Studies of SARS virus vaccines

1. Intranasal vaccination using inactivated SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) vaccine with adjuvant can induce strong systemic (serum immunoglobulin [Ig] G) and respiratory tract local (tracheal-lung wash fluid IgA) antibody responses with neutralising activity. 2. RBD-Fc (protein-based vaccine) is able to induce effective neutralising antibodies able to provide protection from SARS-CoV infection in animal models. 3. A single dose of RBD-rAAV vaccination can induce adequate neutralising antibody against SARS-CoV infection. 4. Additional doses of vaccine increased the production of neutralising antibody 5-fold compared with a single dose. 5. RBD-rAAV vaccination provoked a prolonged antibody response with continually increasing levels of neutralising activity. 6. Intranasal vaccination with RBD-rAAV induced local IgA and systemic IgG neutralising antibodies and specific T-cell responses, able to protect against SARS-CoV infection in animal models. 7. When compared with the RBD-rAAV prime/boost vaccination, RBD-rAAV prime/RBD-peptide boost induced similar levels of Th1 and neutralising antibody responses that protected vaccinated mice from subsequent SARS-CoV challenges,but stronger Th2 and CTL responses. 8. Overall, our findings suggest that the inactivated vaccine, RBD-Fc and RBD-rAAV, can be further developed into effective and safe vaccines against SARS and that intranasal vaccination may be the preferred route of administration.published_or_final_versio

Studies of SARS virus vaccines

1. Intranasal vaccination using inactivated SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) vaccine with adjuvant can induce strong systemic (serum immunoglobulin [Ig] G) and respiratory tract local (tracheal-lung wash fluid IgA) antibody responses with neutralising activity. 2. RBD-Fc (protein-based vaccine) is able to induce effective neutralising antibodies able to provide protection from SARS-CoV infection in animal models. 3. A single dose of RBD-rAAV vaccination can induce adequate neutralising antibody against SARS-CoV infection. 4. Additional doses of vaccine increased the production of neutralising antibody 5-fold compared with a single dose. 5. RBD-rAAV vaccination provoked a prolonged antibody response with continually increasing levels of neutralising activity. 6. Intranasal vaccination with RBD-rAAV induced local IgA and systemic IgG neutralising antibodies and specific T-cell responses, able to protect against SARS-CoV infection in animal models. 7. When compared with the RBD-rAAV prime/boost vaccination, RBD-rAAV prime/RBD-peptide boost induced similar levels of Th1 and neutralising antibody responses that protected vaccinated mice from subsequent SARS-CoV challenges,but stronger Th2 and CTL responses. 8. Overall, our findings suggest that the inactivated vaccine, RBD-Fc and RBD-rAAV, can be further developed into effective and safe vaccines against SARS and that intranasal vaccination may be the preferred route of administration.published_or_final_versio

Structural and infrared absorption properties of self-organized InGaAs GaAs quantum dots multilayers

Self-organized InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) stacked multilayers have been prepared by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that the InGaAs QDs are nearly perfectly vertically aligned in the growth direction [100]. The filtering effect on the QDs distribution is found to be the dominant mechanism leading to vertical alignment and a highly uniform size distribution. Moreover, we observe a distinct infrared absorption from the sample in the range of 8.6-10.7 mu m. This indicates the potential of QDs multilayer structure for use as infrared photodetector

Using honey to heal diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic ulcers seem to be arrested in the inflammatory/proliferative stage of the healing process, allowing infection and inflammation to preclude healing. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become a major cause of infections, including diabetic foot infections. It is proposed here that the modern developments of an ancient and traditional treatment for wounds, dressing them with honey, provide the solution to the problem of getting diabetic ulcers to move on from the arrested state of healing. Honeys selected to have a high level of antibacterial activity have been shown to be very effective against antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in laboratory and clinical studies. The potent anti-inflammatory action of honey is also likely to play an important part in overcoming the impediment to healing that inflammation causes in diabetic ulcers, as is the antioxidant activity of honey. The action of honey in promotion of tissue regeneration through stimulation of angiogenesis and the growth of fibroblasts and epithelial cells, and its insulin-mimetic effect, would also be of benefit in stimulating the healing of diabetic ulcers. The availability of honey-impregnated dressings which conveniently hold honey in place on ulcers has provided a means of rapidly debriding ulcers and removing the bacterial burden so that good healing rates can be achieved with neuropathic ulcers. With ischemic ulcers, where healing cannot occur because of lack of tissue viability, these honey dressings keep the ulcers clean and prevent infection occurring

Study of psi(2S) decays to X J/psi

Using J/psi -> mu^+ mu^- decays from a sample of approximately 4 million psi(2S) events collected with the BESI detector, the branching fractions of psi(2S) -> eta J/psi, pi^0 pi^0 J/psi, and anything J/psi normalized to that of psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi are measured. The results are B(psi(2S) -> eta J/psi)/B(psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi) = 0.098 \pm 0.005 \pm 0.010, B(psi(2S) -> pi^0 pi^0 J/psi)/B(psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi) = 0.570 \pm 0.009 \pm 0.026, and B(psi(2S) -> anything J/psi)/B(psi(2S) -> pi^+ pi^- J/psi) = 1.867 \pm 0.026 \pm 0.055.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Shot noise in mesoscopic systems

