cells in fully allogeneic bone marrow chimeras in mice. AKR mice that had been lethally irradiated and reconstituted with B10 marrow cells, [B10----AKR] chimeras, produced Ly-1 TsiF after hyper-immunization with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) which suppressed antigen--specifically the primary antibody responses to SRBC that were generated in cells of the same Igh-Vb haplotype of donor strain and not those generated in cells of the recipient Igh-Va type. Similar results were obtained when Ly-1 TsiF from [B6----BALB/c] and [BALB/c----B6] chimeras were analyzed. Furthermore, the Ly-1 TsiF from [BALB/c----B6] chimeras suppressed the primary antibody responses of both BALB/c [H-2d, Igh-Va, Igh-Ca] and BAB-14 (H-2d, Igh-Va, Igh-Cb), but not those of CAL-20 (H-2d, Igh-Vd, Igh-Cd). These results demonstrate clearly that the Ly-1 TsiF from allogeneic bone marrow chimeras are donor Igh-V-restricted and are not influenced by the recipient micro-environment, presumably that were provided by the thymuses of the recipient mice

  15. Fusion algebra and fusing matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Yihong; Li Miao; Yu Ming.

    1989-09-01

    We show that the Wilson line operators in topological field theories form a fusion algebra. In general, the fusion algebra is a relation among the fusing (F) matrices. In the case of the SU(2) WZW model, some special F matrix elements are found in this way, and the remaining F matrix elements are then determined up to a sign. In addition, the S(j) modular transformation of the one point blocks on the torus is worked out. Our results are found to agree with those obtained from the quantum group method. (author). 24 refs

  16. Production and characterization of a monoclonal antibody against recombinant cathepsin L1 of Fasciola gigantica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anuracpreeda, Panat; Srirakam, Thippawan; Pandonlan, Sudarat; Changklungmoa, Narin; Chotwiwatthanakun, Charoonroj; Tinikul, Yotsawan; Poljaroen, Jaruwan; Meemon, Krai; Sobhon, Prasert

    2014-08-01

    Monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) against a recombinant cathepsin L1 of Fasciola gigantica (rFgCatL1) were produced in vitro by fusion of BALB/c mice spleen cells immunized with rFgCatL1 and mouse myeloma cells. Reactivity and specificity of these MoAbs were evaluated by indirect ELISA and immunoblotting techniques. Seven MoAb clones were selected from the stable hybridoma clones, namely 1E10, 1F5, 3D11, 4B10, 4D3, 4E3 and 5E7. Clones 1E10, 1F5 and 3D11 were IgM, whereas clones 4B10, 4D3, 4E3 and 5E7 were IgG1. All MoAbs had kappa light chain isotypes. All MoAbs reacted with rCatL1 at molecular weight (MW) 30kDa and with the native CatL1 at MW 27kDa in whole body (WB) extracts of metacercariae (Met), newly excysted juveniles (NEJ), 1, 3, 5-week-old juveniles (Ju), adult WB and adult excretory-secretory (ES) fractions, but not with adult tegumental antigens (TA). All of these MoAbs showed no cross-reactions with antigens of other parasites commonly found in ruminants and human, including Paramphistomum cervi, Eurytrema pancreaticum, Gigantocotyle explanatum, Schistosoma spindale, Schistosoma mansoni, Moniezia benedeni, Avitellina centripunctata, Trichuris sp., Haemonchus placei and Setaria labiato-papillosa. Localization of CatL1 in each developmental stages of F. gigantica by immunoperoxidase technique, using these MoAbs as probes, indicated that CatL1 was present at high concentration in the caecal epithelium and caecal lumen of metacercariae, NEJ, 1, 3, 5-week-old juveniles and adult fluke. This finding indicated that CatL1 is a copiously expressed parasite protein that is released into the ES, thus CatL1 and its MoAb could be a good candidate for immunodiagnosis of fasciolosis in ruminant and human. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Antigenic heterogeneity of capsid protein VP1 in foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV serotype Asia1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alam SM

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available SM Sabbir Alam,1 Ruhul Amin,1 Mohammed Ziaur Rahman,2 M Anwar Hossain,1 Munawar Sultana11Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, BangladeshAbstract: Foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV, with its seven serotypes, is a highly contagious virus infecting mainly cloven-hoofed animals. The serotype Asia1 occurs mainly in Asian regions. An in-silico approach was taken to reveal the antigenic heterogeneities within the capsid protein VP1 of Asia1. A total of 47 VP1 sequences of Asia1 isolates from different countries of South Asian regions were selected, retrieved from database, and were aligned. The structure of VP1 protein was modeled using a homology modeling approach. Several antigenic sites were identified and mapped onto the three-dimensional protein structure. Variations at these antigenic sites were analyzed by calculating the protein variability index and finding mutation combinations. The data suggested that vaccine escape mutants have derived from only few mutations at several antigenic sites. Five antigenic peptides have been identified as the least variable epitopes, with just fewer amino acid substitutions. Only a limited number of serotype Asia1 antigenic variants were found to be circulated within the South Asian region. This emphasizes a possibility of formulating synthetic vaccines for controlling foot-and-mouth disease by Asia1 serotypes.Keywords: protein modeling, antigenic sites, sequence variation

  18. G1/S-regulated E2F-containing protein complexes bind to the mouse thymidine kinase gene promoter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dou, Q P; Zhao, S; Levin, A H

    1994-01-01

    report that MT2 includes an E2F-like binding site (GTTCGCGGGCAAA), as shown by the following evidence. (i) MT2 bound specifically to an affinity-purified fusion human E2F protein. (ii) Both MT2 and an authentic E2F site (TTTCGCGCGCTTT) bound specifically to similar or identical nuclear protein complexes...... complexes were also investigated. Studies using specific antibodies revealed that p107, a retinoblastoma-like protein, was present in both E2F-G0/G1 and E2F.S, whereas cyclin E.cyclin A.cdk2 were only present in E2F.S complex(es). These data suggest that removal of the p107-containing E2F.G0/G1 complex...

  19. Cancer Patient T Cells Genetically Targeted to Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Specifically Lyse Prostate Cancer Cells and Release Cytokines in Response to Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael C. Gong

    1999-06-01

    Full Text Available The expression of immunoglobulin-based artificial receptors in normal T lymphocytes provides a means to target lymphocytes to cell surface antigens independently of major histocompatibility complex restriction. Such artificial receptors have been previously shown to confer antigen-specific tumoricidal properties in murine T cells. We constructed a novel ζ chain fusion receptor specific for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA termed Pz-1. PSMA is a cell-surface glycoprotein expressed on prostate cancer cells and the neovascular endothelium of multiple carcinomas. We show that primary T cells harvested from five of five patients with different stages of prostate cancer and transduced with the Pz-1 receptor readily lyse prostate cancer cells. Having established a culture system using fibroblasts that express PSMA, we next show that T cells expressing the Pz-1 receptor release cytokines in response to cell-bound PSMA. Furthermore, we show that the cytokine release is greatly augmented by B7.1-mediated costimulation. Thus, our findings support the feasibility of adoptive cell therapy by using genetically engineered T cells in prostate cancer patients and suggest that both CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte functions can be synergistically targeted against tumor cells.

  20. H1N1 Swine Influenza Viruses Differ from Avian Precursors by a Higher pH Optimum of Membrane Fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumann, Jan; Kouassi, Nancy Mounogou; Foni, Emanuela; Klenk, Hans-Dieter; Matrosovich, Mikhail

    2016-02-01

    The H1N1 Eurasian avian-like swine (EAsw) influenza viruses originated from an avian H1N1 virus. To characterize potential changes in the membrane fusion activity of the hemagglutinin (HA) during avian-to-swine adaptation of the virus, we studied EAsw viruses isolated in the first years of their circulation in pigs and closely related contemporary H1N1 viruses of wild aquatic birds. Compared to the avian viruses, the swine viruses were less sensitive to neutralization by lysosomotropic agent NH4Cl in MDCK cells, had a higher pH optimum of hemolytic activity, and were less stable at acidic pH. Eight amino acid substitutions in the HA were found to separate the EAsw viruses from their putative avian precursor; four substitutions-T492S, N722D, R752K, and S1132F-were located in the structural regions of the HA2 subunit known to play a role in acid-induced conformational transition of the HA. We also studied low-pH-induced syncytium formation by cell-expressed HA proteins and found that the HAs of the 1918, 1957, 1968, and 2009 pandemic viruses required a lower pH for fusion induction than did the HA of a representative EAsw virus. Our data show that transmission of an avian H1N1 virus to pigs was accompanied by changes in conformational stability and fusion promotion activity of the HA. We conclude that distinctive host-determined fusion characteristics of the HA may represent a barrier for avian-to-swine and swine-to-human transmission of influenza viruses. Continuing cases of human infections with zoonotic influenza viruses highlight the necessity to understand which viral properties contribute to interspecies transmission. Efficient binding of the HA to cellular receptors in a new host species is known to be essential for the transmission. Less is known about required adaptive changes in the membrane fusion activity of the HA. Here we show that adaptation of an avian influenza virus to pigs in Europe in 1980s was accompanied by mutations in the HA, which decreased

  1. Computational Identification of Antigenicity-Associated Sites in the Hemagglutinin Protein of A/H1N1 Seasonal Influenza Virus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaowei Ren

    Full Text Available The antigenic variability of influenza viruses has always made influenza vaccine development challenging. The punctuated nature of antigenic drift of influenza virus suggests that a relatively small number of genetic changes or combinations of genetic changes may drive changes in antigenic phenotype. The present study aimed to identify antigenicity-associated sites in the hemagglutinin protein of A/H1N1 seasonal influenza virus using computational approaches. Random Forest Regression (RFR and Support Vector Regression based on Recursive Feature Elimination (SVR-RFE were applied to H1N1 seasonal influenza viruses and used to analyze the associations between amino acid changes in the HA1 polypeptide and antigenic variation based on hemagglutination-inhibition (HI assay data. Twenty-three and twenty antigenicity-associated sites were identified by RFR and SVR-RFE, respectively, by considering the joint effects of amino acid residues on antigenic drift. Our proposed approaches were further validated with the H3N2 dataset. The prediction models developed in this study can quantitatively predict antigenic differences with high prediction accuracy based only on HA1 sequences. Application of the study results can increase understanding of H1N1 seasonal influenza virus antigenic evolution and accelerate the selection of vaccine strains.

  2. H-2 restriction of the T cell response to chemically induced tumors: evidence from F1 → parent chimeras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lannin, D.R.; Yu, S.; McKhann, C.F.

    1982-01-01

    It has been well established that T cells that react to tumor antigen on virus-induced tumors must share H-2D or H-2K specificities with the tumor. It has been impossible to perform similar studies with chemically induced tumors because each chemically induced tumor expresses a unique tumor antigen that cannot be studied in association with other H-2 types. This study provies evidence that H-2 recognition is also necessary for recognition of chemically induced tumors. We have found that F 1 → parent chimeras preferentially recognize chemically induced tumors of parental H-2 type. C3H/HeJ and C57BL/6 mice were lethally irradiated and restored with (C3H x C57BL/6) F 1 hybrid bone marrow. The F 1 → C3H chimera but not the F 1 → C57BL/6 chimera was able to respond to a C3H fibrosarcoma in mixed lymphocyte-tumor cell culture and also to neutralize the tumor in an in vivo tumor neutralization assay. On the other hand, the F 1 → C57BL/6 chimera but not the F 1 → C3H chimera was able to kill the C57BL/6 lymphoma EL4 in an in vitro cytotoxicity assay. Both chimeras were tolerant to C3H and C57BL/6 alloantigens but could respond normally to Con A and to BALB/c spleen cells in mixed lymphocyte cultures and cytotoxicity assay

  3. The association of JAK2V617F mutation and leukocytosis with thrombotic events in essential thrombocythemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Hui-Hua; Yang, Ming-Yu; Liu, Yi-Chang; Lee, Ching-Ping; Yang, Wen-Chi; Liu, Ta-Chih; Chang, Chao-Sung; Lin, Sheng-Fung

    2007-11-01

    The Janus kinase 2 mutation, JAK2 (V617F), and megakaryocytic mutations, MPL (W515L/K), have been identified and correlated with a subtype of essential thrombocythemia (ET) patients. We investigated the frequency of mutations in ET patients and analyzed the relationship with their clinical features. Fifty-three ET patients were enrolled in the study. The amplification refractory mutation system was applied for the mutation survey of the JAK2V617F, while the polymerase chain reaction with sequencing was used for the mutation survey of MPLW515L/K. Thirty-five (66%) patients harboring the JAK2 (V617F) mutation, including 3 homozygous and 32 heterozygous changes, but no MPLW515L/K mutation, were found. During follow-up, 17 (32.1%) patients suffered from documented thrombotic events, with 15 having JAK2V617F mutations. Statistical analysis showed that patients with the JAK2 mutation had significantly higher leukocytes, hemoglobin level, and thrombotic event (p = 0.043, p = 0.001, and p = 0.029, respectively). Thrombotic events were also significantly correlated with leukocytosis and older age. The JAK2V617F mutation was noted in a certain population of ET patients and correlated with leukocytosis, high hemoglobin level, and thrombosis. Therefore, detection of the JAK2V617F mutation can affect not only the diagnosis, but also the management of ET patients.

  4. Acoustically Driven Magnetized Target Fusion At General Fusion: An Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Shea, Peter; Laberge, M.; Donaldson, M.; Delage, M.; the Fusion Team, General

    2016-10-01

    Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) involves compressing an initial magnetically confined plasma of about 1e23 m-3, 100eV, 7 Tesla, 20 cm radius, >100 μsec life with a 1000x volume compression in 100 microseconds. If near adiabatic compression is achieved, the final plasma of 1e26 m-3, 10keV, 700 Tesla, 2 cm radius, confined for 10 μsec would produce interesting fusion energy gain. General Fusion (GF) is developing an acoustic compression system using pneumatic pistons focusing a shock wave on the CT plasma in the center of a 3 m diameter sphere filled with liquid lead-lithium. Low cost driver, straightforward heat extraction, good tritium breeding ratio and excellent neutron protection could lead to a practical power plant. GF (65 employees) has an active plasma R&D program including both full scale and reduced scale plasma experiments and simulation of both. Although acoustic driven compression of full scale plasmas is the end goal, present compression studies use reduced scale plasmas and chemically accelerated Aluminum liners. We will review results from our plasma target development, motivate and review the results of dynamic compression field tests and briefly describe the work to date on the acoustic driver front.

  5. Surface modification study of zirconium on exposure to fusion grade plasma in an 11.5 kJ plasma focus device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srivastava, Rohit; Niranjan, Ram; Rout, R.K.; Kaushik, T.C.; Chakravarthy, Y.; Mishra, P.

    2017-01-01

    In continuation of our investigation on effect of fusion grade plasma produced in an existing MEPF-12 (11.5 kJ, 40 μF, 24 kV) plasma focus (PF) facility on different materials, likely to be used in future fusion reactors, we have reported here the study on Zirconium (Zr) metal. In the present work, the Zr sample in disc (2 mm thick, 10 mm diameter) form was exposed to twenty shots of plasma focus operated at 4 mbar deuterium gas filling pressure and 11.5 kJ bank energy. The samples were placed at a distance of 6 cm from the tip of the anode in the MEPF-12 PF device. The emissions from the device comprise of deuterium ions in wide energy range (a few keV to several hundreds of keV), high temperature plasma (in general a few keV) and neutrons of 2.45 MeV energy produced due to D(D, 3 He)n fusion reactions

  6. Radiography studies with gamma rays produced by 14-MeV fusion neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, D.L.; Ikeda, Yujiro; Uno, Yoshitomo

    1996-01-01

    Oxygen contained in pure water has been activated via the 16 O(n, p) 16 N reaction using 14-MeV neutrons produced at a neutron generator with the 3 H(d,n) 4 He source. Photons of 6.129 and 7.115 MeV, generated by the decay of 7.13-second 16 N, were then used to demonstrate the feasibility of employing highly penetrating, nearly monoenergetic gamma rays for radiography studies of thick, dense objects composed of elements with medium to relatively high atomic numbers. A simple radiography apparatus was constructed by circulating water continuously between a position near the target of the neutron generator and a remote location where photon transmission measurements were conducted. A sodium iodide scintillator was employed to detect the photons. Pulses equivalent to photon energies smaller than 2.506 MeV (corresponding to the cascade sum of 1.333- and 1.173-MeV gamma rays from the decay of 5.271-year 60 Co) were rejected by the electronics settings in order to reduce background and improve the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Respectable S/N ratios on the order of 20-to-1 were achieved with this setup. Most of the background (N) could be attributed to ambient environmental radiation and cosmic-ray interactions with the lead shielding and detector. Four representative objects were examined by photon radiography in this study. This demonstrated how such - interesting features as hidden holes and discontinuities in atomic number could be easily identified from observed variations in the intensity of transmitted photons. Some advantages of this technique are described, and potential applications are suggested for a future scenario where fusion reactors are used to generate electric power and very intense sources of high-energy photons from 16 N decay are continuously available as a byproduct of the reactor cooling process

  7. Application of 18F-FDG PET/CT combined with carbohydrate antigen 19-9 for differentiating pancreatic carcinoma from chronic mass-forming pancreatitis in Chinese elderly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gu X

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Xinjin Gu,1 Rong Liu2 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital and Hainan Branch, Sanya, 2Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgical Oncology, Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China Objective: The current study was designed to analyze the value of 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT combined with carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9 in differentiating pancreatic carcinoma (PC from chronic mass-forming pancreatitis (CMFP in Chinese elderly. Methods: As it is impossible to differentially diagnose PC from CMFP, 60 participants older than 65 years with focal pancreatic lesions were scanned by 18F-FDG PET/CT and their CA19-9 levels were tested. Diagnoses of all participants were confirmed by comprehensive methods including aspiration biopsy, surgical pathology, and clinical follow-up of 12 months. Twenty participants with CMFP were included in CMFP group and 40 participants with PC in PC group.Results: In CMFP and PC groups, 46 participants showed increased 18F-FDG uptake, 43 had elevated CA19-9 levels, and 38 participants had both increased 18F-FDG uptake and elevated CA19-9 levels. Standardized uptake value maximum of PC group (5.98±2.27 was significantly different from CMFP group (2.58±1.81, P<0.05. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT in differentiating PC from CMFP were 95%, 60%, and 83.3%, respectively. CA19-9 levels of PC group (917.44±1,088.24 were significantly different from CMFP group (19.09±19.54, P<0.05. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CA19-9 levels in differentiating PC from CMFP were 87.5%, 60%, and 78.3%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT combined with CA19-9 levels in differentiating PC from CMFP were 90%, 90%, and 90%, respectively.Conclusion: 18F-FDG PET/CT had reliable sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in differentiating

  8. Inertial fusion energy with krypton fluoride lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sethian, J.D.

    2010-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. We are developing the science and technologies needed for a practical fusion energy source using high energy krypton fluoride (KrF) lasers. The physics basis for this work is a family of simulations that exploit the unique advantages of KrF lasers. KrF lasers provide uniform enough laser light to illuminate the capsule directly, greatly improving the laser-target coupling efficiency, as well as simplifying the target design. KrF's shorter wavelength allows higher ablation pressures and helps suppress laser-plasma instabilities. These advantages are being demonstrated on the NRL Nike KrF laser facility. A particularly promising approach is shock ignition, in which a high intensity laser pulse drives an intense shock at peak compression. Simulations with experimentally benchmarked codes predict a 1 MJ KrF laser can produce 200 MJ of pure fusion energy. We have similarly advanced the laser technology. We have developed a KrF laser, using technologies that scale to a reactor beamline, that fires 5 times per second for long duration runs and is projected be efficient enough for a reactor. The science and the technology for the key components are developed at the same time as part of a coherent system. A multi-institutional team from industry, national labs, and universities has developed credible solutions for these components. This includes methods to fabricate the spherical pellets on mass production basis, a means to repetitively inject the capsules into the chamber and precisely hit them with the laser, scaled tests to develop the laser optics, and designs for the reaction vessel. Based on these advances NRL and its collaborators have formulated a three stage plan that could lead to practical fusion energy on a much faster time scale than currently believed. Stage I develops full scale components: a laser beam line, target factory and injector, and chamber technologies. Stage II is the Fusion Test Facility (FTF). Simulations

  9. Charged fusion product and fast ion loss in TFTR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zweben, S.J.; Darrow, D.S.; Fredrickson, E.D.; Mynick, H.E.; White, R.B.; Biglari, H.; Bretz, N.; Budny, R.; Bush, C.E.; Chang, C.S.; Chen, L.; Cheng, C.Z.; Fu, G.Y.; Hammett, G.W.; Hawryluk, R.J.; Hosea, J.; Johnson, L.; Mansfield, D.; McGuire, K.; Medley, S.S.; Nazikian, R.; Owens, D.K.; Park, H.; Park, J.; Phillips, C.K.; Schivell, J.; Stratton, B.C.; Ulrickson, M.; Wilson, R.; Young, K.M.; Fisher, R.; McChesney, J.; Fonck, R.; McKee, G.; Tuszewski, M.

    1993-03-01

    Several different fusion product and fast ion loss processes have been observed in TFTR using an array of pitch angle, energy and time resolved scintillator detectors located near the vessel wall. For D-D fusion products (3 MeV protons and 1 MeV tritons) the observed loss is generally consistent with expected first-orbit loss for Ip I MA. However, at higher currents, Ip = 1.4--2.5 MA, an NM induced D-D fusion product loss can be up to 3-4 times larger than the first-orbit loss, particularly at high beam powers, P ≥ 25 MW. The MHD induced loss of 100 KeV neutron beam ions and ∼0.5 MeV ICRF minority tail tons has also been measured ≤ 459 below the outer midplane. be potential implications of these results for D-T alpha particle experiments in TFTR and ITER are described

  10. Effects of 500 keV electron irradiation and subsequent annealing on 1/f noise in copper films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pelz, J.; Clarke, J.

    1985-10-01

    Polycrystalline copper films were maintained at 90K on the cold stage of an electron microscope and irradiated with 500keV electrons to induce defect. With an electron dose of about 5 x 10 20 cm -2 , the spectral density of the noise voltage across the films increased by an order of magnitude while the electrical resistivity increased by at most 10%. The films were annealed at progressively higher temperatures; after each annealing process the 1/f noise and resistivity were remeasured at 90K. Both the 1/f noise and resistivity were reduced, but at the lower annealing temperatures the fractional reduction in the added noise was substantially more than in the added resistivity. These result suggest that a large fraction of the added noise may be generated by a small mobile fraction of the added defects that are more readily annealed than the majority of the defects. After a room temperature annealing process, both the noise and resistivity returned nearly to their initial values. The temperature dependence of the noise after irradiation and partial annealing was consistant with the Dutta-Dimon-Horn thermal activation model

  11. Measurement of the relative fraction of ttbar events produced via gluon fusion in ppbar collision at s**(1/2) = 1.96 TeV at CDF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamaoka, Jared Andrew; Rutgers U., Piscataway

    2007-01-01

    In this thesis we present a measurement of the relative fraction of t(bar t) events produced via gluon-fusion to the total number of t(bar t) events. Using the kinematics of the production and decay of the top and antitop quark pair, we trained a Neural Network to discriminate the gluon-fusion events. The Neural Network was then used as a template to fit for the gluon-fusion fraction in data. Using a total integrated luminosity of 955 pb -1 we find σ(gg→t(bar t))/σ(p(bar p)→t(bar t)) < 0.33 at 68% confidence level and σ(gg→t(bar t))/σ(p(bar p)→t(bar t)) < 0.61 at 95% confidence level

  12. Parental resistance of irradiated mice to (CBAXM523)F/sub 1/ lymphocytes: the destiny of transplanted cells, duration of resistance and its specificity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kondrat' eva, T K; Fontalin, L N; Nagurskaya, E V; Novikova, T K; Blandova, Z K; Chernousov, A D [Akademiya Meditsinskikh Nauk SSSR, Moscow. Inst. Ehpidemiologii i Mikrobiologii

    1979-05-01

    The immunologic reactivity of mouse (CBAxM523)F/sub 1/ lymphocytes to alien antigens (ram erythrocytes) in the organisms of lethally irradiated CBA mice was studied. If the irradiation, cell transfer and antigen test-injection were performed on the same day, the activity of the transplant was suppressed as compared to the syngenic system. If the intervals between these procedures increased to three days the activity of donor cells was recovered. The retransplantation of recipient spleen cells to the irradiated CBA and F/sub 1/ mice demonstrated the viability of the transplanted cells and the absence of their transadaptation to nonsyngenic microenvironment. The resistance of the recipients could be overcome specifically by preliminary injection of F/sub 1/ mouse cells in combination with cyclophosphamide or without it. The results obtained suggest to conclude, that the genetic parental resistance of CBA mice to F/sub 1/ mouse cells is caused by the immunologically competent recipient cells that are inactivated after three days following irradiation. They do not produce a cytotoxic effect on donor cells, but limit temporarily the activity of the latter.

  13. Fusion breeder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moir, R.W.

    1982-01-01

    The fusion breeder is a fusion reactor designed with special blankets to maximize the transmutation by 14 MeV neutrons of uranium-238 to plutonium or thorium to uranium-233 for use as a fuel for fission reactors. Breeding fissile fuels has not been a goal of the US fusion energy program. This paper suggests it is time for a policy change to make the fusion breeder a goal of the US fusion program and the US nuclear energy program. The purpose of this paper is to suggest this policy change be made and tell why it should be made, and to outline specific research and development goals so that the fusion breeder will be developed in time to meet fissile fuel needs

  14. Clinical significance of MRI/{sup 18}F-FDG PET fusion imaging of the spinal cord in patients with cervical compressive myelopathy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uchida, Kenzo; Nakajima, Hideaki; Watanabe, Shuji; Yoshida, Ai; Baba, Hisatoshi [University of Fukui, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Eiheiji, Fukui (Japan); Okazawa, Hidehiko [University of Fukui, Department of Biomedical Imaging Research Center, Eiheiji, Fukui (Japan); Kimura, Hirohiko [University of Fukui, Departments of Radiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Eiheiji, Fukui (Japan); Kudo, Takashi [Nagasaki University, Department of Radioisotope Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease and Hibakusha Medicine Unit, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki (Japan)

    2012-10-15

    {sup 18}F-FDG PET is used to investigate the metabolic activity of neural tissue. MRI is used to visualize morphological changes, but the relationship between intramedullary signal changes and clinical outcome remains controversial. The present study was designed to evaluate the use of 3-D MRI/{sup 18}F-FDG PET fusion imaging for defining intramedullary signal changes on MRI scans and local glucose metabolic rate measured on {sup 18}F-FDG PET scans in relation to clinical outcome and prognosis. We studied 24 patients undergoing decompressive surgery for cervical compressive myelopathy. All patients underwent 3-D MRI and {sup 18}F-FDG PET before surgery. Quantitative analysis of intramedullary signal changes on MRI scans included calculation of the signal intensity ratio (SIR) as the ratio between the increased lesional signal intensity and the signal intensity at the level of the C7/T1 disc. Using an Advantage workstation, the same slices of cervical 3-D MRI and {sup 18}F-FDG PET images were fused. On the fused images, the maximal count of the lesion was adopted as the standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}). In a similar manner to SIR, the SUV ratio (SUVR) was also calculated. Neurological assessment was conducted using the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scoring system for cervical myelopathy. The SIR on T1-weighted (T1-W) images, but not SIR on T2-W images, was significantly correlated with preoperative JOA score and postoperative neurological improvement. Lesion SUV{sub max} was significantly correlated with SIR on T1-W images, but not with SIR on T2-W images, and also with postoperative neurological outcome. The SUVR correlated better than SIR on T1-W images and lesion SUV{sub max} with neurological improvement. Longer symptom duration was correlated negatively with SIR on T1-W images, positively with SIR on T2-W images, and negatively with SUV{sub max}. Our results suggest that low-intensity signal on T1-W images, but not on T2-W images, is correlated

  15. Verkligt värde vid första redovisningstillfället?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thinggaard, Frank; Nilsson, Sven-Arne

    2007-01-01

    I en första artikel av två diskuterar Frank Thinggaard och Sven-Arne Nilsson en rapport från IASB som föreslår verkligt värde istället för anskaffningsvärde vid första redovisningstillfället. Där rapporten står för nytänkande undersöker de om denär i linje med en rapport om förbättrad föreställni...

  16. Antigen recognition by cloned cytotoxic T lymphocytes follows rules predicted by the altered-self hypothesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huenig, T.R.; Bevan, M.J.

    1982-01-01

    Radiation chimeras prepared by injecting H-2 heterozygous F1 stem cells into lethally irradiated parental hosts show a marked, but not absolute, preference for host-type H-2 antigens in the H-2-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to minor histocompatibility (minor H) antigens. We have selected for the anti-minor HCTL that are restricted to the parental H-2 type absent from the chimeric host and found that in two out of eight cases, such CTL lysed target cells of either parental H-2 type. From one of these CTL populations that lysed H-2d and H-2k target cells expressing BALB minor H antigens, clones were derived and further analyzed. The results showed that: (a) lysis of both H-2d and H-2k target cells was H-2 restricted; (b) H-2d restriction mapped to Dd, and H-2k restriction mapped to Kk; (c) testing against various H-2d and H-2k strains of different and partially overlapping minor H backgrounds as well as against the appropriate F1 crosses revealed that in Dd- and Kk-restricted killing, different minor H antigens were recognized. In a second system, a CTL population was selected from normal (H-2d x H-2k)F1 mice that was specific for H-2d plus minor H antigens and for H-2k plus trinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin. We interpret these findings in terms of the altered-self hypothesis: The association of one H-2 antigen with one conventional antigen X may be recognized by the same T cell receptor specific for the complex formed by a different H-2 antigen in association with a second conventional antigen Y. The implications of these observations for the influence of self H-2 on the generation of the T cell receptor repertoire are discussed

  17. [International Panel on 14 MeV Intense Neutron Source Based on Accelerators for Fusion Materials Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thoms, K.R.; Wiffen, F.W.

    1991-01-01

    Both travelers were members of a nine-person US delegation that participated in an international workshop on accelerator-based 14 MeV neutron sources for fusion materials research hosted by the University of Tokyo. Presentations made at the workshop reviewed the technology developed by the FMIT Project, advances in accelerator technology, and proposed concepts for neutron sources. One traveler then participated in the initial meeting of the IEA Working Group on High Energy, High Flux Neutron Sources in which efforts were begun to evaluate and compare proposed neutron sources; the Fourth FFTF/MOTA Experimenters' Workshop which covered planning and coordination of the US-Japan collaboration using the FFTF reactor to irradiate fusion reactor materials; and held discussions with several JAERI personnel on the US-Japan collaboration on fusion reactor materials

  18. Effects of sawtooth crashes on beam ions and fusion product tritons in JET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marcus, F B; Hone, M A; Jarvis, O N; Loughlin, M J; Sadler, G [Commission of the European Communities, Abingdon (United Kingdom). JET Joint Undertaking; Adams, J M; Bond, D S; Watkins, N [UKAEA Harwell Lab. (United Kingdom). Energy Technology Div.; Howarth, P J.A. [Birmingham Univ. (United Kingdom)

    1994-07-01

    The effect of a sawtooth crash on the radial distribution of the slowing down fusion product tritons and on beams ions, is examined with measurements of the 2.5 MeV and 14 MeV neutron emission line-integrals before and after sawtooth crashes. In deuterium discharges, the 14 MeV neutron production was wholly attributable to burnup of the 1 MeV fusion product tritons from d-d fusion. The local emissivity of 14 MeV neutrons, and hence of the profile of thermalizing tritons, is shown to be only weakly affected by crashes in the discharges studied. This is in contradiction with the apparent behaviour of injected beam ions as deduced from a study of the considerable changes in local emissivity of the 2.5 MeV neutrons. Nevertheless, the behaviour of the fusion product tritons is consistent with the scaling of the beam injected deuterium. 1 ref., 6 figs.

  19. Effects of sawtooth crashes on beam ions and fusion product tritons in JET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marcus, F.B.; Hone, M.A.; Jarvis, O.N.; Loughlin, M.J.; Sadler, G.

