Production of soluble truncated spike protein of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus from inclusion bodies of Escherichia coli through refolding

Piao, D.C.,Lee, Y.S.,Bok, J.D.,Cho, C.S.,Hong, Z.S.,Kang, S.K.,Choi, Y.J. Academic Press 2016 Protein expression and purification Vol.126 No.-

The emergence of highly pathogenic variant porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) strains, from 2013 to 2014, in North American and Asian countries have greatly threatened global swine industry. Therefore, development of effective vaccines against PEDV variant strains is urgently needed. Recently, it has been reported that the N-terminal domain (NTD) of S1 domain of PEDV spike protein is responsible for binding to the 5-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), a possible sugar co-receptor. Therefore, the NTD of S1 domain could be an attractive target for the development of subunit vaccines. In this study, the NTD spanning amino acid residues 25-229 (S25-229) of S1 domain of PEDV variant strain was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) in the form of inclusion bodies (IBs). S25-229 IBs were solubilized in 20 mM sodium acetate (pH 4.5) buffer containing 8 M urea and 1 mM dithiothreitol with 95% yield. Solubilized S25-229 IBs were refolded by 10-fold flash dilution and purified by one-step cation exchange chromatography with >95% purity and 20% yield. The CD spectrum of S25-229 showed the characteristic pattern of alpha helical structure. In an indirect ELISA, purified S25-229 showed strong reactivity with mouse anti-PEDV sera. In addition, immunization of mice with 20 μg of purified S25-229 elicited highly potent serum IgG titers. Finally, mouse antisera against S25-229 showed immune reactivity with native PEDV S protein in an immunofluorescence assay. These results suggest that purified S25-229 may have potential to be used as a subunit vaccine against PEDV variant strains.

Measurement of Z⁰-boson production at large rapidities in Pb–Pb collisions at _{s NN} = 5.02 TeV

Acharya, S.,Adamová,, D.,Adolfsson, J.,Aggarwal, M.M.,Aglieri Rinella, G.,Agnello, M.,Agrawal, N.,Ahammed, Z.,Ahn, S.U.,Aiola, S.,Akindinov, A.,Al-Turany, M.,Alam, S.N.,Albuquerque, D.S.D.,Aleks North-Holland Pub. Co 2018 Physics letters. Section B Vol.780 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>The production of <SUP> Z 0 </SUP> bosons at large rapidities in Pb–Pb collisions at <SUB> s NN </SUB> = 5.02 TeV is reported. <SUP> Z 0 </SUP> candidates are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel ( <SUP> Z 0 </SUP> → <SUP> μ + </SUP> <SUP> μ − </SUP> ), based on muons selected with pseudo-rapidity − 4.0 < η < − 2.5 and <SUB> p T </SUB> > 20 GeV/ c . The invariant yield and the nuclear modification factor, <SUB> R AA </SUB> , are presented as a function of rapidity and collision centrality. The value of <SUB> R AA </SUB> for the 0–20% central Pb–Pb collisions is 0.67 ± 0.11 (stat.) ± 0.03 (syst.) ± 0.06 (corr. syst.) , exhibiting a deviation of 2.6<I>σ</I> from unity. The results are well-described by calculations that include nuclear modifications of the parton distribution functions, while the predictions using vacuum PDFs deviate from data by 2.3<I>σ</I> in the 0–90% centrality class and by 3<I>σ</I> in the 0–20% central collisions.</P>

D_s⁺ meson production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions at s=7 TeV

ALICE Collaboration,Abelev, B.,Adam, J.,Adamova, D.,Adare, A.M.,Aggarwal, M.M.,Aglieri Rinella, G.,Agocs, A.G.,Agostinelli, A.,Aguilar Salazar, S.,Ahammed, Z.,Ahmad, N.,Ahmad Masoodi, A.,Ahn, S.A.,Ahn North-Holland Pub. Co 2012 Physics letters: B Vol.718 No.2