This is a review of shot noise, the time-dependent fluctuations in the electrical current due to the discreteness of the electron charge, in small conductors. The shot-noise power can be smaller than that of a Poisson process as a result of correlations in the electron transmission imposed by the Pauli principle. This suppression takes on simple universal values in a symmetric double-barrier junction (suppression factor 1/2), a disordered metal (factor 1/3), and a chaotic cavity (factor 1/4). Loss of phase coherence has no effect on this shot-noise suppression, while thermalization of the electrons due to electron-electron scattering increases the shot noise slightly. Sub-Poissonian shot noise has been observed experimentally. So far unobserved phenomena involve the interplay of shot noise with the Aharonov-Bohm effect, Andreev reflection, and the fractional quantum Hall effect.Comment: 37 pages, Latex, 10 figures (eps). To be published in "Mesoscopic Electron Transport," edited by L. P. Kouwenhoven, G. Schoen, and L. L. Sohn, NATO ASI Series E (Kluwer Academic Publishing, Dordrecht

First observation of psi(2S)-->K_S K_L

The decay psi(2S)-->K_S K_L is observed for the first time using psi(2S) data collected with the Beijing Spectrometer (BESII) at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC); the branching ratio is determined to be B(psi(2S)-->K_S K_L) = (5.24\pm 0.47 \pm 0.48)\times 10^{-5}. Compared with J/psi-->K_S K_L, the psi(2S) branching ratio is enhanced relative to the prediction of the perturbative QCD ``12%'' rule. The result, together with the branching ratios of psi(2S) decays to other pseudoscalar meson pairs (\pi^+\pi^- and K^+K^-), is used to investigate the relative phase between the three-gluon and the one-photon annihilation amplitudes of psi(2S) decays.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Clinical, Virological and Immunological Features from Patients Infected with Re-Emergent Avian-Origin Human H7N9 Influenza Disease of Varying Severity in Guangdong Province

The second wave of avian influenza H7N9 virus outbreak in humans spread to the Guangdong province of China by August of 2013 and this virus is now endemic in poultry in this region.Background The second wave of avian influenza H7N9 virus outbreak in humans spread to the Guangdong province of China by August of 2013 and this virus is now endemic in poultry in this region. Methods Five patients with H7N9 virus infection admitted to our hospital during August 2013 to February 2014 were intensively investigated. Viral load in the respiratory tract was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and cytokine levels were measured by bead-based flow cytometery. Results Four patients survived and one died. Viral load in different clinical specimens was correlated with cytokine levels in plasma and broncho-alveolar fluid (BALF), therapeutic modalities used and clinical outcome. Intravenous zanamivir appeared to be better than peramivir as salvage therapy in patients who failed to respond to oseltamivir. Higher and more prolonged viral load was found in the sputum or endotracheal aspirates compared to throat swabs. Upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IP-10, MCP-1, MIG, MIP-1α/β, IL-1β and IL-8 was found in the plasma and BALF samples. The levels of cytokines in the plasma and viral load were correlated with disease severity. Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1) was found in three out of five patients (60%). Conclusion Expectorated sputum or endotracheal aspirate specimens are preferable to throat swabs for detecting and monitoring H7N9 virus. Severity of the disease was correlated to the viral load in the respiratory tract as well as the extents of cytokinemia. Reactivation of HSV-1 may contribute to clinical outcome.published_or_final_versio

First Measurements of eta_c Decaying into K^+K^-2(pi^+pi^-) and 3(pi^+pi^-)

The decays of eta_c to K^+K^-2(pi^+pi^-) and 3(pi^+pi^-) are observed for the first time using a sample of 5.8X10^7 J/\psi events collected by the BESII detector. The product branching fractions are determined to be B(J/\psi-->gamma eta_c)*B(eta_c-->K^+K^-pi^+pi^-pi^+pi^-)=(1.21+-0.32+- 0.23)X10^{-4}$,B(J/\psi-->gamma eta_c)*B(eta_c-->K^{*0}\bar{K}^{*0}pi^+pi^-)= (1.29+-0.43+-0.32)X10^{-4}$, and (J/\psi-->gamma eta_c)* B(eta_c-->pi^+pi^-pi^+pi^-pi^+pi^-)= (2.59+-0.32+-0.48)X10^{-4}. The upper limit for eta_c-->phi pi^+pi^-pi^+pi^- is also obtained as B(J/\psi-->gamma eta_c)*B(eta_c--> phi pi^+pi^-pi^+pi^-)< 6.03 X10^{-5} at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Resonances in J/ψ→ϕπ+π−J/\psi \to \phi \pi ^+\pi ^- and ϕK+K−\phi K^+K^-

A partial wave analysis is presented of $J/\psi \to \phi \pi ^+\pi ^-$ and $\phi K^+K^-$ from a sample of 58M $J/\psi$ events in the BES II detector. The $f_0(980)$ is observed clearly in both sets of data, and parameters of the Flatt\' e formula are determined accurately: $M = 965 \pm 8$ (stat) $\pm 6$ (syst) MeV/c$^2$, $g_1 = 165 \pm 10 \pm 15$ MeV/c$^2$, $g_2/g_1 = 4.21 \pm 0.25 \pm 0.21$. The $\phi \pi \pi$ data also exhibit a strong $\pi \pi$ peak centred at $M = 1335$ MeV/c$^2$. It may be fitted with $f_2(1270)$ and a dominant $0^+$ signal made from $f_0(1370)$ interfering with a smaller $f_0(1500)$ component. There is evidence that the $f_0(1370)$ signal is resonant, from interference with $f_2(1270)$. There is also a state in $\pi \pi$ with $M = 1790 ^{+40}_{-30}$ MeV/c$^2$ and $\Gamma = 270 ^{+60}_{-30}$ MeV/c$^2$; spin 0 is preferred over spin 2. This state, $f_0(1790)$, is distinct from $f_0(1710)$. The $\phi K\bar K$ data contain a strong peak due to $f_2'(1525)$. A shoulder on its upper side may be fitted by interference between $f_0(1500)$ and $f_0(1710)$.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Submitted to Phys. Lett.