    1994-01-01

    The effect of a sawtooth crash on the radial distribution of the slowing down fusion product tritons and on beams ions, is examined with measurements of the 2.5 MeV and 14 MeV neutron emission line-integrals before and after sawtooth crashes. In deuterium discharges, the 14 MeV neutron production was wholly attributable to burnup of the 1 MeV fusion product tritons from d-d fusion. The local emissivity of 14 MeV neutrons, and hence of the profile of thermalizing tritons, is shown to be only weakly affected by crashes in the discharges studied. This is in contradiction with the apparent behaviour of injected beam ions as deduced from a study of the considerable changes in local emissivity of the 2.5 MeV neutrons. Nevertheless, the behaviour of the fusion product tritons is consistent with the scaling of the beam injected deuterium. 1 ref., 6 figs

  20. Thermal energy and bootstrap current in fusion reactor plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, G.

    1993-01-01

    For DT fusion reactors with prescribed alpha particle heating power P α , plasma volume V and burn temperature i > ∼ 10 keV specific relations for the thermal energy content, bootstrap current, central plasma pressure and other quantities are derived. It is shown that imposing P α and V makes these relations independent of the magnitudes of the density and temperature, i.e. they only depend on P α , V and shape factors or profile parameters. For model density and temperature profiles analytic expressions for these shape factors and for the factor C bs in the bootstrap current formula I bs ∼ C bs (a/R) 1/2 β p I p are given. In the design of next-step devices and fusion reactors, the fusion power is a fixed quantity. Prescription of the alpha particle heating power and plasma volume results in specific relations which can be helpful for interpreting computer simulations and for the design of fusion reactors. (author) 5 refs

  1. Synthesis and crystal structure of triammine pentafluorido tantalum(V) [TaF{sub 5}(NH{sub 3}){sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baer, Sebastian A.; Kraus, Florian [Department Chemie, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85747 Garching (Germany); Lozinsek, Matic [Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Technology, Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

    2013-07-01

    [Sr(HF){sub 3}(TaF{sub 6}){sub 2}] reacts with liquid ammonia under the formation of colorless crystals of triammine pentafluorido tantalum(V) [TaF{sub 5}(NH{sub 3}){sub 3}] (1). The structure was elucidated by low-temperature X-ray structure analysis. Compound 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2{sub 1}/c with a = 5.1525(6), b = 11.736(1), c = 10.171(1) Aa, β = 94.843(9) , V = 612.8(1) Aa{sup 3} at 123 K with Z = 4. Its structure displays discrete TaF{sub 5}(NH{sub 3}){sub 3} molecules, which are interconnected by N-H..F hydrogen bonds to form a complex three-dimensional network. The title compound is a rare example of a neutral, molecular, eight-coordinate tantalum species. (Copyright copyright 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  2. Immunodominant B-cell clones responsive to an HIV-1 neutralization and cell fusion inhibition epitope in chimpanzee-to-chimpanzee passages of HTLV-IIIB and LAV-1

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goudsmit, J.; Bakker, M.; Smit, L.

    1989-01-01

    Chimpanzees infected with the HIV-1 strains HTLV-IIIB or LAV-1 in primary, secondary or tertiary passages developed neutralizing antibodies binding to variable domain V3 in the carboxyl terminal half of the external envelope (amino acids 309-317). Nonapeptide antigens reflecting either the

  3. Scoping studies of 233U breeding fusion fission hybrid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maniscalco, J.A.; Hansen, L.F.; Allen, W.O.

    1978-05-01

    Neutronic calculations have been carried out in order to design a laser fusion driven hybrid blanket which maximizes 233 U production per unit of thermal energy (greater than or equal to 1 kg/MW/sub T/-year) with acceptable fusion energy multiplication (M/sub F/ approximately 4). Two hybrid blankets, a thorium and a uranium-thorium blanket, are discussed in detail and their performance is evaluated by incorporating them into an existing hybrid design (the LLL/Bechtel design). The overall performance of the two laser fusion driven 233 U producers is discussed and estimates are given of (1) the number of equivalent thermal power fission reactors (LWR, HWR, SSCR and HTGR) that these fusion breeders can fuel, (2) their capital cost, and (3) the cost of electricity in the combined fusion breder-converter reactor scenario

  4. Scoping studies of 233U breeding fusion fission hybrid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maniscalco, J.A.; Hansen, L.F.; Allen, W.O.

    1978-01-01

    Neutronic calculations have been carried out in order to design a laser fusion driven hybrid blanket which maximizes 233 U production per unit of thermal energy (greater than or equal to 1 kg/MW/sub T/-year) with acceptable fusion energy multiplication (M/sub F/ approx. 4). Two hybrid blankets, a thorium and a uranium--thorium blanket, are discussed in detail and their performance is evaluated by incorporating them into an existing hybrid design (the LLL/Bechtel design). The overall performance of the two laser fusion driven 233 U producers is discussed and estimates are given of (1) the number of equivalent thermal power fission reactors (LWR, HWR, SSCR and HTGR) that these fusion breeders can fuel, (2) their capital cost, and (3) the cost of electricity in the combined fusion breeder-converter reactor scenario

  5. Semi-allogeneic dendritic cells can induce antigen-specific T-cell activation, which is not enhanced by concurrent alloreactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, James W; Cowled, Chris J; Darling, David; Guinn, Barbara-Ann; Farzaneh, Farzin; Noble, Alistair; Galea-Lauri, Joanna

    2007-12-01

    Alloreactive T-cell responses are known to result in the production of large amounts of proinflammatory cytokines capable of activating and maturing dendritic cells (DC). However, it is unclear whether these allogeneic responses could also act as an adjuvant for concurrent antigen-specific responses. To examine effects of simultaneous alloreactive and antigen-specific T-cell responses induced by semi-allogeneic DC. Semi-allogeneic DC were generated from the F(1) progeny of inbred strains of mice (C57BL/6 and C3H, or C57BL/6 and DBA). We directly primed antigen-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T-cells from OT-I and OT-II mice, respectively, in the absence of allogeneic responses, in vitro, and in the presence or absence of alloreactivity in vivo. In vitro, semi-allogeneic DC cross-presented ovalbumin (OVA) to naïve CD8(+) OT-I transgenic T-cells, primed naïve CD4(+) OT-II transgenic T-cells and could stimulate strong alloreactive T-cell proliferation in a primary mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). In vivo, semi-allogeneic DC migrated efficiently to regional lymph nodes but did not survive there as long as autologous DC. In addition, they were not able to induce cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activity to a target peptide, and only weakly stimulated adoptively transferred OT-II cells. The CD4(+) response was unchanged in allo-tolerized mice, indicating that alloreactive T-cell responses could not provide help for concurrently activated antigen-specific responses. In an EL4 tumour-treatment model, vaccination with semi-allogeneic DC/EL4 fusion hybrids, but not allogeneic DC/EL4 hybrids, significantly increased mouse survival. Expression of self-Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) by semi-allogeneic DC can cause the induction of antigen-specific immunity, however, concurrently activated allogeneic bystander responses do not provide helper or adjuvant effects.

  6. Performance of a 200-J KrF laser amplifier for laser fusion research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Owadano, Y.; Okuda, I.; Tanimoto, M.; Kasai, T.; Matsumoto, Y.; Yaoita, A.; Nemoto, F.; Komeiji, S.; Yano, M.

    1986-01-01

    An e-beam-pumped KrF laser has been developed as a middle-stage amplifier of a 1-kJ system for laser fusion research. The laser consists of one Marx generator (1MV, 11kJ), two PFLs (4.6 Ω, 100ns) with laser triggered output switches, two e-beam diodes (10 X 60 cm/sup 2/), and a laser cell (20- X 20- X 60-cm/sup 3/ active volume). Two e-beams are injected into the cell through carbon-sprayed Kapton anode and pressure foils. Up to now, a 120-J (70-ns) laser pulse has been generated with a 90% output coupling flat-flat resonator at 80% voltage operation. Overall efficiency is 1.5% in this case. A series of experiments has been performed with the laser to measure gain characteristics of a Kr-rich mixture, which is predicted to be more efficient than a normal Ar mixture in a high-laser-intensity region (>10 MW cm/sup -2/). An injection-locked oscillator mode was used to obtain a well-defined high-intensity laser beam, and a saturated intracavity intensity was measured

  7. First time evidence of pronounced plateaus right above the Coulomb barrier in 8Li + 4He fusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Del Zoppo

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available We investigate unprecedented experimental information on the fusion reaction induced by the radioactive projectile 8Li on a 4He gas target, at center-of-mass energies between 0.6 and 5 MeV. The main issue is the tendency of the dimensionless fusion cross section σfπƛ2 to form well visible plateaus alternated to steep rises. This finding is likely to be the most genuine consequence of the discrete nature of the intervening angular momenta observed so far in fusion reactions right above the Coulomb barrier. A partial-wave analysis, exclusively based on a pure quantal penetration fusion model and sensitive to the interaction potential, identifies a remarkably low-height barrier.

  8. Two active molecular phenotypes of the tachykinin NK1 receptor revealed by G-protein fusions and mutagenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holst, B; Hastrup, H; Raffetseder, U; Martini, L; Schwartz, T W

    2001-06-08

    The NK1 neurokinin receptor presents two non-ideal binding phenomena, two-component binding curves for all agonists and significant differences between agonist affinity determined by homologous versus heterologous competition binding. Whole cell binding with fusion proteins constructed between either Galpha(s) or Galpha(q) and the NK1 receptor with a truncated tail, which secured non-promiscuous G-protein interaction, demonstrated monocomponent agonist binding closely corresponding to either of the two affinity states found in the wild-type receptor. High affinity binding of both substance P and neurokinin A was observed in the tail-truncated Galpha(s) fusion construct, whereas the lower affinity component was displayed by the tail-truncated Galpha(q) fusion. The elusive difference between the affinity determined in heterologous versus homologous binding assays for substance P and especially for neurokinin A was eliminated in the G-protein fusions. An NK1 receptor mutant with a single substitution at the extracellular end of TM-III-(F111S), which totally uncoupled the receptor from Galpha(s) signaling, showed binding properties that were monocomponent and otherwise very similar to those observed in the tail-truncated Galpha(q) fusion construct. Thus, the heterogenous pharmacological phenotype displayed by the NK1 receptor is a reflection of the occurrence of two active conformations or molecular phenotypes representing complexes with the Galpha(s) and Galpha(q) species, respectively. We propose that these molecular forms do not interchange readily, conceivably because of the occurrence of microdomains or "signal-transductosomes" within the cell membrane.

  9. Antigenic variation and the genetics and epigenetics of the PfEMP1 erythrocyte surface antigens in Plasmodium falciparum malaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arnot, David E; Jensen, Anja T R

    2011-01-01

    . Sterile immunity is not achieved and chronic parasitization of apparently healthy adults is the norm. In this article, we analyse the best understood malaria "antigenic variation" system, that based on Plasmodium falciparum's PfEMP1-type cytoadhesion antigens, and critically review recent literature...

  10. Heterologous expression of carcinoembryonic antigen in Lactococcus lactis via LcsB-mediated surface displaying system for oral vaccine development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaowei; Hu, Shumin; Du, Xue; Li, Tiejun; Han, Lanlan; Kong, Jian

    2016-12-01

    Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an attractive target for immunotherapy because it is expressed minimally in normal tissue, but is overexpressed in a wide variety of malignant epithelial tissues. Lactic acid bacteria (LABs), widely used in food processes, are attractive candidates for oral vaccination. Thus, we examined whether LABs could be used as a live vaccine vector to deliver CEA antigen. CEA was cloned into an Escherichia coli/Lactococcus lactis shuttle vector pSEC:LEISS under the control of a nisin promoter. For displaying the CEA on the cell surface of the L. lactis strain, the anchor motif LcsB from the S-layer protein of Lactobacillus crispatus was fused with CEA. Intracellular and cell surface expression of the CEA-LcsB fusion was confirmed by western blot analysis. Significantly higher levels of CEA-specific secretory immunoglobulin A in the sera of mice were observed upon oral administration of strain cultures containing the CEA-LcsB fused protein. In addition, the CEA-LcsB antigen group showed a higher spleen index compared to the CEA antigen alone or negative control, demonstrating that surface-displayed CEA antigen could induce a higher immune response. These results provided the first evidence for displaying CEA antigen on the cell surfaces of LABs as oral vaccines against cancer or infectious diseases. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) induced cytotoxicity in epithelial cells is associated with EBNA1 degradation and processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, Richard J.; Smith, Laura J.; Dawson, Christopher W.; Haigh, Tracy; Blake, Neil W.; Young, Lawrence S.

    2003-01-01

    Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) has a central role in the maintenance and segregation of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) episome and by virtue of a glycine-alanine repeat domain is prevented from being endogenously processed for recognition by HLA class I restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). We found that EBNA1 expression resulted in growth inhibition and a G2/M arrest in human squamous epithelial cell lines (SCC12F, SVK) but not epithelial cell lines of glandular origin (Hela, Ad/AH). The cytotoxicity of EBNA1 was associated with EBNA1 degradation and both these effects were blocked in SCC12F cells expressing either the anti-apoptotic bcl-2 protein or the EBV homolog of bcl-2, BHRF1. The endogenous degradation of EBNA1 in SVK epithelial cells was associated with specific CTL recognition, an effect not evident in EBNA1-expressing Hela cells. Consistent with the inability of SVK cells to tolerate EBNA1 expression, studies with a recombinant EBV demonstrated that SVK cells are unable to maintain stable virus infection, whereas Hela cells are able to efficiently establish latent EBV infection. These data have important implications for both the cellular requirements necessary to sustain a stable EBV infection and for the possible role of CTL responses in controlling EBV infection of epithelial cells

  12. MEG and fMRI fusion for nonlinear estimation of neural and BOLD signal changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey M Plis

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The combined analysis of MEG/EEG and functional MRI measurements can lead to improvement in the description of the dynamical and spatial properties of brain activity. In this paper we empirically demonstrate this improvement using simulated and recorded task related MEG and fMRI activity. Neural activity estimates were derived using a dynamic Bayesian network with continuous real valued parameters by means of a sequential Monte Carlo technique. In synthetic data, we show that MEG and fMRI fusion improves estimation of the indirectly observed neural activity and smooths tracking of the BOLD response. In recordings of task related neural activity the combination of MEG and fMRI produces a result with greater SNR, that confirms the expectation arising from the nature of the experiment. The highly nonlinear model of the BOLD response poses a difficult inference problem for neural activity estimation; computational requirements are also high due to the time and space complexity. We show that joint analysis of the data improves the system's behavior by stabilizing the differential equations system and by requiring fewer computational resources.

  13. Biochemistry and biophysics of HIV-1 gp41 - membrane interactions and implications for HIV-1 envelope protein mediated viral-cell fusion and fusion inhibitor design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Lifeng; Gochin, Miriam; Liu, Keliang

    2011-12-01

    Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the pathogen of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), causes ~2 millions death every year and still defies an effective vaccine. HIV-1 infects host cells through envelope protein - mediated virus-cell fusion. The transmembrane subunit of envelope protein, gp41, is the molecular machinery which facilitates fusion. Its ectodomain contains several distinguishing functional domains, fusion peptide (FP), Nterminal heptad repeat (NHR), C-terminal heptad repeat (CHR) and membrane proximal extracellular region (MPER). During the fusion process, FP inserts into the host cell membrane, and an extended gp41 prehairpin conformation bridges the viral and cell membranes through MPER and FP respectively. Subsequent conformational change of the unstable prehairpin results in a coiled-coil 6-helix bundle (6HB) structure formed between NHR and CHR. The energetics of 6HB formation drives membrane apposition and fusion. Drugs targeting gp41 functional domains to prevent 6HB formation inhibit HIV-1 infection. T20 (enfuvirtide, Fuzeon) was approved by the US FDA in 2003 as the first fusion inhibitor. It is a 36-residue peptide from the gp41 CHR, and it inhibits 6HB formation by targeting NHR and lipids. Development of new fusion inhibitors, especially small molecule drugs, is encouraged to overcome the shortcomings of T20 as a peptide drug. Hydrophobic characteristics and membrane association are critical for gp41 function and mechanism of action. Research in gp41-membrane interactions, using peptides corresponding to specific functional domains, or constructs including several interactive domains, are reviewed here to get a better understanding of gp41 mediated virus-cell fusion that can inform or guide the design of new HIV-1 fusion inhibitors.

  14. Antigenicity of peptides comprising the immunosuppressive domain of the retroviral envelope glycoprotein [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bryony Jenkins

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available To achieve persistent infection of the host, viruses often subvert or suppress host immunity through mechanisms that are not entirely understood. The envelope glycoprotein of several retroviruses is thought to possess potent immunosuppressive activity, mapped to a 17-amino acid residue conserved domain. Synthetic peptides corresponding to this immunosuppressive domain can inhibit lymphocyte activation, whereas mutation of key domain residues can increase the lymphocyte response to linked antigenic epitopes. Using three T cell receptors (TCRs of defined specificity, we examine the effect of the immunosuppressive domain on the T cell response to their respective antigenic peptides. We find that fusion of a T cell epitope to the immunosuppressive domain can greatly modulate its potency. However, the effects heavily depend on the particular combination of TCR and peptide-major histocompatibility complex class II (pMHC II, and are mimicked by sequence-scrambled peptides of similar length, suggesting they operate at the level of TCR-pMHC interaction. These results offer an alternative explanation for the immunogenicity of T cell epitopes comprising the putative immunosuppressive domain, which is more consistent with an effect on peptide antigenicity than true immunosuppressive activity.

  15. Recombinant ESAT-6-CFP10 Fusion Protein Induction of Th1/Th2 Cytokines and FoxP3 Expressing Treg Cells in Pulmonary TB.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolly Jackson-Sillah

    Full Text Available Early secretory antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6 and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10 are Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb-specific antigens that are secreted by actively metabolising bacteria and contribute to the virulence of the bacteria. Their ability to induce Treg and Th2 responses, particularly during the first two weeks of treatment, has not been comprehensively examined to date. The purpose of this work was to characterise Th1, Th2 and Treg responses to rESAT-6-CFP10 fusion protein in TB patients before and during the intensive phase of treatment and in healthy M.bovis BCG vaccinated donors.Forty-six newly diagnosed, HIV-negative, smear-positive pulmonary TB patients and 20 healthy donors were recruited in the UK and Ghana. Their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC were used in ex vivo ELISPOT and in vitro cultures to identify immunological parameters of interest.The study confirmed that protective immune responses to rESAT-6-CFP10 are impaired in active TB but improved during treatment: circulating antigen-specific IL-4-producing T-cells were increased in untreated TB but declined by two weeks of treatment while the circulating antigen-specific IFN-γ producing T cells which showed a transient rise at one week of treatment, persisted at baseline levels at two months of treatment. In vitro T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production were reduced, while IL-4 and CD4(+FoxP3(+CD25(hi cell expression were increased in response to rESAT-6-CFP10 fusion protein in untreated TB. These responses were reversed during early treatment of TB.These observations support further investigations into the possible utility of these parameters as markers of active disease and favourable treatment outcomes.

  16. Recombinant ESAT-6-CFP10 Fusion Protein Induction of Th1/Th2 Cytokines and FoxP3 Expressing Treg Cells in Pulmonary TB.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson-Sillah, Dolly; Cliff, Jacqueline M; Mensah, Gloria Ivy; Dickson, Emmanuel; Sowah, Sandra; Tetteh, John K A; Addo, Kwasi K; Ottenhoff, Tom H M; Bothamley, Graham; Dockrell, Hazel M

    2013-01-01

    Early secretory antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10) are Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-specific antigens that are secreted by actively metabolising bacteria and contribute to the virulence of the bacteria. Their ability to induce Treg and Th2 responses, particularly during the first two weeks of treatment, has not been comprehensively examined to date. The purpose of this work was to characterise Th1, Th2 and Treg responses to rESAT-6-CFP10 fusion protein in TB patients before and during the intensive phase of treatment and in healthy M.bovis BCG vaccinated donors. Forty-six newly diagnosed, HIV-negative, smear-positive pulmonary TB patients and 20 healthy donors were recruited in the UK and Ghana. Their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were used in ex vivo ELISPOT and in vitro cultures to identify immunological parameters of interest. The study confirmed that protective immune responses to rESAT-6-CFP10 are impaired in active TB but improved during treatment: circulating antigen-specific IL-4-producing T-cells were increased in untreated TB but declined by two weeks of treatment while the circulating antigen-specific IFN-γ producing T cells which showed a transient rise at one week of treatment, persisted at baseline levels at two months of treatment. In vitro T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production were reduced, while IL-4 and CD4(+)FoxP3(+)CD25(hi) cell expression were increased in response to rESAT-6-CFP10 fusion protein in untreated TB. These responses were reversed during early treatment of TB. These observations support further investigations into the possible utility of these parameters as markers of active disease and favourable treatment outcomes.

  17. Clinicopathological and prognostic relevance of uptake level using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion imaging (18F-FDG PET/CT) in primary breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Shigeto; Tsuda, Hitoshi; Asakawa, Hideki

    2008-01-01

    Using integrated 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion imaging ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT), the clinical significance of 18 F-FDG uptake was evaluated in patients with primary breast cancer. Clinicopathological correlation with the level of maximum standardized uptake values (SUV) 60 min obtained from preoperative 18 F-FDG PET/CT were examined in 152 patients with primary breast cancer. The prognostic impact of the level of SUV was explored using simulated prognosis derived from computed program Adjuvant! in 136 (89%) patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). High SUV level was significantly correlated with tumor invasive size (≤2 cm) (P 18 F-FDG would be predictive of poor prognosis in patients with primary breast cancer, and aggressive features of cancer cells in patients with early breast cancer. 18 F-FDG PET/CT could be a useful tool to pretherapeutically predict biological characteristics and baseline risk of breast cancer. (author)

  18. Allergic aspergillosis and the antigens of Aspergillus fumigatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Bharat; Singh, Seema; Asif, Abdul R; Oellerich, Michael; Sharma, Gainda L

    2014-01-01

    Incidence of fungal infections has increased alarmingly in past few decades. Of the fungal pathogens, the Aspergillus fumigatus has been a major cause of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) which has five main stages--the acute, remission, exacerbation, glucocorticoid dependent and fibrotic stage. The diagnosis of ABPA remains difficult due to its overlapping clinical and radiological features with tuberculosis and cystic fibrosis. From past few decades, the crude fractions of A. fumigatus have been used for immunodiagnosis of ABPA. Most of the detection kits based on crude fractions of A. fumigatus are quite sensitive but have low specificity. Till date 21 known and 25 predicted allergens of A. fumigatus have been identified. Of these allergens, only five recombinants (rAsp f1-f4 and f6) are commercially used for diagnosis of allergic aspergillosis. Remaining allergens of A. fumigatus have been restricted for use in specific diagnosis of ABPA, due to sharing of common antigenic epitopes with other allergens. Complete sequencing of A. fumigatus genome identified 9926 genes and the reports on the proteome of A. fumigatus have shown the presence of large number of their corresponding proteins in the pathogen. The analysis of immunoproteomes developed from crude fractions of A. fumigatus by IgG/IgE reactivity with ABPA patients and animal sera have identified the panel of new antigens. A brief description on the current status of A. fumigatus antigens is provided in this review. The implementation of advance recombinant expression and peptidomic approaches on the A. fumigatus antigens may help in the selection of appropriate molecules for the development of tools for more specific early diagnosis of ABPA, and desensitization therapies for patients of allergic disorders.

  19. Role of interleukin-1 in antigen presentation by normal articular chondrocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiku, M.L.; Liu, S.; Tiku, K.

    1986-01-01

    Recently the authors have described that normal articular chondrocytes of rabbits present antigen to immune T cells. In the present study the authors investigated the role of interleukin-1 (IL-1) on antigen presentation by chondrocytes. For these experiments the antigen pulsed chondroyctes were either untreated or fixed with paraformaldehyde and then co-cultured with immune T cells. T cell proliferation was measured by 3 H-thymidine incorporation. Pulsed non-fixed chondrocytes presented antigen, as expected, but pulsed and fixed cells failed to present antigen to T cells. The 3 H-TdR incorporation was partially restored by addition of purified human IL-1. Next, IL-1 activity was measured in primary chondrocyte culture supernatants stimulated with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in comitogen thymocyte assay. No activity was detected in chondrocyte supernatants. Propagated chondrocyte culture supernatants also lacked IL-1 activity when stimulated with LPS in the presence of increasing concentration of indomethacin. On the other hand the authors observed that chondrocyte culture supernatants in a dose dependent manner inhibited human IL-1 induced 3 H-TdR incorporation of murine thymocytes. This suggested that these cells may produce an inhibitor of IL-1 and IL-1 production by chondrocytes may be essential for T cell proliferation by these cells. Inability to detect IL-1 in chondrocyte supernatants may be due to the presence of an inhibitor to IL-1. These findings may help in elucidating the immunological mechanisms in situations where chondrocytes and T cell interact, such as in arthritis

  20. In-pile Tritium Permeation through F82H Steel with and without a Ceramic Coating of Cr2O3-SiO2 Including CrPO4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamichi, M.; Hayashi, K.; Kulsartov, T.V.; Afanasyev, S.E.; Shestakov, V.P.; Chikhray, Y.V.; Kenzhin, E.A.; Kolbaenkov, A.N.

    2006-01-01

    Development of coating on blanket structural materials with significant reduction capability of tritium permeation is highly required in order to realize a reasonable design of a tritium recovery and processing system of demonstration (DEMO) fusion reactors. An effective coating has been developed in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) using a ceramic material of Cr 2 O 3 -SiO 2 including CrPO 4 . In previous out-of-pile deuterium permeation experiments at 600 o C [T.V. Kulsartov et al., Fusion Eng. Des. 81 (2006) 701], a significant permeation reduction factor (PFR) of about 300 was obtained for the coating on the inner-side surface of tubular diffusion cells made by ferritic steel (F82H). In the present study, in-pile experiments on tritium permeation were conducted for F82H steel with and without the same coating, using a testing reactor IGV-1M in Kazakhstan. The tritium source used was liquid lithium-lead eutectics, Pb17Li, which was poured into a space around a tubular diffusion cell (specimen) of F82H steel with or without the coating on the inner side the cell. The irradiation time was about 4 hours, which corresponds to a fast-neuron fluence of about 2x10 21 m -2 (E > 1.1 MeV). The permeation reduction factor (PRF) was obtained by comparison of kinetics curves of tritium permeation through the diffusion cell of F82H steel with and without the coating. The PRFs at 600 and 500 o C were 292 and 30, respectively. These values are close to corresponding PRF values of 307 and 45, which had been obtained at 600 and 500 o C, respectively, in the previous out-of-pile experiments [T.V. Kulsartov et al., Fusion Eng. Des. 81 (2006) 701]. (author)

  1. P2X1 Receptor Antagonists Inhibit HIV-1 Fusion by Blocking Virus-Coreceptor Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giroud, Charline; Marin, Mariana; Hammonds, Jason; Spearman, Paul; Melikyan, Gregory B

    2015-09-01

    HIV-1 Env glycoprotein-mediated fusion is initiated upon sequential binding of Env to CD4 and the coreceptor CXCR4 or CCR5. Whereas these interactions are thought to be necessary and sufficient to promote HIV-1 fusion, other host factors can modulate this process. Previous studies reported potent inhibition of HIV-1 fusion by selective P2X1 receptor antagonists, including NF279, and suggested that these receptors play a role in HIV-1 entry. Here we investigated the mechanism of antiviral activity of NF279 and found that this compound does not inhibit HIV-1 fusion by preventing the activation of P2X1 channels but effectively blocks the binding of the virus to CXCR4 or CCR5. The notion of an off-target effect of NF279 on HIV-1 fusion is supported by the lack of detectable expression of P2X1 receptors in cells used in fusion experiments and by the fact that the addition of ATP or the enzymatic depletion of ATP in culture medium does not modulate viral fusion. Importantly, NF279 fails to inhibit HIV-1 fusion with cell lines and primary macrophages when added at an intermediate stage downstream of Env-CD4-coreceptor engagement. Conversely, in the presence of NF279, HIV-1 fusion is arrested downstream of CD4 binding but prior to coreceptor engagement. NF279 also antagonizes the signaling function of CCR5, CXCR4, and another chemokine receptor, as evidenced by the suppression of calcium responses elicited by specific ligands and by recombinant gp120. Collectively, our results demonstrate that NF279 is a dual HIV-1 coreceptor inhibitor that interferes with the functional engagement of CCR5 and CXCR4 by Env. Inhibition of P2X receptor activity suppresses HIV-1 fusion and replication, suggesting that P2X signaling is involved in HIV-1 entry. However, mechanistic experiments conducted in this study imply that P2X1 receptor is not expressed in target cells or involved in viral fusion. Instead, we found that inhibition of HIV-1 fusion by a specific P2X1 receptor antagonist, NF

  2. Duration of 18F-FDG avidity in lymph nodes after pandemic H1N1v and seasonal influenza vaccination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomassen, Anders; Lerberg Nielsen, Anne; Gerke, Oke; Johansen, Allan; Petersen, Henrik

    2011-01-01

    The aim of our study was to investigate the occurrence of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity in draining axillary lymph nodes after vaccination against influenza (H1N1v pandemic and seasonal) and to determine the period of increased FDG uptake. During December 2009, patients referred for 18 F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scans (n = 293) filled in a questionnaire concerning vaccination type (seasonal and/or H1N1v), time and anatomical localization of vaccination. Only injections in deltoid regions were evaluated, thus ensuring that draining lymph nodes were axillary. If more vaccinations had been given, only the latest vaccination was evaluated in each deltoid region. Of all patients who underwent PET/CT scans during December 2009, 26% had been vaccinated with at least one influenza vaccination in the deltoid region. A total of 92 'draining' and 60 'reference' (i.e. contralateral, non-vaccinated) axillary lymph nodes were evaluated in 61 patients (19 of 61 patients were scanned twice). The maximal intensity in FDG uptake (SUV max ) in draining lymph nodes was 5 g/ml body weight (BW), whereas the maximal intensity in reference lymph nodes was 1.9 g/ml BW. The SUV max was normalized approximately 40 days after vaccination. No significant enlargement of metabolically active draining lymph nodes could be demonstrated on CT scan. Chemotherapy or immunosuppressive drugs given within 2 weeks from vaccination did not affect SUV max in the axillary lymph nodes. Influenza vaccination may lead to FDG-avid draining lymph nodes beyond 1 month. (orig.)

  3. Ablation of human colon carcinoma in nude mice by 131I-labeled monoclonal anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibody F(ab')2 fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buchegger, F.; Pfister, C.; Fournier, K.; Prevel, F.; Schreyer, M.; Carrel, S.; Mach, J.P.

    1989-01-01

    Pooled F(ab')2 fragments of three MAbs against distinct epitopes of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were used for radioimmunotherapy of nude mice bearing a subcutaneous human colon carcinoma xenograft. 9-10 d after transplantation when tumor nodules were in exponential growth, 36 mice were treated by intravenous injection of different amounts of 131 I-labeled MAb F(ab')2. All 14 mice injected with a single dose of 2,200 (n = 10) or 2,800 microCi (n = 4) showed complete tumor remission. 8 of the 10 mice treated with 2,200 microCi survived in good health for 1 yr when they were killed and shown to be tumor free. Four of nine other mice treated with four fractionated doses of 400 microCi showed no tumor relapse for more than 9 mo. In contrast, all 15 mice injected with 1,600-3,000 microCi 131 I-control IgG F(ab')2 showed tumor growth retardation of only 1-4 wk, and 15 of 16 mice injected with unlabeled anti-CEA MAb F(ab')2 showed unmodified tumor progression as compared with untreated mice. From tissue radioactivity distributions it was calculated that by an injection of 2,200 microCi 131 I-MAb F(ab')2 a mean dose of 8,335 rad was selectively delivered to the tumor, while the tissue-absorbed radiation doses for the normal organs were: peripheral blood, 2,093; stomach, 1,668; kidney, 1,289; lung, 1,185; liver, 617; spleen, 501; small intestine, 427; large intestine, 367; bone, 337; and muscle, 198. These treatments were well tolerated since out of 19 mice with complete tumor remission only 4 required bone marrow transplantation and 17 were in good health for 6-12 mo of observation

  4. High throughput production of mouse monoclonal antibodies using antigen microarrays

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    De Masi, Federico; Chiarella, P.; Wilhelm, H.

    2005-01-01

    Recent advances in proteomics research underscore the increasing need for high-affinity monoclonal antibodies, which are still generated with lengthy, low-throughput antibody production techniques. Here we present a semi-automated, high-throughput method of hybridoma generation and identification....... Monoclonal antibodies were raised to different targets in single batch runs of 6-10 wk using multiplexed immunisations, automated fusion and cell-culture, and a novel antigen-coated microarray-screening assay. In a large-scale experiment, where eight mice were immunized with ten antigens each, we generated...

  5. Biophysical characterization of V3-lipopeptide liposomes influencing HIV-1 infectivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizos, Apostolos K.; Baritaki, Stavroula; Tsikalas, Ioannis; Doetschman, David C.; Spandidos, Demetrios A.; Krambovitis, Elias

    2007-01-01

    The V3-loop of the HIV-1 gp120 alters host cell immune function and modulates infectivity. We investigated biophysical parameters of liposome constructs with embedded lipopeptides from the principle neutralizing domain of the V3-loop and their influence on viral infectivity. Dynamic light scattering measurements showed liposome supramolecular structures with hydrodynamic radius of the order of 900 and 1300 nm for plain and V3-lipopeptide liposomes. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements showed almost identical local microenvironment. The difference in liposome hydrodynamic radius was attributed to the fluctuating ionic environment of the V3-lipopeptide liposomes. In vitro HIV-1 infectivity assays showed that plain liposomes reduced virus production in all cell cultures, probably due to the hydrophobic nature of the aggregates. Liposomes carrying V3-lipopeptides with different cationic potentials restored and even enhanced infectivity (p < 0.05). These results highlight the need for elucidation of the involvement of lipid bilayers as dynamic components in supramolecular structures and in HIV-1 fusion mechanisms

  6. A critical analysis of the majority judgment in F v Minister of Safety ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The majority judgment of Mogoeng CJ in F v Minister of Safety and Security 2012 1 ... norms now play an important role in deciding questions of vicarious liability. ... the conduct of the employee wrongdoer and the business of his employer as ...

  7. 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...

