Control of African swine fever virus by siRNA

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious, viral disease of pigs caused by an Asfivirus. It can cause up to 100% of mortality in domestic pigs and European wild boars, although varying degrees of virulence have been shown. In contrast, the infection is unapparent in African wild suids (warthogs, bushpigs, giant forest hogs). There is no treatment or vaccine to control this severe disease. To address this issue, we are currently working on the development of an attenuated vaccine and new generation of biological antivirals. For the generation of attenuated ASFV vaccine strains, we envisage to delete the 10 Kb region located 23638-33336 in the genome, which includes nine genes that are thought to determine the virulence of ASFV. Of these 9 genes, 4 (A104R, A118R, A151R and A240L) have unknown function in the virus replication cycle. To establish the importance of these genes, we have used the RNA interference approach. RNA interference is a natural biological process initially described in plants [Fire and Mello in 1998]. It a natural cell mechanism by which small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) of about 20 nucleotides operate to down regulate the expression of a gene by targeting and cleaving its mRNA (post-transcriptional gene silencing). The 4 ASFV genes of a Spanish strain isolated in 1971 (Ba71y) were cloned and sequenced. The sequences were checked and compared with the reference sequence available in GenBank (accession number ASU18466) before to be sent to Ambion for siRNA design. We initially received 17 siRNAs from Ambion of which, 3 were directed against each of the 4 genes of interest and 5 were directed against B646L encoding the essential viral capsid protein (control of siRNA efficacy). Preliminary results of the siRNA evaluation indicate that A151R and as expected B646L, are essential genes for virus replication. (Texte intégral

A theoretical approach to thermal noise caused by an inhomogeneously distributed loss -- Physical insight by the advanced modal expansion

We modified the modal expansion, which is the traditional method used to calculate thermal noise. This advanced modal expansion provides physical insight about the discrepancy between the actual thermal noise caused by inhomogeneously distributed loss and the traditional modal expansion. This discrepancy comes from correlations between the thermal fluctuations of the resonant modes. The thermal noise spectra estimated by the advanced modal expansion are consistent with the results of measurements of thermal fluctuations caused by inhomogeneous losses.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Chiroptical properties of an alternatingly functionalized cellotriose bearing two porphyrin groups.

Right-handedness derived from bisporphyrins attached to a cellotriose backbone at O-6 and O''-6 positions is revealed for the first time. This cellotriose is proposed as a model of alternatingly functionalized cellulosics, which have promising properties for applications in optoelectronics and molecular receptors owing to the chirality and rigid backbone effects

Control of morbillivirus replication by RNAI

The Morbillivirus genus includes measles virus (MV), peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) and rinderpest virus (RPV). Although preventive vaccines are available against these three viruses, efficient therapeutics for virus control under emergency situations are desirable. Inhibition of morbillivirus replication can be achieved by post-transcriptional silencing of the nucleoprotein (N) gene by RNA interference (RNAi). The viral N protein, a well conserved protein among the genus, plays a central role in the replication of the virus. Using a comprehensive siRNA-based screening of the conserved sequences of the N gene, we have identified, three common positions on the N gene, for the design of siRNA evenly effectives for PPRV, RPV and MV. siRNA silencing resulted in more than 80% decrease of the viral replication in infected Vero cell, as shown by real-time quantitative PCR, flow cytometry and virus titration. In a second step, a recombinant replication-defective human type 5 adenovirus (Ad-5) encoding one of the functional sequences directed against the N gene of PPRV was constructed and shown to reduce the PPRV replication in vitro. These results illustrate that adenovirus vector could be a promising candidate for the development of siRNA antiviral treatments against morbilliviruses

Transitioning from military medics to registered nurses

The nursing shortage in the USA is expected to reach 260,000 registered nurses (RNs) by 2025. The most profound shortages are expected in California and Florida, translating into 109,779 and 128,364 RN jobs, respectively. Despite a foreseen growth in nursing career opportunities nationwide, the supply of nurses will be insufficient to meet the corresponding demand. Capitalizing on prior education, experience, and skills of military clinical personnel to fill these jobs could significantly reduce the projected nursing shortage. Florida International University’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences is circumventing barriers to recruit, retain, and graduate transitioning veteran medics and corpsmen as Bachelor of Science in Nursing prepared RNs who reintegrate into the civilian workforce. The Veteran Bachelor of Science in Nursing (VBSN) program is in the form of a cooperative agreement between Florida International University and the US Health Resources and Services Administration. The VBSN program’s main objective is to build upon the unique leadership skills, clinical education, and training of military medics and corpsmen to ensure successful completion of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum. VBSN students, as veterans themselves, have unique knowledge and exposure to the specific health issues and needs of the veteran population overall. They are poised and best prepared to effectively care for the US population, particularly the current 22 million US veterans and 1.6 million Florida veterans. Additionally, the VBSN program will alleviate the challenges, such as the lack of recognition of military skills, unemployment, the substandard income, and homelessness that many former service members face after separation from the military