The p<SUB>T</SUB>-differential inclusive production cross section of the prompt charm-strange meson D<SUB>s</SUB><SUP>+</SUP> in the rapidity range |y|<0.5 was measured in proton-proton collisions at s=7 TeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The analysis was performed on a data sample of 2.98x10<SUP>8</SUP> events collected with a minimum-bias trigger. The corresponding integrated luminosity is L<SUB>int</SUB>=4.8 nb<SUP>-1</SUP>. Reconstructing the decay D<SUB>s</SUB><SUP>+</SUP>→φπ<SUP>+</SUP>, with φ→K<SUP>-</SUP>K<SUP>+</SUP>, and its charge conjugate, about 480 D<SUB>s</SUB><SUP>+/-</SUP> mesons were counted, after selection cuts, in the transverse momentum range 2<p<SUB>T</SUB><12 GeV/c. The results are compared with predictions from models based on perturbative QCD. The ratios of the cross sections of four D meson species (namely D<SUP>0</SUP>, D<SUP>+</SUP>, D<SUP>@?+</SUP> and D<SUB>s</SUB><SUP>+</SUP>) were determined both as a function of p<SUB>T</SUB> and integrated over p<SUB>T</SUB> after extrapolating to full p<SUB>T</SUB> range, together with the strangeness suppression factor in charm fragmentation. The obtained values are found to be compatible within uncertainties with those measured by other experiments in e<SUP>+</SUP>e<SUP>-</SUP>, ep and pp interactions at various centre-of-mass energies.

FATIGUE FEATURES EXTRACTION OF ROAD LOAD TIMEDATA USING THE S-TRANSFORM

S. ABDULLAH,C. K. E. NIZWAN,M. F. M. YUNOH,M. Z. NUAWI,Z. M. NOPIAH 한국자동차공학회 2013 International journal of automotive technology Vol.14 No.5

This paper presents the algorithm development of a new fatigue data editing technique using S-T approach. Ingeneral, the S-transform (S-T) is a time-frequency spectral localization method which performs a multi-resolution analysis onsignal. This method represents a better time-frequency resolution especially for non-stationary signal analysis. This techniquewas developed to produce shortened fatigue data for fatigue durability testing. The S-T method was applied to detect thedamaging events contained in the fatigue signals due to high S-T spectrum location. The damaging events were extracted froman original fatigue signal to produce the shortened edited signal which has equivalent fatigue damage. Three types of road loadfatigue data were used for simulation purpose, pave track, highway and country road. In this study, an algorithm wasdeveloped, to detect the damaging events in the original fatigue signal. The algorithm can be used to extract the fatiguedamaging events and these events were combined in order to produce a new edited signal which neglect the low amplitudecycles. The edited signal consists of the majority of the original fatigue damage in the shortened signal with 15-25% timereduction. Thus, it has been suggested that this shortened signal can then be used in the laboratory fatigue testing for thepurpose of accelerated fatigue testing.

Effect of series resistance and interface states on the I–V, C–V and G/ω–V characteristics in Au/Bi-doped polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes at room temperature

S. Demirezen,Z. Sönmez,U. Aydemir,Ş. Altındal 한국물리학회 2012 Current Applied Physics Vol.12 No.1

The forward and reverse bias currentevoltage (IeV), capacitanceevoltage (CeV) and conductance evoltage (G/ueV) characteristics of the Au/PVA (Bi-doped)/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) have been investigated at room temperature by taking the interface states (Nss) and series resistance (Rs) effects into account. The voltage dependent profiles of resistance (Ri) were obtained from both the IeV and C/GeV measurements by using Ohm’s Law and Nicollian methods. The obtained values of Ri with agreement each other especially at sufficiently high bias voltages which correspond the value of Rs of the diode. Therefore, the energy density distribution profile of Nss was obtained from the forward bias IeV data taking the bias dependence of the effective barrier height (BH) Fe and Rs into account. The high value of ideality factor (n) was attributed to high density of Nss and interfacial polymer layer at metal/semiconductor (M/S) interface. In order to examine the frequency dependence of some of the electrical parameters such as doping donor concentration (ND), Fe, Rs and Nss values, CeV and G/ueV measurements of the diode were performed at room temperature in the frequency range of 50 kHze5 MHz. Experimental results confirmed that the Nss, Rs and interfacial layer are important parameters that influence electrical characteristics of SBD. The forward and reverse bias currentevoltage (IeV), capacitanceevoltage (CeV) and conductance evoltage (G/ueV) characteristics of the Au/PVA (Bi-doped)/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) have been investigated at room temperature by taking the interface states (Nss) and series resistance (Rs) effects into account. The voltage dependent profiles of resistance (Ri) were obtained from both the IeV and C/GeV measurements by using Ohm’s Law and Nicollian methods. The obtained values of Ri with agreement each other especially at sufficiently high bias voltages which correspond the value of Rs of the diode. Therefore, the energy density distribution profile of Nss was obtained from the forward bias IeV data taking the bias dependence of the effective barrier height (BH) Fe and Rs into account. The high value of ideality factor (n) was attributed to high density of Nss and interfacial polymer layer at metal/semiconductor (M/S) interface. In order to examine the frequency dependence of some of the electrical parameters such as doping donor concentration (ND), Fe, Rs and Nss values, CeV and G/ueV measurements of the diode were performed at room temperature in the frequency range of 50 kHze5 MHz. Experimental results confirmed that the Nss, Rs and interfacial layer are important parameters that influence electrical characteristics of SBD.

Candida albicans에 의한 간 농양 1예

이성애,김성집,김순자,서광수,주진봉,한경자,김선무 대한임상병리사협회 1985 임상병리사회지 Vol.17 No.1

Growth hormone and receptor gene mutations in Chinese Banna miniature pig

J.Z. Deng,L.L. Hao,M.T. Li,S. Lang,Y.Z. Zeng,S.C. Liu,Y.L. Zhang 한국통합생물학회 2011 Animal cells and systems Vol.15 No.4

The Banna miniature pig (BNMP) is a representative miniature pig breed in China. Even though BNMP dwarfism is obvious, its underlying causative mutations remain unknown. In this study, the BNMP and Large White pig (LWP)serum growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels were detected by ELISA and compared. BNMP serum IGF-1 levels were significantly lower than LWP levels (P<0.05). The miniature condition may arise from mutations in the GH and GH receptor (GHR) genes. Therefore, GH and GHR cDNA from the BNMP were cloned into a pMD18-T vector by RT-PCR using the total RNA obtained from the BNMP’s pituitary and liver tissues. Sequencing results indicated that the open reading frame of the BNMP GH gene is composed of a 26-residue signal peptide and a 191-residue mature peptide. The coding sequence of the BNMP GHR gene contained 639 amino acids, including a signal peptide that is 18 amino acids long. Two amino acid substitutions, A09V and R22Q, were found in the signal peptide of the GH gene. Additionally, the S104P mutation was found in the BNMP’s mature GH protein. Four mutations in the cytoplasmic domain of GHR may influence the downstream signal transduction of GHR, which needs further experimental evidence.

Growth hormone and receptor gene mutations in Chinese Banna miniature pig

Deng, J.Z.,Hao, L.L.,Li, M.T.,Lang, S.,Zeng, Y.Z.,Liu, S.C.,Zhang, Y.L. The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2011 Animal cells and systems Vol.15 No.4

The Banna miniature pig (BNMP) is a representative miniature pig breed in China. Even though BNMP dwarfism is obvious, its underlying causative mutations remain unknown. In this study, the BNMP and Large White pig (LWP) serum growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels were detected by ELISA and compared. BNMP serum IGF-1 levels were significantly lower than LWP levels (P<0.05). The miniature condition may arise from mutations in the GH and GH receptor (GHR) genes. Therefore, GH and GHR cDNA from the BNMP were cloned into a pMD18-T vector by RT-PCR using the total RNA obtained from the BNMP's pituitary and liver tissues. Sequencing results indicated that the open reading frame of the BNMP GH gene is composed of a 26-residue signal peptide and a 191-residue mature peptide. The coding sequence of the BNMP GHR gene contained 639 amino acids, including a signal peptide that is 18 amino acids long. Two amino acid substitutions, A09V and R22Q, were found in the signal peptide of the GH gene. Additionally, the S104P mutation was found in the BNMP's mature GH protein. Four mutations in the cytoplasmic domain of GHR may influence the downstream signal transduction of GHR, which needs further experimental evidence.