  8. Detection of 22 common leukemic fusion genes using a single-step multiplex qRT-PCR-based assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyu, Xiaodong; Wang, Xianwei; Zhang, Lina; Chen, Zhenzhu; Zhao, Yu; Hu, Jieying; Fan, Ruihua; Song, Yongping

    2017-07-25

    Fusion genes generated from chromosomal translocation play an important role in hematological malignancies. Detection of fusion genes currently employ use of either conventional RT-PCR methods or fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), where both methods involve tedious methodologies and require prior characterization of chromosomal translocation events as determined by cytogenetic analysis. In this study, we describe a real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR)-based multi-fusion gene screening method with the capacity to detect 22 fusion genes commonly found in leukemia. This method does not require pre-characterization of gene translocation events, thereby facilitating immediate diagnosis and therapeutic management. We performed fluorescent qRT-PCR (F-qRT-PCR) using a commercially-available multi-fusion gene detection kit on a patient cohort of 345 individuals comprising 108 cases diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for initial evaluation; remaining patients within the cohort were assayed for confirmatory diagnosis. Results obtained by F-qRT-PCR were compared alongside patient analysis by cytogenetic characterization. Gene translocations detected by F-qRT-PCR in AML cases were diagnosed in 69.4% of the patient cohort, which was comparatively similar to 68.5% as diagnosed by cytogenetic analysis, thereby demonstrating 99.1% concordance. Overall gene fusion was detected in 53.7% of the overall patient population by F-qRT-PCR, 52.9% by cytogenetic prediction in leukemia, and 9.1% in non-leukemia patients by both methods. The overall concordance rate was calculated to be 99.0%. Fusion genes were detected by F-qRT-PCR in 97.3% of patients with CML, followed by 69.4% with AML, 33.3% with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 9.1% with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and 0% with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We describe the use of a F-qRT-PCR-based multi-fusion gene screening method as an efficient one-step diagnostic procedure as an

  9. Fusion reactor problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carruthers, R.

    It is pointed out that plasma parameters for a fusion reactor have been fairly accurately defined for many years, and the real plasma physics objective must be to find the means of achieving and maintaining these specifiable parameters. There is good understanding of the generic technological problems: breading blankets and shields, radiation damage, heat transfer and methods of magnet design. The required plasma parameters for fusion self-heated reactors are established at ntausub(E) approximately 2.10 14 cm -3 sec, plasma radius 1.5 to 3 m, wall loading 5 to 10 MW cm -2 , temperature 15 keV. Within this model plasma control by quasi-steady burn as a key problem is studied. It is emphasized that the future programme must interact more closely with engineering studies and should concentrate upon research which is relevant to reactor plasmas. (V.P.)

  10. Fusion at counterstreaming ion beams - ion optic fusion (IOF)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gryzinski, M.

    1981-01-01

    The results of investigation are briefly reviewed in the field of ion optic fusion performed at the Institute of Nuclear Research in Swierk. The ion optic fusion concept is based on the possibility of obtaining fusion energy at highly ordered motion of ions in counterstreaming ion beams. For this purpose TW ion beams must be produced and focused. To produce dense and charge-neutralized ion beams the selective conductivity and ballistic focusing ideas were formulated and used in a series of RPI devices with low-pressure cylindrical discharge between grid-type electrodes. 100 kA, 30 keV deuteron beams were successfully produced and focused into the volume of 1 cm 3 , yielding 10 9 neutrons per 200 ns shot on a heavy ice target. Cylindrically convergent ion beams with magnetic anti-defocusing were proposed in order to reach a positive energy gain at reasonable energy level. (J.U.)

  11. ELISA quantification of CCI-103F binding in canine tumors prior to and during irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thrall, D.E.; McEntee, M.C.; Cline, J.M.; Raleigh, J.A.

    1994-01-01

    The purpose of this work was to evaluate injections of CCI-103F, a marker of hypoxia, as a method to quantify alterations in tumor hypoxia during irradiation. Twelve dogs with spontaneous solid tumors were given intravenous CCI-103F, and tumor biopsies were taken at various times after injection. CCI-103F antigen concentration was quantified by ELISA. Four of the dogs were given one injection of CCI-103F, and the other eight received two injections. In dogs receiving two injections, CCI-103F was administered before irradiation and 7 days later, following a total dose of 15.0 Gy. Plasma CCI-103F pharmacokinetics were assessed in dogs receiving two injections. CCI-103F antigen was detectable in the initial biopsy in each of the four dogs receiving one injection, and the amount of detectable antigen decreased in subsequent biopsies with an initial half life of approximately 19 h. This suggests that multiple injections of CCI-103F could be used in the same subject to monitor tumor hypoxia as a function of time or during a course of treatment. In the eight dogs receiving two injections of CCI-103F, the CCI-103F antigen concentration in the 24 h samples ranged from 4.66-151.9 μmole CCI-103F antigen/kg tumor, a difference of a factor of approximately 33. The ratio of maximum to minimum concentration of CCI-103F antigen in 51 paired biopsy samples ranged from 1.01-4.07, with a mean of 1.67. Seventy-five percent of the ratios were ≤ 2.02. There was no apparent relationship between the magnitude of the ratio, i.e., intratumoral variation, and tumor volume or the absolute tumor concentration of CCI-103F antigen in dogs given two injections of CCI-103F was consistent with little change in pretreatment oxygen status in six dogs, and an increase in tumor oxygenation in two dogs. It appears possible to obtain an estimate of the change in tumor hypoxia over time by assaying biopsies for CCI-103F concentration. 31 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs

  12. Evaporation residue excitation function measurement for 19F + 194,198Pt reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Varinderjit; Behera, B.R.; Kaur, Maninder

    2012-01-01

    Nuclear dissipation is one of the active fields in the present day nuclear physics research. Experimental signatures for dissipation are observed through large excess in pre-fission neutrons, γ-ray multiplicities from the compound nucleus, giant dipole resonance (GDR) γ-rays, light charged particles and evaporation residues in comparison to standard statistical model, for the heavy-ion induced fusion-fission or fusion-evaporation reactions (ERs). From the analysis of a large set of experimental data, it is well established that there exists a large dissipation at nuclear temperature above 1 MeV. But most of these probes are not sensitive to the dissipation within saddle. The ER cross-section is a probe which is sensitive to dissipation within the saddle point. Hence, the study of ER cross-section can be helpful in estimating the dissipation effects inside the saddle point. Also the other motivation for these measurements is to see the effect of shell closure on dissipation. With this motivation the evaporation cross-sections for 19 F + 194,198 Pt are measured at beam energy of 101 to 137.3 MeV. Of the above systems 19 F + 194 Pt populates 213 Fr (N = 126) shell closed compound nucleus (CN) whereas, other system populate 217 Fr (N = 130) non-shell closed CN

  13. Conceptual design of compact heavy-ion inertial fusion driver with an r.f. LINAC with high acceleration rate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hattori, T.; Sasa, K.; Okamura, M.; Ito, T.; Tomizawa, H.; Katayose, T.; Hayashizaki, N.; Yoshida, T.; Isokawa, K.; Aoki, M.; Fujita, N.; Okada, M.

    1996-01-01

    The interdigital-H-type (IH) linear accelerator (LINAC) is well known for its high shunt impedance at low and medium particle velocities. Therefore, it can be used to operate efficiently with a high acceleration gradient. The IH LINAC cavity is able to generate 10 MV m -1 (average acceleration gradient) with focusing of the particles by a superconducting solenoid and quadrupole. The LINAC can accelerate particles with a charge to mass ratio (q/A) greater than 1/250 from 0.3 MeV a.m.u. -1 . In a compact heavy-ion inertial fusion driver design, the total effective length of the IH LINAC cavities is about 1250 m. (orig.)

  14. Anti-liver-kidney microsome antibody type 1 recognizes human cytochrome P450 db1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gueguen, M; Yamamoto, A M; Bernard, O; Alvarez, F

    1989-03-15

    Anti-liver-kidney microsome antibody type 1 (LKM1), present in the sera of a group of children with autoimmune hepatitis, was recently shown to recognize a 50 kDa protein identified as rat liver cytochromes P450 db1 and db2. High homology between these two members of the rat P450 IID subfamily and human P450 db1 suggested that anti-LKM1 antibody is directed against this human protein. To test this hypothesis, a human liver cDNA expression library in phage lambda GT-11 was screened using rat P450 db1 cDNA as a probe. Two human cDNA clones were found to be identical to human P450 db1 by restriction mapping. Immunoblot analysis using as antigen, the purified fusion protein from one of the human cDNA clones showed that only anti-LKM1 with anti-50 kDa reactivity recognized the fusion protein. This fusion protein was further used to develop an ELISA test that was shown to be specific for sera of children with this disease. These results: 1) identify the human liver antigen recognized by anti-LKM1 auto-antibodies as cytochrome P450 db1, 2) allow to speculate that mutation on the human P450 db1 gene could alter its expression in the hepatocyte and make it auto-antigenic, 3) provide a simple and specific diagnostic test for this disease.

  15. Cold nuclear fusion device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogino, Shinji.

    1991-01-01

    Selection of cathode material is a key to the attainment of cold nuclear fusion. However, there are only few reports on the cathode material at present and an effective development has been demanded. The device comprises an anode and a cathode and an electrolytic bath having metal salts dissolved therein and containing heavy water in a glass container. The anode is made of gold or platinum and the cathode is made of metals of V, Sr, Y, Nb, Hf or Ta, and a voltage of 3-25V is applied by way of a DC power source between them. The metal comprising V, Sr, Y, Nb, Hf or Ta absorbs deuterium formed by electrolysis of heavy water effectively to cause nuclear fusion reaction at substantially the same frequency and energy efficiency as palladium and titanium. Accordingly, a cold nuclear fusion device having high nuclear fusion generation frequency can be obtained. (N.H.)

  16. Dissociative scattering of low-energy SiF{sub 3}{sup +} and SiF{sup +} ions (5-200 eV) on Cu(100) surface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Baba, Yuji; Sasaki, T A [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1997-03-01

    Dissociative scattering of molecular SiF{sub 3}{sup +} and SiF{sup +} ions from a Cu(100) single crystal surface has been investigated in the incident energy range from 5 eV to 200 eV with a scattering angle of 77deg. The scattered ion intensity of dissociative ions and parent molecular ions were measured as a function of incident ion energy. The observed data show that onset energies of dissociation for SiF{sub 3}{sup +} and SiF{sup +} ions are 30 eV and 40 eV, respectively. The obtained threshold energies are consistent with a impulsive collision model where the dissociation of incident ion is caused by vibrational excitation during collision. (author)

  17. Effects of 3.1-MeV proton and 1-GeV Au-ion irradiation on the magnetic flux noise and critical current of YBa2Cu3O7-δ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaw, T.J.; Clarke, J.; van Dover, R.B.; Schneemeyer, L.F.; White, A.E.

    1996-01-01

    We have used a dc superconducting quantum interference device to measure the spectral density of magnetic flux noise, S Φ (f), generated by vortex motion in crystals of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (YBCO) both before and after irradiation with 3.1-MeV protons and 1-GeV Au ions. In addition, we have studied the effects of irradiation on the critical current J c of the same samples. Both types of irradiation reduced S Φ (f) at most temperatures and magnetic fields and increased J c at all temperatures and magnetic fields. By measuring S Φ (f) versus temperature, we extract the distribution of vortex pinning energies, D(U 0 ). Both crystals have peaks in D(U 0 ) near 0.1 eV and 0.2 eV before irradiation, and a much reduced peak near 0.1 eV after irradiation. The noise level after either kind of irradiation was substantially higher than in an unirradiated YBCO film. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  18. Stochastic dynamics: Crossover from 1/f3 to flicker noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canessa, E.; Nguyen, V.L.

    1993-01-01

    Finite time processes within the limits of the Newton equation and zero inertia motion (i.e., road to chaos) are studied by numerically solving the ordinary, stochastic Langevin equation in 1D for a free particle with inertial moving in a medium with viscosity γ. In this simulations, the scaling behaviour of particle trajectories χ(t) and velocities v(t) with time are derived and the inclusion of non-zero particle masses is shown to define the asymptotic time limit τ c at which - independently of γ - the system evolves into the well-known statistically stationary state characterized by 2 (t) > is proportional to t and flicker noise. The time τ c is further analysed from the correlation length given by the 2-point autocorrelation function of the particle velocity at each value of γ. It is found that the noise power spectrum of v(t) is characterized by flicker noise for frequencies ff c ∼ 1/τ c , whereas for f > f c , the noise power spectra behave as 1/f υ , where υ varies between the limits of Newton's equation (i.e., υ = 3) and road to chaos (i.e., υ = 1). Furthermore, at times τ c and 0 f (γ) while the single particle trajectories are shown to display a rather different subset of exponents on increasing γ. Generic features of this transition are nicely given by Poincare maps in the velocity space. (author). 23 refs, 8 figs

  19. Characterization of a deuterium-deuterium plasma fusion neutron generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, R. F.; Pienaar, J.; Hogenbirk, E.; Masson, D.; Nolte, R.; Zimbal, A.; Röttger, S.; Benabderrahmane, M. L.; Bruno, G.

    2018-01-01

    We characterize the neutron output of a deuterium-deuterium plasma fusion neutron generator, model 35-DD-W-S, manufactured by NSD/Gradel-Fusion. The measured energy spectrum is found to be dominated by neutron peaks at 2.2 MeV and 2.7 MeV. A detailed GEANT4 simulation accurately reproduces the measured energy spectrum and confirms our understanding of the fusion process in this generator. Additionally, a contribution of 14 . 1 MeV neutrons from deuterium-tritium fusion is found at a level of 3 . 5%, from tritium produced in previous deuterium-deuterium reactions. We have measured both the absolute neutron flux as well as its relative variation on the operational parameters of the generator. We find the flux to be proportional to voltage V 3 . 32 ± 0 . 14 and current I 0 . 97 ± 0 . 01. Further, we have measured the angular dependence of the neutron emission with respect to the polar angle. We conclude that it is well described by isotropic production of neutrons within the cathode field cage.

  20. A novel strategy for efficient production of anti-V3 human scFvs against HIV-1 clade C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumar Rajesh

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Production of human monoclonal antibodies that exhibit broadly neutralizing activity is needed for preventing HIV-1 infection, however only a few such antibodies have been generated till date. Isolation of antibodies by the hybridoma technology is a cumbersome process with fewer yields. Further, the loss of unstable or slowly growing clones which may have unique binding specificities often occurs during cloning and propagation and the strongly positive clones are often lost. This has been avoided by the process described in this paper, wherein, by combining the strategy of EBV transformation and recombinant DNA technology, we constructed human single chain variable fragments (scFvs against the third variable region (V3 of the clade C HIV-1 envelope. Results An antigen specific phage library of 7000 clones was constructed from the enriched V3- positive antibody secreting EBV transformed cells. By ligation of the digested scFv DNA into phagemid vector and bio panning against the HIV-1 consensus C and B V3 peptides followed by random selection of 40 clones, we identified 15 clones that showed V3 reactivity in phage ELISA. DNA fingerprinting analysis and sequencing showed that 13 out of the 15 clones were distinct. Expression of the positive clones was tested by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. All the 13 anti-V3 scFvs showed cross-reactivity against both the clade C and B V3 peptides and did not show any reactivity against other unrelated peptides in ELISA. Preliminary neutralization assays indicated varying degrees of neutralization of clade C and B viruses. EBV transformation, followed by antigen selection of lines to identify specific binders, enabled the selection of phage from un-cloned lines for scFv generation, thus avoiding the problems of hybridoma technology. Moreover, as the clones were pretested for antigen binding, a comparatively small library sufficed for the selection of a considerable number of unique antigen binding

  1. The anti-HIV-1 effect of scutellarin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Gaohong; Wang Qian; Chen Jijun; Zhang Xuemei; Tam, S.-C.; Zheng Yongtang

    2005-01-01

    Scutellarin was purified from the plant Erigeron breviscapus (Vant.) Hand.-Mazz. The activity against 3 strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was determined in vitro in this study. These were laboratory-derived virus (HIV-1 IIIB ), drug-resistant virus (HIV-1 74V ), and low-passage clinical isolated virus (HIV-1 KM018 ). From syncytia inhibition study, the EC 50 of scutellarin against HIV-1 IIIB direct infection in C8166 cells was 26 μM with a therapeutic index of 36. When the mode of infection changed from acute infection to cell-to-cell infection, this compound became even more potent and the EC 50 reduced to 15 μM. This suggested that cell fusion might be affected by this compound. By comparing the inhibitory effects on p24 antigen, scutellarin was also found to be active against HIV-1 74V (EC 50 253 μM) and HIV-1 KM018 (EC 50 136 μM) infection with significant difference in potency. The mechanism of its action was also explored in this study. At a concentration of 433 μM, scutellarin inhibited 48% of the cell free recombinant HIV-1 RT activity. It also caused 82% inhibition of HIV-1 particle attachment and 45% inhibition of fusion at the concentrations of 54 μM. In summary, scutellarin was found to inhibit several strains of HIV-1 replication with different potencies. It appeared to inhibit HIV-1 RT activity, HIV-1 particle attachment and cell fusion. These are essential activities for viral transmission and replication

  2. Human Tumor Antigens Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finn, Olivera J

    2017-05-01

    The question of whether human tumors express antigens that can be recognized by the immune system has been answered with a resounding YES. Most were identified through spontaneous antitumor humoral and cellular immune responses found in cancer patients and include peptides, glycopeptides, phosphopeptides, viral peptides, and peptides resulting from common mutations in oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes, or common gene fusion events. Many have been extensively tested as candidates for anticancer vaccines. More recently, attention has been focused on the potentially large number of unique tumor antigens, mutated neoantigens, that are the predicted products of the numerous mutations revealed by exome sequencing of primary tumors. Only a few have been confirmed as targets of spontaneous immunity and immunosurveillance, and even fewer have been tested in preclinical and clinical settings. The field has been divided for a long time on the relative importance of shared versus mutated antigens in tumor surveillance and as candidates for vaccines. This question will eventually need to be answered in a head to head comparison in well-designed clinical trials. One advantage that shared antigens have over mutated antigens is their potential to be used in vaccines for primary cancer prevention. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(5); 347-54. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

  3. Sequential evaluation of prostate edema after permanent seed prostate brachytherapy using CT-MRI fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taussky, Daniel; Austen, Lyn; Toi, Ants; Yeung, Ivan; Williams, Theresa; Pearson, Shannon; McLean, Michael; Pond, Gregory; Crook, Juanita

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: To analyze the extent and time course of prostate edema and its effect on dosimetry after permanent seed prostate brachytherapy. Methods and Materials: Twenty patients scheduled for permanent seed 125 I prostate brachytherapy agreed to a prospective study on postimplant edema. Implants were preplanned using transrectal ultrasonography. Postimplant dosimetry was calculated using computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (CT-MRI) fusion on the day of the implant (Day 1) and Days 8 and 30. The prostate was contoured on MRI, and the seeds were located on CT. Factors investigated for an influence on edema were the number of seeds and needles, preimplant prostate volume, transitional zone index (transition zone volume divided by prostate volume), age, and prostate-specific antigen level. Prostate dosimetry was evaluated by the percentage of the prostate volume receiving 100% of the prescribed dose (V 100 ) and percentage of prescribed dose received by 90% of the prostate volume (D 90 ). Results: Prostate edema was maximal on Day 1, with the median prostate volume 31% greater than preimplant transrectal ultrasound volume (range, 0.93-1.72; p 100 on Day 1 was 93.6% (range, 86.0-98.2%) and was 96.3% (range, 85.7-99.5%) on Day 30 (p = 0.079). Patients with a Day 1 V 100 >93% were less affected by edema resolution, showing a median increase in V 100 of 0.67% on Day 30 compared with 2.77% for patients with a V 100 100 >93%)

  4. Fusion evaporation-residue cross sections for 28Si+40Ca at E(28Si)=309, 397, and 452 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vineyard, M.F.; Bauer, J.S.; Crum, J.F.; Gosdin, C.H.; Trotter, R.S.; Kovar, D.G.; Beck, C.; Henderson, D.J.; Janssens, R.V.F.; Wilkins, B.D.; Maguire, C.F.; Mateja, J.F.; Prosser, F.W.; Stephans, G.S.F.

    1992-01-01

    Velocity distributions of mass-identified evaporation residues produced in the 28 Si+ 40 Ca reaction have been measured at bombarding energies of 309, 397, and 452 MeV using time-of-flight techniques. These distributions were used to identify evaporation residues and to separate the complete-fusion and incomplete-fusion components. Angular distributions and upper limits for the total evaporation-residue and complete-fusion evaporation-residue cross sections were extracted at all three bombarding energies. The complete-fusion evaporation-residue cross sections and the deduced critical angular momenta are compared with earlier measurements and the predictions of existing models. The ratios of the complete-fusion evaporation-residue cross section to the total evaporation-residue cross section, along with those measured for the 28 Si+ 12 C and 28 Si+ 28 Si systems at the same energies, support the entrance-channel mass-asymmetry dependence of the incomplete-fusion evaporation-residue process reported earlier

  5. Phylodynamics of HIV-1 subtype F1 in Angola, Brazil and Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bello, Gonzalo; Afonso, Joana Morais; Morgado, Mariza G

    2012-07-01

    The HIV-1 subtype F1 is exceptionally prevalent in Angola, Brazil and Romania. The epidemiological context in which the spread of HIV occurred was highly variable from one country to another, mainly due to the existence of a long-term civil war in Angola and the contamination of a large number of children in Romania. Here we apply phylogenetic and Bayesian coalescent-based methods to reconstruct the phylodynamic patterns of HIV-1 subtype F1 in such different epidemiological settings. The phylogenetic analyses of HIV-1 subtype F1 pol sequences sampled worldwide confirmed that most sequences from Angola, Brazil and Romania segregated in country-specific monophyletic groups, while most subtype F1 sequences from Romanian children branched as a monophyletic sub-cluster (Romania-CH) nested within sequences from adults. The inferred time of the most recent common ancestor of the different subtype F1 clades were as follow: Angola=1983 (1978-1989), Brazil=1977 (1972-1981), Romania adults=1980 (1973-1987), and Romania-CH=1985 (1978-1989). All subtype F1 clades showed a demographic history best explained by a model of logistic population growth. Although the expansion phase of subtype F1 epidemic in Angola (mid 1980s to early 2000s) overlaps with the civil war period (1975-2002), the mean estimated growth rate of the Angolan F1 clade (0.49 year(-1)) was not exceptionally high, but quite similar to that estimated for the Brazilian (0.69 year(-1)) and Romanian adult (0.36 year(-1)) subtype F1 clades. The Romania-CH subtype F1 lineage, by contrast, displayed a short and explosive dissemination phase, with a median growth rate (2.47 year(-1)) much higher than that estimated for adult populations. This result supports the idea that the AIDS epidemic that affected the Romanian children was mainly caused by the spread of the HIV through highly efficient parenteral transmission networks, unlike adult populations where HIV is predominantly transmitted through sexual route. Copyright

  6. Establishment of immunoradiometric assay for free prostate-specific antigen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Lianxue

    2009-01-01

    An immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) of free prostate specific antigen (F-PSA) in serum was established. One monoclonal antibody against total PSA (T-PSA) was coated on the plastic tubes, the other against F-PSA was labeled with 125 I. The sensitivity of assay was 0.04 μg/L (n=20, +2s), the CVs were 2.9%-4.0% for the intra-assay and 3.5%-10.5% for the inter-assay and the average recovery was 102.7%. The correlative equation comparing with the FPSA-RIA (CIS BIO) is y=0.965 1 χ -0.001 1, and r=0.996 4. This F-PSA IRMA is a sensitive and precise method in detecting F-PSA and fit for the vitro assay. (authors)

  7. The effects of 500 keV electron irradiation and subsequent annealing on 1/f noise in copper films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pelz, J.; Clarke, J.

    1986-01-01

    Polycrystalline copper films were maintained at 90K on the cold stage of an electron microscope and irradiated with 500keV electrons to induce defects. With an electron dose of about 5 x 10 20 cm -2 , the spectral density of the noise voltage across the films increased by an order of magnitude while the electrical resistivity increased by at most 10%. The films were annealed at progressively higher temperatures; after each annealing process the 1/f noise and resistivity were remeasured at 90K. Both the 1/f noise and resistivity were reduced, but at the lower annealing temperatures the fractional reduction in the added noise was substantially more than in the added resistivity. These results suggest that a large fraction of the added noise may be generated by a small mobile fraction of the added defects that are more readily annealed than the majority of the defects. After a room temperature annealing process, both the noise and resistivity returned nearly to their initial values. The temperature dependence of the noise after irradiation and partial annealing was consistent with the Dutta-Dimon-Horn thermal activation model. (Auth.)

  8. Mitochondrial fusion is increased by the nuclear coactivator PGC-1beta.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Liesa

    Full Text Available There is no evidence to date on whether transcriptional regulators are able to shift the balance between mitochondrial fusion and fission events through selective control of gene expression.Here, we demonstrate that reduced mitochondrial size observed in knock-out mice for the transcriptional regulator PGC-1beta is associated with a selective reduction in Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2 expression, a mitochondrial fusion protein. This decrease in Mfn2 is specific since expression of the remaining components of mitochondrial fusion and fission machinery were not affected. Furthermore, PGC-1beta increases mitochondrial fusion and elongates mitochondrial tubules. This PGC-1beta-induced elongation specifically requires Mfn2 as this process is absent in Mfn2-ablated cells. Finally, we show that PGC-1beta increases Mfn2 promoter activity and transcription by coactivating the nuclear receptor Estrogen Related Receptor alpha (ERRalpha.Taken together, our data reveal a novel mechanism by which mammalian cells control mitochondrial fusion. In addition, we describe a novel role of PGC-1beta in mitochondrial physiology, namely the control of mitochondrial fusion mainly through Mfn2.

  9. Appi - tarbijast võlgnik kolis välismaale! : kommentaar Riigikohtu lahenditele asjades 3-2-1-114-12 ja 3-2-1-123-12 / Karin Sein

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Sein, Karin, 1974-

    2013-01-01

    Riigikohtu lahendist 3-2-1-114-12, milles vaieldi füüsilisest isikust võlgniku pankroti väljakuulutamise kohtualluvuse üle. Lahendist 3-2-1-123-12, milles vaieldi, kas ja millistel tingimustel on Eesti kohus pädev läbi vaatama hagi Eestist lahkunud tarbijast krediidisaaja vastu

  10. Fusion plasma physics research on the H-1 national facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, J.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: Australia has a highly leveraged fusion plasma research program centred on the H-1 National Facility device at the ANU. H-1 is a heliac, a novel helical axis stellarator that was experimentally pioneered in Australia, but has a close correlation with the worldwide research program on toroidal confinement of fusion grade plasma. Experiments are conducted on H-1 by university researchers from the Australian Fusion Research Group (comprising groups from the ANU, the Universities of Sydney, Western Sydney, Canberra, New England, and Central Queensland University) under the aegis of AINSE; the scientists also collaborate with fusion researchers from Japan and the US. Recent experiments on H-1 have focused on improved confinement modes that can be accessed at very low powers in H-1, but allow the study of fundamental physics effects seen on much larger machines at higher powers. H-1 is now being upgraded in magnetic field and heating power, and will be able to confine hotter plasmas beginning in 1999, offering greatly enhanced research opportunities for Australian plasma scientists and engineers, with substantial spillover of ideas from fusion research into other areas of applied physics and engineering

  11. Effect of projectile on incomplete fusion reactions at low energies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharma Vijay R.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Present work deals with the experimental studies of incomplete fusion reaction dynamics at energies as low as ≈ 4 - 7 MeV/A. Excitation functions populated via complete fusion and/or incomplete fusion processes in 12C+175Lu, and 13C+169Tm systems have been measured within the framework of PACE4 code. Data of excitation function measurements on comparison with different projectile-target combinations suggest the existence of ICF even at slightly above barrier energies where complete fusion (CF is supposed to be the sole contributor, and further demonstrates strong projectile structure dependence of ICF. The incomplete fusion strength functions for 12C+175Lu, and 13C+169Tm systems are analyzed as a function of various physical parameters at a constant vrel ≈ 0.053c. It has been found that one neutron (1n excess projectile 13C (as compared to 12C results in less incomplete fusion contribution due to its relatively large negative α-Q-value, hence, α Q-value seems to be a reliable parameter to understand the ICF dynamics at low energies. In order to explore the reaction modes on the basis of their entry state spin population, the spin distribution of residues populated via CF and/or ICF in 16O+159Tb system has been done using particle-γ coincidence technique. CF-α and ICF-α channels have been identified from backward (B and forward (F α-gated γspectra, respectively. Reaction dependent decay patterns have been observed in different α emitting channels. The CF channels are found to be fed over a broad spin range, however, ICF-α channels was observed only for high-spin states. Further, the existence of incomplete fusion at low bombarding energies indicates the possibility to populate high spin states

  12. Effect of projectile on incomplete fusion reactions at low energies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Vijay R.; Shuaib, Mohd.; Yadav, Abhishek; Singh, Pushpendra P.; Sharma, Manoj K.; Kumar, R.; Singh, Devendra P.; Singh, B. P.; Muralithar, S.; Singh, R. P.; Bhowmik, R. K.; Prasad, R.