Associations of PM2.5 Constituents and Sources with Hospital Admissions: Analysis of Four Counties in Connecticut and Massachusetts (USA) for Persons ≥ 65 Years of Age

Background: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated associations between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and hospital admissions. The chemical composition of particles varies across locations and time periods. Identifying the most harmful constituents and sources is an important health and regulatory concern. Objectives: We examined pollutant sources for associations with risk of hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory causes. Methods: We obtained PM2.5 filter samples for four counties in Connecticut and Massachusetts and analyzed them for PM2.5 elements. Source apportionment was used to estimate daily PM2.5 contributions from sources (traffic, road dust, oil combustion, and sea salt as well as a regional source representing coal combustion and other sources). Associations between daily PM2.5 constituents and sources and risk of cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations for the Medicare population (> 333,000 persons ≥ 65 years of age) were estimated with time-series analyses (August 2000–February 2004). Results: PM2.5 total mass and PM2.5 road dust contribution were associated with cardiovascular hospitalizations, as were the PM2.5 constituents calcium, black carbon, vanadium, and zinc. For respiratory hospitalizations, associations were observed with PM2.5 road dust, and sea salt as well as aluminum, calcium, chlorine, black carbon, nickel, silicon, titanium, and vanadium. Effect estimates were generally robust to adjustment by co-pollutants of other constituents. An interquartile range increase in same-day PM2.5 road dust (1.71 μg/m3) was associated with a 2.11% (95% CI: 1.09, 3.15%) and 3.47% (95% CI: 2.03, 4.94%) increase in cardiovascular and respiratory admissions, respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest some particle sources and constituents are more harmful than others and that in this Connecticut/Massachusetts region the most harmful particles include black carbon, calcium, and road dust PM2.5. Citation: Bell ML, Ebisu K, Leaderer BP, Gent JF, Lee HJ, Koutrakis P, Wang Y, Dominici F, Peng RD. 2014. Associations of PM2.5 constituents and sources with hospital admissions: analysis of four counties in Connecticut and Massachusetts (USA) for persons ≥ 65 years of age. Environ Health Perspect 122:138–144; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.130665

Searching for a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves with LIGO

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new limit is $\Omega_{\rm GW} < 6.5 \times 10^{-5}$. This is currently the most sensitive result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over the previous LIGO result. We discuss complementarity of the new result with other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we investigate implications of the new result for different models of this background.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure

Organomegaly in Mali before and after praziquantel treatment. A possible association with Schistosoma haematobium.

Continuous exposure to schistosome-infested water results in acute and chronic morbidity in all ages. We analysed occurence of organomegaly via ultrasonography and investigated a possible additive effect of dual-dose drug administration in 401 Schistosoma haematobium infected individuals from a highly endemic area in Mali. Mean intensity of infection at baseline (22.0 eggs per 10 ml) was reduced to 0.22 eggs per 10 ml 9 weeks after treatment (both treatments combined). Odds of persistent infection among those given dual-dose treatment was 41% of that in people given single dose (b = 0.41; p = 0.05; 95% CI 0.17-1.00), but after two years, 70.7% of the 157 participants, who completed the survey, were re-infected with no significant difference in prevalence and intensity of infection between treatment groups. Resolution of organomegaly occurred in all age groups after treatment. A novel association between Schistosoma haematobium infection and moderate portal vein enlargement was found in 35% (n: 55). Severe portal vein diameter enlargement was found in 3.2%. After two years, moderate hepatomegaly was present in 50.6%, moderate splenomegaly in 45.6% and moderate portal vein diameter enlargement in 19%. A subsequent dose of PZQ did not provide any additional long-term advantages

Search for gravitational wave bursts in LIGO's third science run

We report on a search for gravitational wave bursts in data from the three LIGO interferometric detectors during their third science run. The search targets subsecond bursts in the frequency range 100-1100 Hz for which no waveform model is assumed, and has a sensitivity in terms of the root-sum-square (rss) strain amplitude of hrss ~ 10^{-20} / sqrt(Hz). No gravitational wave signals were detected in the 8 days of analyzed data.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Amaldi-6 conference proceedings to be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit