Systematic Investigation into Mg2+/Li+ Dual-Cation Transport in Chevrel Phases Using Computational and Experimental Approaches

2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (23) ◽  
pp. 12617-12623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Hyun Cho ◽  
Jung Hoon Ha ◽  
June Gunn Lee ◽  
Chang-Sam Kim ◽  
Byung Won Cho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cation Transport ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Chevrel Phases ◽  
Experimental Approaches

scholarly journals Parasite Microbiome Project: Systematic Investigation of Microbiome Dynamics within and across Parasite-Host Interactions

mSystems ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nolwenn M. Dheilly ◽  
Daniel Bolnick ◽  
Seth Bordenstein ◽  
Paul J. Brindley ◽  
Cédric Figuères ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Resistance ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Associated Diseases ◽  
Host Parasite Interactions ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Host Parasite

ABSTRACT Understanding how microbiomes affect host resistance, parasite virulence, and parasite-associated diseases requires a collaborative effort between parasitologists, microbial ecologists, virologists, and immunologists. We hereby propose the Parasite Microbiome Project to bring together researchers with complementary expertise and to study the role of microbes in host-parasite interactions. Understanding how microbiomes affect host resistance, parasite virulence, and parasite-associated diseases requires a collaborative effort between parasitologists, microbial ecologists, virologists, and immunologists. We hereby propose the Parasite Microbiome Project to bring together researchers with complementary expertise and to study the role of microbes in host-parasite interactions. Data from the Parasite Microbiome Project will help identify the mechanisms driving microbiome variation in parasites and infected hosts and how that variation is associated with the ecology and evolution of parasites and their disease outcomes. This is a call to arms to prevent fragmented research endeavors, encourage best practices in experimental approaches, and allow reliable comparative analyses across model systems. It is also an invitation to foundations and national funding agencies to propel the field of parasitology into the microbiome/metagenomic era.

scholarly journals Secretome characterization of clinical isolates from the Mycobacterium abscessus complex provides insight into antigenic differences

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Cornejo-Granados ◽  
Thomas A. Kohl ◽  
Flor Vásquez Sotomayor ◽  
Sönke Andres ◽  
Rogelio Hernández-Pando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Targets ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Mycobacterium Abscessus ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Bioinformatics Pipeline ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
In Silico Characterization ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Background Mycobacterium abscessus (MAB) is a widely disseminated pathogenic non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM). Like with the M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC), excreted / secreted (ES) proteins play an essential role for its virulence and survival inside the host. Here, we used a robust bioinformatics pipeline to predict the secretome of the M. abscessus ATCC 19977 reference strain and 15 clinical isolates belonging to all three MAB subspecies, M. abscessus subsp. abscessus, M. abscessus subsp. bolletii, and M. abscessus subsp. massiliense. Results We found that ~ 18% of the proteins encoded in the MAB genomes were predicted as secreted and that the three MAB subspecies shared > 85% of the predicted secretomes. MAB isolates with a rough (R) colony morphotype showed larger predicted secretomes than isolates with a smooth (S) morphotype. Additionally, proteins exclusive to the secretomes of MAB R variants had higher antigenic densities than those exclusive to S variants, independent of the subspecies. For all investigated isolates, ES proteins had a significantly higher antigenic density than non-ES proteins. We identified 337 MAB ES proteins with homologues in previously investigated M. tuberculosis secretomes. Among these, 222 have previous experimental support of secretion, and some proteins showed homology with protein drug targets reported in the DrugBank database. The predicted MAB secretomes showed a higher abundance of proteins related to quorum-sensing and Mce domains as compared to MTBC indicating the importance of these pathways for MAB pathogenicity and virulence. Comparison of the predicted secretome of M. abscessus ATCC 19977 with the list of essential genes revealed that 99 secreted proteins corresponded to essential proteins required for in vitro growth. Conclusions This study represents the first systematic prediction and in silico characterization of the MAB secretome. Our study demonstrates that bioinformatics strategies can help to broadly explore mycobacterial secretomes including those of clinical isolates and to tailor subsequent, complex and time-consuming experimental approaches accordingly. This approach can support systematic investigation exploring candidate proteins for new vaccines and diagnostic markers to distinguish between colonization and infection. All predicted secretomes were deposited in the Secret-AAR web-server (http://microbiomics.ibt.unam.mx/tools/aar/index.php).