    2017-11-01

    Present work deals with the experimental studies of incomplete fusion reaction dynamics at energies as low as ≈ 4 - 7 MeV/A. Excitation functions populated via complete fusion and/or incomplete fusion processes in 12C+175Lu, and 13C+169Tm systems have been measured within the framework of PACE4 code. Data of excitation function measurements on comparison with different projectile-target combinations suggest the existence of ICF even at slightly above barrier energies where complete fusion (CF) is supposed to be the sole contributor, and further demonstrates strong projectile structure dependence of ICF. The incomplete fusion strength functions for 12C+175Lu, and 13C+169Tm systems are analyzed as a function of various physical parameters at a constant vrel ≈ 0.053c. It has been found that one neutron (1n) excess projectile 13C (as compared to 12C) results in less incomplete fusion contribution due to its relatively large negative α-Q-value, hence, α Q-value seems to be a reliable parameter to understand the ICF dynamics at low energies. In order to explore the reaction modes on the basis of their entry state spin population, the spin distribution of residues populated via CF and/or ICF in 16O+159Tb system has been done using particle-γ coincidence technique. CF-α and ICF-α channels have been identified from backward (B) and forward (F) α-gated γspectra, respectively. Reaction dependent decay patterns have been observed in different α emitting channels. The CF channels are found to be fed over a broad spin range, however, ICF-α channels was observed only for high-spin states. Further, the existence of incomplete fusion at low bombarding energies indicates the possibility to populate high spin states

  13. Search for dark matter and supersymmetry with a compressed mass spectrum in the vector boson fusion topology in proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s} = $ 8 TeV

    CERN Document Server

    Khachatryan, Vardan; Tumasyan, Armen; Adam, Wolfgang; Aşılar, Ece; Bergauer, Thomas; Brandstetter, Johannes; Brondolin, Erica; Dragicevic, Marko; Erö, Janos; Flechl, Martin; Friedl, Markus; Fruehwirth, Rudolf; Ghete, Vasile Mihai; Hartl, Christian; Hörmann, Natascha; Hrubec, Josef; Jeitler, Manfred; König, Axel; Krätschmer, Ilse; Liko, Dietrich; Matsushita, Takashi; Mikulec, Ivan; Rabady, Dinyar; Rad, Navid; Rahbaran, Babak; Rohringer, Herbert; Schieck, Jochen; Strauss, Josef; Treberer-Treberspurg, Wolfgang; Waltenberger, Wolfgang; Wulz, Claudia-Elisabeth; Mossolov, Vladimir; Shumeiko, Nikolai; Suarez Gonzalez, Juan; Alderweireldt, Sara; Cornelis, Tom; De Wolf, Eddi A; Janssen, Xavier; Knutsson, Albert; Lauwers, Jasper; Luyckx, Sten; Van De Klundert, Merijn; Van Haevermaet, Hans; Van Mechelen, Pierre; Van Remortel, Nick; Van Spilbeeck, Alex; Abu Zeid, Shimaa; Blekman, Freya; D'Hondt, Jorgen; Daci, Nadir; De Bruyn, Isabelle; Deroover, Kevin; Heracleous, Natalie; Lowette, Steven; Moortgat, Seth; Moreels, Lieselotte; Olbrechts, Annik; Python, Quentin; Tavernier, Stefaan; Van Doninck, Walter; Van Mulders, Petra; Van Parijs, Isis; Brun, Hugues; Caillol, Cécile; Clerbaux, Barbara; De Lentdecker, Gilles; Delannoy, Hugo; Fasanella, Giuseppe; Favart, Laurent; Goldouzian, Reza; Grebenyuk, Anastasia; Karapostoli, Georgia; Lenzi, Thomas; Léonard, Alexandre; Maerschalk, Thierry; Marinov, Andrey; Randle-conde, Aidan; Seva, Tomislav; Vander Velde, Catherine; Vanlaer, Pascal; Yonamine, Ryo; Zenoni, Florian; Zhang, Fengwangdong; Cimmino, Anna; Dobur, Didar; Fagot, Alexis; Garcia, Guillaume; Gul, Muhammad; Mccartin, Joseph; Poyraz, Deniz; Salva Diblen, Sinem; Schöfbeck, Robert; Tytgat, Michael; Van Driessche, Ward; Yazgan, Efe; Zaganidis, Nicolas; Beluffi, Camille; Bondu, Olivier; Brochet, Sébastien; Bruno, Giacomo; Caudron, Adrien; Ceard, Ludivine; De Visscher, Simon; Delaere, Christophe; Delcourt, Martin; Forthomme, Laurent; Francois, Brieuc; Giammanco, Andrea; Jafari, Abideh; Jez, Pavel; Komm, Matthias; Lemaitre, Vincent; Magitteri, Alessio; Mertens, Alexandre; Musich, Marco; Nuttens, Claude; Piotrzkowski, Krzysztof; Quertenmont, Loic; Selvaggi, Michele; Vidal Marono, Miguel; Wertz, Sébastien; Beliy, Nikita; Aldá Júnior, Walter Luiz; Alves, Fábio Lúcio; Alves, Gilvan; Brito, Lucas; Correa Martins Junior, Marcos; Hensel, Carsten; Moraes, Arthur; Pol, Maria Elena; Rebello Teles, Patricia; Belchior Batista Das Chagas, Ewerton; Carvalho, Wagner; Chinellato, Jose; Custódio, Analu; Melo Da Costa, Eliza; Da Silveira, Gustavo Gil; De Jesus Damiao, Dilson; De Oliveira Martins, Carley; Fonseca De Souza, Sandro; Huertas Guativa, Lina Milena; Malbouisson, Helena; Matos Figueiredo, Diego; Mora Herrera, Clemencia; Mundim, Luiz; Nogima, Helio; Prado Da Silva, Wanda Lucia; Santoro, Alberto; Sznajder, Andre; Tonelli Manganote, Edmilson José; Vilela Pereira, Antonio; Ahuja, Sudha; Bernardes, Cesar Augusto; Dogra, Sunil; Tomei, Thiago; De Moraes Gregores, Eduardo; Mercadante, Pedro G; Moon, Chang-Seong; Novaes, Sergio F; Padula, Sandra; Romero Abad, David; Ruiz Vargas, José Cupertino; Aleksandrov, Aleksandar; Hadjiiska, Roumyana; Iaydjiev, Plamen; Rodozov, Mircho; Stoykova, Stefka; Sultanov, Georgi; Vutova, Mariana; Dimitrov, Anton; Glushkov, Ivan; Litov, Leander; Pavlov, Borislav; Petkov, Peicho; Fang, Wenxing; Ahmad, Muhammad; Bian, Jian-Guo; Chen, Guo-Ming; Chen, He-Sheng; Chen, Mingshui; Chen, Ye; Cheng, Tongguang; Du, Ran; Jiang, Chun-Hua; Leggat, Duncan; Liu, Zhenan; Romeo, Francesco; Shaheen, Sarmad Masood; Spiezia, Aniello; Tao, Junquan; Wang, Chunjie; Wang, Zheng; Zhang, Huaqiao; Zhao, Jingzhou; Asawatangtrakuldee, Chayanit; Ban, Yong; Li, Qiang; Liu, Shuai; Mao, Yajun; Qian, Si-Jin; Wang, Dayong; Xu, Zijun; Avila, Carlos; Cabrera, Andrés; Chaparro Sierra, Luisa Fernanda; Florez, Carlos; Gomez, Juan Pablo; Ruiz Alvarez, José David; Sanabria, Juan Carlos; Godinovic, Nikola; Lelas, Damir; Puljak, Ivica; Ribeiro Cipriano, Pedro M; Antunovic, Zeljko; Kovac, Marko; Brigljevic, Vuko; Ferencek, Dinko; Kadija, Kreso; Luetic, Jelena; Micanovic, Sasa; Sudic, Lucija; Attikis, Alexandros; Mavromanolakis, Georgios; Mousa, Jehad; Nicolaou, Charalambos; Ptochos, Fotios; Razis, Panos A; Rykaczewski, Hans; Finger, Miroslav; Finger Jr, Michael; Carrera Jarrin, Edgar; Awad, Adel; Elgammal, Sherif; Mohamed, Amr; Salama, Elsayed; Calpas, Betty; Kadastik, Mario; Murumaa, Marion; Perrini, Lucia; Raidal, Martti; Tiko, Andres; Veelken, Christian; Eerola, Paula; Pekkanen, Juska; Voutilainen, Mikko; Härkönen, Jaakko; Karimäki, Veikko; Kinnunen, Ritva; Lampén, Tapio; Lassila-Perini, Kati; Lehti, Sami; Lindén, Tomas; Luukka, Panja-Riina; Peltola, Timo; Tuominiemi, Jorma; Tuovinen, Esa; Wendland, Lauri; Talvitie, Joonas; Tuuva, Tuure; Besancon, Marc; Couderc, Fabrice; Dejardin, Marc; Denegri, Daniel; Fabbro, Bernard; Faure, Jean-Louis; Favaro, Carlotta; Ferri, Federico; Ganjour, Serguei; Ghosh, Saranya; Givernaud, Alain; Gras, Philippe; Hamel de Monchenault, Gautier; Jarry, Patrick; Locci, Elizabeth; Machet, Martina; Malcles, Julie; Rander, John; Rosowsky, André; Titov, Maksym; Zghiche, Amina; Abdulsalam, Abdulla; Antropov, Iurii; Baffioni, Stephanie; Beaudette, Florian; Busson, Philippe; Cadamuro, Luca; Chapon, Emilien; Charlot, Claude; Davignon, Olivier; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphael; Jo, Mihee; Lisniak, Stanislav; Miné, Philippe; Naranjo, Ivo Nicolas; Nguyen, Matthew; Ochando, Christophe; Ortona, Giacomo; Paganini, Pascal; Pigard, Philipp; Regnard, Simon; Salerno, Roberto; Sirois, Yves; Strebler, Thomas; Yilmaz, Yetkin; Zabi, Alexandre; Agram, Jean-Laurent; Andrea, Jeremy; Aubin, Alexandre; Bloch, Daniel; Brom, Jean-Marie; Buttignol, Michael; Chabert, Eric Christian; Chanon, Nicolas; Collard, Caroline; Conte, Eric; Coubez, Xavier; Fontaine, Jean-Charles; Gelé, Denis; Goerlach, Ulrich; Le Bihan, Anne-Catherine; Merlin, Jeremie Alexandre; Skovpen, Kirill; Van Hove, Pierre; Gadrat, Sébastien; Beauceron, Stephanie; Bernet, Colin; Boudoul, Gaelle; Bouvier, Elvire; Carrillo Montoya, Camilo Andres; Chierici, Roberto; Contardo, Didier; Courbon, Benoit; Depasse, Pierre; El Mamouni, Houmani; Fan, Jiawei; Fay, Jean; Gascon, Susan; Gouzevitch, Maxime; Grenier, Gérald; Ille, Bernard; Lagarde, Francois; Laktineh, Imad Baptiste; Lethuillier, Morgan; Mirabito, Laurent; Pequegnot, Anne-Laure; Perries, Stephane; Popov, Andrey; Sabes, David; Sordini, Viola; Vander Donckt, Muriel; Verdier, Patrice; Viret, Sébastien; Toriashvili, Tengizi; Tsamalaidze, Zviad; Autermann, Christian; Beranek, Sarah; Feld, Lutz; Heister, Arno; Kiesel, Maximilian Knut; Klein, Katja; Lipinski, Martin; Ostapchuk, Andrey; Preuten, Marius; Raupach, Frank; Schael, Stefan; Schomakers, Christian; Schulte, Jan-Frederik; Schulz, Johannes; Verlage, Tobias; Weber, Hendrik; Zhukov, Valery; Ata, Metin; Brodski, Michael; Dietz-Laursonn, Erik; Duchardt, Deborah; Endres, Matthias; Erdmann, Martin; Erdweg, Sören; Esch, Thomas; Fischer, Robert; Güth, Andreas; Hebbeker, Thomas; Heidemann, Carsten; Hoepfner, Kerstin; Knutzen, Simon; Merschmeyer, Markus; Meyer, Arnd; Millet, Philipp; Mukherjee, Swagata; Olschewski, Mark; Padeken, Klaas; Papacz, Paul; Pook, Tobias; Radziej, Markus; Reithler, Hans; Rieger, Marcel; Scheuch, Florian; Sonnenschein, Lars; Teyssier, Daniel; Thüer, Sebastian; Cherepanov, Vladimir; Erdogan, Yusuf; Flügge, Günter; Geenen, Heiko; Geisler, Matthias; Hoehle, Felix; Kargoll, Bastian; Kress, Thomas; Künsken, Andreas; Lingemann, Joschka; Nehrkorn, Alexander; Nowack, Andreas; Nugent, Ian Michael; Pistone, Claudia; Pooth, Oliver; Stahl, Achim; Aldaya Martin, Maria; Asin, Ivan; Beernaert, Kelly; Behnke, Olaf; Behrens, Ulf; Bin Anuar, Afiq Aizuddin; Borras, Kerstin; Campbell, Alan; Connor, Patrick; Contreras-Campana, Christian; Costanza, Francesco; Diez Pardos, Carmen; Dolinska, Ganna; Eckerlin, Guenter; Eckstein, Doris; Eichhorn, Thomas; Gallo, Elisabetta; Garay Garcia, Jasone; Geiser, Achim; Gizhko, Andrii; Grados Luyando, Juan Manuel; Gunnellini, Paolo; Harb, Ali; Hauk, Johannes; Hempel, Maria; Jung, Hannes; Kalogeropoulos, Alexis; Karacheban, Olena; Kasemann, Matthias; Kieseler, Jan; Kleinwort, Claus; Korol, Ievgen; Lange, Wolfgang; Lelek, Aleksandra; Leonard, Jessica; Lipka, Katerina; Lobanov, Artur; Lohmann, Wolfgang; Mankel, Rainer; Melzer-Pellmann, Isabell-Alissandra; Meyer, Andreas Bernhard; Mittag, Gregor; Mnich, Joachim; Mussgiller, Andreas; Ntomari, Eleni; Pitzl, Daniel; Placakyte, Ringaile; Raspereza, Alexei; Roland, Benoit; Sahin, Mehmet Özgür; Saxena, Pooja; Schoerner-Sadenius, Thomas; Seitz, Claudia; Spannagel, Simon; Stefaniuk, Nazar; Trippkewitz, Karim Damun; Van Onsem, Gerrit Patrick; Walsh, Roberval; Wissing, Christoph; Blobel, Volker; Centis Vignali, Matteo; Draeger, Arne-Rasmus; Dreyer, Torben; Erfle, Joachim; Garutti, Erika; Goebel, Kristin; Gonzalez, Daniel; Görner, Martin; Haller, Johannes; Hoffmann, Malte; Höing, Rebekka Sophie; Junkes, Alexandra; Klanner, Robert; Kogler, Roman; Kovalchuk, Nataliia; Lapsien, Tobias; Lenz, Teresa; Marchesini, Ivan; Marconi, Daniele; Meyer, Mareike; Niedziela, Marek; Nowatschin, Dominik; Ott, Jochen; Pantaleo, Felice; Peiffer, Thomas; Perieanu, Adrian; Pietsch, Niklas; Poehlsen, Jennifer; Sander, Christian; Scharf, Christian; Schleper, Peter; Schlieckau, Eike; Schmidt, Alexander; Schumann, Svenja; Schwandt, Joern; Stadie, Hartmut; Steinbrück, Georg; Stober, Fred-Markus Helmut; Stöver, Marc; Tholen, Heiner; Troendle, Daniel; Usai, Emanuele; Vanelderen, Lukas; Vanhoefer, Annika; Vormwald, Benedikt; Barth, Christian; Baus, Colin; Berger, Joram; Butz, Erik; Chwalek, Thorsten; Colombo, Fabio; De Boer, Wim; Dierlamm, Alexander; Fink, Simon; Friese, Raphael; Giffels, Manuel; Gilbert, Andrew; Haitz, Dominik; Hartmann, Frank; Heindl, Stefan Michael; Husemann, Ulrich; Katkov, Igor; Kornmayer, Andreas; Lobelle Pardo, Patricia; Maier, Benedikt; Mildner, Hannes; Mozer, Matthias Ulrich; Müller, Thomas; Müller, Thomas; Plagge, Michael; Quast, Gunter; Rabbertz, Klaus; Röcker, Steffen; Roscher, Frank; Schröder, Matthias; Sieber, Georg; Simonis, Hans-Jürgen; Ulrich, Ralf; Wagner-Kuhr, Jeannine; Wayand, Stefan; Weber, Marc; Weiler, Thomas; Williamson, Shawn; Wöhrmann, Clemens; Wolf, Roger; Anagnostou, Georgios; Daskalakis, Georgios; Geralis, Theodoros; Giakoumopoulou, Viktoria Athina; Kyriakis, Aristotelis; Loukas, Demetrios; Topsis-Giotis, Iasonas; Agapitos, Antonis; Kesisoglou, Stilianos; Panagiotou, Apostolos; Saoulidou, Niki; Tziaferi, Eirini; Evangelou, Ioannis; Flouris, Giannis; Foudas, Costas; Kokkas, Panagiotis; Loukas, Nikitas; Manthos, Nikolaos; Papadopoulos, Ioannis; Paradas, Evangelos; Filipovic, Nicolas; Bencze, Gyorgy; Hajdu, Csaba; Hidas, Pàl; Horvath, Dezso; Sikler, Ferenc; Veszpremi, Viktor; Vesztergombi, Gyorgy; Zsigmond, Anna Julia; Beni, Noemi; Czellar, Sandor; Karancsi, János; Molnar, Jozsef; Szillasi, Zoltan; Bartók, Márton; Makovec, Alajos; Raics, Peter; Trocsanyi, Zoltan Laszlo; Ujvari, Balazs; Bahinipati, Seema; Choudhury, Somnath; Mal, Prolay; Mandal, Koushik; Nayak, Aruna; Sahoo, Deepak Kumar; Sahoo, Niladribihari; Swain, Sanjay Kumar; Bansal, Sunil; Beri, Suman Bala; Bhatnagar, Vipin; Chawla, Ridhi; Gupta, Ruchi; Bhawandeep, Bhawandeep; Kalsi, Amandeep Kaur; Kaur, Anterpreet; Kaur, Manjit; Kumar, Ramandeep; Mehta, Ankita; Mittal, Monika; Singh, Jasbir; Walia, Genius; Kumar, Ashok; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Choudhary, Brajesh C; Garg, Rocky Bala; Keshri, Sumit; Kumar, Ajay; Malhotra, Shivali; Naimuddin, Md; Nishu, Nishu; Ranjan, Kirti; Sharma, Ramkrishna; Sharma, Varun; Bhattacharya, Rajarshi; Bhattacharya, Satyaki; Chatterjee, Kalyanmoy; Dey, Sourav; Dutt, Suneel; Dutta, Suchandra; Ghosh, Shamik; Majumdar, Nayana; Modak, Atanu; Mondal, Kuntal; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik; Nandan, Saswati; Purohit, Arnab; Roy, Ashim; Roy, Debarati; Roy Chowdhury, Suvankar; Sarkar, Subir; Sharan, Manoj; Thakur, Shalini; Behera, Prafulla Kumar; Chudasama, Ruchi; Dutta, Dipanwita; Jha, Vishwajeet; Kumar, Vineet; Mohanty, Ajit Kumar; Netrakanti, Pawan Kumar; Pant, Lalit Mohan; Shukla, Prashant; Topkar, Anita; Aziz, Tariq; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Bhowmik, Sandeep; Chatterjee, Rajdeep Mohan; Dewanjee, Ram Krishna; Dugad, Shashikant; Ganguly, Sanmay; Guchait, Monoranjan; Gurtu, Atul; Jain, Sandhya; Kole, Gouranga; Kumar, Sanjeev; Mahakud, Bibhuprasad; Maity, Manas; Majumder, Gobinda; Mazumdar, Kajari; Mitra, Soureek; Mohanty, Gagan Bihari; Parida, Bibhuti; Sarkar, Tanmay; Sur, Nairit; Sutar, Bajrang; Wickramage, Nadeesha; Chauhan, Shubhanshu; Dube, Sourabh; Kapoor, Anshul; Kothekar, Kunal; Rane, Aditee; Sharma, Seema; Bakhshiansohi, Hamed; Behnamian, Hadi; Chenarani, Shirin; Eskandari Tadavani, Esmaeel; Etesami, Seyed Mohsen; Fahim, Ali; Khakzad, Mohsen; Mohammadi Najafabadi, Mojtaba; Naseri, Mohsen; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, Saeid; Rezaei Hosseinabadi, Ferdos; Safarzadeh, Batool; Zeinali, Maryam; Felcini, Marta; Grunewald, Martin; Abbrescia, Marcello; Calabria, Cesare; Caputo, Claudio; Colaleo, Anna; Creanza, Donato; Cristella, Leonardo; De Filippis, Nicola; De Palma, Mauro; Fiore, Luigi; Iaselli, Giuseppe; Maggi, Giorgio; Maggi, Marcello; Miniello, Giorgia; My, Salvatore; Nuzzo, Salvatore; Pompili, Alexis; Pugliese, Gabriella; Radogna, Raffaella; Ranieri, Antonio; Selvaggi, Giovanna; Silvestris, Lucia; Venditti, Rosamaria; Abbiendi, Giovanni; Battilana, Carlo; Bonacorsi, Daniele; Braibant-Giacomelli, Sylvie; Brigliadori, Luca; Campanini, Renato; Capiluppi, Paolo; Castro, Andrea; Cavallo, Francesca Romana; Chhibra, Simranjit Singh; Codispoti, Giuseppe; Cuffiani, Marco; Dallavalle, Gaetano-Marco; Fabbri, Fabrizio; Fanfani, Alessandra; Fasanella, Daniele; Giacomelli, Paolo; Grandi, Claudio; Guiducci, Luigi; Marcellini, Stefano; Masetti, Gianni; Montanari, Alessandro; Navarria, Francesco; Perrotta, Andrea; Rossi, Antonio; Rovelli, Tiziano; Siroli, Gian Piero; Tosi, Nicolò; Albergo, Sebastiano; Chiorboli, Massimiliano; Costa, Salvatore; Di Mattia, Alessandro; Giordano, Ferdinando; Potenza, Renato; Tricomi, Alessia; Tuve, Cristina; Barbagli, Giuseppe; Ciulli, Vitaliano; Civinini, Carlo; D'Alessandro, Raffaello; Focardi, Ettore; Gori, Valentina; Lenzi, Piergiulio; Meschini, Marco; Paoletti, Simone; Sguazzoni, Giacomo; Viliani, Lorenzo; Benussi, Luigi; Bianco, Stefano; Fabbri, Franco; Piccolo, Davide; Primavera, Federica; Calvelli, Valerio; Ferro, Fabrizio; Lo Vetere, Maurizio; Monge, Maria Roberta; Robutti, Enrico; Tosi, Silvano; Brianza, Luca; Brivio, Francesco; Dinardo, Mauro Emanuele; Fiorendi, Sara; Gennai, Simone; Ghezzi, Alessio; Govoni, Pietro; Malvezzi, Sandra; Manzoni, Riccardo Andrea; Marzocchi, Badder; Menasce, Dario; Moroni, Luigi; Paganoni, Marco; Pedrini, Daniele; Pigazzini, Simone; Ragazzi, Stefano; Tabarelli de Fatis, Tommaso; Buontempo, Salvatore; Cavallo, Nicola; De Nardo, Guglielmo; Di Guida, Salvatore; Esposito, Marco; Fabozzi, Francesco; Iorio, Alberto Orso Maria; Lanza, Giuseppe; Lista, Luca; Meola, Sabino; Merola, Mario; Paolucci, Pierluigi; Sciacca, Crisostomo; Thyssen, Filip; Azzi, Patrizia; Bacchetta, Nicola; Benato, Lisa; Bisello, Dario; Boletti, Alessio; Carlin, Roberto; Carvalho Antunes De Oliveira, Alexandra; Checchia, Paolo; Dall'Osso, Martino; De Castro Manzano, Pablo; Dorigo, Tommaso; Dosselli, Umberto; Gasparini, Fabrizio; Gasparini, Ugo; Gozzelino, Andrea; Lacaprara, Stefano; Margoni, Martino; Meneguzzo, Anna Teresa; Pazzini, Jacopo; Pozzobon, Nicola; Ronchese, Paolo; Simonetto, Franco; Torassa, Ezio; Tosi, Mia; Zanetti, Marco; Zotto, Pierluigi; Zucchetta, Alberto; Zumerle, Gianni; Braghieri, Alessandro; Magnani, Alice; Montagna, Paolo; Ratti, Sergio P; Re, Valerio; Riccardi, Cristina; Salvini, Paola; Vai, Ilaria; Vitulo, Paolo; Alunni Solestizi, Luisa; Bilei, Gian Mario; Ciangottini, Diego; Fanò, Livio; Lariccia, Paolo; Leonardi, Roberto; Mantovani, Giancarlo; Menichelli, Mauro; Saha, Anirban; Santocchia, Attilio; Androsov, Konstantin; Azzurri, Paolo; Bagliesi, Giuseppe; Bernardini, Jacopo; Boccali, Tommaso; Castaldi, Rino; Ciocci, Maria Agnese; Dell'Orso, Roberto; Donato, Silvio; Fedi, Giacomo; Giassi, Alessandro; Grippo, Maria Teresa; Ligabue, Franco; Lomtadze, Teimuraz; Martini, Luca; Messineo, Alberto; Palla, Fabrizio; Rizzi, Andrea; Savoy-Navarro, Aurore; Spagnolo, Paolo; Tenchini, Roberto; Tonelli, Guido; Venturi, Andrea; Verdini, Piero Giorgio; Barone, Luciano; Cavallari, Francesca; Cipriani, Marco; D'imperio, Giulia; Del Re, Daniele; Diemoz, Marcella; Gelli, Simone; Jorda, Clara; Longo, Egidio; Margaroli, Fabrizio; Meridiani, Paolo; Organtini, Giovanni; Paramatti, Riccardo; Preiato, Federico; Rahatlou, Shahram; Rovelli, Chiara; Santanastasio, Francesco; Amapane, Nicola; Arcidiacono, Roberta; Argiro, Stefano; Arneodo, Michele; Bartosik, Nazar; Bellan, Riccardo; Biino, Cristina; Cartiglia, Nicolo; Costa, Marco; Covarelli, Roberto; Degano, Alessandro; Demaria, Natale; Finco, Linda; Kiani, Bilal; Mariotti, Chiara; Maselli, Silvia; Migliore, Ernesto; Monaco, Vincenzo; Monteil, Ennio; Obertino, Maria Margherita; Pacher, Luca; Pastrone, Nadia; Pelliccioni, Mario; Pinna Angioni, Gian Luca; Ravera, Fabio; Romero, Alessandra; Ruspa, Marta; Sacchi, Roberto; Sola, Valentina; Solano, Ada; Staiano, Amedeo; Traczyk, Piotr; Belforte, Stefano; Candelise, Vieri; Casarsa, Massimo; Cossutti, Fabio; Della Ricca, Giuseppe; La Licata, Chiara; Schizzi, Andrea; Zanetti, Anna; Kim, Dong Hee; Kim, Gui Nyun; Kim, Min Suk; Lee, Sangeun; Lee, Seh Wook; Oh, Young Do; Sekmen, Sezen; Son, Dong-Chul; Yang, Yu Chul; Kim, Hyunsoo; Brochero Cifuentes, Javier Andres; Kim, Tae Jeong; Cho, Sungwoong; Choi, Suyong; Go, Yeonju; Gyun, Dooyeon; Ha, Seungkyu; Hong, Byung-Sik; Jo, Youngkwon; Kim, Yongsun; Lee, Byounghoon; Lee, Kisoo; Lee, Kyong Sei; Lee, Songkyo; Lim, Jaehoon; Park, Sung Keun; Roh, Youn; Almond, John; Kim, Junho; Seo, Seon-hee; Yang, Unki; Yoo, Hwi Dong; Yu, Geum Bong; Choi, Minkyoo; Kim, Hyunchul; Kim, Hyunyong; Kim, Ji Hyun; Lee, Jason Sang Hun; Park, Inkyu; Ryu, Geonmo; Ryu, Min Sang; Choi, Young-Il; Goh, Junghwan; Kim, Donghyun; Kwon, Eunhyang; Lee, Jongseok; Yu, Intae; Dudenas, Vytautas; Juodagalvis, Andrius; Vaitkus, Juozas; Ahmed, Ijaz; Ibrahim, Zainol Abidin; Komaragiri, Jyothsna Rani; Md Ali, Mohd Adli Bin; Mohamad Idris, Faridah; Wan Abdullah, Wan Ahmad Tajuddin; Yusli, Mohd Nizam; Zolkapli, Zukhaimira; Casimiro Linares, Edgar; Castilla-Valdez, Heriberto; De La Cruz-Burelo, Eduard; Heredia-De La Cruz, Ivan; Hernandez-Almada, Alberto; Lopez-Fernandez, Ricardo; Mejia Guisao, Jhovanny; Sánchez Hernández, Alberto; Carrillo Moreno, Salvador; Vazquez Valencia, Fabiola; Pedraza, Isabel; Salazar Ibarguen, Humberto Antonio; Uribe Estrada, Cecilia; Morelos Pineda, Antonio; Krofcheck, David; Butler, Philip H; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Ahmad, Muhammad; Hassan, Qamar; Hoorani, Hafeez R; Khan, Wajid Ali; Khurshid, Taimoor; Shoaib, Muhammad; Waqas, Muhammad; Bialkowska, Helena; Bluj, Michal; Boimska, Bożena; Frueboes, Tomasz; Górski, Maciej; Kazana, Malgorzata; Nawrocki, Krzysztof; Romanowska-Rybinska, Katarzyna; Szleper, Michal; Zalewski, Piotr; Bunkowski, Karol; Byszuk, Adrian; Doroba, Krzysztof; Kalinowski, Artur; Konecki, Marcin; Krolikowski, Jan; Misiura, Maciej; Olszewski, Michal; Walczak, Marek; Bargassa, Pedrame; Beirão Da Cruz E Silva, Cristóvão; Di Francesco, Agostino; Faccioli, Pietro; Ferreira Parracho, Pedro Guilherme; Gallinaro, Michele; Hollar, Jonathan; Leonardo, Nuno; Lloret Iglesias, Lara; Nemallapudi, Mythra Varun; Nguyen, Federico; Rodrigues Antunes, Joao; Seixas, Joao; Toldaiev, Oleksii; Vadruccio, Daniele; Varela, Joao; Vischia, Pietro; Bunin, Pavel; Golutvin, Igor; Gorbounov, Nikolai; Gorbunov, Ilya; Kamenev, Alexey; Karjavin, Vladimir; Lanev, Alexander; Malakhov, Alexander; Matveev, Viktor; Moisenz, Petr; Palichik, Vladimir; Perelygin, Victor; Savina, Maria; Shmatov, Sergey; Shulha, Siarhei; Skatchkov, Nikolai; Smirnov, Vitaly; Voytishin, Nikolay; Zarubin, Anatoli; Chtchipounov, Leonid; Golovtsov, Victor; Ivanov, Yury; Kim, Victor; Kuznetsova, Ekaterina; Murzin, Victor; Oreshkin, Vadim; Sulimov, Valentin; Vorobyev, Alexey; Andreev, Yuri; Dermenev, Alexander; Gninenko, Sergei; Golubev, Nikolai; Karneyeu, Anton; Kirsanov, Mikhail; Krasnikov, Nikolai; Pashenkov, Anatoli; Tlisov, Danila; Toropin, Alexander; Epshteyn, Vladimir; Gavrilov, Vladimir; Lychkovskaya, Natalia; Popov, Vladimir; Pozdnyakov, Ivan; Safronov, Grigory; Spiridonov, Alexander; Toms, Maria; Vlasov, Evgueni; Zhokin, Alexander; Chistov, Ruslan; Danilov, Mikhail; Rusinov, Vladimir; Andreev, Vladimir; Azarkin, Maksim; Dremin, Igor; Kirakosyan, Martin; Leonidov, Andrey; Rusakov, Sergey V; Terkulov, Adel; Baskakov, Alexey; Belyaev, Andrey; Boos, Edouard; Dubinin, Mikhail; Dudko, Lev; Ershov, Alexander; Gribushin, Andrey; Klyukhin, Vyacheslav; Kodolova, Olga; Lokhtin, Igor; Miagkov, Igor; Obraztsov, Stepan; Petrushanko, Sergey; Savrin, Viktor; Snigirev, Alexander; Azhgirey, Igor; Bayshev, Igor; Bitioukov, Sergei; Elumakhov, Dmitry; Kachanov, Vassili; Kalinin, Alexey; Konstantinov, Dmitri; Krychkine, Victor; Petrov, Vladimir; Ryutin, Roman; Sobol, Andrei; Troshin, Sergey; Tyurin, Nikolay; Uzunian, Andrey; Volkov, Alexey; Adzic, Petar; Cirkovic, Predrag; Devetak, Damir; Milosevic, Jovan; Rekovic, Vladimir; Alcaraz Maestre, Juan; Calvo, Enrique; Cerrada, Marcos; Chamizo Llatas, Maria; Colino, Nicanor; De La Cruz, Begona; Delgado Peris, Antonio; Escalante Del Valle, Alberto; Fernandez Bedoya, Cristina; Fernández Ramos, Juan Pablo; Flix, Jose; Fouz, Maria Cruz; Garcia-Abia, Pablo; Gonzalez Lopez, Oscar; Goy Lopez, Silvia; Hernandez, Jose M; Josa, Maria Isabel; Navarro De Martino, Eduardo; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, Antonio María; Puerta Pelayo, Jesus; Quintario Olmeda, Adrián; Redondo, Ignacio; Romero, Luciano; Senghi Soares, Mara; de Trocóniz, Jorge F; Missiroli, Marino; Moran, Dermot; Cuevas, Javier; Fernandez Menendez, Javier; Gonzalez Caballero, Isidro; Palencia Cortezon, Enrique; Sanchez Cruz, Sergio; Vizan Garcia, Jesus Manuel; Cabrillo, Iban Jose; Calderon, Alicia; Castiñeiras De Saa, Juan Ramon; Curras, Esteban; Fernandez, Marcos; Garcia-Ferrero, Juan; Gomez, Gervasio; Lopez Virto, Amparo; Marco, Jesus; Martinez Rivero, Celso; Matorras, Francisco; Piedra Gomez, Jonatan; Rodrigo, Teresa; 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Bunn, Julian; Chen, Yi; Duarte, Javier; Mott, Alexander; Newman, Harvey B; Pena, Cristian; Spiropulu, Maria; Vlimant, Jean-Roch; Xie, Si; Zhu, Ren-Yuan; Andrews, Michael Benjamin; Azzolini, Virginia; Calamba, Aristotle; Carlson, Benjamin; Ferguson, Thomas; Paulini, Manfred; Russ, James; Sun, Menglei; Vogel, Helmut; Vorobiev, Igor; Cumalat, John Perry; Ford, William T; Jensen, Frank; Johnson, Andrew; Krohn, Michael; Mulholland, Troy; Stenson, Kevin; Wagner, Stephen Robert; Alexander, James; Chatterjee, Avishek; Chaves, Jorge; Chu, Jennifer; Dittmer, Susan; Eggert, Nicholas; Mirman, Nathan; Nicolas Kaufman, Gala; Patterson, Juliet Ritchie; Rinkevicius, Aurelijus; Ryd, Anders; Skinnari, Louise; Sun, Werner; Tan, Shao Min; Tao, Zhengcheng; Teo, Wee Don; Thom, Julia; Thompson, Joshua; Tucker, Jordan; Weng, Yao; Wittich, Peter; Winn, Dave; Abdullin, Salavat; Albrow, Michael; Apollinari, Giorgio; Banerjee, Sunanda; Bauerdick, Lothar AT; Beretvas, Andrew; Berryhill, Jeffrey; Bhat, Pushpalatha C; Bolla, Gino; Burkett, Kevin; Butler, Joel Nathan; Cheung, Harry; Chlebana, Frank; Cihangir, Selcuk; Cremonesi, Matteo; Elvira, Victor Daniel; Fisk, Ian; Freeman, Jim; Gottschalk, Erik; Gray, Lindsey; Green, Dan; Grünendahl, Stefan; Gutsche, Oliver; Hare, Daryl; Harris, Robert M; Hasegawa, Satoshi; Hirschauer, James; Hu, Zhen; Jayatilaka, Bodhitha; Jindariani, Sergo; Johnson, Marvin; Joshi, Umesh; Klima, Boaz; Kreis, Benjamin; Lammel, Stephan; Linacre, Jacob; Lincoln, Don; Lipton, Ron; Liu, Tiehui; Lopes De Sá, Rafael; Lykken, Joseph; Maeshima, Kaori; Marraffino, John Michael; Maruyama, Sho; Mason, David; McBride, Patricia; Merkel, Petra; Mrenna, Stephen; Nahn, Steve; Newman-Holmes, Catherine; O'Dell, Vivian; Pedro, Kevin; Prokofyev, Oleg; Rakness, Gregory; Ristori, Luciano; Sexton-Kennedy, Elizabeth; Soha, Aron; Spalding, William J; Spiegel, Leonard; Stoynev, Stoyan; Strobbe, Nadja; Taylor, Lucas; Tkaczyk, Slawek; Tran, Nhan Viet; Uplegger, Lorenzo; Vaandering, Eric Wayne; Vernieri, Caterina; 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Berry, Douglas; Betts, Russell Richard; Bucinskaite, Inga; Cavanaugh, Richard; Evdokimov, Olga; Gauthier, Lucie; Gerber, Cecilia Elena; Hofman, David Jonathan; Kurt, Pelin; O'Brien, Christine; Sandoval Gonzalez, Irving Daniel; Turner, Paul; Varelas, Nikos; Wu, Zhenbin; Zakaria, Mohammed; Zhang, Jingyu; Bilki, Burak; Clarida, Warren; Dilsiz, Kamuran; Durgut, Süleyman; Gandrajula, Reddy Pratap; Haytmyradov, Maksat; Khristenko, Viktor; Merlo, Jean-Pierre; Mermerkaya, Hamit; Mestvirishvili, Alexi; Moeller, Anthony; Nachtman, Jane; Ogul, Hasan; Onel, Yasar; Ozok, Ferhat; Penzo, Aldo; Snyder, Christina; Tiras, Emrah; Wetzel, James; Yi, Kai; Anderson, Ian; Blumenfeld, Barry; Cocoros, Alice; Eminizer, Nicholas; Fehling, David; Feng, Lei; Gritsan, Andrei; Maksimovic, Petar; Osherson, Marc; Roskes, Jeffrey; Sarica, Ulascan; Swartz, Morris; Xiao, Meng; Xin, Yongjie; You, Can; Al-bataineh, Ayman; Baringer, Philip; Bean, Alice; Bruner, Christopher; Castle, James; Kenny III, Raymond Patrick; Kropivnitskaya, Anna; Majumder, Devdatta; Malek, Magdalena; Mcbrayer, William; Murray, Michael; Sanders, Stephen; Stringer, Robert; Wang, Quan; Ivanov, Andrew; Kaadze, Ketino; Khalil, Sadia; Makouski, Mikhail; Maravin, Yurii; Mohammadi, Abdollah; Saini, Lovedeep Kaur; Skhirtladze, Nikoloz; Toda, Sachiko; Lange, David; Rebassoo, Finn; Wright, Douglas; Anelli, Christopher; Baden, Drew; Baron, Owen; Belloni, Alberto; Calvert, Brian; Eno, Sarah Catherine; Ferraioli, Charles; Gomez, Jaime; Hadley, Nicholas John; Jabeen, Shabnam; Kellogg, Richard G; Kolberg, Ted; Kunkle, Joshua; Lu, Ying; Mignerey, Alice; Shin, Young Ho; Skuja, Andris; Tonjes, Marguerite; Tonwar, Suresh C; Apyan, Aram; Barbieri, Richard; Baty, Austin; Bi, Ran; Bierwagen, Katharina; Brandt, Stephanie; Busza, Wit; Cali, Ivan Amos; Demiragli, Zeynep; Di Matteo, Leonardo; Gomez Ceballos, Guillelmo; Goncharov, Maxim; Gulhan, Doga; Hsu, Dylan; Iiyama, Yutaro; Innocenti, Gian Michele; Klute, Markus; Kovalskyi, Dmytro; Krajczar, Krisztian; Lai, Yue Shi; Lee, Yen-Jie; Levin, Andrew; Luckey, Paul David; Marini, Andrea Carlo; Mcginn, Christopher; Mironov, Camelia; Narayanan, Siddharth; Niu, Xinmei; Paus, Christoph; Roland, Christof; Roland, Gunther; Salfeld-Nebgen, Jakob; Stephans, George; Sumorok, Konstanty; Tatar, Kaya; Varma, Mukund; Velicanu, Dragos; Veverka, Jan; Wang, Jing; Wang, Ta-Wei; Wyslouch, Bolek; Yang, Mingming; Zhukova, Victoria; Benvenuti, Alberto; Dahmes, Bryan; Evans, Andrew; Finkel, Alexey; Gude, Alexander; Hansen, Peter; Kalafut, Sean; Kao, Shih-Chuan; Klapoetke, Kevin; Kubota, Yuichi; Lesko, Zachary; Mans, Jeremy; Nourbakhsh, Shervin; Ruckstuhl, Nicole; Rusack, Roger; Tambe, Norbert; Turkewitz, Jared; Acosta, John Gabriel; Oliveros, Sandra; Avdeeva, Ekaterina; Bartek, Rachel; Bloom, Kenneth; Bose, Suvadeep; Claes, Daniel R; Dominguez, Aaron; Fangmeier, Caleb; Gonzalez Suarez, Rebeca; Kamalieddin, Rami; Knowlton, Dan; Kravchenko, Ilya; Meier, Frank; Monroy, Jose; Siado, Joaquin Emilo; Snow, Gregory R; Stieger, Benjamin; Alyari, Maral; Dolen, James; George, Jimin; Godshalk, Andrew; Harrington, Charles; Iashvili, Ia; Kaisen, Josh; Kharchilava, Avto; Kumar, Ashish; Parker, Ashley; Rappoccio, Salvatore; Roozbahani, Bahareh; Alverson, George; Barberis, Emanuela; Baumgartel, Darin; Chasco, Matthew; Hortiangtham, Apichart; Massironi, Andrea; Morse, David Michael; Nash, David; Orimoto, Toyoko; Teixeira De Lima, Rafael; Trocino, Daniele; Wang, Ren-Jie; Wood, Darien; Bhattacharya, Saptaparna; Hahn, Kristan Allan; Kubik, Andrew; Low, Jia Fu; Mucia, Nicholas; Odell, Nathaniel; Pollack, Brian; Schmitt, Michael Henry; Sung, Kevin; Trovato, Marco; Velasco, Mayda; Dev, Nabarun; Hildreth, Michael; Hurtado Anampa, Kenyi; Jessop, Colin; Karmgard, Daniel John; Kellams, Nathan; Lannon, Kevin; Marinelli, Nancy; Meng, Fanbo; Mueller, Charles; Musienko, Yuri; Planer, Michael; Reinsvold, Allison; Ruchti, Randy; Rupprecht, Nathaniel; Smith, Geoffrey; Taroni, Silvia; Valls, Nil; Wayne, Mitchell; Wolf, Matthias; Woodard, Anna; Alimena, Juliette; 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Redjimi, Radia; Roberts, Jay; Rorie, Jamal; Tu, Zhoudunming; Zabel, James; Betchart, Burton; Bodek, Arie; de Barbaro, Pawel; Demina, Regina; Duh, Yi-ting; Eshaq, Yossof; Ferbel, Thomas; Galanti, Mario; Garcia-Bellido, Aran; Han, Jiyeon; Hindrichs, Otto; Khukhunaishvili, Aleko; Lo, Kin Ho; Tan, Ping; Verzetti, Mauro; Chou, John Paul; Contreras-Campana, Emmanuel; Gershtein, Yuri; Gómez Espinosa, Tirso Alejandro; Halkiadakis, Eva; Heindl, Maximilian; Hidas, Dean; Hughes, Elliot; Kaplan, Steven; Kunnawalkam Elayavalli, Raghav; Kyriacou, Savvas; Lath, Amitabh; Nash, Kevin; Saka, Halil; Salur, Sevil; Schnetzer, Steve; Sheffield, David; Somalwar, Sunil; Stone, Robert; Thomas, Scott; Thomassen, Peter; Walker, Matthew; Foerster, Mark; Heideman, Joseph; Riley, Grant; Rose, Keith; Spanier, Stefan; Thapa, Krishna; Bouhali, Othmane; Castaneda Hernandez, Alfredo; Celik, Ali; Dalchenko, Mykhailo; De Mattia, Marco; Delgado, Andrea; Dildick, Sven; Eusebi, Ricardo; Flanagan, Will; Gilmore, Jason; Huang, Tao; 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Dodd, Laura; Duric, Senka; Gomber, Bhawna; Grothe, Monika; Herndon, Matthew; Hervé, Alain; Klabbers, Pamela; Lanaro, Armando; Levine, Aaron; Long, Kenneth; Loveless, Richard; Ojalvo, Isabel; Perry, Thomas; Pierro, Giuseppe Antonio; Polese, Giovanni; Ruggles, Tyler; Savin, Alexander; Sharma, Archana; Smith, Nicholas; Smith, Wesley H; Taylor, Devin; Verwilligen, Piet; Woods, Nathaniel