O-GlcNAc modulation at Akt1 Ser473 correlates with apoptosis of murine pancreatic β cells

Kang, E.S.,Han, D.,Park, J.,Kwak, T.K.,Oh, M.A.,Lee, S.A.,Choi, S.,Park, Z.Y.,Kim, Y.,Lee, J.W. Academic Press 2008 Experimental cell research Vol.314 No.11

O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT)-mediated modification of protein Ser/Thr residues with O-GlcNAc influences protein activity, similar to the effects of phosphorylation. The anti-apoptotic Akt1 is both activated by phosphorylation and modified with O-GlcNAc. However, the nature and significance of the Akt1 O-GlcNAc modification is unknown. The relationship of O-GlcNAc modification and phosphorylation at Akt1 Ser473 was examined with respect to apoptosis of murine β-pancreatic cells. Glucosamine treatment induced apoptosis, which correlated with enhanced O-GlcNAc modification of Akt1 and concomitant reduction in Ser473 phosphorylation. Pharmacological inhibition of OGT or O-GlcNAcase revealed an inverse correlation between O-GlcNAc modification and Ser473 phosphorylation of Akt1. MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry analysis of Akt1 immunoprecipitates from glucosamine-treated cells, but not untreated controls, showed a peptide containing S473/T479 that was presumably modified with O-GlcNAc. Furthermore, in vitro O-GlcNAc-modification analysis of wildtype and mutant Akt1 revealed that S473 was targeted by recombinant OGT. A S473A Akt1 mutant demonstrated reduced basal and glucosamine-induced Akt1 O-GlcNAc modification compared with wildtype Akt1. Furthermore, wildtype Akt1, but not the S473A mutant, appeared to be associated with OGT following glucosamine treatment. Together, these observations suggest that Akt1 Ser473 may undergo both phosphorylation and O-GlcNAc modification, and the balance between these may regulate murine β-pancreatic cell fate.

High-rate in-plane micro-supercapacitors scribed onto photo paper using <i>in situ</i> femtolaser-reduced graphene oxide/Au nanoparticle microelectrodes

Li, R.-Z.,Peng, Rui,Kihm, K. D.,Bai, S.,Bridges, D.,Tumuluri, U.,Wu, Z.,Zhang, T.,Compagnini, G.,Feng, Z.,Hu, A. The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016 ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Vol.9 No.4

<P>Direct laser-reduction of graphene oxide (GO), as a lithography-free approach, has been proven effective in manufacturing in-plane micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) with fast ion diffusion. However, the power density and the charge/discharge rate are still limited by the relatively low conductivity of electrodes. Here, we report a facile approach by exploiting femtolaser <I>in situ</I> reduction of the hydrated GO and chloroauric acid (HAuCl<SUB>4</SUB>) nanocomposite simultaneously, which incorporates both the patterning of rGO electrodes and the fabrication of Au current collectors in a single step. These flexible MSCs boast achievements of one-hundred fold increase in electrode conductivities of up to 1.1 × 10<SUP>6</SUP> S m<SUP>−1</SUP>, which provide superior rate capability (50% for the charging rate increase from 0.1 V s<SUP>−1</SUP> to 100 V s<SUP>−1</SUP>), sufficiently high frequency responses (362 Hz, 2.76 ms time constant), and large specific capacitances of 0.77 mF cm<SUP>−2</SUP> (17.2 F cm<SUP>−3</SUP> for volumetric capacitance) at 1 V s<SUP>−1</SUP>, and 0.46 mF cm<SUP>−2</SUP> (10.2 F cm<SUP>−3</SUP>) at 100 V s<SUP>−1</SUP>. The use of photo paper substrates enables the flexibility of this fabrication protocol. Moreover, proof-of-concept 3D MSCs are demonstrated with enhanced areal capacitance (up to 3.84 mF cm<SUP>−2</SUP> at 1 V s<SUP>−1</SUP>) while keeping high rate capabilities. This prototype of all solid-state MSCs demonstrates the broad range of potentials of thin-film based energy storage device applications for flexible, portable, and wearable electronic devices that require a fast charge/discharge rate and high power density.</P> <P>Graphic Abstract</P><P>Direct laser-reduction of graphene oxide (GO), as a lithography-free approach, has been proven effective in manufacturing in-plane micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) with fast ion diffusion. <IMG SRC='http://pubs.rsc.org/services/images/RSCpubs.ePlatform.Service.FreeContent.ImageService.svc/ImageService/image/GA?id=c5ee03637b'> </P>