Grain Refinement in Titanium-Erbium Alloys

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 522-523
Author(s):  
B. B. Rath ◽  
J. E. O'Neal ◽  
R. J. Lederich
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Grain Refinement ◽  
Grain Growth ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Pure Titanium ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Titanium Matrix ◽  
Average Size

Addition of small amounts of erbium has a profound effect on recrystallization and grain growth in titanium. Erbium, because of its negligible solubility in titanium, precipitates in the titanium matrix as a finely dispersed second phase. The presence of this phase, depending on its average size, distribution, and volume fraction in titanium, strongly inhibits the migration of grain boundaries during recrystallization and grain growth, and thus produces ultimate grains of sub-micrometer dimensions. A systematic investigation has been conducted to study the isothermal grain growth in electrolytically pure titanium and titanium-erbium alloys (Er concentration ranging from 0-0.3 at.%) over the temperature range of 450 to 850°C by electron microscopy.

Optical Properties of HVEM Accelerators

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 180-181
Author(s):  
A. Strojnik ◽  
J.W. Scholl ◽  
V. Bevc
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Electron Accelerator ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Electron Source ◽  
High Brightness ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Optical Behavior

The electron accelerator, as inserted between the electron source (injector) and the imaging column of the HVEM, is usually a strong lens and should be optimized in order to ensure high brightness over a wide range of accelerating voltages and illuminating conditions. This is especially true in the case of the STEM where the brightness directly determines the highest resolution attainable. In the past, the optical behavior of accelerators was usually determined for a particular configuration. During the development of the accelerator for the Arizona 1 MEV STEM, systematic investigation was made of the major optical properties for a variety of electrode configurations, number of stages N, accelerating voltages, 1 and 10 MEV, and a range of injection voltages ϕ0 = 1, 3, 10, 30, 100, 300 kV).

Magnitude Estimation and Cross-Modal Matching of Lingual Vibrotactile and Auditory Sensation

1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 698-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Harris ◽  
Donald Fucci ◽  
Linda Petrosino
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Magnitude Estimation ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Thenar Eminence ◽  
Stimulus Range ◽  
Psychophysical Scaling ◽  
Scaling Methods ◽  
Response Biases

The present experiment was a preliminary attempt to use the psychophysical scaling methods of magnitude estimation and cross-modal matching to investigate suprathreshold judgments of lingual vibrotactile and auditory sensation magnitudes for 20 normal young adult subjects. A 250-Hz lingual vibrotactile stimulus and a 1000-Hz binaural auditory stimulus were employed. To obtain judgments for nonoral vibrotactile sensory magnitudes, the thenar eminence of the hand was also employed as a test site for 5 additional subjects. Eight stimulus intensities were presented during all experimental tasks. The results showed that the slopes of the log-log vibrotactile magnitude estimation functions decreased at higher stimulus intensity levels for both test sites. Auditory magnitude estimation functions were relatively constant throughout the stimulus range. Cross-modal matching functions for the two stimuli generally agreed with functions predicted from the magnitude estimation data, except when subjects adjusted vibration on the tongue to match auditory stimulus intensities. The results suggested that the methods of magnitude estimation and cross-modal matching may be useful for studying sensory processing in the speech production system. However, systematic investigation of response biases associated with vibrotactile-auditory psychophysical scaling tasks appears to be a prerequisite.

Learned Placebo Effects in the Immune System

2014 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Vits ◽  
Manfred Schedlowski
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Placebo Response ◽  
Immunosuppressive Drug ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Placebo Effects ◽  
New Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Biological Variables ◽  
Experimental Approaches

Associative learning processes are one of the major neuropsychological mechanisms steering the placebo response in different physiological systems and end organ functions. Learned placebo effects on immune functions are based on the bidirectional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral immune system. Based on this “hardware,” experimental evidence in animals and humans showed that humoral and cellular immune functions can be affected by behavioral conditioning processes. We will first highlight and summarize data documenting the variety of experimental approaches conditioning protocols employed, affecting different immunological functions by associative learning. Taking a well-established paradigm employing a conditioned taste aversion model in rats with the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A (CsA) as an unconditioned stimulus (US) as an example, we will then summarize the efferent and afferent communication pathways as well as central processes activated during a learned immunosuppression. In addition, the potential clinical relevance of learned placebo effects on the outcome of immune-related diseases has been demonstrated in a number of different clinical conditions in rodents. More importantly, the learned immunosuppression is not restricted to experimental animals but can be also induced in humans. These data so far show that (i) behavioral conditioned immunosuppression is not limited to a single event but can be reproduced over time, (ii) immunosuppression cannot be induced by mere expectation, (iii) psychological and biological variables can be identified as predictors for this learned immunosuppression. Together with experimental approaches employing a placebo-controlled dose reduction these data provide a basis for new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of diseases where a suppression of immune functions is required via modulation of nervous system-immune system communication by learned placebo effects.

Effects of Postgastric 13C-Acetate Processing on 13CO2-Exhalation in Health–A Systematic Investigation

2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (05) ◽  
Author(s):  
O Goetze ◽  
H Fruehauf ◽  
MA Kwiatek ◽  
M Thumshirn ◽  
W Schwizer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Investigation
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