    2017-01-12

    A first search for pair production of dark matter candidates through vector boson fusion in proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s} = $ 8 TeV is performed with the CMS detector. The vector boson fusion topology enhances missing transverse momentum, providing a way to probe supersymmetry also in the case of a compressed mass spectrum. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 18.5 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the CMS experiment. The observed dijet mass spectrum is consistent with the standard model expectation. In an effective field theory, dark matter masses are explored as a function of contact interaction strength. The most stringent limit on bottom squark production with mass below 315 GeV is also reported, assuming a 5 GeV mass difference with respect to the lightest neutralino.

  14. Cloaked similarity between HIV-1 and SARS-CoV suggests an anti-SARS strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kliger Yossef

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS is a febrile respiratory illness. The disease has been etiologically linked to a novel coronavirus that has been named the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV, whose genome was recently sequenced. Since it is a member of the Coronaviridae, its spike protein (S2 is believed to play a central role in viral entry by facilitating fusion between the viral and host cell membranes. The protein responsible for viral-induced membrane fusion of HIV-1 (gp41 differs in length, and has no sequence homology with S2. Results Sequence analysis reveals that the two viral proteins share the sequence motifs that construct their active conformation. These include (1 an N-terminal leucine/isoleucine zipper-like sequence, and (2 a C-terminal heptad repeat located upstream of (3 an aromatic residue-rich region juxtaposed to the (4 transmembrane segment. Conclusions This study points to a similar mode of action for the two viral proteins, suggesting that anti-viral strategy that targets the viral-induced membrane fusion step can be adopted from HIV-1 to SARS-CoV. Recently the FDA approved Enfuvirtide, a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal heptad repeat of HIV-1 gp41, as an anti-AIDS agent. Enfuvirtide and C34, another anti HIV-1 peptide, exert their inhibitory activity by binding to a leucine/isoleucine zipper-like sequence in gp41, thus inhibiting a conformational change of gp41 required for its activation. We suggest that peptides corresponding to the C-terminal heptad repeat of the S2 protein may serve as inhibitors for SARS-CoV entry.

  15. Nanolipoprotein Particles (NLPs) as Versatile Vaccine Platforms for Co-delivery of Multiple Adjuvants with Subunit Antigens from Burkholderia spp. and F. tularensis - Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, N. O. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2015-01-06

    The goal of this proposal is to demonstrate that colocalization of protein subunit antigens and adjuvants on nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs) can increase the protective efficacy of subunit antigens from Burkholderia spp. and Francisella tularensis against an aerosol challenge. In the second quarter of the third year, LLNL finalized all immunological assessments of NLP vaccine formulations in the F344 model. Battelle has immunized rats with three unique NLP formulations by either intramuscular or intranasal administration. All inoculations have been completed, and protective efficacy against an aerosolized challenge will begin at the end of October, 2014.

  16. Genetic control of murine T cell proliferative responses to Mycobacterium leprae. V. Evidence for cross-reactivity between host antigens and Mycobacterium leprae

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harris, D.P.; Jones, A.G.; Wade, S.; Krahenbuhl, J.L.; Gillis, T.P.; Watson, J.D.

    1988-09-01

    T cell proliferative responses to Mycobacterium leprae were measured by immunization of mice at the base of the tail with Ag and challenging lymphocytes from draining lymph nodes in culture with M. leprae. C57BL/10J and B10.BR mice were identified as low responder mice and the congenic strains B10.M, B10.Q, and B10.AKM as high responders whereas F1 (high x low) hybrid mice were found to be low responders. The cellular basis of low responsiveness did not appear to result from a defect in Ag-presenting cells or the activation of suppressor T cells by M. leprae. The influence of the environment in which T cells developed on responsiveness to M. leprae was analyzed in chimeric mice prepared by irradiating F1(C57BL/10J x B10.M) mice and reconstituting with bone marrow from C57BL/10J, B10.M, or F1 donors. Six weeks later, chimeric mice were immunized with M. leprae, lymph node cells were subsequently prepared, and H-2 phenotyped and challenged in culture with M. leprae Ag. T cell proliferative responses were found to be low in all cases, similar to those observed using lymph node cells from F1 hybrid mice. These results suggested that high responder B10.M lymphocytes developing in the irradiated F1 mice became tolerized to antigenic determinants found on M. leprae. This implied cross-reactive epitopes existed between some mouse strains and M. leprae. Low responsiveness to M. leprae in low responder and F1 hybrid mice may result from tolerance to H-2-encoded Ag that show cross-reactivity with M. leprae.

  17. Genetic control of murine T cell proliferative responses to Mycobacterium leprae. V. Evidence for cross-reactivity between host antigens and Mycobacterium leprae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, D.P.; Jones, A.G.; Wade, S.; Krahenbuhl, J.L.; Gillis, T.P.; Watson, J.D.

    1988-01-01

    T cell proliferative responses to Mycobacterium leprae were measured by immunization of mice at the base of the tail with Ag and challenging lymphocytes from draining lymph nodes in culture with M. leprae. C57BL/10J and B10.BR mice were identified as low responder mice and the congenic strains B10.M, B10.Q, and B10.AKM as high responders whereas F1 (high x low) hybrid mice were found to be low responders. The cellular basis of low responsiveness did not appear to result from a defect in Ag-presenting cells or the activation of suppressor T cells by M. leprae. The influence of the environment in which T cells developed on responsiveness to M. leprae was analyzed in chimeric mice prepared by irradiating F1(C57BL/10J x B10.M) mice and reconstituting with bone marrow from C57BL/10J, B10.M, or F1 donors. Six weeks later, chimeric mice were immunized with M. leprae, lymph node cells were subsequently prepared, and H-2 phenotyped and challenged in culture with M. leprae Ag. T cell proliferative responses were found to be low in all cases, similar to those observed using lymph node cells from F1 hybrid mice. These results suggested that high responder B10.M lymphocytes developing in the irradiated F1 mice became tolerized to antigenic determinants found on M. leprae. This implied cross-reactive epitopes existed between some mouse strains and M. leprae. Low responsiveness to M. leprae in low responder and F1 hybrid mice may result from tolerance to H-2-encoded Ag that show cross-reactivity with M. leprae

  18. Fusion protein of tapasin and hepatitis B core antigen 18‑27 enhances T helper cell type 1/2 cytokine ratio and antiviral immunity by inhibiting suppressors of cytokine signaling family members 1/3 in hepatitis B virus transgenic mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Yuyan; Chen, Xiaohua; Zhang, Yi; Tang, Zhenghao; Zhuo, Meng; Li, Dan; Wang, Peng; Zang, Guoqing; Yu, Yongsheng

    2014-04-01

    Persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is characterized by a weak adaptive immune response, which is considered to be due to an imbalance of T helper cell types 1 and 2 (Th1/Th2). Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family members, particularly SOCS1 and SOCS3, have been demonstrated to be important in the regulation of T cell differentiation. Previous studies by our group showed that the expressed and purified fusion protein of cytoplasmic transduction peptide (CTP) and HBV core antigen 18‑27 (HBcAg18‑27)‑tapasin was able to enter the cytoplasm of bone marrow‑derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), promoting the maturation of BMDCs and efficiently enhancing T cell immune responses in vitro. In the present study, HBcAg‑specific immune responses induced by CTP‑HBcAg18‑27‑tapasin in HBV were assessed in transgenic mice, and SOCS1 and SOCS3 were identified as negative regulators of this response. The Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio was analyzed by ELISA. The expression of T cell‑specific T‑box transcription factor (T‑bet) and GATA‑binding protein 3 (GATA‑3), SOCS1 and SOCS3 were detected by real‑time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. The results demonstrated that CTP‑HBcAg18‑27‑tapasin significantly increased the Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio in HBV transgenic mice. CTP‑HBcAg18‑27‑tapasin immunization more efficiently suppressed the expression of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), HBV DNA as well as liver HBsAg and HBcAg in HBV transgenic mice. Furthermore, CTP‑HBcAg18‑27‑tapasin promotes T‑bet but reduces GATA‑3 expression. In addition, the expression of SOCS1 and SOCS3 was significantly downregulated in the CTP‑HBcAg18‑27‑tapasin group compared with the control groups. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that CTP‑HBcAg18‑27‑tapasin enhanced the Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio and antiviral immunity by suppressing SOCS1/3 in HBV transgenic mice.

  19. Selection of antigenic markers on a GFP-Cκ fusion scaffold with high sensitivity by eukaryotic ribosome display

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yongmin; Barankiewicz, Teresa J.; He Mingyue; Taussig, Michael J.; Chen, Swey-Shen

    2007-01-01

    Ribosome display is a cell-free system permitting gene selection through the physical association of genetic material (mRNA) and its phenotypic (protein) product. While often used to select single-chain antibodies from large libraries by panning against immobilized antigens, we have adapted ribosome display for use in the 'reverse' format in order to select high affinity antigenic determinants against solid-phase antibody. To create an antigenic scaffold, DNA encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) was fused to a light chain constant domain (Cκ) with stop codon deleted, and with 5' signals (T7 promoter, Kozak) enabling coupled transcription/translation in a eukaryotic cell-free system. Epitopes on either GFP (5') or Cκ (3') were selected by anti-GFP or anti-Cκ antibodies, respectively, coupled to magnetic beads. After selection, mRNA was amplified directly from protein-ribosome-mRNA (PRM) complexes by in situ PCR followed by internal amplification and reassembly PCR. As little as 10 fg of the 1 kb DNA construct, i.e. approximately 7500 molecules, could be recovered following a single round of interaction with solid-phase anti-GFP antibody. This platform is highly specific and sensitive for the antigen-antibody interaction and may permit selection and reshaping of high affinity antigenic variants of scaffold proteins

  20. Polyclonal antibodies for the detection of Trypanosoma cruzi circulating antigens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edith S Málaga-Machaca

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Detection of Trypanosoma cruzi antigens in clinical samples is considered an important diagnostic tool for Chagas disease. The production and use of polyclonal antibodies may contribute to an increase in the sensitivity of immunodiagnosis of Chagas disease.Polyclonal antibodies were raised in alpacas, rabbits, and hens immunized with trypomastigote excreted-secreted antigen, membrane proteins, trypomastigote lysate antigen and recombinant 1F8 to produce polyclonal antibodies. Western blot analysis was performed to determine specificity of the developed antibodies. An antigen capture ELISA of circulating antigens in serum, plasma and urine samples was developed using IgY polyclonal antibodies against T. cruzi membrane antigens (capture antibody and IgG from alpaca raised against TESA. A total of 33 serum, 23 plasma and 9 urine samples were analyzed using the developed test. Among serum samples, compared to serology, the antigen capture ELISA tested positive in 55% of samples. All plasma samples from serology positive subjects were positive in the antigen capture ELISA. All urine positive samples had corresponding plasma samples that were also positive when tested by the antigen capture ELISA.Polyclonal antibodies are useful for detection of circulating antigens in both the plasma and urine of infected individuals. Detection of antigens is direct evidence of the presence of the parasite, and could be a better surrogate of current infection status.

  1. Accelerator and Fusion Research Division: Summary of activities, 1986

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    This report contains a summary of activities at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's Accelerator and Fusion Research Division for the year 1986. Topics and facilities investigated in individual papers are: 1-2 GeV Synchrotron Radiation Source, the Center for X-Ray Optics, Accelerator Operations, High-Energy Physics Technology, Heavy-Ion Fusion Accelerator Research and Magnetic Fusion Energy. Six individual papers have been indexed separately

  2. Endothelial cell markers in vascular neoplasms: an immunohistochemical study comparing factor VIII-related antigen, blood group specific antigens, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, and Ulex europaeus 1 lectin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, D; Said, J W; Siegel, R J; Fealy, M; Fishbein, M C

    1986-06-01

    Markers for endothelial cells including Ulex europaeus 1 lectin, blood group A, B, and H, and the prostaglandin metabolite 6-keto-PGF1 alpha were evaluated in paraffin secretions from formalin-fixed benign and malignant vascular neoplasms using a variety of immunohistochemical techniques, and results compared with staining for factor VIII-related antigen. Staining for Ulex appeared more sensitive than factor VIII-related antigen in identifying poorly differentiated neoplasms including haemangiosarcomas and spindle cell proliferations in Kaposi's sarcoma. Staining for blood group related antigens correlated with blood group in all cases. Ulex europaeus 1 lectin was the only marker for endothelial cells in lymphangiomas.

  3. JAK2V617F mutation in chronic myeloid leukemia predicts early disease progression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pahore, Z.A.A.; Shamsi, T.S.; Taj, M.; Farzana, T.; Ansari, S.H.; Nadeem, M.; Ahmad, M.; Naz, A.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To determine the association of JAK2V617F mutation along with BCR-ABL translocation or Philadelphia chromosome in chronic myeloid leukemia with early disease progression to advanced stages (accelerated phase or blast crisis) and poor outcome. Study Design: Case series. Place and Duration of Study: National Institute of Blood Diseases and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Karachi, from February 2008 to August 2009. Methodology: All the newly diagnosed cases of BCR-ABL or Philadelphia positive CML were tested for JAK2V617F mutation by Nested PCR. Demographic data, spleen size, hemoglobin levels, white blood cell and platelet counts were recorded. Independent sample t-test was used for age, haemoglobin level and spleen size. Fisher's exact test was applied to compare disease progression in JAK2V617F mutation positive and negative cases. Results: Out of 45 newly diagnosed cases of CML, 40 were in chronic phase, 01 in accelerated phase and 04 in blast crisis. JAK2V617F mutation was detected in 12 (26.7%) patients; 09 (22.5%) in chronic phase, none in accelerated phase and 03 (75%) in blast crisis. During a mean follow-up of 8 months, 03 patients in chronic phase transformed in blast crisis and 02 into accelerated phase. Overall 08 out of 11 (73%) JAK2V617F positive patients either had advanced disease or showed disease progression. Only 2 of 20 (10%) available patients, negative for the mutation, showed disease progression by transforming into blast crisis (p < 0.001). No statistically significant difference was seen in the age, spleen size, haemoglobin levels, white blood cells and platelets counts in JAK2V617F positive patients. Conclusion: JAK2V617F mutation was detected in 26.7% cases of chronic myeloid leukemia. A significant proportion of them showed early disease progression. (author)

  4. Atomic and plasma-material interaction data for fusion. V. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This issues of the Atomic and Plasma-Material Interaction Data for Fusion contains 9 papers on atomic and molecular processes in the edge region of magnetically confined fusion plasmas, including spectroscopic data for fusion edge plasmas; electron collision processes with plasma edge neutrals; electron-ion collisions in the plasma edge; cross-section data for collisions of electrons with hydrocarbon molecules; dissociative and energy transfer reactions involving vibrationally excited hydrogen or deuterium molecules; an assessment of ion-atom collision data for magnetic fusion plasma edge modeling; an extended scaling of cross sections for the ionization of atomic and molecular hydrogen as well as helium by multiply-charged ions; ion-molecule collision processes relevant to fusion edge plasmas; and radiative losses and electron cooling rates for carbon and oxygen plasma impurities. Refs, figs and tabs

  5. KIAA1549-BRAF fusions and IDH mutations can coexist in diffuse gliomas of adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badiali, Manuela; Gleize, Vincent; Paris, Sophie; Moi, Loredana; Elhouadani, Selma; Arcella, Antonietta; Morace, Roberta; Antonelli, Manila; Buttarelli, Francesca Romana; Figarella-Branger, Dominique; Kim, Young-Ho; Ohgaki, Hiroko; Mokhtari, Karima; Sanson, Marc; Giangaspero, Felice

    2012-11-01

    KIAA1549-BRAF fusion gene and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations are considered two mutually exclusive genetic events in pilocytic astrocytomas and diffuse gliomas, respectively. We investigated the presence of the KIAA1549-BRAF fusion gene in conjunction with IDH mutations and 1p/19q loss in 185 adult diffuse gliomas. Moreover BRAF(v600E) mutation was also screened. The KIAA1549-BRAF fusion gene was evaluated by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequencing. We found IDH mutations in 125 out 175 cases (71.4%). There were KIAA1549-BRAF fusion gene in 17 out of 180 (9.4%) cases and BRAF(v600E) in 2 out of 133 (1.5%) cases. In 11 of these 17 cases, both IDH mutations and the KIAA1549-BRAF fusion were present, as independent molecular events. Moreover, 6 of 17 cases showed co-presence of 1p/19q loss, IDH mutations and KIAA1549-BRAF fusion. Among the 17 cases with KIAA1549-BRAF fusion gene 15 (88.2%) were oligodendroglial neoplasms. Similarly, the two cases with BRAF(v600E) mutation were both oligodendroglioma and one had IDH mutations and 1p/19q co-deletion. Our results suggest that in a small fraction of diffuse gliomas, KIAA1549-BRAF fusion gene and BRAF(v600E) mutation may be responsible for deregulation of the Ras-RAF-ERK signaling pathway. Such alterations are more frequent in oligodendroglial neoplasm and may be co-present with IDH mutations and 1p/19q loss. © 2012 The Authors; Brain Pathology © 2012 International Society of Neuropathology.

  6. Cell fusion induced by ionizing radiation in various cell lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khair, M.B.

    1994-07-01

    Cell fusion induced by ionizing radiation has been studied in rat's hepatocytes in vivo and in different cell lines in vitro. These cell lines were: Hela cells, V-79 fibroblasts, human and rat lymphocytes. For irradiation, 0.85 MeV fission neutrons and 14 MeV fast neutrons were used. Cell analyses were performed by fluorescent dyes using immunofluorescent microscope and flow cytometre. Our results in vivo showed that, regardless the dose-rate, a dose of 1 Gy approximately was enough to induce a significant level of cell fusion depending on neutron energy and the age of rats. The level of cell fusion was also significant in Hela cells at a dose of 0.5 Gy. Similar effect, but to a lesser extent, was observed in V-79 cells. Whereas, in lymphocytes insignificant cell fusion was noticed. The varying levels of cell-fusion in different cell lines could be attributed to the type of cells and mutual contact between cells. Furthermore irradiation did not show any influence on cell division ability in both hepatocytes and Hela cells and that fused cells were also able to divide forming a new generation of cells. (author). 36 refs., 8 figs., 10 tabs

  7. Inertial Confinement Fusion at Los Alamos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cartwright, D.C.

    1989-09-01

    This report discusses the following topics on inertial confinement fusion: distribution of electron-beam energy in KrF laser media; electron collision processes in KrF laser media; Krf laser kinetics; and properties of the KrF laser medium

  8. Human CD4+ T cell responses to the dog major allergen Can f 1 and its human homologue tear lipocalin resemble each other.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aino L K Liukko

    Full Text Available Lipocalin allergens form a notable group of proteins, as they contain most of the significant respiratory allergens from mammals. The basis for the allergenic capacity of allergens in the lipocalin family, that is, the development of T-helper type 2 immunity against them, is still unresolved. As immunogenicity has been proposed to be a decisive feature of allergens, the purpose of this work was to examine human CD4+ T cell responses to the major dog allergen Can f 1 and to compare them with those to its human homologue, tear lipocalin (TL. For this, specific T cell lines were induced in vitro from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Can f 1-allergic and healthy dog dust-exposed subjects with peptides containing the immunodominant T cell epitopes of Can f 1 and the corresponding TL peptides. We found that the frequency of Can f 1 and TL-specific T cells in both subject groups was low and close to each other, the difference being about two-fold. Importantly, we found that the proliferative responses of both Can f 1 and TL-specific T cell lines from allergic subjects were stronger than those from healthy subjects, but that the strength of the responses within the subject groups did not differ between these two antigens. Moreover, the phenotype of the Can f 1 and TL-specific T cell lines, determined by cytokine production and expression of cell surface markers, resembled each other. The HLA system appeared to have a minimal role in explaining the allergenicity of Can f 1, as the allergic and healthy subjects' HLA background did not differ, and HLA binding was very similar between Can f 1 and TL peptides. Along with existing data on lipocalin allergens, we conclude that strong antigenicity is not decisive for the allergenicity of Can f 1.

  9. Heterologous expression of antigenic peptides in Bacillus subtilis biofilms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogt, Cédric M; Schraner, Elisabeth M; Aguilar, Claudio; Eichwald, Catherine

    2016-08-11

    Numerous strategies have been developed for the display of heterologous proteins in the surface of live bacterial carriers, which can be used as vaccines, immune-modulators, cancer therapy or bioremediation. Bacterial biofilms have emerged as an interesting approach for the expression of proteins of interest. Bacillus subtilis is a well-described, endospore-forming organism that is able to form biofilms and also used as a probiotic, thus making it a suitable candidate for the display of heterologous proteins within the biofilm. Here, we describe the use of TasA, an important structural component of the biofilms formed by B. subtilis, as a genetic tool for the display of heterologous proteins. We first engineered the fusion protein TasA-mCherry and showed that was widely deployed within the B. subtilis biofilms. A significant enhancement of the expression of TasA-mCherry within the biofilm was obtained when depleting both tasA and sinR genes. We subsequently engineered fusion proteins of TasA to antigenic peptides of the E. granulosus parasite, paramyosin and tropomyosin. Our results show that the antigens were well expressed within the biofilm as denoted by macrostructure complementation and by the detection of the fusion protein in both immunoblot and immunohistochemistry. In addition, we show that the recombinant endospores of B. subtilis preserve their biophysical and morphological properties. In this work we provide strong evidence pointing that TasA is a suitable candidate for the display of heterologous peptides, such as antigens, cytokines, enzymes or antibodies, in the B. subtilis biofilms. Finally, our data portray that the recombinant endospores preserve their morphological and biophysical properties and could be an excellent tool to facilitate the transport and the administration.

  10. Cold nuclear fusion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsyganov, E.N., E-mail: edward.tsyganov@coldfusion-power.com [Cold Fusion Power, International (United States); Bavizhev, M.D. [LLC “Radium”, Moscow (Russian Federation); Buryakov, M.G. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna (Russian Federation); Dabagov, S.B. [RAS P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Leninsky pr. 53, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Kashirskoe shosse 31, 115409 Moscow (Russian Federation); Golovatyuk, V.M.; Lobastov, S.P. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna (Russian Federation)

    2015-07-15

    If target deuterium atoms were implanted in a metal crystal in accelerator experiments, a sharp increase in the probability of DD-fusion reaction was clearly observed when compared with the reaction’s theoretical value. The electronic screening potential, which for a collision of free deuterium atoms is about 27 eV, reached 300–700 eV in the case of the DD-fusion in metallic crystals. These data leads to the conclusion that a ban must exist for deuterium atoms to be in the ground state 1s in a niche filled with free conduction electrons. At the same time, the state 2p whose energy level is only 10 eV above that of state 1s is allowed in these conditions. With anisotropy of 2p, 3p or above orbitals, their spatial positions are strictly determined in the lattice coordinate system. When filling out the same potential niches with two deuterium atoms in the states 2p, 3p or higher, the nuclei of these atoms can be permanently positioned without creating much Coulomb repulsion at a very short distance from each other. In this case, the transparency of the potential barrier increases dramatically compared to the ground state 1s for these atoms. The probability of the deuterium nuclei penetrating the Coulomb barrier by zero quantum vibration of the DD-system also increases dramatically. The so-called cold nuclear DD-fusion for a number of years was registered in many experiments, however, was still rejected by mainstream science for allegedly having no consistent scientific explanation. Finally, it received the validation. Below, we outline the concept of this explanation and give the necessary calculations. This paper also considers the further destiny of the formed intermediate state of {sup 4}He{sup ∗}.

  11. Fusion Canada issue 27

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-03-01

    A short bulletin from the National Fusion Program highlighting in this issue ITER reactor siting, a major upgrade for TdeV tokamak, Ceramic Breeders: new tritium mapping technique and Joint Fusion Symposium. 2 figs

  12. Inertial Confinement Fusion at Los Alamos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cartwright, D.C.

    1989-09-01

    This report discusses the following topics on Inertial Confinement Fusion: ICF contributions to science and technology; target fabrication; laser-target interaction; KrF laser development; advanced KrF lasers; KrF laser technology; and plasma physics for light-ion program

  13. Identification, characterization and antigenicity of the Plasmodium vivax rhoptry neck protein 1 (PvRON1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patarroyo Manuel E

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Plasmodium vivax malaria remains a major health problem in tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. Several rhoptry proteins which are important for interaction with and/or invasion of red blood cells, such as PfRONs, Pf92, Pf38, Pf12 and Pf34, have been described during the last few years and are being considered as potential anti-malarial vaccine candidates. This study describes the identification and characterization of the P. vivax rhoptry neck protein 1 (PvRON1 and examine its antigenicity in natural P. vivax infections. Methods The PvRON1 encoding gene, which is homologous to that encoding the P. falciparum apical sushi protein (ASP according to the plasmoDB database, was selected as our study target. The pvron1 gene transcription was evaluated by RT-PCR using RNA obtained from the P. vivax VCG-1 strain. Two peptides derived from the deduced P. vivax Sal-I PvRON1 sequence were synthesized and inoculated in rabbits for obtaining anti-PvRON1 antibodies which were used to confirm the protein expression in VCG-1 strain schizonts along with its association with detergent-resistant microdomains (DRMs by Western blot, and its localization by immunofluorescence assays. The antigenicity of the PvRON1 protein was assessed using human sera from individuals previously exposed to P. vivax malaria by ELISA. Results In the P. vivax VCG-1 strain, RON1 is a 764 amino acid-long protein. In silico analysis has revealed that PvRON1 shares essential characteristics with different antigens involved in invasion, such as the presence of a secretory signal, a GPI-anchor sequence and a putative sushi domain. The PvRON1 protein is expressed in parasite's schizont stage, localized in rhoptry necks and it is associated with DRMs. Recombinant protein recognition by human sera indicates that this antigen can trigger an immune response during a natural infection with P. vivax. Conclusions This study shows the identification and characterization of

  14. Evaluation of the ability of N-terminal fragment of lethal factor of Bacillus anthracis for delivery of Mycobacterium T cell antigen ESAT-6 into cytosol of antigen presenting cells to elicit effective cytotoxic T lymphocyte response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandra, Subhash; Kaur, Manpreet; Midha, Shuchi; Bhatnagar, Rakesh; Banerjee-Bhatnagar, Nirupama

    2006-01-01

    We report the ability of N-terminal fragment of lethal factor of Bacillus anthracis to deliver genetically fused ESAT-6 (early secretory antigen target), a potent T cell antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, into cytosol to elicit Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. In vitro Th1 cytokines data and CTL assay proved that efficient delivery of LFn.ESAT-6 occurs in cytosol, in the presence of protective antigen (PA), and leads to generation of effective CTL response. Since CTL response is essential for protection against intracellular pathogens and, it is well known that only single T cell epitope or single antigenic protein is not sufficient to elicit protective CTL response due to variation or polymorphism in MHC-I alleles among the individuals, we suggest that as a fusion protein LFn can be used to deliver multiepitopes of T cells or multiproteins which can generate effective CTLs against intracellular pathogens like M. tuberculosis. It can be used to enhance the protective efficacy of BCG vaccine

  15. HIV-1 gp41 Fusion Intermediate: A Target for HIV Therapeutics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chungen Pan

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1 infection is initiated by the binding of gp120 envelope glyco-protein to its cell receptor (CD4 and a coreceptor (CXCR4 or CCR5, followed by a series of conformational changes in the gp41 transmembrane subunit. These changes include insertion of fusion peptide into the target cell membrane and association of C-heptad repeat (CHR peptide with the N-heptad repeat (NHR trimer, a pre-hairpin fusion intermediate. A stable six-helix bundle core is then formed, bringing the viral envelope and target cell membrane into close proximity for fusion. Peptides derived from the CHR region, such as T20 and C34, inhibit HIV-1 fusion by interacting with the gp41 fusion intermediate. A number of anti-HIV-1 peptides and small molecule compounds targeting the gp41 NHR-trimer have been identified. By combining HIV fusion/entry inhibitors targeting different sites in the gp41 fusion intermediate, a potent synergistic effect takes place, resulting in a potential new therapeutic strategy for the HIV infection/AIDS. Here, we present an overview of the current development of anti-HIV drugs, particularly those targeting the gp41 fusion intermediate.

  16. Serum complexed and free prostate specific antigen levels are lower in female elite athletes in comparison to control women [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma Eklund

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: We hypothesize that prostate specific antigen (PSA, a protein that it is under regulation by androgens, may be differentially expressed in female elite athletes in comparison to control women. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 106 female athletes and 114 sedentary age-matched controls.  Serum from these women was analyzed for complexed prostate specific antigen (cPSA and free prostate specific antigen (fPSA, by fifth generation assays with limits of detection of around 6 and 140 fg/mL, respectively.  A panel of estrogens, androgens and progesterone in the same serum was also quantified by tandem mass spectrometry.  Results: Both components of serum PSA (cPSA and fPSA were lower in the elite athletes vs the control group (P=0.033 and 0.013, respectively.  Furthermore, estrone (p=0.003 and estradiol (p=0.004 were significantly lower, and dehydroepiandrosterone  (p=0.095 and 5-androstene-3β, 17β-diol (p=0.084 tended to be higher in the athletes vs controls. Oral contraceptive use was similar between groups and significantly associated with increased cPSA and fPSA in athletes (p= 0.046 and 0.009, respectively.  PSA fractions were not significantly associated with progesterone changes. The Spearman correlation between cPSA and fPSA in both athletes and controls was 0.75 (P < 0.0001 and 0.64 (P < 0.0001, respectively.  Conclusions: Elite athletes have lower complexed and free PSA, higher levels of androgen precursors and lower levels of estrogen in their serum than sedentary control women. Abbreviations: cPSA, complexed PSA; fPSA, free PSA; PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome; E1, estrone; E2, estradiol; DHEA, dehydroepiandrosterone, Testo, testosterone; DHT, dihydrotestosterone; PROG, progesterone; Delta 4, androstenedione; Delta 5, androst-5-ene-3β, 17β-diol; BMD, body mineral density; LLOQ, lower limit of quantification; ULOQ, upper limit of quantification; LOD, limit of detection; ACT, α1-antichymotrypsin

  17. Duration of {sup 18}F-FDG avidity in lymph nodes after pandemic H1N1v and seasonal influenza vaccination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomassen, Anders; Lerberg Nielsen, Anne; Gerke, Oke; Johansen, Allan; Petersen, Henrik [OUH, Odense University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Odense C (Denmark)

    2011-05-15

    The aim of our study was to investigate the occurrence of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity in draining axillary lymph nodes after vaccination against influenza (H1N1v pandemic and seasonal) and to determine the period of increased FDG uptake. During December 2009, patients referred for {sup 18}F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scans (n = 293) filled in a questionnaire concerning vaccination type (seasonal and/or H1N1v), time and anatomical localization of vaccination. Only injections in deltoid regions were evaluated, thus ensuring that draining lymph nodes were axillary. If more vaccinations had been given, only the latest vaccination was evaluated in each deltoid region. Of all patients who underwent PET/CT scans during December 2009, 26% had been vaccinated with at least one influenza vaccination in the deltoid region. A total of 92 'draining' and 60 'reference' (i.e. contralateral, non-vaccinated) axillary lymph nodes were evaluated in 61 patients (19 of 61 patients were scanned twice). The maximal intensity in FDG uptake (SUV{sub max}) in draining lymph nodes was 5 g/ml body weight (BW), whereas the maximal intensity in reference lymph nodes was 1.9 g/ml BW. The SUV{sub max} was normalized approximately 40 days after vaccination. No significant enlargement of metabolically active draining lymph nodes could be demonstrated on CT scan. Chemotherapy or immunosuppressive drugs given within 2 weeks from vaccination did not affect SUV{sub max} in the axillary lymph nodes. Influenza vaccination may lead to FDG-avid draining lymph nodes beyond 1 month. (orig.)

  18. Fusion Canada issue 20

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-03-01

    Fusion Canada's publication of the National Fusion Program. Included in this issue is the CFFTP Industrial Impact Study, CCFM/TdeV Update:helium pumping, research funds, and deuterium in beryllium - high temperature behaviour. 3 figs

  19. Plasma physics and controlled nuclear fusion research 1988. V.3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    Volume 3 of the proceedings of the twelfth international conference on plasma physics and controlled nuclear fusion, held in Nice, France, 12-19 October, 1988, contains papers presented on inertial fusion. Direct and indirect laser implosion experiments, programs of laser construction, computer modelling of implosions and resulting plasmas, and light ion beam fusion experiments are discussed. Refs, figs and tabs

  20. Nuclear characteristics of D-D fusion reactor blankets, (1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakashima, Hideki; Ohta, Masao; Seki, Yasushi.

    1977-01-01

    Fusion reactors operating on the deuterium (D-D) cycle are considered promising for their freedom from tritium breeding in the blanket. In this paper, neutronic and photonic calculations are undertaken covering several blanket models of the D-D fusion reactor, using presently available data, with a view to comparing the nuclear characteristics of these models, in particular, the nuclear heating rates and their spatial distributions. Nine models are taken up for the study, embodying various combinations of coolant, blanket, structural and reflector materials. About 10 MeV is found to be a typical value for the total nuclear energy deposition per source neutron in the models considered here. The realization of high energy gain is contingent upon finding a favorable combination of blanket composition and configuration. The resulting implications on the thermal design aspect are briefly discussed. (auth.)

  1. Tyrosine kinase fusion genes in pediatric BCR-ABL1-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boer, Judith M.; Steeghs, Elisabeth M.P.; Marchante, João R.M.; Boeree, Aurélie; Beaudoin, James J.; Berna Beverloo, H.; Kuiper, Roland P.; Escherich, Gabriele; van der Velden, Vincent H.J.; van der Schoot, C. Ellen; de Groot-Kruseman, Hester A.; Pieters, Rob; den Boer, Monique L.

    2017-01-01

    Approximately 15% of pediatric B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) is characterized by gene expression similar to that of BCR-ABL1-positive disease and unfavorable prognosis. This BCR-ABL1-like subtype shows a high frequency of B-cell development gene aberrations and tyrosine kinase-activating lesions. To evaluate the clinical significance of tyrosine kinase gene fusions in children with BCP-ALL, we studied the frequency of recently identified tyrosine kinase fusions, associated genetic features, and prognosis in a representative Dutch/German cohort. We identified 14 tyrosine kinase fusions among 77 BCR-ABL1-like cases (18%) and none among 76 non-BCR-ABL1-like B-other cases. Novel exon fusions were identified for RCSD1-ABL2 and TERF2-JAK2. JAK2 mutation was mutually exclusive with tyrosine kinase fusions and only occurred in cases with high CRLF2 expression. The non/late response rate and levels of minimal residual disease in the fusion-positive BCR-ABL1-like group were higher than in the non-BCR-ABL1-like B-others (p<0.01), and also higher, albeit not statistically significant, compared with the fusion-negative BCR-ABL1-like group. The 8-year cumulative incidence of relapse in the fusion-positive BCR-ABL1-like group (35%) was comparable with that in the fusion-negative BCR-ABL1-like group (35%), and worse than in the non-BCR-ABL1-like B-other group (17%, p=0.07). IKZF1 deletions, predominantly other than the dominant-negative isoform and full deletion, co-occurred with tyrosine kinase fusions. This study shows that tyrosine kinase fusion-positive cases are a high-risk subtype of BCP-ALL, which warrants further studies with specific kinase inhibitors to improve outcome. PMID:27894077

  2. Fusion Canada issue 32. Final edition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-07-01

    Fusion Canada is a bulletin of the National Fusion Program, this is the last edition. Included in this July edition are articles on Funding for Canada's fusion program, Research and Development on TdeV-96 , Divertor Maintenance Robotics and reference listing for Canada's Fusion research and development sites

  3. Intense neutron source facility for the fusion energy program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Armstrong, D.D.; Emigh, C.R.; Meier, K.L.; Meyer, E.A.; Schneider, J.D.

    1975-01-01

    The Intense Neutron Source Facility, INS, has been proposed to provide a neutronic environment similar to that anticipated in a fully operational fusion-power reactor. The neutron generator will produce an intense flux of 14-MeV neutrons greater than 10 14 neutrons per cm 2 /sec from the collision of two intersecting beams, one of 1.1 A of 270 keV tritium ions and the other of a supersonic jet of deuterium gas. Using either the pure 14-MeV primary neutron spectrum or by tailoring the spectrum with appropriate moderators, crucial radiation-damage effects which are likely to occur in fusion reactors can be thoroughly explored and better understood

  4. A1.5 Fusion Performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amendt, P

    2011-03-31

    Analysis and radiation hydrodynamics simulations for expected high-gain fusion target performance on a demonstration 1-GWe Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) power plant in the mid-2030s timeframe are presented. The required laser energy driver is 2.2 MJ at a 0.351-{micro}m wavelength, and a fusion target gain greater than 60 at a repetition rate of 16 Hz is the design goal for economic and commercial attractiveness. A scaling-law analysis is developed to benchmark the design parameter space for hohlraum-driven central hot-spot ignition. A suite of integrated hohlraum simulations is presented to test the modeling assumptions and provide a basis for a near-term experimental resolution of the key physics uncertainties on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The NIF is poised to demonstrate ignition by 2012 based on the central hot spot (CHS) mode of ignition and propagating thermonuclear burn [1]. This immediate prospect underscores the imperative and timeliness of advancing inertial fusion as a carbon-free, virtually limitless source of energy by the mid-21st century to substantially offset fossil fuel technologies. To this end, an intensive effort is underway to leverage success at the NIF and to provide the foundations for a prototype 'LIFE.1' engineering test facility by {approx}2025, followed by a commercially viable 'LIFE.2' demonstration power plant operating at 1 GWe by {approx}2035. The current design goal for LIFE.2 is to accommodate {approx}2.2 MJ of laser energy (entering the high-Z radiation enclosure or 'hohlraum') at a 0.351-{micro}m wavelength operating at a repetition rate of 16 Hz and to provide a fusion target yield of 132 MJ. To achieve this design goal first requires a '0-d' analytic gain model that allows convenient exploration of parameter space and target optimization. This step is then followed by 2- and 3-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations that incorporate laser beam transport, x

  5. Atomic and plasma-material interaction data for fusion. V. 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    Volume 6 of the supplement ''atomic and plasma-material interaction data for fusion'' to the journal ''Nuclear Fusion'' includes critical assessments and results of original experimental and theoretical studies on inelastic collision processes among the basic and dominant impurity constituents of fusion plasmas. Processes considered in the 15 papers constituting this volume are: electron impact excitation of excited Helium atoms, electron impact excitation and ionization of plasma impurity ions and atoms, electron-impurity-ion recombination and excitation, ionization and electron capture in collisions of plasma protons and impurity ions with the main fusion plasma neutral components helium and atomic and molecular hydrogen. Refs, figs, tabs

  6. Fusion of Sendai virus with vesicles of oligomerizable lipids: a microcalorimetric analysis of membrane fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravoo, B J; Weringa, W D; Engberts, J B

    2000-01-01

    Sendai virus fuses efficiently with small and large unilamellar vesicles of the lipid 1,2-di-n-hexadecyloxypropyl-4- (beta-nitrostyryl) phosphate (DHPBNS) at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C, as shown by lipid mixing assays and electron microscopy. However, fusion is strongly inhibited by oligomerization of the head groups of DHPBNS in the bilayer vesicles. The enthalpy associated with fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles was measured by isothermal titration microcalorimetry, comparing titrations of Sendai virus into (i) solutions of DHPBNS vesicles (which fuse with the virus) and (ii) oligomerized DHPBNS vesicles (which do not fuse with the virus), respectively. The observed heat effect of fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles is strongly dependent on the buffer medium, reflecting a partial charge neutralization of the Sendai F and HN proteins upon insertion into the negatively-charged vesicle membrane. No buffer effect was observed for the titration of Sendai virus into oligomerized DHPBNS vesicles, indicating that inhibition of fusion is a result of inhibition of insertion of the fusion protein into the target membrane. Fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles is endothermic and entropy-driven. The positive enthalpy term is dominated by heat effects resulting from merging of the protein-rich viral envelope with the lipid vesicle bilayers rather than by the fusion of the viral with the vesicle bilayers per se. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

  7. Study of Cold Fusion Reactions Using Collective Clusterization Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Gurjit; Sandhu, Kirandeep; Sharma, Manoj K.

    2017-10-01

    Within the framework of the dynamical cluster decay model (DCM), the 1n evaporation cross-sections ({σ }1n) of cold fusion reactions (Pb and Bi targets) are calculated for {Z}{CN}=104-113 superheavy nuclei. The calculations are carried out in the fixed range of excitation energy {E}{CN}* =15+/- 1 {MeV}, so that the comparative analysis of reaction dynamics can be worked out. First of all, the fission barriers (B f ) and neutron separation energies ({S}1n) are estimated to account the decreasing cross-sections of cold fusion reactions. In addition to this, the importance of hot optimum orientations of β 2i-deformed nuclei over cold one is explored at fixed angular momentum and neck-length parameters. The hot optimum orientations support all the target-projectile (t,p) combinations, which are explored experimentally in the cold fusion reactions. Some new target-projectile combinations are also predicted for future exploration. Further, the 1n cross-sections are addressed for {Z}{CN}=104-113 superheavy nuclei at comparable excitation energies which show the decent agrement with experimental data upto {Z}{CN}=109 nuclei. Finally, to understand the dynamics of higher-Z superheavy nuclei, the cross-sections are also calculated at maximum available energies around the Coulomb barrier and the effect of non-sticking moment of inertia ({I}{NS}) is also investigated at these energies. Supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in the Form of Research Project Grant No. 03(1341)/15/EMR-II, and to DST, New Delhi, for INSPIRE-Fellowship Grant No. DST/INSPIRE/03/2015/000199

  8. IGHV1-69 B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia antibodies cross-react with HIV-1 and hepatitis C virus antigens as well as intestinal commensal bacteria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwan-Ki Hwang

    Full Text Available B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL patients expressing unmutated immunoglobulin heavy variable regions (IGHVs use the IGHV1-69 B cell receptor (BCR in 25% of cases. Since HIV-1 envelope gp41 antibodies also frequently use IGHV1-69 gene segments, we hypothesized that IGHV1-69 B-CLL precursors may contribute to the gp41 B cell response during HIV-1 infection. To test this hypothesis, we rescued 5 IGHV1-69 unmutated antibodies as heterohybridoma IgM paraproteins and as recombinant IgG1 antibodies from B-CLL patients, determined their antigenic specificities and analyzed BCR sequences. IGHV1-69 B-CLL antibodies were enriched for reactivity with HIV-1 envelope gp41, influenza, hepatitis C virus E2 protein and intestinal commensal bacteria. These IGHV1-69 B-CLL antibodies preferentially used IGHD3 and IGHJ6 gene segments and had long heavy chain complementary determining region 3s (HCDR3s (≥21 aa. IGHV1-69 B-CLL BCRs exhibited a phenylalanine at position 54 (F54 of the HCDR2 as do rare HIV-1 gp41 and influenza hemagglutinin stem neutralizing antibodies, while IGHV1-69 gp41 antibodies induced by HIV-1 infection predominantly used leucine (L54 allelic variants. These results demonstrate that the B-CLL cell population is an expansion of members of the innate polyreactive B cell repertoire with reactivity to a number of infectious agent antigens including intestinal commensal bacteria. The B-CLL IGHV1-69 B cell usage of F54 allelic variants strongly suggests that IGHV1-69 B-CLL gp41 antibodies derive from a restricted B cell pool that also produces rare HIV-1 gp41 and influenza hemagglutinin stem antibodies.

  9. Association of TNF polymorphisms with JAK2 (V617F) myeloproliferative neoplasms in Brazilian patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macedo, Luciana Conci; de Cesare Quintero, Fernanda; Pagliari-E-Silva, Sara; Pagnano, Katia Borgia Barbosa; Rodrigues, Camila; de Alencar, Josiane Bazzo; Sell, Ana Maria; Visentainer, Jeane Eliete Laguila

    2016-03-01

    The classical chromosome Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of disorders that share clinical, hematological, and histological features. Proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are elevated in patients with MPN. The aim of this study was to verify the association between the polymorphisms of TNF gene (-308G/A and -238 G/A) in BCR-ABL-negative MPN in our population. Blood samples obtained from MPN patients were genotyped for the JAK2V617F mutation and both TNF polymorphisms using PCR-RFLP. Thirty three (26.8%) patients with polycythemia vera (PV), 35 (28.7%) essential thrombocythemia (ET), 22 (17.7%) primary myelofibrosis (PMF), and 33 (26.8%) with unclassifiable MPN (MPNu) were included in the study. The JAK2 V617F mutation was detected in 94 (76.42%) patients. Were observed a significant increase on the frequency of the TNF-238 GA genotype in MPN patients compared to controls (OR=2.21, 95% CI=1.02-4.80, P<0.04). The distribution of the genotypes and allelic frequencies of TNF-308 was significantly different among the MPNs, JAK2V617F positive, PV and PMF, and controls. Our data has demonstrated that the polymorphisms on TNF-238 GA, TNF-308 GA were associated to MPN development in this population, triggered by JAK2 V617F mutation. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. Employer branding på Q-Med : En fallstudie i hur företagsspecifika värden förmedlas till potentiella och befintliga medarbetare

    OpenAIRE

    Nilsson, Stina; Ljungmark, Erik

    2011-01-01

    Sammanfattning "Employer branding på Q-Med – En fallstudie i hur företagsspecifika värden förmedlas till potentiella och befintliga medarbetare" Datum: 19 januari, 2011 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 ECTS Institution: Akademin för hållbar samhälls‐ och teknikutveckling, HST, Mälardalens Högskola Författare: Erik Ljungmark 29 januari 1980, Stina Nilsson 25 april 1983 Titel: Employer branding på Q-Med – En fallstudie i hur företagsspecifika värden förmedlas till potentiella och...

  11. Evaluating Recombinant Antigen ROP1 Efficacy in Diagnosis of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Keshavarzi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous obligate intracellular parasite with a relatively broad host range infecting both mammals and birds. Toxoplasma proteins are strong antigens that can begin strong immune reactions, among which Rhoptry protein 1 (ROP1 can be named discharging from rhoptry cell-organ. ROP1 is regarded as a competitor for recombinant vaccines against toxoplasmosis. Therefore, the main objective of the current study was to evaluate the cloning and expression of ROP1 Toxoplasma gondii in a cloning vector as well as to create this recombinant antigen in order to be applied for later uses. Methods:Genomic DNA of Toxoplasma gondii was removed and reproduced by PCR, then the PCR product was cloned into the EcoR1 and BamH1 sites of cloning vector, pUET1, and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 plysS strain. Moreover, pcROP1 was sub-cloned into the HindIII and EcoRI sites of the pcDNA3 in order to produce recombining eukaryotic declaration vector. The cloned ROP1 was verified by PCR, limitation enzymes (HindIII and BglΙ digestion and nucleotide sequencing. Then, this recombinant antigen was covered applying IgM and ELISAIgG. Results:The study results demonstrated that a fragment of 757 bp was separated. In addition, nucleotide sequence analysis of the ROP1 cloned in pUET1vector revealed high homology (96% with RH strain Gene Bank Accession (No. M71274. Conclusion:The recombinant ROP1 antigen in an IgM Rec-ELISA test can be replaced with the tachyzoite antigen in IgG and IgM serologic tests.

  12. Induction of human immunodeficiency virus neutralizing antibodies using fusion complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zipeto, Donato; Matucci, Andrea; Ripamonti, Chiara; Scarlatti, Gabriella; Rossolillo, Paola; Turci, Marco; Sartoris, Silvia; Tridente, Giuseppe; Bertazzoni, Umberto

    2006-05-01

    Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infects cells by membrane fusion that is mediated by the envelope proteins gp120/gp41 and the cellular receptors CD4 and CCR5. During this process, some conserved viral epitopes are temporarily exposed and may induce a neutralizing antibody response when fixed in the fusogenic conformation. These transient structures are conserved and may be effective antigens for use in an anti-HIV-1 vaccine. In this study we tested different conditions of preparation of fusion complexes inducing neutralizing antibodies against both R5 and X4 tropic HIV-1 strains. Cell lines expressing HIV-1 gp120/gp41 and CD4-CCR5 were prepared and conditions for producing fusion complexes were tested. Complexes produced at different temperature and fixative combinations were used to immunize mice. Results indicated that (a) fusion complexes prepared at either 21 degrees C, 30 degrees C or 37 degrees C were immunogenic and induced neutralizing antibodies against both R5 and X4 HIV-1 heterologous isolates; (b) after extensive purification of antibodies there was no cytotoxic effect; (c) complexes prepared at 37 degrees C were more immunogenic and induced higher titers of neutralizing antibodies than complexes prepared at either 21 degrees C or 30 degrees C; (d) the fixative used did not affect the titer of neutralizing antibodies except for glutaraldehyde which was ineffective; (e) the neutralizing activity was retained after CD4-CCR5 antibody removal. The production of higher titers of neutralizing antibody with fusion complexes prepared at 37 degrees C, as compared to lower temperatures, may be related to the induction of antibodies against many different conformation intermediates that subsequently act synergistically at different steps in the fusion process.

  13. Impact of JAK2V617F Mutational Status on Phenotypic Features in Essential Thrombocythemia and Primary Myelofibrosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    İpek Yönal

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The JAK2V617F mutation is present in the majority of patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET and primary myelofibrosis (PMF. The impact of this mutation on disease phenotype in ET and PMF is still a matter of discussion. This study aims to determine whether there are differences in clinical presentation and disease outcome between ET and PMF patients with and without the JAK2V617F mutation. Materials and Methods: In this single-center study, a total of 184 consecutive Philadelphia-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms, 107 cases of ET and 77 cases of PMF, were genotyped for JAK2V617F mutation using the JAK2 Ipsogen MutaScreen assay, which involves allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. Results: ET patients positive for JAK2V617F mutation had higher hemoglobin (Hb and hematocrit (Hct levels, lower platelet counts, and more prevalent splenomegaly at diagnosis compared to patients negative for the JAK2V617F mutation, but rates of major thrombotic events, arterial thrombosis, and venous thrombosis were comparable between the groups. At presentation, PMF patients with JAK2V617F mutation had significantly higher Hb and Hct levels and leukocyte counts than patients without the mutation. Similar to the findings of ET patients, thromboembolic rates were similar in PMF patients with and without theJAK2V617F mutation. For ET and PMF patients, no difference was observed in rates of death with respect to JAK2V617F mutational status. Moreover, leukemic transformation rate was not different in our PMF patients with and without JAK2V617F mutation. Conclusion: We conclude that JAK2V617F-mutated ET patients express a polycythemia vera-like phenotype and JAK2V617F mutation in PMF patients is associated with a more pronounced myeloproliferative phenotype.

  14. Development of 'low activation superconducting wire' for an advanced fusion reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hishinuma, Y.; Yamada, S.; Sagara, A.; Kikuchi, A.; Takeuchi, T.; Matsuda, K.; Taniguchi, H.

    2011-01-01

    In the D-T burning plasma reactor beyond ITER such as DEMO and fusion power plants assuming the steady-state and long time operation, it will be necessary to consider carefully induced radioactivity and neutron irradiation properties on the all components for fusion reactors. The decay time of the induced radioactivity can control the schedule and scenarios of the maintenance and shutdown on the fusion reactor. V 3 Ga and MgB 2 compound have shorter decay time within 1 years and they will be desirable as a candidate material to realize 'low activation and high magnetic field superconducting magnet' for advanced fusion reactor. However, it is well known that J c -B properties of V 3 Ga and MgB 2 wires are lower than that of the Nb-based A15 compound wires, so the J c -B enhancements on the V 3 Ga and MgB 2 wires are required in order to apply for an advanced fusion reactor. We approached and succeeded to developing the new process in order to improve J c properties of V 3 Ga and MgB 2 wires. In this paper, the recent activities for the J c improvements and detailed new process in V 3 Ga and MgB 2 wires are investigated. (author)

  15. The thrombopoietin receptor, MPL, is critical for development of a JAK2V617F-induced myeloproliferative neoplasm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sangkhae, Veena; Etheridge, S Leah; Kaushansky, Kenneth; Hitchcock, Ian S

    2014-12-18

    The most frequent contributing factor in Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) is the acquisition of a V617F mutation in Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Recent evidence has demonstrated that to drive MPN transformation, JAK2V617F needs to directly associate with a functional homodimeric type I cytokine receptor, suggesting that, although acquiring JAK2V617F may promote disease, there are additional cellular components necessary for MPN development. Here we show that loss of the thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor (MPL) significantly ameliorates MPN development in JAK2V617F(+) transgenic mice, whereas loss of TPO only mildly affects the disease phenotype. Specifically, compared with JAK2V617F(+) mice, JAK2V617F(+)Mpl(-/-) mice exhibited reduced thrombocythemia, neutrophilia, splenomegaly, and neoplastic stem cell pool. The importance of MPL is highlighted as JAK2V617FMpl(+/-) mice displayed a significantly reduced MPN phenotype, indicating that Mpl level may have a substantial effect on MPN development and severity. Splenomegaly and the increased neoplastic stem cell pool were retained in JAK2V617F(+)Tpo(-/-) mice, although thrombocytosis was reduced compared with JAK2V617F(+) mice. These results demonstrate that Mpl expression, but not Tpo, is fundamental in the development of JAK2V617F(+) MPNs, highlighting an entirely novel target for therapeutic intervention. © 2014 by The American Society of Hematology.

  16. Identification of a human protein-derived HIV-1 fusion inhibitor targeting the gp41 fusion core structure.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lijun Chao

    Full Text Available The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env gp41 plays a crucial role in the viral fusion process. The peptides derived from the C-terminal heptad repeat (CHR of gp41 are potent HIV fusion inhibitors. However, the activity of these anti-HIV-1 peptides in vivo may be attenuated by their induction of anti-gp41 antibodies. Thus, it is essential to identify antiviral peptides or proteins with low, or no, immunogenicity to humans. Here, we found that the C-terminal fragment (aa 462-521 of the human POB1 (the partner of RalBP1, designated C60, is an HIV-1 fusion inhibitor. It bound to N36, the peptide derived from the N-terminal heptad repeat (NHR of gp41, and to the six-helix bundle (6-HB formed by N36 and C34, a CHR-peptide, but it did not bind to C34. Unlike the CHR-peptides, C60 did not block gp41 6-HB formation. Rather, results suggest that C60 inhibits HIV-1 fusion by binding to the 6-HB, in particular, the residues in the gp41 NHR domain that are exposed on the surface of 6-HB. Since 6-HB plays a crucial role in the late stage of fusion between the viral envelope and endosomal membrane during the endocytic process of HIV-1, C60 may serve as a host restriction factor to suppress HIV-1 entry into CD4+ T lymphocytes. Taken together, it can be concluded from these results that C60 can be used as a lead for the development of anti-HIV-1 therapeutics or microbicides for the treatment and prevention of HIV-1 infection, as well as a molecular probe to study the fusogenic mechanism of HIV-1.

  17. Fusion measurements in light and medium mass heavy-ion reactions. Progress report, June 1, 1980-May 31, 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prosser, F.W.

    1981-01-01

    The data obtained for fusion residues from the 16 18 O + 24 26 Mg systems have been analyzed and are being compared to each other and to predictions from the fusion-evaporation code CASCADE. Analysis of data obtained for a small step excitation curve for the 16 O + 24 Mg system has been started to determine the possible presence of structure in the fusion cross section. Additional data for the fusion cross sections of these systems have been obtained at energies from 100 to 140 MeV at the ATLAS facility and are being analyzed. Initial measurements of the fusion-fission cross sections for 58 Ni beams, at energies up to 320 MeV on targets from 116 Sn to 170 Yb have been made. Analysis is in progress and additional experiments are planned. A collaboration is planned at Notre Dame for experiments to determine the entry line for fusion in the 12 C + 16 O system, both for the interest in this system and for preparation for additional experiments at higher energies at Michigan State when the new facility there becomes available. These experiments should lead to information about the importance of incomplete fusion in this system. Experiments to test the limitation on fusion cross sections predicted by the rotating liquid drop model are planned as higher energies become available at ATLAS and MSU

  18. Osteoclast Fusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marie Julie Møller, Anaïs; Delaissé, Jean-Marie; Søe, Kent

    2017-01-01

    on the nuclearity of fusion partners. While CD47 promotes cell fusions involving mono-nucleated pre-osteoclasts, syncytin-1 promotes fusion of two multi-nucleated osteoclasts, but also reduces the number of fusions between mono-nucleated pre-osteoclasts. Furthermore, CD47 seems to mediate fusion mostly through...... individual fusion events using time-lapse and antagonists of CD47 and syncytin-1. All time-lapse recordings have been studied by two independent observers. A total of 1808 fusion events were analyzed. The present study shows that CD47 and syncytin-1 have different roles in osteoclast fusion depending...... broad contact surfaces between the partners' cell membrane while syncytin-1 mediate fusion through phagocytic-cup like structure. J. Cell. Physiol. 9999: 1-8, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc....

  19. QTLs and potential candidate genes for heat stress tolerance identified from the mapping populations specifically segregating for Fv/Fm in wheat

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sharma, Dew Kumari; Torp, Anna Maria; Rosenqvist, Eva

    2017-01-01

    Despite the fact that F-v/F-m (maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II) is the most widely used parameter for a rapid non-destructive measure of stress detection in plants, there are barely any studies on the genetic understanding of this trait under heat stress. Our aim was to identify...... quantitative trait locus (QTL) and the potential candidate genes linked to F-v/F-m for improved photosynthesis under heat stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Three bi-parental F-2 mapping populations were generated by crossing three heat tolerant male parents (origin: Afghanistan and Pakistan) selected...... for high F-v/F-m with a common heat susceptible female parent (origin: Germany) selected for lowest F-v/F-m out of a pool of 1274 wheat cultivars of diverse geographic origin. Parents together with 140 F-2 individuals in each population were phenotyped by F-v/F-m under heat stress (40 degrees C for 3 days...

  20. Multivariate Sensitivity Analysis of Time-of-Flight Sensor Fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, Sebastian; Sjöström, Mårten; Olsson, Roger

    2014-09-01

    Obtaining three-dimensional scenery data is an essential task in computer vision, with diverse applications in various areas such as manufacturing and quality control, security and surveillance, or user interaction and entertainment. Dedicated Time-of-Flight sensors can provide detailed scenery depth in real-time and overcome short-comings of traditional stereo analysis. Nonetheless, they do not provide texture information and have limited spatial resolution. Therefore such sensors are typically combined with high resolution video sensors. Time-of-Flight Sensor Fusion is a highly active field of research. Over the recent years, there have been multiple proposals addressing important topics such as texture-guided depth upsampling and depth data denoising. In this article we take a step back and look at the underlying principles of ToF sensor fusion. We derive the ToF sensor fusion error model and evaluate its sensitivity to inaccuracies in camera calibration and depth measurements. In accordance with our findings, we propose certain courses of action to ensure high quality fusion results. With this multivariate sensitivity analysis of the ToF sensor fusion model, we provide an important guideline for designing, calibrating and running a sophisticated Time-of-Flight sensor fusion capture systems.

  1. Sub-Coulomb fusion with halo nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fekou-Youmbi, V.; Sida, J.L.; Alamanos, N.; Auger, F.; Bazin, D.; Borcea, C.; Cabot, C.; Cunsolo, A.; Foti, A.; Gillibert, A.; Lepine, A.; Lewitowicz, M.; Liguori-Neto, R.; Mittig, W.; Pollacco, E.; Roussel-Chomaz, P.; Volant, C.; Yong Feng, Y.

    1995-01-01

    The nuclear structure of halo nuclei may have strong influence on the fusion cross section at sub-barrier energies. The actual theoretical debate is briefly reviewed and sub-barrier fusion calculations for the system 11 Be+ 238 U are presented. An experimental program on sub-barrier fusion for the systems 7,9,10,11 Be+ 238 U is underway at GANIL. First results with 9 Be and 11 Be beams were obtained using the F.U.S.ION detector. Relative fission cross sections are presented. ((orig.))

  2. The value of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in asymptomatic examinees with unexplained elevated blood carcinoembryonic antigen levels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Wenfeng [The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Laboratory for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Institutes of Translational Medicine, Wenzhou (China); The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Department of Radiation Oncology, Wenzhou (China); Yin, Weiwei [The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Division of PET/CT, Department of Radiology, Wenzhou (China); Ou, Rongying [The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Laboratory for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Institutes of Translational Medicine, Wenzhou (China); The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Wenzhou (China); Chen, Ting; Xiong, Lingling; Xu, Yunsheng [The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Laboratory for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Institutes of Translational Medicine, Wenzhou (China); The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Department of Dermatovenereology, Wenzhou (China); Cheng, Dezhi; Xie, Deyao [The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Laboratory for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Institutes of Translational Medicine, Wenzhou (China); The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Wenzhou (China); Zheng, Xiangwu; Zhao, Liang [The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Laboratory for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Institutes of Translational Medicine, Wenzhou (China); The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Division of PET/CT, Department of Radiology, Wenzhou (China); The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Institutes of Intelligent and Molecular Imaging, Wenzhou (China)

    2016-04-15

    Cancer is still a clinical challenge, with many efforts invested in order to achieve timely detection. Unexplained elevated blood carcinoembryonic antigen levels are occasionally observed in an asymptomatic population and considered as a risk factor of cancers. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18 FDG-PET/CT) for detecting cancer in an asymptomatic population with an unexplained elevation in blood carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels. This retrospective study included a total of 1920 asymptomatic examinees conducted from August 2011 through September 2013. The participants underwent CEA assay and conventional medical imaging (CEA-conventional), or CEA assay and F-18 FDG-PET/CT (CEA-PET/CT). The validity of conventional medical imaging and CEA-PET/CT scanning for detecting cancer and early-stage cancer in an asymptomatic population with an unexplained elevation in blood CEA levels were evaluated. Sensitivity, specificity, cancer detection rate, missed cancer detection rate, early-stage cancer detection rate, and early-stage cancer ratio using the CEA-PET/CT scanning were 96.6 %, 100 %, 10.4 %, 0.4 %, 3.7 %, and 34.5 %, respectively. In contrast, the corresponding values obtained using the conventional medical imaging were 50.6 % (P < 0.0001), 100 % (P > 0.9999), 50.6 % (P < 0.0001), 99.9 % (P = 0.055), 2.6 % (P < 0.0001), 2.5 % (P = 0.04), 0.7 % (P = 0.0004), and 14.5 % (P = 0.002), respectively. The F-18 FDG-PET/CT scanning significantly improved the validity of the cancer detection program in the asymptomatic population with an unexplained elevation in CEA levels. (orig.)

  3. Role of magnetic resonance urography in pediatric renal fusion anomalies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, Sherwin S.; Ntoulia, Aikaterini; Khrichenko, Dmitry; Back, Susan J.; Darge, Kassa; Tasian, Gregory E.; Dillman, Jonathan R.

    2017-01-01

    Renal fusion is on a spectrum of congenital abnormalities that occur due to disruption of the migration process of the embryonic kidneys from the pelvis to the retroperitoneal renal fossae. Clinically, renal fusion anomalies are often found incidentally and associated with increased risk for complications, such as urinary tract obstruction, infection and urolithiasis. These anomalies are most commonly imaged using ultrasound for anatomical definition and less frequently using renal scintigraphy to quantify differential renal function and assess urinary tract drainage. Functional magnetic resonance urography (fMRU) is an advanced imaging technique that combines the excellent soft-tissue contrast of conventional magnetic resonance (MR) images with the quantitative assessment based on contrast medium uptake and excretion kinetics to provide information on renal function and drainage. fMRU has been shown to be clinically useful in evaluating a number of urological conditions. A highly sensitive and radiation-free imaging modality, fMRU can provide detailed morphological and functional information that can facilitate conservative and/or surgical management of children with renal fusion anomalies. This paper reviews the embryological basis of the different types of renal fusion anomalies, their imaging appearances at fMRU, complications associated with fusion anomalies, and the important role of fMRU in diagnosing and managing children with these anomalies. (orig.)

  4. Role of magnetic resonance urography in pediatric renal fusion anomalies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chan, Sherwin S. [Children' s Mercy Hospital, Department of Radiology, Kansas City, MO (United States); Ntoulia, Aikaterini; Khrichenko, Dmitry [The Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Body Imaging, Department of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Back, Susan J.; Darge, Kassa [The Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Body Imaging, Department of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA (United States); University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Tasian, Gregory E. [University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA (United States); The Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Dillman, Jonathan R. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Division of Thoracoabdominal Imaging, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

    2017-12-15

    Renal fusion is on a spectrum of congenital abnormalities that occur due to disruption of the migration process of the embryonic kidneys from the pelvis to the retroperitoneal renal fossae. Clinically, renal fusion anomalies are often found incidentally and associated with increased risk for complications, such as urinary tract obstruction, infection and urolithiasis. These anomalies are most commonly imaged using ultrasound for anatomical definition and less frequently using renal scintigraphy to quantify differential renal function and assess urinary tract drainage. Functional magnetic resonance urography (fMRU) is an advanced imaging technique that combines the excellent soft-tissue contrast of conventional magnetic resonance (MR) images with the quantitative assessment based on contrast medium uptake and excretion kinetics to provide information on renal function and drainage. fMRU has been shown to be clinically useful in evaluating a number of urological conditions. A highly sensitive and radiation-free imaging modality, fMRU can provide detailed morphological and functional information that can facilitate conservative and/or surgical management of children with renal fusion anomalies. This paper reviews the embryological basis of the different types of renal fusion anomalies, their imaging appearances at fMRU, complications associated with fusion anomalies, and the important role of fMRU in diagnosing and managing children with these anomalies. (orig.)

  5. Effects of sawtooth crashes on beam ions and fusion product tritons in JET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marcus, F.B.; Hone, M.A.; Jarvis, O.N.; Loughlin, M.J.; Sadler, G. [Commission of the European Communities, Abingdon (United Kingdom). JET Joint Undertaking; Adams, J.M.; Bond, D.S.; Watkins, N. [AEA Technology, Harwell (United Kingdom); Howarth, P.J.A. [Birmingham Univ. (United Kingdom)

    1994-12-31

    The objective of this study is to examine the effect of a sawtooth crash on the radial distribution of the slowing down fusion product tritons and on beam ions. The JET neutron emission profile monitor was used to measure the 2.5 MeV and 14 MeV neutron emission line-integrals before and after sawtooth crashes in the Joint European Torus (JET). In deuterium discharges, the 14 MeV neutron production was wholly attributable to burnup of the 1 MeV fusion product tritons from d-d fusion. It has been known for many years that the global emission of 14 MeV neutrons is not affected by sawtooth crashes. Examination of the data obtained with the profile monitor shows that the local emissivity of 14 MeV neutrons, and hence of the profile of thermalizing tritons, is only weakly affected by crashes in the discharges studied. This is in contradiction with the apparent behaviour of injected beam ions as deduced from a study of the considerable changes in local emissivity of the 2.5 MeV neutrons. Nevertheless, the behaviour of the fusion product tritons is consistent with the scaling of the beam injected deuterium. (author) 1 ref., 6 figs.

  6. Moult-inhibiting fusion protein augments while polyclonal antisera attenuate moult stages and duration in Penaeus monodon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrinda, S; Jasmin, C; Sivakumar, K C; Jose, Blessy; Philip, Rosamma; Bright Singh, I S

    2016-07-01

    Moulting in crustaceans is regulated by moult-inhibiting hormone (MIH) of the CHH family neuropeptides. The inhibitory functions of MIH have pivotal roles in growth and reproduction of Penaeus monodon. In this study, we report the expression of a thioredoxin-fused mature MIH I protein (mf-PmMIH I) of P. monodon in a bacterial system and its use as antigen to raise polyclonal antiserum (anti-mf-PmMIH I). The mature MIH I gene of 231bp, that codes for 77 amino acids, was cloned into the Escherichia coli thioredoxin gene fusion expression system. The translation expression vector construct (mf-PmMIH I+pET32a+) upon induction produced 29.85kDa mature MIH I fusion protein (mf-PmMIH I). The purified fusion protein was used as exogenous MIH I and as antigen to raise polyclonal antisera. When fusion protein (mf-PmMIH I) was injected into D2 and D3 stages of juvenile shrimp, the moult cycle duration was extended significantly to 16.67±1.03 and 14.67±1.03days respectively compared to that of 11.67±1.03days in controls. Moult duration was further reduced to 8.33±0.82days when polyclonal antiserum (anti-mf-PmMIH I - 1:500 dilutions) was injected. Anti-mf-PmMIH I immunolocalized MIH I producing neurosecretory cells in the eyestalk of P. monodon. In short, the present manuscript reports an innovative means of moult regulation in P. monodon with thioredoxin fused MIH I and antisera developed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Light ion fusion experiment (L.I.F.E.) concept validation studies. Final report, July 1979-May 1980

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christensen, T.E.; Orthel, J.L.; Thomson, J.J.

    1980-12-01

    This report reflects the considerable advances made for the objectives of the contractual program, validating by detailed anaytical studies the concept of a new Light Ion Fusion Experiment for Inertial Confinement Fusion. The studies have produced an analytical design of a novel electrostatic accelerator based on separate function and strong channel focusing principles, to launch 3 to 10 MeV, 23 kA, He + neutralized beams in 400 ns pulses, delivering on a 5 mm radius target located 10 m downstream, 50 kJ of implosion energy in approx. 20 ns impact times The control, stability and focusing of beams is made by electrostatic quadrupoles, producing overall beam normalized emittance of approx. 3 x 10 -5 m-rad

  8. Preclinical evaluation of BAY 1075553, a novel 18F-labelled inhibitor of prostate-specific membrane antigen for PET imaging of prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lesche, Ralf; Kettschau, Georg; Gromov, Alexey V.; Boehnke, Niels; Borkowski, Sandra; Moenning, Ursula; Doehr, Olaf; Graham, Keith; Hegele-Hartung, Christa; Dinkelborg, Ludger M.

    2014-01-01

    Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a transmembrane protein overexpressed in prostate cancer and is therefore being explored as a biomarker for diagnosing and staging of the disease. Here we report preclinical data on BAY 1075553 (a 9:1 mixture of (2S,4S)- and (2R,4S)-2-[ 18 F]fluoro-4-phosphonomethyl-pentanedioic acid), a novel 18 F-labelled small molecule inhibitor of PSMA enzymatic activity, which can be efficiently synthesized from a direct radiolabelling precursor. The 18 F-radiolabelled stereoisomers of 2-[ 18 F]fluoro-4-(phosphonomethyl)-pentanedioic acid were synthesized from their respective isomerically pure precursors dimethyl 2-{[bis(benzyloxy)phosphoryl ]methyl}-4-(tosyloxy)pentanedioate. In vivo positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and biodistribution studies were conducted in mice bearing LNCaP, 22Rv1 and PC-3 tumours. Pharmacokinetic parameters and dosimetry estimates were calculated based on biodistribution studies in rodents. For non-clinical safety assessment (safety pharmacology, toxicology) to support a single-dose human microdose study, off-target effects in vitro, effects on vital organ functions (cardiovascular in dogs, nervous system in rats), mutagenicity screens and an extended single-dose study in rats were conducted with the non-radioactive racemic analogue of BAY 1075553. BAY 1075553 showed high tumour accumulation specific to PSMA-positive tumour-bearing mice and was superior to other stereoisomers tested. Fast clearance of BAY 1075553 resulted overall in low background signals in other organs except for high uptake into kidney and bladder which was mainly caused by renal elimination of BAY 1075553. A modest uptake into bone was observed which decreased over time indicating organ-specific uptake as opposed to defluorination of BAY 1075553 in vivo. Biodistribution studies found highest organ doses for kidneys and the urinary bladder wall resulting in a projected effective dose (ED) in humans of 0.0219 mSv/MBq. Non

  9. SU-F-J-111: A Novel Distance-Dose Weighting Method for Label Fusion in Multi- Atlas Segmentation for Prostate Radiation Therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, J; Gu, X; Lu, W; Jiang, S; Song, T

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: A novel distance-dose weighting method for label fusion was developed to increase segmentation accuracy in dosimetrically important regions for prostate radiation therapy. Methods: Label fusion as implemented in the original SIMPLE (OS) for multi-atlas segmentation relies iteratively on the majority vote to generate an estimated ground truth and DICE similarity measure to screen candidates. The proposed distance-dose weighting puts more values on dosimetrically important regions when calculating similarity measure. Specifically, we introduced distance-to-dose error (DDE), which converts distance to dosimetric importance, in performance evaluation. The DDE calculates an estimated DE error derived from surface distance differences between the candidate and estimated ground truth label by multiplying a regression coefficient. To determine the coefficient at each simulation point on the rectum, we fitted DE error with respect to simulated voxel shift. The DEs were calculated by the multi-OAR geometry-dosimetry training model previously developed in our research group. Results: For both the OS and the distance-dose weighted SIMPLE (WS) results, the evaluation metrics for twenty patients were calculated using the ground truth segmentation. The mean difference of DICE, Hausdorff distance, and mean absolute distance (MAD) between OS and WS have shown 0, 0.10, and 0.11, respectively. In partial MAD of WS which calculates MAD within a certain PTV expansion voxel distance, the lower MADs were observed at the closer distances from 1 to 8 than those of OS. The DE results showed that the segmentation from WS produced more accurate results than OS. The mean DE error of V75, V70, V65, and V60 were decreased by 1.16%, 1.17%, 1.14%, and 1.12%, respectively. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that the method can increase the segmentation accuracy in rectum regions adjacent to PTV. As a result, segmentation using WS have shown improved dosimetric accuracy than OS. The WS will

  10. SU-F-J-111: A Novel Distance-Dose Weighting Method for Label Fusion in Multi- Atlas Segmentation for Prostate Radiation Therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, J; Gu, X; Lu, W; Jiang, S [UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States); Song, T [Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong (China)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: A novel distance-dose weighting method for label fusion was developed to increase segmentation accuracy in dosimetrically important regions for prostate radiation therapy. Methods: Label fusion as implemented in the original SIMPLE (OS) for multi-atlas segmentation relies iteratively on the majority vote to generate an estimated ground truth and DICE similarity measure to screen candidates. The proposed distance-dose weighting puts more values on dosimetrically important regions when calculating similarity measure. Specifically, we introduced distance-to-dose error (DDE), which converts distance to dosimetric importance, in performance evaluation. The DDE calculates an estimated DE error derived from surface distance differences between the candidate and estimated ground truth label by multiplying a regression coefficient. To determine the coefficient at each simulation point on the rectum, we fitted DE error with respect to simulated voxel shift. The DEs were calculated by the multi-OAR geometry-dosimetry training model previously developed in our research group. Results: For both the OS and the distance-dose weighted SIMPLE (WS) results, the evaluation metrics for twenty patients were calculated using the ground truth segmentation. The mean difference of DICE, Hausdorff distance, and mean absolute distance (MAD) between OS and WS have shown 0, 0.10, and 0.11, respectively. In partial MAD of WS which calculates MAD within a certain PTV expansion voxel distance, the lower MADs were observed at the closer distances from 1 to 8 than those of OS. The DE results showed that the segmentation from WS produced more accurate results than OS. The mean DE error of V75, V70, V65, and V60 were decreased by 1.16%, 1.17%, 1.14%, and 1.12%, respectively. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that the method can increase the segmentation accuracy in rectum regions adjacent to PTV. As a result, segmentation using WS have shown improved dosimetric accuracy than OS. The WS will

  11. Antigenic variation of H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2 swine influenza viruses in Japan and Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takemae, Nobuhiro; Nguyen, Tung; Ngo, Long Thanh; Hiromoto, Yasuaki; Uchida, Yuko; Pham, Vu Phong; Kageyama, Tsutomu; Kasuo, Shizuko; Shimada, Shinichi; Yamashita, Yasutaka; Goto, Kaoru; Kubo, Hideyuki; Le, Vu Tri; Van Vo, Hung; Do, Hoa Thi; Nguyen, Dang Hoang; Hayashi, Tsuyoshi; Matsuu, Aya; Saito, Takehiko

    2013-04-01

    The antigenicity of the influenza A virus hemagglutinin is responsible for vaccine efficacy in protecting pigs against swine influenza virus (SIV) infection. However, the antigenicity of SIV strains currently circulating in Japan and Vietnam has not been well characterized. We examined the antigenicity of classical H1 SIVs, pandemic A(H1N1)2009 (A(H1N1)pdm09) viruses, and seasonal human-lineage SIVs isolated in Japan and Vietnam. A hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay was used to determine antigenic differences that differentiate the recent Japanese H1N2 and H3N2 SIVs from the H1N1 and H3N2 domestic vaccine strains. Minor antigenic variation between pig A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses was evident by HI assay using 13 mAbs raised against homologous virus. A Vietnamese H1N2 SIV, whose H1 gene originated from a human strain in the mid-2000s, reacted poorly with post-infection ferret serum against human vaccine strains from 2000-2010. These results provide useful information for selection of optimal strains for SIV vaccine production.

  12. Search for charged Higgs bosons produced via vector boson fusion and decaying into a pair of W and Z bosons using proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s} = $ 13 TeV

    CERN Document Server

    Sirunyan, Albert M; CMS Collaboration; Adam, Wolfgang; Asilar, Ece; Bergauer, Thomas; Brandstetter, Johannes; Brondolin, Erica; Dragicevic, Marko; Erö, Janos; Flechl, Martin; Friedl, Markus; Fruehwirth, Rudolf; Ghete, Vasile Mihai; Hartl, Christian; Krammer, Natascha; Hrubec, Josef; Jeitler, Manfred; König, Axel; Krätschmer, Ilse; Liko, Dietrich; Matsushita, Takashi; Mikulec, Ivan; Rabady, Dinyar; Rad, Navid; Rahbaran, Babak; Rohringer, Herbert; Schieck, Jochen; Strauss, Josef; Waltenberger, Wolfgang; Wulz, Claudia-Elisabeth; Dvornikov, Oleg; Makarenko, Vladimir; Mossolov, Vladimir; Suarez Gonzalez, Juan; Zykunov, Vladimir; Shumeiko, Nikolai; Alderweireldt, Sara; De Wolf, Eddi A; Janssen, Xavier; Lauwers, Jasper; Van De Klundert, Merijn; Van Haevermaet, Hans; Van Mechelen, Pierre; Van Remortel, Nick; Van Spilbeeck, Alex; Abu Zeid, Shimaa; Blekman, Freya; D'Hondt, Jorgen; Daci, Nadir; De Bruyn, Isabelle; Deroover, Kevin; Lowette, Steven; Moortgat, Seth; Moreels, Lieselotte; Olbrechts, Annik; Python, Quentin; Skovpen, Kirill; Tavernier, Stefaan; Van Doninck, Walter; Van Mulders, Petra; Van Parijs, Isis; Brun, Hugues; Clerbaux, Barbara; De Lentdecker, Gilles; Delannoy, Hugo; Fasanella, Giuseppe; Favart, Laurent; Goldouzian, Reza; Grebenyuk, Anastasia; Karapostoli, Georgia; Lenzi, Thomas; Léonard, Alexandre; Luetic, Jelena; Maerschalk, Thierry; Marinov, Andrey; Randle-conde, Aidan; Seva, Tomislav; Vander Velde, Catherine; Vanlaer, Pascal; Vannerom, David; Yonamine, Ryo; Zenoni, Florian; Zhang, Fengwangdong; Cornelis, Tom; Dobur, Didar; Fagot, Alexis; Gul, Muhammad; Khvastunov, Illia; Poyraz, Deniz; Salva Diblen, Sinem; Schöfbeck, Robert; Tytgat, Michael; Van Driessche, Ward; Verbeke, Willem; Zaganidis, Nicolas; Bakhshiansohi, Hamed; Bondu, Olivier; Brochet, Sébastien; Bruno, Giacomo; Caudron, Adrien; De Visscher, Simon; Delaere, Christophe; Delcourt, Martin; Francois, Brieuc; Giammanco, Andrea; Jafari, Abideh; Komm, Matthias; Krintiras, Georgios; Lemaitre, Vincent; Magitteri, Alessio; Mertens, Alexandre; Musich, Marco; Piotrzkowski, Krzysztof; Quertenmont, Loic; Vidal Marono, Miguel; Wertz, Sébastien; Beliy, Nikita; Aldá Júnior, Walter Luiz; Alves, Fábio Lúcio; Alves, Gilvan; Brito, Lucas; Hensel, Carsten; Moraes, Arthur; Pol, Maria Elena; Rebello Teles, Patricia; Belchior Batista Das Chagas, Ewerton; Carvalho, Wagner; Chinellato, Jose; Custódio, Analu; Melo Da Costa, Eliza; Da Silveira, Gustavo Gil; De Jesus Damiao, Dilson; De Oliveira Martins, Carley; Fonseca De Souza, Sandro; Huertas Guativa, Lina Milena; Malbouisson, Helena; Matos Figueiredo, Diego; Mora Herrera, Clemencia; Mundim, Luiz; Nogima, Helio; Prado Da Silva, Wanda Lucia; Santoro, Alberto; Sznajder, Andre; Tonelli Manganote, Edmilson José; Torres Da Silva De Araujo, Felipe; Vilela Pereira, Antonio; Ahuja, Sudha; Bernardes, Cesar Augusto; Dogra, Sunil; Tomei, Thiago; De Moraes Gregores, Eduardo; Mercadante, Pedro G; Moon, Chang-Seong; Novaes, Sergio F; Padula, Sandra; Romero Abad, David; Ruiz Vargas, José Cupertino; Aleksandrov, Aleksandar; Hadjiiska, Roumyana; Iaydjiev, Plamen; Rodozov, Mircho; Stoykova, Stefka; Sultanov, Georgi; Shopova, Mariana; Dimitrov, Anton; Glushkov, Ivan; Litov, Leander; Pavlov, Borislav; Petkov, Peicho; Fang, Wenxing; Gao, Xuyang; Ahmad, Muhammad; Bian, Jian-Guo; Chen, Guo-Ming; Chen, He-Sheng; Chen, Mingshui; Chen, Ye; Cheng, Tongguang; Jiang, Chun-Hua; Leggat, Duncan; Liu, Zhenan; Romeo, Francesco; Ruan, Manqi; Shaheen, Sarmad Masood; Spiezia, Aniello; Tao, Junquan; Wang, Chunjie; Wang, Zheng; Yazgan, Efe; Zhang, Huaqiao; Zhao, Jingzhou; Ban, Yong; Chen, Geng; Li, Qiang; Liu, Shuai; Mao, Yajun; Qian, Si-Jin; Wang, Dayong; Xu, Zijun; Avila, Carlos; Cabrera, Andrés; Chaparro Sierra, Luisa Fernanda; Florez, Carlos; Gomez, Juan Pablo; González Hernández, Carlos Felipe; Ruiz Alvarez, José David; Sanabria, Juan Carlos; Godinovic, Nikola; Lelas, Damir; Puljak, Ivica; Ribeiro Cipriano, Pedro M; Sculac, Toni; Antunovic, Zeljko; Kovac, Marko; Brigljevic, Vuko; Ferencek, Dinko; Kadija, Kreso; Mesic, Benjamin; Susa, Tatjana; Ather, Mohsan Waseem; Attikis, Alexandros; Mavromanolakis, Georgios; Mousa, Jehad; Nicolaou, Charalambos; Ptochos, Fotios; Razis, Panos A; Rykaczewski, Hans; Finger, Miroslav; Finger Jr, Michael; Carrera Jarrin, Edgar; Abdelalim, Ahmed Ali; Mohammed, Yasser; Salama, Elsayed; Kadastik, Mario; Perrini, Lucia; Raidal, Martti; Tiko, Andres; Veelken, Christian; Eerola, Paula; Pekkanen, Juska; Voutilainen, Mikko; Härkönen, Jaakko; Jarvinen, Terhi; Karimäki, Veikko; Kinnunen, Ritva; Lampén, Tapio; Lassila-Perini, Kati; Lehti, Sami; Lindén, Tomas; Luukka, Panja-Riina; Tuominiemi, Jorma; Tuovinen, Esa; Wendland, Lauri; Talvitie, Joonas; Tuuva, Tuure; Besancon, Marc; Couderc, Fabrice; Dejardin, Marc; Denegri, Daniel; Fabbro, Bernard; Faure, Jean-Louis; Favaro, Carlotta; Ferri, Federico; Ganjour, Serguei; Ghosh, Saranya; Givernaud, Alain; Gras, Philippe; Hamel de Monchenault, Gautier; Jarry, Patrick; Kucher, Inna; Locci, Elizabeth; Machet, Martina; Malcles, Julie; Rander, John; Rosowsky, André; Titov, Maksym; Abdulsalam, Abdulla; Antropov, Iurii; Baffioni, Stephanie; Beaudette, Florian; Busson, Philippe; Cadamuro, Luca; Chapon, Emilien; Charlot, Claude; Davignon, Olivier; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphael; Jo, Mihee; Lisniak, Stanislav; Lobanov, Artur; Miné, Philippe; Nguyen, Matthew; Ochando, Christophe; Ortona, Giacomo; Paganini, Pascal; Pigard, Philipp; Regnard, Simon; Salerno, Roberto; Sirois, Yves; Stahl Leiton, Andre Govinda; Strebler, Thomas; Yilmaz, Yetkin; Zabi, Alexandre; Zghiche, Amina; Agram, Jean-Laurent; Andrea, Jeremy; Bloch, Daniel; Brom, Jean-Marie; Buttignol, Michael; Chabert, Eric Christian; Chanon, Nicolas; Collard, Caroline; Conte, Eric; Coubez, Xavier; Fontaine, Jean-Charles; Gelé, Denis; Goerlach, Ulrich; Le Bihan, Anne-Catherine; Van Hove, Pierre; Gadrat, Sébastien; Beauceron, Stephanie; Bernet, Colin; Boudoul, Gaelle; Carrillo Montoya, Camilo Andres; Chierici, Roberto; Contardo, Didier; Courbon, Benoit; Depasse, Pierre; El Mamouni, Houmani; Fay, Jean; Finco, Linda; Gascon, Susan; Gouzevitch, Maxime; Grenier, Gérald; Ille, Bernard; Lagarde, Francois; Laktineh, Imad Baptiste; Lethuillier, Morgan; Mirabito, Laurent; Pequegnot, Anne-Laure; Perries, Stephane; Popov, Andrey; Sordini, Viola; Vander Donckt, Muriel; Verdier, Patrice; Viret, Sébastien; Khvedelidze, Arsen; Tsamalaidze, Zviad; Autermann, Christian; Beranek, Sarah; Feld, Lutz; Kiesel, Maximilian Knut; Klein, Katja; Lipinski, Martin; Preuten, Marius; Schomakers, Christian; Schulz, Johannes; Verlage, Tobias; Albert, Andreas; Brodski, Michael; Dietz-Laursonn, Erik; Duchardt, Deborah; Endres, Matthias; Erdmann, Martin; Erdweg, Sören; Esch, Thomas; Fischer, Robert; Güth, Andreas; Hamer, Matthias; Hebbeker, Thomas; Heidemann, Carsten; Hoepfner, Kerstin; Knutzen, Simon; Merschmeyer, Markus; Meyer, Arnd; Millet, Philipp; Mukherjee, Swagata; Olschewski, Mark; Padeken, Klaas; Pook, Tobias; Radziej, Markus; Reithler, Hans; Rieger, Marcel; Scheuch, Florian; Sonnenschein, Lars; Teyssier, Daniel; Thüer, Sebastian; Cherepanov, Vladimir; Flügge, Günter; Kargoll, Bastian; Kress, Thomas; Künsken, Andreas; Lingemann, Joschka; Müller, Thomas; Nehrkorn, Alexander; Nowack, Andreas; Pistone, Claudia; Pooth, Oliver; Stahl, Achim; Aldaya Martin, Maria; Arndt, Till; Asawatangtrakuldee, Chayanit; Beernaert, Kelly; Behnke, Olaf; Behrens, Ulf; Bin Anuar, Afiq Aizuddin; Borras, Kerstin; Campbell, Alan; Connor, Patrick; Contreras-Campana, Christian; Costanza, Francesco; Diez Pardos, Carmen; Dolinska, Ganna; Eckerlin, Guenter; Eckstein, Doris; Eichhorn, Thomas; Eren, Engin; Gallo, Elisabetta; Garay Garcia, Jasone; Geiser, Achim; Gizhko, Andrii; Grados Luyando, Juan Manuel; Grohsjean, Alexander; Gunnellini, Paolo; Harb, Ali; Hauk, Johannes; Hempel, Maria; Jung, Hannes; Kalogeropoulos, Alexis; Karacheban, Olena; Kasemann, Matthias; Keaveney, James; Kleinwort, Claus; Korol, Ievgen; Krücker, Dirk; Lange, Wolfgang; Lelek, Aleksandra; Lenz, Teresa; Leonard, Jessica; Lipka, Katerina; Lohmann, Wolfgang; Mankel, Rainer; Melzer-Pellmann, Isabell-Alissandra; Meyer, Andreas Bernhard; Mittag, Gregor; Mnich, Joachim; Mussgiller, Andreas; Ntomari, Eleni; Pitzl, Daniel; Placakyte, Ringaile; Raspereza, Alexei; Roland, Benoit; Sahin, Mehmet Özgür; Saxena, Pooja; Schoerner-Sadenius, Thomas; Spannagel, Simon; Stefaniuk, Nazar; Van Onsem, Gerrit Patrick; Walsh, Roberval; Wissing, Christoph; Blobel, Volker; Centis Vignali, Matteo; Draeger, Arne-Rasmus; Dreyer, Torben; Garutti, Erika; Gonzalez, Daniel; Haller, Johannes; Hoffmann, Malte; Junkes, Alexandra; Klanner, Robert; Kogler, Roman; Kovalchuk, Nataliia; Kurz, Simon; Lapsien, Tobias; Marchesini, Ivan; Marconi, Daniele; Meyer, Mareike; Niedziela, Marek; Nowatschin, Dominik; Pantaleo, Felice; Peiffer, Thomas; Perieanu, Adrian; Scharf, Christian; Schleper, Peter; Schmidt, Alexander; Schumann, Svenja; Schwandt, Joern; Sonneveld, Jory; Stadie, Hartmut; Steinbrück, Georg; Stober, Fred-Markus Helmut; Stöver, Marc; Tholen, Heiner; Troendle, Daniel; Usai, Emanuele; Vanelderen, Lukas; Vanhoefer, Annika; Vormwald, Benedikt; Akbiyik, Melike; Barth, Christian; Baur, Sebastian; Baus, Colin; Berger, Joram; Butz, Erik; Caspart, René; Chwalek, Thorsten; Colombo, Fabio; De Boer, Wim; Dierlamm, Alexander; Fink, Simon; Freund, Benedikt; Friese, Raphael; Giffels, Manuel; Gilbert, Andrew; Goldenzweig, Pablo; Haitz, Dominik; Hartmann, Frank; Heindl, Stefan Michael; Husemann, Ulrich; Kassel, Florian; Katkov, Igor; Kudella, Simon; Mildner, Hannes; Mozer, Matthias Ulrich; Müller, Thomas; Plagge, Michael; Quast, Gunter; Rabbertz, Klaus; Röcker, Steffen; Roscher, Frank; Schröder, Matthias; Shvetsov, Ivan; Sieber, Georg; Simonis, Hans-Jürgen; Ulrich, Ralf; Wayand, Stefan; Weber, Marc; Weiler, Thomas; Williamson, Shawn; Wöhrmann, Clemens; Wolf, Roger; Anagnostou, Georgios; Daskalakis, Georgios; Geralis, Theodoros; Giakoumopoulou, Viktoria Athina; Kyriakis, Aristotelis; Loukas, Demetrios; Topsis-Giotis, Iasonas; Kesisoglou, Stilianos; Panagiotou, Apostolos; Saoulidou, Niki; Tziaferi, Eirini; Kousouris, Konstantinos; Evangelou, Ioannis; Flouris, Giannis; Foudas, Costas; Kokkas, Panagiotis; Loukas, Nikitas; Manthos, Nikolaos; Papadopoulos, Ioannis; Paradas, Evangelos; Triantis, Frixos A; Filipovic, Nicolas; Pasztor, Gabriella; Bencze, Gyorgy; Hajdu, Csaba; Horvath, Dezso; Sikler, Ferenc; Veszpremi, Viktor; Vesztergombi, Gyorgy; Zsigmond, Anna Julia; Beni, Noemi; Czellar, Sandor; Karancsi, János; Makovec, Alajos; Molnar, Jozsef; Szillasi, Zoltan; Bartók, Márton; Raics, Peter; Trocsanyi, Zoltan Laszlo; Ujvari, Balazs; Choudhury, Somnath; Komaragiri, Jyothsna Rani; Bahinipati, Seema; Bhowmik, Sandeep; Mal, Prolay; Mandal, Koushik; Nayak, Aruna; Sahoo, Deepak Kumar; Sahoo, Niladribihari; Swain, Sanjay Kumar; Bansal, Sunil; Beri, Suman Bala; Bhatnagar, Vipin; Chawla, Ridhi; Bhawandeep, Bhawandeep; Kalsi, Amandeep Kaur; Kaur, Anterpreet; Kaur, Manjit; Kumar, Ramandeep; Kumari, Priyanka; Mehta, Ankita; Mittal, Monika; Singh, Jasbir; Walia, Genius; Kumar, Ashok; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Choudhary, Brajesh C; Garg, Rocky Bala; Keshri, Sumit; Kumar, Ajay; Malhotra, Shivali; Naimuddin, Md; Ranjan, Kirti; Sharma, Ramkrishna; Sharma, Varun; Bhattacharya, Rajarshi; Bhattacharya, Satyaki; Chatterjee, Kalyanmoy; Dey, Sourav; Dutt, Suneel; Dutta, Suchandra; Ghosh, Shamik; Majumdar, Nayana; Modak, Atanu; Mondal, Kuntal; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik; Nandan, Saswati; Purohit, Arnab; Roy, Ashim; Roy, Debarati; Roy Chowdhury, Suvankar; Sarkar, Subir; Sharan, Manoj; Thakur, Shalini; Behera, Prafulla Kumar; Chudasama, Ruchi; Dutta, Dipanwita; Jha, Vishwajeet; Kumar, Vineet; Mohanty, Ajit Kumar; Netrakanti, Pawan Kumar; Pant, Lalit Mohan; Shukla, Prashant; Topkar, Anita; Aziz, Tariq; Dugad, Shashikant; Kole, Gouranga; Mahakud, Bibhuprasad; Mitra, Soureek; Mohanty, Gagan Bihari; Parida, Bibhuti; Sur, Nairit; Sutar, Bajrang; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Dewanjee, Ram Krishna; Ganguly, Sanmay; Guchait, Monoranjan; Jain, Sandhya; Kumar, Sanjeev; Maity, Manas; Majumder, Gobinda; Mazumdar, Kajari; Sarkar, Tanmay; Wickramage, Nadeesha; Chauhan, Shubhanshu; Dube, Sourabh; Hegde, Vinay; Kapoor, Anshul; Kothekar, Kunal; Pandey, Shubham; Rane, Aditee; Sharma, Seema; Chenarani, Shirin; Eskandari Tadavani, Esmaeel; Etesami, Seyed Mohsen; Khakzad, Mohsen; Mohammadi Najafabadi, Mojtaba; Naseri, Mohsen; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, Saeid; Rezaei Hosseinabadi, Ferdos; Safarzadeh, Batool; Zeinali, Maryam; Felcini, Marta; Grunewald, Martin; Abbrescia, Marcello; Calabria, Cesare; Caputo, Claudio; Colaleo, Anna; Creanza, Donato; Cristella, Leonardo; De Filippis, Nicola; De Palma, Mauro; Fiore, Luigi; Iaselli, Giuseppe; Maggi, Giorgio; Maggi, Marcello; Miniello, Giorgia; My, Salvatore; Nuzzo, Salvatore; Pompili, Alexis; Pugliese, Gabriella; Radogna, Raffaella; Ranieri, Antonio; Selvaggi, Giovanna; Sharma, Archana; Silvestris, Lucia; Venditti, Rosamaria; Verwilligen, Piet; Abbiendi, Giovanni; Battilana, Carlo; Bonacorsi, Daniele; Braibant-Giacomelli, Sylvie; Brigliadori, Luca; Campanini, Renato; Capiluppi, Paolo; Castro, Andrea; Cavallo, Francesca Romana; Chhibra, Simranjit Singh; Codispoti, Giuseppe; Cuffiani, Marco; Dallavalle, Gaetano-Marco; Fabbri, Fabrizio; Fanfani, Alessandra; Fasanella, Daniele; Giacomelli, Paolo; Grandi, Claudio; Guiducci, Luigi; Marcellini, Stefano; Masetti, Gianni; Montanari, Alessandro; Navarria, Francesco; Perrotta, Andrea; Rossi, Antonio; Rovelli, Tiziano; Siroli, Gian Piero; Tosi, Nicolò; Albergo, Sebastiano; Costa, Salvatore; Di Mattia, Alessandro; Giordano, Ferdinando; Potenza, Renato; Tricomi, Alessia; Tuve, Cristina; Barbagli, Giuseppe; Ciulli, Vitaliano; Civinini, Carlo; D'Alessandro, Raffaello; Focardi, Ettore; Lenzi, Piergiulio; Meschini, Marco; Paoletti, Simone; Russo, Lorenzo; Sguazzoni, Giacomo; Strom, Derek; Viliani, Lorenzo; Benussi, Luigi; Bianco, Stefano; Fabbri, Franco; Piccolo, Davide; Primavera, Federica; Calvelli, Valerio; Ferro, Fabrizio; Monge, Maria Roberta; Robutti, Enrico; Tosi, Silvano; Brianza, Luca; Brivio, Francesco; Ciriolo, Vincenzo; Dinardo, Mauro Emanuele; Fiorendi, Sara; Gennai, Simone; Ghezzi, Alessio; Govoni, Pietro; Malberti, Martina; Malvezzi, Sandra; Manzoni, Riccardo Andrea; Menasce, Dario; Moroni, Luigi; Paganoni, Marco; Pedrini, Daniele; Pigazzini, Simone; Ragazzi, Stefano; Tabarelli de Fatis, Tommaso; Buontempo, Salvatore; Cavallo, Nicola; De Nardo, Guglielmo; Di Guida, Salvatore; Fabozzi, Francesco; Fienga, Francesco; Iorio, Alberto Orso Maria; Lista, Luca; Meola, Sabino; Paolucci, Pierluigi; Sciacca, Crisostomo; Thyssen, Filip; Azzi, Patrizia; Bacchetta, Nicola; Benato, Lisa; Bisello, Dario; Boletti, Alessio; Carlin, Roberto; Carvalho Antunes De Oliveira, Alexandra; Checchia, Paolo; Dall'Osso, Martino; De Castro Manzano, Pablo; Dorigo, Tommaso; Gasparini, Fabrizio; Gasparini, Ugo; Gozzelino, Andrea; Lacaprara, Stefano; Margoni, Martino; Meneguzzo, Anna Teresa; Pazzini, Jacopo; Pozzobon, Nicola; Ronchese, Paolo; Rossin, Roberto; Simonetto, Franco; Torassa, Ezio; Zanetti, Marco; Zotto, Pierluigi; Zumerle, Gianni; Braghieri, Alessandro; Fallavollita, Francesco; Magnani, Alice; Montagna, Paolo; Ratti, Sergio P; Re, Valerio; Ressegotti, Martina; Riccardi, Cristina; Salvini, Paola; Vai, Ilaria; Vitulo, Paolo; Alunni Solestizi, Luisa; Bilei, Gian Mario; Ciangottini, Diego; Fanò, Livio; Lariccia, Paolo; Leonardi, Roberto; Mantovani, Giancarlo; Mariani, Valentina; Menichelli, Mauro; Saha, Anirban; Santocchia, Attilio; Androsov, Konstantin; Azzurri, Paolo; Bagliesi, Giuseppe; Bernardini, Jacopo; Boccali, Tommaso; Castaldi, Rino; Ciocci, Maria Agnese; Dell'Orso, Roberto; Fedi, Giacomo; Giassi, Alessandro; Grippo, Maria Teresa; Ligabue, Franco; Lomtadze, Teimuraz; Martini, Luca; Messineo, Alberto; Palla, Fabrizio; Rizzi, Andrea; Savoy-Navarro, Aurore; Spagnolo, Paolo; Tenchini, Roberto; Tonelli, Guido; Venturi, Andrea; Verdini, Piero Giorgio; Barone, Luciano; Cavallari, Francesca; Cipriani, Marco; Del Re, Daniele; Diemoz, Marcella; Gelli, Simone; Longo, Egidio; Margaroli, Fabrizio; Marzocchi, Badder; Meridiani, Paolo; Organtini, Giovanni; Paramatti, Riccardo; Preiato, Federico; Rahatlou, Shahram; Rovelli, Chiara; Santanastasio, Francesco; Amapane, Nicola; Arcidiacono, Roberta; Argiro, Stefano; Arneodo, Michele; Bartosik, Nazar; Bellan, Riccardo; Biino, Cristina; Cartiglia, Nicolo; Cenna, Francesca; Costa, Marco; Covarelli, Roberto; Degano, Alessandro; Demaria, Natale; Kiani, Bilal; Mariotti, Chiara; Maselli, Silvia; Migliore, Ernesto; Monaco, Vincenzo; Monteil, Ennio; Monteno, Marco; Obertino, Maria Margherita; Pacher, Luca; Pastrone, Nadia; Pelliccioni, Mario; Pinna Angioni, Gian Luca; Ravera, Fabio; Romero, Alessandra; Ruspa, Marta; Sacchi, Roberto; Shchelina, Ksenia; Sola, Valentina; Solano, Ada; Staiano, Amedeo; Traczyk, Piotr; Belforte, Stefano; Casarsa, Massimo; Cossutti, Fabio; Della Ricca, Giuseppe; Zanetti, Anna; Kim, Dong Hee; Kim, Gui Nyun; Kim, Min Suk; Lee, Jeongeun; Lee, Sangeun; Lee, Seh Wook; Oh, Young Do; Sekmen, Sezen; Son, Dong-Chul; Yang, Yu Chul; Lee, Ari; Kim, Hyunchul; Brochero Cifuentes, Javier Andres; Goh, Junghwan; Kim, Tae Jeong; Cho, Sungwoong; Choi, Suyong; Go, Yeonju; Gyun, Dooyeon; Ha, Seungkyu; Hong, Byung-Sik; Jo, Youngkwon; Kim, Yongsun; Lee, Kisoo; Lee, Kyong Sei; Lee, Songkyo; Lim, Jaehoon; Park, Sung Keun; Roh, Youn; Almond, John; Kim, Junho; Lee, Haneol; Oh, Sung Bin; Radburn-Smith, Benjamin Charles; Seo, Seon-hee; Yang, Unki; Yoo, Hwi Dong; Yu, Geum Bong; Choi, Minkyoo; Kim, Hyunyong; Kim, Ji Hyun; Lee, Jason Sang Hun; Park, Inkyu; Ryu, Geonmo; Ryu, Min Sang; Choi, Young-Il; Hwang, Chanwook; Lee, Jongseok; Yu, Intae; Dudenas, Vytautas; Juodagalvis, Andrius; Vaitkus, Juozas; Ahmed, Ijaz; Ibrahim, Zainol Abidin; Md Ali, Mohd Adli Bin; Mohamad Idris, Faridah; Wan Abdullah, Wan Ahmad Tajuddin; Yusli, Mohd Nizam; Zolkapli, Zukhaimira; Castilla-Valdez, Heriberto; De La Cruz-Burelo, Eduard; Heredia-De La Cruz, Ivan; Lopez-Fernandez, Ricardo; Magaña Villalba, Ricardo; Mejia Guisao, Jhovanny; Sánchez Hernández, Alberto; Carrillo Moreno, Salvador; Oropeza Barrera, Cristina; Vazquez Valencia, Fabiola; Carpinteyro, Severiano; Pedraza, Isabel; Salazar Ibarguen, Humberto Antonio; Uribe Estrada, Cecilia; Morelos Pineda, Antonio; Krofcheck, David; Butler, Philip H; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Ahmad, Muhammad; Hassan, Qamar; Hoorani, Hafeez R; Khan, Wajid Ali; Saddique, Asif; Shah, Mehar Ali; Shoaib, Muhammad; Waqas, Muhammad; Bialkowska, Helena; Bluj, Michal; Boimska, Bozena; Frueboes, Tomasz; Górski, Maciej; Kazana, Malgorzata; Nawrocki, Krzysztof; Romanowska-Rybinska, Katarzyna; Szleper, Michal; Zalewski, Piotr; Bunkowski, Karol; Byszuk, Adrian; Doroba, Krzysztof; Kalinowski, Artur; Konecki, Marcin; Krolikowski, Jan; Misiura, Maciej; Olszewski, Michal; Pyskir, Andrzej; Walczak, Marek; Bargassa, Pedrame; Beirão Da Cruz E Silva, Cristóvão; Calpas, Betty; Di Francesco, Agostino; Faccioli, Pietro; Gallinaro, Michele; Hollar, Jonathan; Leonardo, Nuno; Lloret Iglesias, Lara; Nemallapudi, Mythra Varun; Seixas, Joao; Toldaiev, Oleksii; Vadruccio, Daniele; Varela, Joao; Afanasiev, Serguei; Bunin, Pavel; Gavrilenko, Mikhail; Golutvin, Igor; Gorbunov, Ilya; Kamenev, Alexey; Karjavin, Vladimir; Lanev, Alexander; Malakhov, Alexander; Matveev, Viktor; Palichik, Vladimir; Perelygin, Victor; Shmatov, Sergey; Shulha, Siarhei; Skatchkov, Nikolai; Smirnov, Vitaly; Voytishin, Nikolay; Zarubin, Anatoli; Chtchipounov, Leonid; Golovtsov, Victor; Ivanov, Yury; Kim, Victor; Kuznetsova, Ekaterina; Murzin, Victor; Oreshkin, Vadim; Sulimov, Valentin; Vorobyev, Alexey; Andreev, Yuri; Dermenev, Alexander; Gninenko, Sergei; Golubev, Nikolai; Karneyeu, Anton; Kirsanov, Mikhail; Krasnikov, Nikolai; Pashenkov, Anatoli; Tlisov, Danila; Toropin, Alexander; Epshteyn, Vladimir; Gavrilov, Vladimir; Lychkovskaya, Natalia; Popov, Vladimir; Pozdnyakov, Ivan; Safronov, Grigory; Spiridonov, Alexander; Toms, Maria; Vlasov, Evgueni; Zhokin, Alexander; Aushev, Tagir; Bylinkin, Alexander; Chistov, Ruslan; Danilov, Mikhail; Polikarpov, Sergey; Andreev, Vladimir; Azarkin, Maksim; Dremin, Igor; Kirakosyan, Martin; Leonidov, Andrey; Terkulov, Adel; Baskakov, Alexey; Belyaev, Andrey; Boos, Edouard; Bunichev, Viacheslav; Dubinin, Mikhail; Dudko, Lev; Gribushin, Andrey; Klyukhin, Vyacheslav; Kodolova, Olga; Lokhtin, Igor; Miagkov, Igor; Obraztsov, Stepan; Perfilov, Maxim; Petrushanko, Sergey; Savrin, Viktor; Blinov, Vladimir; Skovpen, Yuri; Shtol, Dmitry; Azhgirey, Igor; Bayshev, Igor; Bitioukov, Sergei; Elumakhov, Dmitry; Kachanov, Vassili; Kalinin, Alexey; Konstantinov, Dmitri; Krychkine, Victor; Petrov, Vladimir; Ryutin, Roman; Sobol, Andrei; Troshin, Sergey; Tyurin, Nikolay; Uzunian, Andrey; Volkov, Alexey; Adzic, Petar; Cirkovic, Predrag; Devetak, Damir; Dordevic, Milos; Milosevic, Jovan; Rekovic, Vladimir; Alcaraz Maestre, Juan; Barrio Luna, Mar; Calvo, Enrique; Cerrada, Marcos; Chamizo Llatas, Maria; Colino, Nicanor; De La Cruz, Begona; Delgado Peris, Antonio; Escalante Del Valle, Alberto; Fernandez Bedoya, Cristina; Fernández Ramos, Juan Pablo; Flix, Jose; Fouz, Maria Cruz; Garcia-Abia, Pablo; Gonzalez Lopez, Oscar; Goy Lopez, Silvia; Hernandez, Jose M; Josa, Maria Isabel; Navarro De Martino, Eduardo; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, Antonio María; Puerta Pelayo, Jesus; Quintario Olmeda, Adrián; Redondo, Ignacio; Romero, Luciano; Senghi Soares, Mara; de Trocóniz, Jorge F; Missiroli, Marino; Moran, Dermot; Cuevas, Javier; Erice, Carlos; Fernandez Menendez, Javier; Gonzalez Caballero, Isidro; González Fernández, Juan Rodrigo; Palencia Cortezon, Enrique; Sanchez Cruz, Sergio; Suárez Andrés, Ignacio; Vischia, Pietro; Vizan Garcia, Jesus Manuel; Cabrillo, Iban Jose; Calderon, Alicia; Curras, Esteban; Fernandez, Marcos; Garcia-Ferrero, Juan; Gomez, Gervasio; Lopez Virto, Amparo; Marco, Jesus; Martinez Rivero, Celso; Matorras, Francisco; Piedra Gomez, Jonatan; Rodrigo, Teresa; Ruiz-Jimeno, Alberto; Scodellaro, Luca; Trevisani, Nicolò; Vila, Ivan; Vilar Cortabitarte, Rocio; Abbaneo, Duccio; Auffray, Etiennette; Auzinger, Georg; Baillon, Paul; Ball, Austin; Barney, David; Bloch, Philippe; Bocci, Andrea; Botta, Cristina; Camporesi, Tiziano; Castello, Roberto; Cepeda, Maria; Cerminara, Gianluca; Chen, Yi; Cimmino, Anna; D'Enterria, David; Dabrowski, Anne; Daponte, Vincenzo; David Tinoco Mendes, Andre; De Gruttola, Michele; De Roeck, Albert; Di Marco, Emanuele; Dobson, Marc; Dorney, Brian; Du Pree, Tristan; Dünser, Marc; Dupont, Niels; Elliott-Peisert, Anna; Everaerts, Pieter; Fartoukh, Stephane; Franzoni, Giovanni; Fulcher, Jonathan; Funk, Wolfgang; Gigi, Dominique; Gill, Karl; Girone, Maria; Glege, Frank; Gulhan, Doga; Gundacker, Stefan; Guthoff, Moritz; Harris, Philip; Hegeman, Jeroen; Innocente, Vincenzo; Janot, Patrick; Kieseler, Jan; Kirschenmann, Henning; Knünz, Valentin; Kornmayer, Andreas; Kortelainen, Matti J; Krammer, Manfred; Lange, Clemens; Lecoq, Paul; Lourenco, Carlos; Lucchini, Marco Toliman; Malgeri, Luca; Mannelli, Marcello; Martelli, Arabella; Meijers, Frans; Merlin, Jeremie Alexandre; Mersi, Stefano; Meschi, Emilio; Milenovic, Predrag; Moortgat, Filip; Morovic, Srecko; Mulders, Martijn; Neugebauer, Hannes; Orfanelli, Styliani; Orsini, Luciano; Pape, Luc; Perez, Emmanuel; Peruzzi, Marco; Petrilli, Achille; Petrucciani, Giovanni; Pfeiffer, Andreas; Pierini, Maurizio; Racz, Attila; Reis, Thomas; Rolandi, Gigi; Rovere, Marco; Sakulin, Hannes; Sauvan, Jean-Baptiste; Schäfer, Christoph; Schwick, Christoph; Seidel, Markus; Selvaggi, Michele; Sharma, Archana; Silva, Pedro; Sphicas, Paraskevas; Steggemann, Jan; Stoye, Markus; Takahashi, Yuta; Tosi, Mia; Treille, Daniel; Triossi, Andrea; Tsirou, Andromachi; Veckalns, Viesturs; Veres, Gabor Istvan; Verweij, Marta; Wardle, Nicholas; Wöhri, Hermine Katharina; Zagozdzinska, Agnieszka; Zeuner, Wolfram Dietrich; Bertl, Willi; Deiters, Konrad; Erdmann, Wolfram; Horisberger, Roland; Ingram, Quentin; Kaestli, Hans-Christian; Kotlinski, Danek; Langenegger, Urs; Rohe, Tilman; Wiederkehr, Stephan Albert; Bachmair, Felix; Bäni, Lukas; Bianchini, Lorenzo; Casal, Bruno; Dissertori, Günther; Dittmar, Michael; Donegà, Mauro; Grab, Christoph; Heidegger, Constantin; Hits, Dmitry; Hoss, Jan; Kasieczka, Gregor; Lustermann, Werner; Mangano, Boris; Marionneau, Matthieu; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, Pablo; Masciovecchio, Mario; Meinhard, Maren Tabea; Meister, Daniel; Micheli, Francesco; Musella, Pasquale; Nessi-Tedaldi, Francesca; Pandolfi, Francesco; Pata, Joosep; Pauss, Felicitas; Perrin, Gaël; Perrozzi, Luca; Quittnat, Milena; Rossini, Marco; Schönenberger, Myriam; Starodumov, Andrei; Tavolaro, Vittorio Raoul; Theofilatos, Konstantinos; Wallny, Rainer; Aarrestad, Thea Klaeboe; Amsler, Claude; Caminada, Lea; Canelli, Maria Florencia; De Cosa, Annapaola; Donato, Silvio; Galloni, Camilla; Hinzmann, Andreas; Hreus, Tomas; Kilminster, Benjamin; Ngadiuba, Jennifer; Pinna, Deborah; Rauco, Giorgia; Robmann, Peter; Salerno, Daniel; Seitz, Claudia; Yang, Yong; Zucchetta, Alberto; Candelise, Vieri; Doan, Thi Hien; Jain, Shilpi; Khurana, Raman; Konyushikhin, Maxim; Kuo, Chia-Ming; Lin, Willis; Pozdnyakov, Andrey; Yu, Shin-Shan; Kumar, Arun; Chang, Paoti; Chang, You-Hao; 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    2017-10-04

    A search for charged Higgs bosons produced in vector boson fusion processes and decaying into W and Z A search for charged Higgs bosons produced via vector boson fusion and decaying into W and Z bosons using proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s}= $ 13 TeV is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 15.2 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the CMS detector in 2015 and 2016. The event selection requires three leptons (electrons or muons), two jets with large pseudorapidity separation and high dijet mass, and missing transverse momentum. The observation agrees with the standard model prediction. Limits on the vector boson fusion production cross section times branching fraction for new charged physical states are reported as a function of mass from 200 to 2000 GeV and interpreted in the context of Higgs triplet models.

  13. Evaluation of a Salmonella vectored vaccine expressing Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis antigens against challenge in a goat model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syed M Faisal

    Full Text Available Johnes disease (JD, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP, occurs worldwide as chronic granulomatous enteritis of domestic and wild ruminants. To develop a cost effective vaccine, in a previous study we constructed an attenuated Salmonella strain that expressed a fusion product made up of partial fragments of MAP antigens (Ag85A, Ag85B and SOD that imparted protection against challenge in a mouse model. In the current study we evaluated the differential immune response and protective efficacy of the Sal-Ag vaccine against challenge in a goat model as compared to the live attenuated vaccine MAP316F. PBMCs from goats vaccinated with Sal-Ag and challenged with MAP generated significantly lower levels of IFN-γ, following in vitro stimulation with either Antigen-mix or PPD jhonin, than PBMC from MAP316F vaccinated animals. Flow cytometric analysis showed the increase in IFN-γ correlated with a significantly higher level of proliferation of CD4, CD8 and γδT cells and an increased expression of CD25 and CD45R0 in MAP316F vaccinated animals as compared to control animals. Evaluation of a range of cytokines involved in Th1, Th2, Treg, and Th17 immune responses by quantitative PCR showed low levels of expression of Th1 (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-12 and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, TNF-α in the Sal-Ag immunized group. Significant levels of Th2 and anti-inflammatory cytokines transcripts (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, TGF-β were expressed but their level was low and with a pattern similar to the control group. Over all, Sal-Ag vaccine imparted partial protection that limited colonization in tissues of some animals upon challenge with wild type MAP but not to the level achieved with MAP316F. In conclusion, the data indicates that Sal-Ag vaccine induced only a low level of protective immunity that failed to limit the colonization of MAP in infected animals. Hence the Sal-Ag vaccine needs further refinement to increase its efficacy.

  14. Early diagnosis of dengue in travelers: comparison of a novel real-time RT-PCR, NS1 antigen detection and serology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huhtamo, Eili; Hasu, Essi; Uzcátegui, Nathalie Y; Erra, Elina; Nikkari, Simo; Kantele, Anu; Vapalahti, Olli; Piiparinen, Heli

    2010-01-01

    The increased traveling to dengue endemic regions and the numerous epidemics have led to a rise in imported dengue. The laboratory diagnosis of acute dengue requires several types of tests and often paired samples are needed for obtaining reliable results. Although several diagnostic methods are available, proper comparative data on their performance are lacking. To compare the performance of novel methods including a novel pan-DENV real-time RT-PCR and a commercially available NS1 capture-EIA in regard to IgM detection for optimizing the early diagnosis of DENV in travelers. A panel of 99 selected early phase serum samples of dengue patients was studied by real-time RT-PCR, NS1 antigen ELISA, IgM-EIA, IgG-IFA and cell culture virus isolation. The novel real-time RT-PCR was shown specific and sensitive for detection of DENV-1-4 RNA and suitable for diagnostic use. The diagnostic rate using combination of RNA and IgM detection was 99% and using NS1 and IgM detection 95.9%. The results of RNA and NS1 antigen detection disagreed in 15.5% of samples that had only RNA or NS1 antigen detected. The diagnostic rates of early samples are higher when either RNA or NS1 antigen detection is combined with IgM detection. Besides the differences in the RNA and NS1 detection assays, the observed discrepancy of results could suggest individual variation or differences in timing of these markers in patient serum. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Identification of DRG-1 As a Melanoma-Associated Antigen Recognized by CD4+ Th1 Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yukiko Kiniwa

    Full Text Available Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Clinical studies have demonstrated the feasibility of cancer immunotherapy using tumor antigens recognized by CD8(+ T cells. However, the overall immune responses induced by these antigens are too weak and transient to induce tumor regression in the majority of patients who received immunization. A growing body of evidence suggests that CD4(+ T helper (Th cells play an important role in antitumor immunity. Therefore, the identification of MHC class II-restricted tumor antigens capable of stimulating CD4(+ T cells may provide opportunities for developing effective cancer vaccines. To this end, we describe the identification of developmentally regulated GTP-binding protein 1 (DRG-1 as a melanoma-associated antigen recognized by HLA-DR11-restricted CD4(+ Th1 cells. Epitope mapping analysis showed that the DRG1248-268 epitope of DRG-1 was required for T cell recognition. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that DRG-1 was highly expressed in melanoma cell lines but not in normal tissues. DRG-1 knockdown by lentiviral-based shRNA suppressed melanoma cell proliferation and soft agar colony formation. Taken together, these data suggest that DRG-1 plays an important role in melanoma cell growth and transformation, indicating that DRG1 may represent a novel target for CD4(+ T cell-mediated immunotherapy in melanoma.

  16. Identification of DRG-1 As a Melanoma-Associated Antigen Recognized by CD4+ Th1 Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiniwa, Yukiko; Li, Jiang; Wang, Mingjun; Sun, Chuang; Lee, Jeffrey E; Wang, Rong-Fu; Wang, Helen Y

    2015-01-01

    Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Clinical studies have demonstrated the feasibility of cancer immunotherapy using tumor antigens recognized by CD8(+) T cells. However, the overall immune responses induced by these antigens are too weak and transient to induce tumor regression in the majority of patients who received immunization. A growing body of evidence suggests that CD4(+) T helper (Th) cells play an important role in antitumor immunity. Therefore, the identification of MHC class II-restricted tumor antigens capable of stimulating CD4(+) T cells may provide opportunities for developing effective cancer vaccines. To this end, we describe the identification of developmentally regulated GTP-binding protein 1 (DRG-1) as a melanoma-associated antigen recognized by HLA-DR11-restricted CD4(+) Th1 cells. Epitope mapping analysis showed that the DRG1248-268 epitope of DRG-1 was required for T cell recognition. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that DRG-1 was highly expressed in melanoma cell lines but not in normal tissues. DRG-1 knockdown by lentiviral-based shRNA suppressed melanoma cell proliferation and soft agar colony formation. Taken together, these data suggest that DRG-1 plays an important role in melanoma cell growth and transformation, indicating that DRG1 may represent a novel target for CD4(+) T cell-mediated immunotherapy in melanoma.

  17. Selection of antigenic markers on a GFP-C{kappa} fusion scaffold with high sensitivity by eukaryotic ribosome display

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yongmin, Yang [Institute of Genetics, San Diego, CA 92121-2233 (United States); IgE Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121-2233 (United States); Barankiewicz, Teresa J [Institute of Genetics, San Diego, CA 92121-2233 (United States); IgE Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121-2233 (United States); Mingyue, He [Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB2 4AT (United Kingdom); Taussig, Michael J [Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB2 4AT (United Kingdom); Chen, Swey-Shen [Institute of Genetics, San Diego, CA 92121-2233 (United States) and IgE Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121-2233 (United States)

    2007-07-27

    Ribosome display is a cell-free system permitting gene selection through the physical association of genetic material (mRNA) and its phenotypic (protein) product. While often used to select single-chain antibodies from large libraries by panning against immobilized antigens, we have adapted ribosome display for use in the 'reverse' format in order to select high affinity antigenic determinants against solid-phase antibody. To create an antigenic scaffold, DNA encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) was fused to a light chain constant domain (C{kappa}) with stop codon deleted, and with 5' signals (T7 promoter, Kozak) enabling coupled transcription/translation in a eukaryotic cell-free system. Epitopes on either GFP (5') or C{kappa} (3') were selected by anti-GFP or anti-C{kappa} antibodies, respectively, coupled to magnetic beads. After selection, mRNA was amplified directly from protein-ribosome-mRNA (PRM) complexes by in situ PCR followed by internal amplification and reassembly PCR. As little as 10 fg of the 1 kb DNA construct, i.e. approximately 7500 molecules, could be recovered following a single round of interaction with solid-phase anti-GFP antibody. This platform is highly specific and sensitive for the antigen-antibody interaction and may permit selection and reshaping of high affinity antigenic variants of scaffold proteins.

  18. Revitalizing Fusion via Fission Fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manheimer, Wallace

    2001-10-01

    Existing tokamaks could generate significant nuclear fuel. TFTR, operating steady state with DT might generate enough fuel for a 300 MW nuclear reactor. The immediate goals of the magnetic fusion program would necessarily shift from a study of advanced plasma regimes in larger sized devices, to mostly known plasmas regimes, but at steady state or high duty cycle operation in DT plasmas. The science and engineering of breeding blankets would be equally important. Follow on projects could possibly produce nuclear fuel in large quantity at low price. Although today there is strong opposition to nuclear power in the United States, in a 21st century world of 10 billion people, all of whom will demand a middle class life style, nuclear energy will be important. Concern over greenhouse gases will also drive the world toward nuclear power. There are studies indicating that the world will need 10 TW of carbon free energy by 2050. It is difficult to see how this can be achieved without the breeding of nuclear fuel. By using the thorium cycle, proliferation risks are minimized. [1], [2]. 1 W. Manheimer, Fusion Technology, 36, 1, 1999, 2.W. Manheimer, Physics and Society, v 29, #3, p5, July, 2000

  19. Live attenuated measles vaccine expressing HIV-1 Gag virus like particles covered with gp160ΔV1V2 is strongly immunogenic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guerbois, Mathilde; Moris, Arnaud; Combredet, Chantal; Najburg, Valerie; Ruffie, Claude; Fevrier, Michele; Cayet, Nadege; Brandler, Samantha; Schwartz, Olivier; Tangy, Frederic

    2009-01-01

    Although a live attenuated HIV vaccine is not currently considered for safety reasons, a strategy inducing both T cells and neutralizing antibodies to native assembled HIV-1 particles expressed by a replicating virus might mimic the advantageous characteristics of live attenuated vaccine. To this aim, we generated a live attenuated recombinant measles vaccine expressing HIV-1 Gag virus-like particles (VLPs) covered with gp160ΔV1V2 Env protein. The measles-HIV virus replicated efficiently in cell culture and induced the intense budding of HIV particles covered with Env. In mice sensitive to MV infection, this recombinant vaccine stimulated high levels of cellular and humoral immunity to both MV and HIV with neutralizing activity. The measles-HIV virus infected human professional antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells and B cells, and induced efficient presentation of HIV-1 epitopes and subsequent activation of human HIV-1 Gag-specific T cell clones. This candidate vaccine will be next tested in non-human primates. As a pediatric vaccine, it might protect children and adolescents simultaneously from measles and HIV.

  20. The ICRH tokamak fusion test reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perkins, F.W.

    1976-01-01

    A Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor where the ion are maintained at Tsub(i) approximately 20keV>Tsub(e) approximately 7keV by ion-cyclotron resonance heating is shown to produce an energy amplification of Q>2 provided the principal ion energy loss channel is via collisional transfer to the electrons. Such a reactor produces 19MW of fusion power to the electrons. Such a reactor produces 19MW of fusion power and requires a 50MHz radio-frequency generator capable of 50MW peak power; it is otherwise compatible with the conceptual design for the Princeton TFTR. The required n tausub(E) values for electrons and ions are respectively ntausub(Ee)>1.5.10 13 cm -3 -sec and ntausub(Ei)>4.10 13 cm -3 -sec. The principal areas where research is needed to establish this concept are: tokamak transport calculations, ICRH physics, trapped-particle instability energy losses, tokamak equilibria with high values of βsub(theta), and, of course, impurities